To drum up some regional support for the upcoming Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions, Positively Cleveland hosted what it called a “fam tour” (fam as in familiarization) with area journalists last week. The day started with the Rock Hall press conference about the inductions that included handing out proclamations to Parliament/Funkadelic’s Bootsy Collins and the O’Jays’ Walter Williams, both of whom are already inducted.
From the Rock Hall, a bus took the writers to the Beachland Ballroom, where co-owner Cindy Barber talked about how she and partner Mark Leddy (who quietly manned a pair of turntables and spun old-school soul singles) had transformed the Croatian dance hall into the area’s most happening music joint. Their hope, she said, was that the entire Collinwood neighborhood would become a haven for artsy types.
