Credit: Courtesy of Grovewood
When He-Chaw Funk singer Chris Bishop moved out of town, the other guys in the band — bassist Matt Rusincovitch, drummer Ryan Bilikam and guitarist Sasha A. Kostadinov — got together at the now-shuttered East side restaurant Grovewood Tavern to discuss their future plans and meet their current singer Gillian Freed, who was tending bar at the time. Rusincovitch wanted to switch to guitar and keys, so the band recruited local Ben Schwartz to play bass. And thus, the local rock act Grovewood was born. 

“We’ve got a half dozen original songs and a bunch of covers from bands like Alabama Shakes, the Black Keys, the Shins, Beck, the Drive-by Truckers and Neil Young,” says Kostadinov. “We also cover songs by lesser-known bands that we like. Everyone contributes ideas, and there’s a diversity of music tastes in this band that somehow fit together.”

Freed plays a bit of trumpet, so the band has been trying to insert the trumpet into songs where it makes sense. The band makes its debut on Saturday, Jan. 30, at the Five O’Clock Lounge in Lakewood. Singer-songwriter Jim McKeivier and the rock band Brothers share the bill.

This article appears in Jan 20-26, 2016.

Jeff has been covering the Cleveland music scene for more than 25 years now. On a regular basis, he tries to talk to whatever big acts are coming through town. And if you're in a local band that he needs to hear, email him at jniesel@clevescene.com.