Given the state of the economy, it didn’t make
sense to put on an extravagant Music Awards this year. So for this, Scene‘s 10th annual Music Awards, we took over Sunday
night’s Inner Sanctum — 92.3 FM’s local
music show — to announce the Music Awards winners. Inner Sanctum host Pat the Producer, Live Nation’s
Matt Korona and Elise Rossman, the Agora’s Andrea Sweazy and Justin
Simpson, and 92.3 intern Shawn Perry all pitched in to announce the
winners and play a song by each of them. Here’s a rundown of who won
what. Robin Stone
Vocalist
Singer-songwriter Robin Stone is like Cleveland’s answer to Ani
DiFranco: She plays a mix of rock and folk and has been fiercely
independent throughout her career, now almost a decade long. A
righteous babe who regularly plays benefit concerts, the Cleveland
native has her heart in the right place too. Look for a new studio
release this spring.
Roger Hoover
Singer-songwriter
First with the Whiskeyhounds and now with the Magpies, raspy-voiced
singer-songwriter Roger Hoover writes about “living every night like
it’s New Year’s Eve” with such sincerity, it’s apparent he’s speaking
from personal experience. Think Townes van Zandt mixed with a bit of
Nebraska-era Springsteen.
Austin Walkin’ Cane
Guitarist/Blues
A veritable institution on the local blues scene, Austin Walkin’
Cane Charanghat regularly plays local watering holes like Flannery’s
and the Old Angle. His sandpaper vocals are well-suited to his original
material (which includes last year’s conceptual Murder of a Blues
Singer album) and covers like “Mr. Heatmiser,” the seasonal tune he
performs so capably with the Ohio City Singers. He won in two
categories this year: Best Blues Act and Best Guitarist.
Sugar
Bassist
First with the Lords of the Highway and now with the Horror of 59,
bassist Sugar has been a fixture on the local rockabilly scene for the
better part of a decade. While she hasn’t played on any of Horror of
59’s studio releases yet, her presence at the live shows, where she
plays upright bass like a pro, has already given the guys a good kick
in the butt.
Steve Clements
Keyboardist
For the better part of seven years now, Akron’s Houseguest has been
a singular entity on the indie-rock scene, sounding more like mid-’80s
Brit acts the Smiths and the Housemartins than anything from Northeast
Ohio. Steve Clements’ distinctive keyboard playing is as intrinsic to
the band’s music as Theodore Mallison’s caterwauling vocals.
Dave Sterner
Horn
With his quintet, alto-sax man Dave Sterner creates some of the best
old- school jazz you’ll hear around here. His debut, What’s
What, has some serious swing to it, especially on the aptly named
“The Jive Song.” He’s currently a part-time faculty member at both
Cuyahoga Community College and Lakeland Community College.
Patrick Carney
Drummer
As one half of Akron’s garage-blues duo the Black Keys, lanky
Patrick Carney creates a racket and a half on the drums while backing
up singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach. The guy also deserves kudos for being
such a big advocate of all things Akron, — especially local
bands, many of whom he promotes through his Audio Eagle imprint.
DJ E-V
DJ
Now that Mick Boogie has moved off to Brooklyn, it’s time another
local DJ took over the role as the city’s party starter. DJ E-V (Eric
Vajda), whose MySpace site is one of the flashiest you’ll ever see, has
stepped up, issuing an endless stream of mix tapes (check out his
Bitch, I’m From Cleveland and the aptly titled I Run Ohio series) and remixing local guys like Kid Cudi and Chip Tha Ripper.
Magpies
Americana/Country
Best singer-songwriter winner Roger Hoover fronts this terrific bar
band that plays regularly in and out of town. Its debut, last year’s
Eastern Standard Time, is a great collection of rootsy rockers
and alt-country ballads that occasionally feature flourishes of organ,
piano and accordion.
The Jack Fords
Rock
Led by powerhouse singer Brent Kirby, the Jack Fords are a rowdy
rock band that hearkens back to the days when twang demons like the
Georgia Satellites and the Bottle Rockets were considered alternative
rock. The guys just finished an album with producer (and former Del
Lord) Eric “Roscoe” Ambel that’s due out this spring.
Usersetsmode+
Hard Rock
Led by seductive singer Mandy Lashua, this Akron quartet recalls the
best of the female singer-led, late-’90s alt-rock acts (think Garbage,
for a good example). Released last year, the band’s self-titled,
six-track debut EP has a gritty, dynamic dimension to it, helped in
part by the fine production work, courtesy of guitarist (and Mandy’s
husband) Derek Lashua.
Salt the Wound
Metal
A couple of years back, these metalcore vets caught the attention of
L.A.-based Rotten Records, which last year issued Carnal
Repercussions. A cross-country tour ensued, and even though the
band’s been through a few line-up changes, it still remains a force on
the local (and national) metal scene.
Dropgun
Punk
The guys in this Akron band make no excuses for their straight-ahead
punk rock, admitting that they have little in common with all the emo
and screamo stuff you hear. Instead, they count old-school heroes like
the Dead Boys as an inspiration. The band is currently working on a new
disc expected out sometime before the year is over.
Above this Fire
Hardcore
Having recently issued Last Ones on their own newly formed
Forest City Records, the guys in this hardcore band take local pride
seriously. They recorded the album — a nice balance of heavy
hardcore and more accessible punk melodies — here at Ante Up
Audio and Conquistador studios, and had the graphics locally printed
and designed too.
Bears
Indie/Underground
Bears started almost by accident in the summer of 2005 when
singer-guitarist Charlie McArthur and drummer Craig Ramsey tried to
form a punk trio. When the band’s third member didn’t show up for
practice, McArthur and Ramsey figured they’d start writing pop songs
together. The sunny, smart songs on the band’s self-titled debut became
an underground sensation, and glowing reviews appeared in mags like
Skyscraper, Alternative Press and Amplifier.
Lords of
the Highway
Rockabilly/Garage
These honky-tonkers have been around long enough that they can say
their first release was a cassette. A couple of the Lords’ early albums
came out on the Cowslingers’ Drink N Drive Records, and the band has
roots in rockabilly, ’50s rock and honky-tonk country. In addition to
playing classics by Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash and Carl
Perkins, the
band has a wealth of original material too.
Encoder
Goth/Industrial
This band — which features local industrial rock veteran DJ
Cable, programmer Pat Berdysz and former 20goto10 singer Sara Eugene
— falls on the more ambient and trance-influenced side of the
goth/industrial scene. Released last year, its self-titled debut owes
more to Xymox than Bauhaus.
Al Fatz
Rap/Hip-hop
One of the artists signed with locally based Dreamlife Productions,
rapper Al Fatz (a.k.a. Fat Al) sings as well as he raps. He had a
regional hit a couple years back with the sparse, infectious “Came
Down,” a tune he recorded on a limited budget. The guy’s smooth
delivery on Double Trouble, a 2007 collaboration with Chip Tha
Ripper, caught the attention of local media outlets, which proclaimed
him heir apparent to Bone Thugs’ crown.
Northcoast Jazz
Collective
Jazz
This modern jazz ensemble is one of the hardest working groups on
the local scene. With two studio albums under its belt, the group
performs regularly at Fat Fish Blue and Nighttown. Describing
themselves as “post-bop style jazz,” the guys are also festival
favorites. Look for a new studio release sometime this year.
Kassaba
Ethnic/World
It’s not easy to define this percussion-heavy ensemble that released
its second CD, Dark Eye, in 2007, an album that got the band
gigs as far away as France and New York. Featuring three Cleveland
Institute of Music and one Berklee College of Music grad, the band’s
got great chops, which is evident in the way it crosses classical and
jazz influences.
This article appears in Dec 17-23, 2008.
