Dayton Music

“Silent” and Loud: The Gunshy Comes To Dayton

July 23, 2014 By Dayton Most Metro

The open road.

Miles and miles of paved cement that stretches and bends at every turn and direction of the United States. When you are driving on the open road, you take in the sweeping land that is untouched. You take in the wide-ranging view of countryside that surrounds all around you. You roll down the windows and move one of your hands outside. You allow the blowing wind to sway your hand all around. You turn up the radio to the highest volume, proceed to blare your favorite song. The people that accompany you on this journey more important to you than you will ever know.

For Matt Arbogast, the open road is therapeutic. It allows him to escape. Being on the open road helps take care of those voids that are needing to be filled. “I have told my wife every couple of months, I need to get out and get on the road,” Arbogast mentions during a recent phone conversation. “She understands (laughter).”

Arbogast too many is known to be part of the moniker The Gunshy, and he will be stopping by Dayton to play Wednesday night at the Canal Public House alongside Mean Mug, The Florals, Meridian, and Joe Anderl.

The Gunshy released their latest album, Silent Songs, back in September 2013. The album highlights some of Arborgast’s best work to date. His tone when singing is coarse and gritty. “The Independent” is a bombastic opener that sets the tone with roaring strings. The heavy-toned “Getting High In Denver” features some of remarkable and compelling storytelling. Silent Songs emphasizes throughout the album that you need to keep living your life to the fullest and love every moment.

Arbogast grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania-right in the heart of Amish Country. 10 years ago, Arbogast started to notice that his music playing in town has fast approaching an expiration date, and decided to move to Chicago. “Lancaster was a great city,” he explains. “I just wanted to go somewhere else and tryout my music there. Have a chance at least. I figured Chicago would be a great place to do so.” Chicago has treated him well since then. For starters, he met his wife at a show in town. He has made close friends that tour and also live in the city. He also has built a recording studio in Logan Square three years ago called 8AM.

8AM not only has the recording studio, but also the attic is used for acoustic shows and yoga classes. “I wanted to create a space that people could record and feel relaxed,” Arborgast mentions. “I wanted the studio to be a fun place.” Arborgast quickly mentioned afterwards that the title of the studio is 8AM for one main reason. “I want you to come in and get to work. No screwing around. We start early around here.” Establishing 8AM in some ways even helped Arborgast become passionate about music again. At one point-the touring became a hassle for Arborgast. “I got a little burnt out on touring. While tours were slowly starting to get better, it can be tough playing to empty rooms most nights,” Arborgast explained. The mentality of touring has changed now. As mentioned earlier, Arborgast has developed the need and drive to hit the road with the band, and at times-solo.

The future is bright for Arborgast. He plans to start recording other artists in his studio, and releasing records for other people/bands next year. As far as new music from The Gunshy-“I want to make a simple record next,” Arborgast reveals. “Silent Songs has so much happening. I just threw a ton of different instruments into the album that I had laying around. For the next album, I just want to strip it down and get back to basics. Just make it simple.”

For now, the open road is calling. And The Gunshy have responded.

The Gunshy, alongside Mean Mug, The Florals, Meridian, and Joe Anderl will be performing at Canal Public House Wednesday night. 8:30pm. $5 cover.

To hear more from The Gunshy, click onto http://thegunshy.bandcamp.com/.

Local Bands To Reload The 90s Friday Night At Gilly’s

July 23, 2014 By Juliet Fromholt

Friday, July 25th marks the fourth annual 90s Reloaded tribute show, the first time for this particular event, at Gilly’s in downtown Dayton. The show will feature seven local bands performing sets that include both 90s favorites and their own original material, as well as five acoustic performers doing an “in the round” style set, belly dancing, DJ sets and more.

“The 90s is my second favorite musical decade,” says presenter Louie Wood Jr.. “I grew up on five albums: Emf Schubert’s Dip, Jesus Jones’ Doubt, Primitive Radio Gods’ Rocket, Kristen Barry’s The Beginning Is The Middle Is The End and U2’s Achtung Baby. I am a big fan of post punk, electronica, techno, alternative and EDM.”

90s Reloaded is one of several signature shows Wood produces throughout the year including 80s Rewind, which is heading into its sixth year, and Dayton Does Dayton, which will see its fifth Gem City outing in January.

“I think one of the very good things about these shows is that they sometimes present a challenge to musicians. And a very worthy challenge,” Wood says. “I saw this happen from the very start at the 2009 Dayton Dirt Collective Smiths/Morrissey tribute we threw, my very first tribute show. Just a month after that it was a tribute to the Cure, which was just as interesting and fun as the Smiths/Morrissey tribute. Bands get to succeed out of their element at these shows in front of new people. This is a good thing for Dayton.”

The seven bands on Friday night’s bill are all original and will combine their own material with the 90s songs they’ve chosen to cover.

“I let all the bands/musicians choose their cover songs and then ask them to perform their best originals. This of course is so that the bands get the most out of performing at the shows, and so they connect to the audience better.”

This year’s lineup features both new-to-the-scene and well-established acts with a range of styles and ages represented.

“Having lots of styles of music at these tribute show makes them special and a lot of fun, I think it really helps them succeed,” says Wood. “The younger bands that participate in the shows are always very enthusiastic about performing and always put on a good presentation. They are also always very talented; it always creates a cool energy at the beginning of the show to get the party started.”

In addition to the live music, Bronwen Dancer and her regional belly dancing troupe will perform a set as part of the evening’s festivities and Wood will DJ 90s music between sets.

“I like to do fun things while people are waiting for the bands to perform like play TV movie these songs and jingles from that era. People really get a kick out of it.”

HOW TO GO:

Meghna Mahambrey will perform as part of 90s Reloaded

90s Reloaded
Friday, July 25th at 7:30PM
at Gilly’s, 132 S. Jefferson St.
$7 at the door

Lineup includes:
Crazy Damn Good
Cinder Home
Plush
Able Danger
Queen of Hearts
Moroni Lane
Reyna Spears
Meghna Mahambrey
Katherine Mullins
Lost Cause
John Mullen
Daniel White aka Barefoot Dan
a 30 minute belly dance presentation by: Bronwen Dancer and her regional belly dancing troupe

Get the Blues at the 29th Annual Dayton Blues Festival

July 17, 2014 By Juliet Fromholt

Free summer entertainment returns to downtown Dayton’s Dave Hall Plaza (Fourth and Jefferson Streets) on Sunday, July 20, as Recreation and Youth Services presents the 29th annual Dayton Blues Festival, with the finest in local and regional blues from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.The line-up includes:

Joe & Jack Waters – Dayton
The Wright Brothers Band – Dayton
Back Talk Blues Band, featuring Gary ‘Guitar’ Williams – Dayton
The Mojo Kings – Columbus
Mark May Band, with the Soul Horns – Columbus
Cheryl Renee Project – Cincinnati
Joey Gilmore ‘The Blues Legend’ – Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Emcee – Earl “South Side” Hayes

In addition to great blues, there will be food and merchandise vendors, and Heidelberg will offer premium beers. Concertgoers are welcome to bring lawn chairs or blankets. However, shade tents, coolers, pets, outside food and drinks are not permitted. The City of Dayton’s Take Back the Tap Trailer will offer free water (guests are encouraged to bring their own water cup or bottles).

The Dayton Blues Festival is the second of a three-festival Downtown Summer Music Series presented by the Dayton Department of Recreation and Youth Services, and is supported by Heidelberg Distributing, the Downtown Dayton Partnership, the Crowne Plaza Hotel, WROU Radio, and Martin Romie Talent. The Downtown Summer Music Series will continue with the Dayton Reggae Festival on August 31, also at Dave Hall Plaza and with free admission.

Ultrasphinx: Bringing The Party From Akron To Dayton

July 2, 2014 By Dayton Most Metro

(Photo courtesy: Ultrasphinx)

Before the band’s gig at Strange Matter in Richmond, Virginia, Ultrasphinx’s bassist Aaron Rogers is coming back from taking some down time and collected some vinyl albums at a nearby record store-Steady Sounds. One of the albums that Rogers tells me he was really interested in diving into a vinyl album of the great Leonard Bernstein conducting rejected works from legendary mind of Beethoven. During our conversation, Rogers had to cut it short temporary and explains that we will have to call me back. It wasn’t him just being bored with our talk, or that he became completely offended with the topics I was bringing up. No-Rogers had to move the band’s van and trailer away from the meter that they had parked by earlier in the afternoon. In Richmond, the law requires you to move your vehicle at least 500 feet after being parked at a meter no more than two hours. After you move at least 500 feet, you can park at a meter again. You can’t just feed the meter that you are parked by. A rather simple solution, you may think. Nope- you just have to move your vehicle. It’s right up there in the ranks of one of the stranger laws to obey, no question.

Ultrasphinx, from the northeast city of Akron, are currently on the final leg of a two week tour. The band consist of Rogers on bass, Ian Cummins on drums, and Joe Dennis on guitar/vocals. They started their tour in Pittsburgh on June 20^th, and it will be ending in Cleveland on July 5^th. The tour will be making a stop here in Dayton at Canal Public House this Wednesday where the band will be joined onstage by Arms Race, Oh Condor and Dinosaurus. Ultrasphinx just released their first self-titled LP this past April.

A little over two years ago Rogers was in a band with a friend that he called a “one-off”, Blockades. The singer of Blockades was formerly from Akron and moved to Los Angeles and would fly in before the few shows that the band played. During his flights, the singers would write lyrics. When he arrived into town, the band would then configure the music to go along. Rogers was in charge of drums for the first couple of shows while the singer played guitar. A couple of shows in, Rogers wanted to try something different. “For the third show, I said that I wanted to play bass, and I knew a guy that will play drums,” Rogers says. He recruited Cummins to come and play drums for Blockades. Rogers knew Cummins through the music scene and had worked with him on other projects. Right from the start, the duo had astonishing chemistry. “We locked in immediately. We needed to find something full time. We need to do something in a real band,” Rogers added.

For Joe Dennis, Ultrasphinx is yet another incredible chapter in his musical lifecycle. For many that were immersed into the grunge movement that took over the collective world, there were the indie bands that were also making some noise on their own terms. Dennis was the lead vocals in the 90s band The Party of Helicopters. The Party of Helicopters developed a regionally cult following after their release of Abracadaver in 1997. The Party of Helicopters would release a couple EPs and another LP Please Believe It before calling it quits in 2004. The band would reunite in 2007, 2009, and 2010. After that, The Party of Helicopters were finished. Dennis since then has been in a few other bands around the Kent/Akron area (The Man I Fell In Love With, Teen Tighteners, Company Picnic).

Two years ago, Rogers received a call from Cummins saying that Dennis wanted to three of them to start up a band. The trio knew each other through the Akron music scene circuit. Rogers would do sound for the bands that Dennis and Cummins would be in, and they all had a mutual respect for another’s music taste. With Cummins and Rogers seeing their dynamic chemistry when playing with Blockades-teaming up with Dennis was going to be what they were looking for. “Ian called me and said that Joe wanted to start a band, and practice was Tuesday,” Rogers recounted when he got the call from Cummins. “And either showed up (laughter). Ian called me an hour later saying that something came up, and let’s shoot for next Tuesday.” The next Tuesday came, and everyone showed up. Ultrasphinx released two songs-the first songs that they worked on as a band, “Left Objects” and “Stoned Hearts” on a split 7” vinyl record with Bad Trouble in February 2013.

In March 2013, Ultrasphinx begun writing for their first LP. The band already had flushed out most of the songs that would be incorporated in the album through playing them during the tour throughout the first year of inception. They booked the recording sessions in Akron at STUDIO TIME with Jason M. Tarulli. Tarulli, who has worked with bands such as Cage the Elephant and Akron’s own The Black Keys, was Ultrasphinx’s first and only choice to help record the album. The trio knew Tarulli pretty well. Rogers assisted Tarulli on some recordings in the past at STUDIO TIME. “We trusted Jason’s ears more than anybody else in the world,” Rogers said. The recording of the songs didn’t long due to the band to lay down, but the vocals were recorded twice. The mixing of the album took a little longer because Tarulli couldn’t finish it due to his schedule. Rogers ended up taking over the mixing soon after.

Throughout the self-titled LP of Ultrasphinx, dazzling blend of overdubs, puncturing riffs, and the Joe Dennis signature dreamy vocals that captured fans of The Party of Helicopters from years past are splashed all over. The songs that accompany this LP will leave you scrambling-trying to keep up with the frenetic pace on most of the songs (most of the songs end before the three minute mark). The album should be well-received by fans from all musical enthusiasts-from metal heads to the underground music followers.

Rogers mentioned that the band will take some time after the current to shift through the hundreds of hours of audio from practices, demos that may be used for new material. The new material has become more of a collective collaboration, Rogers added.

As soon as Rogers was able to get back to the band’s van, and moved it the required 500 feet, he called me back. “We are now parked safely three blocks down,” says Rogers. Enough space so that the police won’t ticket them. The van will still have to be moved one more time. Thankfully for Rogers, Dennis, Cummins, the never-ending venture of moving the van every two hours will be coming to an end at six. After that time, they can park somewhere and won’t have to worry about it anymore.

Oh the joys of being on the road. Especially being in a band.

Ultrasphinx will perform on Wednesday, July 2 at Canal Public House, which is located at 308 E. First St. Dinosaurus, Oh Condor and Arms Race are also on the lineup that night as well. Doors at 9 p.m., $5 cover for patrons 18 and up.

To hear and purchase the album, or more info, click onto the band’s Bandcamp site www.ultrasphinx.bandcamp.com.

Springboro FREE Tues Concerts Kickoff Tonight

July 1, 2014 By Dayton Most Metro

It’s that time of year again for the Amphitheater at North Park to be rockin’ with the sounds of Summer! The City will host a FREE concert every Tuesday night from July 1 to July 29 at 7:00pm.

New this year is the addition of 3 concerts on Friday nights! The Park Board has been discussing ways to offer more concerts with a slightly different genre of music and to attract a more diverse crowd to the performances and Friday night concerts seemed to be a great way to do that! In addition, beer sales will be occurring at the Friday night concerts (only), with the Wee Panthers Football Organization volunteering their time to dispense the beverages, and using the time as a fundraiser. (Please note the Friday night concerts have a 7:30pm start time and may run a little longer than our Tuesday night concerts.) Anyone and everyone are welcome to all the concerts.

The following is the musical line-up that is brought to you by the City of Springboro and the Springboro Park Board. Enjoy!

July 1 – 122nd Army Band: Come out and help support our troops! The 122nd Army Band is a unit in the Ohio Army National Guard. Each year, the band travels throughout the state, performing traditional military band concerts, rock concerts, ceremonies, parades, and other public functions.

July 8 – The Danger Brothers: Thirty plus years of rocking the Midwest, The Danger Brothers vow to continue their long tradition of spine-tingling, eye-boggling, and ear-ringing Rock & Roll! Drawing from a 300 song playlist, each show is a musical journey from the 50’s through the 90’s that gets the crowd involved in every note.

Friday, July 11 (7:30-10:30) – Robin Lacy & DeZydeco: Add a little spice to your life! Come and enjoy New Orleans R & B, Creole Funk, Blues & Zydeco, and Louisiana Style Rock n’ Roll.

July 15 – Ashley Martin: Country rocker Ashley Martin was born and raised in the heart of it all, Ohio! Her country sound and rock n’ roll attitude, set her apart.

Friday, July 18 (7:30-10:30pm) – McGuffey Lane with opening act Jonalee White: McGuffey Lane is a country rock band from central Ohio. One of our biggest acts to date!

July 22 – The Rusty Griswolds: All music from the 1980’s…..enough said!!!!

Friday, July 25 (7:30-9:30pm) – Phil Dirt & The Dozers: America’s premier “Rock ‘N R’oldies” review (and the most popular vintage rock and roll show in the nation) will help you recapture those wonderful days! With their musical talent, high energy and contagious sense of humor, Phil Dirt & The Dozers will transport you to another time and place . . . namely, the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s of Rock and Roll!

July 29 – Kettering Civic Band: The Kettering Civic Band originated in 1959 as a 12-member ensemble.

C. Wright’s Parlour Tricks, The June Jazz featured on Sound Check Chat podcast

June 16, 2014 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

The Sound Check Chat podcasts with Andrew Low of The Jazz June and Christopher Wright of C. Wright’s Parlour Tricks went live on Friday, June 13 via iTunes and Stitcher.

While magazines and blog interviews often provide a peek behind the curtain and into the minds of music’s best musicians, every interviewer knows that there are nuances of humor, sarcasm, honesty, and even sadness that are left on the tape. Even the best journalist, one who gets close to translating the experience of hearing someone’s thoughts and words in their own voice, could never quite share 100 percent of that experience.

Appreciating this phenomenon, Dayton-based music journalist Tim Anderl (of YouIndie.com, Ghettoblaster Magazine, New Noise Magazine, etc.) teamed with Frank Steele, a professional media and video producer (Frame Jump Music Videos), to create the Sound Check Chat podcast. The podcast shares the experience of dialing up a musician or talking to them one-on-one, face to face. The podcast will typically drop on the first and 15^th of every month.

On March 15, 2014, the podcast launched via iTunes, as well as at the Sound Check Chat website. Previous podcasts included interviews with one-half of Insane Clown Posse, Violent J, JT of Hawthorne Heights, Grieves, Drew of Circle Takes The Square, Joe and Justin of The 1984 Draft, and Andy of Buffalo Killers.

Download the podcast at iTunes here: http://goo.gl/cIF7G0 or  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-check-chat-music-lovers/id841331756

In addition to the podcast, Sound Check Chat provides a show notes page providing background behind the podcast and artists covered, as well as links to topics discussed on the show.

Additional details about future podcasts, including those already in progress with Those Mockingbirds, Beebs and Her Moneymakers, Tiger Flowers, and more are forthcoming. The podcasts are sponsored by Topshelf Records.

‘On The Inside’ Is Quite Special-Just Ask Colleen Badenhop

June 13, 2014 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

(Photo courtesy: Jennifer Taylor Clarke)

It was a chilly, mid-morning day when I met up with singer/songwriter Colleen Badenhop. When she walked up to our meeting location, I noticed that she was wearing a thin hooded zip-up sweater. The sweater couldn’t barely keep anyone warm on this day. However, Badenhop had a good reason for the clothing choice. “We are in the process of moving,” explains Badenhop. “All of my warm clothes are in boxes [laughter].” For Badenhop moving into a new home is just one of many things happening as of late. She recently finished her eleventh year of teaching music in the Kettering City Schools, and she will be releasing her debut album On the Inside today.

Badenhop grew up in the little town of Wauseon, Ohio, about 45 minutes away from Dayton. Her mother would play the piano and the organ while her father would sing in the church choir. Badenhop picked up playing the piano when she was young through reading music and watching her mother, and once she started attending Bowling Green, she started to get a better understanding of chord structure. As soon as she started to write songs, Badenhop started to become more serious about playing the piano. She started to dive deeper into learning and practicing. Following college, Badenhop married her high school sweetheart, and they migrated to the Dayton area.

Around 2012, Badenhop started to throw around the idea of exploring going further with her music. “I didn’t know how get from point A to point B at all”, said she. “I wasn’t sure what I do, who to talk to, how much it was going to cost.” She started off small-going to establishments and performing karaoke every week. “I would learn the songs that I wanted to sing that night. I would get on YouTube and learn the song really well,” Badenshop explained. Attending each week started to give the crowd a sense that Badenhop was destined to be doing more than already released music. “Someone told me that I should write my own songs. I would say to them that I should, but I don’t have anything to write about [laughs].”

Over time, those doubts of not having anything to write about washed away. Badenhop mentioned that she had some emotional moments that fueled some of her writing. Although she didn’t specifically mention what happened, Badenhop talked about how she starting forming moments into music. She sang the newly formed songs in her mind and would play them on the piano. Badenhop reached out and messaged another local singer/songwriter Jayne Sachs, who she was a fan of. Sachs became a mentor of sorts for Badenhop and explained that she needed to go out to places like Canal Public House and perform.

On the Inside was recorded at Babblefish Studios in Franklin, Ohio. The album, which was part of a successful Kickstarter campaign, was started in September of 2013 and ended in January. The recording was spread out, with Badenhop and her band recording mostly on weekends. During the recording process, Badenhop really wanted to have her hands in every part of the process down to the design of the album artwork. “I found out I was a little bit of a control freak [laughter],” Badenhop jokingly said.

The lyrics throughout On the Inside spotlight the full spectrum of human emotional experiences. Songs like the soft, gentle “Home Again” (When I lay down with you/I am home again/Enclosed in your arms/I am free again) to “Story” (If you were a boat/I’d be your river) highlight love and hope. Alongside are tales of loss and frustration-“A Comfortable Veil” and “The Last One to Know”. For fans of singer/songwriters like Ben Folds and Sara Bareilles, Badenhop’s On the Inside will be right on.

Colleen Badenhop will be releasing her debut On the Inside today, and we will be one half of the CD release show at Yellow Cab. Badenhop will be sharing the stage with local musician Steve Makofka tonight. Showtime is 8pm. $5 admission. To hear more from Colleen Badenhop, click onto her Reverbnation website here.

Blue Moon Soup Concert Benefits WYSO Radio and Clifton Opera House

May 13, 2014 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

Blue Moon Soup

On Friday, May 16th, Blue Moon Soup along with the Celtic duet Changeling are going to be hosting an evening jam packed with everything from gypsy jazz to rock n’ roll at the Clifton Opera House, 5 South Clay Street, Clifton, OH 45316. The concert is to benefit WYSO Public Radio and the historic Clifton Opera House! The show is an alcohol- free, child-friendly event, so be sure to bring the whole family!

Since Blue Moon Soup’s first show in 2010, they have been helped along the way through the kindness and charity of others. “We like to find ways to give back to the community that has given us so much! In the past, we have donated generously to Glen Helen and have plans to do so again on June 14th,” said Robbie Marion, band member and organizer. “Much like the Glen, Yellow Springs’ WYSO has had an impact on all our lives and we would like to play our part in sustaining this great local source of news and unique music,” says Marion.

Tickets for the event are $10 at the door for 18+ and an additional $5 concession (if under 18). The doors for the event open at 7:00pm. The evening opens with Changeling from 7:30 PM to 8:15 PM followed by Blue Moon Soup from 8:30 PM to 10:30 PM.

Public radio station WYSO 91.3 is licensed to Antioch College with studios in Yellow Springs, OH. It broadcasts on multiple platforms: 91.3 FM, live streaming at WYSO.org, on HD radio and on the Public Radio Player, a mobile application. WYSO is the Miami Valley’s only NPR News station with programming from NPR, Public Radio International, American Public Media, PRX and the BBC as well as the the work of local and independent radio producers.

Clifton Opera House hosts year round entertainment. The Opera House, designed by Springfield architect Charles Cregar, was built in 1893. Cregar is known for his magnificent designs such as the municipal building in Springfield and numerous churches.

Over the years, the Opera House has served as a venue for minstrel shows, town offices, after school sports and community meetings. Most weekends, you can find a variety of musical offerings and entertainment. The Opera House is currently hosting live concerts and events every Friday and Saturday night during its operating season. All donations are applied to maintenance and repairs of the building.

Blue Moon Soup is Jon Baumann on standup bass, Robbie Marion on fiddle, Brendan Moore on mandolin and Justin Moon on guitar. All members provide vocals. The band’s webpage contains photos, upcoming dates and bio information on the band members. You can find their websites at http://www.bluemoonsoupmusic.com and https://www.facebook.com/BlueMoonSoup.

REVIEW: The Architects of Ohio Metal at Blind Bob’s

May 7, 2014 By Mike Ritchie Leave a Comment

On Saturday April 26^th, four Ohio bred metal bands came to Blind Bob’s to make noise, scream, yell and thrown down in a small deadly space, where the moshers really danced and the pit was much more friendly than the ones outside.

Columbus’ Northern Widows opened with a short set of six songs, just long enough to keep the hardcore fans’ attention, because Sargent D was coming, and you’re all on his list. Playing a nice blend of thrash, groove and speed with some old school punk attitude and delivery, they opened with the aggressively fast Boundaries & Vices and then got moody, muddy with some boot stomping drums and guitar on The Blessing Way. The Ghosts Of My Sins Are Consuming Me had a slower, dirtier beginning with guitar groove a minute in. Standing On The Shoulders of Omega was an ode to a lost family member, standing at their gravesite wishing them well in the afterlife. Three Storms was the slow mosh tune while A Clock Without A Craftsman finished with an old school punk feel.

Imbroglio (photo by Mike Ritchie)

Red Moth Inc, Dayton’s home of players and producers of anything and everything extremely not mainstream brought us Imbroglio, born in 2007, with six releases to date including this year’s The Struggle In Pursuit EP. Experimenting with grind, sludge, doom and whatever they want to hear and are influenced by, the band pushes their dark creations through the speakers for you to hear like the noise of an army made by three men, questioning comfort zones and what is ‘safe’ to play. After the drum smashing, uneasy guitar interplay of the Full Speed face smasher, we get bit from 2012’s Declared Self Hatred with Sharp Teeth. Then, The Drought comes slow and damaging, with Sabbath sludge, leaving throats dry from yelling. When all hope’s gone and the end comes what have you done to leave a mark? Daybreak delivers melancholy with an eye opening hard bitch slap to your morning wake or keeps insomniacs going with its wall scratching charm, Meshuggah tempo’s and Dillinger Escape Plan breakdowns. Desolation ends with a slower, trippy sounding ode to atmospheric isolation, with a slow trudge in the end of hopelessness.

Enabler (photo by Mike Ritchie)

Ohio’s Enabler owned the stage, getting the crowd pit ready with some wall blaster tunes including several new songs from the upcoming La Fin Absolue De Monde LP out May 27^th from Earsplit Compound. Metal, hardcore, punk crossovers open a can with the passion in the veins of Speechless, the ultra-fast not quite a minute and a half fury of Mercenary yells the tale of someone who just needs to be taken out, in a low rent blaze of glory. Unconditional Surrender plays with weird chords before the speed slams in, playing frenetic breakdowns while building speed. They played several songs from the upcoming CD including Prey; run, run, run with the speed of a punk song, they’re after you and New Life with its guitar buzzing beginning and very danceable, body ramming beat and pace, with a little Death mixed in for technical flavor. To end the show, a former band member came up and jammed for a very loud and fast reunion.

Dayton’s Mouth of the Architect took us past the witching hour with sounds and songs that would scare a witch’s Sabbath into casting protection spells. Going strong for a decade, playing most of the songs from the new Dawning EP, they open with the almost ten minute Lullaby starting soft and soothing while the bedtime story yells you to sleep. Sharpen Your Axes got the crowd in a killer mood starting slow, but with menacingly subtle stalking guitar strings before the invading high squealing notes come from behind. The Other Son could be the sludge/prog/doom version of Dream On with Irish drinking song vocals at the five minute mark before going into the dark side of Tool territory ending with unexpected calm and quiet twisting attack of the keyboard/ sound manipulator.

REVIEW: Decibel Magazine Tour Decimates Columbus

May 5, 2014 By Mike Ritchie Leave a Comment

Noisem (photo by Mike Ritchie)

On Sunday April 6^th, the Decibel Magazine Tour slammed into Columbus’ Newport Music bringing its youngest screamers Noisem, the growling sands of Tibet from Gorguts, the dark horror themed, violent intentions of the Black Dahlia Murder and the graphic godfathers of gore, grindcore and surgical steel, Carcass.

New kids Noisem delivered an opening set of non-stop, psychopathically cathartic tunes that they couldn’t stop moving to. A sonic whiplash ensued with perpetual movement as they cranked out songs from their Agony Defined CD. Their sound is death/thrash metal with an old school Sepultura vibe. Vocalist Tyler played the straight jacket escapee berserker well, thrashing the stage harder with each tune. Vertebrae rattlers Rotten Remains and Split from the Inside Out pummel until they’re down. Tyler leapt off stage taking the cardio dance to the photo pit, getting in the crowds face, frantic in performance possession, trapped in a spiritual shaman war dance, sweating/screaming out his demons with every head-bang and growl.

Gorguts made their Columbus return, in much nicer weather, bringing their set to a mesmerized crowd in awe of Tibet’s heavy history. Starting with the fast-slow mix of pulverizing guitar work/drums and haunting interludes of Le Toit Du Monde, the highest level on the planet is the home to many sights, stories and mysteries. An Ocean of Wisdom wastes no time ramming its guitar necks down your throat viciously with no apologies, removing at two minutes, slowing down the tempo before reinsertion. Even in death the 13th Dalai Lama gave clues pointing to his successor. Forgotten Arrows, inspired by the words of Buddhist Monk Matthieu Ricard, makes a melodic death metal tune sound as happy as it can be. Title track Colored Sands aka the wheel of time, gives peace and healing to all things starting with its single, simplistic, alluring but foreboding plucked notes turning up the charged tempo with some addictive body moving chug. The heavy metallic voice of ancient wisdom churned and shredded out of a guitar. They finished with the guitar screeching, wrapped around your neck screaming and squeezing title track from their ground breaking record, Obscura. Beautifully grim guitar notes tapped into your head like an automatic staple gun. Luc Lemay gave a shout out to everyone he saw back in December.

The Black Dahlia Murder (photo by Mike Ritchie)

Black Dahlia Murder starts with a signed sealed and delivered screaming sadistic apology/confession of the unknown sadist who took the young starlet, giving her immortality through death becoming a true crime legend. In Hell She Waits for You, with a sawed off torso and some mean karma. We go to commit our own atrocities, feeding the nocturnal beast within as we look up, teeth sharpen, eyes turn to dark scarlet rage and hairs rise up as the Lycan bloodlust takes over, reflecting the glow of the Moonlight Equilibrium. Now a salty sea’s tale from the Everblack, told by the battle worn, rusted vessel of the damned, hunted by its bloody history. God seemed to be MIA tonight, as our Beloved Absentee searches for a reason for our worship and penitence. A war torn case of historical Statutory Ape, leaves a world’s dignity destroyed and violated from the horrors of war to the horrors of 1980’s comic book adaptations of terror. Meteors bring the green along with beasts in crates and cheating spouses on a day at the beach. Mankind’s karmatic destruction comes with insatiable appetite, a sick and twisted dismembering fetish of pain giving pleasure. What part of you don’t you like? Most of what moves, Phantom Limb Masturbation, climax at separation.

What a Horrible Night to be among the cursed walking dead, conjured back to un-life by the dark one, cannibalizing the living, swallowing souls for the grave. I Will Return, from this ice cubed crypt, a cryonically frozen man.

Splatter death metal, gore-grind, pioneers of melodic death metal, whatever toe tag you want to hang Carcass is the autopsy room’s house band and metal masters of the morgue churning out a gross use of lyrical misconduct and bringing noises out of guitars that bring back the dead. A career made from sick symphonies, necromancy and art collages of death.

Carcass (photo by MIke Ritchie)

The howling guitars of their birth year, 1985 sang out from the autopsy slab as they appeared ready to perform non-anesthetic open heart-work on anyone ready and willing. The spinal-connected hands of peace opened and Buried Dreams began…welcome! It’s been a long time Columbus! Are you ready to rock? When Jeff Walker says it, it’s not a cliché, it means you’re about to get your innards scrambled. Walker’s cheery opening belies the dark macabre manifesto of twisted talent buried inside the devils delivery with humor in a British accent, as dual video screens broadcast the evening’s voyeur visage. They pull out the wrapped plastic (decades before Dexter) and body bags early with Incarnate Solvent Abuse. We got the night’s first taste of the newest tools of the trade with a Congealed Clot of Blood frozen on the Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System, causalities of the blood lust and pink mist. Time to estimate the rotting layers then mass calculate the body stock pile on Carnal Forge.

We take another un-sanitized stab into cold flesh with Surgical Steel on Noncompliance then continue the heart games without emotion on No Love Lost. Walker throws a few bottles of clear liquid embalming fluid from the tap to the crowd. ‘Don’t throw them back or we’ll see you’. We enter the Dark Granulating human churning machine with its Satanic charm and numeral mystery. A three era dose of heavy ether was next starting with a fresh mourning cup of Wake Up and Smell the Carcass with the slow bluesy grind of Edge of Darkness. The frantic beat and guitars crunching bone on This Mortal Coil and the air tight sealed winds of ancient death blow within masking the dead’s ancient whispers as they Reek of Putrefaction trapped in a permanent death/murder montage.

In true British humor, Carcass style, Walker mentions one of their guitarists is legitimately quite ill, but he’s a trooper this evening. ‘It’d be cooler if he threw up on stage, it’d have much more appeal.’

It’s, Unfit for Human Consumption; indeed, even for a cannibal’s holocaust or a grave-robber’s Gein, a creepy closed-door craving left off the coroner’s report. Walker joked that anyone who’d never seen them might think all the songs are on the new record, or maybe this one’s from 1987. They crank out the uncomfortable instrumental Genital Grinder then feast on the Pyosisified rotting remains, a meal too vile for even Hannibal to digest.

Walker also mentioned, tongue in cheek, that during their ‘secret recording sessions’ for the comeback Black Dahlia Murder tried to steal their drummer but Jeff put his foot down pointing ‘No no, girlfriend.’

It’s the graveyard dinner bell and the dead are spoiled but ready for the feast. Exhume to Consume is on the menu, way past expiration is how they’ll have you. Captive Bolt Pistol’s a trigger stop to the working mind. Corporal Jigsore Quandary, a mutilated, massacre of human debris, the rotting anatomical puzzle sewn back in piece.

They go ‘a bit’ more commercial as Walker announces some tunes from the Swansong era asking that all doors be closed and locked so no one can run and leave. We Keep on Rotting in the Free World under that bright shining Black Star. Ruptured in Purulence is our final tale of sickness before the crowd pleasing works of art are painted black in magniloquence ending with a taste of the Carneous Cacoffiny.

All images by Mike Ritchie

Black Dahlia Murder Setlist courtesy of Kelli Malella and Max Mobarry of Crucifixation

Dear Dr. Hip Hop

April 24, 2014 By Nikki Nett Leave a Comment

The Dayton Human Relations Council, Wright State University’s Bolinga Black Cultural Resources Center, the Community Initiative to Reduce Gun Violence (CIRGV), and the Community Police Council (CPC) are partnering to host the 2014 Dear Dr. Hip-Hop: Speak Be Heard Be Considered, a venue serving as the conduit for conversation and empowerment; using hip-hop as a tool to urge a more active community response in speaking out against gun violence, cultivating young adult community engagement, and encouraging leadership and responsibility in a creative hip-hop culture. The three-day event will take place April 24-26, 2014 in several locations throughout the Dayton community.

This collaborative initiative will feature a screening of a locally produced short documentary on gun violence, a youth empowerment lecture and lunch, a high school spoken word grand slam competition, a panel discussion featuring a national hip-hop artist and community activists, and a hip hop tribute.

As part of an ongoing strategy to improve community relations and citizen engagement in the Dayton area, the City of Dayton Human Relations Council held the first of many Speak. Be Heard. Be Considered events in Spring of 2011, a series of discussion forums designed to improve police/community relations and identify effective strategies to reduce crime and disorder. Feedback from this event and recent data indicates that young adults ages 18-35 are the most dissatisfied with community relations in the Dayton area. As a result,innovative follow-up events have been designed to engage this population.

Silent Lions: Setting Themselves Up To Roar In Dayton

April 22, 2014 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

“We have a little cabin fever up here [laughs],”explained Silent Lions drummer Matt Klein during a recent phone conversation. Klein, along with his bandmate Dean Tartaglia, resides a little over two hours away from the friendly borders of Dayton in the beautiful city of Toledo. Just like pretty much everywhere in the Midwest, Toledo is just now coming out of one of the worst winter seasons that has ever occurred. The record low temperatures and the significant amount of snow that accumulated during the beginning of the year forced a lot of folks to stay indoors. Spring is now upon us, and that means that folks, including Klein and Tartaglia, are able to get back out on the road and start touring again. Silent Lions will be stopping by Dayton on Wednesday at Hole In The Wall, which is located on East Fifth Street. “We have been itching to get back out and tour.”

The music scene in Toledo, much like the one in Dayton, features a wide assortment of great musicians. It’s how Klein and Tartaglia formed their bond. “We would see each other around gigs, and we just thought that it would be cool to do something together.” The bands they were previously a part of never seriously made music a focus, so the duo pairing up came naturally. Klein and Tartaglia started branching outside of their comfort zone in Toledo music landscape, and began spending a lot of time in the Detroit area. Although Klein and Tartaglia still call Toledo their home, going somewhere different and new was needed. “Detroit gives us some many more opportunities for experimentation. It fuels our creative sides.”

Establishing their footing in the Motor City, Silent Lions met with Zach Shipps. To many, Shipps is known for his time in the Detroit-based rock band Electric Six. Electric Six, known by many for their single “Danger! High Voltage,” infused elements of disco, punk rock, new wave, and metal into their music. Klein and Tartaglia went to Shipps’ studio to recorded and released their first EP The Parliaments in December 2012. The four song EP set the tone for where the twosome wanted to take their music. The lyrics are mostly written by Tartaglia and dance around several topics. The spooky “Terrible Days” dives into leaving before it’s too late. “Pop Rocks” features Tartaglia crooning about plotting his take over with music: “You are bumming me out/I know better than this and rock n roll is not a fad/It takes more than good luck and a well thought out financial plan you know” with a nice little hip-hop closing. Fuzzed out octave bass, sampled synths, thrashing drum play, and manipulated atmospheric vocals are highlighted throughout the EP, the staples of how Silent Lions wanted to play their music.

In May of 2013, Silent Lions released “ripe•people” during some downtime in between tour dates. The 8-plus minute song jumps all around the music spectrum. Klein begins singing in a high pitch then Tartaglia breaks in with a fast-paced riff that’s a blend of hiphop/rock. Halfway through, the band jerks the song over to a heavy-soul driven pace that continues to show their progression into nailing down their signature sound. “ripe•people” is a wild experience for listeners, and it truly will give you the clear vision on where the band was headed.

At the beginning of this year, Silent Lions released their newest EP, The Compartments. “We wanted to record again with Zach [Shipps]. He shared our vision, and we benefited a lot from him due to his experience,” explained Klein. The Compartments presents a more defined sound. Silent Lions’ time inside the Detroit music scene is noticeable when you are listening to the EP. You can hear the influence of blues and soul along with their lo-fi gritty fuzz. One great example of this is the soulful “Crash and Burn”. “Stolen In The Heat Of The Moment” is a driving force that is energetic and loud. “Runnin’ Me Down” is completely opposite – slow and spooky. The duo shows throughout the EP their evolution of being in a band together. The future of Silent Lions is really going to be fun to watch. Klein echoed those same feelings. “We haven’t been a band for real long. We are still learning from one another, and we can’t wait to see where we go.”

A full-length LP is on Silent Lions’ radar, and they plan on having Shipps produce the album. They’ll start recording in Detroit in the summer. For now, the band is going to tour some, playing for audiences around the Midwest and Eastern seaboard. The duo are noticing that the crowds are growing and growing with each show. “We have found support and made new friends in every new city we’ve been to. It’s been really humbling”, Klein says. “It’s all about making connections.”

Silent Lions plan on releasing a music video for “Runnin’ Me Down” on YouTube. The video will feature haunting imagery comparable to the old school horror films, which are favorites for Klein and Tartaglia. To hear what many have labeled “heavy soul,” “chill punk” and “Hall and Oates backed by Rage Against The Machine,” you can go to the band’s website- http://silentlions.bandcamp.com/music. Silent Lions will be stopping by in Dayton in support of The Compartments by performing at Hole In The Wall on Wednesday night. Door open at 9. Music starts at 10.

Best thing about the show – no possibility of snow.

Buffalo Killers Kick Off DMF’s 10th Year Anniversary With Special Show

April 21, 2014 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

For the past nine years, the Dayton Music Fest has spotlighted the burgeoning music scene in Dayton, Ohio. Founded by Dan Clayton, Andy Ingram, and Shawn Johnson, the Dayton Music Fest features artists and bands from all around the area over two days in several area establishments. Within walking distance from each other, festival attendees are able to experience live, local music in ways that they never thought possible. The event also allows people who don’t come down and watch live shows often the opportunity to witness the rich musical talent that is coming out of Dayton.

Now curated by Kyle Melton and Don Thrasher, the tenth anniversary of the Dayton Music Fest will undoubtedly be one of the best yet. For starters, the DMF organizers, along with David C. Obenour and Ghettoblaster Magazine, will be having their kickoff event this Friday night at Christ Episcopal Church in downtown Dayton (20 West First Street). The kickoff event will feature Dayton’s/Cincinnati’s own Buffalo Killers.

Lead by songwriting brothers Zachary and Andrew Gabbard, along with Joseph Sebaali and Sven Kahns, Buffalo Killers have drawn the attention of the likes of The Black Crowes’ own Chris Robinson and Dan Auerbach from the Black Keys. Robinson enjoyed the band so much that he even invited the Buffalo Killers to open a string of dates. The band’s previous albums, Buffalo Killers (2006), Let It Ride (2008), 3 (2011), Dig. Sow. Love. Grow. (2012), Ohio Grass (2013) present signature hook heavy homegrown rock n roll play with an undeniable Southern psychedelic tone.

Buffalo Killers have recently released their fifth studio album, Heavy Reverie this month via Sun Pedal Recordings. Heavy Reverie was recorded in Cleveland, OH at Crushtone Studios with producer Jim Wirt (Incubus, Fiona Apple). The show on Friday will feature a backing choir accompanying the band for select songs, truly a once in a lifetime experience that fits perfectly into Dayton Music Fest’s vision each and every year.

Tickets are limited to 250. Advanced sales are available through Monday at: http://daytonmusicfest.bandcamp.com/, and additional tickets will be available at the door.

Also on the night of the show, Toxic Brew Company will be releasing the limited edition Buffalo Killer Brown Ale. The tapping will be at 5pm.

REVIEW: Shamrock Athletic Club Host Benefit for East End Community Services

March 25, 2014 By Mike Ritchie Leave a Comment

Safe, engaged neighborhoods, stable, employed families and successful youth. Those are the goals and objectives of East End Community Services, a nonprofit organization formed in 1998 to help meet the needs of people living in East Dayton. They provide programs as part of a neighborhood transformation effort to help children, teenagers, adults, and the elderly succeed in becoming successful citizens, giving back to the community. Over 20 different agencies, donors, funders and neighbors along with AmeriCorps members and other volunteers have helped achieve these goals.

On Saturday January 24th, the Shamrock Athletic Club hosted an evening of art and entertainment featuring the music of Dayton scene icons Evil Eye Gypsy and rapidly rising hometown favorites Curse of Cassandra played sets to raise community awareness for East End Services. Local artists William Green and Katherine McClelland also showcased their work which can be seen at future shows and conventions.

Curse of Cassandra (photo by Mike Ritchie)

COC opened with their renowned sound of goth, industrial, punk meets new-wave, trying out a few different versions of songs off their debut EP and a new tune, Not Your Crush. As the curse of cold bad weather, ice and snow blanketed the outside we start off hot getting slice and diced pricks by Pins and Needles. Alexas Machine starts out cuing her Lennox charm over the crowd making seductive, strong eye contact with several focused male eyes and blushing smiles. Drums and keys gave an electric stinging embrace. Cassandra’s not satisfied till we’d been Satiated as Miss Electra complexed us all with a piano played masquerade of sound-lust and fetish.

COC’s Binding for control with its Eurythemic charm and strapping satisfaction. Next is a piano played Stardance rhymed in astral alignment with a somber ending. Every Time I Feel Alone is visceral in industrial mood swings. I’m not your fairytale, not your fling, not your on-call booty and definitely Not Your Crush. The One I need and I Miss You finished the set.

Evil Eye Gypsy (photo by Mike Ritchie)

Evil Eye Gypsy started their show with a slow seven minute drive through the Mojave. The sun and temperature play tricks with the senses. It was biting cold outside but it’s always blazing in the desert. The guitar’s playing towards that stimulus, giving hallucinations of sifting through the sands with weather beaten hands with harsh thirst swept up in the mysteries of the gypsy’s allure on the wind. If the desert doesn’t kill you, the Purple Haze awaits, all around, whatever the lady of the sands did, put a spell on me. Next we rocked n rolled, drank and partied all night having a Good ole Time with the friendly Miss Neighborhood service girl.

We get some down and dirty gritty rock with All I Had to Say then despite all the world’s problems and who’s hanging out with who, there’s always a Silver Lining.

The show was a bit of an experience for the band. Their original drummer was out of commission, and their replacement had a last minute issue so Curse of Cassandra’s Wolfgang stepped in and did double duty for a few tunes. The Names of those lost are written on the wall of life as well as in our minds and memories. We get a funny little song about Love then close the show with the iconic War Pigs with Wolfgang shredding on the skins.

East End provides programs helping over 300 children and teens in afterschool activities including the Miracle Workers program, as well as support for parents and caregivers through monthly Community Family nights. East End also provides crucial support to children and adults through housing development, community building, afterschool and summer programming, educational initiatives, teen services, services for parents, single adults and seniors reaching more than 3,000 people a year. In addition, they help expecting parents with child development education and what babies, toddlers and young children need to know about kindergarten, with programs supporting them through to college.

Job assistance, readiness, interview skills, resume building and online job searching, securing housing, health care or other crucial services, are provided by bilingual and trilingual staff. 1,400 households living in Twin Towers benefit from activities that improve the quality of housing and life in our neighborhoods. They are working on a project to improve 25% of the housing stock. 40 new green, energy-efficient homes have been built in 2010 and 40 more were built in 2013. Neighbors receive training on financial literacy and a range of other topics. Cultural events and festivals reach hundreds of persons at each event.

East End is also part of the Welcome Dayton initiative and provides services to assist in the resettlement process of immigrants who’ve chosen Dayton as their home including a bilingual, English-Spanish speaking and trilingual, English, Spanish and Arabic staff-assisting those with finding the right job for their skills. East End has served an array of nationalities, including Latinos and refugees from several countries including Russia and Iraq. East End also provides critical services to the elderly to help them live in their own homes, independently as long as possible including case management, chore support and better home accessibility.

To learn more about these services, call 937-259-1898. Their work’s been recognized by: the Better Business Bureau in 2005, the Access to Justice Award from Legal Aid in 2006, the Governor’s Award from the Ohio CDC Association in 2010, the Ohio Association of Nonprofit Organizations Excellence Award in 2012 and received a national ARAMARK and the Together for Tomorrow Award from the US Department of Education and Corporation for National and Community Service in 2012.

REVIEW: Revolver’s Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock Tour Columbus

March 20, 2014 By Mike Ritchie Leave a Comment

Sick Puppies (Photo by Samantha Stewart Photography)

On Friday, February 28th, The Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock according to Revolver Magazine soared into Columbus via Columbus Events Group, the Alrosa Staff, 99.7 The Blitz, Revolver staff and The Shrunken Heads co-owner and Azoic singer Kristy Venrick with a parking lot full of people following them in. Cilver, Eyes Set to Kill, Lacuna Coil, Sick Puppies and the winner of the Facebook fan voted local opener Able Danger all played for an appreciative loud crowd. Long ago and gone are the days of women being the sexy background or provocative eye candy of the show. Despite the tours descriptive adjective, the talent, history, musicianship and stage presence that brought the ‘chicks’ here got the spotlight.

Able Danger (photo by Samantha Stewart Photography)

Dayton’s Able Danger bested 74 other bands with female members in a state wide contest with six finalists in a vote based contest on Facebook to earn the opening spot in Columbus that evening. They’re a very young group, together for only four months, but they make up for their hatchling status with a collective four year history in the Dayton scene in other bands. With former moniker Hereafter, guitarist Chris Stewart joined Jason Winner and Ben Willis with blonde mouthpiece Nikki Luttrell to form the progressive rock sound of AD. Look for their debut in April.

They start with Chaos, a dark, ambiance tune with cranky, growling monster in the closet guitars adding Luttrell’s classic keyboard notes and emotional, melancholy and somewhat creepy vocals sporting the inherited talents of mom and dad. Think the dark side of Roxette and a classical gothic Sheryl Crow. Stewart, a guitarist since age five, comes from a musical family. There’s a certain amount of pain and sorrow in Luttrell’s voice which she blends beautifully with power and emotional confidence.

New York’s Cilver, formally Me Talk Pretty, starts the tour with songs from their just released debut EP featuring In My Head with an appearance by GNR guitarist Bumblefoot. Lyrically it’s a sarcastic, hard-driving satirical look at fame and fortune and feeling the pressure for success. Loud voiced leather clad and tasseled singer, Romanian born Uliana Preotu took over the stage with rasp and attitude. Shimmying out of her jacket into blacker attire, she’s reminiscent of Flo with a more ‘progressive’ harder edge. The crowd claps along feeling the bass thump in their hearts. They have some of the glitter, dirt and grime that Guns n Roses made shine in their early years, and they’re taking their gutter dreams to the penthouse.

Eyes Set To Kill (Photo by Samantha Stewart Photography)

Started in Phoenix in 2003 by the Rodriguez sisters (Alexia on vocals, guitar and Anissa on bass), Eyes Set to Kill have been on the cover of USA Today as one of Alternative Press Magazine’s “100 Bands You Need To Know.” Through numerous member changes, their debut EP sold 11,000 units. Their first full length, Reach in 2008, hit No. 29 on Billboards Heatseakers chart and No. 77 on Billboards Independent Music charts. The World Outside came in 2009 along with an acoustic EP by Alexia, then Broken Frames in 2010. Alexia also released her first solo record Underground Sounds. They released White Lotus in 2011 in a joint venture with Maphia Entertainment on their own label Forsee Records; then signed with Century Media Records in 2012 currently supporting Masks.

They blast open the metal doors pounding the stage with feminine aggression and sound opening with the creepy baby-doll coo of Masks into the thud pummeler Killing in Your Name. Playing the Alrosa a few years back, Anissa plays chug bass bouncer Where I Want to Be. Alexia’s vocals are powerful, soulful with a nice amount of aggression and high peaks, an addictive mix of Crucified Barbara, Drain STH and Lita Ford.

Masks’ title comes from the number they had to wear to impress different people and after so many changes they’ve finally found their face, without the masks. Haze and another new tune Little Liar deals with doing bad shit and karma, it always comes back around. Alexia’s delivery and performance shows there’s some bubblegum in the bad girl. They end, infecting us all with the horror of Silent Hill.

Lacuna Coil (Photo by Samantha Stewart Photography)

Milan’s Lacuna Coil come to us with some Dark Adrenaline and Trip the Darkness with the crowd eager to oblige Cristina’s singing, come to me and follow me, follow me. Our second helping of dark energy comes to Kill the Light inside of us. Cristina Scabbia, dressed in bad fairly-tale stepmother black, twirled, dancing the stage, engaging the masses acting out each song with an enticing grim smile and her own touch of evil evanescence. She seduced all with her enticing aura and piercing gilded glance. Lacuna’s male voice, Andrea Ferro, equally plays the mysterious warlock spellbinder.

Scabbia, a professional singer since 1991, is a lyricist and the feminine voice of reason and advice in Revolver Magazine. She’s been featured on Megadeth’s A Tout le Monde and Apocalyptica’s S.O.S. (Anything But Love) and an alternate version of Alter Bridge’s Watch Over You. Known for her dark haunting image and range, her highest note ever hit is said to be an A7. Scabbia performed a duet with Linea 77’s former singer Emiliano Audisio on the track “Beautiful Lie” for the soundtrack of the 2013 Italian film Passione Sinistra. She’s recorded seven records and two EP’s with LC.

We’re intoxicated in their presence. Whatever the Karmacode might be, we’re happy with our Fragments of Faith. Scabbia continues her interaction as our beloved wicked queen offers the musical poisoned apple to devour. The first new track from Broken Crown Halo, Die & Rise tells us to do so with no regrets. Shiny gothic power continues to flow into tomorrow if it comes. We’re Spellbound with a taste of the Shallow Life. They’re living the dark side Upside Down and laughing at their disaster. We get hallo’ed again with Nothing Stands in our Way, a message to go after your dreams no matter what. They end giving everyone good karma from theirs to Our Truth.

Sick Puppies (Samantha Stewart Photography)

Not all Aussies are sick puppies but fortunately for us, we get three that are. The Sick Puppies open with Die to Save You off the new CD. Half-way through we’re introduced to the angelic vocals of bassist/co-founder Emma Anzai. “You ready for this rock n roll show?” yells Shimon Moore. We’re all just walking Cancer, dressed up as life, searching for disaster, says their sophomore chapter of tunes. There’s no Going Back cause the past is in the past and it doesn’t last. Leave the memories behind like a desert illusion. The devil’s up to his old tricks already, and we’re only four songs in. He’s definitely an Odd One and Tri-Polar at that, adding a bit of rage to his pocket full of shells. Everyone’s got their own personal Riptide to ride and the water’s turbulent but fine. The next song went out to all the people back home from the teachers to the other kids that disrespected them and said they couldn’t do it. Now they send those people pics and texts of them rocking around the world. Welcome to My World, my beautiful nightmare and personal hell, they’re always Dressed Up as Life.

From the devil, to a darkened life we get an uplifting tale of the road to a new life on Maybe. Your Pitiful life’s worth more than an overdose because you think Nothing Really Matters. Welcome to the Real World as Anzai the ‘Female Flea’ slaps and chisels the bass out of her onstage dance partner both in performance and her funky solo. Drummer Mark Goodwin also gets to shine on the sticks. It’s time for War as Moore instructed the crowd to put hands on the person in front of you, friend or stranger and start the biggest bounce pit in Columbus history. Jump up and down like you just got electrocuted by Blanka. From the mean streets of the fighting pits to the dusty old west, you never bring a knife to a Gunfight, you’ll lose! When they’re not shooting off or standing in front of tanks, they’re fighting or playing with Foo. ‘You have exactly 3 ½ minutes to go absolutely crazy in the pit.’ They end with their battle cry and You’re Going Down!

Images courtesy of Samantha Stewart Photography

‘Queens Of The Scene’ Showcasing Local Music Scene To The World

March 12, 2014 By Dayton Most Metro 2 Comments

The Professors ontsage circa 2005 (photo by Juliet Fromholt)

Gretchen Kelly begins with the story of one of the most wild and exciting nights that she’s been a part of as a show booker for the Oregon Express. She goes in depth about the Saturday night when local band The Professors took the stage. The Professors are a fuzz-inspired, psychedelic rock band that featured heavy riffs and 1960s style songwriting. Their style of music made them a big draw and would capture the audience’s attention anywhere they would perform. The Professors were more than just a band that would come and play music; they became one of the premiere acts in town. The band decided that it needed to take a break, and after 14 months they decided to return to playing live. The band came to Kelly one night and expressed their interest in coming out of their hibernation and playing at Oregon Express. The show would be the very first the band would play after their hiatus. Kelly jumped on the opportunity and agreed to book the gig.

A typical live music show goes as follows- crowd will show up and grab a seat in the viewing area where the show takes place. The staff quickly serves everyone without really having any issues throughout the duration of the show. Number of people will roam around, back and forth between the two sections of the bar. At the end of the night, everyone walks away completely satisfied. A pretty typical night at any venue.

But you never know how the evening is going to go. The night that Kelly talks about was a night that the script was changed. It’s the nature of the beast when it comes to setting up live shows. Before the night of the show, Kelly warned the staff that because of the popularity of The Professors there will be a need of additional help that night. As the night came, one of the staff called off due to illness. Being short staffed seemed okay at first due to the low volume at the start. Then out of nowhere, the crowd came in large numbers. The bar was difficult to move around as soon as everyone came in. Kelly goes on to end the story explaining that this was the second biggest night of door money that she ever obtained, right behind the CD release of another Dayton local band The Rebel Set’s Ghost Town Silence. After her story wrapped up, Kelly proceeded to fire up The Professors song ‘Pay the Price’.

Kelly, along with Emily Wegh, hosts a weekly show called Queens of the Scene on RadioPureGently.com. Radio Pure Gently is an internet radio station that has been in production for a couple of years now, and is still growing. The website began when Rob Puricelli was doing an internet radio show in 2010. Puricelli was producing his own show on a community based station Radio Thetford. The show was based in his home country in England and it focused on independent music. Unfortunately, Puricelli couldn’t continue the show due to his employment changing and other commitments.

Four dedicated listeners of Puricelli’s show felt that there was a void afterwards. After getting together and doing some talking, they decided that they would set up their own radio station together. On August 16^th, 2012, Rohan Tarry (Bristol, UK), Larry Lang (Dayton, OH), Chris Duff (The Midlands, UK), and Micky Dodds (Armagh, UK) each did a half hour set, and would have their shows broadcast every Thursday at 7pm (UK time). The four men would call their project Radio Pure Gently because Tarry thought that it sound very similar to Puricelli. On August 16^th, 2012, the first show went live. In 2013 Terry passed on his slot to Matt Clayton, who resides in Sellersburg, Indiana. In the summer of 2013, RadioPureGently.com was launched, and the focus turned to promoting and introducing new bands, artists, and musicians.

Kelly has been part of the scene in Dayton for many years. She started waiting tables and helping out the bands that played at Oregon Express. In 2007, the folks that were setting up the shows decided to step down and recommended Kelly to take over.

“I had no experience in booking bands”, Kelly said during our conversations. “However, I knew that I could be good at it, and I developed a system that worked.”

Kelly would book one band for Saturday nights, and have them bring in any 2 bands that they wanted. By coordinating shows this way, Kelly gives the bands all the control of door sales and how it trickles down. It also is a wonderful opportunity for the band that was originally booked to have another band come in and play. In 2009, Kelly decided to step down as booker. She returned to the position after the owner of Oregon Express called her up and asked her to come back. “I am so very glad the owner called, because I missed being a part of the Dayton Music Scene. It’s where my heart is.”

For Emily Wegh, home is a little farther away. Born and raised in the outer parts of Chicago, Wegh decided to study marketing at the University of Dayton. Wegh loved the campus and the friendly atmosphere, but what really drove her were the opportunities for community involvement. Currently, Wegh works in the UD dining services on campus, where she met Kelly. The two quickly bonded over the local music scene, along with independent music. “She eventually ended up asking me if I would be interested in doing a radio show with her and the RPG guys,”Wegh explained. Being part of the show, along with her majoring in marketing, has also given her another job. “As soon as the guys found out that I’m a marketing major, I was promoted to heading up our marketing campaign.”

Queens of the Scene, which debuted on January 21, 2014, is a two hour show broken up into two parts: one hour features Kelly, and the other hour features Wegh. Kelly dives into more of the music that is being played and produced in the Dayton scene. The New Old-Fashioned, Motel Beds, Shrug, SOHIO are among some of the local bands that Kelly presents on her segment. Wegh explores other independent artists in her hour’s segment. She also dives into how the songs and/or artists she has played as impacted her. On the Valentine’s Day show, Wegh jokingly played music about love and heartbreak. Both hours are full of great music, both local and from around the world. Each week, both ladies record their vocals and insert the music into the recording software program REAPER. With the vocals and music in place, the ladies will then transfer it to Micky Dodds. The original idea was for both Wegh and Kelly to produce the show together. Unfortunately it hasn’t been able to happen due to the schedules. Kelly and Wegh do plan to eventually have them both do the show together instead broken into two segments.

The road is paved for Radio Pure Gently to really make a splash, especially over the pond, Kelly explains. “I was talking to my friend in who lives in London, Shamus Dark, who is a jazz singer. We were talking about how RPG will be adding more programing and he message me something that I though was interesting. The live music scene is slowly dying in the UK. There was a program on BBC about all the small venues that have closed in the last few years. They’re called ‘toilet venues’ because they’re so small, but it’s where Oasis, Manic Street preachers, Pulp and many others started out. It’s all very worrying. He thinks RPG and others like it can help save the real music versus the television talent shows.”

The shows on the website are constantly working on improving not only their sound, but also their content. Independent artist and bands all over the world are being able to have their music played. Listeners can go to this website RadioPureGently.com, or they can click on to http://mixlr.com/radio-pure-gently/chat.

For Kelly, Wegh, and everyone involved with Radio Pure Gently, the experience of being a part of the website is thrilling. “It’s especially exciting for me to be working on something like this because it’s so diverse and international. It has been a terrific and one of a kind experience for me so far, and I’m really stoked to see where it continues going,” Wegh said.

Kelly added, “We all love doing this. It’s like having a bunch of new brothers.”

Queens of the Scene is broadcast every Tuesday afternoon at 2pm when you can also hear more stories just like the one about Kelly’s wild and magical Saturday night with The Professors, and of course more music.