Author Archives: Matheson Kamin

In Concert: Lower 13

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The Cleveland Music Festival just finished up for 2011. During the festival sixty-five Rock and/or Heavy Metal bands were given the chance to perform for the festivalgoers in attendance. It was during the festival that I was able to check out a band that I was actually going to be writing about. That band was Lower 13.

Lower 13 is a Heavy Metal band that makes its home in Parma, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland). The band is made up of Patrick Capretta on guitar/vocals, Sean Balog on bass/vocals and Eric Kruger on drums. This trio of young musicians creates a heavy metal sound that is in the classic style of bands like Metallica (no Rap-Metal here). It is this classic Heavy Metal style that helped push Lower 13 into the final rounds of the High School Rock-Off here in Greater Cleveland several times, so it seems that their music really does register with
people who hear it. That was very apparent on Saturday Night’s performance
during the 2011 Cleveland Music Festival.

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CD Review: Bill Toms “Memphis”

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During his time as a musician, Bill Toms experienced a lot, including working with the one and only Bruce Springsteen. It was “The Boss” who helped produce an album for Toms’ former band, The Houserockers. As a solo artist, Bill Toms has been making a name for himself, thanks in part to his 2010 album, Live at Moondogs: Another Moonlight Mystery.

Bill Toms recently travelled from his home in Pittsburgh to Nashville to put the finishing touches on a new release. That album, 2011’s Memphis, is a solid effort and is varied enough to keep the listener anticipating the next track thanks to the creative energy that flows through the tracks that make up the album. Continue reading →

CD Review: Son of the Sun “Almost Not There”

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Having just listened to the newest CD from the band Son of the Sun
entitled Almost Not There, I cannot believe that I’ve never heard of
this band earlier. As it stands, I have become a fan of both the band and their
music. With how strong this release is, I just wish that the Almost Not There CD had more than just six songs.

Son of the Sun is a band that contains five talented musicians, each of which
help to create the band’s original and creative garage rock music. The band
consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Zak Ward, guitarist/keyboardist Joseph
Stocker, guitarist Jeremy Franklin, Steve Matthews on bass and drummer Brandon
Delmont. It is this group of musicians that make Almost Not There sound
as good as it does.

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CD Review: The Evolution Control Committee “All Rights Reserved”

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Once upon a time in the music industry, there used to be something called the
“novelty album,” a release that contained something unique or unusual that
would be outside of “the norm”. Whether it was an album of music from another
country recorded in another language, someone making a demonstration that could be described without the need for visual examples, or simply humorous music that would not fit into the “pop” category, the “novelty album” was always
strange or unique. This is one category that seems to have all but disappeared from today’s music industry…….well, maybe not entirely. Continue reading →

CD Review: Mother Mother “Eureka”

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While the Vancouver-based rock band Mother Mother has been around since 2005, many people outside of Canada may not know the band or their music. While Mother Mother formed when Ryan Guldemond and his sister Molly joined together with Debra-Jean Creelman to play Ryan’s music live in concert, the band now consists of Ryan on vocals and guitar, Molly on vocals and keyboards, Jasmin Parkin on keyboard and vocals, Jeremy Page on bass and Ali Siadat on drums. The band’s name of Mother Mother was decided on by the group to alleviate the confusion as to what the original band name of “Mother” meant. Since forming, the band has released three albums: 2007’s Touch Up, 2008’s O My Heart, and the band’s newest release, 2011’s Eureka.

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CD Review: Bethesda “Dreamtiger & Other Tails”

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 The Greater Cleveland, OH band Bethesda is known for their blending of sounds and styles in their music. Part folk, part indie, part pop, Bethesda takes these genres and blends them together to create a sound that is modern, retro, artsy, and altogether beautiful all at once.

The band’s sound is made possible with the help of the members of the group.
Together, they are: Shanna Delaney on vocals and bells, Eric Ling on rhythm
guitar, vocals, bells, horns and keys, Jesse Sloan on lead guitar, vocals, bells and keys, Justin Rife on drums and percussion, Dan Corby on bass, and Estee Beasley on violin. The unusual instruments of bells, horns and violin used by the band help create a sound that is very unique and creative. And then, there are Shanna Delaney’s vocals: She has a voice that sounds like it came from a time gone by. Her voice could easily remind you of female vocalists who would have recorded with bands and band leaders back in the Big Band era. The clear quality of Delaney’s voice really helps enforce the power of the lyrics to the band’s songs. Together with Delaney’s voice, the band’s sound is definitely like nothing you’ve come across before.

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In Concert: The Uncanny and others Play Cleveland

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On September 17th, 2011, a concert was held in Cleveland, Ohio at the music venue Wilbert’s Food & Music that featured several musical acts that each had something unique and/or unusual to offer the audience in attendance. The concert featured four musical acts, which included The Uncanny, Twelve on the High and Mutts. One other act participated, though I missed them due to time restraints. The three acts mentioned, however, were all good and talented bands that gave very energetic performances and made for a very enjoyable event.

The first band on the roster was Twelve on the High. The Brunswick, OH band is
a trio made up of Zach Griffin on lead vocals and guitar, Nick Harley on bass
and Ben Taylor on drums. The trio started off the night with great modern rock
music.

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Cleveland Says Goodbye to Jane Scott, Music Journalist

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On July 4, 2011, Cleveland, if not the whole music world, lost a very important part to it. One of the most recognizable and influential personalities in media lost her battle with time. On that very special day when all Americans celebrated their independence, we lost Jane Scott at the age of 92.

You may not have known her by name, but you most definitely had to have run into her once in a while if you took in concerts around Cleveland on a regular basis. No matter how old you are, you had to have crossed paths with Plain Dealer Rock Journalist Jane Scott at any of the concert venues around town while going to concerts of famous bands that have sold millions of albums or even bands that were just getting started.

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CD Review: Voice of Addiction “Reduce, Reuse, Resist”

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Ian Tomele grew up being exposed to the classic punk sounds of Dead Kennedys, Sex Pistols and many other influential bands. It should come as no surprise, then, that Tomele would go on to create his own band, a modern punk/rock band called Voice of Addiction.

Earlier this summer, Voice of Addiction went on a mini-tour to release their fourth album entitled Reduce, Reuse, Resist. This 13-song release contains great punk/rock music. Voice of Addiction is composed of not only singer/bassist Ian Tomele, but also guitarist/singer Jeff Walschon and drummer Andy Petty. This trio creates music that could easily categorize as “rock,” even though there are plenty of punk influences in both the music and the lyrics of their songs. The overall rock feeling that exists throughout the music creates music that still has the attitude, but also contains plenty of creativity in the songs. And the band also includes some ska influences into their sound, as well. This gives the music from Voice of Addiction’s music a lot of depth to it.

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CD Review: Chris Allen “Acetate”

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Every city has their version of the singer-songwriter that should be bigger than they are. In Cleveland, we call this singer-songwriter Chris Allen. This musician who has made a lot of music history in the city of Cleveland, whether he is backing up some of Cleveland’s other talented musicians or playing his own library of music with his band The Guilty Hearts. In 2010, Chris Allen added to his catalog of albums with his newest release, Acetate. Continue reading →