Local artists — and indie venues — found ways to survive, and even thrive

BY BRENT STROUD

Alittle over three years out from the start of the world-halting global pandemic that led to a seemingly ever-extending period of uncertainty, local venues and musicians recall their experience.

Facing down uncertainty

The Cincinnati music community has been a constantly developing and largely thriving group of creative circles influencing each other — and at times, even the world — for decades. The city is filled with bands, singers, rappers and musicians from all walks of life creating and entertaining in bars, venues and clubs nightly.

That came to an abrupt stop in March 2020.

Northside Tavern owner Ed Rush tells CityBeat how it felt in the beginning. It was becoming obvious that COVID19 would be a national issue, but, as Rush says, “No one really expected how wide-ranging the outcome would be.” He recalls the last days of being open before the statewide shutdown: “We were open, but people were getting scared, and then we had to absolutely close at 9 p.m. March 15, 2020.”

MOTR Pub and Woodward Theater co-owner and proprietor Chris Schadler tells CityBeat, “We closed down March 2020, so it was like ‘OK, let’s see what happens,’ and things just got worse and worse and worse.” After ten full months with the doors closed, Schadler says he began to really feel the uncertainty when they reached the point where they had to start getting rid of expired food and drink inventory. “The possibility crossed my mind that we would not reopen again.”

The sudden stop was no less jarring for artists. Siri Imani, a local hip hop artist, poet and community organizer, spoke with CityBeat about her experience in that first year. “It was a rough time spiritually and financially,” she said. “Everyone was disconnected and it really didn’t seem it would ever end.”

Drummer Rob Stamler of local acts such as The Harlequins, Grotesque Brooms and Ernie Johnson from Detroit also felt the abrupt change.

“My favorite aspect of music is playing live and going to see live music,” Stamler said. “With that being said, I was super depressed that none of these things were going to happen for a while… Honestly, it was brutal. I had some really pivotal musical opportunities that were going to take shape in the summer and fall of 2020 but were obliterated by the virus.”

Peyton Copes, a Cincinnati-based tour manager for artists including Waxahatchee, was on the road when he said he got a call from a Live Nation representative saying that shows would be canceled that day and for the next five days. That, of course, turned into the rest of the year. Copes says he didn’t get back on the road until August of 2021.

On the other hand, the pandemic offered some musicians a reset. Vacation frontman Jerome Westerkamp says things shut down after the band’s tour ended on March 7. With his newfound free time, he settled into producing music for himself and others at his recording studio, Checkered Flag.

“I remember thinking, ‘Finally, this feels like the job I want to be doing — wait a minute, why can’t this be my job?’” He went on to complete three records during the height of the pandemic in 2020. “The music and creativity only blossomed during this time period, and I’ve tried to keep that freight train running ever since,” Westerkamp said.

Singer-songwriter Mol Sullivan also used the height of the pandemic to refocus her priorities.

“I figured if it wasn’t an option to be actively pursuing music, I could at least start chipping away at some deeply settled insecurities so that I would be ready to hit the ground running as my most confident self when the world opened back up,” Sullivan said.

Cincinnati transplant Sam Richardson said the pandemic forced him into a “sink or swim type moment” when his unemployment initially didn’t get approved and he made the move to turn his then-hobby label, Feel It Records, into a full-time operation.

The pandemic also brought a handful of new bands. Singer-guitarist Will Ross says that though it wasn’t apparent at first, “having all the time in the world to just practice away was a blessing.” He recalls writing around 50 new songs over the pandemic. “I got a chance to just reimagine what kind of music I could make, and think it really paid off.”

It seems it has, as Ross’ post-pandemic band Willie and the Cigs has emerged as one of the city’s most sought-after acts coming out of the first year of the pandemic, along with peers such as Spoils, TV Art and CLEÖCRT among others.

Finding alternatives to connection and expression

Both venues and artists found ways to keep moving forward and try to come out the other side of the pandemic intact. One integral part of this for venues was government assistance offering much needed lifelines to help keep venues from disappearing from the cultural landscape — in some cases, by way of grassroots organizing.

NIVA (National Independent Venue Association) was formed by a group of industry members who were largely responsible for advocating for the Save Our Stages Act, now known as the Shuttered Venues Operators Grant Program (SVOG). The program earned approval and became the largest U.S. federal investment in the arts, allocating $16 billion in funds administered by the SBA (Small Business Administration) to preserve arts organizations, including venues. Schadler likened the SBA’s help to a jumpstart.

Through all of this, with doors literally shuttered in some instances, things felt increasingly uncertain. Musicians and audiences alike had a need for distraction and continued creativity. DIY instincts kicked in and a handful of forward-thinking individuals helped get things moving again, at least a little bit.

It was during this time that the music community went online, outdoors and underground. Steve Schmoll, owner of West Side record store and venue Black Plastic, used equipment he had from doing live sound and bought webcams to broadcast live streamed performances from the shop starting in June of 2020, when bands and audiences had no outlet for live music. “We got a lot of positive feedback. The song would end and there is silence, but you look at the Facebook feed and see that 100 people are watching, and that is the applause.”

In Northside, Liz and Josiah Wolf opened their home to musicians and audiences in August 2020. They called it Hexagon House, and at the now defunct personal residence/venue, musicians would perform from the home’s stylishly decorated deck to an audience spread across the back lawn.

The DIY ethos took a similar path at Lambda Research, an artist collective, studio and gallery where organizers Blake Lipper and Drew Christman explain they realized the potential of the space they had occupied with friends and fellow artists through the worst of the pandemic. To help preserve a place for independent, underground culture, they added “music venue” to the space’s list of purposes as things started loosening up in the early winter of 2021.

Reopening

Just like a ghost light on a theater stage always staying lit, Cincinnati venues held on and, luckily, never fully went dark. On May 21, 2020, Ohio allowed venues to reopen. Kentucky soon followed, allowing music venues to host limitedcapacity shows beginning June 29. canceling bookings from local and touring bands.

Northside Tavern reopened on a Tuesday after Memorial Day weekend. Rush says they had to close no later than 10 p.m. until February of 2021, so the bar didn’t have live music until that spring. Woodward Theater opened for private events in spring 2021 and they held off for the smaller, MOTR Pub until June of that same year.

Other CDC guidelines and reopening orders required venues to follow protocols such as maintaining distance between both employees and patrons and using physical barriers when distancing wasn’t possible, as well as encouraging surface cleaning, masking and hand cleanliness, among others.

Jessica Rusch, a longtime bartender at Junker’s Tavern, tells CityBeat about throwing out the compact bar’s booths in place of much smaller tables to make space, in addition to the plastic barriers

Reopening was by no means without hiccups. The celebration was cut short briefly for MOTR Pub when someone contracted COVID-19 from a wedding held at the Woodward within the first few months of hosting live performances again, and they had to shut down, following CDC guidelines, for two weeks, and hand sanitizer that became a regular sight at the beginning of the reopening phase of the pandemic.

In addition to health concerns, the reopening process wasn’t without its own set of obstacles. Supply chain issues were an after-effect felt by many. Staffers at Somerset and Alice have a unique perspective, having opened during the pandemic. Creative director and partner James Fisher tells CityBeat about the many delays and setbacks the Lost Hospitality group, which owns both Somerset and Alice, experienced preparing to open during a global pandemic that were even more magnified since the ambitious establishments include materials sourced from all over the world. The stone used for their bar tops was delayed from Sri Lanka arriving two weeks before opening day after being stuck in the news-making Suez Canal backup in 2021. Fisher also says, “Sourcing some booze was weird, we’ve had some supply chain hiccups even this year.”

Northside Tavern’s Rush recalls “any item could be out for any number of weeks, reappear, then be unavailable again.” He adds, “Customers were, and are, very understanding about this.”

Watts says Schwartz’s Point even had to change the menu at times due to supply issues.

Rising costs was yet another obstacle. Somerset and Alice were hit hard with shipping container costs going up. Also, Fisher mentions with a laugh, “The cost of lemons goes up 300% and I need to buy 700.” Venues are dealing with these rising costs and trying to shield customers. Fisher says, “I don’t think we really passed on any price increases, we tried to keep it affordable.” Watts says the same, comparing it to a “balancing act” trying to keep prices down when costs go up.

For musicians, reopening was a breath of fresh air, returning to normal and getting back on track. Stamler talked about understanding some people’s hesitancy to return to live shows, but he was more than ready for “something normal.” As for hiccups in the process, Imani recalls, “Audiences had to relearn concert experiences, artists had to brush up on performances. And all while being anxiety ridden about catching COVID.”

Jeff Seeger, frontman of Stallone N’ Roses, remembers crowds being “so stiff” at first. “They’d get up then sit right back down,” Seeger said. “It felt like you almost had to have permission to have a good time.”

This seems to reflect in the gradual recovery experienced by venues as well. Venue owners explain that things didn’t snap right back, but recovery has been gradual. Things seem to be leveling back out, as they all seem to agree that things are getting back to normal, with business improving each year consecutively and now getting back to pre-COVID numbers.

The Queen City is getting her groove back

As the pandemic seems to have mostly drawn to a close, it looks like we’re on the other side of darker times.

“Things are basically back to normal. It’s less and less common to have to present vax cards and/or negative tests, shows are selling to full capacity, attendance rates are higher than when we were deeper in the pandemic, basically no one is wearing masks,” Copes says of the international touring scene.

Locally, they may even be better. There are a ton of new bands, singers and talent adding to the already stellar music community and lineage that helps make the city what it is. Also, in addition to not losing any venues during COVID, new venues have opened up, and with them came new opportunities.

The stage lights are warmed up, bars are restocked, venues are open for business and the varying music communities are alive and well.

“I’d say the music scene has gotten 110% stronger since the COVID experience. Folks have moved to this city from elsewhere (for the first time ever?), great bands and labels have formed, show attendances have been exceptional and people have really taken notice of music coming out of Cincinnati,” Westerkamp says. On any given night, audiences have the opportunity, once more, to experience one of the most significant parts of their city, buzzing again with life and sound.