22 minute read
Music
Photo: Big Hassle
Kitchen Dwellers
TOTALLY COSMIC
Daniel Donato and Kitchen Dwellers bring their co-headlining tour to Beachland Tavern
By Jeff Niesel
PLAYING A STYLE OF MUSIC
dubbed “galaxy grass,” Montanabased Kitchen Dwellers draw from bluegrass, folk and rock on their two studio albums — 2017’s Ghost in the Bottle and 2019’s Muir Maid. In the middle of the pandemic, they even expanded their music horizons further and delivered a 2020 EP of Pink Floyd covers entitled Reheated, Vol. 2. The group continues to explore bluegrass and folk on the just-released Wise River, a release that finds the band working with Cory Wong of Vulfpeck.
Recently, the Kitchen Dwellers teamed up with singer-songwriter Daniel Donato, a proponent of “cosmic country,” for a fall tour. Donato recorded his 2020 effort, A Young Man’s Country, at Nashville’s Sound Emporium in two days with guitar ace Robben Ford. It explores country’s psychedelic side. Last year, he issued the covers album, Cosmic Country & Western Songs.
Donato and Kitchen Dwellers’ guitarist Max Davies recently spoke in a conference call about what to expect from the live show.
Talk about when you two first met.
Davies: We knew that we wanted Daniel to come out and do some shows with us in Montana for New Year’s Eve. He came out, but, unfortunately, his band couldn’t make it because they had COVID. We were impressed that he was willing to do the show without them. The gig was at the Elks in Bozeman, and he walked in and was the coolest dude in the world. We knew he was someone we would get along with, and the whole weekend was awesome.
Donato: The Dwellers had two nights to ring in the New Year at the Elks. The Dwellers have really built up their crowd, and they have not sacrificed any of their art to become viral or do anything that would compromise what they do. When I walked into the soundcheck, I thought they were just a classic great band in the sense that they don’t take themselves too seriously, but they take the music seriously. I remember in soundcheck they were talking about a bridge, and I marveled about how great they were communicating as a band.
At what point did you guys decide to do this tour together?
Donato: I remember that when we met, [banjo player] Torrin [Daniels] told me he thought cosmic country was a similar concept to galaxy grass. When the opportunity for this elongated tour came out, it sounded like a no-brainer.
KITCHEN DWELLERS, DANIEL DONATO
8:30 P.M. FRIDAY, OCT. 7, BEACHLAND TAVERN, 15711 WATERLOO RD., 216-383-1124. TICKETS: $20, BEACHLANDBALLROOM.COM.
The Dwellers are from Montana and Daniel is from Nashville. How do you overcome those incredible cultural differences?
Donato: A lot of beef jerky, and we talk about Smith & Wesson pistols.
Davies: You’ll be surprised. We might be living in different parts of the country, but there are so many things we have in common. There are exceptions to this, but there is country rural vibe in both places. I think that’s why we both get along.
Donato: Montana has Yellowstone and Nashville has the show Nashville. We both don’t like their homogenization of culture, and we’re both equally sour in that way.
Talk about the music you first listened to while growing up.
Davies: I grew up really listening to the classics in my house. My weekend would start with four hours of nothing but the Beatles in our house growing up. That was the start of it. In high school, I got into all kinds of different music. That’s where I really started branching out. That’s when I started listening to Tony Rice and Béla Fleck. I was always into rock and jam bands and then moved to Montana and half the guys on my dorm floor would have banjos and mandolins. Every night they would sit in a circle and jam. I wanted to start a band out of that nightly tradition. That’s how I learned to craft a song and how songs are formed.
Donato: My parents aren’t intense listeners of music in the sense that they sat me down and had me listen to Abbey Road or Good Vibrations. I got into Guitar Hero when I was 12. When I was 14, I started going to Nashville and busking on the street. I got way into honky tonk and Bakersfield country and Texas country and bluegrass from Kentucky and Western swing from Texas. I was heavily immersed in it.
What will the live show be like? Do you plan to collaborate?
Davies: There will definitely be collaboration. We already started talking about it. We’re super excited and talking about things we could do every night. Having the acoustic and full band will lend itself to cool ideas.
Donato: There’s an innate level of this yin and yang. When you have that in one evening, you’re set up for something that’s very special, just on the level of physics. Both bands are highly aware of this and you’re getting something as a consumer I’ve never seen. The Dwellers take the acoustic platform and take it to the galaxy. I’m trying to get to a similar place. The beauty of live music is that you have to be there to feel it. It’s very rare in our culture right now. Our thing is that the moment is the perfect producer. We surrender ourselves to that. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime to go on the road with these guys and learn from them.
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
MUSIC
SLANDER.
DYNAMIC DUO
Slander brings its immersive live show to the Agora
By Jeff Niesel
RIGHT AROUND THE TIME
when electronic music was having a surge in popularity, Scott Land and DerekAndersen just happened to be sitting across from one another at a dance music festival in Los Angeles. After talking a bit and getting to know one another, they realized they were both students at the University of California, Irvine. The serendipitous moment led the two of them to start writing and recording music together as SLANDER.
Both Land andAndersen would attend Icon Collective College of Music, a music production school. While at the Burbank, CA-based school, they met fellow producer NGHTMRE, who worked with them on a rollicking remix of “We Like to Party” that incorporates ratcheting percussion, distorted vocals and blaring synths.
“[‘We Like to Party’] was the first song that blew up for both of us,” says Land during a recent conference call with Andersen. SLANDER performs on Thursday, Oct. 13, at the Agora Theatre. “I still remember the room in the school where we made it. That was a pivotal moment in our careers. NGHTMRE had been producing for eight years before he got to Icon. He had a ton of knowledge, and we just became best friends. We had been DJing and knew about that, and he didn’t know how to DJ at all. We swapped skills in a way. He helped us with production. We helped him on the DJing aspect. We taught him the persona of performing. That was a big part of us creating our core group. He was sharing our music, and we shared his music. We did shows together and created our own little clique. That helped us get the ball rolling and gave us a support system.”
After releasing a series of EPs and touring relentlessly, Land andAndersen started working on what would become Thrive, their first full-length. They devoted copious time to writing and recording when the pandemic shut down touring.
“Because we were DJs first, we have always changed our sound,” says Andersen when asked why it’s taken so long for the band to drop a full-length. “That’s why it was hard to make an album. We bounced around to different genres. I think in the past four or five years, we have tried all these different things and arrived at what we like making. We have these big vocals and melodic bass sound. That’s what the majority of the album is. It’s what people expect us to make. There’s industrial techno songs on there too. It’s been a long journey of all the music we’ve made in the past. That’s been our exploration. We want to find our sound and where our home is within the whole universe of music.”
The album’s theme centers on a “cosmic love story” that traces the trials and tribulations a spaceman faces as he leaves the earth because it’s dying.
“As [the spaceman is] on this journey, he’s having flashbacks of his memory of home,” says Andersen. “That’s what all the songs in the first three-fourths represent. It’s him reliving his past memories. That’s the short version of the concept.”
The group worked out of its studio in Venice, CA and recorded some of the album at home. “Halfway Down,” one of many highlights on the album, features guest singer Ashley Drake. Drake’s evocative vocals start off the track, which then segues into the kind of sonically dense electronic music for which SLANDER is known.
“We’ve been big fans of [singersongwriter] Lewis Capaldi,” says Andersen in making a point of comparison between Draker and a more popular pop singer. “We like that really raspy, extremely emotional voice. We were sent this song, and I remember hearing it and thinking this guy was a Lewis Capaldi clone but just as good. He was a super-new artist. He had only one or two other songs on his Spotify. It’s amazing to find something random like that and hear the level of talent. That’s one of my favorite songs on the album. There aren’t a lot of dance tracks with that tone of voice.”
Given thatThrive offers an immersive listening experience, it only makes sense that Andersenand Land would create an immersive live show that features contributions from the visual artist Roboto. A press release for the trek promises the band will create intoxicating “space-scapes” on stage.
“Roboto is a very high-level CGI artist,” says Andersen of the band’s frequent collaborator. “He does photography too. We’ve worked with him for seven years. He’s done our album covers and show visuals. He was a big part of the new visuals for this tour, and we’re bringing our ‘eye’ stage rig. It’s this giant diamond rhombus. Our logo is based on the evil eye symbol. When the pandemic hit, we were on a 15-city tour of major cities that got cut short. On this tour, we’ve expanded the dates and are now coming to some places we didn’t plan on coming to for a long time, including Cleveland. We couldn’t be more excited.”
SLANDER, EPTIC, WAVEDASH, REDLINE
7:30 P.M. THURSDAY, OCT. 13, AGORA THEATRE, 5000 EUCLID AVE., 216-881-2221. TICKETS: $39.50-$59.50, AGORACLEVELAND.COM.
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
MUSIC
Photo: David Kellogg
Jeremy Porter & the Tucos.
MELODY MAKERS
Michigan rockers Jeremy Porter & the Tucos kick off fall tour at Happy Dog
By Jeff Niesel
SINGER-GUITARIST JEREMY
Porter, the veteran punk/garage rocker who heads up Jeremy Porter & the Tucos, got his start at an early age. By 16, he was playing in the Regulars, a legit punk group.
“It was pretty cool,” he says of the experience via phone from his Michigan home. Jeremy Porter and the Tucos perform on Thursday, Oct. 13, at the Happy Dog. “We were in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on the shore of Lake Superior. The winters were long, and there wasn’t a whole lot to do there for kids. A friend of mine’s mom worked at a record store in Ann Arbor, so he had all the newer records by the newer bands. We dug into those and played punk rock and garage covers. We were a little ahead of our time. It was a great experience. I learned a lot, and to this day, I carry a lot of that with me.”
As much as Porter infuses his music with a punk rock ethos, he also brings something very melodic to the table. When it comes down to it, he says the Beatles, Beach Boys and Stones all influenced him as much as anything else.
“I have Black Flag records and Dead Kennedys and a lot of metal,” he says. “But we listen to a lot of different stuff. From the very earliest days, it was those pop hooks that got me. I will never forget hearing ‘I Want You To Want Me’ from Cheap Trick for the first time and what better hook is there than that? I will never forget that moment. I just liked the way it made me feel. It could be anything. It doesn’t have to be a vocal melody either. I’m really attracted to the idea of taking a melody like that and putting it up against a distorted guitar or even a minor key or some lyrics that are dark. The melody could be bright, and the topic of the song is not. I like that contrast, and it makes for some interesting art.”
Coming out of another punkgarage band, the Offramps, Porter formed the Tucos in 2010 with the intention of “taking the reins because nobody was on board as much as I am,” as he puts it.
“I thought that if I didn’t do that, I’d be struggling to wait for people to catch up,” he says. “I decided to do a Jeremy Porter and the fill-in-theblank band. If someone comes and goes, I don’t have to start over. I didn’t want it to be me and a couple of hired guns, either. The band has always been collaborative. [Drummer] Gabriel [Doman] and I have been together since the start. We’re now on bass player No. 4 but every one of them has been a collaborator. It is my name just because I couldn’t be switching gears every few years when someone has a kid or is suddenly married to their job.”
Last year, the band released its latest studio album, Candy Coated Cannonball, and this year, it’s put out the retrospective Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years. The best of compilation includes a greatest hits album, a live album and a rarities album.
With its raspy vocals and introspective lyrics, the new single, “Tonight Is Not the Night,” evokes the Pleased to Meet Me-era Replacements.
“It feels like a party song,” Porter says of the track. “The B-side is called ‘DTW.’ That’s an instrumental. That was written a couple of years prior for an animated series by a guy here in Detroit. You never know what to call an instrumental. Rush has a song called ‘YYZ.’ It’s the abbreviation for their airport in Toronto. We though that we could call it ‘DTW.’ Thanks to Geddy [Lee] and Alex [Lifeson] for that one.”
Porter says his band has played the Happy Dog a few times in the past, and he’s particularly excited about the lineup for the upcoming show, which features two terrific local acts.
“We’re playing with my good friend Doug McKean,” he says. “He was in GC5 and Boys from County Hell and Bedroom Legends. I was in a Clash cover band, and we used to play with his Pogues cover band. He’s a great guy. The records he’s been putting out are just fantastic. He doesn’t get out much, so it’ll be really special to get him on stage. Duo Decibel System is also playing. They’re a two-piece, and they play dirty blues rock ‘n’ roll. It’s the first night of our tour. We’re going on a long run down South, and we’re starting it off in Cleveland. We’ll play songs from Candy Coated Cannonball and dig back into the catalog. Maybe we can get Doug up to sing on a song with us. It’s going to be great.
JEREMY PORTER & THE TUCOS, DUO DECIBEL SYSTEM, DOUG MCKEAN
9 P.M. THURSDAY, OCT. 13, HAPPY DOG, 5801 DETROIT AVE., 216-651-9474. TICKETS: $8, HAPPYDOGCLEVELAND.COM.
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
LIVEWIRE Real music in the real world
Titus Andronicus comes to Mahall’s 20 Lanes in Lakewood. See: Saturday, Oct. 15.
FRI 10/07
Blackberry Smoke
Dipping into different genres is something that Blackberry Smoke singer-guitarist Charlie Starr, who grew up in the Atlanta area, has done ever since he first picked up a guitar when he was a kid. Released in 2013, Blackberry Smoke’s The Whippoorwill, is a great collection of Southern rock-inspired tunes that show off Starr’s consummate songwriting chops. The band’s been dubbed “the new face of blue-collar Southern rock” — something that sits well with Starr. The title track is a terrific jam that Starr wrote about his late grandmother. The Southern rock band’s current tour celebrates the tenth anniversary of the album. The group performs tonight at 7 at Masonic Cleveland. 3615 Euclid Ave., 216-881-6350, masoniccleveland.com.
The Killers
Formed in Las Vegas by charismatic singer-keyboardist-bassist Brandon Flowers, the Killers quickly ascended to pop stardom thanks to hits such as “Mr. Brightside” and “Somebody Told Me.” The band’s latest album, Pressure Machine, comes off as a far more introspective affair right from the somber opening tune, “West Hills,” a ballad that features strings and sounds a bit like a dreary Nick Cave number. The group performs tonight at 7:30 at the Wolstein Center. 2000 Prospect Ave., 216-687-9292, wolsteincenter.com.
Southern Culture on the Skids
Formed nearly 40 years in Chapel Hill, Southern Culture on the Skids plays a mix of country and rockabilly tunes. Known to throw out chicken wings while performing on stage, the group returns to the Beachland Ballroom tonight with openers Jon Spencer & the HITmakers. The show starts at 8 p.m., and tickets cost $20 in advance, $25 at the door. 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.
SAT 10/08
Blues Traveler
Over the decades, Blues Traveler has played more than 2,000 live shows to some 30 million people. The group released its latest album, Traveler’s Blues, last year. It featured “reimagined” and “recharged” classics from the American blues songbook and received a Grammy nod for Best Traditional Blues Album. The jam band brings its 35th anniversary tour to Kent Stage tonight at 6:30. 175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.
Wynton Marsalis
The 2022-2023 Tri-C Performing Arts series will open with a performance by jazz great Wynton Marsalis, who’ll perform in Cleveland for the first time since 2015. Marsalis currently serves as managing and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center and has amassed an unrivaled number of awards and accolades, including nine Grammys and the Pulitzer Prize for Music — the first ever awarded to a jazz artist. Since 1988, he has led the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The concert begins at 8 tonight at Tri-C’s main auditorium on its Metro campus. 2900 Community College Ave., tri-c.edu.
MON 10/10
time since 2017 (as far as we know), this German industrial rock has decades of touring and recording under its belt. Its latest album, the just-released Hyena, features more of the grinding synth- and percussion-driven rock for which the group is known. Album opener “All 4 1” careens with a real sense of intensity, and the group experiments with hip-hop on the surprisingly soulful “Rock ’N’ Roll Monster.” The group performs tonight at 7 at the Agora. 5000 Euclid Ave., 216-881-2221, agoracleveland.com.
Of Montreal
When singer-songwriter Kevin Barnes, a Rocky River native who still thinks of himself as a lifelong fan of Cleveland sports teams, moved to Athens, Ga. some 25 years ago, he consciously wanted to embrace the city’s rich musical history. Inspired by watching Athens, Ga. Inside/Out, a documentary film about the music scene that featured performances and interviews with acts such as R.E.M., Pylon and the Flat Duo Jets, he sought out the kind of camaraderie he lacked in previous bands and formed Of Montreal. He’s steadily toured and released albums ever since; the band’s latest effort, Freewave Lucifer f<ck f^ck f>ck, is as weird and eccentric as ever. The indie rock band is back at the Beachland Ballroom tonight at 8. Tickets cost $20 in advance, of $22 at the door. 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.
WED 10/12
Rare Americans
After staging a successful North American tour run earlier this year, the pop-punk band Rare Americans come to the Grog Shop tonight. The group’s known for its eye-catching animated music videos and TikTok engagement. The hip-hop heavy single “Run the World” really shows off the band’s ability to mix musical genres. DYLYN and Skuff Micksun open at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $15. 2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-321-5588, grogshop.gs.
Eli Winter Trio
Percussionist Tyler Damon and pedal steel guitarist Sam Wagster join Eli Winter, a self-taught jazz guitarist
who plays at 7 tonight at Blue Arrow. Tickets start at $5. 16001 Waterloo Rd., 216-486-2415, bluearrowrecords.com.
THU 10/13
Stephan Crump
Echo Award-winning bassist/ composer Stephan Crump has released 12 albums in addition to numerous film scoring contributions. In his solo performances, he explores his “unique musical language” through an expansive range of sounds he achieves on the acoustic bass. Tonight’s show begins at 7 at the Bop Stop. Tickets cost $20. 2920 Detroit Ave., 216-771-6551, themusicsettlement.org.
FRI 10/14
Ekoostik hookah
Formed in 1991, the Ohio-based jam band ekoostik hookah has achieved success and longevity largely without the support of mainstream media, corporate management, or even a record label. The veteran Ohio-based jam band that plays everything from folk and psychedelic rock to bluegrass and blues performs tonight at 8 at the Kent Stage. Tickets cost $20. 175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.
SAT 10/15
Celebrating David Bowie
Rock Hall inductee Todd Rundgren along with guitar whiz Adrian Belew, musician/producer Scrote, Spacehog’s Royston Langdon, Fishbone’s Angelo Moore and solo artist Jeffrey Gaines will bring their tour celebrating David Bowie’s music to the Goodyear Theater tonight. Dubbed Celebrating David Bowie, the concert will feature interpretations of Bowie’s greatest hits. The concert begins at 8. 1201 East Market St., Akron, goodyeartheater.com.
Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes
Longtime friends with both Little Steven (a founding member of the Jukes) and Bruce Springsteen, Southside Johnny has released more than 30 albums in a career that stretches back to the early ’70s. A Cleveland favorite, the guy has fond memories of the days when Kid Leo put him into the regular rotation on WMMS and always puts on an especially good show in Northeast Ohio. Tonight’s concert begins at 8 p.m. at MGM Northfield Park — Center Stage. 10705 Northfield Rd., Northfield, 330-908-7793, mgmnorthfieldpark. mgmresorts.com/en.html.
Titus Andronicus
“(I’m) Screwed,” the first single from The Will To Live, the latest effort from conceptual indie rockers Titus Andronicus includes an official music video from director Ray Concepcion that finds the band performing on a flatbed truck during the Independence Day Parade in the band’s hometown of Glen Rock, NJ. The track introduces the narrator of The Will To Live at the moment he realizes the walls are closing in. It’s heady stuff. Expect the group to perform it as well as tunes from a career that dates back nearly 15 years now. The band performs tonight at 7 at Mahall’s. Tickets cost $20. 13200 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216521-3280, mahalls20lanes.com.
TUE 10/18
Dead Boys
This Cleveland punk band brings its reunion tour to the Beachland for a concert that takes place at 8 p.m. Original guitarist Cheetah Chrome and drummer Johnny Blitz lead the band. Expect to hear punk classics such as “Sonic Reducer” and “Ain’t Nothin’ To Do.” The Briefs and Suzi Moon open. 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.
No Age
This Los Angeles-based duo — drummer-vocalist Dean Spunt and guitarist Randy Randall — comes to the Grog Shop tonight at 8 as it tours in support of its new album, People Helping People! Droning tunes such as “Andy Helping Andy” suggests the band’s esoteric approach. As a side note, the music video features a great pastiche of footage of Andy Warhol. 2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-321-5588, grogshop.gs.
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
BLUE HOUR
By Jeff Niesel
Blue Hour
MEET THE BAND: Justin Mills (vocals/guitar), Matt Modena (drums), Trevor Matthews (guitar/ pedal steel) and Kevin Vinci (bass)
A LEARNING CURVE: Mills, who grew up in the Hartville/Uniontown area and North Canton, says the first music he heard that really struck a chord with him was Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. “I also liked all those ‘90s albums that were more rock ’n’ roll,” he says. He can’t pinpoint the exact time, but in middle school, he remembers wanting to be in a band. “I definitely went through that process of failing at something and then showing other people what you made even though it was bad,” he admits. Though Mills started writing rootsy/alt-country material as Blue Hour in 2017, the present lineup didn’t come together until 2021.
A DYNAMIC SOUND: With the pandemic weighing heavy on his mind, Mills began writing the songs for the band’s new EP, A Long Time Ago, and the band recorded them at Oranjudio in Columbus, OH with audio engineer and producer Brandon MacClean. “He was a big part of showing us how we could create a dynamic sound that carries some weight,” says Mills of MacClean. “I actually didn’t really grow up on country music. Recently, I’ve dug more into the altcountry thing and started listening to people like Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell and Tyler Childers. That’s influenced the sound going forward.”
WHY YOU SHOULD HEAR
THEM: The EP’s somber opening track “The Motions” starts with deep vocals and gentle guitars before building its tempo. The song references Mills’s grandfather, who suffered from Alzeimher’s, and explores issues of mental illness. “Way Out Past the Moon” also starts slow before shimmering guitars build into a mid-song crescendo. “The EP’s theme is about stories from a long time ago that can relate to whatever you want,” he says. “I heard stories about what my grandpa went through with alcoholism and mental health issues. I think he was a loving person who went through hard times. [‘The Motions’] is about him.” Writing during the height of the pandemic made Mills think deeply about his life. “I just turned 28, and I’m trying to figure out what my purpose in life is,” he says. “I want to keep creating something. If you’re a woodworker, you’re constantly making things and pushing the ball forward. I want to take that approach with music.”
WHERE YOU CAN HEAR
THEM: bluehour.band.
WHERE YOU CAN SEE
THEM: Blue Hour performs with the Ohio Weather Band and Anya Van Rose at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8, at Musica in Akron and with This Summer, Dive Bombs and Social Creatures at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 12, at the Winchester in Lakewood.
