Scene October 19, 2022

REWIND: 1984 Scene’s been on The Flats beat since The Flats were the old Flats.

COVER DESIGN BY EVAN SULT

UPFRONT

RONAYNE AND WEINGART SLASH AND CLASH AT PUBLIC TRANSIT FORUM

THE CANDIDATES FOR Cuyahoga County Executive, Democrat Chris Ronayne and Republican Lee Weingart, appeared alongside each other last Thursday evening for a rollicking topical forum on public transportation at Goldhorn Brewery.

The forum was the third such event in recent days — one on health and human services and another on housing were staged earlier in the week — and both candidates’ central talking points are by now almost rote. But each time they convene, tension burbles as they present competing, mostly distinct, visions for the future of the county.

Ronayne is the collaborative leader, the experienced nonprofit executive and collegial public servant who has proposed new departments to address specific county failings — transportation and mobility among them. He is energized to work with mayors in the region and to restore trust in government by elevating the region’s physical and economic health.

Weingart is the shrewd and penny-pinching lobbyist, keen on government efficiencies and robust health and human services. He wants to focus on marquee programs to bring wealth to the urban core, including his oft-repeated 10,000 homes initiative, which would provide grants and low-interest loans to prospective homeowners.

Brisk and peripatetic, the hourlong forum sponsored by Bike Cleveland and Clevelanders for Public Transit featured questions prepared by the event hosts and by audience members, many of which focused on RTA operations and complete streets policies.

Credit to Weingart, who, in an atmosphere of enthusiasm for public transportation, was unafraid to stick to his guns. He firmly opposed both a tax levy to fund RTA and a tax on surface parking lots to fund transit. When asked about specific infrastructure projects — protected bike lanes, for example — he admitted that these were not his priorities. He said he’d be happy to work with the groups present, but that in general, he believed these issues could be more effectively managed by individual municipalities. As County Executive, he intended to focus foremost on housing, jobs and security.

In response to one audience question about lakefront access and lakefront development, Weingart said that, contra the city of Cleveland’s likely approach, which would start with development downtown and work eastward, he would begin by investing in Gordon Park at E. 72nd Street. His aim was to create the east side equivalent of Edgewater.

He committed to a “top-down audit” of every private police

department in the county, including RTA’s (and University Circle’s, of course — Weingart never misses an opportunity to attack Ronayne for that police department’s racist ticketing record). In a question about bike and scooter share companies, he said that while he supported their expansion, there likely wouldn’t be sufficient demand in many suburban communities to justify their presence. He proposed the idea of new corporate sponsorships to subsidize pilots in specific areas.

Ronayne was once again in his element, with personal experience to color and contextualize answers to virtually every question: Had he ever lived car-free? Yes. When was the last time he rode public transit? Tuesday. Was he concerned about the lack of provisions for public comfort in publicly subsidized spaces like Public Square? Was he ever! In fact, as the City of Cleveland’s Director of Planning, he’d created the “City Racks” program, through which he purchased 500 bike racks and 500 benches to install around town. Ronayne rode his friggin’ bike to the forum, for God’s sake, and was amped to make Cleveland “Trail City USA.”

From the earliest moments of his campaign, Ronayne has proposed a county department of transportation and mobility. He understands that public transit is an equity issue,

especially in a county where 12% of residents do not have access to a personal vehicle, and intends to make transit funding a priority. That said, Ronanye would not commit to new taxes either. He said he would lean on the state legislature to provide additional dollars, (a prospect many advocates now regard as a fool’s errand, given the hostile Republican state government), and that he’d explore both carrots and sticks as it related to transit components of development projects.

In a lightning round, both Ronayne and Weingart affirmed their support for a laundry list of issues: all-door boarding on the HealthLine, RTA riders on the RTA board and incentives for county workers who commute by bike or public transit. They offered more qualified support in other areas.

One of the evening’s biggest bombshell news nuggets was not directly related to public transit. In response to a question about the relationship between RTA’s police department and the unhoused population, Ronayne mentioned that he’d met with the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless last week. He said he’d committed, alongside NEOCH Director Chris Knestrick, to end unsheltered homelessness in Cuyahoga County. – Sam Allard

Republican Lee Weingart, Democrat Chris Ronayne.

Official candidate photos

Crain’s Cleveland Business Joins PD/Cleveland.com in Endorsing Chris Ronayne

Crain’s Cleveland Business, in an editorial published last Monday, endorsed Democrat Chris Ronayne for Cuyahoga County Executive in the race to succeed Armond Budish.

The business publication joins The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com in endorsing Ronayne over Republican challenger Lee Weingart, arguing that Ronayne is “better positioned to create a more transparent, responsive county government that complements changes happening in the city of Cleveland.”

The editorial boards at both Crain’s and Cleveland.com said they believed Ronayne’s experience in public and nonprofit leadership roles (including at the City of Cleveland and at University Circle Inc.), and his desire for collaboration, would set Cuyahoga County on a more prosperous path.

His experience “suggests he has both the policy know-how to bring innovations to county government and the administrative experience to avoid getting bogged down in the loop of task forces and committees that can prevent big change,” the Crain’s editorial read.

Both Crain’s and Cleveland.com observed that the county executive race — largely focused on issues — has been refreshing, given the tenor of national political campaigns in recent years.

And both noted, almost as a formality, that either Ronayne or Weingart would be a dramatic upgrade over the Budish administration and its reckless spending. Crain’s noted that both Ronayne and Weingart were opposed to Budish’s county jail plan and had objected, on various grounds, to the Global Center for Health Innovation overhaul. – Sam Allard

Cleveland Landmarks Commission Unanimously Approves Updated Design for African-American Cultural Garden

The updated design for the AfricanAmerican Cultural Garden last week won unanimous approval from the Cleveland Landmarks Commission, a step that, combined with funding for the project’s second phase secured earlier this year through city council legislation and support from the Cleveland Foundation, puts the garden on its most solid footing yet after years of hiccups.

Originally dedicated in 1977, the

African-American Cultural Garden broke ground on its four-acre plot on MLK Drive in 2015.

“These are torturous things we’re representing,” architect W. Daniel Bickerstaff told Scene in an interview years ago, “but I wanted the design to be beautiful, to be elegant, and to be something we’re proud of as a community.”

The design includes a sandstone portal and black granite corridor on the plot’s upper level. New elements will include a black granite pyramidal structure and a water element representing the Atlantic Ocean and North American Waterways leading to a “celebratory fountain” and walkway on the lower level.

The “Past” pavilion “seeks to translate the experience of the initial aspects of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade through the reinterpretation of the corridors, dungeons and ultimately the ‘Doorway of No Return of the Slave Castles located along the western coast of the Continent of Africa,” Bickerstaff said in a letter to the commission.

The “Present” pavilion, “evokes the sense of ‘Emergence’; the sculptural form emerges from the site echoing our emergence, as a people, in this country despite the myriad of challenges.”

And the “Future” pavilion, “responds to our need and desire for ‘Reflection’ and ‘Hope’ through the re-introduction of a fountain and reflecting pool which contrasts and pays homage to the Past Pavilion water feature and its PASSIVE symbolism. The ASSERTIVE phenomenon of the ‘Geyser’ effect of the fountain speaks to possessing

a sense of pride, power and that of setting our own path and agenda as opposed to being subservient.”

Bickerstaff and councilman Kevin Conwell, whose ward includes the cultural gardens, have said the group anticipates completing funding for phase three by the end of 2022 or in early 2023.

– Vince Grzegorek

Fiber Optic Upgrades Largely to Blame for Extensive Rapid Transit Service Interruptions in 2022

By the end of August, portions of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) rapid transit lines had been out of service and replaced with shuttle buses for 46 days in 2022. The service interruptions were due to a variety of track repairs, planned capital improvements and preventative maintenance projects.

But the most significant service interruptions, including a 14-day stretch in August when the Red Line was out of service from West Park Station to the Airport, were due to contract work on a $5.8 million effort to replace the Red Line fiber optic communication system.

Two service interruptions in June affecting eastern portions of the Red Line — one from June 12 through 18 and another the following week, from June 19 through June 25 — occurred for the same reason.

While a contractor, U.S. Utility, worked on the fiber optic network, RTA took the opportunity to perform track work and preventative maintenance, including a laundry list of needs at the Brook Park rail

yard in August.

In June, RTA replaced 392 rail ties and 205 rail ties, respectively, during the consecutive outages.

Workers also painted over graffiti and cleared overgrown vegetation along the shutdown areas.

RTA provided a series of documents related to its track work in response to an August public records request from Scene. (The 14day service interruption on the Red Line, and concerns from riders about the recurrence of the shuttle bus replacements, prompted our request.)

Responding to a series of questions related to the documents, RTA spokesman Robert Fleig said the track work in 2022 was “no less or more” than track work conducted in previous years. The projects, and the corresponding service interruptions on the Red, Blue and Green lines, vary from year to year, he said.

In addition to the “Red Line Fiber Project,” the majority of the repairs were planned upgrades as described in the GCRTA Capital Budget and State of Good Repair plan.

Significant work was completed on the overhead catenary system, which provides electric power to the Rapid trains. Spot track work, switch repair work, signal work, substation projects, tree pruning and trash cleanup occurred as needed during longer closures.

During two consecutive weekend outages on the western half of the Red Line in May, while U.S. Utility worked on the fiber project, RTA removed and replaced a “vital catenary structure” at the W. 65th Street Platform, which supports traction power cables that supply power to the Red Line’s

Photo courtesy Ubiquitous Design LTD

UPFRONT

western route.

When asked if the frequency and length of the service interruptions would increase as the rail infrastructure aged, Fleig said it was difficult to say.

“GCRTA implements a continued program of upgrades and repairs each year to maintain our rail infrastructure,” he wrote in an email. “The long-term solution is a continued program for track, signal, line, and substation upgrades. All of which is what GCRTA is doing.”

According to the RTA’s weekly data, ridership was largely unaffected by the recurring service interruptions.

The majority of the planned projects for 2022 have already been completed, but a schedule of fixed route outages provided by RTA indicates four additional weekend days of shuttle bus replacement on the Blue and Green lines, from Tower City to their eastern terminuses.)

Fleig provided advance notice that a long-term service interruption, lasting roughly six weeks, has been planned for the Blue and Green lines during July and August of 2023.

– Sam Allard

Destination Cleveland Releases 2021 Travel and Tourism Numbers

Cuyahoga County recorded a 17% increase in total visitors from 2020 to 2021, according to the tourism agency Destination Cleveland, a rebound rate that far outpaced the state of Ohio’s (9%) but lagged behind the nationwide average (28%).

Locally as elsewhere, the tourism industry was ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic, but the total number of single-day and overnight visits in 2021 reached roughly 82% of pre-pandemic levels. Employment in the industry bounced back too, to 93% of its mark in 2019.

“The recovery of Cuyahoga County’s travel and tourism industry is well underway as all key performance indicators returned to an upward trajectory in 2021,” said David Gilbert, president and CEO of Destination Cleveland, in a statement.

Gilbert said that the County was on pace to fully return to 2019 tourism levels by 2024, though he warned of “headwinds” affecting multiple sectors: inflation, supply chain disruption and ongoing staffing shortages.

“Despite these challenges,”

he said,” “we are laser focused on stewarding the recovery in collaboration with the region’s hospitality businesses and our civic partners. Together, we will return the industry to its position as a growth sector.”

Though real-time tourism and hospitality numbers are limited, Destination Cleveland said the region’s lodging numbers in 2022 were strong, with year-to-date occupancy levels at 93% of where they were in 2019. – Sam Allard

Cleveland City Council Bans Gay Conversion Therapy

The City of Cleveland joined Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland Heights last Monday evening when City Council passed an ordinance outlawing gay conversion therapy on minors within the city limits.

Co-sponsored by a number of the city’s legislators — Brian Mooney, Kerry McCormack, Deborah Gray, Blaine Griffin. Stephanie Howse, Kevin Conwell, Rebecca Maurer, Jasmin Santana and Jenny Spencer — the bill prohibits mental health professionals from engaging in sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression change efforts with a minor.

The legislation notes that expert bodies, such as the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics have deemed these so-called therapies harmful to mental health. And it stipulates that “the relevant licensing board, commission, or entity tasked with review of professional conduct” be notified when someone is found guilty of a violation.

The Human Rights Campaign immediately applauded Council’s unanimous vote.

“Tonight, the City of Cleveland made it clear that LGBTQ+ young people should be seen, heard, and protected, especially from the harmful, archaic and extensively debunked practice of conversion therapy,” a statement from Human Rights Campaign Legal Director Sarah Warbelow read. “HRC thanks Councilmember Kevin Conwell and Council President Blaine Griffin for advancing this ordinance through their respective committees, along with our partner organizations — Equality Ohio, The Trevor Project, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights — for helping to get this lifesaving ban to the finish line. We look forward to Mayor Bibb signing this into law.”

Bibb’s Public Health Director, David Margolius, wrote on social media that his Department would be “proud to enforce” the prohibition.

– Sam Allard

Forbes Will Host Its Marquee Under 30 Summit in Cleveland Next Year

A handful of suited men in their fifties, plus Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, announced earlier this month that the annual summit produced by Forbes Magazine in concert with its “30 Under 30” list will be coming to Cleveland next year.

At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, local political and business leaders celebrated the “Under 30” summit for its potential to highlight Cleveland on a global stage and to convene thousands of young “rock star entrepreneurs,” to say nothing of social media influencers, in Northeast Ohio, where a recurring concern for businesses is access to young talent.

Fresh off the 2022 event in Detroit, Michigan — hosted in partnership with Dan Gilbert and Rocket Mortgage — Forbes’ executives announced that Ohio’s state economic development agency, JobsOhio, had secured a title sponsorship for three years, meaning the Under 30 summit will be held in Ohio through 2025: Cleveland in 2023, Cincinnati in 2024, Columbus in 2025.

“The summit will bring together the best young minds across industries, venture capitalism, public policy and more,” said Randall Lane, Forbes Chief Content Officer and founder of the Under 30 franchise. “Our goal with the next Under 30 Summit is to help spotlight Ohio’s talented workforce and ample opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors. We’re confident that Ohio’s entrepreneurial spirit will be felt on the world’s main stage.”

Lane also noted that Forbes’ prominent list does not recognize only 30 entrepreneurs, but 30 recipients across 30 categories, for a total of 600 honorees. The total attendees would number in the thousands. He said that while women and people of color receive only a tiny fraction of venture capital in the United States, they are well represented on the Forbes’ lists.

“The boardrooms of tomorrow are in Forbes today,” Lane said. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted noted that

bringing the summit to Ohio was harmonious with his efforts at Innovate Ohio, which have included standardizing the process by which entrepreneurs can bring their intellectual property to market, promoting innovation districts statewide, and luring venture capitalists with the lowest capital gains rate in 40 years. Husted also noted the secondhand cultural electricity that awaits Ohio with hundreds of young creative people coming to the state. In addition to panels and networking, the summit typically includes celebrity keynote speakers and A-list concerts.

Forbes CEO Mike Federle said that the word audiences most closely associate with Forbes content is “success,” and that inclusion in Forbes magazine connoted “instant validation” for subjects across industries.

The same might be true for summit hosts. Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, who alongside Chief Strategy Officer Bradford Davy was said to have been a major force in bringing the summit to Cleveland, joked that he’d waited five years for his own nomination to the annual Forbes list.

“But I guess picking Cleveland as the first city in the state to host this amazing conference is a solid consolation prize,” he said. – Sam Allard

DIGIT

BY VINCE GRZEGOREK

WHEN JACOB RUNYAN, THE Cleveland walleye fisherman now embroiled in a dramatic cheating scandal, talked to Scene last February, it was on the heels of a disqualification from a fall 2021 competition that drew allegations the pair had cheated in that tournament as well.

At the time, Runyan described himself as “semi-retired” from fishing competitions and hard at work studying for his captain’s license while he consulted with a lawyer and waited to see what the disqualification would mean for the pair’s relationship with sponsors.

“In order to be a charter captain on ore boats or tug boats or anything bigger than a weekend warrior boat, you have to have a captain’s license,” he told Scene. “It’s like a two-month course, it’s a lot of work. It’s almost like learning Latin.”

Lie detector tests, while scientifically unreliable and inadmissible in court, are frequently used in fishing derbies to determine whether or not winning anglers are telling the truth — that they actually caught the fish, that the fish weren’t manipulated, etc.

Last year’s Fall Brawl and Walleye Slam on Lake Erie ran concurrently,

meaning anglers could submit the same fish in both competitions. Runyan and Cominsky did just that and won both. But while they passed the polygraph for the Walleye Slam, and collected the first prize of a boat valued at $151,670, one of them failed the polygraph for the Fall Brawl, which meant losing out on the first prize of a $125,000 Ranger boat and facing immediate questions about their integrity.

Runyan was defiant, intent on proving their innocence, and spun vague conspiratorial accusations of his own.

“The answer is we’re pursuing legal recourse,” Runyan told Scene in February. “This is such a long, deep story. You start getting into the politics... I’ve probably talked to thousands of people. In the bar business, you see the lowest of the low, and I’m pretty good at picking out where there’s shady stuff going on. You start seeing things. You start observing. You see certain groups of cliques of the same people over and over again.”

He felt, after scrapping away with middling results, that success in 2021 with his new partner Cominsky had made fellow competitors, for lack

of a better word, jealous.

“I wanted to make it to the upper echelons. This stuff is serious, so I’ve been through a couple of partners. It’s a very expensive hobby, a very expensive business. I heard Chase was looking for a partner. He had money. He had the best equipment. Paired with my knowledge...,” he told Scene. “We had a rough start of the season, but we won the Spring Derby, and we saw a little drama. People talking shit, saying, ‘We could beat you.’ Well, you didn’t. We started to get steam, we’re placing higher, we had a couple of good finishes.”

But after the fall tournament wins, “It started to get real political,” Runyan said.

“In the Spring Derby, it was a three-hour lie detector test,” he said. “They asked me all kinds of questions. Just grilling for three hours. For the Fall Brawl, they’re asking Chase, who is getting lie detected — which is not common, they usually detect only the one who

reeled the fish, and that was me — and they’re asking if he’s had sex with farm animals, does he cheat on his wife. It was the same thing with Spring for me. It was goofy. I remember thinking what is the fucking point of this?

Whoppers and Walleyes

This isn’t the first time Jacob Runyan has been accused of cheating. We interviewed him after the last incident

Why can’t we talk about the fish? What time did you launch? What time did you catch it? What did you do with it after you caught it? Like you want exact times? I was excited we had a big fish, and it’s almost like they’re trying to trip you up. I had nothing to hide. In the Fall Brawl, I had awoken to how much bullshit was going on. We knew we were screwed.”

In late winter 2022, Runyan was assessing the professional fallout from the failed polygraph.

“We were in negotiations with Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shop, to be pro staff. You get 50% off gear the first year and a lot of money, basically like a stipend. In year two you’d make a salary, then a boat with a discount, and you’d get boat wrapped and truck wrapped, all these things,” he told Scene

But in February: “Dead silence. Everyone scattered like cockroaches,” he said. “We’re like in limbo. I’ve been sending out emails. There were more sponsors we wanted to pick up this year. Normally, when someone wins, sponsors would come flooding in. We’ve got jack shit. We’ve got nothing.”

He and Cominsky were about to head to Columbus for a big expo, the Walley Slam banquet, where a whole bunch of companies and possible sponsors would be gathered.

“Maybe we’ll get some business,” he said. “We’ll see.”

They regrouped, and with little in way of definitive proof of cheating, their reputation remained strong enough to keep competing, and keep winning.

But rumors dogged the pair as the wins came not sporadically but in the fishing equivalent of a mathematically improbable poker heater. It was simply not possible, with all the variations and stiff competition, that they would win as often as they did, netting hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizes along the way.

“Outside of Tiger Woods, the best golfer in the world isn’t going to win four or five tournaments in a row, and it’s even more of a long shot in fishing,” Matt Markey, a Toledo Blade columnist who’s covered the fishing beat for years, told Yahoo Sports recently. “There are wild variables with the wind and weather and attitude and demeanor of the fish. You’ve got to be a little bit lucky to be in the right place at the right time when the fish are in the right mood. These guys were just winning too much.”

Gossip grew after the pair won the Rossford Walleye Roundup, after which, instead of donating their fish to a local food pantry, as is custom,

the pair took their fish home, an indication something was fishy with their catch.

Rossford authorities investigated claims the duo had cheated, but prosecutors declined to bring any charges.

The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, however, after reviewing evidence in the Sept. 30 incident collected by the Ohio Division of Wildlife, announced last week that the pair have been indicted on charges of cheating, attempted grand theft, possessing criminal tools, and the unlawful ownership of wild animals.

The Unlawful Ownership of Wild Animals charge, according to the prosecutor’s office, relates to the possession of fish filets on board Cominsky’s boat. If convicted, Runyan and Cominsky could have their fishing licenses indefinitely suspended.

The other three counts are fifth degree felonies and carry punishments of up to one year in prison and up to $2,500 in fines.

“I take all crime very seriously, and I believe what these two

individuals attempted to do was not only dishonorable but also criminal,” said Prosecutor Michael O’Malley in a press release.

Whatever his feelings about customs, Runyan, in conversation with Scene, seemed to balk at rules and strictures, and questioned polygraphs as an enforcement measure.

“A lot of this spins off the lie detector tests. You don’t really know until you’re in elbow-deep. Like, wait a minute, what do these rules say? You read the fine print. My attorney said these rules are ridiculous. How do you keep it legitimate when a lie detector test isn’t admissible in court? It’s the arbitrary opinion of one guy. You could have five tests and there would be five different assessments.”

He also questioned those in charge, including, by name, Jason Fischer, the director of the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament series — the man who was close with them, who saw the rumors dominate the 2022 season, who was relieved when they appeared to be winning honestly, but who this month saw

small fish, big numbers, and cut the bellies open in front of a camera.

And that’s when the lead pellets and filets were discovered as Fischer exclaimed, “We’ve got weights in fish!”

The vulgar howls from the assembled crowd followed as Runyan stood stone-faced while Cominsky high-tailed it to his truck in the parking lot.

“You were the champ, dude!”

“We all fucking knew it.”

“You fucked over a lot of people, man.”

“They’ve been doing this shit for years!”

“How many fucking tournaments have you done this, motherfucker?”

“Don’t we need to file a police report?”

“Where’s your crown now?”

“Jason Fischer’s new rules for the LEWT, they basically say the tournament director is judge, jury and executioner, period,” Runyan lamented earlier this year, a bit of unintended foreshadowing at the events that would follow.

Competitions could be less political, rulings less arbitrary, and post-tournament inspections, when necessary, sufficient to prove the integrity of a winner’s catch, he told Scene.

And what are inspections looking for, we asked?

“Deception,” Runyan told Scene. “When there’s been weight added to fish. That’s what they’re searching for. Either you didn’t catch the fish, bought it, or you added weight. If you cut a fish open and there’s lead weights in the stomach, well, there you go.”

Cominsky (left) and Runyan (right) posing with their catches at the LEWT.

LEWT screengrab

The weights and filets pulled from the fish.

@billyhottakes/Twitter

GET OUT Everything to do in Cleveland for the next two weeks

WED 10/19

The 10 x 3 Singer-Songwriter Showcase Hosted by Brent Kirby

The concept of 10x3 is a pre-arranged line up with 10 songwriters/ bands performing three songs each. Two of the them required to be original, and the third can be the artist’s choice. Local singer-songwriter Brent Kirby hosts the event, which runs from 7 to 9 tonight at the Bop Stop. Admission is free.

2920 Detroit Ave., 216-771-6551, themusicsettlement.org.

THU 10/20

Christmas Ale First Pour Party

Today at 11:30 a.m. at Great Lakes Brewing Company, the first Christmas Ale pour of the season will take place. Clevelanders jonesin’ for a swig of the sweet stuff can stop by the Ohio City brewpub to have a pint or fill a growler. One patron will win a private brewery tour. There will be DJs, karaoke, holiday-themed menu items and photo opportunities.

2516 Market Ave., 216-771-4404, greatlakesbrewing.com.

Fostering Hops: A Taste of Van Aken

This annual fundraiser supports Fostering Hope’s mission of “con-

necting and enriching youth who live in residential treatment and foster care with unique experiences of hope and healing.” This year, Fostering Hope is expecting to serve more than 1,000 children through programming centered on childhood experiences, health and wellness and community involvement. The event begins at 7 p.m. in Van Aken Market Hall at the corner of Chagrin and Warrensville Center Roads in Shaker Heights. It’ll include local microbrews, food from Market Hall vendors, a raffle and private shopping experiences.

3441 Tuttle Road, Shaker Heights, 216-491-8800, fosteringhopeohio.org.

FRI 10/21

45th Anniversary of Bat Out of Hell

This event celebrates the lives of Meat Loaf, Jim Steinman and Steve Popovich, the three men behind Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell, one of the best-selling rock albums of all time. The late Popovich released the album on his locally based Cleveland International Records. Ellen Foley, the powerhouse female voice on the single “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” singer/actress Karla DeVito, who served as a backup singer for Meat Loaf and is featured in the video for “Paradise by the Dashboard

Great Lakes Brewing Co. will host its annual Christmas Ale tapping party.

Light” and Joe Stefko, the drummer for Meat Loaf on the subsequent tour, will be on hand to discuss the album’s significance. The event starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Music Box Supper Club. Tickets cost $19.77 (because the album was released in 1977).

1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com.

SAT 10/22

Love on the Run

The Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque screens the complete François Truffaut’s Adventures of Antoine Doinel series. The five French films star Jean-Pierre Léaud as the titular character. The four features and one short (comprising four different programs) will all screen in new 4K restorations. Tonight’s screening of Love on the Run takes place at 5 p.m., and the program repeats tomorrow at 8:15 p.m. Tickets cost $11, or $8 for Cinematheque members, CIA and CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 and under.

11610 Euclid Ave., 216-421-7450, cia.edu.

SUN 10/23

Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards

During the off-season, the Wash-

ington Wizards resigned star guard Bradley Beal and added forward Taj Gibson to a team that finished well below .500 last year. That’s no likely enough to turn the team around. Expect the Cavs to take home the win when the two teams face off tonight at 7 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. One Center Court, 216-420-2000, rock etmortgagefieldhouse.com.

TUE 10/25

Les Miserables

Set against in 19th century France, Les Miserables has been one of Broadway’s biggest hits. Seen by over 130 million people worldwide in 53 countries and 22 languages, the latest incarnation of the musical comes to the State Theatre tonight at 7:30. Performances continue through Oct. 29.

1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

WED 10/26

The Secret Life of Bears

Rae Wynn-Grant has dedicated her life to ecological research and conservation. As a scientist with National Geographic Society’s Last Wild Places Initiative, she works to protect and restore iconic wildlife popula-

See: Thursday, Oct. 20.

Photo:

Emanuel Wallace

tions, including North American black and grizzly bears. Tonight at 7 at the Mimi Ohio Theatre, WynnGrant speaks about her research. Tickets start at $30. 1511 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

THU 10/27

Josh Blue

After his win on Last Comic Standing in 2006, comedian Josh Blue has become a well-established headliner who has performed on late night shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and appeared at festivals such as Just for Laughs. He performs tonight at 7 at Hilarities, where he has shows scheduled through Saturday.

2035 E 4th St., 2035 East 4th St., 216-241-7425, hilarities.com.

Gerstein Plays Schumann

Pianist Kirill Gerstein joins the Cleveland Orchestra tonight at Mandel Concert Hall for a program that features Schumann’s Piano Concerto, a piece he wrote for his wife Clara, who was a distinguished pianist and composer. The concert begins at 7:30, and performances take place tomorrow and Saturday too.

Severance Music Center, 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.

FRI 10/28

Jam for the Cure

Monica Robins and the Whiskey Kings along with Billy Morris and the Sunset Strip will perform as part of this benefit for the American Cancer Society. Tonight’s concert begins at 8 at MGM Northfield Park — Center Stage.

10705 Northfield Rd., Northfield, 330-908-7793, mgmnorthfieldpark. mgmresorts.com/en.html.

SAT 10/29

Beer Tasting and Listening Party

At 3 p.m. today at Saucy Brew Works in Ohio City, local singersongwriter Chayla Hope will host an album listening and beer tast ing party. Hope recently released “Long Way,” the latest single from her debut album. She’s teamed up with Saucy for a two-beer collabora

tion that coincides with the album’s release. The first beer, Damn, Feel ings, is a super-fruited Imperial Hazy IPA with pink guava, apricot, and blood orange. The second is called Chase the Pain; it’s a wheated ale brewed with mango habanero. Both will be available for purchase at today’s event.

2885 Detroit Ave., 216-666-2568, saucybrewworks.com.

SUN 10/30

Jokes on You

Inspired by crowd work clinicians like Dave Attell, Ian Bagg, and Big Jay Oakerson, Jokes On You makes the audience the center of the show by “pushing comics to avoid pre pared material or written jokes and instead focus on organic interac tion with the audience,” as it’s put in a press release about this event, which takes place tonight at 7 at Hilarities. John Bruton and Bill Squire host the event. Last Sunday of every month.

2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com.

MON 10/31

Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Last year, the Bengals defied the odds and went all the way to the Super Bowl. It’ll be difficult for the team to duplicate that success this year, but today’s game against the Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium should indicate the extent to which the Browns can compete with them this season. Kickoff is at 8:15 p.m. 100 Alfred Lerner Way, 440-891-5000, clevelandbrowns.com.

TUE 11/01

Cats

Featuring new sound design, direc tion and choreography, a revamped version of the musical Cats swings into town this month for an extend ed run at Connor Palace. Tickets start at $20. Check the Playhouse Square website for show times and more info.

1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

scene@clevescene.com

t@clevelandscene

AN ENDLESS BOUNTY OF SURPRISES

Sophie la Gourmande is part Parisian bakery, part coffee shop, and all great

By Douglas Trattner

YOU MIGHT THINK THAT IN A neighborhood as bakery-blessed as Cleveland Heights, there would be little fanfare over a newcomer. From On the Rise and Stone Oven to Luna and Nubeigel, residents of this near-east-side community enjoy an embarrassment of riches when it comes to fresh-baked goodness.

Yet, from the start Sophie la Gourmande made a bold first impression. All it took was one quick glance at the display cases to see that this beautiful stranger was aiming at a different target. Colorful, intricate and flawlessly executed French pastries sit shoulder-to-shoulder with burnished Basque cheesecakes, pistachio-dusted croissants and an ever-shifting selection of savory Danishes that keep customers coming back for more.

But those sweet and savory confections are just the tip of the iceberg here. The designation as a “patisserie café” is an apt one because Sophie somehow manages to combine the unflagging meticulousness of a Parisian bakery with the casual practicality of a neighborhood coffee shop. Stroll in a Saturday morning and the bright, cheery space is an absolute beehive of activity, with small groups enjoying coffee and pastries in the airy dining room. Come midday, midweek and the mood is more serene, with neighbors catching up over a quiet lunch of quiche, sandwiches and salads.

Veteran chef, caterer and culinary instructor Bob Sferra has spent years working to bring his vision to reality. In 2019, he acquired the 1930s-era building on Lee Road that would become Sophie. After transforming the space, he set about amassing some of the most talented, dedicated and passionate chefs, pastry chefs and bakers in the business, who make everything from scratch in the spotless open kitchen.

Following a few preview weekends in April, the bakeshop officially opened its doors in late May. Since then, I’ve barely managed to scratch the surface in terms of offerings, despite multiple visits. The efficient setup has customers working their way past displays of chilled

patisserie items and countertop Vienna-style baked goods. Sophie’s savory everything Danish ($4.75) is a delicious work of art. The flaky square pastry is coated with everything bagel spice, dolloped with labneh cream cheese and garnished with fresh herbs. Melt-in-your-mouth croissants come in the classic butter style ($3.50), rolled around fine dark chocolate ($4) or filled with seasonal fruits.

Regular items like financiers, lemon-poppy coffee cakes, and sweet corn pound cakes capped with whipped butter are joined by limitedrun specials like the elote corn Danish ($5.25). Threading the sweet-savory needle, the slipper-shaped croissant base is filled with an enriched cornbread mixture, topped with a slender corn rib and showered with cilantro and salty Mexican cheese.

Sophie’s Jerusalem bagels ($4.25), a ropy, non-boiled variety, are tender, chewy and nutty from sesame seeds. Each comes with labneh cream cheese for dipping or spreading. Pair

one with a Duck-Rabbit cappuccino and you’re good to go.

When hunting for that perfect dessert to cap off your dinner party, you can do no better than Sophie’s ethereal Basque cheesecakes ($10). The crustless cakes are characteristically dark on top, dense and creamy within, and finished with fresh fruits. While you’re at it, grab a few squares of some the lightest, most flavorful tiramisu ($7.50) you can imagine, which star house-made ladyfingers and mascarpone mousse. Creamy panna cottas ($6.75) are sold in adorable glass pint jars so you can see every blessed layer. And for those times when you forget to place an order for that special occasion, Sophie always stocks large “celebration cakes” that require zero advance planning. When you do desire something custom, the attached By Cenza cake studio has you covered.

Just as it does in the morning, Sophie embraces a grab-and-go (or

not) mentality at lunch. Guests can select from a short roster of readyto-eat items like quiche, sandwiches and salads, which are on display in another cooler. The European-style pressed sandwiches are neat as a pin, built on fresh-baked ciabatta and swaddled in wax paper. The pan bagnat ($11.50) is layered with Spanish tuna, tapenade, green beans, egg and harissa. Sliced pear adds a hint of autumnal sweetness to a ham and gruyere ($9). Wedges of quiche ($7.50) – either Lorraine or vegetarian – come with a simple green salad, but don’t overlook veggie-based sides ($4.50) like shaved Brussels sprouts with apricots and pecans, charred green beans with chili, lime and peanut za’tar, and roasted cauliflower with carrot, currants and feta.

In the front of the café is a small retail marketplace stocked with even more grab-and-go goodies, such as biscotti, Florentines, and seasonal shortbread cookies. Like everything else sold in the shop, they are smartly packaged, adorned with the Sophie brand, and sure to brighten one’s day.

@dougtrattner

Photo by Megann Galehouse

BITES

La Plaza Taqueria at Re:bar to open downtown in early November

By Douglas Trattner

AFTER PURCHASING RE:BAR (2130 East 9th St., 216-465-4268) in late 2019, Rachel Ulloa has worked to improve and enhance the quirky downtown dive bar, which is located just steps from Progressive Field. She nearly tripled the bar’s footprint by acquiring the former Old Erie Street Bookstore and soon after announced a partnership with Adrian Ortega to open La Plaza Taqueria at Re:bar.

“It just made sense for us,” she explains. “It kind of fits our personality.”

Now, a year and a half later, Ulloa and Ortega finally are nearing the finish line. For the past 17 months, the team has been converting the newfound real estate into a functional restaurant space, complete with kitchen and dine-in seating. The live music, DJs and dance parties will move over to the original bar space.

Unlike some of the express versions of La Plaza that are popping up around town, Re:bar will be offering the complete taqueria menu. That includes tacos, tortas, tamales, quesadillas and the allimportant salsa bar. Those items will be available for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday. An abbreviated late-night menu will run until 2 a.m. on weekends.

Look for La Plaza at Re:bar to open on (or around) November 8.

Restaurant at Terrestrial Brewing in Battery Park Relaunches with New Name, New Menu

For two months now, the restaurant at Terrestrial Brewing has been known simply as the Restaurant at Terrestrial Brewing. But going forward, the attached eatery will go by the moniker Terra Bistro. And along with that new name comes a new menu.

“We feel that it’s important to give the restaurant its own identity because we want to provide guests with a different experience than the brewery,” explains co-founder Ralph Sgro. “It’s still attached to

the brewery but we felt that the spaces were a little too aligned, especially with respect to menu items. And once the upstairs is open we want people to be able to move between spaces and have different food, beer and cocktail options and get a different experience in each room.”

Originally, executive chef Michael Lovano has been operating off a menu that he described as upscale gastropub, with hearty but humble items like pretzel bites with beer cheese, beer-braised duck poutine and beer-battered walleye sandwiches. Now, he and sous chef John Baie are taking things up a few notches.

“Now that people are acclimated with the restaurant and have seen the space, we’re going to start going more fine-dining but not pretentious,” says Lovano.

The chef says that diners can expect a more elevated experience all around, with greater attention to detail applied to plating and presentation. But, he stresses, the aim is to remain approachable, affordable and fun.

Already in service, the menu features a selection of small and large plates. In the “small” category are dishes like a kale Caesar salad, chestnut and mushroom bread pudding, and braised duck stroganoff with thick noodles. Large plates include items such as an oyster mushroom banh mi, whole bronzini with fried bok choy, duck breast with acorn squash, and stout-braised lamb shanks with root vegetables and polenta.

For dessert, “pastry wizard” Sonya Kovach is dishing up white chocolate goat cheese tarts, apple cinnamon cake with apple cinnamon mousse, and pot de crème with cherry coulis.

Taproom guests will still expect beer-friendly items like confit chicken drums, beer cheese dip and pretzels, duck nachos, mac and cheese, and smash burgers.

As for that upstairs space, Sgro says that the team is hoping to host their first show before the holidays.

Gray House Pies to Make a Return to Lakewood

Sometime in November, Joe Schlott will make his triumphant return to Lakewood, where he will open a new location for his Gray House Pies. Not only is he coming back to the same neighborhood, but he’s actually returning to the very address where he started it all.

“I was in this very space before,” he says. “I used to bake out of the Breadsmith kitchens next door during the day.”

After a year in Lakewood, Schlott moved the business over to Fairview Park and eventually to Westlake (26075 Detroit Rd.), where he’s been for 12 years. Since launching the business, he’s had satellite shops in Old Brooklyn, on Larchmere and is a common sight at farmers markets. His desserts are on the menu at Mabel’s BBQ downtown and at Eton.

Gray House is adored for its fruit pies, cream pies, seasonal pies, savory hand pies and quiches.

For the new Lakewood shop, Schlott plans to add a full line of coffee drinks, which can be enjoyed onsite in the small café. He also hopes to add some sort of community events, maybe acoustic nights or poetry readings.

Chef-Partner Matthew Spinner Leaves Bar Oni

Last Sunday was chef-partner Matthew Spinner’s last public shift at Bar Oni, the Tremont bar-restaurant that he created to replace Ushabu, which closed at the start of the pandemic. Spinner, a bombastic and polarizing personality behind the bar, jokes that the development will be bad news to some and good news to others.

“That’s the thing, right?” he says. “As many people that will be sad to see me go there will be people who are like, Oh, finally we can go to that place!”

All joking aside, Bar Oni is not going anywhere. Spinner had long planned to move on to other things, either a place of his own or elsewhere. As it happens, he’s accepted an executive chef job at an existing restaurant that he’s not ready to name.

Taking Spinner’s place at the wheel will be Kevin Joecken, who has been working for years at Taki’s Greek Kitchen in Avon Lake.

“He’s a really great kid, really great chef and he’s ready to embrace Tremont and to be back in the mix after being in Avon for five years,” Spinner says.

Spinner and the rest of the team will still be involved during the transition to ensure that it’s as smooth and seamless as possible. He’s handing over a unique, thriving and entertaining business that he hopes will continue long after he’s gone.

“As far as we’re concerned, the menu and format sticks around,” he states. “We have an incredible following of regulars who keep us busy every night of the week. So for Kevin, it’s just a matter of — to be crass — not fucking it up.”

The move sends Spinner on his way after seven years spent working in that space when you combine Bar Oni and Ushabu. It’s bittersweet, he says, but the place is in good hands.

“I built that bar with my bare hands,” he adds. “It’s still a part of me and I’m pretty broken up about leaving. I couldn’t leave it in a place where it wasn’t set up to succeed.”

@dougtrattner

Photo by Kevin Churkh

dtrattner@clevescene.com

Echosmith

we would write a bridge and put out the new version. Once the bridge came out, we wrote the rest in 30 minutes. I recorded the vocal right away sitting in a chair in the studio with my brothers. I got teary-eyed because I felt that full circle moment happen. It just felt really special to do that. It’s like telling people that it’s more than just my song. That’s why we called it ‘our version.’ It belongs to everyone else as well.”

In advance of the upcoming tour, the group has also just released another new single, the snappy “Gelato.”

A NEW CHAPTER

Echosmith returns to Beachland with two new singles and a retooled version of its big hit

By Jeff Niesel

ECHOSMITH SINGER SYDNEY

Sierota says that the shimmering “Hang Around,” the first single from the indie pop band’s forthcoming album, aptly sets the tone for what she’s calling a “new chapter” for the group of siblings.

“It was literally the first song we wrote where we said, ‘This is what we want to sound like,’” she says in a recent phone interview from her San Diego home. The band performs on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at the Beachland Ballroom. “It opened up the floodgates of inspiration for all the songs afterward. All the new songs happened after ‘Hang Around.’ It happened in a very natural way. [‘Hang Around’] was written by just Echosmith. It was cool to thing for us. We did it all ourselves. Noah [Sierota] produced it. It was Noah’s first time producing our stuff. It was so cool to give ourselves the space and freedom to try that out even though that was different for us.”

Sierota’s voice fluctuates on the track as she nails both high notes as well as lower, Sheryl Crow-like registers. Taking a DIY approach, she even recorded her vocals at her own home studio.

“It’s just an extra bedroom,” she says of the space. “It’s not a crazy,

built-out studio. I did my vocal on a Shure SM7B microphone. I don’t even have a mic stand. I was holding the mic and sitting in my chair and singing alone. It was so fun. We wouldn’t have done that before. It always had to be in a certain setting. I was able to get a more honest vocal because it was just me. I could try things. I had full freedom.”

In a way, the band has gone back to its roots. Formed in Chino, CA, a place that’s really a musical void in Southern California, the band started out by doing things on a shoestring budget and had to take a 45-minute drive to Santa Monica to find anything resembling a gig. And even that involved busking on the street to passersby.

“The schools we went to didn’t think it was cool to be in a band,” says Sierota, adding that she even thought about trying out for the cheerleading team. “It was all about sports.”

That feeling of being on the margins inspired the band’s first hit single, “Cool Kids,” a catchy number that finds Sierota whispering with sarcasm as she croons, “I wish I could be like the cool kids because all the cool kids seem to fit in.”

The band recently recorded an updated version of the song that takes on an even more personal meaning.

“‘Hang Around’ was coming out the very next day,” says Sierota when asked about what led to the new version. “We were trying to be on Tik-Tok and do the promotion things we needed to do. I was scrolling on there, and I came across an Addison Ray video. She was mouthing the words to a sped-up version, and at first I didn’t recognize it. That was when I heard of what was happening.”

The band held an informal meeting and decided it made sense to redo the track.

“We asked ourselves what if the song is not finished yet,” says Sierota. “There has been this instrumental moment and that’s when I address the crowd when we play it live. it was this spot I felt like I had to fill. When we were messing around with it, we didn’t know that

“It’s about how we are all going through a lot, and we have a lot on our minds,” says Sierota when asked about the track. “I struggle a lot with feeling present. I find myself romanticizing the past or worrying about what might happen tomorrow. This song encompasses that feeling of ‘we do feel that way and that’s real, but let’s take a moment to be here right now and choose to be okay without knowing about tomorrow.’ Sometimes, you need a break from overthinking and overanalyzing and your bills and loans and all those things we struggle with. Sometimes, you need a break from that or life can be too exhausting. It’s about being present with the people you are with and deciding to choose to that.”

So far, the band’s two new songs come off as cheerful, uplifting numbers. So how does Sierota manage to stay positive with the world is falling apart?

“[My marriage] has been a huge rock for me throughout the whole pandemic and the ups and downs that have come with it,” she says. “Everything was so inconsistent, but my marriage was so consistent. That was helpful for me, of course. There are songs that will come out next that capture that feeling of despair. You have to capture that stuff too. I have always loved melancholy songs, which is funny because I’m very bubbly by nature. Something about that melancholy feeling has always spoken to me. These past few years have been really challenging, but I’ve seen more growth for myself than I ever have. It meant a lot of work and a lot of tears.”

Photo: Press Here Publicity

A CLASSIC ACT

Sophie B. Hawkins celebrates the 30th anniversary of her debut album

By Jeff Niesel

INITIALLY, SOPHIE B. HAWKINS had a hard time finding a record label willing to put out her debut album, 1992’s Tongues and Tails Undeterred, the New York-born singer-songwriter started writing and recording songs in her bedroom.

“Nobody would sign me, but I had fans and would play the songs outs,” she says via phone from her home just outside of New York. Hawkins performs on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at the Kent Stage. “I had about 100 songs. I was prepared. When we got to the album, I had a great sense of myself as a full artist and a singer and percussionist and keyboardist. I had done all the percussion. I had done all the background vocals. I had done all the arrangements. I knew what I wanted. I walked to the Electric Lady Studios every day ready to make the best album I could make in my whole existence, and no one was going to mess with me. By the way, people liked that attitude and wanted to work with me.”

Hawkins says she grew up listening to and admiring artists who wrote their own material, and that was partially why she felt compelled to do the same.

“I wanted to be a classic artist,” she says. “I was comparing myself to the great artists. I thought I should write my own songs. I think writing with other people is fun, but it’s absolutely not what writing by myself is. When I do that, I’m bringing my insides out. I don’t know who I am without my songs. My songs tell me who I am.”

She’s says she uncertain whether the LGBTQ+ community embraced her first single, “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover,” but Hawkins, who identifies as omnisexual, says she

embraced the community at the time by playing New York venues that catered to those artists.

“I will say that when I was writing the music, that community was the most inspiring,” she says. “I was down there at [the New York performance space] PS122 playing bass and singing with Holly Hughes and doing anything I could do to work with those great artists of the time. I was trying to get in on their performances at the WOW Café Theatre and Dixon Place. I was so excited to work with artists and learn from them. I was happy to have that third verse be what it was. As my wonderful aunt says, it’s not like I was on the cutting edge. I was with the ancients. Homophobia is modern. Ancient societies were fine with gender creativity.”

For her new single, the catchy “Love Yourself,” she sings about selfempowerment over bluesy guitars, a beefy bass riff and strings. The track’s cooing backing vocals give the tune a classic R&B feel.

“I love the song because it was a real moment,” Hawkins says when asked about the tune. “I always remember every moment that inspires a song. The story is in the song. I actually went to a party and ate coconut cake and drank red wine. And then, a voice said, ‘Love yourself.’ That’s exactly what happened. It was my unconscious. My mind was unwilling to love me. That doesn’t come easily. It’s one thing if someone else says, ‘You should respect yourself.’ Artists have the hardest time loving ourselves. When the unconscious kicks in, don’t take it for granted. I was so happy about the song. You hear all these songs on the radio now about hating yourself. That’s not where I am at. I want to give this transcendence and this human experience. You can create self-love and lasting happiness and joy no matter what your situation is.”

For the live show, Hawkins will not only celebrate the 30th anniversary of Tongues and Tails, but she’ll also debut “Love Yourself” and more material from a forthcoming studio album.

“It’s going to be really fun. I’m doing my favorite songs from Tongues and Tails, and then I have the Whaler hits and then the Timbre hits and then I have a few covers, which are going to be surprising,” she says. “And then, I have the new songs, and people love the new songs. People love the new songs. It all works together. I’m playing with these musicians who are fabulous singer-songwriters — Seth Glier and Katie Marie — in their own rights. People should go to my Facebook and Instagram to see them. It’s real. We’re not saying, ‘What did Sophie do in 1992?’ We’re saying, ‘What can we do now that’s going to be really powerful, so the audience can go away from the show thinking that they really got it?’”

Photo: Shervin Lainez

Sophie B. Hawkins

THE MEMBERS OF THE Furious Bongos, a tribute act to the late, great Frank Zappa, have some serious musical credentials. A self-proclaimed “freak of nature,” drummer Filip Fjellstrom can play just about anything, including a toilet seat. Keyboardist Kevin Bents toured with Frank Zappa’s son Dweezil Zappa and worked as Jewel’s musical director at the height of her career. Bassist and band leader Conrad St. Clair has worked with people like Mick Fleetwood and Yo Yo Ma, and singer Jenna Paulus has a Master’s from Boston Conservatory.

Not to be outdone, percussionist Zachary Bowers has a Master’s from Vanderbilt and has played with the Nashville Symphony.

St. Clair put the band together back in 2017 in Madison, WI, and it played its first gig in 2018.

“I was working a lot with a violinist, and we had worked together in an original project,” says St. Clair via phone from his home outside of Washington D.C. The band has worked up some new Zappa tunes for its upcoming show on Monday, Oct. 31, at the Beachland Ballroom. “We were

NOT JUST A NOSTALGIA ACT

Furious Bongos

show at Beachland

By Jeff Niesel

both Zappa fans. We just started talking about how it would be fun to put together a Zappa project with some of the musicians we knew in Madison. We thought it could be fun. I asked [singer] Lo Marie if she wanted to do it, and she said she did. It just fell together.”

Toward the end of 2018, St. Clair moved to the East Coast.

“With that, there was a shift in how we approached things,” he says. “If we were spread out across the country, the only way to make

it work was to tour. It had to be set up like Frank [Zappa]’s tours. He brought everyone together for exhausting rehearsals that last for two months, and then he hit the road. I don’t have Frank’s budget, so we fly everyone in, and I have a big house, and we have a week’s worth of rehearsals.”

In the wake of Zappa’s death nearly 20 years ago, various tribute acts involving people who once played with him have emerged. St. Clair says the Bongos have charted their own course and don’t aim to produce note-for-note duplications of Zappa’s tunes.

Rather, they let the personalities of the individual musicians shine.

“One of the things that I appreciate most about Frank [Zappa] is that he hired musicians who had

a unique voice,” says St. Clair. “Yes, there were things you had to do on the record but the point of him hiring someone like [guitarist] Steve Vai was to have their voice as a tool in his tool kit. There are certain things you have to learn note for note, but the spaces in between are songs you have to make your own. We’re not trying to copy Zappa. We don’t play ‘Inca Roads’ note-for-note. That misses the point. For Frank, it was about growing and changing and finding new things.”

St. Clair says that one of the most important aspects of Zappa’s legacy is the desire to have fun on stage.

“[Singers] Ray White and Ike Willis’s job during some of those shows was to make Frank laugh,” he says. “If you did that, it’s a good night. It’s [about] that organic letting things grow and evolve and not just looking nostalgically at the albums.”

“There has hardly been a show that I’ve made it through without laughing at something on stage,” says Marie.

Courtesy

photo

The Furious Bongos

LIVEWIRE Real music in the real world

FRI 10/21

The Airborne Toxic Event

Known for its sweeping anthems that recall the likes of Bruce Springsteen and U2, Airborne Toxic Event initially formed as a strippeddown two-piece featuring singer Mikel Jollett and drummer Daren Taylor. The lineup has morphed over the years, but Jollett remains a constant. On tour in support of 2020’s Hollywood Park, the band plays tonight at 7 at House of Blues. 308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583, houseofblues.com.

Jonah Koslen, Tommy Dobeck, and Daniel Pecchio

Jonah Koslen, Tommy Dobeck, and Daniel Pecchio — three original Michael Stanley Band members — have gotten together to play the Kent Stag. This is the first time all three have been on stage for a concert since the classic MSB Stagepass album was released in 1977. They are only playing songs from their first three MSB albums and sharing stories about that era. The band plays tonight and tomorrow night at 7.

175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.

SUN 10/23

Marcus King

This 26-year-old Grammy-nominated songwriter and guitarist worked with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys on his latest effort, Young Blood, a riveting collection of rock and blues numbers. King performs tonight at 6 at the Agora. Neil Francis and Ashland Craft open. 5000 Euclid Ave., 216-881-2221, agoracleveland.com.

Pinkshift

This indie rock act comes to Mahall’s 20 Lanes in Lakewood tonight as it tours in support of its debut album Love Me Forever, which was recorded by Will Yip (Turnstile, Mannequin Pussy, the Wonder Years, Circa Survive, Tigers Jaw). The concert begins at 7, and tickets cost $16. 13200 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216-521-3280, mahalls20lanes.com.

Martin Sexton/Dan Hubbard

The word prolific is often thrown around when talking about singersongwriters, but with Martin Sexton, it’s no exaggeration. He got his start in Boston, playing open mics and busking in subways and on street corners. He’s released

numerous albums, received awards for his music and reaped praise from the likes of John Mayer and Dave Matthews. Sexton’s music is difficult to categorize due to his fusion of country, soul, folk rock, gospel, jazz and other genres, but he blends them all seamlessly. He performs tonight at 8 at the Kent Stage. Tickets cost $33. 175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.

MON 10/24

NNAMDÏ

A mainstay in the indie-community for years, especially in Chicago where he was named a Chicagoan of the year in 2020 by the Tribune, NNAMDÏ has toured with Wilco and counts Kaci Musgraves, Jeff Rosenstock, Danny Brown, Moses and Sumney as fans. He performs tonight at 7 at Mahall’s 20 Lanes. 13200 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216-521-3280, mahalls20lanes.com.

Jonathan Richman

Perhaps best known from his role as the troubadour in the quirky ’90s comedy There’s Something About Mary, Jonathan Richman has a career that stretches back decades.

He famously led the proto-punk band the Modern Lovers in the 1970s. Since then, he’s embraced the singersongwriter role and often plays live while accompanied only by drummer Tommy Larkins. Richman and Larkins will perform tonight at the Heights Theater in a show presented by the Grog Shop. Tickets cost $22 in advance, $25 the day of the show.

2781 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, grogshop.gs.

WED 10/26

American Authors

As a fun twist this rock band just released six different versions of “Blind for Love,” the first track from its forthcoming fourth studio album. There’s a piano version, an acoustic version, a sped-up version and more. With its percolating handclaps and caterwauling vocals, the tune shows off the group’s sharp pop sensibilities. Expect to hear it when the band plays tonight at 8 at the Beachland Ballroom. Madeline Finn opens the show.

15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.

Mightmare

The new solo dark pop/indie rock

Photo: Luke Henery

Eliza & the Delusionals come to the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights. See: Sunday, Oct. 30.

project fronted by Sarah Shook of Chapel Hill, NC’s Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, Mightnare has just released its debut album, Cruel Liars, out on Kill Rock Stars., The album’s three singles — “Saturn Turns”, “Easy” and “Enemy” — all offer introspective lyrics and mid-tempo, highly accessible melodies. The group plays the Beachland Tavern tonight at 8. Mol Sullivan opens the show.

15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.

THU 10/27

Lucero

Produced by Grammy-winning engineer/mixer Matt Ross-Spang (John Prine, Jason Isbell), Lucero’s forthcoming studio album finds the alt-country band playing more uptempo music. The single, “One Last F.U.,” opens with clanging cowbell and crunchy guitars and features sneering vocals. It should translate well live. L.A. Edwards opens the show. Tickets cost $30. 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.

Jon McLaughlin

Singer-songwriter Jon McLaughlin has released six full-length albums since his 2007 debut, Indiana. His current tour, which stops at the Kent Stage tonight at 7, celebrates that album’s 25th anniversary. Tickets cost $25 to $35. 175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.

SAT 10/29

Chelsea Cutler

Earlier this year, singer-songwriter

Chelsea Cutler released the deluxe edition of her sophomore album, When I Close My Eyes, and put out her latest single, the infectious pop number, “the lifeboat’s empty!” She brings part two of her When I Close My Eyes tour to House of Blues tonight at 7.

308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583, houseofblues.com.

Mushroomhead

The pandemic put Mushroomhead’s annual Halloween concert on hold, but now the veteran local band is back at the Agora to keep the tradition alive. Half Raised Heathens and Bittersweet Revenge open the

show. Doors are at 6:30 p.m. 5000 Euclid Ave., 216-881-2221, agoracleveland.com.

Smashing Pumpkins

This tour featuring the ‘90s acts Smashing Pumpkins and Jane’s Addiction arrives in town tonight for a stop at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Founded in Chicago in 1988, the Pumpkins draw from rock, pop, shoe-gaze, metal, goth, psychedelia, and electronic. The band has sold more 30 million albums worldwide and collected two Grammy awards. In 2020, the group released its 11th full-length album and latest double album, CYR. More new music is slated to come out this year. The concert begins at 6:30. 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.

SUN 10/30

Eliza & the Delusionals

Written by Eliza Klatt and Kurt Skuse with added writing credits from acclaimed songwriters/ producers in Sarah Aarons (Zedd, The Rubens, Childish Gambino), John Hill (Cage the Elephant, Charli XCX, Lykke Li) and Keith Harris (Madonna, the Black Eyed Peas), Now and Then, the latest effort from Aussie rockers Liza & the Delusionals, is a properly international effort. Sessions took place between Australia’s East Coast and Los Angeles. A tune like “Save Me” features lilting vocals and indie pop harmonies that hearken back to the days of Throwing Muses and Veruca Salt. The group performs tonight at 8 at the Grog Shop. 2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-321-5588, grogshop.gs.

The Wood Brothers

Celebrating the release of their seventh studio album, Kingdom in my Mind, a live audio-to-tape session, the Wood Brothers perform tonight at 7:30 at the Kent Stage. Kingdom follows the band’s most recent studio release, 2018’s One Drop of Truth, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and gave the band its first Grammy nod for Best Americana Album.

175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org. scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene

MOTHER’S MADNESS

By Jeff Niesel

MEET THE BAND: Rich Ramsey (drums), Jay Steadman (bass), Trent Cochran (guitar), Jason Christner (vocals)

LUCK OF THE DRAW: While the band formed more than 15 years ago, it didn’t have a lead singer until 2018 when Christner became singer by default. “It was about 2018 when we knew one of us needed to take over vocals, and Jason Christner just drew the shortest straw,” Steadman says with a laugh. “But really, we knew he had the ability. I tried, but it’s hard for me to play bass and sing at the same time. Jason was a better fit for our sound. [My voice] is definitely not as deep as he is, and it didn’t sound right.”

A STONER ROCK SOUND: For Steadman and Co., it all starts with Black Sabbath. “We also like classics like Zeppelin and Metallica and Iron Maiden and Guns N Roses,” says Steadman. “We’re all there with that. I’ve talked about this before with the band. Are we metal? Are we hard rock? Are we stoner rock? It might be better classified as stoner rock.” Separately, Christner says that because stoner rock encompasses so many different musical styles, it’s as apt a term as any to describe the band’s sound. “Stoner rock can be super heavy or super bluesy or kind of psychedelic,” he says. “We like all aspects of that and kind of come together in the middle. As a result, we can play with a lot of different bands. We can play on both heavier and lighter shows.”

A DIY APPROACH: The band recorded its latest album, Prodrome of Psychosis, at Christner’s Basement Studio with Ramsey handling production duties. “He did a pretty dang good job,” says Steadman. “We did the editing, and it wasn’t back and forth with someone else who was charging us as we sit there and make decisions.”

WHY YOU SHOULD HEAR

THEM: The Clutch-like “March of Tyrants,” an industrial-strength hard rock song that literally begins with the sound of people marching, features beefy guitars and gruff vocals. The sludge-y “Hell Priest” commences with a highly technical guitar riff before the defiant vocals kick in. One song didn’t make the

album, and the band has quickly written another three tunes since the Prodrome sessions wrapped, so it’s already on its way to the next release, whatever that might be. “I think Trent even has another dozen songs ready to go,” says Christner. “The next release might be a single or it might be an EP or LP. We just want to keep the fans engaged.”

WHERE YOU CAN HEAR THEM: facebook.com/ mothersmadnessband/.

WHERE YOU CAN SEE

THEM: Mother’s Madness performs with Bonded by Darkness and Death Weapons at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Maple Grove Tavern in Maple Heights.

@jniesel

Mother’s Madness

Courtesy photo

SAVAGE LOVE

CRUSHING LOADS

By Dan Savage

There is more to this week’s Savage Love. To read the entire column, go to Savage.Love.

Hey Dan: I’m a 71-year-old gay man married to a much younger man. That’s all fine, not relevant so much as just info. 15 years ago, I briefly took Prozac. While it dulled my sex drive, the orgasms I did manage to have while taking Prozac were off the charts. I even talked to my doctor about it at the time and he just sort of shrugged and said enjoy it. Okay, fine. But a little more than 15 years later — off Prozac for most of that time (I didn’t stay on it long) — my orgasms are still off the charts. My husband’s last a kind of normalish five-to-eight seconds but mine continue for a good 30 seconds and leave me unable to function after. Possibly related, from time to time I get a short but slamming headache. I also very rarely experience unpleasant orgasm-related disorientation, like a sense of “déjà vu” that lasts for hours. I have been to a neurologist about this but was offered no explanation. I worry these orgasms might be permanently debilitating to me. Do you think I could be harming myself with these massive mindblowing events? I am having sex about twice a week and they are always like that.

Massive Orgasms And Neurological Symptoms

Some people get intense headaches immediately before or after climaxing, and while “sex headaches,” as their doctors call them, can be extremely annoying, they’re not life-threatening. If you’re using Viagra or poppers (which should never be used together), that could be causing or worsening your sex headaches.

As for your other symptoms, a recent study written up in The Times of London could offer some guidance. The study, published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, focused on post orgasmic illness syndrome (POIS), a rare sexual dysfunction that afflicts a tiny percentage of men. Basically, men

can become allergic to their own sperm cells, and their own immune systems mount a response to those “left behind” sperm cells that exit the balls but not the body.

“Many health providers do not know about it, let alone the public,” the study’s lead author, Andrew Shanholtzer, a medical student at Oakland University, told The Times of London. “It is more than likely that it is underdiagnosed, with many sufferers out there.”

Seeing as symptoms include feelings of fatigue, disorientation, and headaches, along with an assortment of flu-like symptoms, MOANS, it’s possible that you’re one of those undiagnosed sufferers.

The study details how Shanholtzer treated a younger POIS sufferer whose symptoms sounded a lot worse (and a lot less fun) than yours: a cough, swollen lymph nodes, hives. The use of an antihistamine reduced the severity of this man’s symptoms by more than 90%. The study will be published in the November 2022 issue of Urology Case Reports (“Post orgasmic illness syndrome successfully treated with antihistamine: A case report,” Shanholtzer, et al), if you want to print it out, show it to your doctor, and give the recommended antihistamine — fexofenadine — a try. Or, hey, maybe it was the Prozac you briefly took 15 years ago and an

antihistamine won’t help. All that said, MOANS, we all gotta go sometime… and I can think of much worse ways than being taken out by a massive orgasm in my eighth decade of life.

Hey Dan: I’m a 41-year-old dude who has been monogamously married for 22 years. I know you’re doing the math and, no, it wasn’t a shotgun wedding. We were high school lovelies who went to college, got our degrees, got married, and established our careers before having two kids. Both our kids, who are still young, have been diagnosed autistic. Needless to say, our lives have become more challenging. About two years ago, my partner fell in love with another woman (X) and asked if we could try polyamory. She asserts that her love for X does not diminish her feelings for me, and that, in part, X represents an escape from life’s challenges. I believe her, but that hasn’t made it easier for me. I’ve tried to be as supportive as possible, which has included developing a meaningful, loving, and sexually active relationship with X myself. However, the process of settling into polyamory has created more distance between us (me and my wife) than I would like. Further complicating matters, I’ve developed a strong connection with another woman (Y), and even though Y has strongly suggested the feelings are mutual, she’s in a long-term relationship that appears happy and monogamous. I want to tell Y I love her, but I haven’t out of respect for Y, her partner, and their young kids. I am also nervous about losing Y as a friend. Can telling someone you love them ever go wrong?

Paralyzed Over Love’s Yearning

You’ve got a wife, you and your wife currently share a girlfriend… Go to Savage.Love to read the rest.

@fakedansavage www.savage.love

Joe Newton