Music

PUSHING THE ENVELOPE

State Champs kick off their production-heavy fall tour at House of Blues

By Jeff Niesel

State Champs

EARLIER THIS YEAR, STATE

Champs returned with their fourth studio album, Kings of the New Age, another terrific distillation of their pop and punk influences. The album includes singles such as “Eventually,” “Everybody but You” (ft. Ben Barlow), “Outta My Head” and “Just Sound” alongside tracks featuring guest vocalists Chrissy Costanza, Mitchell Tenpenny and Four Year Strong.

In a recent conference call, guitarist Tyler Szalkowski and drummer Evan Ambrosio talked about the album, and the fall tour that kicks off in Cleveland on Friday, Nov. 11, when State Champs play House of Blues.

You’ve put together some “badass” stage production for the tour. Talk about that.

Szalkowski: The production is cool. It’s our first time doing something like it. We’ve been doing this for 12 years now, so it’s rare we get to do something for the first time. We’re lucky enough now that we can push the envelope and do things we’ve always wanted to do as a band. headlining a lot lately and doing it for a while, we want to make sure that our set list and production is elevated. Our fans who are coming back have seen us play a ton of songs, so we want to play some older stuff or maybe we do a different take on certain things. It’ll be more of an experience going to this tour than any tour we’ve done in the past. Szalkowski: We’ve been taking some notes from pop stars. We go to our fair share of concerts and borrow ideas from everywhere. We think, “Shit, why can’t we do that?” And now, we’ve realized that we can.

What was it like working with producer Drew Fulk (Lil Wayne, A Day to Remember, Ice Nine Kills) on your new album?

Szalkowski: It was great. He has done something from every genre. He is just that talented. That speaks volumes. Working with him was special. We did a producer shootout situation. We spent two weeks working with about seven different people on our short list. After working with him, we thought he fucking rocked. The big thing for us was that he focused on emotion. It sounds hippy dippy, but it’s so important and oftentimes glossed over by producers who are concerned with things other than how the song makes you feel. People get too in the weeds with everything instead of stepping back to see how the piece of art makes you feel. I have songs that I don’t feel connected to at all because they didn’t mean anything to me. With this one, it meant so much more because we were in the room writing together. It was just the four of us. We were kicking ass and taking names, and we were stoked on everything.

STATE CHAMPS, BETWEEN YOU AND ME, HUNNY, YOUNG CULTURE

6 P.M., FRIDAY, NOV. 11, HOUSE OF BLUES, 308 EUCLID AVE., 216-523-2583. TICKETS: $29.50-$45, HOUSEOFBLUES.COM.

“Everybody But You” is one of my favorite tracks. Talk about working with Ben Barlow on the song.

Szalkowski: That one is awesome. It was the first time we felt we had another hit. When we had done “Secrets,” we knew it would be a big hit. We didn’t have that on [2020’s] Living Proof. We liked it, but we didn’t know if we had a home run hit. When we did “Everybody But You,” we were riding high. It was born from one chord progression. Drew had heard something and said it was awesome and we could build something brand new around it. It all came together in six working hours. Sometimes less is more. You tend to heavily scrutinize, but less is more. As we get older, we learn that. Sometimes, addition by subtraction is the answer. We sent Ben the song, and he sent something back and we just told him to add a few more words. He just smashed it out. We’ve known him for ten years now. It was just special. We’re grateful he lent his voice to it and his writing talents as well.

Can you reflect on the journey the band’s taken since forming in 2010 in Albany? It must’ve been tough to break out of there.

Szalkowski: It’s hard to break out in general. Being from Albany doesn’t sound sexy or cool, but it’s close to lots of places. We would go play Boston and Philadelphia and then come home and go to work or school. The journey was long and paved with many, many frustrations. For us, we were in a really good place at a really good time. We used the internet to change the game for us. We made our first EP and put it up on this “leak” site. We used to pass out burned CDs at local shows. Getting out of Albany was hard and even going back to Albany is tough because we will do a third of the tickets there than we would do three hours to the south. I didn’t super enjoy it in the moment, but I realize how it taught me to believe in a music scene.

Ambrosio: Exactly what Tyler said. The Northeast is such a special place to be a band. Pop-punk wasn’t the cool thing. I’m a late addition to the band. I joined ten years ago, and they had already done the groundwork of making fans in the Boston area and throughout the Northeast. I came from a band that tried to do that, but it didn’t work out. When I joined on is when we really started touring. We took every tour we could, and, luckily, it led us to this crazy career. The fact that we’re still a band this long after we started is mind-blowing. We’re incredibly lucky. Bands fizzle out pretty quickly and continuing to be part of the music scene is incredible.

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel

MUSIC

JOHN MCEUEN & THE CIRCLE BAND

6:30 P.M., SUNDAY, NOV. 6, KENT STAGE, 175 E. MAIN ST., KENT, 330-677-5005. TICKETS: $35-$45, KENTSTAGE.ORG.

BANJO MAN

John McEuen to revisit Will the Circle Be Unbroken for Kent Stage show

By Jeff Niesel

John McEuen.

SOME 50 YEARS AGO, THE

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band brought bluegrass to the masses with its platinum-selling Will the Circle Be Unbroken. To celebrate the album’s anniversary, founding member/ banjo man John McEuen has teamed up with Les Thompson (another founding member of NGDB), John Cable (a former NGDB member) and Matt Cartsonis to perform tunes from the landmark album.

“Les [Thompson] and I started playing together again about eight years ago, and it’s been great,” says McEuen via phone from his L.A. home. McEuen & the Circle Band perform on Sunday, Nov. 6, at the Kent Stage.

The tour also celebrates the release of a coffeetable book that McEuen put out; it includes photos from Will the Circle Be Unbroken recording sessions.

“My brother Bill was the [NGDB] manager and producer up until 1980,” McEuen says when asked about the book’s origins. “It doesn’t seem like that long ago. It seems like eight or 10 or 12 years ago. He took photographs during the early years and during the Circle sessions that he was producing. My brother was taking pictures this whole time. The photos in the book include about 30 from early Dirt band leading up to the Circle album. It’s so weird. I look at them and think, ‘That’s pretty cool.’ And then, I go, ‘Wait a minute. That’s me.’ I feel like I’m looking at pictures of the Beatles or something. All the photos from the Circle sessions are there, and there’s a story with each photo. It’s not just a book of pictures.”

At the time they cut the release, McEuen says he and his brother knew the album would be “really special,” if only because of the musical guests they had lined up.

“My brother could have shot a movie out of this,” says McEuen. “We knew it was something. You have Roy Acuff and Maybelle Carter, the people who started country music, playing on it. Maybelle made her first record in 1927, and we’re recording ‘Keep on the Sunny Side,’ one of the songs that she recorded then. We recorded four songs with her.”

With Carter’s supple vocals and some sweet harmony vocals, the band’s rendition of “Keep on the Sunny Side” serves as one of the album’s many highlights. Fiddle player Vassar Clements played a significant role on the track as well.

“If you ever needed a fiddle player who could do it all, you had to get Vassar,” says McEuen. “We needed someone who played jazz like Stéphane Grappelli and could play bluegrass and old-timey music. That means, Carter has a lot of notes that fly off that thing. We were rehearsing ‘Sunny Side,’ with Maybelle, and Vassar was over there fooling around, and Maybelle says, ‘Can you just play the melody and quit all that fooling around.’ He said, ‘Yes, mama, no problem.’” Expect McEuen to share other additional anecdotes at the upcoming Kent Stage show. And to provide a true retrospective of the band’s career, he’s worked on a multi-media component for the tour as well.

“The pictures from the book end up behind me on the screen as we play in front of it,” he says. “We have a picture of a stern Roy Acuff, who wasn’t sure he wanted to play on the album, and he’s in the control room listening to the music. After it was done, he said, ‘That’s country music. Let’s go make some more.’ People laugh and ‘ooh’ and ‘ahhh’ at the pictures, which are ten by 20-feet tall. My editing program even has a thing I call the Ken Burns effect. It’s close-ups and effects like you might see in one of his movies.”

Circle still winds up on some of Amazon’s top-selling albums lists, suggesting it and bluegrass music in general continue resonate.

“It’s something about the sessions and the sequencing,” says McEuen when asked about the album’s enduring popularity. “It makes it feel like you’ve tuned into this massive conglomeration of people that all happened at one time. If you take [bluegrass singer-songwriter] Sierra Hull or Railroad Earth, they most likely know that older music. You never know who will have a Circle album. Someone sent me a photo of Yo-Yo Ma practicing in his office and behind him is a Circle album. When people are looking for the heart of America, they go to this type of music.”

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel

MUSIC

Minus the Alien.

Courtesy of Minus the Alien

A HIP-HOP RECORDING ARTIST

and songwriter from Akron, rapper Minus the Alien has a strong passion for mentoring youth and community outreach.

A recipient of the 2018 Men of Champions Award presented by Mayor Dan Horrigan and the Joy Park Neighborhood Federation and an alumnus of the Neighborhood Leadership Institute of Summit County, he also founded a grassroots non-profit organization calledAlien Arts, Inc. and has developed an in-person/virtual hip-hop boot camp that teaches the history of hip-hop culture and how it can be used a tool for positive change.

The conscious rapper will release his new EP, I Come in Peace, a 7-song journey about an alien who “comes to earth with good intentions but becomes engulfed in a web of negative human experiences,” on Friday, Nov. 11.

Nate Vaill recorded, mixed and mastered the album at Just a Dream Studios/Rialto Theater located in Akron’s Kenmore neighborhood. The album features female artist La Butterfly, a local neo-soul and hip-hop artist who also just happens to be Minus the Alien’s fiancé, and gospel and R&B artist/musician Ron Law.

“The lead-off single, ‘My Story,’ featuring Ron Law and produced by Kenneth English, is based on real trauma I experienced as a child and young man, which caused a lot of depression and anxiety throughout my lifetime,” says Minus the Alien in a press release. “You never know what a person is going through. The pandemic slowed the world down which gave me the opportunity to focus on healing and self-love. ‘My Story’ is by far the most vulnerable I’ve been on record at the same time therapeutic with the recent passing of my father. It’s ultimately about encouraging people not to give up or suppress their emotions, no matter what you’ve been through or if you’ve had a toxic relationship in your past, like me. I want to be a witness that love is always going to prevail.”

A video for that single that Daymon Griffin and Minus the Alien directed came out during the summer. The video tells a story of a 12-year-old pre-teen protecting his mom against the verbal and physical abuse of an alcoholic drug addicted ex-boyfriend; it’s a visual story that matches the tone of the song.

Formerly known as A-Minus, Minus the Alien says he uses his platform to speak on social issues that oppress people.

“And at the end of the day, [Minus the Alien] wants his music to be seen as creative in its presentation of real issues, while also being digestible and motivational,” reads the press release about the new EP. “His passion, unique voice, abstract lyrics, catchy hooks, soulful harmonies and vocal arrangements sonically provide a formula that can be embraced by all ages.”

OkayPlayer.com recently named Minus one of the 2021 top ten Akron rappers.

“I know how music affects our youth,” the rapper says. “They believe stuff word-for-word. I don’t want my music to ever misguide them and encourage them to get involved in violence and drugs like a lot of other hip-hop music does.”

MORE OF A PLUS

Akron-based conscious rapper Minus the Alien returns with a new EP

By Jeff Niesel

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel

LIVEWIRE Real music in the real world

THU 11/03

Tab Benoit

Louisiana-born blues guitarist Tab Benoit started up “Voice of the Wetlands,” a charity focusing on coastal preservation, back in 2003. Thing is, that moniker is also apropos for Benoit. With the grit of the delta blues in his guitar work and the thick atmosphere of his vocals, Benoit’s commitment to the South’s fine legacy of all things Cajun is quite strong. Pick up a copy of 1992’s Nice and Warm or 2011’s Medicine for perspectives on his early and late career points, respectively. The talented singer-guitarist comes to the Kent Stage tonight at 7. Tickets cost $35 to $45. 175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.

FRI 11/04

Bendigo Fletcher

Drawing from folk, alternative, country and soul, the indie rock act Bendigo Fletcher teamed with producer and original Wilco/Uncle Tupelo drummer Ken Coomer for its latest EP. The indie rock group also enlisted Grizzly Bear bassist and producer Chris Taylor and Geoff Piller to mix the release. Lead single “Pterodactyl” features cooing vocals and possesses a twangy feel comparable to acts such as the Avett Brothers. The band performs tonight at 7 at Mahall’s 20 Lanes in Lakewood. Tickets cost $15. 13200 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216-521-3280, mahalls20lanes.com.

Tegan and Sara

Sisters Tegan and Sara Quin formed Tegan and Sara nearly 25 years ago, and the band’s deeply personal lyrics and terrific vocal harmonies resonated with a fanbase that’s becoming increasing devout over the years. This tour that brings it to House of Blues tonight at 8 supports the band’s tenth studio album, Crybaby. Check the club’s website for more info. 308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583, houseofblues.com.

SAT 11/05

AFI

AFI’s seventh album, 2006’s Decemberunderground, debuted at

Tegan and Sara return to House of Blues. See: Friday, Nov. 4. Photo: Courtesy of GrandstandHQ

No. 1 on the charts thanks to the uber-popular single, “Miss Murder,” which was ubiquitous on alt-rock radio at the time. Since then, the band hasn’t delivered a hit of the same caliber, but now that nostalgia for early to mid-2000s emo rock is running high, the band is again a going concern. It performs tonight at 7 at the Agora. 5000 Euclid Ave., 216-881-2221, agoracleveland.com.

Chaka Khan

Nominated for induction into the Rock Hall three times as a solo artist and four times as a member of Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, singersongwriter Chaka Khan comes to MGM Northfield Park — Center Stage tonight at 8. 10705 Northfield Rd., Northfield, 330-908-7793, mgmnorthfieldpark. mgmresorts.com/en.html.

Jeezy

Trap music pioneer Jeezy, who was once known as Young Jeezy, performs tonight at 8 at the State Theatre. His first album, Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101, came out all the way back in 2005, so expect to hear songs from the past 15-plus years. His latest effort, Snofall, finds him working again with DJ Drama on a collection of streetwise songs that recall the gangsta rap of the 1980s. R&B singer Lloyd opens the show. Tickets start at $52.50. 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

music icon returns to town to play the Kent Stage tonight at 6:30. He’s touring in support of his 43rd, album, Leap! The 18-song album features guests such as fiddle act Stuart Duncan, keyboardist Jon Carroll, drummer Robert “Jos” Jospé and guitarist Pete Kennedy. 175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.

Varials

The metalcore band comes to the Foundry tonight as it brings its tour in support of its latest album, Scars for You to Remember, to town. Songs like album opener “A Body Wrapped in Plastic: Prologue” feature parched vocals and chunky guitar riffs designed to inspire mosh pits and head-banging. Expect the tunes to translate well and really reverberate in the intimate club-setting. 11729 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, 216-555-6669, foundryconcertclub.com/.

WED 11/09

Sunglaciers

The Calgary-based psych-pop quartet Sunglaciers brings its tour in support of its latest album, Subterranea, to the Happy Dog tonight. The album’s trippier tracks such as “Negative Ways” and “Thought Maps” feature soft vocals and percolating synths as the band evokes ’80s New Wave (think the softer side of New Order). Show Pink and Language open at 9 p.m. 5801 Detroit Ave., 216-651-9474, happydogcleveland.com.

SUN 11/13

Jinjer

The Ukraine isn’t exactly known as fertile ground for rock ’n’ roll, so it’s pretty remarkable that Jinjer, which formed in Donetsk in 2008, has not only managed to secure a record deal, but it’s also toured the world several times over. The songs for its recent effort, Wallflowers, came together when the touring industry shut down in March of 2020. This tour, of course, stands out if only for the fact that the group has been able to leave its homeland during a time of extreme crisis. And lest you think the band has abandoned its homeland during a time of need, the tour reportedly has the blessing of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture. The show starts tonight at 6 at House of Blues. 308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583, houseofblues.com.

MON 11/14

The Murlocs

The Murlocs, an Aussie band featuring members of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, come to the Beachland Ballroom tonight at 8 as they bring their tour in support of their new album, Rapscallion, to town. A collection of 12 garagepunk tunes that benefit from their undeniably infectious guitar riffs and Sex Pistols-like attitude, Rapscallion should translate well live. Singer-songwriter Paul Jacobs opens. 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.

TUE 11/15

The Garden

Formed by twin brothers Wyatt and Fletcher Shears in 2011, the Garden slowly has amassed a devoted fanbase on its DIY tours across the United States. The guys have reportedly slept in cars, on park benches, and on peoples’ floors across Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Russia and the rest of the world. They come to House of Blues tonight at 7 as part of a tour in support of their latest effort, Horseshit on Route 66. 308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583, houseofblues.com.

Artificial Astronaut

Courtesy photo

ARTIFICIAL ASTRONAUT

By Jeff Niesel

MEET THE BAND: Ian Kolarovsky (vocals/keyboards), Michael Socrates (guitar/electronics/keyboards), Matthew Socrates (drums), Fred Winkler (bass), Cody Heichel (guitar)

A PANDEMIC PROJECT: Both Mike Socrates and singer Ian Kolarovsky hail from Wayne County and played in a ‘90s cover band prior to forming Artificial Astronaut. But while covering tunes by other acts, they still managed to find time to write some original material, and by 2020, they had written a slew of original tunes and started recording them. “The first song was ‘Ghost,’ and we liked how it came out and wanted to keep going in that direction,” says Michael Socrates, who counts Tool, Bjork and Stabbing Westward among his influences. “I like industrial music from the late ‘90s and early 2000s and even stuff coming out now. Industrial music in general has been a guiding light.”

A QUICK START: The group has released two albums in the span of the last two years, a remarkable feat. “We’re just bored dads, and we needed something to do at night beside watch TV,” says Socrates with a laugh. “We built studios in our basement and traded files because we’re dads and can’t really jam in the basement together all the time.” Kolarovsky built a vocal booth in his basement and would send files to Socrates. “It was all tracked and engineered in our basements,” says Socrates.

FINDING THE CURE: One of the band’s standout tracks is a cover of the Cure tune “Burn.” The band makes an edgy song even edgier with thick bass riffs and shimmering synths. “It’s one of those things where we have a group chat, and we talked about how that song is hands-down one of the best songs ever written and has stood the test of time,” says Socrates. “We demoed it, and once we got going, we decided it sounded pretty cool. It was a nobrainer.”

WHY YOU SHOULD HEAR

THEM: “The Flow State” sounds like a cross between Tool and Incubus as it pairs propulsive drums and heavy guitars with softer vocals. “I keep a list of cool phrases, and I’ll pick something from there and do a demo,” Socrates says when asked about the track. “I send them over and Ian writes lyrics around the riffs.” The upcoming show at the Rialto Theatre will be the band’s first-ever live performance, and Socrates says the group is excited to make its debut. “We expect it to be a boosted step-up from the recordings,” he says of the performance. “We sound really tight and polished. We want to do the music justice. We didn’t spend all this time playing in our basements to suck on stage. We want [the concert] to sound big and loud.”

WHERE YOU CAN HEAR

THEM: linktr.ee/artificialastronaut.

WHERE YOU CAN SEE

THEM: Artificial Astronaut performs with Jeff Klemm & the Letters and Indigo Lake at 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11, at the Rialto Theatre in Akron.

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel