Category Archives: Cleveland

Acoustic, Cleveland, Indie, Live Shows, Music, Music News, Music Video, Punk, Rock, Vinyl

Into It. Over It. Announces Tour & Limited Edition 52 Weeks Vinyl Box Set

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After 5 years being in existence, Into It. Over It., aka Evan Weiss, is hitting the road to headline his very own tour.  First stop…Cleveland.

Weiss has also taken his 2007 release 52 Weeks and turned it into a very desirable collectors item.

On Octtober 16th,  Into It. Over It. will release a limited edition vinyl box set for 52 Weeks, which includes 4 LPs and a 52 page art book via No Sleep Records. Fans can pre-order their copy of 52 Weeks from the No Sleep Records website today.  Doghouse Records will also be releasing 200 copies of the box set on double cassette.

I do not know about you, but I am pretty excited about this.

Chris from No Sleep Records posted this picture on his Facebook today (of course it still needs print and whatnot:

Into It. Over It. Tour Dates:
Oct 17 – Cleveland, OH – Now That’s Class
Oct 18 – Philadelphia, PA – Unitarian Church
Oct 19 – New York, NY – Santos Party House (CMJ)
Oct 20 – Boston, MA – Middle East/Upstairs
Oct 21 – Hartford, CT – Webster Underground
Oct 22 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
Oct 23 – Richmond, VA – The Camel
Oct 24 – Columbia, SC – New Brookland Tavern
Oct 25 – Orlando, FL – Will’s Pub
Oct 26 – Gainesville, FL – The Fest
Oct 27 – Gainesville, FL – The Fest
Oct 28 – Gainesville, FL – The Fest
Oct 29 – Atlanta, GA – Vinyl
Oct 30 – Louisville, KY – The Vernon Club
Oct 31 – Chicago, IL – Beat Kitchen

Cleveland, Interview, Music, Music Video, Punk, The Awesome

Interview: Jeff & Loren of Signals Midwest

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It’s no lie.  I miss Cleveland.  I miss Akron.  I miss you Ohio.

I can not tell you how excited I was last night once my Cleveland homies Signals Midwest dropped by for a quick visit.

The boys had a night off of their current tour and I told them they could crash at my pad if they wanted.  They took me up on my offer and decided that we should all go see that new Batman movie too.

I was more than fine with that.

After the movie (amazing btw) and many beers later I felt like interviewing them for kicks and giggles.  Jeff and Loren were the troopers of the night and not only stayed up late, but were all about a drunken impromptu interview.

BHP:  So, what did you think about the movie?

Jeff Russell:  There was about 7 scenes that was tied to to my favorite and they all included Anne Hathaway and I was all like me likey likey.

Loren Shumaker-Chupp: Oh Batman… I don’t know.  The Restorations flasks were pulling it up.  John Blake was getting promoted to detective was epic.  I hit a certain point in the movie where I didn’t know what was going on.  Bruce Wayne making it out of the pit was it.

BHP: Bane was a little heavy on the Vader.

JR:  Ummmmm….I think as a trilogy it ended perfectly and I loved how Christopher Nolan had an all-star cast.  If he was a basketball coach, he would have had a dream team.  But LeBron James would have been in the new Spiderman movie.

LS: The pit that Wayne was stuck in was easy to get to get out of  in New Jersey.

JR:  Commissioner Gordon moved to Cleveland.

BHP:  Ha ha, and I moved away.  Do you feel the movie lacked in anything?

JR:  I would have loved to see Mr. Freeze and what he would have brought to the table.  I would have loved to have seen his take on global warning.  What if Al Gore played Mr. Freeze?

LS: I just think that I have a better memory of Danny DeVito carrying around that umbrella.  I just say that because you can’t use the Penguin anymore because he killed it.  Jack Nicholson killed it.  He warned Heath Ledger to not play the Joker.

BHP:  How’s the tour going?

LS:  Going great.  Played a lot of shows we did not know what we were getting into but had a good turnout.  We like playing new places not knowing what were were going into and having a good reaction.

JR:  The people that travel to see us is mind-blowing.  It sounds conceded, but we made some solid friends in cities that we could  not have played in due to cramming in so many shows as possible in a month and not going to as many cities as we wanted to.

LS:  This tour is great as we get to see a lot of cities, but not as many as we wanted to.  It is great to see so many people thought.

JR:  I will say it’s crazy being 2 weeks being Luther and 4 days ahead of Hold Tight!.  Having kids still come out to our shows is pretty awesome.  It’s tour season.

BHP:  What is next for you guys?

JR: We start a week long tour with French Exit.

LS:  We will be out with them for 6 days and have the cost.

JR:  We ge tho play at our favorite venue called VLHS. Does anybody need a beer?

BHP:  Yes.

LS:  Vince Lombardi high school. Yeah.

JR:  Also stoked to see Sleeping Weather, cause that band shreds.  I think they are just a three piece.

BHP:  What do you guys think of Las Cruces?

JR:  It is not that hot.

LS:  I heard some coyotes earlier.

JR:  No scorpions.  We went and saw Dark Night Crisis with our home girl Brian.

LS:  Las Cruces is awesome because you can buy liquor at Walgreens.  In Cleveland you have go to a liquor store.  Wave Falls, what is that Wallgreens beer?

And that was it.  The interview ended and we all went to bed.  It was well past 3am and we were all exhausted and maybe a little drunk too.  Even though Max and Steve passed out early (Steve, I hope you are feeling better man), it was still great to see the guys.  I only wish it could have lasted a little longer.  Sadly I had to go to work…really hungover, but I made it and wet on with my good self while Village Inn made breakfast for Signals Midwest.  Man I was jealous about that…

Happy touring fellas. Thanks for the great hang.


Akron, Babble Blog, Cleveland, Good Times, Personal Entry, The Awesome, The Suck

“Ohio I’m leaving, Ohio I’m gone …”

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Never thought I would actually be able to sing the following Avett Brothers lyrics and have them actually hold true to my heart:

“Cleveland, I ain’t never felt nothing so strong
Been believing the words to my songs
Ohio I’m leaving, Ohio I’m gone”

For those of you who may not have heard yet, I have taken a job promotion within my company and will be relocating from Cleveland to Las Cruces, New Mexico, within the next 3 weeks.  This decision was the most difficult thing I have ever made in my life and it just killed me to come to a decision with such little time.

I weighed all the pros and the cons over and over and realized that I needed this adventure even if it meant leaving everything I love behind.  I feel terrible about moving on, but I do not want to not go on with life and one day wonder  “what if”.  I want to just take that huge risk and see what happens and say that I did it.

For 35 years, Cleveland and Akron have been my life.  Raised in a suburb in the middle of both cities, I was privileged enough to meet a ton of people who I have the pleasure of calling friend.  From the days of sitting curbside at a Dunkin Donuts to the warm nights in the Coventry courtyard, I really was lucky to be surrounded by such cool and remarkable people.  I loved going to the Metros daily and will never forget the times I had at “The Office”.  I could not have had a better childhood.

Throughout the years, we all grew up, some  of us took our own journeys and risks, but I stayed put and called Cleveland and Akron home.  To be honest, I was so ok with that.  I am Cleveland blood, this is my town.

As I continued growing up, I met more people and became involved in the ever important Cleveland / Akron music scene, not as a band performer, but as someone who fully appreciated it.  I loved my involvement with everything I did and cherished all of the memories that were created on a nightly basis.  I am so lucky to say that I had that.

Without going into too much detail, I will just say this: The Cleveland/Akron music scene rules right now and is it better than ever was.  I am so sad to leave it all behind, but you all know you I will be doing all I can to stick around, even if I need to do it via the Internet.  No way in hell am I going to not keep updated, some of these local bands are too important to not continue to keep tabs on.

The people…my friends.  Cleveland and Akron are full of the greatest people I will ever meet.  I know you will all welcome me back with open arms if and when I make it back on Ohio soil.  Trust me on this, I will be thinking about Ohio on a daily basis for the rest of my life.  Thank you to everyone out there who I have met for being so damn cool.

Obviously I am going to miss the locally owned shops and restaurants.  I just hit up Square Records last night and know nothing like that store will exist where I am moving to.  Music Saves and Blue Arrow, I seriously am going to miss the shit out of as well as the greatest comfort food on Earth, Melt.  Pizza will never even compare to Luigi’s.  I drool at the thought of one of their salads right now…  There are so many other places I can talk about, but I am getting sad just thinking about it.  I just hope I can score some Great Lakes beers out in the desert.

Sure, there will be plenty of new places for me to experience in my move to a new city, but it will not be the same.  Anyone from Cleveland and Akron who reads this knows exactly what I am talking about.  Cleveland and Akron are not that bad and I question why so many people hate it and say they are stuck in it.  I’m glad I was born and raised here.

Do I even dare get into Cleveland sports???  I will miss that so much and you can bet your ass I will remain a fan of Cleveland teams until the day I die.  That is a promise.  Browns for life.

I really should wrap this thing up.  Before I finish though, I just wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you out there who has spoken to me one way or another, shared a beer or a smile, rocked out along with, or just stopped here on this blog to see what was on my mind.  Without you all, I know I would not be the man I am today, and this site would not be going on 4 years.  Being surrounded in so many amazing people just adds fuel to my amazing life.

Special love to my greatest friends ever who rock out in bands like The Facials, Worship This!, Signals Midwest, Beat Kids, Harvey Pekar, Annabel, All Dinosaurs, Sidekicks, and of course Narcoleptics X5 (RIP).  These bands that I surrounded me around with are full of some of the most amazing people I will ever know in my life and I will miss the shit out of all of you.

Props to places like It’s A Kling Thing House, Dag House, Now That’s Class, Grog Shop, Agora (I hope you make a sweet come back), Odeon (you too), and all the other places I have seen a show at.

AddictedToVinyl.com, aka Matt, and his amazing new fiancé Annie (congrats!!!!), thank you for everything you have ever done for me.  The same love goes to all the good people who used to slave away at 92.3 including Patt The Producer and Nard.

I plan on continuing my blog, that is for sure, but it will never be the same.  I will be sure to try and visit and who knows, maybe one day I will plant my feet back in northeastern Ohio.  Only time can tell.

I leave June 8th and hope I get to see many of you before I pack up and drive cross county.  I know Las Cruces will be good to me, but nothing like the cities I grew up in.

I am scared as hell but excited to see what happens in the next chapter of my life.  Thank you people of Cleveland for all you have done for me.  I can not help but say “Cleveland Rocks” and mean it with all of my heart.  Akron, you rule too.

Cleveland, Country, Good Reads, Live Shows, Music, Review, Rock

Concert Review: Elliott Brood / The Pack AD / Leah Lou & The 2 Left Shoes – Beachland Tavern – Cleveland, OH – 03/09/2012

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I completely forgot that Toronto’s Elliott Brood was coming to town last week and if it wasn’t for a a good friend of mine, I would have surely missed out on an awesome show.  Luckily for me, my pal Kyle was quick to remind me last Friday, hours before the show, that Elliott Brood was playing the Beachland Tavern.  (Thanks Kyle, you are always looking out for me…)

It was a last minute decision to hit up the show, and I can not tell how how glad that I was able to.  The Ontario country / rock act was just about to finish up a stretch of their tour last week in support of their new release Days Into Years, and made sure that Cleveland was one of their destinations.  Touring with their pals The Pack AD, the band turned what could have been a boring Friday evening into something much more entertaining.

Locals Leah Lou & The 2 Left Shoes opened the night with their cute yet harsh indie pop sounds.  At times, I thought that Ms. Leah Lou was going to smash her acoustic guitar into the ground as it would not tune right for her causing the duo to skip over more than one song from their set.  Instead, she hid away her frustrations and used the free time to get to know the crowd as well as introduce her family to them.  When she was able to play some of her songs, the crowd was just eating it up.  I did notice while Leah Lou played her set that Casey Laforet from Elliott Brood was checking her out and was loving what he heard.  How couldn’t he though?  I love this local act.  Lea Lou reminds me of Regina Spektor mixed with Joanna Newsome, but far sassier.  If you have not seen this local act live yet, you really should.

Up next was Vancouver’s The Pack AD and I will admit, I did not know what to expect from this female duo at all.  The young looking lead signer had a punk rock look to her while the drummer appeared to have been well versed in the days of rock n roll.  I was expecting more of a Runaways / Joan Jett sound but was blown away by what I heard.  Their sound was more or less the White Stripes mixed up with some Black Keys with a span of singing stiles that sometimes reminded me of Justin Hawkins (not the high pitched crap) making for some great tunes.  Guitar, drums, and singing was all these ladies delivered and it was awesome.  I loved “Haunt You” as well as when Becky Black just tore up her guitar during “Lights” and also during “Deer” (at least that is what I think the song title was).  A couple gents from Fort Worth, Indiana, actually traveled 3 hours to see these ladies rock out.  At first I questioned why they would do such a thing, but by the set’s end, I fully understood.  I’m shocked that The Pack AD has not already grabbed some major attention already.  I will be checking these girls out more in the near future.

I’ve missed Elliot Brood in the past when they played Cleveland, so I made sure I found a close standing spot to watch the band.  I actually wound up leaning against the small wall by the stage.  As the band played, I could not help but stare at Laforet’s feet as he played what looked like a drum machine hooked up to some organ pedals while playing guitar.  It was a very makeshift instrument, but it was perfect.  He barely even glanced at his feet while playing songs.  It was kind of impressive.

Throughout their set, Marc Sasso joked with the crowd.  At one time he even paid tribute to the SS&W Boardwalk Bar just down on Waterloo and mentioned how he liked to grab drinks there before shows in the past.  He then went on to inform everyone that is where his parents met and eventually conceived him.  Laforet added that he was conceived on the pool table in the corner pocket.  All jokes aside, the band did let the crowd know that they appreciated everyone for coming out.

The band played a lot of tracks off their recent release Days Into Years including “Lindsey” and “If I Get Old”, but was also quick to jam out to some older tunes like “Oh, Alberta” and  my favorite,”Write It All Down For You” (can I tell you all how much better that song sounds when they play it to you in a tavern?).  It was the highlight of my evening.  I would have liked to have seen Stephen Pitkin beat on a suitcase over a drum set like I heard he used to years ago, but I guess you can’t have everything.  Speaking of percussion, Pitkin actually passed out pie tins and wooden spoons towards the end of the set so that the crowd could help Elliott Brood play songs.

Elliot Brood finished up their set and exited the stage.  They had more important things to do, like hang out with the crowd.  It was a great show to start off my weekend and I am sure that all who were there would agree on that.

Akron, Cleveland, Got Local?, Hardcore, Music, Punk, The Awesome

Harvey Pekar (the band, not the legend)

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I love Cleveland and its half-cousin-of a-city Akron.  There are a ton of reasons that have kept me here for so long.  One of them is the good people who I have surrounded myself in.  I know some of the best people in this area and feel privlidged.  The other reason I dg Northeast Ohio so music is because of the music scene.

What?  Cleveland and Akron have a music scene?  You bet your damn ass they do.  Lately it has been picking up too.

Sure, it might be a week or two between a solid show, but the local bands in Cleveland and Akron are good, scratch that, they are amazing.  Well, at least to me and that is all that should matter.  Some of my favorite releases last year were local bands.

Case and point: Harvey Pekar (the band, not the legend)

I love this Cleveland hardcore band so much that I am going to pimp them out to anyone who happened to accidentally read this.  Last December this band opened up for my pals Worship This! and killed it.  I was an instant fan.  With no material released at the time of the show, I was almost bummed all I was able to do was hear them one time.  Luckily a few weeks later they uploaded their EP to Bandcamp.

Harvey Pekar mixes up punk rock and hardcore with intelligence if that makes any sense.  The lyrics are the kind that make me want to research and the music makes me want to go nuts.  Some people might think the breakdowns are a tad excessive on a couple of tracks, but honestly, I think it works.  I dig their Thirty Ghosts EP a whole lot, especially “Confronting Flag” and “Begotten of Ian Fleming” (I do like me some James Bond you know…).  I look forward to seeing this band play out more and more in 2012 and drop a full-length.

Check them out if you want.  Keep it local folks.