So what is WhiskerTin you ask? Well, two friends from Akron, OH had an idea of making lamps from leftover sheetmetal parts. Each lamp is hand-made by the duo. As each lamp was created, their passion for their creations grew and ideas were formulated. They were reinventing the way people looked at lights.
At first, it was just the hand-made lamps. Don’t get me wrong, these lamps are amazing. I have seen them in person.
Soon they were taking requests and creating one-of-a-kind floor and desk lamps for their customers. Heck, they have even made commercial lights out of Great Lakes Brewing Company keg halves. No seriously, next time you are at GLBC restaurant in Cleveland, head down to the basement and check them out.
They have had booths at many of the craft and vendor shows in the Cleveland / Akron / Canton area this past summer. Novak even sets up a display at the Worship This! merch table, his punk rock band, just for people to see.
With new ideas, the duo decided to up their game and take their brand to a new level. They created t-shirts of their logo and artist renditions that people are buying up left and right and even started making custom lamps for businesses like Melt Bar & Grilled in Akron as well bands like Beach Slang.
These guys are always making lamps. Not even a year into their venture, Aaron Novak and Glenn Miller have taken lamp making to the extreme.
Just when I thought they were already on top of their game, they made an announcement that I could not help but share. Earlier this week, WhiskerTin announced a collaboration with Say-10 Records.
Wait…a lamp company and a record label? What exactly could these two possibly have in common?
This:
How cool is that? Seriously, my jaw dropped when I saw this for the first time.
Say-10 Records also happen to sling skateboards featuring tons of punk rock bands. Novak and Miller have taken custom lamp-making to a new dynamic and turned a skate deck into a ceiling light.
If you asked me six years ago if I thought I would be sitting in a Melt Bar & Grilled with hundreds of people who share the same love and passion for carbs and cheese to the point they dedicated a part of their skin to showcase it, I probably would have believed you.
Back in 2009, Melt’s founder and creator, Matt Fish, announced a fun promotion of sorts: Get a Melt tattoo and receive 25% off of your Melt purchase for life.
My question to myself immediately was, “am I bold enough to get a permanent coupon?” The answer was a quick “yes.”
Being the type of guy who acts now and asks later, I set up an appointment as soon as I could with my favorite tattoo artist, Mr. Ronnie Castro, and got a hand-sized Melt-inspired tattoo right on my forearm for the world to see.
Initially, I wanted to take the NOFX Never Trust a Hippie album cover and alter Jesus to be holding a grilled cheese, but my tattoo artist was thinking of something a little bit more traditional. Sometimes I wish would have gone with what I initially wanted, but I do love what he came up with:
I waited for my tattoo to heal fully before making it up to the Lakewood location to sign up for the tattoo club causing my membership number to increase some. For anyone who has ever gotten a tattoo, I am sure you can understand why I waited. No one wanted to see a scabby mess, especially when it is going to be showcased on the restaurant’s Melt Tattoo Family website page.
I was presented with tattoo member #47. At least I made it into the top 50, right?
As of today, there are over 500 members. Talk about dedication folks. With locations in Cleveland, Columbus, and most recently in Akron, it only makes sense that this one time promotion has turned into a following of sorts.
Last night, Fish and crew wanted to show their appreciation and love to all of the Melt Tattoo Family members by hosting the first ever Melt Tattoo Family Reunion.
Open to the first 200 members (plus 1 guest) to RSVP, the private event had a free appetizer buffet, photo booth, opportunity to be filmed for an upcoming Melt documentary, and best of all, a one-of-a-kind Derek Hess print. They also offered a healthy discount on drinks and food too.
Arriving just after the event’s start, I waited in a decent sized line to get checked in and secure my Hess poster (photo to follow once I take one, it is a sweet print).
From there, I snagged some free eats and found a spot up at the bar to camp out at. The free eats I speak of were beyond generous-sized offerings and consisted of most of the appetizer menu items including fried pickles, mac and cheese bites, and even s’mores bread pudding.
As I waited for my Dude Abides sandwich, I sipped on a couple of Melt City Lights and just looked at all of the people in there. Everyone was happy, having a good time, and all had something in common with me. They all felt inspired enough to put something permanent on their skin not only to achieve a discount, but to show support to a man and the company he created.
I started up a conversation with a couple sitting by me just to hear their story. They were married for 25 years, loved Melt, and the husband got a tattoo and the wife plans on one soon. They found Melt when they were looking for a restaurant in Cleveland with a good beer list. They found the beer list that intrigued them and then they found the food. Hailing from Canton, the couple drives to the Independence location frequently to enjoy a meal before having a night out and prefer it over the new Melt in Akron.
Before heading out, I decided to get my ugly mug on camera for the documentary they were filming. It was kind of cool to be able to stand there and just explain why I got the tattoo and what it means to be in a family like this.
Fish and I chatted a few times throughout the night and he just looked so happy. Can you blame him? His comfort food idea has turned into a cheesy empire with thousands of adorning fans.
Tattooed or not, people love what Fish has built up over the last 10 years. Here’s to 10 more years of cheesy goodness.
Those three words are what keep reoccurring in my mind as I listen to The Astral We by Cleveland’s Harvey Pekar.
The lyrical content in this album is beyond deep. It makes you think and react based on how you interpret it. There is no tongue in cheek rhyming, stolen ideals, or laziness in these songs.
With that said, it’s nice to hear Harvey Pekar once again. Spite a lineup change since the last album, OG members Elliot Frank (guitar), Nick Krastas (vocals), and Nick Schmitt (bass) joined forces with Nate Kelly (drums) and Tyler Sickels (guitar) to create a more solid band than ever. Without worrying about reinventing their sound, Harvey Pekar continued full force where they left off on their debut release back in 2013.
“Huff Joules” started off the album strong with the band as a whole not holding back at all. “The Heritable Self” was a true hardcore romper with plenty of group singalong opportunities as Krastas screamed his thoughts out. Loved this track.
“Ferrous Kin” was one of the songs where I just felt like Krastas was delivering a spoken-word of sorts backed by heavy riffs and fast-paced drumming. The lyrics, “frail is the life trivialized by that of artifacts” really stuck to me for some reason.
“Truisms of Infinite Regress” caught my attention in more ways than one. The track, which seeming talked about conformity and a sense of false logic, sped up midway making for quite a powerful statement and throw down. This track begged to be heard over and over by this listener.
I should also mention how much I found myself enjoying “Crystal Starlings”. The breakdown about half way though and change up kept the track interesting, the group vocals towards the end make the song enjoyable.
Everyone has their own definition of hardcore music. Harvey Pekar’s is more aligned with the genre I recall from the 90s and early 2000s, at least the hardcore I enjoyed the most mixed with a punk feel and beyond intelligent lyrics. Perhaps a little more melodic than some might like, The Astral We impressed the hell out of me and has been fueling my ears daily since it’s release a few weeks back.
Looking past the band’s sound, Harvey Pekar consists of some of the most down-to-earth guys I have had the pleasure of knowing over the years. I’ve seen them play in bars, inside a warehouse, and even on a church stage on a Sunday morning over the years and they always put on the best show and always are down for a hang afterwards.
Here I am sounding biased now. I am just calling it as I hear it. Listen for yourself and make your own determination.
[Passing the mic/keyboard/whatever over to my pal Jason Utes who covered the recent Falcon show that filled up the Grog Shop on Wednesday night. Thanks Utes for the killer review! It appears that I missed one hell of a show]
“I wanna die and I don’t care who knows.”
If you’re reading this, you are probably already a fan of The Falcon. Otherwise, if I told you I was going to see a band with such lyrical presentation, you would imagine something far different from what I experienced Wednesday night.
Ostensibly, The Falcon is a band that exists primarily for the sake of the band members to get together and have fun playing music, free from the expectations of their higher-profile projects which include The Lawrence Arms, Alkaline Trio, The Loved Ones, and the Smoking Popes, to name just a few. Seriously, Neil could add probably a dozen more credits on his own, and this band is now one degree of separation from Blink-182 (more on that later).
So, if the band exists in the name of a good time, how is that going to translate to the stage when they are touring in support of the mostly bleak and harrowing (but excellent) Gather Up the Chaps?
Granted the album cover, which features a despondent leather daddy in the same vein as certain Minor Threat and Rancid album covers, achieves a humorous yet somber sexuality that Third Eye Blind only achieves on accident, this record is still a serious undertaking even with song titles such as “Hasselhoff Cheeseburger” and “You Dumb Dildos” boldly printed on the sleeve. (Enough about the album itself, you can check out the review of the album). Rest assured, the answer is that the show was a great time for band and crowd alike.
The Lippies, from Grand Rapids, kicked things off for me (Note: I did not make it in time for Blacklister to kick things off). The band took the stage led by Tonia Broucek who addressed the crowd with a politeness that bordered on timid that simply didn’t last. Once the band kicked into their brand of 1990’s Lookout Records reminiscent punk rock, she became an authoritative force that demanded (and received) control of the entire Grog Shop.
At one point, she entered the crowd to lay on the ground in a mock temper tantrum and her sheer aggression parted the crowd like riot police. Broucek easily had the most confident and effortless stage command of the entire night. The real pleasant surprise of the set came when the band receded for a haunting solo rendition of “It Boils” off of their eponymous full-length that left everyone rattled. Standout songs to check out: “302” and “It Boils” which you can find on their BandCamp page.
Next up were Worriers, touring in support of the incredible Imaginary Life. This band became one of the highlights of the night for me [as] every song sounded fundamentally different but clearly had the same fingerprints. For fans of thoughtful and melodic rock, hopefully they won’t mind that I mentally catalogued them in the company of The Weakerthans. This was definitely a more highbrow compliment to what the Falcon had in store next (again, hopefully taken as praise by both parties). Check out “Glutton for Distance” and “Plans” on their BandCamp page.
By the time the PA started blaring Bad Lip Reading’s “The Bushes of Love” (I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Lovegun played just before), The Falcon took the stage. From the opening riff of “The Angry Cry of the Angry Pie” the show was the usual onslaught of humor and spastic punk rock.
Having only two full length albums and an EP, all of their material was represented, but decidedly centered around songs from Gather Up the Chaps. “Skeleton Dance” prefaced by a sarcastic “this will be great, wait till you get a load of this” and “War of Colossus” being high points for me.
Between songs, the band took playful jabs at one another and Cleveland itself. There were at least three instances of pointing out that Cleveland is indefensible to a touring band’s gravity toward Cleveland Steamer jokes. They quipped that the crowd “Cleveland steamed the wrinkles out of [the song] ‘Sailor’s Grave’.”
Brendan Kelly reveled in pointing out how much Dave Hause hates ska and that he is now sentenced to playing the Falcon’s own ska anthem “The Unicorn Odyssey” on a nightly basis.
Dan Andriano stood helpless as Kelly mused on Dan’s Alkaline Trio bandmate Matt Skiba’s undead persona as well as a few taunts such as, “you BLINK and you’re out of a job!”
Dave Hause is a welcome addition and it’s great to see him playing punk rock again (The Loved Ones will soon be in the midst of a 10th anniversary tour for Keep Your Heart that I’m selfishly hoping will lead to the band being more active. I also don’t mean this to discount Dave Hause’s fantastic solo efforts)
The intended purpose of the Falcon is still front and center, a group of friends having a great time and not taking things too seriously. Still, the Falcon’s set still had its heartfelt moments. On the day of this show, Merle Haggard passed away and Kelly, who has a prominent “Mama Tried” tattoo, was audibly choked up when he memorialized his hero with a story of Merle and Johnny Cash’s first meeting.
Sadly, due to the nature of this being a “side project” for everyone involved, it may be a while until we hear from the Falcon again. This was their first proper tour since 2007. Still, as the show ended with the band leading a conga line around the Grog Shop to Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al” (yes, really) everyone in the club could only hope that this would be the first annual Gathering of the Chaps in Cleveland.
Special thanks to Toby Jeg of Red Scare Industries for inviting us to cover the show, and thanks to Brian for letting me stink up the joint on his behalf.
Setlist:
The Angry Cry of the Angry Pie
Sergio’s Here
Blackout
War of Colossus
Hasselhoff Cheeseburger
Huffing the Proverbial Line Off the Proverbial Dong or The Blood and the Frog
Sailor’s Grave
You Dumb Dildos
The Skeleton Dance
Little Triggers
Dead Rose
Unicorn Odyssey
If Dave Did It
The Fighter, The Rube, The Asshole
Black Teeth
The La-Z Boy 500
[Man, Utes, this was a damn fine review. I think I just should give you my login info to the site and call it a life. Thanks for covering a solid evening of tunes! – Brian]
Cleveland’s Seafair is about to turn some heads this year.
I know I have talked about a lot of Cleveland acts on my site, but this is the first time I have spoken on a band that is this incredibly multi-genred.
Seafair has been doing their thing since 2012 and is comprised of six amazing musicians whose roots dip into an impressive and diverse dynamic of musical styles including everything from classical to punk rock. The Querencia is the band’s debut release and is dropping next month.
Lead vocalist Chayla Hope has a voice that demands to be heard by anyone willing to open their ears. Its deeper, powerful style is more Juliana Hatfield over Adele/Lorde (from what I have heard via mainstream radio, honestly I can’t stand either of those two). Seriously, it is a bit fierce and a whole ton of passionate.
Side note: Having been good pals with Seafair’s drummer Ryan Kelly for at least 10 years now, there was no way I was not going to talk about this new band. On another side note, I used to work with Andrea Bleding Elson’s husband at an EB Games back in the day. Small world…
A classical intro to the album set me back for a moment as I became enthralled in the peaceful composure that morphed into “Vultures”. I am not going to lie, I was not terribly impressed with this track and although Chayla Hope had a forceful and beautiful singing voice, the track itself did nothing for me.
“DIM”, however, was the complete opposite. I adored this track on so many levels. From the string playing to the infectious drumming of Sir Kelly, everything about this track was likable. Perhaps it was the Björk-like melodies and singing towards the end that grasped me. I almost hate myself for admitting I did not like the prior track, but then again, I am one one of millions of opinions out there. This track though was a solid jam and everyone needs to check it out.
“Inferno” followed with a bellowing Hope singing her heart out. This was one of the tracks I could image sounds so much better live on a hot summer night.
Hearing the “The Score” was like hearing an orchestrated indie rock track like none other. This song built up so nicely and once the guitar playing picked up at the peak of the track, I was quietly rocking out here to it. It was like one of those songs that is a story that builds with excitement. My only quarrel with this track, is I wish the story lasted a little longer.
I am fairly certain “Ohio” was written about me and my return back to my favorite state in the world. I am also positive that is not the case at all, but I’m ok with thinking that. Honestly, this track about love growing distant was amazing to listen to. I loved the breakdown at the end that changed things up. This was one of the best tracks on the album in my opinion.
“Discovery” was another fantastic track. I am sure this may be misconstrued in a sense, but this track was like listening to Foxy Shazam with a female singer. Hope’s range on this track was just all over the place and perfect throughout. I also got a kick out of the back up vocals that interjected throughout. The more and more I listened to it, the more I loved it.
Quick props need to be given to the Ween-like guitar solo in “Not A Cure”. The track overall was intense to listen to and it just erupted at the end.
Seafair to me is festival music, you know, the kind is best heard live during warm summer nights. I know they were trying to play Bonnaroo but sadly did not win a voting competition. That’s the voters loss, I think this band would kill it at the ‘Roo. Regardless, they will play shows and they will turn heads. I know it.
The Querencia is a beautifully put together album that is not over produced and spans over so many genres that I feel it will be difficult for anyone to not enjoy some part of it. The album really grasps your attention throughout and treats it to a fine listen.
I was not expecting Seafair to sound the way they did, and that’s ok. Surprises in music are one of my favorite things in life and I really hope others experience that feeling too.
If you asked me six years ago if I thought I would be sitting in a 
Looking past the band’s sound, Harvey Pekar consists of some of the most down-to-earth guys I have had the pleasure of knowing over the years. I’ve seen them play in bars, inside a warehouse, and even on a church stage on a Sunday morning over the years and they always put on the best show and always are down for a hang afterwards.
Granted the album cover, which features a despondent leather daddy in the same vein as certain Minor Threat and Rancid album covers, achieves a humorous yet somber sexuality that Third Eye Blind only achieves on accident, this record is still a serious undertaking even with song titles such as “Hasselhoff Cheeseburger” and “You Dumb Dildos” boldly printed on the sleeve. (Enough about the album itself, you can 
