Now in its 6th year, the ever popular Rock On The Range is taking over Columbus, OH, from May 18th to the 20th at Columbus Crew Stadium.
“If you thought last time was a blast, then this time we are gonna blow your f#@*ing mind,” – co-headliner Rob Zombie.
The current lineup for RotR 2012 is as follows: Incubus, Rob Zombie, Shinedown, Marilyn Manson, Five Finger Death Punch, Slash, Megadeth, Chevelle, Cypress Hill, Mastodon, Theory of a Deadman, Volbeat, Down, The Darkness, Halestorm, Escape The Fate, P.O.D., Lacuna Coil, Adelitas Way, Black Stone Cherry, Cavo, Attack Attack!, Trivium, Bobaflex, Falling In Reverse, Redlight King, Aranda, Emphatic, Otherwise, James Durbin, Black Tide, Kyng, 12 Stones, SOiL, Rival Sons, Eve To Adam, and Ghosts of August.
That’s a pretty healthy lineup! I do not know about you, but there a few bands playing this year that I would not mind checking out, including The Darkness, Volbeat, Mastodon, and Down.
To make things even more fun, the Friday Night 4Play returns, which is an absolutely FREE with every RotR weekend ticket purchase. The May 18th party will be featuring performances from Hairball, Foxy Shazam, Hells Bells and more… Did someone say Foxy Shazam???
Any fan of punk rock music these days should know the name Dave Hause. He is an amazing musician who not only fronts The Loved Ones, but also has been quite successful at being a solo performer.
Touring over the years with the likes of Cory Branan, Brian Fallon of the Gaslight Anthem, Dan Andriano of Alkaline Trio, Frank Turner, and Mikey Erg just to name a few, Hause has had no problem playing his solo material to the world. His songs are infectious to say the least, and always make for a good time.
In 2011, Hause released Resolutions at the beginning of the year and toured non-stop in support of the album. When I saw that there was not a Cleveland date, I reached out to him for the below interview and decided to try my luck and asked him to play a house show. He and tour-mate Branan were all about it and with help from some friends, we put on a show at the Gurley House in Akron, OH that topped my list of live shows in 2011.
It’s still early in 2012 and Hause is already touring overseas. The guy just does not seem to stop. All I know is that his debut solo album was amazing and I can not wait for his next release. I would be happy with a new Loved Ones album any day, but there is just something about his solo material I am just drawn more to.
Before, during and after that awesome December evening, I had a few chances to chat it up with Hause. Here’s what he had to say:
BHP: Last year came to a quick end, rather quickly if you ask me. How was 2011 for you?
DH: It’s been a great year for me musically, I’ve been all over the world playing songs I made up on my couch with tons of great people.
You have been touring a ton this past year with everyone from Hot Water Music to the good folk on the Revival Tour. How different is to tour without The Loved Ones?
It’s pretty different, I’m much more mobile and able to do whatever I want socially. I miss the revelry with my buds and playing loud some nights, but I do enjoy the ability to just get up and go with ease.
Is there a backing band touring with you?
Not touring with me, no. Where I can put people together for a few shows or a one off or something, I’ll do that, for instance NYC and Philly on this tour I have a full band. But not yet, I’m working towards that in the future.
You toured with Cory Branan towards the end of last year. Any reason Cleveland was overlooked?
Cory’s booking agent put the whole thing together and then asked if I would like to come along. I think he has something against Cleveland. Not Cory of course, but his booking agent.
Luckily I was able to persuade you and Cory into playing some songs at a house show in Akron. Thanks for that by the way. I hope you guys had a good time. I know some of the folk who showed up there that night were beyond stoked to see you and Cory trade off on songs.
We did, thanks for having us. It interrupted our movie marathon but was worth it.
Photo by Andrew Wells
Has Cory given you any tips how to shred on the acoustic? That guy is insane when he does that.
He told me he learned those from some guy with horns at a crossroads down south, and was reluctant to share them with me.
So it was just Cory and you on the road for this past tour right? Who took over the driving duties?
Cory drove unless whiskey Cory showed up. Then I’d try my hand. Whiskey Cory probably would’ve been better…
You gave a shout out to Matt from American War that night, did you think he was in the crowd?
No, I just thought of his music due to the fact we were in Ohio. He’s a terrific talent.
That he is. So, how did the rest of the East Coast tour treat ya?
Interesting and quite fun. Philly was great, New Haven was, well, north of New York city…
Did you see a lot of Loved Ones fans at the shows? Have there been mixed responses from them about your music?
Loved Ones fans have been way into the record and the shows. I write for the Loved Ones and I write obviously these solo songs, so it’s just minor tweaks of aesthetics that separates the two.
I heard you will be playing with Frank Turner in Europe next year. How stoked are you about that?
I am doing one enormously huge show with FT in England. I haven’t heard about any tour, but we always get together drink whiskey and talk about all of the touring we will do, so sooner or later it will happen I would think.
What made you initially want to drop a full length solo album anyways? Not that I am complaining or anything,. Resolutions is amazing. Just curious
If this is something you wanted to do for a while or if you needed to take a break from the loved ones.
I needed a break and wrote some songs that weren’t best suited for the Loved Ones and one thing led to another.
Photo by Andrew Wells
Who are your major musical influences that helped mold this solo release? It is safe to say this is not a punk rock album at all.
Well really not much different, writing songs for anything always hold the same basic influences. As far as the aesthetic, I love what Conor Oberst did with his 2 solo records, what Jenny Lewis is up to, Jonathan Rice, Deer Tick, Patty Griffin, etc. Just more modern songwriting acts. Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires both are terrific as well.
I love how you have so many friends / musicians contributing on Resolutions. Was it easy to recruit everyone? Were there others that did not make it
on the record that you asked?
It was totally easy, everyone was so gracious with their time and really excited about the songs and the project. Some of my dearest friends and some amazing musicians played on it. Actually there were people who later said “why didn’t you ask me?”, not really the other way around. I’m a lucky girl.
You sister actually played organ on Resolutions. Does she happen to play in any other bands?
She hasn’t. She played some recitals as a kid and then The Loved Ones dragged her out on tour on Build & Burn. I keep telling her to get her ass into a local or cover band to keep her sharp.
I can hear many styles of music in Resolutions including a little country twang. With all of your punk rock history, I was kind of impressed to hear that your solo material was not just you and an acoustic guitar. Did you actually write all of the music in the album or did you get some assistance?
I wrote all of the songs, but when it comes to the specific bass lines, guitar parts and that kind of thing, I knew the people playing on the songs are amazing and let them just go for it. Pete and I sometimes would guide them in the direction more suitable for the vibe we were going for, but by and large their initial instinct governed the parts. Chris Gonzalez in particular wrote so many cool guitar parts. It was really amazing.
The video for “Time Will Tell” clearly pays homage to Martin Scorsese’s short The Big Shave. Where did you get the brilliant idea to add your own
spin on the film?
I went to film school for 2 semesters before quitting college. I have always been a huge fan of film and Scorsese is a cornerstone. Not sure where the idea to do that came from, but I must say, I’m glad the idea came. I love how it turned out.
Will The Loved Ones be releasing anything anytime soon?
Not sure. I have a whole record almost done, but not sure what the schedule is gonna be like.
Are you going to help Chris Gonzalez on his solo album? He still plans on recording something right?
He doesn’t need help, he’s amazing. I’m going to sing some on it I think. I am chomping at the bit to hear it finished!!
You are living the dream man and it does not look like you are slowing down. What’s next for you?
Making up songs, recording them, then playing them for people all over the world. That’s living the dream in my book, and I don’t want to slow that down.
Well it would appear that 2011 is coming to an end. With that said, it’s time for a “Best Of…” Broken Headphones 2011 edition.
There were a ton of amazing releases throughout the year as well as live shows that I was able to attend. Below is just a various list of bands that caught my attention, be it a recording or live show, over the past 12 months.
I should add that some of my favorite releases were from local Akron/Cleveland acts. I am not just dropping their names because we are pals or anything, they all worked hard and put out some excellent releases. If you have not heard of any of them, you really should check them out.
I may have missed a band here or there, but the following were the ones that stood out over the rest.
Albums of the Year:
Seahaven – Winter Forever
*Hands down this is one of my favorite albums to drop this year. They just have this indie punk rock sound that is ever so likable – trust me on this. The first time I listened to it, I was hooked. I see big things happening with this band in the near future.
Nothington – Borrowed Time
*This is another album I favored over the rest this year. Catchy lyrics layered over wholesome punk rock is what this album is all about. To make matters even better, they kick ass live. They are coming back to Cleveland next month and I can not wait to see them again. Listening to this band brings me band to the punk rock 90s I grew up on.
All Dinosaurs – Paranoid Indigenous
*So maybe the music was released in 2010, but the LP dropped this past Spring so I consider it a 2011 release. This Cleveland act is beyond fun to listen to plus they put on one of the best live shows ever. They are funny, quote 80s movies and are in it for the fun. It helps they are also all super cool dudes. If you are a Cleveland native, you should already know how amazing this band is.
Dave Hause – Resolutions
*I was a little late checking this album out as it was released in early 2011, but am glad I did not pass it up. Hause (The Loved Ones) is an amazing musician and proves it in this killer solo release. With help from his friends, he put together one hell of a release. Do me a favor, if you like music, listen to this.
Living With Lions – Holy Shit
*Words can not really describe how impressed I was when I heard these guys. All I know is I will have this album playing regularly for a long long time.
Deer Tick – Divine Providence
*The boys in Deer Tick changed it up a bit and put forth a bitching rock album that I really dug.
Dawes – Nothing Is Wrong
*Oh Dawes…you’ve done it again. What a solid release. You guys are on your way to being huge. Keep it up.
Those Darlins – Screws Get Loose
*The girls and Lynwood dropped a impressive follow-up to their debut this year and I adore it. Still kicking around the country-punk attitude, the foursome toyed with a more indie / garage rock sound and did a fine job doing so.
Old Man Markley – Guts n’ Teeth
*This self-proclaimed “New Grass” band was one of the more fun releases I had have the pleasure of checking out this year. I can not wait to see what happens next with these guys and gals.
Banner Pilot – Heart Beats Pacific
*Impressive release by a great punk rock band. They need to play Cleveland soon.
White Wives – Happeners
*This was the surprise release of the year for me. Featuring members of Anti-Flag, this album is far from a pop-punk rock album. On the lines of indie rock, White Wives needs to be heard.
A.A. Bondy – Believers
*This guy really outdid himself. You really have to check it out for yourself to realize why I appreciate it so much. It’s a really beautiful release to listen to.
Bon Iver – Bon Iver
*Not normally something I would listen to, but holy shit – it rules.
The Black Keys – El Camino
*Yeah yeah yeah… The former Akron, OH boys once again put out a release I admit I love. I do not love the fact that the next time they hit Cleveland, they will be playing an arena. It is safe to say they made it big time. Let’s hope they don’t screw it up.
Signals Midwest – Latitudes & Longitudes
*And yet another local act. These guys are a big deal though…to me at least. The dropped a really good record. For serious.
EPs of the year:
Luther – Siblings & Sevens
*Folk / Punk / Rock awesomeness. I was caught off guard by this band. They rule. Sadly they had to cancel their Cleveland show after the band was involved in an accident in Chicago. Luckily no one was seriously injured. I can not wait for their full-length to drop.
Harvey Pekar – Thirty Ghosts
*Dear Harvey Pekar (the band), thank you for existing.
Worship This! – Demo
*I normally do not mention bands that I am really good friends with the members, but I adore this band. That’s all I have to say about that.
Two Hand Fools – Believeland
*These guys better get signed in 2012 or else I am going to fight someone. Another Cleveland act with plenty of talent.
Cherry Cola Champions – EP
*I remember the first time I saw these guys live. I was not into them during their first song, and once their second song started, I was blown away. Looking forward to seeing what this duo has up their sleeves next year.
The Awesome:
-Going to SXSW and seeing bands such as The Dead Milkmen, Flatliners, Dead To Me, Eyehategod, and tons others at various venues in Austin, TX earlier this Spring. It was one hell of an experience to see so many bands cramped into such an amazing city. Sadly when you have that many bands, you tend to miss out on some great sets by amazing bands. Regardless, it was just awesome. Plus…I saw Dale Watson play at Ginny’s. That right there made my trip.
-Hanging out with Ninja Gun for a few days. These guys are some of the best dudes I know. They wanted to play shows on the East coast and I was able to lure them to Kent to play a show in September. We all enjoyed hanging out so much that they kicked it for a couple more days where I took them up to Melt for some cheesy deliciousness.
-Getting Dave Hause to play a house show in Akron. After seeing that Dave Hause was not playing a show in the Cleveland area just 2 weeks ago, I threw him the idea of a house show and he and tour mate Cory Branan were totally down with the idea. The result was a show to remember with Hause and Branan trading off songs all night long.
-Hanging out with friends, new and old, at the Inner Sanctum Pier show on the E. 9th pier. More people could have showed up, but regardless, I had a killer time that sunny day and got to watch Pat The Producer turn into a human tomato.
-Hanging out with Rise Against and doing some charity work them at the Malachi House in Cleveland. The guys were super cool to hang with and really did not have that “rock star” attitude built from success. Props to 92.3 for making that happen.
-Making the trip back to Austin, TX early November and attending Fun Fun Fun Fest. I got to see some of my favorite bands all in one weekend including Murder City Devils, Hot Snakes, Hum, Slayer, Eyehategod, The Damned, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, and Russian Circles. This was one of my favorite festivals of all time. It was a festival I had wanted to attend for a a few years now and I decided to go for it. I am so glad I did.
-It’s A Kling Thing House & Girley House. Both houses put on some amazing shows in 2011 with local acts as well as touring bands. Seeing Jeff Rowe over the summer as well as Mixtapes just a month or so ago in a basement is as good as live shows get for this guy.
-Daytrotter’s Barnstormer Tour. What a great evening of music that was. The show was in a freaking barn. Yes, I do not remember much as the beers were going down like water, but I know I had a blast with some pretty special people.
The Suck:
-Ben Weasel’s SXSW blowout. Sadly I was on the other side of town watching Cleveland’s very own Ringworm in a ghetto ass bar. Don’t ask me why I skipped out on seeing Screeching Weasel live, I was under the influence of many ice cold Lone Star beers. Honestly, I am kind of glad I missed Weasel acting like a little girl on stage.
-Danzig’s Fun Fun Fun hissy fit. One of the main reasons I wanted to go to Fun Fun Fun Fest was because the Danzig Legacy was playing it. I was stoked to finally see Danzig sing some Misfits songs with Doyle on stage. Instead I witnessed a diva take the stage late and get their set cut as they played past curfew. I only heard two Misfits songs and left with a bad taste in my mouth. People can think what they want about Danzig and that night. I was in the crowd watching heater being pulled on stage as well as the side of the stage tarped up so that little Glen would not get cold. It was over an hour until the stage met his needs and the dude was fully aware of the curfew. I will say that the two Mistfits songs had me feeling like a kid all over again. Shame I could not witness the entire set that he had planned. Lucky for me Ted Leo did a TV Casualty set the next day and made up for the Danzig drama.
-Seeing NOFX over Those Darlins. I regret that decision a lot. Two of my favorite bands played the same night and I had to choose one over the other. The good news was that I got to see and meet Old Man Markley. Sorry Darlins, I will not miss you next time you all hit up Cleveland. Please forgive me.
-Atari Teenage Riot’s Cleveland show getting cancelled. I was stoked to see these guys and was prepared to lose my hearing that night. Hours before the show, their promoter cancelled the show. Needless to say, I was pissed.
-92.3 and 107.3 changing formats. Cleveland is a lost cause with radio now that both those stations were yanked.
Wrapping it up…
2011 ended with a bang for this music lover. Thanks to all my friends from all over who made this year extra special for me. You all know who you are. From letting me crashing on couches to allowing bands to play in their basements you helped make this year what it was. Also to everyone who attended shows with me and shared the same passion I have for music, thanks.
Happy holidays everyone and thanks for taking a part out of your day to visit this site.
I knew the plug was going to get pulled the moment he announced to the crowd that they were told they could only play 5 more minutes. That’s why I grabbed my camera and took that terrible video. I wanted to capture the moment shit hit the fan, and I did. I just discovered the Spin.com has used the video in one of their posts.
Prior to that announcement, I was finally starting to get into the set, granted the band just played “Vampira”. I will not lie, they could have sounded way better. I am sure there was a multitude of factors that resulted in what I heard. It was windy as hell out and the equipment was heavily used all day , but there is no doubt in my mind that the band’s techs were not satisfied with their sound check. Not only did the asshats do an impromptu sound check while the Murder City Devils were still playing (dicks), but they also had that extra 45 minutes before Danzig went on stage.
One of the whole reasons I went to Fun Fun Fun Fest this year was to check out the Danzig Legacy. I was so hoping to hear “Hybrid Moments” and maybe even “Hollywood Babylon”, but we all know that was not the case. Instead I heard heard Danzig, including 2 mediocre songs, some not so good sounding Samhain, and you know what happened after…
Plug pulled + Temper tantrum on stage = Me leaving and getting awesome vegan pad thai in downtown Austin.
Danzig make $100k that night and never finished his set. The fans were all disappointed, and I was too. Face it, we were all standing in front of the Black Stage to hear Misfits songs and nothing else. With the time limit, one would think that Danzig could scrap one part of his set and focus on what people really wanted. I felt worse for Doyle who probably just caked all that make-up on his face before coming out on stage.
Don’t worry, I did not want to tear off my Misfits tattoos and stomp on it after what I saw. Hell, I am still a fan and always will be. I was just pissed that Danzig was acting like a diva but also knew that I had 2 more days of Fun Fun to look forward to. Perhaps the Misfits, the REAL Misfits, were never meant to be resurrected. I do not care what Danzig has done for the music world, all I know is what I saw was unprofessional and beyond rockstar. He was given fair warning of the time limit, did not want to even play, and then pulled his shit. You know what? I’m done talking about it. Maybe if the Danzig calamity happened Sunday night I would have a different “Attitude” about the weekend but it was only night one.
I was already in a great mood after seeing Murder City Devils and Russian Circles take the stage Friday night. Saturday I got to see Hot Snakes and The Damned (both were mind-blowing). Sunday I saw Eyehategod, Kid Dynamite, Cannibal Corpse, HUM ( amazing) and eff’n Slayer. I also throughout the weekend saw Major Lazer, Diplo, Childish Gambino, Big Freeda, Spoon and Del The Funky Homosapien.
There was one quick performance though that just made me happy to be a part of the entire weekend. While my friends and I were walking across Auditorium Shores to check out a veggie hot dog eating contest we noticed that there was a band covering Misfits songs on one of the main stages. We all stopped dead in our tracks and literally ran to see what the hell was going on. We caught the end of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists’s set where Leo and friends were performing their Misfits cover band TV Casualty. It was awesome, it was funny, and it sounded awesome. The four songs that Leo and crew played made up for the bullshit Danzig stirred up Friday night.
I’ve been to a whole bunch of festivals in my time. This years Fun Fun Fun Fest was the best one I have ever been to and I was only at maybe 1-1/2 of it. I missed all of the early shows due to other things going on in Austin like eaten grub or getting a sweet tattoo (stay tuned for that). I was ok with missing a couple of the acts as the main ones were in the evening. I got to see MCD, Hot Snakes, and HUM all in a weekend. How cool is that?
This is not a review. This is me declaring how much fun I had last weekend. Great music with the greatest of friends, old and new. Throw in the sweet motor-boating I did on a healthy rack right before Slayer and, my friends, I may have had one of the best weekends ever, in fact, I know I did. Thanks Austin. Thanks Fun Fun Fun Fest. I wish it was last weekend all over again.
So for the few of you who are jealous that I am attending the 2011 Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX this weekend, you now can too from the comfort of your home.
Unlike other music festivals with similar live streams, Fun Fun Fun Fest will present 4 separate streams with each tailored to different musical tastes. Like the Fun Fun Fun Fest stage setups, each stream will provide genre grouping of bands, from punk and metal to indie rock and electronica and even hip hop and comedy.
In other words, if you are jealous that I am seeing Murder City Devils and Danzig w/ Doyle tomorrow night, you now can stream it without spending a dime.
To check out Fun Fun Fun Fest’s live stream on Pitchfork, head on over to pitchfork.com. The stream should begin as soon as the festival starts around 12 p.m. central time.
I’m sure I will be posting a ton of nonsense should time allow it over the weekend. First things first thought..I need me a Lone Star…
As part of FFF Fest, FFF Nites will start tonight. This is a music event in itself as tons of bands will be taking over local venues and playing shows. I will be seeing Toxic Holocaust, Hull, The F’n Wrath, Hull and Pushmen. Should make for a nice and loud intro to a kick ass weekend.
Tomorrow night’s FFF Nite’s I am looking forward to even more…
I am sure many of you caught 
As part of FFF Fest, FFF Nites will start tonight. This is a music event in itself as tons of bands will be taking over local venues and playing shows. I will be seeing Toxic Holocaust, Hull, The F’n Wrath, Hull and Pushmen. Should make for a nice and loud intro to a kick ass weekend.