Category Archives: The Suck

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.

Death, Hip Hop, Music News, Punk, The Suck

RIP Adam Yauch (aka MCA)

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My heart seriously just sunk a few moments ago when I learned that Adam Yauch, also known as MCA of the Beastie Boys, passed away today after a 5-year battle with cancer.  He was 47.

When I heard he was not attending the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony a few weeks back, I knew something was up, but I figured he was just getting treatment again.

At the ceremony, Ad- Rock (Adam Horovitz) and Mike D. (Michael Diamond) read a letter from Yauch in response to being inducted to the Rock Hall:

“I’d like to dedicate this to my brothers Adam and Mike. They walked the globe with me. It’s also for anyone who has ever been touched by our band. This induction is as much ours as it is yours.”

I think “touched” is an understatement.  The Beastie Boys are one of the most important bands of my lifetime.  Love them or hate them, the B-Boys changed music in a good good way and Yauch had a big part in that.

Yauch at the 2007 Virgin Mobile Festival

Currently the website / blog for the Beastie Boys is down, so I am waiting to see what the rest of the band has to say about this unfortunate loss. (UPDATE – The site is now up and there is an amazing piece about Yauch on it.  Head over to the Beastie Boys site if you would like to check it out.)

All I know is that when I found out, I was sad – really sad.  Maybe some people do not care, but I do…

I have been a fan of the Beastie Boys since I picked up Licensed To Ill in a Gold Circle store in 1986.  I remember hearing them once on MTv when it was a cable channel that actually played music videos all the time.  My Mom caved in and bought it for me.  The way I looked at music changed the moment I ripped off that cellophane wrapper.

I grew up with them and wanted to be like them as a youth.  My Paul’s Boutique cassette was played so much that it disintegrated.  I have caught them a handful of times including when they headlined at Bonnaroo in 2009.

I was lucky enough to have met Yauch, and the rest of the B-Boys, in 2007 at the Virgin Mobile Music Festival in Baltimore.  I interviewed the band for about 7 minutes and laughed more than anything.  They were cool guys and I remember specifically  Yauch just laughing hard while Ad-Rock stood ever so close to me while I rifled off some questions to them.  It was a memory I will never forget, and now plan on cherishing for the rest of my life.

Yauch was always the bad ass of the group.  He was an inspiration, an icon, a legend.  He will be missed.

Bad Times, Music, Music News, Punk, The Suck

The Menzingers Could Use A Little Help…

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It really sucks that people need to resort to robbing other people.  It’s trashy, mindless, and just pathetic if you ask me.  I am not trying to tell people out there how to live your life, but stealing from someone, especially from a hard working someone is just shitty.

Yesterday, Philly punk rockers The Menzingers fell victim to some douche who decided it would be best to smash out their vehicle’s windows and steal a few things while the band was hanging with fans at an after-party.  Normally this would not be something I would even make a big deal about, but the boys are overseas in Manchester currently and in those bags were their tour money and more importantly, their passports.

Greg from The Menzingers posted what happened on their Tumblr account  this morning.  At first I glanced over it and thought their clothing and electronics were lifted, but once I read it over some more, I realized that they really do need some help.  Maybe their label will be of some assistance, but I am pretty sure these guys are freaking out and need all the help they can get.  Hopefully someone will just step forward and give them back their passports.

Here is what Greg had to say:

Ok so here’s what happened…

We played a sold out show at The Moho last night in Manchester which ended up being the absolute best show of tour. Seriously! Stage dives, singalongs, shots of mystery liquors.. It was one for the books. An after-party started to form at a bar down the street. In the great moods we were in we decided to partake and spent the night singing and dancing to  The Cure and Springsteen with The Souls, Red City Radio, Leagues Apart, and tons of friends. 

Dave March (our driver/front of house/lifemate/best friend), Eric (bass player/ good looking one) and I decided to only have a beer and then hit the road. Tom and Joe were going to take a cab back to the house. Ok cool. Everything’s going great. We walk around the block To the van and I hear Dave give a quiet “oh fuck”. The driver side window was smashed out and 3 personal bags were stolen. Unfortunately my bag was stolen with all of our tour money inside it. To top it off, we brought around $2000 in US cash with us in case of an emergency. So let’s see €5000 Euros, an iPad, 3 iPods, 3 passports, 2 pairs of raybans (I know, I know they’re super expensive but they make you look pretty cool), my personal tour journals from the last year and a half which included all of my “On the Impossible Past” lyrics and all of my god damn memories, a digital camera, prescriptions, blah blah blah.This sucks. It really fucking sucks because it’s not your fault and so many, in fact an absurd amount of you want to help out. It’s pretty surreal and heartwarming to know we’re not alone in this situation. Thanks, thanks, thanks. Cant tell you how much it means. 

The absolutely wonderful folks at  Banquet Records have set up a donation drive for us. They really are the best. If you live in the UK and care to help you can donate there. I hear they’re matching donations which is just too nice. Too nice. http://www.banquetrecords.com/MenzingersAppeal

While we’re extremely apprehensive about this we’re going to open up our paypal account if you care to donate. We don’t expect much and we feel extremely uncomfortable putting our hats out like this but here’s our paypal account if you care to help: MenzingersSkrilla@gmail.com  Tom made the account name up years ago. Sounds about right.

We’ll find a way to make it up to you by way of acoustic demos, new songs, free shows. Whatever. Thanks for the help. Love you all. 

-Greg
Kudos to Banquet Records for being so awesome to them.  I know this is a reach of help for the fans in the UK, but it is open to everyone all over the world. 

If you fancy yourself a fan and want to help out, you know what to do.

Luckily Jaded Punk Hulk, as found on Twitter, as already pitched in to help:

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Best Of 2011 According To BHP

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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.

Ok 2012, let’s see what you have in store.


Music, Punk, Rock, The Suck

Luther & Tom May (of the Menzingers) Cancel Current Tour

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Yesterday morning was not a good day for punk rockers Luther.  While on tour in Chicago with Tom May of the Menzingers, the band was involved in a pretty rough accident.

From what I gathered on their Facebook post, everyone was taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

The van, properly named Vandross, was totaled forcing the band to cancel the last stretch of their tour.  This includes their stop in Cleveland that was supposed to happen this Monday with Signals Midwest and Two Hand Fools at Now That’s Class.

As much as I am bummed I will not get to see Luther this Monday, I am relieved that no one from the band was seriously hurt.  Hopefully they will be able to make it to Cleveland one day soon.

If you have not heard of Luther, head on over to their Bandcamp page and check them out.  They kind of kick ass.  Check out the review I did on their recent release.