As of late my Sirius radio has been stuck on the rock/alternative station Lithium 24. Once in a while I love to just listen to the stuff I rocked out to while a teenager.
Today I checked out the friendly AddictedToVinyl.com and there it was… the perfect mix tape. Apparently I am not the only one who has been thinking about the past. Head on over to his site for a link to download for a sweet 90’s mix. It will not disappoint.
After checking out the mix I starting thinking of things that remind me of the 90’s. Mainly things that helped shape me into what I was becoming…a music lover. Not only did I think of music but also concerts I went to and places I hung out. I also thought about the movies as a youth I saw and then watched over and over again memorizing the lines and the way the people acted.
It took me a couple of years to actually follow the story line and see it was a love story but when I first saw it my jaw dropped at the musicians who played roles in the movie or performed songs. I was young when it came out. All I remember is that I wanted to move to Seattle, buy thermo long johns and a pair of combat boots. I wanted to be like the guys in Singles.
The thought of being a grunged out coffee making Seattle-ite soon changed those as I was introduced to other music and found my click…mainly punk rock. I was growing up you know…change happened a lot. I altered my look more than once in high school and went from a grungy long haired (bright red) to shaving my head senior year wearing NoFX shirts. I might have gone punk rock, but I still listened to the rock/alt.
I still like the 90’s rock and always will… I also like Matt Dillon movies….well mainly There’s Something About Mary…(hey, that was 90’s too!!!)
Ringo Starr announced he no longer will sign any more fan mail… warning you with peace and love of course…and giving a deadline of Oct. 20th. After that he’ll toss all fan mail as he is just too busy.
The Beastie Boys are counting on you to rock the vote this year.
This is the first time the Beasties have even come close touring in Cleveland since 1998. I saw them last year and even got to interview them at the Virgin Mobile Tour. I have to saw they are still awesome. My interview was not much of an interview as much as us just shooting the you know what… I really need to post that on here one day. Their live show was incredible. It was my third time seeing them live.
So now I am trying to figure out if I should go… I have so much going on late October. Decisions decisions… Pre-sale starts tomorrow at 10am. Password is VOTE. Go to their website for more info.
Out of all the places I could have been born, I was born in Cleveland, OH. Some may find it difficult or depressing to grow up in a suburb of a dying steel manufacturing city but I myself consider it fortunate. I like where I am from and even though I sometimes wish to live life elsewhere I think, in fact I know, I would miss the city of Cleveland.
Realistically I am admitting that Solon was the city I was born and raised. I grew up in that city and while doing so I saw change. By the year 2000 the population doubled and Solon turned more upper class, a bracket I never fit in. Restaurants and stores were built on land that once housed the city’s first school or marshland. New schools had to be built to house all the children that were brought in to the city. It was change I did not agree with.
One change I dealt with was new neighbors. I watched the forest next to my parents property turn in to a upper class haven full of rude arrogant people I never called neighbors. How arrogant? Let’s just say one of the features of this high rolling development were man made ponds in which one of the new residents saw it as a jet ski racetrack… The successful ass also allowed his kids to destroy my folks property and would frequently dump his yard waste. I never rebelled at him as much as I wanted to but I was happy to hear he had to leave that house for breaking the law. What a jerk.
The good thing about Solon is that I had made amazing friends, many of which I still am friends with today. My neighbors growing up put up with parties my brother and I threw. Growing up was great as a kid but when I turned into a teenager and Dunkin Donuts kicked us out of their parking lot or we wanted to see a show Cleveland was just a short drive away.
Solon was a great city to grow up in. Next to a great school system, there were awesome shops including the one of most missed music shops ever, Disc Den (rip). When I was a kid that was the place to go. Mike at Disc Den ran a great shop but could not afford to move on with sales dropping due to corporately run book stores that sold music as well (yes, I worked there, but in my defense I was a barista!!!).
Important people came from Solon as well. Mike Cartellone, once the drummer of Damn Yankees and now current drummer of Lynyrd Skynyrd, was from Solon and he even played football with me when I was just a little tyke. There were even some pro football players born in the city including Kim Herring who was a few grades above me.
So why did I even mention I am Cleveland and where am I going with this? You might be wondering why I just told you my life story and I know it was not that good so let’s continue…
When you grow up you meet friends and lose friends, it’s a life long process. Luckily my close friends happened to like music and hanging out. As soon as I was old enough I started going to Cleveland to see shows. I can not even tell you how many shows I have been to in my life time but I can tell you most of the most memorable took place in the mid to late 90’s, right about the time when I was a raging punk rocker.
Cleveland has some great music venues. I can write all day about the shows I have seen. Bands that were nothing and are huge now I got to see as they hardly had anyone in the crowd cheering for them. Venues that have shut down or moved to the other side of town, been there.
I really don’t feel like writing about all that right now.
I want to talk about two things that recently happened to me that remind me why I like Cleveland so much:
Cleveland Browns Stadium
First off…. The Cleveland Browns. I am a Brownie for life and win or lose will always support the team. I recently witnessed the Browns spank the Giants Monday Night Football style. It was a great experience. Even if almost everyone there was drunk and belligerent well before the game even started it was fun.
My brother and I got a pair of tickets so we decided to truck down early to tailgate. As we made way to the community lot we passed the Great Lakes Science Center and the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame Museum. I got to see Johnny Cash‘s tour bus parked in front of the Rock Hall and after checking to see if it was unlocked (I wanted to go on a joyride) we continued to a parking lot about a mile away from the Cleveland Browns stadium.
Tailgating was a treat alone with some folk starting their partying ritual at 9:00am, almost 12 hours before kick off. By the time my brother and I met up with some friends at the community lot around 6:30pm there were people falling over drunk but smiling on the way down. Everyone was decked out in Browns attire and DJs for a day were doing their best to play requests. Food was being consumed and everytime a brave Giants fan walked past crowds of folk would stop during mid beer bong to point and call that fan an a$$h@le. It was funny to see so many people get into it. It was the first time I engaged in tailgating and it certainly will not be the last.
If you look you might be able to see the stadium on the bottom. The community lot was just a wee bit far...
The game itself was even more insane. Yelling and screaming and more drinking. I can honestly say the Browns have the greatest fans ever. We sat pretty far up but it didn’t matter. All the fans around me, many season ticket holders, were great to cheer along with as the Browns beat the Giants 35 to 14.
Another reason I like Cleveland so much… Last Friday’s trip to meet Derek Hess.
I’ve already interviewed the man himself but this past Friday I had the pleasure of meeting him in person.
Along with my wonderful wife, my friends Matt and Adam joined us to a book store in Tremont, a historic neighborhood just outside of downtown Cleveland. We all went to Visible Voice Books where I get to meet Derek Hess and author Kent Smith who both came together and wrote Please God Save Us. Both gentlemen were very kind and autographed my book that Matt purchased for me (thanks pal!). Kent Smith even asked to get a photo of us all where I look like a complete retard in it (see below for proof)! Once I read the book a few times over I will be sure to post something on here about it. If you are a fan of Derek Hess and wish to venture into his politically charged art, you need this book.
After Visible Voice books we went to nearby Lakewood and had dinner at a local bar. The name escapes me at this time but we dined outside at the patio. Even though it was a tad on the chilly side there were gas powered outdoor heaters that kept us warm.
We all sat around and chatted as we ate our meals. While hanging out, I could not help but think how much I have enjoyed Cleveland all these years. It seems like there is always something to do when you you venture in the city. There is also more still to be done and I know there will be many more trips to that wonderful city.
Like I said I could talk all day about Cleveland but just not today. I am sure other folk from Cleveland can agree it is a hell of a city with a lot to offer.
This was my story, for now. Here’s some other photos I took with my crappy camera (except the 1st, that was taken w/ Kent Smith’s camera):
Kent, Matt, my amazing super awesome easy looking on the eyes with an honest beautiful smile wife, retard me, Derek, Jose (the dog), and AdamRock n' Roll Hall of FameJohnny Cash's Tour BusWe sat pretty far up but that did not bother us at all...Cleveland Browns Stadium
Usually when there are two names of objects that can cause harm in a band’s name you might think the band should be heavy and brutal. This is not the case for Ninja Gun, a more southern country/folk/rock act from Valdosta, Georgia. In fact, previous to listening to Restless Rubes, I prepared myself for something loud and furious since the band name is a little tough sounding. To be quite honest, I was not in the mood to hear that type of music but I threw the CD in anyways just to give it a chance. I am glad I did.
Ninja Gun
Unexpectedly, I was treated to an amazing album with perfect blends of rock and folk satisfying my ears from start to finish. I am being honest when I say that this is one of the best underground CDs I have heard all year. It’s different, addicting, and certainly has replay value. Think of the distinctiveness of Black Keys (plus more musicians) or perhaps the Avett Brothers (minus the banjo) and you have a slight idea of the sound this band has. At times the rock is deep and other times there is a slow wandering country feel but in good ratio and not to the point where you forget who you are listening to.
Title track “Restless Rubes” has a southern hometown gentleman feel to it. This song was just the introduction of the CD and I found myself an instant fan of the band. Everything about this song seemed to fit in place from the singing to the Oasis like guitar riff in the middle of the song. It was just such a welcoming way to start.
Things picked up on the rockier “Eight Miles Out”, with a chorus and straight up guitar rock playing that was quickly jammed in my mind. “Red State Blues” followed and easily was the best sounding track on the CD as it pulled from 90’s rock but kept a distinctive edge. Lead singer J. Coody really displayed his singing style on this track and the rest of the band provided for a striking song.
Taking a different approach was “Front Yard Screamers”, a track dedicated to the band growing up in the south. This more country jam just made you want to sit on a porch and drink some ice cold, sweet tea. Another quality track was “Life Is Loud” a more rock track that escalated from folksy to rock. This song was best listened to with headphones and has the ability to make you gently shake your head in approval as you listen.
“Asking Price” had some nice harp playing going on with the nice harmonizing singing ensuring a moment of chill. “Nostradumbass” on the other hand was questionable at first and then just blasted into a full out rock song. The guitar playing really reminded me of the Raconteurs at times and it really stood out over other tracks
“Permanent Press” was another track that got lodged into my head. After listening to it a couple of times over I really appreciated the country style singing mixed with a hint of 90’s alt rock, even more proof of how original this band is. The CD closes out with “Breaking Light Of Day” which I feel is the perfect song to end such a great CD. The soft playing and singing serenades you a sweet farewell.
Seeing how engrossed I was with Ninja Gun, I was shocked to come across an old review of their earlier material from a past writer on Blogcritics.Org who entirely bashed them. I respect one’s opinion, but if you read the review there is nothing encouraging about the band at all from the pro –Tennessee writer’s standpoint and he really stomped on the community the band represents.
However, if you look at the comments below that outwardly bash of a review you will see a certain retaliation response over two years later from when it originally posted from the lead singer of Ninja Gun, J.Coody. I really got a kick out of the read and could sense his frustration with the review. This J. Coody who may be a part of Ninja Gun (you never know these days who is real and who is not) posted a lash back to the reviewer.
“If you came to our show looking for a bunch of illiterate punks in cowboy boots trying to pimp out some form of fashion, then I’m sure you were both confused and let down.”
Mind you that was just one line from a very long response to a bad review that the lead singer of Ninja Gun just happened to come across one day. At this time it is unclear what a young Ninja Gun had to offer back in the day and quite frankly I really want to know. I will be searching for their back catalog even more so now. I am interested if their sound has changed since 2005 or if the person who reviewed their early material years ago was just looking to deceive readers from honest good listening music.
All I know is this, Ninja Gun’s Restless Rubes is amazing. For an underground act this production of the CD is next to perfect. It’s not so often a CD like this captures me so. Suburban Home Records has a gem of an artist on their hands and with some luck you can too.
Video of the band rocking out at Suburban Home Records 13th Anniversary weekend this past September:
