Why I hate and kinda like MySpace

Lately I have been surfing MySpace but I don't really like MySpace. I like Sonic Bids. I like Itunes better. I like a WHOLE LOT OF SITES way more than MySpace. And it's not nearly as cool as the old Mp3.Com site was, and if you ask me the design is clunky. It's just kinda ugly and chunky and square and it has those TERRIBLE little ads for the emoticons - gawd, what a mess. I am SO SURE that the rulers of MySpace are making a TON OF CASH from the emoticon ads alone! And now they have a fuggin RECORD LABEL - whaddayya know bout that! However, there is no denying the shear power and membership at work there, and I have found a few cool Ohio Artists and I want to share them with you:

Boris Yell Son: This fellow has posted some nice simple lil' guitar and voice type tunes on his site, and it sounds like he can write songs.

Chittlin': This chick sounds molasses sweet, deep water cool, and silver polished for her age, must be a gene of some sort, prolly is, her brother is a top notch blue grass guy (see the next link) and anyhow, lil' chittlin here mentions in her blog that she hired Patrick Sweaney to play on her recordings! Dang, it's pretty darned cool if you even know who Pat Sweaney is.

David Mayfield: This is the blue grassy summer heat right here! Yeehaaa! And this is that lil' chittlin's older brother, they have a family blue grass band.

Dave Edwards: I like the recordings he has posted, relaxed stuff, simple with focus.

I gotta say again though how much I dislike the MySpace and people have just GLOMMED onto it like the second comming of christ. Oh well. I guess I wish I had invented myspace.

Parking on Clifton can be a major bummer

Today I was working away on my blog and my website (making them look like the same design, an idea my friend Ryan Smith turned me onto as he had commented that my blog and web site looked like 'two different sites' and they did until today) and I was totaly immersed, making some progress, just completely oblivious to everything when all a sudden like WHAM! it dawned on me (at 5pm - brrr) that my car was still parked (or, gulp, not parked) on the NORTH side of Clifton!! At 5PM!!! Shit, I super panicked, pulled on my coat and shoes and rushed out the door to find my car not there where I had parked it, it had been towed/stolen away! I was instantly enveloped in a big grey foggy bummer cloud. Sigh. So I went for a walk, a long one, I bought some groceries, I got a couple movies, and I asked a fellow at the local gas station who he thought might have my car, he thought he knew, so I called Baker Motors - and sure enough they had taken my car! And they told me thay had broken into it (with the Lakewood Police standing by naturally) in order to release my emergency brake. How thoughtful of them Baker goons to break into my car and release the brake before stealing it away! Dang. So, I owe these Baker goon guys about a hundred bucks - cash only - to get my car back. I am pissed off, heh. However, this is an EXCELLENT time to remind myself (and I suppose I am reminding you as well, whoever you are, my one or two readers) just how vigilant one must be in this world in order to avoid becoming a victim of The Man. The government and the police state can do any fuckin' thing they want to, let's not forget that for even a minute. This is a tiny and stupid simple example, and yeah I am a fuggin dumb shit for lettin' my car get towed, but still this is a nonetheless notable reminder that I live in a freaking DESPOTIC AUTOCRACY...ouch.

Strangelove Recording and Strangenight III MP3's

I have just tonight picked up a disk from Adam Probert (Strangelove Recording) of MP3 versions of some, not all, of the songs from our last Open Recording Party at University Circle Arabica. I have only listened to a little and, wow, it is just obvious right away within the first minute that the sound is SO FREAKIN' GOOD!!

These might be the best sounding recordings of all three of the Strangenights, and that would make perfect sense givin that Adam had the other two sessions to work with and I think he brought more gear with him this last session.

Before I get any further into or out of the subject of these recordings I just wanna say THANK YOU AGAIN ADAM for working these little recording parties and for capturing these great sounds! These were really fun events and we are not likely to repeat the scene again in the near future, course you never really know, it depends on so many variables.

And a new variable is also a major one: Adam has basically turned over the reins of the studio to a new audio engineer - Allen Maier will be the chief engineer for Strangelove Recording starting sometime in Feb. and at that point the Lakewood studio will be shuttered. Yep, that's right, Strangelove will be leaving Lakewood as Adam will re-focus his efforts on the business aspects of the recording industry more or less leaving his new engineer in charge of the day to day night to night operations of the new studio.

More later after I have had a chance to really listen to these recordings!

BoBa: Wohlever & Toussant Sunday Jan. 8

Went to BoBa in Akron to hear Rebbeca Wohlever play a couple of handfuls of her own songs, and it was very nice nice to hear her open up that singing belly and get her song on! Rebbeca possesses a beautiful wheaty clean singing voice that wraps a gentle vulnerable vibrato around a hint of country girl twang while delivering a powerful emotive warmth that swath her songs in clarity.

She really is one hip lady with an armful of intimate stories that make for good songs and good listening! Our buddy Jay was with us, playing hand drum, and he brought a couple of congas so we ended the evening with a drum jam! It was delicious!!

BoBa is a very sweet joint - your gonna like it - especially if you have kids because owners Randy and Christine have six beautiful children (!) who help them run the place and it makes for a relaxed, energetic, and cozy environment (next time I will bring my June).

Rebbeca will play an opening set at BoBa in Akron with singer songwriter Ashley Brooke Toussant JAN 8 and this Ashley sounds honey mellow with a cute breathy wall-flower high voice tone check out her myspace page (gawd, I hate myspace though...I don't really know why..exactly..) - be there or be square!

Open Mic SAT at Arabica E. 185 Street

Nice place, easy to get to from the 185 St. exit off of 90 East and only about 14 minutes from Lakewood, the place has a huge red sign that says ARABICA and it is across the street from what was the LaSalle Theatre - no problem parking in back. I finaly got out there tonight after weeks of knowing about this event, and when I got there Richard Rogers Jr. and his partner were playing as the Mount Nepal Orchestra (Richard comes to my open mic at UCA all the time). I played next, it was good, a decent and attentive audience listened to play about 5 songs - good room to sing into, it felt good. The host or hosts were next, unique arrangement: The host fellow brings his wife, and she in turn brings her mother, and they all sing, and they sing well. I recomend this event and will give it three of five stars.

Rebecca Wohlever at BoBa in Akron Sat. Dec. 17

Singer Songwriter Rebecca Wohlever will make a rare live appearence with guests and friends at cafe Boba in Akron this coming Saturday the 17th of December. Now, I have had the pleasure of being one of the few souls to hear her play and sing live and in regards to her recorded work, well, she's good and she has a number of very poigant original songs. This woman has plenty of singing muscle and plays both guitar and keyboard with ease...I hope the weather is good for the trip down there. Anyhow, if your bringing you kid or kids, BoBa is kid friendly with no smoking or beer or liquor (they do have italian gelato) and in fact the owners have several kids of various ages, anyhow look for the address of BoBa in one of my blog entries below.

Jim Snively and the East Side Scene

Jim Snivley has done it again set the tone for a whole scene, moved gracefully from one stepping stone to another and in the process taken a few admiring souls with him! Yes, indeed, Jim is a man on the move, a man with moves, a guy who should star in a movie..seriously. The McNamara's Monday Night Open Mic is no longer however the Riders Inn is going strong and from that scene has grown another East Side Monday Night Open Mic - According to Jim's email message he will now be found on Monday Nights (starting DEC. 12 this Monday) at Johnny Malloy's in Willoughby. Find the action at 36245 Euclid Avenue in Willoughby (just east of SR 91). Starting time is 7:30pm wrap up at about 10:00pm. The phone number there is 1 440 942 9900. I have it on good word from Jim himself that several local Painsville types were also hired by this Johnny Malloy's place to come and play music on the weekends. So, we will see what transpires - I have no idea what this place is like, sports bar? Hmmmmm .... could be interesting.

Phoenix, Mayhalls, McNamaras, Audra K.

Gossip at the Phoenix Open Mic in Lakewood: The "Kid with The Hair in his Face" (Jeremy of Food not Bombs fame) reports that the Mayhalls Bowling Alley in Lakewood Open Mic Monday was 'blown out' on a particularly crazy Monday. He mentioned that the owners, after a particularly grueling evening of beer and bands, decided that the combination of punk bands and bowling leagues just weren't 'working', or something to that effect. Jeremy said that they had at least one night when a table was reportedly broken, oooooh. So he will be looking for another venue into which to pour his expertise. And if you know anything about The Kid With the Hair in His Face at all then you know he has a reputation for running an aggressive and punked up Open Mic. He started at the sandwich brewery place down the East end of Madison Ave. at, uhm, I think it was called the Rockwood or something, I was only in there once and it was lots of leather and loud aggresive bands and then a singer songwriter and then more bands, heh. And then when that place closed down he went over to the Capsule futher up West on Madison and had a nice long run over there as well. I was at the Capsule with a few of my friends one night, I liked the scene, there was an 'art rock' duo and some singer songwriters, the place was kinda gritty and dingy, the once nice spiffy Orange furniture was kinda run down looking by that time...there was a big PA...anyhow I guess after Capsule went under Jeremy talked the Mayhalls people into letting him do the open mic band night over there, I suppose they hadn't heard any of the stories from the Capsule Bar and maybe if they had they would have thought twice? I dunno. At any rate, I hope that Jeremy can find a new home for his energetic band oriented open mic night!

XELA open mic Tuesday at Phoenix in Lakewood: Of course Lakewood Phoenix Open Mike Tuesday night is still one of THE most happening acoustic events in the city, Lakewood or otherwise, and it continues to go strong attracting lots of different folks, poets, songwriters, and hippie types. I love it there, kid friendly, smoke free, nice scene, kinda quiet and sweet. I had a chance to corner Xela for a few minutes and ask him what happened to his promotional team, the Luvly Luv Muthas, I hadn't been getting any email from them and wondered. Well, the news wasn't good, sounds like either he fired them or the three of them just kinda peetered out one after the other, sticking the Xela Monster with a large credit card bill, and a stack of 'packaging material' that I assume was to be used for mailing out promo stuff, ack. Keep up the good work Xela Man, don't sweat the little stuff, and get that Summer tour lined up man, go man go! (hmmm maybe Xela and I and Audra oughta hit the road together this summer ... what a crazy idea)

McNamaras Monday Night Open Mic with Jim Snivley is no more, the management (or the owner, one in the same I suppose) pulled the plug on the Monday Night event just this past Monday. The rumour had been circulating just that day that it was going to be the last open mic night Monday at the quaint little bar, and sure enough when Jim rolled in, he wasn't even aware that the popular Open Mic Night had been cancelled. At any rate, Jim didn't seem to upset about it, he has other places to be and other events to run, he is a popular guy and the McNamaras event was a popular Open Mic, the guests (myself among them) will simply follow the host to another venue. So we drank our beers and smoked our butts and played our songs and said our so longs see you later at ____ (fill in the blank).

My Detroit friend singer songwriter Audra Kubat has recently sent me a couple of emails, and I was so happy to get them, I was worried about her! She is still in Detroit, working restaurants and bars, and has written a bunch of new songs for her next album. I am not sure about the details here, but I think she has one more album to go with Times Beach Records before she has fullfilled her recording contract. Seems like Times Beach has done a great job making the recordings and distributing the CD's (two of Audra's albums are available through Borders Books and Music) but beyond that, I dunno, Audra wasn't to busy this past Summer, it is my humble opinion that Ms. Audra needs an aggresive manager who can set her on the path of a Summer long tour of the USA, with stops at every major city, and it is my dream to go with her in capacity as Tour Manager (I hope Audra reads this, heh).