It's often been said of larger than life characters that if they didn't exist someone would have had to invent them. Thankfully we had Michael Riley, because it's difficult to imagine the twisted cosmic novelist that would have been necessary to come up with him. Riley was the personification of dichotomy. He was a fixture as an employee in Clifton music stores, but a fatal stroke June 18 ended his reign as the unofficial Mayor of Clifton Music.
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Sometimes, when you get two solo artists together for a collaboration disc, you’ve just got to have two separate release parties to celebrate. And when you have the distinct pleasure of living in a border city separated from another border city by a river, you’ve got to make sure those release shows cover both metro areas. Such is the case with Ryan Malott and Kelly Thomas and their debut EP, which will see international distribution thanks to Deep Elm Records.

The Afghan Whigs are local legends around these parts. If you live in the Tristate area, are a Rock fan and somehow have never managed to hear of them, here’s the rundown: Birthed in the late 1980s initially as a Garage Punk outfit, the scrappy lads became critical darlings and cult faves in the ’90s after gradually morphing into an AltRock group with an ear for Post Punk and R&B.
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Cincinnati is the new Olympia, Wash., this week, as Arms Exploding, Caterpillar Tracks and The Read, three politically charged bands with aggressive Post-Punk/Post- Hardcore tendencies, celebrate their 7-inch vinyl releases on local label Phratry Records. Newport’s Southgate House is ground zero for getting your face kicked in Friday night. Caterpillar Tracks and Arms Exploding bring their neo-Noise Rock — and a box of freshly pressed vinyl singles — to the Parlor.
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Singer, guitarist and Nashville native Jenny Ward spent a good chunk of her prime braving an often-stagnant life in a series of small Midwestern towns. Hey, a little misery always brings out the best in a singer/songwriter. Luckily, Ward channeled the frustration and ennui of her situation, wrote a bunch of Folk-informed songs to keep herself sane and then hit the road and headed for Cincinnati.

On their Web site, The Comforts call themselves “crowd pleasers at biker bars and church festivals.” Listening to their latest release, the six-song EP Come On In!, it’s hard to tell whether that nod to their evident fan base is tongue-in-cheek or honest, because the Anderson Township-based band actually sounds pretty damn good for a grown-up bubblegum band content with hitting the suburban circuit.
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If you were to place a bet as to what local band will be the next to follow the likes of Bad Veins, Pomegranates and Daniel Martin Moore into the ranks of “nationally acclaimed” Cincinnati area artists, putting your money on Electro/Indie foursome Eat Sugar is a pretty safe wager. One listen to the band’s excellent new EP, It’s Not Our Responsibility!, and you couldn’t be blamed for betting your life savings.
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Hard to believe, but it's been an entire decade since local singer/songwriter Roger Klug released a new record. 'More Help for Your Nerves' is the best of the his career, with Klug back to his usual "voice" — timeless Power Pop that churns out songs so infectiously rich with hooks the CDC might think about investigating.
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Local musical eccentrics Chick Pimp, Coke Dealer at a Bar celebrate the release of their new CD, The People Vs. Lemoncello, with a huge show at the Southgate House this Friday. Performing throughout the Southgate will be The Sundresses, The Lions Rampant, Rumpke Mountain Boys, Wonky Tonk, The Harlequins, CJ the Cynic, Bullying Ben Jones, Losanti and many others.
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The final deadline to be considered for a performance slot at this year’s MidPoint Music Festival (returning to Downtown this Sept. 24-26) is Friday, May 1. Get thee to mpmf.com to submit. There have also been a couple of other MPMF09 developments. The first performer for the fest has been announced — ex-Drive-By Trucker Jason Isbell and his band the 400 Unit
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