If there is, then they just got three more little angels from Cincinnati's music scene.
· After over a decade of playing together in some form, rootsy Rock crew Wojo is no more. (Making it extra sad is the fact that last year they put out their finest record yet, Borderlands.) The band's Aaron Zlatkin says the group (minus lead singer/songwriter Justin Lynch, who proved he's got what it takes for a solo life with his 2002 album, The Skywriters Penmanship Trials) will continue to play together with Wojo guitarist Mike Fair and his project, The Adventure Seekers. Their next show in that guise is July 13 at Dirty Jack's with Lonely the Seabird. Zlatkin says they'll be gathering new material with an eye on recording a follow-up to Fair's debut, I Am Smiling, Dammit.
· Also calling it quits is Staggering Statistics. This comes after a lot of recent activity, including live shows (both in and out of town) and the completion of a new album, ... i'm thinking about changing (gee, they weren't kidding with that title), which the 'Stats previewed with a show at Know Theatre in May. News of their demise came out as they canceled several recent shows, including last Friday's triumphant return gig by local Indie greats Mallory. The band recently placed changing on its Web site (staggeringstatistics.com), making it — and the cover artwork — available for free download.
· The great Indie collective (in)camera have also gone to that great gig in the sky.
The group were working on new material in Detroit with former Cincinnatian Chris Koltay at his High Bias studios (the decision of what to do with the recordings is still in limbo). The band had a good run, providing highlights of the Desdemona and MidPoint festivals, getting worldwide airplay via woxy.com and making the cover of CityBeat. Uh oh — another band stricken by the dreaded "CityBeat Cover Curse," which causes great groups to fall apart after being featured on our front page (see: The Afghan Whigs, Promenade, The Simpletons, etc.).
More Local Notes
· Matthew Shelton has started a group already destined for "local band heaven." The neo-Folk singer/songwriter put together The Cat Lovers to promote his new album, Cold Water, Hot Blood, as well as record some new songs. But they better hurry — Shelton put the band together knowing that three of the five members are leaving town next month. The release of Cold Water — full of lush, organic orchestration, folksy acoustic guitar and slippery melodies — will be celebrated Saturday at the Imago Earth Center, a nonprofit ecological society in Price Hill. The 7:30 p.m. release show is $7 to get in, with all money going to Imago. (myspace.com/msheltonmusic)
· If you like your music hard, heavy and brutal, you'll want to set up camp at the Madison Theatre in Covington this weekend. Friday and Saturday bring the inaugural Anthem Project festival, featuring a mix of national and local Hardcore, Punk and Metal bands. Headliners include The Devil Wears Prada, God Forbid and Goatwhore, while locals like Suffocate Faster, Angels of Meth, Pain Link, Estuary, Seven Orchids and many others represent Greater Cincinnati. Doors open at noon each day. For ticket info and more, see anthemprojectfestival.com.
· As most of us who've been there know, the Southgate House might just be the coolest music venue in the country. But a little outside acknowledgment never hurts. After recently being picked by Paste magazine as one of the Top 40 music venues in the U.S. (alongside Red Rocks near Denver, The Filmore in San Francisco and many other esteemed venues), the ol' mansion got another nod in the current edition of Stuff. The "men's magazine" (which apparently means no stories over 200 words and lots of scantily clad women you've never heard of) cited the Southgate as its "Bar of the Month."
· The Heartless Bastards play a "Block Party" on Final Friday this week, doing a free show on 14th Street in Over-the-Rhine, right outside the Lightborne video production building, which is hosting the event. Lightborne will also screen its great video for the band's song "All This Time." The event runs 7-11 p.m.
· The debut of "Rock the Square" got sidetracked last Friday due to rain, so the first official edition of the new free concert series on Fountain Square (every Friday at 5:30 p.m.) goes down this week, featuring performances by Hungry Lucy, Diet Audio and Ellison. (myfountainsquare.com)
CONTACT MIKE BREEN: mbreen(at)citybeat.com. Visit: blogs.citybeat.com/spill_it.