Random Sports Ramblings
As if I didn't like the Phillies enough to start, my idiotic choice to dump one of their closers cost Hoagy Time a much-needed victory this week. Brad Lidge went on the DL, and I figured Ryan Madson would be an adequate stopgap solution. Minus-21 points later, I'm a loser again.—- It's tough out there.…
There Goes the Neighborhood…Library
There goes the neighborhood…library. So Governor Ted “Bear” Strickland wants to cut 50 percent of the funds for the Cincinnati and Hamilton Public Libraries so he doesn’t have to be a meanie and raise taxes.—- As newly unemployed people have been finding out, the library is pretty sweet. It allows people to upload all the…
Art: Camera Obscura at Prairie Gallery
The ancient device known as a camera obscura (from the Latin for “veiled chamber”) was an indispensable art-making tool for centuries. A new exhibition at Northside’s Prairie Gallery tries to continue its relevance for contemporary artists. One component of Prairie Gallery’s current exhibition Camera Obscura was to build a room-sized camera-obscura device inside the front…
Events: Rollin’ on the River
Props to the skateboarders. They not only have mastered the fine art of cheap transportation but also look far cooler getting from point A to point B than those of us driving around in our cruddy Korean junkers. So ditch the car, grab a board (or just come watch) and head to the Newport riverfront…
Music: Jason Ricci and New Blood
I challenge you to find any album, let alone a Blues album, that includes covers of not only Willie Dixon, but also Sun Ra and Glen Danzig songs. Yet this is what Jason Ricci and New Blood’s Done With the Devil pulls off remarkably well. Add in some hard-driving Texas Swing, a gen-u-wine love song,…
Literary: Chuck Klosterman
Chuck Klosterman is the Quentin Tarantino of letters. His hilarious and oddly touching Heavy Metal memoir Fargo Rock City catapulted him from unknown newspaper journalist to Spin magazine staff writer seemingly overnight. Since then he’s published three more books of nonfiction (Sex Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, Killing Yourself to Live and Chuck Klosterman IV) and…
Music: Delilah DeWylde
Country music wasn’t always about the size of your cowboy hat or your tour bus or the number of flashpots you blew off during your arena shows or how much crew was required to rig your stage. Once upon a helluva long time ago, Country music was about the music, and you can thank the…
Music: Steve Earle
Steve Earle once noted that Townes Van Zandt was a great songwriter And his new album Townes supports that. As one might guess, Townes is Steve Earle’s loving musical tribute to his fallen friend — he’d already named his son Justin Townes Earle — and, in another incredible non-surprise, it’s an amazing nod to one…
Onstage: Don Carlo
Everyone expects the Spanish Inquisition in Verdi’s Don Carlo, a work hailed as Verdi’s greatest opera. All the classic operatic elements are there in plus sizes: love, betrayal, intrigue and the most dysfunctional royal family this side of the Pyrenees. Don Carlo’s arranged marriage to Elisabetta de Valois was thwarted by his father, King Phillip…
Events: The Original Creative Festival
This week offers an arts and crafts lover’s dreams come true at the sixth annual Original Creative Festival. The festival includes seminars, lectures and workshops taught by top industry teachers, free demonstrations and fashion shows, make-it and take-it stations, and plenty of shopping opportunities with an extensive list of vendors. From fabrics to sewing machines…
Music: Eat Sugar
Eat Sugar’s new disc, It’s Not Our Responsibility, will make any booty with a soul attached grow a mind of its own, get itself up off the chair and shake its proprietor around like a useless sack of meat. But while the bumpin’ backbeat is undeniable, Eat Sugar are far from routine, mindless dance-party rockers.…
Events: Goettafest
Looking for some fun and food this weekend? MainStrasse Village’s ninth annual “Orginal” Goettafest has both. For the seventh consecutive year Goettafest has been chosen as one of the Summer’s Top Ten Festivals and Events by the Kentucky Tourism Council. Once a common staple at German breakfast tables, Goetta has become so popular locally it…
Events: Ohio River Way Paddlefest
The Ohio River is much more than just that big blue (OK, brown) thing we drive across to buy liquor: It’s the source of our water, a major commercial transit line and a natural wonder. The eighth annual Paddlefest celebrates the natural splendor of the mighty Ohio with two days of ecology education, river-themed entertainment…
Events: Big Race Weekend
If you’re a racing fan, this weekend will be BIG. Merging two amateur racing events, Cincinnati’s family-oriented BIG Race Weekend lets racing fans young and old catch both the Soap Box Derby – where kids as young as eight drive and parents act as the pit crew – and the Mini Grand Prix (MGP) -…
The 48 Hour Film Project
Cincinnati was raided by dozen of maniacs with movie cameras over the weekend who were all scrambling to create a short film from conception to completion in 48 hours. See a behind the scene view of the set and hear from participants.
Music: Brian Olive
For the better part of the last decade, Brian Olive has been someone’s guitarist — sometimes as Oliver Henry or Henry Oliver — from post-high school outfits to his stints with The Greenhornes and Soledad Brothers. When the time finally came for Olive to blaze a solo trail, he had plenty of experience to draw…
Holly Williams, Big Star, Candye Kane and Clock Hands Strangle
I’m working on finding the rhythm of working with my daughter at home for the summer. In some ways, it’s easier than when she was really little and required constant attention, since she has the ability to generate her own entertainment options. On the other hand, it’s slightly more difficult now because her threshold of…
Events: Panegyri
This delicious festival celebrates 35 years of bringing an authentic bit of Greece to the Finneytown area. It’s seriously the one event I look forward to the most every summer and I can’t believe it’s almost here! I’m getting hungry just thinking about it. If you haven’t been, here’s the deal. You pay $2 to…
Art: The Verona Reconstruction Team
Selections from artist Constance McClure’s long-term project The Verona Reconstruction Team, a record of people living and working in her Walnut Hills neighborhood, will be on view briefly in a special showing from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Verona Historic Residences. McClure, who lives in the Verona, a historic apartment building undergoing extensive…
Art: EXPOSED at ArtWorks
ArtWorks’ annual Secrets fund-raiser is a favorite in the city. Every year, artists contribute more than 1,000 small postcard-sized artworks for sale to benefit the arts organization. At the time of the fund-raiser, there are no names or labels posted, letting buyers guess at whose work they are drawn to. One of the ways that…
Onstage: Opera Idol in Concert
That’s right folks, the Opera does more than present timeless works of vocal art. They dabble in pop culture, too. Playing on the national obsession with American Idol-style talent competitions, the Opera auditioned almost 200 aspiring singers, all vying for a chance to sing with the Cincinnati Opera next summer. Now down to 10 semi-finalists,…
Comedy: Greg Johnson
“My favorite jokes are the ones that provide some kind of clarity for the audience,” says comedian Greg Johnson. “Like somebody really laughs at it but also says ‘Wow, I never really thought of it that way.’ I think that’s the ultimate goal for a joke.” The Boston native makes his first of what he…
Review: Bonnaroo 2009, Part 1
What is there to say about the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival that hasn’t already been said? Every year the hippies (and now hipsters) flock to the middle of nowhere Tennessee to bask in four days of drugs, dancing and debauchery. As the festival has evolved from its early years, it has grown more eclectic…
Bobby Goes to Bonnaroo: Part Two
Editor's Note: We here at the CityBeat editorial staff figured it would be an alright idea to allow one of our summer interns, Bobby Goodwin, to leave his post for a couple days and go out on assignment to fulfill his life's dream of attending the Bonnaroo Music Festival, provided he write a highly detailed…
Fashion Inspiration: The DAAP “Reject” All-Stars
Last week's blogs (here and here) were all about UC’s DAAP Fashion Design students. Today, however, I’d like to cross the river (not the Ohio) to the other side of DAAP-unrelated and fashion-based talent in Cincinnati. If you don’t already know them, chances are you soon will. Meet photographer Floyd Johnson, stylists Kelsey Wing and…
Steve Earle with Joe Pug
Steve Earle once noted that Townes Van Zandt was a great songwriter but maybe not the best role model. Earle would know: He has collected wrong moves like charms for a bracelet. Heroin addict. Convicted felon. Seven trips to the altar. Signed a contract with MCA. None of this stuff is lethal on its own…
Delilah DeWylde and the Lost Boys
Country music wasn’t always about the size of your cowboy hat or your tour bus or the number of flashpots you blew off during your arena shows or how much crew was required to rig your stage. Once upon a helluva long time ago, Country music was about the music, and you can thank the…
CityBeat Wins Statewide Journalism Awards
CityBeat was among Ohio's top media performers recognized Friday night at the 31st Annual Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards, hosted by the Press Club of Cleveland. More than 1,000 entries were received from a variety of daily and non-daily newspapers, radio and television stations and trade and business publications from across the state — the…
BYOB: Brew Your Own Booze
Drinking is an all-American pastime, kind of like baseball (for some…), but it can result in a lot of trash or ridiculous bar tabs. Enter Mr. Beer…—- Mr. Beer is a home-brewing kit sold at Target. For just under $45 and two weeks, anyone can have a case of DIY brewskies to enjoy. Refill packs…
Music: Afghan Whigs Tribute
The Afghan Whigs are local legends around these parts: 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. They cut a series of albums for the…
CAM Adds Major Art Collection
The Cincinnati Art Museum today announced a bequest of a major local art collection — 200-plus contemporary glass, wood and ceramic objects amassed over 35 years by Nancy and David Wolf. In addition to the bequest of the objects, the Wolfs also will gift the art museum their library and provide enough money to maintain…
The Enquirer’s Own Special Interest
It’s a trying time for all newspapers, especially daily newspapers and especially The Cincinnati Enquirer. As more and more readers turn to the Internet for free content and information, advertisers that once relied on print publications instead are flocking to Web sites like Craig’s List. Newspaper companies are left desperately trying to devise a new…
Bobby Goes to Bonnaroo: Part One
Editor's Note: We here at the CityBeat editorial staff figured it would be an alright idea to allow one of our summer interns, Bobby Goodwin, to leave his post for a couple days and go out on assignment to fulfill his life's dream of attending the Bonnaroo Music Festival, provided he write a highly detailed…
Music, Makin’ Babies & Jizz Moppers
Tonight is the Koala Fires' one year anniversary show at the Northside Tavern with Dan Mecher (Turnbull ACs) and Adam Arcuragi (Philadelphia). The Cincy Scene Rock Fest is goin’ down at Madison Theatre featuring The Sundresses, The Host, Slow Claw, The Guitars, Lemon G, Wake the Bear and Wonky Tonk. State Song is playing Molly…
Civil Rights Game Schedule
It’s fitting for Major League Baseball to officially honor its role in spurring America’s Civil Rights Movement by including black players during the 1940s. But it’s also appropriate to recognize the many leagues and individuals who played the game during the decades of segregated baseball that preceded it (and maybe to wonder why it took…
Wenstrup Questions Mayor’s Travel, Bodyguard
This week’s issue of CityBeat features an interview with Dr. Brad Wenstrup, the physician who’s the Hamilton County Republican Party’s mayoral candidate. Wenstrup, who turned 51 on Wednesday, is an orthopedic surgeon who lives in Columbia Tusculum and is an Iraq War veteran. This is his first run for political office.—- Although Wenstrup won’t release…
The Flip-Flop Contessa
This is a great dish to make for a summertime dinner. It’s easy to make, and the ingredients are really easy to find. I love the way the tomatoes really neutralize the flavor of lemon, also pairing well with the arugula. —- Lemon Fusilli with Arugula ingredients: 1 tablespoon good olive oil 1 tablespoon mined…
Music: Cincy Scene Rock Fest
The “festival season” in Cincinnati isn’t all about churches and food. Local music is often on display at various multi-band shows that offer a great representation of the various genres of Cincinnati music. This Friday at Covington’s Madison Theater, while not a “named” fest by any means, the collection of locals congregating offers a solid…
Bootsy’s Memorabilia
The memorabilia at Bootsy's Restaurant in Cincinnati featuring items from King Records and other talismans of Funk.
Year One (Review)
Harold Ramis dispensed hippie-era-tinged advice to his onscreen offspring Seth Rogen in Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up, so it seems Ramis should be considered the godfather of Apatow’s smartly profane bromantic clan. Ramis seems intent on tipping his hat to the crazy kids lovingly sampling his vibe like George Clinton getting all funked up with the…
Music: Zero Boys
Unless you’re a maven of ’80s Hardcore, it’s not likely that a mention of the Zero Boys will ignite any immediate resonance. Considering their story, that is a shame. Forming in Indianapolis in 1979 (the year of London Calling), the Boys possessed a set of traits poised to reel in dedicated fans during the peak…
Friday Movie Roundup: Calm Before the Storm
With what is likely to be the summer’s biggest box-office splash (Michael Bay’s latest Transformers outing), high-profile drama (Michael Mann’s Johnny Depp-led Public Enemies) and satirical (and likely controversial) comedy (Sacha Baron Cohen’s Bruno) looming in the near future, we actually have a solid collection of new releases this week, led by a pair of…
Fashion Inspiration: A Conversation with Lacey Voss
To coincide with Wednesday’s blog about last week’s 58th DAAP Fashion Show, I bring you an interview with DAAP’s very own fashion design student, Lacey Voss, for inspiration. Lacey will be a Junior as of this fall and is excited to be releasing her own self-titled capsule collection. The collection will be available in local…
Live Review: Hank III at Bogart’s
The Hank Williams family Country music legacy is fairly remarkable when you consider how three generations of men have built up audiences that would likely stand aghast at one another. Hank Williams, Sr., is a founding father of Country and Honky Tonk Music as we know it and, rightfully so, a certified historical figure, institutionally…
‘New Yorker’ Highlights Cincinnati’s Anti-Gang Efforts
The lead feature article in the new issue of The New Yorker focuses on the anti-gang program Cincinnati implemented two years ago. John Seabrook's "Don't Shoot" is a long, well-researched and well-written story about David Kennedy, who devised the "Ceasefire" crime-fighting model in Boston, and his experiences here implementing C.I.R.V. (Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Crime).—-…
Confronting Hate With Baby Steps
A few weeks ago, I caught this story as it was firing up: Sacramento, Calif., morning radio hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States spent more than a half-hour making disparaging and dehumanizing comments about transgendered children on their May 28 radio show. People were pretty up in arms about it. I was among the hundreds…
CityBeat Podcast 13: The Newport Gangster Tour
The gangster’s paradise of old Newport sleeps beneath the family-friendly veneer we’ve come to know in recent years. The brothels, speakeasies, wise guys (and girls) and bootleggers are fleshed out in an eight-block walking tour. In this episode, you'll learn how Newport almost trumped Las Vegas (nearly becoming the nation’s gambling capital), about the local…
The Sundresses and Mob of Local Rockers Storm Barricades Friday
There's a majorly bitchin' concert coming up this Friday night at the Madison Theater in Covington that ye all should know about and very probably attend. Cincinnati elder statesmen (and stateslady) of all that is cacophonous, bloozy and rawkin', that wild-hewn triad known as thee Sundresses, shall be headlining. —- A smattering of local Indie-Blues-Folk-Garage upstarts like Wonky Tonk, The Guitars and…
Random Sports Ramblings
Like General Motors, Hoagy Time has "reinvented" itself. Riding the emotional wave of a two-game winning streak, my fantasy baseball team has righted the ship … and has even softened its stance on Jimmy Rollins now that he's begun to hit. Is fantasy baseball a thinking man's game or does it come down to pulling…
Wine Online: A Good Reason to Tweet
I’m generally what they call a “late adopter.” I still don’t own an iPod or Blackberry or have a Facebook page. I haven’t seen Slumdog Millionaire — or (I swear) a single episode of The Sopranos. Oh, we did eventually get a Wii, but not until long after every other student in my kids’ classes…
Music: drummer and The Guitars
Don’t be fooled by the names — even though it sounds like we’re pulling your leg here. Drummer and The Guitars are two separate full bands featuring all the major Rock instruments, including bass, vocals and keyboards. From Akron, drummer is a certified genre-spanning Ohio supergroup. Featuring former/current members of The Black Keys, Harriet the…
Being the Change
Mahatma Gandhi famously said that we must be the change we want to see in the world. As Greater Cincinnati’s leading media voice for change and progress, we’ve tried to live those words at CityBeat. Our world has changed a bit since this paper debuted 15 years ago, and we’ve played a role in changing…
Management (Review)
Steve Zahn is an odd dude. The 41-year-old Minnesota native has been in more than three-dozen movies since his breakthrough in Reality Bites 15 years ago. Much of the work has been as the goofy sidekick in films as diverse as SubUrbia, That Thing You Do, Out of Sight and Rescue Dawn. Occasionally he’s been…
The Proposal (Review)
The modern Hollywood romantic comedy can only be made so many ways, and in all likelihood every one of them has been made already. You need a reason why the protagonists initially can’t stand one another, or at least why one of them isn’t on the same emotional page. You need a sparkly romantic setting,…
Malton Gallery Owner Takes a Risk
Sylvia Rombis, who for 36 years has operated Malton Gallery, has coined a term for the current slowdown in the art business: “sympathetic austerity.” Many of her customers still have the money to buy the kind of accessible, often-colorful fine art — “contemporary” in that she primarily features the work of living artists — that…
Every Little Step (Review)
Those who love Broadway musicals have always said that A Chorus Line — which debuted on stage in 1975 and has been an ongoing, vital part of our culture ever since — is more than just a great show. They've called it the greatest backstage musical ever for the way it investigates, illuminates and honors…
Music: Toumani Diabate
MusicNOW brings Toumani Diabate, one of the most important musicians in Africa, to the Cincinnati Zoo for a live concert Sunday. From Mali, he blends traditional African music with Blues, Jazz, Flamenco and other international styles using his chosen instrument, the kora. The kora is a 21-string harp unique to West Africa. His most recent…
Slowly Clawing Home
So they’re stopping back home with a catchy new name and a foot fetish. Now called Slow Claw, these three former members of Cincinnati favorites Junior Revolution return for Cincinnati gigs and a one-mile barefoot walk through Northside to kick the Tom's Shoes cause up a notch. See, each time someone buys a pair of…
June 10-16: Worst Week Ever!
WEDNESDAY JUNE 10 People from the Midwest already know how liberal Californians are — we hear all about their medical marijuana and interracial relationships on the news. But San Francisco is about to take it to the next level this fall with the strictest recycling rules this side of the Atlantic. The city’s newly approved…
Bootsy Helps Us Eat, Drink, Look, Learn
Finally, a slice of Cincinnati music history gets enshrined. While there have been temporary exhibits in recent years on our music lore at the public library and the Contemporary Arts Center, there has never been a permanent historical display. There is one now — in the lobby of the new Bootsy’s restaurant downtown (631 Walnut…
Patently Untrue
Patently UntrueRegarding Ric Hickey’s recent music story about Duppy A’Jumba (“Easy Skanking,” issue of May 20), as thrilled as I was to see Duppy get the great ink that they deserve, as the owner of the Crazy Fox Saloon I must take exception to the author’s characterization of my tavern’s neighborhood, staff and service. Hickey…
Music: Ziggy Marley With 311
It can’t be too surprising that Ziggy Marley has often involved himself in family/kid-related projects in his career. His iconic father, Bob Marley, typified family in broadly exaggerated and unconventional ways, and Ziggy is most assuredly his father’s most famous son. He might not have been the first to follow dad into the family business,…
Let’s Not Repeat Health Care History
It’s complicated and not very sexy, but don’t fool yourself: The messy debate going on in Congress right now about health care reform will affect every single American. Forty-six million people, including 9 million children, are uninsured in the U.S. To put that statistic in perspective, that’s just a tad less than the combined populations…
Purchase Not by Moonlight (Review)
Critic's Pick Anri Sala’s solo exhibition, Purchase Not by Moonlight, fills two floors of the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) with sound, light and tactile objects. One work in particular confuses and simultaneously conflates the others. It’s not at the beginning of the exhibition, nor is it at the end. It isn’t what the viewer expects…
Events: Highland Renaissance Faire
It’s a farther drive than the Ohio Ren Fest, but well worth the time. Just north of Louisville, the Highland Renaissance Faire presents the Scotland of Robert the Bruce, or at least a satisfying facsimile. Explosive scientific performances, couples mud wrestling and the sword-swallowing sideshow freakiness by Cincinnati’s Travis Fessler are supporting fare for the…
Locals Put on Their Whigs
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…
Events: Riverspan Sculpture Exhibition
Bridges, although sculptural themselves, are seldom the scene of sculpture shows, but this weekend the Purple People Bridge will be alive with sculpture as well as people when the second annual RiverSpan Sculpture Exhibition and Sale fills its length. Work from some 80 artists from around the country will be on display, available for purchase…
Music: Rise Against
It can be hard for a band to retain its indie identity when big labels start throwing money around, but Rise Against has never risen to that bait even when it signed to one of the biggest labels in the industry. Coming out of the Chicago Punk/Hardcore scene a decade ago — initially as Transistor…
Sports: Civil Rights Game
It’s fitting for Major League Baseball to officially honor its role in spurring America’s Civil Rights Movement by including black players during the 1940s. But it’s also appropriate to recognize the many leagues and individuals who played the game during the decades of segregated baseball that preceded it (and maybe to wonder why it took…
Brad Wenstrup Has New Prescription for City Hall
Until recently, Brad Wenstrup thought his toughest task would be trying to restore the trust between detainees and their U.S. captors at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. When he joined the Army Reserves at age 39 desiring to serve his country, Wenstrup had no idea he’d be deployed to Iraq seven years later and…
Padrino (Review)
Hunter, Richard and Court Thomas, owners of 20 Brix in Milford, have done what any good financial manager advises: diversify. Last March they opened Padrino a few doors down from 20 Brix, extending Milford’s available restaurant options to a include a family-style, inexpensive Italian option. Padrino occupies the space that formerly housed DeMeo’s, another family-owned…
Ziggy Marley with 311
It can’t be too surprising that Ziggy Marley has often involved himself in family/kid-related projects in his career. His iconic father, Bob Marley, typified family in broadly exaggerated and unconventional ways, and Ziggy is most assuredly his father’s most famous son. Bob Marley brought Reggae to the world, and it made him a legend. Ziggy…
Music: Slow Claw
Now called Slow Claw, these three former members of Cincinnati favorites Junior Revolution return for Cincinnati gigs and a one-mile barefoot walk through Northside to kick the Tom’s Shoes cause up a notch. (Each time someone buys a pair of Tom’s, the company hands over a pair to a child in need. Since 2006, the…
Zero Boys with Pincushion
Unless you’re a maven of ’80s Hardcore, it’s not likely that a mention of the Zero Boys will ignite any immediate resonance. Considering their story, that's a shame. Forming in Indianapolis in 1979 (the year of London Calling), the Boys possessed a set of traits poised to reel in dedicated fans during the peak of…
Events: Key into Art Fund-raiser
On Saturday evening from 7 p.m.-midnight the Weston Art Gallery in the Aronoff Center for the Arts will host its annual Key into Art fundraiser. For $30, supporters can enjoy an evening of “going underground,” so dubbed because the gallery will offer the rare opportunity to experience and explore the sublevel “off-limits” areas of the…
Events: Juneteenth Festival
Want something fun to do that the whole family can enjoy? Come out to Eden Park and join in the celebration on Saturday and Sunday to mark the 22nd anniversary of Cincinnati’s Juneteenth Festival. Organizers have planned an action-packed afternoon and evening to celebrate and commemorate the end of American slavery in 1865. Saturday’s 12:30…
Music: Blue Jordan Turns 13
On Saturday, Blue Jordan, the record label and local coalition of similar-minded musical acts, celebrates 13 years of producing and releasing the finest Acoustic, Americana and Folk music the Ohio Valley has to offer. The free show, which will take place at Molly Malone’s in Pleasant Ridge, features a generous bill of classic Blue Jordan…
Stories Still to Tell
Hopefully this isn’t goodbye. But with the way things are in this economy and in this world today, I’m being forced to take a break from this column. We hope it can come back in the fall. I’d like to keep writing it online on my own blog: Check for a link to it under…
Jerk Music, Used Music and Boycotted Music
[HOT] Cool Jerk When Minimum Gauge first read the Los Angeles Times article on a new genre of music called “Jerk,” we thought, “Hmmm, seems odd Gene Simmons would merit an entire genre of music.” Turns out, Jerk is actually a Hip Hop subgenre that bubbled up from L.A. a couple of years ago and…
Losanti (Profile)
When vocalist Jack Novak joined guitarist Colin Finch and drummer John Bertke three years ago, he brought change with him — a change in philosophy and musical direction away from the straight Hip Hop/ Funk that defined their initial group, Raze. “Me and Colin started way back,” Bertke says. “We were the first people we…
A World Without Paper
I’m as down as the next gal with going green. I realize that we can’t keep treating the planet like a wastebasket, and I’ve certainly made strides in my personal life to consume less and recycle more. But lately — in complete opposition to the elation I feel seeing gas-guzzling SUVs replaced by energy efficient…
Rise Against with Rancid
It can be hard for a band to retain its indie identity when big labels start throwing money around, but Rise Against has never risen to that bait even when it signed to one of the biggest labels in the industry. Coming out of the Chicago Punk/Hardcore scene a decade ago, the quartet signed to…
Comedy: Rickey Smiley
Rickey Smiley is often described as a "clean" comedian, but it's not something he consciously strives for. "What’s in you is gonna come out of you," he says. "My comedy is pretty clean. I will say a word or two every now and then. It all depends on where I am and where I’m performing.…
Events: OTR/Gateway Summer Celebration
Rinse. Wash. Scrub. Repeat. Mass revitalization efforts in the recent years throughout the Over-the-Rhine district have given the richly historic area a new shimmery, healthier gleam. It’s about time to celebrate that. The first annual OTR/ Gateway Summer Celebration is going to be just as eclectic and edgy as OTR is today. This isn’t your…
58th DAAP Fashion Show 2009
For those among you who are fashion-forward and missed DAAP’s 58th Fashion Show on Friday, June 12th, you’re in luck. The show was Web-casted, showcasing the incredible hard work of the 2009 graduating fashion design class at the University of Cincinnati. If this isn’t enough inspiration for you, then I don’t know what is. I’ve…
Garrison Keillor Loves Cincinnati
Garrison Keillor loves Cincinnati, especially its beer-brewing and Porkopolis traditions, so much he read a poem to it during his June 13 appearance at Riverbend. It's available on an audiofile at prairiehome.publicradio.org — just click on "Cincinnati Poem." —- Be warned: You need a strong stomach if you don't like pork! But for Cincinnati beer…
