Erich Who?
Who is Erich Streckfuss? You might have seen his name on the Democratic primary ballot March 2, but you weren't likely to see him anywhere else. His strategy consisted of an endorsement from the Democratic Party but not much more. But it worked. He defeated activist Kabaka Oba with 63 percent of the vote.…
That’s Soooo Cincinnati
Ryan Greis Calling all ghostbusters. Greater Cincinnati is apparently inundated with phantasmic spirits and ghostly apparitions, enough so that each Halloween the Historical Society's Don Walker leads a "Haunted Cincinnati" bus tour through the region's spookiest buildings and eeriest byways. There are always supernatural scares to be found at Music Hall, the Reuben Resor House…
Cover Story: Whole Lotta Shake It Goin’ on
David Sorcher Jim (left) and Darren Blase are turning a wall of Shake It Records over to graffiti artists. "Just tell everybody I'm the Sam Phillips of Cincinnati." Although that quote from Shake It Records entrepreneur Darren Blase is delivered with tongue firmly in cheek, it's not so far off the mark when one thinks…
Dada’s back and knows How to Be Found
Limbeck Tuesday Conspiracy Thursday · Never On Sunday's Even though the northern Ohio-based Hard Rock band, Tuesday Conspiracy, recorded their second full-length album Running From Ghosts in 2003, the overwhelmingly nostalgic presence of the sloppy Grunge sound that lorded over troubled teens of the mid-1990s is undeniable throughout the CD. Tracks like "Recipe for Misery"…
ArtSpike Seeking Rich Arts Lovers
Spend time with Arie Vandenberg, founder and chief operating officer of the biweekly arts newspaper ArtSpike, and you'll leave convinced he knows every young female waitress in town. Vandenberg, a gangly thirtysomething with short brown hair and bookish glasses, looks more graduate student than Mr. Big, but that doesn't stop him from being a player.…
Cover Story: Obey Giant Comes to Cincinnati
Almost 15 years ago, Shepard Fairey initiated a movement. The Obey Giant stickers, stencils and posters began to seep into the streets, growing in size and number, inspiring more questions. The clearly contrasting, Rorschach-test image of Andre the Giant creepily began to watch over more and more of America from its counterculture origins. Ultimately, the…
Women fear not: Queefs not uncommon during sex
I just finished reading the letter from Forced Air Ruined the Sheets, and frankly I'm shocked! Not at FARTS' disgusting problem — a fart "went between the lips of (her) vagina" after sex — but shocked at you, Dan. Haven't you ever heard of a pussy fart? Queefs? After all the pumping and squeezing of…
Brent Gallaher tunes up on Vanessa’s Song
· Brent Gallaher — Vanessa's Song One of the great things about Jazz is that it's not necessary to assert oneself right away. Both in individual compositions and in a musical career, you get some time to establish a nice foundation before you're expected to launch. Saxophonist Brent Gallaher is on a sure and steady…
Blight of the Week: : Update
Jymi Bolden Address: 660 Lincoln Ave., Walnut Hills Owner: 660 Lincoln Inc. (a four-person local partnership) Year built: 1915 Value in April 2002: $468,800 Comments: In April 2002 CityBeat featured this highly visible six-story property along Interstate 71 as Blight of the Week, noting its graffiti-scarred exterior, broken windows and 50-plus visits by city building…
‘Defense of Marriage’ Is an Offense Against the Unmarried
On Feb. 6 Gov. Bob Taft signed into law House Bill 272, widely known as the Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA. On that day Taft also issued a press release explaining his support for the legislation and characterizing DOMA as little more than statutory clarification. "The singular purpose of HB 272 is to…
The Annie Bolling Gallery
Definitely upscale, featuring contemporary work from local and international artists, the Annie Bolling Gallery has a different feel than most galleries around town. Not a typical location for avid gallery-goers, Bolling Gallery lives within M. Willis Interiors in a strip mall in Oakley. While the location is mundane, the artwork is far from it. From…
Locals Only: : Room on Fire
Green Room Cincinnati's The Green Room has been playing in various incarnations for over a decade. If you haven't heard them yet, as the tagline on their Web site asks, "What are you waiting for?" The current lineup — Ohioans Christopher Glandorf (vocals/bass), David Wesenberg, (guitar) and Todd Hanson (drums) and French transplant Fredrix Michaux…
Lost Cities of the Maya can be found on The History Channel
THURSDAY 7 P.M. Lost Cities of the Maya, The History Channel. Maya kings ruled the jungles of Central America for over 1,000 years. Great architects, artists and mathematicians, the Mayans were more advanced than the Europeans, just emerging from the Dark Ages. Yet suddenly their civilization vanished. To this day, it's not fully understood why…
I can’t sit still
Dear Diane, I have a hard time sitting still in most regular yoga classes. I really need to move more. Is it possible to move at a faster pace and still get my mind quiet? — Young and RestlessDear YR: This question I have to answer with a good old yes, but… The yes part…
News to Use
The Legacy of Police Brutality Five years ago New York City Police killed an unarmed man in the doorway of his Bronx home. Amadou Diallo, armed with only a pager and a wallet, died after police shot him more than 40 times. His mother, Kadiatou Diallo, speaks at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in room 127 of…
Mamma Dearest
I've known my mother for 39 years, and I never thought we'd both get this far. We are humorously fatalistic. Pry us away from the contextual frame of our mother-daughter relationship and we'd still be, at the least, reliable and long-suffering friends. We give one another money, food, clothing, shelter, transportation, guidance and good humor.…
Grant floats Showboat as an American treasure
Sandy Underwood Darnell Smith Jr. (left) and Rashad J. Anthony are part of a strong cast for Blue at the Playhouse. One of Cincinnati's oldest continuously functioning theaters is the SHOWBOAT MAJESTIC, and it's viewed as a treasure. That's an official designation now, since the 'boat has earned a grant of $150,000 from the National…
Darren Blase, Syd Nathan and King Records
Vol. 3 Issue 19 Then: In 1997, Shake It Records owner Darren Blase was on a crusade to get the word out about Syd Nathan and King Records. Between 1943 and 1971, Blase told CityBeat readers, King Records "revolutionized the process in which music was recorded, manufactured, distributed and promoted." Cincinnatian Nathan set up shop…
Cover Story: Look Sharp!
Jymi Bolden Jo Jackson, standing in the lobby of the Contemporary Arts Center, incorporates the flashing, hypnotic effect of video into her art. Jo Jackson props herself up against a cascade of whimsical and austere skulls. The bright sky-blue background illuminates a colorful dichotomy to the scene. This is the canvas that Jackson has created,…
Cover Story: On the Periphery
James Czar Publico Beautiful Losers: Contemporary Art and Street Culture roars into town this week at the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC), grinding up sidewalks and railings, leaping airborne through a city that will find itself transformed into a living mural. Culture and counterculture are colliding, bringing art of street level and eye level together. In…
