Cover Story: A Whole New Groove
In a career that spans nearly 3 1/2 decades, Todd Rundgren has made a reputation for himself as a restless rebel of the highest order. At nearly every turn, he has confounded critics and even risked the wrath of his own fan base in an attempt to satisfy his creative need to expand and…
Press Clips: The Year of Living Disingenuously
A sampling of recent national media coverage: American Journalism Review (top) and The Freedom Forum's lessons for journalists (featuring Michael Gallagher, far left). Hard to believe it's been a year since The Cincinnati Enquirer published its 18-page investigation of Chiquita Brands International. It's even harder to believe that, a year later, the story behind…
Cover Story: Out of Bounds
For some, the COBRA Ensemble is music. For others, it's an amusing novelty. For still others, it's sheer auditory chaos. The opinions on the Cincinnati ensemble may vary wildly, which Nathan Fuhr, COBRA's founder and "instigator" (a quite apropos title he dons as ensemble leader) concedes is inevitable with their style of music. "Our…
News: Roselawn Battles ‘Perception Problem’ as Demographics Shift, Businesses Close
The Roselawn Community Council is shaping preliminary plans to change its business district to accommodate the community's "transformed population." "At one point, Roselawn was about 90 percent Jewish, but that's no longer the case," said Cindy Shafer, community council president. "Roselawn has undergone quite a change in demographics so we have quickly become a diverse…
Cover Story: Nothing Compares to Sinead
She's Irish, female, and a singer/songwriter with a haunting voice. Her name's Sinead, and she has very strong ideas of what she wants her music to sound like and the direction she wants to take her career. But unlike that other Sinead, 27-year-old Sinead Lohan has no interest in politics and isn't as naive…
News: Once Upon a Highway
The car starts, stereo on. But it's not playing the latest Top 40 hit. A soothing voice speaks. It's telling a story. It's not talk radio. Three more cassettes lie on the passenger seat. The driver changes tapes, eager to hear more of the story. Audiobooks have found their market. "One of the things that…
Cover Story: Will Work For Beer
Bob Pollard hasn't taught fourth grade in about six years, and what he really yearns for are his weekends "I miss the fact that when you work five days a week, you get excited about the weekend," he says from his home in Dayton, Ohio. As the leader of Indie Rock underground heroes, Guided…
Cover Story: Daniels’ Boon
Charlie Daniels' story is as big as the man himself. In his 63 years, Daniels has worked with some of the most renowned names in the music business, created and sustained the longest-running concert event, and literally changed the face of musical history, being an instrumental force in softening the ground for today's AltCountry…
Weeding Out
Advertisers are familiar with the power of animation, using characters that are usually interesting and successful. But two recent campaigns have broken some unwritten rules: the M&M ads and the Round-Up ads with the talking weeds. The highest calling and sole purpose of food is to be eaten. That's why it's so common to see…
News: Stuck on Needle Exchange Programs
Ken Vail of Cleveland has been recognized by the Ohio Department of Health for the success of his needle exchange program. The Ohio Department of Health has recognized needle exchange programs as successful in preventing AIDS, but Cincinnati officials don't share that mindset. On May 15, Ken Vail, a Cleveland resident, was awarded the…
Boiler
With riffs as thick as the neck of a linebacker and an airtight rhythm section, the upstate New York band Boiler's debut for Mayhem Records, The NEW Professional, has the Hard Core groove of so-called Nu Metal. But Boiler immediately sets themselves apart by channeling their intensity directly without ever coming across as spastic…
Cover Story: Sells Like Teen Spirit
'N Sync "Some people call me a Teenage Idol/Some people say they envy me/I guess they got no way of knowing/How lonesome I can be." — "Teenage Idol," Ricky Nelson "Teenage angst has paid off well/Now I'm bored and old." — "Serve the Servants," Kurt Cobain. I love Britney Spears. I cherish 'N Sync.…
Cover Story: Ozomatli Crew
When Raul Pacheco, guitarist and lead vocalist for Los Angeles' multicultural and multigenred Ozomatli, speaks about Carlos Santana, it is with more than just the reverence reserved for Rock royalty. Pacheco's awe is borne from knowing firsthand the struggles involved in getting from the streets of L.A. to the place of prominence that Santana…
Cover Story: Liquid Summer
Summertime equals music, summertime equals drinking. You've got the stereo cranked, the windows are open, and the only ice is in your refreshing beverage. The twin fuels of tunes and liquor are inescapable. Don't to listen to anything too heavy — just like you don't eat meat loaf when the temperature is in the…
Cover Story: 2wice as Hard
It's late May and I'm waiting for Rob "Zigga" Zignowski, a singer in one of the hottest up-and-coming boy bands to emerge from the Midwest, 2wice Shy. After an hour, he enters Arby's with a slight posse of four."The Zigga" (as he demands to be called) is back in Cincinnati visiting friends and family. You…
Diner: Quest for Beer
Mecklenburg Gardens Why has Cincinnati lost its German flavor? New Orleans cultivates its Gallic charms despite Napoleon's sale almost 200 years ago. Yet here, since World War I, we have abandoned our Germanic heritage. Sure, there's the May Festival and Oktoberfest. But they only happen once a year. And, yes, we all say "Please,"…
News: Alternative Medicine
My first attempts to integrate my own body started with a chiropractor years ago. I quickly moved on to yoga and craniosacral — osteopathic — methods. About a year into this, I realized that, in terms of my own awareness, I had opened a can of worms. Asymmetries in my physique that I had never…
Cover Story: Summer Music Guide
Looking at the big concerts that are swinging through Riverbend this year, it's hard to tell that this is the last summer of the millennium. Journey, Foreigner, the J. Geils Band, The Scorpions, Santana and Poison (Poison?!) are all making the rounds in the sheds this year, alongside a plethora of teen acts (Brandy, 'N…
Prisons for Profit
Since the late 1800s when public outcry was raised against the mistreatment of prison laborers by private companies, the confinement and rehabilitation of inmates has remained under the watchful eye of the government. But privatization is rapidly dismantling the wall between state responsibilities and for-profit ventures, and as a result, the housing of inmates has…
FOP and Shirey: Going for the Knockout?
Continuing controversies over police shootings in Cincinnati are proof that the city — or at least some of its media outlets — has a short memory. The city's morning daily along with some of its TV news reporters have been heralding an Office of Municipal Investigations report, released May 19, as a definitive answer that…
