Cincinnati rockers Wussy are technically on hiatus right now, though the band members are hardly hibernating. The acclaimed group is in the midst of a flurry of activity, both together and separately.
In mid-July, co-frontperson Chuck Cleaver released his first solo album after decades of making music in Cincinnati (before Wussy there was the legendary Ass Ponys). Send Aid was released through Wussy’s longtime label, the local Shake It Records, which is currently plotting reissues of Ass Ponys albums.
In a July CityBeat cover story about his solo debut, Cleaver explained that the hiatus was partially to allow the members to explore other endeavors, but mainly due to drummer Joe Klug and his wife having their second child.
“Obviously, we’re not pissed; it’s life,” Cleaver said. “We’re going to have to figure out different ways to be out if we want to be out.”
Though Wussy canceled some tour dates last year due to Cleaver’s back issues, the singer/songwriter has been on the road this summer playing shows in support of Send Aid, including dates in New York, Philadelphia and Boston, as well as a sold-out appearance in Baltimore. And Cleaver hasn’t been alone — Wussy singer/songwriter/guitarist Lisa Walker and bassist/multi-instrumentalist Mark Messerly joined him, playing songs from their respective solo works (Walker’s Magic Words project and Messerly’s collaborative INERT album from last year) and more.
This Saturday, Aug. 10, the Wussy 3 in-the-round roadshow comes to an end with a free performance at MOTR Pub (1345 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, motrpub.com). The Plastic Ants open the show at 10 p.m.
Cleaver told CityBeat that, besides their solo ventures, they’ve been working on new Wussy material during the band break. And in the lead-up to this weekend’s hometown show, the group found out that they’d reached another milestone — Wussy’s track “Teenage Wasteland” from 2014’s Attica! clocked its millionth stream on Spotify, their first track to do so.
For more on Wussy, visit wussy.ella.net.
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