Free Stuff
The annual Fine Arts Sampler goes down this weekend, meaning free arts for everyone at various venues around the city. As usual, this means loads of musical performances all weekend. Here's a select sampling of the Sampler:
· The Over-the-Rhine Steel Drum Band will be at Memorial Hall in, fittingly, Over-the-Rhine on Saturday at 2 p.m. The community-arts group/steel-drum ensemble has issued its second CD, Let's Play It Again, to celebrate the group's 10th anniversary. The disc features the ensemble performing various popular and traditional tunes given that celebratory island-flavor, performed on steel drums concocted from 55-gallon oil drums. Creatively arranged, the songs on the CD added a playful dimension to everything from the Classical (Beethoven's "Joyful Joyful") to straight-up Calypso ("OTR Calypso Jam"), but it's the Pop songs that are the most fun: Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Credence Clearwater Revival, and even the theme from Beverly Hills Cop get energetic workouts from the group, which features members of varied ages and races.
· Ginny Frazier and her band, Circles and Arrows, bring their distinct blend of Folk and Native American sounds to the Taft Museum on Saturday at noon. Expect the group to perform songs from their most recent CD, Adopted Strangers.
· At Downtown's Emery Theatre, an all-afternoon event called "Baldwin Grand -- Cincinnati Style" will feature some of the city's best Blues and R&B pianists. On Saturday and Sunday, the event kicks off at 11:30 a.m. with students from CCM's Preparatory Department. Saturday at 1:30 p.m., Jazz organist/pianist Steve Schmidt will follow Randy Villars, then at 3:30 p.m., Charlie Fletcher (of the Blue Birds) and Earl Waldman perform. Sunday, Todd Hepburn and Sonny Hill jam it out on the two 9-foot grand pianos at 1:30 p.m., followed by Ricky Nye and Big Joe Duskin (celebrating his 78th birthday) at 3:30 p.m.
Local Releases
Here's a handful of recent recording projects that have made their way to the Spill It compound. Most of them can be found at your usual local-music friendly locales, but we've included Web and street addresses when available, just in case.
· My favorite of the batch this week is The D.C. Project's Burn Down the Sun. The group plays an unabashed brand of straight-up, no-bullshit Rock & Roll with a Blues slant and a loving debt to the classics. With smoking guitar leads, heavy riffs and a live rhythm section, The D.C. Project conjures the ghosts of Zeppelin and Hendrix in an invigoratingly pure way, making Arena Rock for your next all-nighter. Singer/guitarist Donnie Carter (the D.C. of the D.C. Project) has a Herculean vocal presence, showing the depth of a Bluesman and the balls of a Rocker. If you dig the retro punch of Monster Magnet without all of the sludge, this will be right up your proverbial alley. Very impressive CD worth tracking down.
· The Rick Lisak Band has released its first CD, Thirst. The album collects songs written by Lisak and collaborator Charles Grund over the past several years. The well-written songs are of the emotional Light Rock variety, and the album is marked by good production and an excellent backing band that lends the disc an atmospheric quality. Pretty breezy stuff, but done well. Lisak plays this Friday at Borders in Eastgate. (Rick Lisak Productions, 700 Pete Rose Way, Cincinnati, OH 45202; www.lisak.com; rick@www.lisak.com)
· The self-titled debut from Oxford's Baghdad Jones is soooo not new (out in '97 originally), but the band's popularity is snowballing, and we just got it in the mail, so we thought we'd give it a mention. Playing brisk, dynamic Modern Rock, the band features great vocals, a solid, evident tightness between the musicians and creatively structured songs. The group is at the BarrelHouse on Thursday. Look for a new disc sometime in the spring. (Baghdadjones@hotmail.com)
· They ain't CDs, but the two cassette/demos we received from Barefoot Pimp are searing our eardrums, burrowing into our brains, and commanding us to tell you about them. The powerful quartet relocated to Cincinnati last summer from "the foothills of the Appalachians," hoping to find a more sympathetic ear for their ferocious sound. Airtight and more explosive than the aftermath of a Taco-Bell-and-coffee-binge, the group expertly mixes scorching, metallic riffs with Hip Hop flourishes, all combining to create a heavy, hella groove. Ya gotta love anyone who has the balls to cover INXS' "I Need You Tonight" with a straight face. Fans of the so-called New Metal scene should be pleased to know that there's some creative local practitioners right in their own backyard. Catch the group live this Friday at Sudsy Malone's, and look for a CD release in the near future. (Barefoot Pimp, 3158 Bishop St., Cincinnati, OH 45220; barefootpimp@hotmail.com)
Rumors, Lies and General Misunderstandings
· Acid Jazz DJ Boom Bip, Jazz Hop trio Iswhat and Funk/House artist Melloman will all perform on Friday night at the Ludlow Garage shopping complex, welcoming clothing and music store Kowtow to the building. The event -- dubbed "More Love" -- will also feature the work of urban artist collaborative The Second Coming. Things get rolling at 8 p.m.
· Saturday at Top Cat's, Devil Saint Productions is staging the first annual St. Valentine's Massacre, featuring local bands Dandelion Death, Circus of the Sun, Kid Valance and Mongrel Soup, Nitty Irving's Curb Rhythm Band and Stain. Speaking of Stain, the Rock & Roll bad boys have a new Web site up and running (http://home.fuse.net/davez/stain).
· Local group Sweet Fat will celebrate Mardi Gras with a special "krewe" of guests on Tuesday at Sudsy Malone's, starting at 9 p.m.
· Monthly Shameless Self-Promotion Department: Wednesday at the Holy Grail in Clifton, CityBeat hosts its second "cdBeat" listening party. This month, it's time to listen to Bare Jr.'s Boo-tay and Fun Lovin' Criminals 100% Colombian. On the big screen you can check out the new Celebrity Death Match videos, culled from the every-now-and-then funny MTV claymation show. As usual, there will be various giveaways and such. Start time is 9 p.m.
· If you're heading to the Silos show at Top Cat's on Wednesday, get there early for what sounds like a treat of a band. The Hiders features Ass Ponys guitarist Bill Alletzhauser, Dave Gilligan of Ma Crow and the Flock and ex-Plow On Boy vocalist Niki Beuhrig.
