Freekbot features Freekbass (a.k.a. bassist/singer Chris Sherman of Funk crew Freekbass) and Tobotius (a.k.a. Tobe Donohue, producer and founder of world-renowned turntable crew Animal Crackers) in an Electronica/Dance/Groove duo configuration.Freekbot makes its Cincy debut at The Mad Frog in Corryville this Saturday. Showtime is 9 p.m. and admission is $10. MC/DJ Firecat 451 opens the show and famed keyboardist Razor Sharp Johnson (P-Funk, Bootsy’s Rubberband) will sit in with the duo.

We recently chatted with Sherman via email about what fans can expect from Freekbot and what the duo has in store for the future.

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Honeyhoney is an up-and-coming group out of Los Angeles that offers a soulful, folksy sound that has led to comparisons to The Avett Brothers and Mumford and Sons. A combination of Suzanne Santo's strong voice and banjo/fiddle playing and the voice and guitar of Ben Jaffe, honeyhoney's sound (despite the comparisons) is a unique hybrid that has been intriguing audiences since last October's release of Billy Jack and the subsequent relentless touring.

The pair spoke with CityBeat by phone to promote Saturday's performance in Cincinnati at Bogart's (in the club's "Front Room"). (Click here for more info.)

CityBeat: I picked up your latest album in the fall when Billy Jack was released and I love it. I saw you were also previewed in Country Weekly in the fall and I just wanted to ask if you consider yourself a Country band.

Ben Jaffe: We don’t but that is kind of a genre that has been thrown at us now, of course, not in a bad way. I should have said "tossed gently to us" and we caught it. It has been a kind of interesting opportunity because we have had a lot of trouble aligning ourselves with a specific group. Everyone says “It sounds like this” or “not enough this” or “not enough that.” I think we are really happy to be embraced by Country people and we love to play in front of them, but I don’t think we call ourselves a Country band.

CB: It’s actually a hard genre to break into. I cover all kinds of music and it’s one of the harder types of music to get the fans to rally around you.

BJ: Completely. And it’s such a citadel, there is a real industry around it so I think that explains why it is tough to make a wave and whatever little ripple we are making is cool and we like to pursue it. Actually, it is interesting, Jamey Johnson was at one of our shows the other day and he expressed some support for us and we might play some shows with him so it kind of seems like it is pulling us in, like in Godfather: Part II.

CB: Would you modify your sound or your songs to adapt to Country music?

BJ: No. How it works though is the more you listen, the more you can integrate subconsciously. This record that we released most recently, both of us got obsessed with Hank Williams. I don’t know if it is out of respect or out of interest, (but) there are songs on the record that are straight Hank Williams rip-offs. I don’t see it as adapting to fit in to a genre or section but the more you get exposed to it, you can’t help but integrate it because it is great music.

CB: Can you tell me a little about the song “Little Toy Gun”?

BJ: That came out a while ago. That was something that I actually recorded on my own separately before the band, and when we got together, eventually, it became part of our set. It was the one that the label believed in, so we made this crazy video which was an amazing experience. Kiefer Sutherland directed it and we had a trailer. We were like movie stars for 20 minutes. It is one of those songs that has stuck around. People still reach out to us to use the song.

CB: You guys are on the Coachella roster, correct?

BJ: Yes ma’am

CB: That is pretty exciting in itself. What else exciting do you guys have coming up this summer?

BJ: We are opening for a guy named James Morrison who is doing a tour in May. Then we are playing this thing called the Sasquatch Festival that Tenacious D is playing. So we are accomplishing some of our, highest, loftiest goals to play with Tenacious D. This could be our shot. Sheryl Crow has asked us to open up a few dates. All of this has been happening really recently. It has been really crazy. Then we are playing at the Newport Folk Festival and then hopefully after that we will become addicted to hard drugs and our careers will be over.

CB: We will find you in an alley somewhere in L.A.

BJ: (laughing) Yeah

CB: I have a couple funny questions. I have been playing this table game where you pick out questions to answer. Some of them are funny so I am going to try them out on you guys.

BJ: OK.

CB: What was the last thing you bought at a drive-thru window?

BJ: Oh, God. (asking someone else) Hey what was the last thing we bought at a drive-thru window? They don’t allow vans through the drive-thru a lot of times so I guess it was at the bank ATM.

CB: So money?

BJ: Yeah, cash.

CB: What is your favorite dirty movie?

BJ: My favorite dirty movie, like pornographic film?

CB: It doesn’t have to be, it can go either way.

BJ: Yeah, we are mainly streamers. You can say that. I would say either Dark Side of the Poon or Wild Things Part 3. At this point can I hand you over to Suzanne?

Suzanne Santo: Hello Amy.

CB: I ran him off with some of my questions I guess.

SS: No, I think he was more looking forward to me answering any more pornographic questions that you may have.

CB: No, I got a new table game so I have been trying out some of the questions.

SS: What is your table game called?

CB: It’s a cube of cards that you get and you put it on the table and you have people pick a card out and they have to answer a question.

SS: OK. Have you played Dirty Jenga, that’s fun too?

CB: No I haven’t. I have to look that up.

SS: It’s not dirty-dirty, like totally inappropriate. It’s like “Bite the ear of the person to your left” or “Make an orgasmic noise.” Each block has a dare written on it.

CB: You not only have to take the block out but you have to do what is written on it. Nice.

SS: It is kind of a “do it yourself” kind of game so it is at your discretion what you want the blocks to say. So if I were you, I would choose my company wisely.

CB: I wanted to specifically talk to you about growing up in Ohio. I know you are from Cleveland and the Midwest. How did growing up in Cleveland or the Midwest influence your music?

SS: Well, to be honest with you, I wouldn’t say that the Midwest has influenced my style tremendously. Well, that’s not true because there was a lot of music growing up. I grew up in Strongsville which is 25 minutes South of Cleveland and there is definitely adjacent farmland that is not very far, within a mile or two.

When I was in L.A. about a month ago, I met Drew Carey at a diner. I went, “Hello Drew, my name is Suzanne from Parma, Ohio, and I just want you to know that I love you.” I said, “I think you are the greatest and I love what you do for Cleveland.” I tweeted at him later in the day and he retweeted my tweet and I was, “That’s it. I’m done. I have achieved my goals.”

I guess there were Country elements I grew up listening to but my family owned an Italian restaurant and they played a lot of Jazz music like Rosemary Clooney, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin and that kind of thing. There was definitely a Jazz influence from the get-go, I love Jazz with a true, infinite passion. It never ends, is what I meant to say. I grew up with a lot of that and Country music, it was mainly Pop Country that I was hearing here and there but I really got into Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline and that kind of stuff later, after I had already left Ohio. When we started our band in L.A., we frequented Nashville and every time, we got a little bit deeper into classic Country like Johnny Cash.

CB: Do you have any fun Cincinnati memories from playing or being around town?

SS: We played Bogart's once and I remember being really excited.

Las Vegas-based Rock band Adelitas Way has skyrocketed through the ranks and charts in the last year. The group's second studio release, Home School Valedictorian, hit music shelves earlier this summer and the first single “Sick” reached No. 1 on the Active Rock charts in the U.S. The band is currently on the Carnival of Madness Tour, which hits Dayton's X-Fest this Sunday at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds.

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Alt/Funk/R&B/Rock crew Fitz and the Tantrums is one of hottest buzz bands in the land right now. The group’s debut record from last year, Pickin’ Up the Pieces, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Heatseeker chart and its song “Money Grabber” became an activist anthem for the Occupy Wall Street movement across America.

CityBeat spoke with frontman Michael Fitzpatrick recently, in advance of the band's show this weekend at the Super Bowl Village in Indy. Fitz and the Tantrums performs tonight at 7 p.m. The show is free. (Click here for details.) 

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I started out the second day of the Forecastle festival in Louisville by getting caught in the rain and being picked up like a hitchhiker by the Everest band van on the way to setup for their set on the main Mast Stage of the festival. The band agreed to let me hang for “A Day in the Life” photo series as they prepped to play the 10th Anniversary of Forecastle. They were laid back as the rain moved in and gear was unplugged and wrapped in saran wrap.

Click here to check out the "A Day in the Life" photo series featuring Everest.

Everest has been on the road promoting their third album Ownerless. On Ownerless, you can hear a refined sound in which the band speaks about powerful issues as they took their time to record and find their true voice, writing from the heart and soul. The band consists of members Russell Pollard (vocals/guitar/drums), Joel Graves (guitar/keys/vocals), Jason Soda (guitar/keys/vocals), Eli Thomson (bass/vocals) and new addition Kyle Crane (drums).
Everest are rising stars in the alternative music scene and have toured with My Morning Jacket and they will be heading back on the road with Neil Young this fall.

It turned out to not be such a typical “day in the life” as the show was held back because of lightning in the area but the band unloaded and prepared to play even as heavy rain descended on the festival. The festival opened an hour late due to rain delays but they did make time for all the planned acts to perform (albeit with shorter set lists).

Everest played loud and rocked the crowd as it gathered to hear this band singing my favorite track on the new album as the opening song “Rapture.” Founding member Pollard’s raspy vocals were captivating and I instantly became a fan of this band as they sang older tunes and new record songs like “Into the Grey.” The Watson Twins joined the band for a few songs on backing vocals to round out their set.

Overall it was a great day to play music in Louisville as fans gathered to celebrate 10 years of the fest, which self-defines itself as being all about "music, art and activism." The Preservation Hall Jazz Band took the main stage by storm and had fans dancing in the grass; special guests onstage including Jim James and Andrew Bird playing classic tunes with the legendary jazz musicians from New Orleans. James' band (and hometown heroes) My Morning Jacket played over two hours to close out the night while Girl Talk played on the second stage and had a festival rave in full action on the banks of the Ohio river.

Click here to check out even more photos from Forecastle.

The Beach Boys have been blessing audience’s ears with happy and fun tunes (with occasional blasts of melancholy) for 50 years. As they embark on a 50th anniversary tour, they are preparing to release their 31st album, titled That’s Why God Made The Radio, which is also the title of the first single. Almost anyone who listens to music can think a happy thought as it relates to Beach Boy classics like “Good Vibrations,” “Kokomo,” “Surfin USA” or one of their other countless hits.

I was able to speak with Mike Love and Brian Wilson before the tour kickoff and it proved to be one of my toughest interviews to date when I spoke with Wilson.There were moments when you had to wonder why he is speaking to the press at all and others when you remembered the pure genius inside his head as he spoke about mixing harmonies on the new album and just being happy to play again with the band that made him a legend. We reached a nostalgic and introspective point as the legends looked back on a remarkable career.

The Beach Boys' 50th anniversary tour comes to Riverbend Music Center this Tuesday.

CityBeat: If you were writing “California Girls” today, how would you describe them and what are the big changes?

Mike Love: The thing about “California Girls” is that it is a riveting song saying, “I wish they all could be California Girls,” and then talk about all the places around the country. I don’t think there would be much changing to do.  Of course our original fans are now California mothers and grandmothers. I believe it is all the same.

Brian Wilson: No, I would do it the same as it was.

CB: What has been your process for putting together the set list of songs for the shows coming up?

Brian: We all got together and chose the songs together and we finally narrowed it down to two hours or two and a half hours of songs.

Mike: I’ll tell you what, there are several songs that we absolutely do at every single show we do — “California Girls” being one of them, “Good Vibrations” being another, “Kokomo” being our biggest hit of all. “Good Vibrations” was our biggest hit that came out in 1966, until “Kokomo” came out in 1988 and apparently surpassed that. And then there are songs like “I Get Around” and “Fun Fun Fun” and “Surfin’ USA” and “Help Me Rhonda” — we are always going to do those big hit songs because we believe people are going to come see you for what you are known for. We are most famous for those big hit recordings we have had.

Then there are other songs we are doing on our set list called album cuts that are a little more subtle, a little more esoteric. Then there is a song called “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” originally done by Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers during the ‘50s. My cousin Brian came up with a really great vocal arrangement so we enjoy doing that song. Whether it is a point of view of doing a song we feel hardcore fans know or the Beach Boys music that I can recall, we like to do some songs that will please them as well so we balance the songs, the set list, the selection of songs all throughout the years, up to and including our newest record which is called That’s Why God Made the Radio.

CB: On the new album there are fun and upbeat songs, as always, but there are also songs embracing some melancholy of the past like “Pacific Coast Highway.” Why was it important to have both on the album?

Mike: I think there has always been melancholy and upbeat aspects to our songs. For instance “Surfer Girl” is slower and romantic. “In My Room” is kind of introspective, and if you will a little melancholy like ("Warmth of the Sun"), which is also a beautiful, slow ballad, but I think mainly it is the result of the collective nature of all of us.

There is the obvious sun part of life that we have here in Southern California growing up, you know with the featured years and when we recorded “Barbara Ann” and “Lookin’ For Romance” and then “California Girls” and going around the world and experiencing upbeat and positive things like car songs or surfing songs. There is that aspect of it. Then there is also that more internal, introspective aspect of things. So there are definitely both types of music in the Beach Boys catalog, definitely. There is the melancholy and the happy and upbeat.

I think that is how life is. Sometimes, people experience moods or situations in life that are not so much upbeat or fun, death of a loved one or breaking up with somebody. There are situations in life that lend themselves to the more serious or somber or melancholy. Then there are the activities and situations in life that are far more upbeat and fun.

CB: What is it like having three generations of fans singing along at the shows now?

Mike: It is pretty amazing. It is really wild how well people have responded to us all being together. It re-establishes the theorem from math that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Brian Wilson has been doing his own solo projects and recordings and touring for the last several years. I have been touring as the Beach Boys with Bruce Johnston and occasionally David Marks, our original guitarist. Al Jardine has been doing his own thing but we all got together because of the specialness of the 50th anniversary of the Beach Boys.

That is the real catalyst that got us together. In addition to that remarkable milestone, there is the fact Capitol Records gave us an opportunity to record a new studio album, so we all got together, a lot of time had passed since we last did an album but it was kind of weird how familiar the whole process felt and how normal it sounded when we were listening to our performance coming back through the speaker in the studio. A lot of time had passed but not much had changed really in terms of Brian’s ability to structure the harmonies and chord progressions and our abilities to harmonize and perform the songs. It was really cool, the two things together, the 50th anniversary and going out to tour together along with doing the new record, those two things, gave us the encouragement to get together and do this together. And the response from the public and so many places have been phenomenal, the Hollywood Bowl in Southern California sold out 17,500 seats.

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Since the last time we saw Volbeat in Cincinnati, the band has blown up in the U.S. thanks in part to its tour with Megadeth and Motorhead. Volbeat is a first-class Danish Metal band that is taking North America by storm, playing coast to coast. The band has been touring the album Beyond Hell/Above Heaven for a couple years and are set for another run this summer.

CityBeat recently spoke with band drummer Jon Larsen about Volbeat's evolution over the short period of time since they were last seen in Ohio. Volbeat takes the stage at Rock on the Range in Columbus this weekend along with the rest of the best acts in Metal and Rock music.

CityBeat: I know you guys just got off the Gigantour Tour. Did you have any crazy Motorhead or Megadeth stories along the way?

Jon Larsen: No, not really actually, not really any interesting stories to tell. We got along fine with both camps and everybody was in high spirits. I think it was definitely a great tour for all.

CB: Rock on the Range is always a crazy time in Columbus. What are you looking forward to about the show and are you looking forward to seeing any other bands there?

JL: Oh yeah, I am always looking forward to seeing Anthrax. We like to hang out with those guys. We have hung out with them a few times. We don’t know (Rob) Zombie or (Marilyn) Manson, but Anthrax is gonna be cool.

CB: Growing up, what were your biggest musical influences?

JL: We had tons of influences, everything from Social Distortion to The Misfits to Metallica to, say, Johnny Cash, everything. That is why we do what we do. We blend all of our influences together and that is what has become us.

CB: What do you do on your down time on the road?

JL: It depends on where we are. Yesterday and today we have been in Memphis, so of course we all went to Graceland and saw that. What else? I guess the usual things, relax, watch movies, go to the mall, restaurants, usual stuff, nothing fancy.

CB: Did you say you went to Graceland yesterday?

JL: Yes we did.

CB: Is that the first time?

JL: For me it was; Michael has been there three times before. For me it was my first time and it was definitely interesting to see where Elvis had lived.

CB: Were you an Elvis fan?

JL: I like him. I won’t say that I am a fan like Michael is, but of course I like the music that Elvis did. It was cool.

CB: I talked to Michael last summer, the last time you guys came through Cincinnati at Bogart's, and I talked to him about a few of the songs. But since that time, “A Warrior’s Call” has really taken off and has become a sports anthem. Can you tell me a little of the backstory behind that song?



JL: It was written for a Danish boxing champ Mikkel Kessler. Michael had gotten to know him and they had become good friends and one day they were joking around because we found out Kessler had used one of our previous songs as his walk-on music and Michael had said, “Why don’t you get some real music, a real song?” and he said “Why don’t you write me a song?” and he said “OK, I can do that.” So that is the story behind “A Warrior’s Call” — it was written specifically for Kessler but it seems like especially in America everyone from hockey teams to weddings are using that song for lots of stuff which is kind of fun in a way.

CB: You guys were just kicking off your North American tour the last time we spoke in Cincinnati. What was the highlight of your tour through North America in the past year?

JL: That is difficult to say, actually. I don’t know. We played two nights in Anaheim, Calif., which both sold out. We played in New York, which has always been great. We have done some shows at a place called the Machine Shop in Michigan which is always a great laugh. Those are some of the highlights; I can’t point out anything in particular.

CB: Are you guys going to go back to Europe for summer festivals there?

JL: We are going to do one festival in Europe this summer which will be in Germany. That is the only European festival that we are going to be doing this year.

CB: Are you working on new music at all on the road?

JL: Yeah, before we went back on the road for this one, we had spent a lot of time rehearsing trying to come up with some new stuff. A lot of bits and pieces, a few half-finished songs here and there, but nothing that is that finished yet. But we are definitely working on getting into the studio late this year and have a new album out some time next year.

CB: What can you tell the fans to look forward to at Rock on the Range?

JL: Well, good music, a few good laughs, a few bad jokes. I guess that’s it. Hopefully a lot of positive energy.

Music Tonight: Locally-bred guitar superhero Adrian Belew is back in his homestate for a special gig at the Southgate House in Newport. Belew shows are always amazing, but tonight's performance is part of the Two of a Perfect Trio tour, which teams the Adrian Belew Power Trio with Stick Men, featuring Belew's mates from King Crimson, Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto. It'll be a night of Prog Pop and Rock as the Stick Men open things up at 8:30 p.m. with their explorations on Chapman Stick (the bass-like instrument Levin helped popularize), acoustic/electronic percussion and Markus Reuter' homemade "touch guitar" work. After Belew's set with his trio, the two ensembles will join forces for the "Crim-centric" encore, running through their favorite King Crimson compositions. The show is open to all ages; admission is $22. Below, check out a great retrospective documentary about Belew covering his entire career, narrated by the Twang Bar King himself.

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Chevelle has been rocking faces off crowds for over 10 years. The three piece is set to release its sixth studio album in December, Hats off to the Bull. Their most recent release, Sci-Fi Crimes, was a Top 10 album on the Billboard charts, fueled in part by the band's hit “Sleep Apnea.” CityBeat spoke with drummer Sam Loeffler before Chevelle's show in Cincinnati Friday with Bush and Filter at PNC Pavilion about the band's rise to fame, the current Occupy Wall Street protests, corporate greed and the importance of Wikipedia accuracy.

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Anthrax are innovators of the sound of today’s Hard Rock and Metal landscape. The band recently released its 10th studio album, Worship Music, a return to the band’s early sound thanks to the re-emergence of lead vocalist Joey Belladonna. CityBeat caught up with Belladonna and guitarist Rob Caggiano before their show earlier this week in Louisville at Expo 5 to talk about the direction of the band and what got them to where they are today. Anthrax performs in Cincinnati this Saturday at Bogart's.

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