The Wheel's Still In Spin

Better Than The Chili: Slant

Once a week The Wheel's Still In Spin highlights a band from the Greater Cincinnati area. Whether you prefer Skyline or Gold Star, you will agree that this band is "Better Than The Chili."

Download “Ba Ba Ba” (mp3)

Slant started out as an all girl band. Over the past few years, the lineup has changed. Michelle Korn has been the musical focal point through every change.

Korn is the niece of Soul Asylum’s Dave Pirner and has a natural talent for writing catchy songs. Her voice sounds mature beyond her years. Still under drinking age, she has a tonal quality of a younger Lucinda Williams.

After the band changes, Slant has settled on a lineup and released their first album, Nothin’ Left But Me. Sean Sullivan (of The Minor Leagues, The Silhouette, and Straight Arms) handles the truly tasty lead guitar duties while recording and mixing the album. Ben Berger (also from The Silhouette) plays keyboards and sings supporting vocals. Sean Peters rounds out the band with his bass playing. On the release, the regular members were assisted by Pete Weiss on organ and Mark Everetts on drums.

Nothin’ Left But Me is an ambitious sounding debut album. It mixes the guitar rock of The Replacements with the pop sensibility of 90’s alternative bands like Weezer and all topped of with the naturally soothing drawl of Korn’s vocals. The members of Slant are Cincinnatians, but slowly drifting from the Queen City. They are attending college in Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. After their CD release this past Friday, June 20th, Slant will still be one of Cincinnati’s best byproducts if they relocate.

Nothin’ Left But Me should be available from iTunes and CDBaby soon. In the meantime, it can be purchased at Shake It and Everybody’s Records in Cincinnati.

www.myspace.com/slantband

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Better Than The Chili: Buffalo Killers

Once a week The Wheel's Still In Spin highlights a band from the Greater Cincinnati area. Whether you prefer Skyline or Gold Star, you will agree that this band is "Better Than The Chili."

Download “Get Together Now Today” (mp3) [from Let It Ride]
Download “River Water” (mp3) [from Let It Ride limited edition bonus disc]

Thee Shams were a garage rock quintet with Southern rock influences. They made a great run in their 6 or 7 years together. They released albums on Shake It Records and Fat Possum. When Thee Shams broke up in 2006, 3 of the 5 members formed Buffalo Killers. Thee Shams’ keyboardists, Joey Sebaali, moved to the drums and brothers Zachary and Andrew Gabbard play bass and guitar, respectively.

In October 2006, Buffalo Killers released their self-titled debut on Alive Records. The raucous, blues infused, garage rock was met with strong reviews. A year later, the band was opening for The Black Crowes. All of this led to the presentation of the Cincinnati Entertainment Award for 2007’s Artist Of The Year.

Next month, Alive Records will release the sophomore Buffalo Killers album, Let It Ride. The album was produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. In addition to the CD format, there will be 500 vinyl copies available with a limited edition 6-song live EP from a show at the Orpheum Theater when Buffalo Killers opened for The Black Crowes last October.

Buffalo Killers recently completed a tour with The Black Keys and will head out again in support of their CD release. They will also open for The Black Crowes again this fall. Before all the excitement the rest of 2008 offers the band and before the album is released nationally, they will have an CD Release party for Let It Ride this Saturday, June 21st at The Mad Hatter in Covington, KY. The supporting bands for the show are Lions Rampart and Moon High.

Pre-order Let It Ride at Amazon or pre-order the CD or the LP directly from Alive Records.

www.buffalokillers.com
www.myspace.com/buffalokillers

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Better Than The Chili: Shake It Records

Once a week The Wheel's Still In Spin highlights a band from the Greater Cincinnati area. This week the spotlight is turned to Shake It Records. Whether you prefer Skyline or Gold Star you will agree that this record store and local label is "Better Than The Chili."

For 6 years in a row Shake It Records has been named Best Non-Chain Record Store in Cincinnati by the CityBeat Readers.

One of the best independent record stores in the Midwest the store’s (or even the whole country – check out the pictures on myspace site that show people wearing Shake It t-shirts at Amoeba Records) is located in the Northside neighborhood of Cincinnati (and about 3-4 blocks from my house). The store has a great selection of CDs, books, magazines, music related DVDs, and used CDs and DVDs. The basement of the store now holds its considerable assortment of vinyl. They keep the mainstream albums in stock, but this store specializes in stocking the releases from independent labels from “the obvious to the obscure.”

Shake It Records also hosts musical performances and meet and greet sessions from time to time. They’ve showcased local artists like Jake Speed & The Freddies and The Greenhornes; national acts like Frank Black, Sleater Kinney, and The Black Keys. Charlie Louvin’s May 2007 performance was recorded and released as an independent record store album. As CityBeat declared, “This is why we still need record stores.”

Shake It Records began as local record label in 1978. Throughout the 80’s the label was quite. In 1993 it was revived and has since released albums by The Ass Ponys, Greenhornes, Hogscraper, Pearlene, Thee Shams, Wussy, and many others.

This Saturday, May 31st, Shake It Records with celebrate the 30th anniversary of their record label with a show at The Historic Southgate House. The Customs have reunited and are re-issuing the Real Long Gone CD with bonus tracks. As an added bonus, The Long Gones will also reunite for the show. Shake It is releasing a new CD of the band’s complete recordings. The Tigerlilies will also be on the bill.

UPDATE: There is also a great promotion happening at Shake It Records in conjunction with RED Music Distributors. Shop at Shake It and you can enter to win 2 tickets to Bonnaroo this year. Shake It Records is one of eighteen independent record stores participating in this promotion.

www.shakeitrecords.com
www.myspace.com/shakeitrecords

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Better Than The Chili: Paper Airplane

Once a week The Wheel's Still In Spin highlights a band from the Greater Cincinnati area. Whether you prefer Skyline or Gold Star, you will agree that this band is "Better Than The Chili."

Download “Missing” (mp3)
Download “Four trucks sitting in the snow” (mp3)

Half of Paper Airplane lives in the Cincinnati area. The other half resides in the Columbus region. Somewhere in between the cities, on I-71, there are some of Ohio's token attractions – King's Island amusement park, some outlet malls, the occasional waft of the ever-present cows, and a roadside billboard that declares, “Hell is real!” But Paper Airplane is the best thing that can call the space between Columbus and Cincinnati it's home.

Paper Airplane released Middlemarch in the Fall of 2007, but the album only recently fell upon my ears. Middlemarch is an alluring album with catchy melodies employing various pop production devices. There are vintage keyboards (“Missing”), string arrangements (“Fire Escape”), and reverse guitar tones (“Steps”) mixed with the diverse rock sound the band creates. Singer Ryan Horns’ voice and melodic choices are appealing. Overall, Middlemarch is one of the strongest releases, especially local releases, I’ve heard. Imagine an album made by Wilco between Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but with a strong Beatles influence.

Currently, in between live performances, the band is recording their next album at Ultrasuede Studio, the Cincinnati studio that has recorded the latest albums from the city’s best bands including Heartless Bastards, Wussy, and Buffalo Killers.

This weekend, Paper Airplane is playing three shows in the state with The Dreadful Yawns from Cleveland. On Friday, March 23rd, the two bands will be in Columbus at Ravari Room with The Loyal Divide. On Saturday, March 24th, both bands with be in Cincinnati at Northside Tavern with The Harlequins. And on Sunday, March 25th, they’ll play Sloopy’s in Dayton with The Seedy Seeds.

Saturday’s show, like all shows at The Northside Tavern, is free.

Buy Middlemarch from CD Baby

www.myspace.com/therealpaperairplane
www.sonicbids.com/paperairplane

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Better Than The Chili: The Hiders

Once a week The Wheel's Still In Spin highlights a band from the Greater Cincinnati area. Whether you prefer Skyline or Gold Star, you will agree that this band is "Better Than The Chili."

Download “Plastic Flowers” (mp3)

The Hiders are a local band with roots from the best bands of Cincinnati’s recent musical history. The band is the led by Bill Alletzhauser, from The Ass Ponys and Ruby Vileos. Michael Horrigan, from The Afghan Whigs and Brendan Benson’s band, plays bass. Local jazz and blues drummer Tony Franklin keeps the beat. Rounding out the band is Beth Harris, who provides the sultry harmonies.

The band’s first self released album, Valentine, was well received with strong praise from World Café. This Friday, May 9th, the band will hold a CD Release Party at the Historic Southgate House for their newest release. Most of Penny Harvest Field was recorded with producer Brad Jones (Matthew Sweet, Josh Rouse, Richard Julian, Hayes Carll, locals Over The Rhine, and many more). Two additional tracks were recorded at Cincinnati’s Ultrasuede Studio with John Curley (also from The Afghan Whigs).

Penny Harvest Field sounds like a perfect amalgam of Americana influences, from Neil Young to Son Volt, from Emmylou Harris to Oakley Hall. The title track is full of lyrics of unlucky symbols and resolves with the lines, “I’m lying like a penny/ Facedown on the ground/ I wish someone would pick me up/ But they all think I’m bad luck.” All of the songs that I’ve heard from this album are addictive and more captivating with each listen.

The Kim Taylor band will be joining The Hiders at their CD Release Party this Friday, May 9th, at the Historic Southgate House.

www.thehiders.com
www.myspace.com/thehiders

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Better Than The Chili: Junior Revolution

Once a week The Wheel's Still In Spin highlights a band from the Greater Cincinnati area. Whether you prefer Skyline or Gold Star, you will agree that this band is "Better Than The Chili."

Download “City That Never Wakes” (mp3)

After self-releasing their latest album near the end of 2007, Junior Revolution has embarked on a two month tour of the Eastern United States. Winding their way down the East Coast and then back up through the South, the band returns to the area with a few shows.

This Friday, May 2nd, at The Southgate House, Junior Revolution will play the Ballroom with 5 other bands. The Hanks, from Los Angeles, will be playing this and a handful of other Midwestern shows with Junior Revolution. Farmington, MI’s Empire Empire (that Will from Sound As Language recently interviewed) will also be sharing the stage along with the additional local bands All The Day Holiday, The Upset Victory and Oh, Here It Is.

After a few more Midwestern dates, the band will play in the area again on Saturday, May 17th, at the Madison Theater for The Host’s CD Release Party.

Junior Revolution has been through a number of lineup changes in the past five years, but seems to have settled on a solid musical team. Their most recent album, It’s A Process..., shows the current lineup meld multiple genres. With seven songs in about a half hour of music, the band mixed indie, emo, and progressive sounds into elongated pop songs. Throughout their songs, there is a layer of vocals with guitarist Jayson Hazelbaker, guitarist/keyboardist Daniel Erb, and bassist Brian Miller stacking their voiced atop Chris Denholm’s densely creative drumming.

www.juniorrevolution.com
www.myspace.com/juniorrevolution

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Better Than The Chili: Jeff Scott Roberson

Once a week The Wheel's Still In Spin highlights a band from the Greater Cincinnati area. Whether you prefer Skyline or Gold Star, you will agree that this band is "Better Than The Chili."

20 years ago or so Jeff Scott Roberson released his first solo album. Then he formed the local country-rock band Len’s Lounge with John Curley (Afghan Whigs, Staggering Statistics, Ultrasuede Studios). Curley’s not in the band anymore, but Len’s Lounge still plays out. Roberson stays active in the Cincinnati music scene with his band or as a solo performer.

Roberson has now completed his second solo album. Summer’s Here was produced by Ed Pettersen and mixed and mastered by Motown legend Bob Ohlsson. The title track is a mellow ode to the season of relaxation and easy. Above the acoustic guitar, and piano, a vivid lead guitar line is interspersed.

The best track is “Sam Nation.” A dedication to one of the lead singers of the local band The Thirteens, Sam was killed when a drunk driver collided with the passenger side of the car Sam was in. A sculptor and musician, Sam was a true artist. This song is “one more goodbye.” Not only does it capture the aura of Sam, it’s a great song.

Summer's Here is available at the local record stores like Shake It and Everybody’s. It's also at www.villagerecords.com and www.emusic.com. This coming Tuesday, April 29th, it's supposed to be available from iTunes, Amazon Download, and CDBaby.

www.myspace.com/jeffscottroberson

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Better Than The Chili: Culture Queer

Once a week The Wheel's Still In Spin highlights a band from the Greater Cincinnati area. Whether you prefer Skyline or Gold Star, you will agree that this band is "Better Than The Chili."

Culture Queer is a local band whose goal is described by the passage, “What we hope for is a cathartic mess.” This Friday, April 18, they will be releasing their third album, entitled Kid Friendly Dinner Party.

The songs on Kid Friendly Dinner Party are short and sweet. The album consists of keyboard and guitar heavy pop songs, somewhat in the vein of the Elephant Six artists. Most of the songs on this 9-track and 22-minute album are originals. There is also a cover of Big Star’s “Thirteen,” which has been covered by Elliott Smith and Jeff Tweedy.

The band’s first release was 2004’s Supersize It Under Pontius Pilate, which was honored with a Cincinnati Entertainment Award for Album of The Year. That was followed with CQ EP in 2006.

Now the band celebrates their third album with a release party at The Gypsy Hut, in Northside, with Wussy, another band dubbed “Better Than The Chili.” Like most shows at The Gypsy Hut, admission for Culture Queer's CD release party on Friday, April 18th is free.

Culture Queer’s myspace page has 4 of the 9 songs from Kid Friendly Dinner Party available to hear.

www.myspace.com/culturequeer

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Better Than The Chili: Cincypunk Fest VII

Once a week The Wheel's Still In Spin highlights a band from the Greater Cincinnati area. Whether you prefer Skyline or Gold Star, you will agree that this music is "Better Than The Chili." This week, the spotlight will be pointed on one of Cincinnati’s premiere annual independent music events, Cincypunk Fest.

It all started with the website cincypunk.org, which has been an indispensable independent music site for the Cincinnati community since January 2002. They cover a large portion of the local music scene – from punk to indie to metal to rock and roll and more.

In April 2003, Cincypunk Fest was born with 10 bands and a one-night event. August 2003 saw Cincypunk Fest II take up three stages with 40 bands. After that, Cincypunk was handed from its founder, Zack Zimmerman, to Adam Rosing. Under Rosing’s leadership the website and event have grown. Now an annual event, Rosing has donated the proceeds to local charities including YMCA’s Camp Ernst Core Character Values Program, the Women’s Crisis Center of NKY, the Mental Health Association of Northern Kentucky, and Lighthouse Youth Services of Cincinnati. Over $11,500 has been raised for these local organizations.

This weekend, Cincypunk Fest returns with Cincypunk Fest VII as nearly 40 of the area’s best bands perform on the multiple stages of The Historic Southgate House.

The cover is $8 for 21 and over and $10 for 18-20 for each night. The doors are at 7PM with the show starting at 7:15 on Friday and 8:00 on Saturday.

Here’s the lineup:

Friday, April 11th, 2008
Southgate House Ballroom
7:45-8:15 A Decade To Die For
8:30-9:00 Covington
9:15-9:45 Invitational
10:00-10:30 Tubring (Chicago, IL)
10:45-11:15 Mallory
11:30-12:00 thistle
12:15-12:45 Lost Hands Found Fingers
1:00-1:45 The Turnbull ACs
Southgate House Parlour
7:15-7:45 Dead Serius
8:00-8:30 Used Kids (Brooklyn, NY)
8:45-9:15 Sweet Ray Laurel
9:30-10:00 Team Stray
10:15-10:45 The Seedy Seeds
11:00-11:30 Sadaharu (Lancaster, PA)
11:45-12:15 The Read
12:30-1:00 J. Roddy Walston And The Business (Baltimore, MD)
Southgate House Lounge
9:45-10:15 Best Revenge
10:30-11:00 Tuck Me In
11:15-12:00 Motorcycle Tapedeck
12:15-1:00 The Tillers

Saturday, April 12th, 2008
Southgate House Ballroom
8:30-9:00 Knife The Symphony
9:15-9:45 Junior Revolution
10:00-10:30 Alone At 3AM
10:45-11:15 Ampline
11:30-12:00 The Lion’s Rampart
12:15-12:45 500 Miles To Memphis
1:00-1:45 Shotgun On Blonde
Southgate House Parlour
8:00-8:30 Eatafetus Trio
8:45-9:15 Dopamines
9:30-10:00 Caterpillar Tracks
10:15-10:45 Rumble Club
11:00-11:30 The Frankl Project
11:45-12:15 Arms Exploding
12:30-1:00 John Walsh
Southgate House Lounge
9:00-9:30 Carrie Sample
9:45-10:15 Riverside Revival
10:30-11:00 Cold And Sinus
11:15-12:00 Dusty Bryant
12:15-1:00 Straw Boss

www.cincypunk.org
www.myspace.com/cincypunkfest

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Better Than The Chili: The Sundresses

Once a week The Wheel's Still In Spin highlights a band from the Greater Cincinnati area. Whether you prefer Skyline or Gold Star, you will agree that this band is "Better Than The Chili."

The Sundresses began playing music in March of 2002. The two songwriters of the band, Brad Schnittger and Jeremy Springer, trade off between guitar and drums during their live shows. Mackenzie Place switches between bass and trombone as her accompanying instrument. They mix many American music ideas – like swing, roots rock, and classic rock – with a punk mentality.

They received local recognition with Cincinnati Entertainment Awards for Best Alternative/Indie band in 2004 & 2007, as well as being nominated in the same category in 2006.

The Sundresses have also been garnered with positive reviews for their heavy touring, including performances at SXSW in 2004, 2005 & 2006.

In 2003, the band self-released their first album, The Only Tourist In Town. They have been working on their follow for a little while. The album is now done and titled Barkinghaus. They are currently shopping the album for a label release. However, they’re not afraid to self-release this album.

The band posts videos of Sundresses TV on You Tube. Embedded is episode 1.

www.thesundresses.com
www.myspace.com/thesundresses

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