The No Bad Newsletter (Vol.1 No. 1 March 2009)
Welcome to the first installment of the No Bad Newsletter. My aim is to give the world a report on what’s going on in Cincinnati, Ohio USA, at least music-wise. We have an unusual wealth of music talent here and people outside the city might not know about it. There is just something about being the most northern southern city (or most southern northern city) and being nestled on the Ohio River gives our people an edge that you don’t find in any other place in this country. We can be gruff like our neigbors to the north one minute and sweet like our southern friends the next, all the while we’re Midwest. We’re unique in our sameness. We are a region of one and we like it that way.
Chances are most of you will have never heard of many of the bands that I’ll be talking about in the No Bad Newsletter and it is likely that they will never play in your town. Times are tough and its harder for newer bands to travel very far to play these days. I guess that’s why we have the internet and myspace, so you can check out bands that you wouldn’t otherwise be privy to. Don’t worry, I’ll be spouting off about bands you’ve heard of too, but I like helping good new bands get exposure. I root for the underdog, it’s just what I do.
Now for the music…
Before we get into March goings-on, let’s spend a little bit of time and talk about a couple of bands that have been working hard over the winter months.
The first band is our very own Heartless Bastards, who just realeased their third album”The Mountain” and have been sharing their music on the road for the past couple of months, even stopping by Dave Letterman’s place to play a song. Notice how they are quick to plug their hometown at the end? The album’s been getting great reviews and they are a great band to see live as well. Check out their myspace to see if they’re playing near you any time soon. You can bet that I’ll be talking about them a lot in this newsletter in the months to come.
Also busy this past fall/winter was Daniel Martin Moore. I’ll let you read his bio over at subpop to find what makes his first release “Stray Age” so special. I got the chance to talk with him after a recent show and he shared some exciting news about an EP he’s working on with cellist/vocalist Ben Sollee. The project is going to be about and will benefit the fight against mountain top removal in Appalachia.
On to March.
March is typically a big month for music in Cincinnati. The bands start to come out of their winter hibernation and shake the dust off their telecasters. The fans here are yearning for warm weather and will find any excuse to go out in it, if and when it comes. It’s a time of renewal, and here renewal = beer and music.
Shake It! Records is celebrating two local releases with two in-store performances. First up is Wussy, who is releasing their fourth full-length, this one self-titled on March 13th. Afterwards the band will be playing a full show at the Northside Tavern accross the street. Later in the month, on March 25th, the store throws a homecoming party for the Heartless Bastards before they play their show at Covington’s Madison Theater that evening.
Speaking of Shake It!, they teamed up with Subpop to release Daniel Martin Moore’s album on LP. The vinyl format comes with a bonus EP of demos and alternative takes. Definitely worth picking up.
The Cincinnati Enquirer recently did a piece on the Comet Bluegrass All-Stars that talks about bluegrass and the economy. An interesting read indeed.
It also looks like our favorite protest singers,The Tillers have a bunch of shows lined up for the Spring and Summer already.
So that’s about it for the first installment of The No Bad Newsletter. I’m hoping to do this monthly. Interspersed will be random updates, album reviews, show reviews, and who knows what else.
Be Careful, Buddy!
Mike