Category Archives: Dayton

Video: Southeast Engine – “Old Oak Tree” (premiere)

Here’s the new video for “Old Oak Tree” from Athens/Columbus/Dayton band Southeast Engine’s new EP Canaanville, which is an appendix to last year’s full-length, Canary. Video directed by Tommy Britt.

Southeast Engine kicked off a string of November tour dates last night at the Tree Bar:
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Video: Motel Beds – “Dumb Gold” (premiere)

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Dayton, Ohio’s Motel Beds have been in the midst of a creative swell since the late aughts. After six releases in three years, the momentum continues. Following a headlining CMJ set this Friday, Beds will issue Dumb Gold in mid-November. The band’s eighth release is a ten-track collection of angular, idiosyncratic songs, showcasing their remarkable musicianship and appreciation for no-frills rock & roll.

Dumb Gold was engineered by Beds guitarist and sometimes-Guided By Voices engineer Darryl Robbins (see 2012’s Class Clown Spots a UFO). Along with Robbins, the group features a lineup of seasoned Gem City greats – guitarist Tommy Cooper, vocalist P.J. Paslosky, drummer Ian Kaplan, and bassist Tod Weidner. Kelley Deal has also collaborated with Motel Beds in past days.

The band headlines the No More Fake Labels Official CMJ Showcase Friday, October 19 at 11:45 at Lit Lounge. No More Fake Labels will release Dumb Gold on November 13, 2012. Ohio is fortunate to have the Motel Beds.
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It’s “Guided by Voices Month” in Dayton

Written by Jason Webber, read by Dayton Mayor Gary Leitzell and “instigated by” Matt Davis of Rockathon and David C. Obenour of Ghettoblaster magazine.

New Guided By Voices video featuring Jon Glaser (of “Delocated”) after the jump. Continue reading

Noah Falck book release: further proof that Dayton is alive

Noah Falck at Canal St. Tavern. Photo credit: Grandma.

It’s been nearly a month since Noah Falck released Snowmen Losing Weight at Canal St. Tavern in Dayton, OH. Still, the memories of merriment are such that I thought I’d follow up on it all.

A very large, lively Sunday night crowd gathered to hear readings from Noah, Matt Hart, Nick Sturm and musical performances from King Elk, The Judy Blooms, Henry Daggs, Speaking Suns. As it was, the evening bore further proof that the Gem City is still alive.

Hey, in light, let’s not kid ourselves, Dayton has seen better days. Nonetheless, if you dig deep beneath the mire, you’ll find a very pronounced glimmer. Tawdry as it may be, I feel Dayton’s art and music scene is analogous to the lo-fi masterworks of its sons in Guided By Voices. It may take repeated attempts, however, under the layers of mess, you’ll find undeniable gems. Some may give up and write it off and scoff and that is their loss. However, the privy patient will discover gifts that keep on giving.

More to come from Dayton, OH soon…

“Snowmen Losing Weight”: Noah Falck book release party Sunday in Dayton

Noah Falck releases his first book of poems, Snowmen Losing Weight, this Sunday, June 10 at Canal St. Tavern in Dayton, OH. He will be joined by a host of fellow poets and area musicians (see flier above).

Falck is an elementary school teacher in Northridge (the very small north Dayton hometown of Guided By Voices’ Bob Pollard). Along with a Pushcart Prize nomination, Noah’s poems have spread widely in journals such as Bat City Review, Boston Review, Columbia Poetry Review, Forklift Ohio, Greensboro Review, Gulf Coast, Kenyon Review, La Petite, and Smartish Pace.

Snowmen was selected by BatCat Press as part of their 2012 series. According to their website, “BatCat Press is fully staffed and operated by the students of Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Midland, PA. Submissions are accepted during our annual reading period and are selected by students with the help of members of the BatCat Press advisory board, a collection of writers, teachers, and administrators from across Western Pennsylvania.” Continue reading

Saturday at Woodlands: Megacity Music Marathon feat. Times New Viking, Envelope, The High Strung, Psandwich, Southeast Engine, The Lindsay

Times New Viking‘s first Columbus in about a year, and probably last one for a while (though they’ve got a new EP coming out later this year).

The Lindsay‘s farewell show, and John Olexovitch’s last show with Psandwich.

Heavy Mole reunion. Rare Terribly Empty Pockets performance. Rare-ish Anna Ranger show.

Envelope.

Touring bands Southeast Engine, the High Strung, Shivering Timbers, Happy Maladies, Motel Beds, Smug Brothers, RobtheBank

Nuff said, right? Lots more, too. Everything starts at noon on Saturday at Woodlands Tavern. $10 today, $15 tomorrow. Full schedule of the three stages:
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Southeast Engine: New EP, Columbus presence, Megacity slot

Some news from one of Donewaiting’s faves, Southeast Engine. First, on July 31 the band is releasing a new EP titled Canaanville, which they describe as “a 4-song appendix EP designed to accompany Canary. Both albums are thematically based around Appalachian Ohio during The Great Depression. Canaanville is not, however, B-Sides or outtakes.” Stream “Old Oak Tree” above. You can pre-order the EP in the form of a T-shirt album (i.e. digital album + SEE T-shirt).

Also, Jesse Remnant – SEE bassist, harmony vocalist and brother to singer Adam Remnant — recently relocated to Columbus, which means he won’t have far to drive when the band headlines the White Stage at the Megacity Music Marathon June 9 at Woodlands Tavern. (SEE plays at 12:30am). Jesse also has his own project called The Human Cannonball. Hopefully this means we’ll get more Southeast Engine AND Human Cannonball shows here in Columbus.

Side note: SEE’s members now represent Athens, Dayton and Columbus. And Morgantown, W.V., but we’ll let that slide…

15 years since the passing of Brainiac’s Timmy Taylor

Brainiac at The Lithuanian Club — March 25, 1995
(Photo compliments of Christian Spencer via Tim Krug)

Brainiac’s Timmy Taylor passed away 15 years ago this week. The wildly original 3RA1N1AC were forerunners of a creative swell hitting Dayton, Ohio in the 1990s. While the Gem City is no stranger to innovation (the airplane, the cash register, the starter motor, Zapp & Roger, The Ohio Players, etc. all born in Dayton), it seemed a particularly imaginative time. Bands like The Breeders, Guided By Voices, Swearing at Motorists, and many more were buzzing about town. One could head to Canal Street, The Sub Galley, The Lithuanian Club, The Chameleon Club, Trader Vic’s, Gem City Records, or Network and feel the excitement in the air. All-ages shows were frequent: The whole community was involved.

Alas, I think many heard and saw and believed that Brainiac were The One. The chemistry and ingenuity Timmy, Juan Monasterio, John Schmersal, and Tyler Trent possessed seemed otherworldly. It was truly something special. Though it comes nowhere close to displaying the band’s magnitude, you can get an impression below:
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MP3: Guided by Voices – “Class Clown Spots a UFO”

MP3: Guided by Voices – Class Clown Spots a UFO

The Nelsonville Music Festival is now upon us, and while I’m excited to check out Kurt Vile and others tonight, Guided by Voices gets me downright giddy. In anticipation of Bob Pollard’s classic GBV lineup hitting the main stage tonight at midnight, here’s new track “Class Clown Spots a UFO” from the album of the same name, out June 12, and 7″ single out May 15. Rolling Stone premiered the track this week and gave this background on the song’s origin, which can be traced back to GBV’s early days:

The earliest version of the tune, called “Crocker’s Favorite Song,” was penned by Robert Pollard back in the late Eighties, and another version ended up on the cutting room floor when the band made their 1994 classic Bee Thousand. Alternate recordings with the newer title appeared on three different GBV compilations. When the mid-Nineties lineup of the band reunited, they revised and re-recorded the song, which now has a polish and harmonic complexity lacking in earlier renditions.

Give it a listen, and see you tonight in Nelsonville…

Video: R. Ring – “Fall Out and Fire” + Tree Bar show tonight

Here’s a just-released video of the Breeders’ Kelley Deal and Ampline’s Mike Montgomery aka R. Ring performing in the basement of the Texas State Capitol building during this year’s SXSW. The beautifully hypnotic “Fall Out and Fire” is from a forthcoming 7-inch on Misra Records.

Columbus folks can catch R. Ring tonight (Wed, 5/9) at the Tree Bar with Feature Films and Joel Walter with Keith Novicki ($8).