Not sure what brings J Robbins to Columbus for a Friday night Happy Hour show, but what a lucky score for KOBO. For indie rock geeks with their feet firmly planted in the ’90s (yes, I’m one of you!), this may be THE show of 2011. Robbins will be performing with cellist Gordon Withers and it’s not at all a stretch to think this will be a stripped-down (yet, somehow, at the same time, face-melting) tour of the singer/producer’s recorded history, from Jawbox to Burning Airlines to Office of Future Plans.

A few years ago, the boys in Miranda Sound employed the talents of Mr.Robbins to produce arguably their greatest album, 2006′s Western Reserve so it only makes sense that half of that now-defunct band (Dan Gerken and Sean Sefcik) have been tapped to warm up the crowd.

Doors at 6, Mir-half-a Sound (get it?) start around 7, J Robbins closing out the Happy Hour show starting around 8. $5 will gain you intimate access to what promises to be one of the best shows of the year.

In case you missed it, Sammy Hagar and Gary Cherone both were in attendance (Hagar holding a sign throughout Van Haken’s set that said, “Play Poundcake”) and in a surprise move, David Lee Roth invited the two to join the band for “Everybody Wants Some”. Here’s the result of the first time ever that all 3 singers shared the same stage.

Last fall, some tough news landed in the Sefcik family’s lap – Sean and his wife Laura’s first child, Ava, a beautiful little red head with the brightest and biggest smile you’ve ever seen, was diagnosed with Autism.

Autism is a neurological disorder that traps kids: they struggle to communicate and interact with peers and parents – and they practice repetitive behavior. Autism is a “spectrum disorder” that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. Ava has been specifically diagnosed with Isodicentric 15, a chromosomal disorder that is the primary contributor to her autism. And it can’t be changed since it’s, well, her chromosomes.

The cause of these spectrum disorders are seemingly unknown and there is no magic cure. But research shows that diagnosing the disorder at an early age, followed by rehabilitative intervention and education, can help the individuals who are struck by this disorder to live extremely meaningful lives.

In many ways, Ava is actually a lucky kid. She is lucky because her father is one of the most solid, loyal and caring human beings that I have ever met. He is the model of what a friend and father should be. And Ava is lucky because her mother is extremely passionate, intelligent, proactive and focused to help Ava live a life of meaning. Together, Sean and Laura are the perfect team to help tackle this horrible foe that has attacked their kid.

As soon as Ava was diagnosed, the Sefciks began a tireless campaign to get Ava enrolled in programs and schools that would help her interact and communicate better – to spend time with professionals who understand how to help Ava unlock the shackles that are clouding her. And almost immediately, the intervention classes that Ava began attending started to pay off. The Sefciks have seen marked improvement in how Ava communicates and interacts with everyone. The future is genuinely bright. And the glimmer of hope has only reinforced Laura and Sean’s focus to help their beautiful daughter live a great life.

Without sidestepping into a political rant, all I will say is that our health care system in this country is an unfettered joke. And because the health care system fails American citizens like Sean and Laura so greatly, to ensure that Ava receives all of the intervention and education that is potentially available to her, the Sefciks have to ante up a large portion of the tuition and intervention costs out of their own pockets. These yearly bills rival what it typically costs a family to send their daughter or son to a private college. Ava is 3.5. The Sefciks have a long road ahead of them. Good friends of theirs, The Nothings, are caught in the same battle with their son Akaash.

We appreciate that some people miss seeing Miranda Sound. We know that some people greatly miss Kopaz. We know that a lot of folks are giddy as hell that Silo The Huskie is writing and playing again. So we are cashing in some rock & roll capital to help out the Sefciks and their good friends, The Nothings. All of the money we raise will go directly to Ava Sefcik and Akaash Nothing’s tuition bills. We’ve also asked DJ Nothing, Akaash’s dad to spin a dynamic set as well, which will feature an audio/visual extravaganza. Our old friend Clint Reno is also going to put together a limited edition poster to sell at the show, as well as host a silent auction of local Cbus artwork. It should be a phenomenal night. We’ll see you at Skully’s on August 6.

- Billy

PS: if you are interested in helping out but cannot make it to the show, please send me an email at Billy@mirandasound.com

Bicentennial Bear features Billy Peake, Scott Haynes and Sean Sefcik from Miranda Sound (RIP), my favorite band from Columbus, along with Adam Dowell (Celebrity Pilots) and Leah Wahlin. They’re currently working on their debut album to be released at some point this year. Wet your whistle by downloading these two recent recordings:

MP3: Cardinal Codes
MP3: Year of Our Ladybirds

You can catch them perform at the Offramp Stage Sunday during Comfest @ 1:30pm.

Sunken Treasure is releasing the Bird and Flower debut album on vinyl in July. More details coming soon.

Sunken Treasure Records is our small companion record label to donewaiting.com. We’ve released a bunch of albums over the course of the last few years, and we’ve decided to make all of them available as a free download for the rest of December. Click here to see what we got and get downloading. You’ll find the latest releases from Megan Palmer, Miranda Sound, Eric Metronome, and The Evil Queens as well as the first album by The Celebrity Pilots.

We’ve also announced our next releases for 2009. ur first release next year will be a split seven inch vinyl release featuring Columbus’ The Black Swans and Brooklyn’s Alina Simone. Both songs are beautiful and heartbreaking, and you’ll surely want it in your collection. Expect that in the Feb/March timeframe.

We also plan to work with Eve Searls, aka Bird and Flower, on the release of her debut album. I’ve been a fan of Eve since she first popped up on the scene and her first effort is fabulous. This will happen sometime in April/May (which will be here before you know it…)

More to come, including some Megan Palmer vinyl, and maybe a few more tricks up our sleeves. Happy holidays!

Last night was magical. The final show for a band that’s been around nine years and made a hell of a lot of friends brings people out. As I was sitting at the merch table, I kept watching the door, saying, “Hey, there’s so-and-so. Hey, there’s what’s-his-name.” It was pretty amazing. I think Billy said about five states were represented, including Rhode Island, Indiana and Florida.

Miranda Sound rocked Ravari Room for a solid two hours. During the first few songs, Billy kicked a full bottle of beer over onto Dan’s pedals, prompting him to say that if Dan got electrocuted, it would serve him right for moving to D.C., which got big (good-natured) cheers from the crowd. They moved right along, through a set that included old and new. The new stuff has never sounded better.

Former drummer Scott Haynes stepped up to one of the two drum kits on stage to play along with Dan Bell during “Cast Anchor Cast” and stayed on for a few more dual-drummer versions of songs and to play a few older ones while Dan stood in the audience, listening to the band the way he used to do before he joined four years ago. “Midas” seemed to be a crowd favorite, the chorus shouted back to the band while they smiled.

At one point, Clint Reno (creator of the hottest selling poster in Columbus last night) climbed up onto the shoulders of Stan from Loretta. I kept waiting for a certain request to be shouted from the crowd at some point and laughed when I finally heard “Hot for Teacher!” from somewhere in the back of the room.

I’d promised everyone that I was going to be a sniveling mess through the whole show, but I got along fine until “My Surname’s an Airplane,” when Billy teared up just a bit thanking the crowd for being so awesome. That’s when the tears came, and it wasn’t just me. I saw some of you wiping your eyes, don’t try to pretend.

When the band finally got to the encore, they ended with “Calculator for Words”, the one whose chorus goes, “This is gonna break us up…”

There are so many things I’m going to miss when it comes to this band. Friday at work I was pretty depressed, thinking that I will never have another day at work spent in anticipation of a Miranda Sound show. I’ll miss closing my eyes through the opening of “Cast Anchor Cast”, and then opening them at that huge crescendo in the middle. I’ll miss seeing Billy and Dan simultaneously going up on the balls of their feet during “Cadence”, which I never noticed until last night and am still not sure whether it’s a conscious move. I’ll miss the ringing in my ears and the sore throat the morning after a show spent too close to the amps, screaming along to the lyrics. Mostly I’ll miss seeing my friends having the best time of their lives on stage.

Thanks for everything guys.

You can also choose how much you’d like to pay for the brand new Miranda Sound album. Whether it’s $1, $5, $10, etc. etc, you choose the price, pay it, download it and you’re good to go. Click here to download.

We’ve also put the entire new Miranda Sound album available for free streaming on Muxtape.

Miranda Sound celebrated the release of their fourth and final album last Friday, and you can see a bunch more photos right here.

Purchase the new album here.

Miranda Sound are releasing their final album 6/20 at Ravari Room in Columbus OH via our small record label, Sunken Treasure Records. There are a handful of shows scheduled for the summer. Click here for complete details.

Here’s two new songs to prepare you:

MP3: Falling Man
MP3: Leave Everyone Behind