MP3: “Grand Champion Steer”

Between the Ass Ponys and Wussy, Chuck Cleaver’s got 11 or so full-lengths and countless EPs and singles under his belt. One wouldn’t expect the heavily tattooed Cincinnati songwriter to produce his best collection of songs this late in his already highly-prolific career, but that’s exactly what he’s done with, in my opinion, the best release coming of out Ohio in 2011. To be fair, Cleaver’s not the sole songwriter in Wussy, it’s a collective effort with Lisa Walker (guitar, vocals), Mark Messerly (bass, keys) and Joe Klug (drums) contributing their fair share.

While I’ve been a fan of Cleaver’s since first hearing the quirky-twang of “Earth to Grandma” coming through the speakers at Used Kids in the mid-90s (and later seeing the Meat Puppet’s-ish “Little Bastard” on MTV! Oh, what a glorious day that was!), the new Wussy release, Strawberry (listen to – and buy – on Bandcamp), is something I’ve returned to over and over on the iPod in the last 2 or so weeks – the passion between Cleaver and Walker (as ex-lovers, as current songwriting partners) so natural, the voices playing off each other so beautifully.

Fortunately, with Wussy headquartered about 120 miles southwest on 71, we’re luckier than most and get somewhat regular shows in Columbus though Saturday night’s show at Ace of Cups is somewhat special, serving as a CD release party, of sorts. Wussy will be joined by Columbus counterparts Moviola and Birds of Hair (featuring Scrawl’s Marcy Mays).

MP3: Moviola – Let The Saw Do The Work

Jerry Dannemiller fronts this next tune in a series of freebies from Columbus’s Moviola, also featuring background vocals by Eve Searls. Get more free Moviola music from Bandcamp.

Another free Moviola track. Words and music by Greg Bonnell. Recorded by Jake Housh at Rustic Bridge, Used Kids Records and Indianola Presbyterian Church between 2010 and 2011.

One lies to his bosses and gets patted on his head
The other wants to bargain and is told to drop dead
Fire Tressel, not teachers
Save the children, not Judas

MP3: Ron House & Moviola – Fire Tressel, Not Teachers

Ron House, opinionated as ever, wrote this one and recorded it with Moviola around one mic at Used Kids on Tuesday night. Also available at Moviola’s bandcamp page, along with some other great freebies the band has been releasing the past few months.

MP3: Moviola – Aspidistra Blocks

Here’s another new track from Columbus pysch-roots vets Moviola. Plus a green-screen video, credited to James N. Reynolds/archive.org. Apparently the band is releasing a new song and video the first of each month in 2011. This is good news. Time to bookmark Moviola’s Bandcamp (do people still use bookmarks?).

“Aspidistra Blocks” was recorded around one mic at Used Kids last spring.

Then I realized DLR’s hit was “Yankee Rose” (“I’ll take a bottle of anything … and a glazed doughnut …. to go”).

There’s still time though. Moviola’s going to be giving away many new tunes, for free, in 2011 on their Bandcamp page so stay tuned – maybe they’ll cover DLR’s “Just Like Paradise”!

MP3: Rudy

Not too shabby. Says Rhapsody’s Justin Farrar in the intro:

If you’re a purist, then many of the jams you’re about to encounter are going to confound, maybe even offend, you. And that’s because I have a very liberal (some would say skewed) definition what constitutes roots music. Fellow Rhapsody scribe Chuck Eddy once used the phrase “art country” to describe my aesthetic sensibilities. And he’s right. I love rootsy stuff, but I also love psychedelic weirdness and underground-bred eccentricities.

Hence the inclusion of stuff like D. Charles Speer & the Helix, Kurt Vile‘s God is Saying This to You… and the band to which Vile used to lend his guitar skills, The War on Drugs.

Purchase Moviola’s excellent 2007 record Dead Knowledge here.

It all goes down July 11. Schedule:

Apocalypso………………………3:00 pm
Total Foxx……………………….3:45 pm
The American Jobs……………..4:30 pm
Winter Makes Sailors……………5:15 pm
Chuck and Lisa from Wussy…….6:00 pm
Rosehips…………………….6:45 pm
Deerhead………………………..7:30 pm
Moviola…………………………..8:15 pm
Guinea Worms……………………9:00 pm
Cheater Slicks……………………9:45 pm
Struck by Lightning…………….10:30 pm

They are also looking for volunteers, so if you’re interested click here for more details.

MP3: The Ledge

Columbus Ohio’s Moviola is releasing a rarities collection on Spirit of Orr. Details from the label:

Anyone following along with the trajectory of the Spirit of Orr ‘scene’ is already deeply and keenly aware of the vital role our friends MOVIOLA play in the puzzle. Any methods that result in uncovering truthful moments and in turn inspire the listener to uncover the same for themselves, are methods hard found and precious. This is what we champion, and Moviola was among the earliest and most dependable creators. These tracks (23 of them) collect many of the highlights of the harder to get material by MOVIOLA, mainly recorded in the later years of the 20th century. At 23 tracks this album does not in any way serve as a complete guide to their non-album output during this period. You would be likely to estimate that this is roughly one-third of material that has never appeared on CD previously. What we all do (finally… this first collection has been an 8 year wait) get here certainly does serve as almost a missing album, a lost album if you will.

Order it directly from the label.