Tag Archives: Wussy

Bunbury Festival featured artist: Wussy

Wussy performs on the Landor stage at 3:00pm on Sunday,
July 15

Wussy are a four-piece rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio fronted by ex-Ass Ponys frontman Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker. From my very own "Best of 2011" list, here’s what I said about Wussy’s Strawberry – "One wouldn’t expect Chuck Cleaver, 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."

What does "bunbury" mean? (No cheating; give it your best guess)

They make muffins and cookies and shit.

What are 3 things that you know about Cincinnati?

It’s hot as fuck here in the summer. A lot of really good bands by-pass us. We’re really into that god damned chili.

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Favorite Albums of 2011: Chip Midnight

The biggest struggle when putting together this list is how to rank the albums. What exactly is the difference between a #1 and a #2 album? Without doubt, Viva Brother’s “Darling Buds of May” was the song I listened to the most in 2011 and the album it comes from is pretty damn good. But is it my favorite album as a whole? The Damnwells have consistently put out great material and I’m sure I listened to No One Listens to the Band Anymore more, front to back, than any album on the list but did I do that because it’s the best album of the year or because I know the guys personally and listening to them makes me happy?

So, I decided the best way to do it is to list the albums alphabetically, showing no favoritism and not being forced to rank anything. A few comebacks, a few previous favorites, a couple of new UK bands, some metal, some country, some hair metal. Pretty typical for me.


AA Bondy – Believers (Fat Possum)
Not as barebones as early solo material, not as scuzzy as his ‘90s alt-rock band Verbena, AA Bondy split the difference on this moody, late night listen.
Listen: “The Heart is Willing”


Anthrax – Worship Music (Megaforce)
The legendary NYC thrashers pick up where they left off the last time Joey Belladonna sang lead vocals (1990’s Persistence of Time) on 2011’s best (and most surprising considering some internal issues Anthrax had with short-timer vocalist Dan Nelson) metal album.
Listen: “In the End”


AWOLNATION – Megalithic Symphony (Red Bull Records)
I would never have checked out this band had my old friend Christopher Thorn (Blind Melon) not been playing guitar. A complete 180 from Blind Melon’s sound, AWOLNATION’s slickly-produced techno-soul-pop shows a wide range of diversity from one track to the next.
Listen: “Soul Wars”
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Favorite Albums of 2011: Joel Oliphint

This year’s list of favorites is fairly sedate (even for me), with just a little ruckus here and there. Lots of morning-coffee music, which I guess says something about my 2011. But music’s strength is its pliability. It can be whatever you need it to be at the moment, especially when we have instant access to virtually any song ever recorded, often for free. Judging by this list, I needed music to be a salve more than a release valve this year.

I also never expected my favorite album to come from someone who held the spot previously, but the iTunes “most played” playlist doesn’t lie. It’s a divisive one, but people who like it really like it.

I picked 15 favorites and several honorable mentions, plus a Favorite Columbus Albums list below — separate but equal in enjoyment and quality. As usual, I limit my lists to albums, so some EPs and 7”s I liked (e.g. Envelope, Sundown, Malefactors of Great Wealth, Dolfish) aren’t listed.

That is all.

15. Wussy – Strawberry

MP3: Grand Champion Steer

As Chip said about Wussy’s Chuck Cleaver, “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.”

14. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light

TV On The Radio – “Will Do” by Interscope Records

13. The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient

MP3: Come to the City

12. Tom Waits – Bad As Me

Tom Waits – Bad As Me by antirecords

I’ve never been a Tom Waits fanboy, but this record grabbed me and didn’t let go. Continue reading

Saturday: Wussy @ Ace of Cups + mp3 premiere

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).

Wussy at SXSW 2008

We love Wussy, and not just cuz they’re from Ohio. According to their website, they’ll be playing SXSW 2008.

[credz]