Video Gotta Keep A Runnin` by The Godz

Loudersound.com: Cult Heroes - The Godz

A few years back over at Loudersound.com, The Godz were featured as a part of a series called "Cult Heroes," their's was titled "the crazed story of America's great lost biker band." Here's a snippet:

There have been more than 30 members of The Godz over the last four decades. Some are now dead, some wish they were, and some don’t even remember what happened. But there’s one man who’s been there since the beginning. The biggest badass of ’em all: Eric Moore. Eric is still the leader of The Godz. He sings and plays lead guitar now, and employs the cream of the Columbus, Ohio rock scene to keep his infernal machine rolling. And he’s still living the same kill-for-thrills lifestyle he was in 1976.

New Additions: Nothing Is Sacred by The Godz

A recent visit to Spoonful Records here in Columbus procured me the second of two albums released by The Godz in 1979, this one being Nothing Is Sacred on Casablanca. I had not heard the band prior to starting this project, and my initial impression upon seeing the album artwork and band photos was that this was going to be the midwest answer to Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, but it turns out my assumptions were incorrect. While this is definitely rockin' in a late 70s way, there is both a country rock vibe at times (think Blackfoot) and a glam rock sound at other times (think Slade).

Know Yer Band: The Godz

Band: The Godz

Members
Guitar/Vocals - Robert Hill, Steve Shuffert
Guitar/Vocals - Mark Chatfield
Vocals/Bass - Eric Moore/Freddie Salem
Drums/Vocals - Greg Cataline/Jimmy Clark/Kevin Valentine

Releases
1978 - The Godz album (Millennium Records)
1979 - Nothing Is Sacred album (Casablanca)
1985 - I'll Get You Rockin' album (Heavy Metal America)
1987 - Mongolians album (Cobra/Grudge Records)
1995 - Greatest Hits Live album (High Chief)

Columbus Alive: Creating Columbus 1993-2011

In 2012, the Columbus Alive put together an interesting retrospective - 200 Arts and Cultural Moments that Shaped the City’s History. Here are some notable moments:

1996
Critics hail Howlin’ Maggie’s Columbia debut
Former Royal Crescent Mob bassist Harold “Happy” Chichester forms a new band with bassist Jim Rico, guitarist Andy Harrison and drummer Jerome Dillon. “Honeysuckle Strange” - the band’s first and only release on Columbia Records - is a success. 

2002
South Campus bars demolished
Campus Partners for Community Urban Redevelopment spent several years buying land and businesses along North High Street between Chittenden and East Ninth avenues. The group finally bulldozes everything, leveling some of the city’s grungiest and most memorable watering holes to make room for the South Campus Gateway. 

2004
Columbus Discount Records releases first single
The indie imprint unleashes “Sexy World” by Terribly Empty Pockets. It soon influences, records and/or distributes music by a treasure trove of local indie bands - Times New Viking, Necropolis, El Jesus de Magico, Guinea Worms and Cheater Slicks, among others. 

2007
Little Brother’s closes
When venerable rock club Stache’s and Little Brother’s vacated its original spot in 1997, it relocated to 1100 N. High St. under the name Little Brother’s. The esteemed club draws intriguing rock, folk, roots, reggae and country bands until its unfortunate demise.

Video: Belreve Live @ Stache's 3/5/1994

Donewaiting.com: Overlooked in Ohio Vol. 6 - Belreve

For almost a decade, Donewaiting.com was the internet hotspot for Columbus music. Luckily (for now) it has not been relegated to the Wayback Machine archive and still functions as a searchable, readable and accessible website. For a brief time, some folks ran a series called "Overlooked in Ohio," and this particular installment focuses on the 1990s band Belreve by Nick Schuld. Here's a bit:

I didn’t get to see ’em too many times, and they weren’t around too long – a year or three in the early ’90s. One freezing Anyway Fest evening in the perfect old Stache’s building sticks way out, tho’. I convinced my friend Yvonne that this was the thing to do – having no car, I had to – but after a few hours of not much happening, including the firing up of the room’s heater (guess it wasn’t worth it to waste $$ on the ten or twelve of us in attendance), she remained unconvinced. “Just stick it out a little bit longer,” I begged. “I promise you’ll thank me.” I think they’ve used looks like she gave me to unhinge the jaws of prospective stoolies in the interrogation room. Anyhow, something like Appalachian Death Ride gave way to Waybald and she started to look at me a different way, and finally – and this is nearing the one o’clock mark – Matt wandered onstage and over to the mic. “We’re just gonna play a coupla songs and you can go, we promise. We’re tired and have to work in the morning too.” Maybe they played for twenty minutes, but Yvonne wasn’t mad anymore.

New Additions: Ron / Look Out 7" by Belreve

Prior to this project kicking off, there was a large blindspot of 80s/90s Columbus bands, and Belreve was one of them. Since the music isn't streaming, I was able to find a few YouTube uploads to check out the band and recently picked up their 1995 seven inch Ron / Look Out on Slumberland Records.

Know Yer Band: Belreve

Band: Belreve

Members
Vocals/Guitar - Matt Reber
Bass - Elizabeth Young
Drums - Jenny Mullin

Releases
1992 - 7" split single w/V-3, Greenhorn and Gaunt (Anyway Records)
1993 - 7" single Nothing (Anyway Records)
1994 - 7" split single w/Guided By Voices (Anyway Records)
1995 - 7" single Ron (Slumberland Records)
1995 - Belreve album (Slumberland Records)

Entertainment Weekly 1995: Columbus, Ohio - Local Heroes

Back in 1995, Columbus was getting some serious attention while the major labels were scouring the land for the next Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Entertainment Weekly made their way to town and reported on the happenings in this piece:

On a recent Friday night in Columbus, Ohio, a garage-turned-art space-turned- recording studio called Magnetic Planet is the site of a hastily arranged concert featuring Gaunt, Appalachian Death Ride, Moviola, Lincoln Logs, and Monster Zero-a sampling of the city’s formidable, if largely unknown, rock & roll roster. Despite the thundering punk-pop, the BYOB event has a disarmingly casual air; there’s no cover charge and virtually no distinction between the musicians and the slacking audience from Ohio State. It may not look like the future of rock & roll, but in the current clime of the music biz, it’s a record-company executive’s dream. Major labels have been on the hunt for the next hitmaking hamlet since well before the orgy of Seattle signings. In fact, the search for the Next Big Scene dates back to the early ’80s discovery of R.E.M. in the boho enclave of Athens, Ga. Since then, Austin, Tex., Champaign, Ill., Chapel Hill, N.C., San Diego, and even Halifax, Nova Scotia, have been candidates for the title.

Video: Pretty Mighty Mighty Recording Casting Call for 25 Hour Grand Prix Compilation

DOA review of Famous Past Lives by Pretty Mighty Mighty

Back in 2000, if you were in Columbus there is a good chance you heard the song "Ski Instructor" blasting from then CD101 at the time off the second album Famous Past Lives by Pretty Mighty Mighty. Here's a bit from an album review back in 2000 by Jeff Marsh at Delusions of Adequacy:

Pretty Mighty Mighty are one of those bands that you feel like you should have heard of long ago. Their style of music is exactly what I was searching for a short time ago when the emo-rock/pop sound was new and fresh to me. (Now I search for all music.) Combining the melodic nature of emo from bands like Mineral and Cross My Heart with a more straight-ahead, blaring wall of guitar sound and some empathic, moving vocals, Pretty Mighty Mighty have crafted a fine rock album. The production is perfect, the songs are different and powerful, and the vocal style fits exactly.

New Additions: Nevertheless / Flower Song 7" by Pretty Mighty Mighty

I've been a fan of Pretty Mighty Mighty since around 1998 or 99 when I saw them at Bernie's, and picked up their releases whenever they came out. However, I didn't know much about the band's history prior to my move to Columbus in 1998, so their earlier material eluded me for years. I picked up the album Ugly fairly early on, but the two seven inch singles released in 1993 had never crossed my path until recently, specifically picking up the Burnt Sienna Records seven inch Nevertheless / Flower Song. You can definitely hear the chaotic but melodic beginnings of the band that would sharpen on Ugly, but it's still odd to hear them with Jon Chinn not as the main lead singer.

Know Yer Band: Pretty Mighty Mighty

Band Name: Pretty Mighty Mighty

Members
Vocals - Cori Churdar/Jon Chinn
Guitar - Jon Chinn/Billy Peake
Bass - Terry Manion/John Fitzgerald
Drums - Neal Schmitt
Violin - Noel Sayre

Releases
1993 - 7" split w/Walaroo (Simple Solution Records)
1993 - 7" single (Burnt Sienna Records)
1993 - 7" split w/Bugman, Pet UFO and Clay (Burnt Sienna Records)
1994 - Ugly album (Burnt Sienna Records)
1999 - Famous Past Lives album (Derailleur Records)
2002 - Normal ep (Derailleur Records)

Minimum Tillage Farming

If you have a few hours to kill, head over to the now inactive Minimum Tillage Farming blog for info on a variety of central Ohio bands and links to rare MP3s for download. MTF was the brainchild of Nick Schuld, who I actually interacted with a bit via the Donewaiting.com messageboard back in the day (thanks for the post industrial MP3s Nick! You got me into Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle) and helped resurrect Datapanik Records while also making music with Obviouslies. Lots of good stuff to undercover, including a few new bands to add to the discography project.

Video: Homework by Screaming Urge

weblonghere Blog: Screaming Urge at Carabar, 7/16/2011

Back in 2011, legendary Columbus punk band Screaming Urge reunited (supposedly for the last time). On their blog weblonghere, Dave Rine and Shandi Rine recount the evening in detail and with photos. Here's a bit of it:

Screaming Urge played thirty songs that night, an impressive feat for a band half their age.  At one point Ravage invited Don B to the stage and said, “Back in 1978 we were the first band ever to play ‘Batman’ with Don Bovee.”  My friend Paul Weaver leaned into my ear and said, “Even if that’s not true, it’s true now and for the rest of time.”  So there you go, in the official annals of Columbus rock and roll, Screaming Urge was the first band ever to play Batman with Don B, a piece of trivia that not only makes you look like a scene genius but also establishes a direct line of continuity between Screaming Urge in 1978 to all the Bernie’s punks of the 2000’s.  It’s on the internet now, which means you can link to it, which means it’s the god’s honest truth, so there.

New Additions: Screaming Urge (1981) by Screaming Urge

The latest addition to my Columbus music archive is another not available to stream - the second and final self-titled album by Screaming Urge in 1981 on Rawdeal Records. Screaming Urge have been called by some the first Columbus punk rock band. I don't know if that's true, perhaps they are just the only record an album at that time. That said, I found this very nice copy on a recent trip to Used Kids Records here in Columbus, and was in a bit of shock when I saw it there. Based on the age of the release, I figured it would take awhile to track one down, yet now it's spinning on my turntable I couldn't be happier.

Know Yer Band: Screaming Urge

Band: Screaming Urge

Members
Vocals/Guitar - Michael Lambert
Bass - Mike "Myke Rock" Nixon
Drums - Dave Green

Releases
1980 - Homework 7" (New Age)
1980 - Screaming Urge 1st s/t album (Garner Records)
1981 - Screaming Urge 2nd s/t album (Rawdeal Records)
2002 - Impulse Control: Complete Recordings 1980-1981 (Hyped To Death)