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.