When the annals for the rock scene of Agit hometown Columbus, Ohio are written, there are certain names that will stand out, their direct input and/or influence sewing a thread that cuts across decades and perhaps generations. Taking their cues from the “anyone can do it” ethos of punk, but losing some of the urbanity for distinctly Midwestern accents and skepticism, a close knit bunch of book-fed and alcohol-bred minds formed the nucleus of the indie-genous scene in the late ‘70s and throughout the ‘80s and into the ‘90s. Don Howland, Mike “Rep” Hummel, Jim Shepard, Tommy Jay, Ron House—among others, the contributions of these five to the Columbus pantheon (if there is one) can’t be overstated. Gibson Bros., Great Plains, V-3, Quotas, Bassholes, Slave Apartments—Columbus’ musical DNA can be traced directly to these bands.
But despite crossed paths in various combinations, it wasn’t until a weekend in 1997 that those five all got together so that, as Hummel put it, “some documentation to that fellowship (would) be recorded on tape before the participants doddered off into old age.” With Jay, Hummel and friend Jerry Wick (of Gaunt) manning a four-track, the group convened at Jay’s studio barn in the rural suburb of Harrisburg and recorded over two days. The result was The Room Isn’t Big Enough, an album released on Hummel’s Old Age/No Age label under the fitting moniker of Ego Summit. While the contributors’ credentials spoke for themselves, the album received little attention when it was released.
Noisy: It could be argued that you’re a main influence behind Ohio acts and the Ohio-esque beyond such as Times New Viking or Psychedelic Horseshit...is this a source of pride, embarrassment? Do you listen to the (ugh) Lo fi music that came in your wake? Or do you see it all part of a larger lineage including Electric Eels and other Ohio freak scenesters? None of the above is also an acceptable answer.
RH: Ohio music has a great lineage and I am very proud to be a part of it. Electric Eels are getting well deserved attention and I hope it cheers John Morton up! Columbus punk history has yet to be adequately rediscovered and people better not wait for me to do the grunt work.
In retrospect, Bait and Switch was the coup de grace of TJSA. It contained House’s most infamous commentary against the (then under-construction) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and his most requested anthem—“Down to High Street”—but Straight to Video seems both calculated and loose, as is the Columbus motif. There’s also an urgency that screamed “this is our ‘major label’ record.” “Rump Government” is House’s poppiest moment by far, “Petty Thief” solidifies their allegiance to simpler, punkier vibes, and “Where the Entertainment Ends” is his most pointed, epic diatribe.
Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments “singer” Ron House (formerly of Columbus, Ohio’s Great Plains) bellowed and wailed—even occasionally carrying a tune—on this razor-sharp-yet-unrefined debut LP from arguably Cowtown’s best band. Writing songs equally charged with humor and vitriol (“Blow it up before Steve Albini makes a speech,” he ranted on “RnR Hall Of Fame”), House, serving as a cantankerous Mick Jagger to guitarist Bob Petric’s surly Keith Richards, created an incendiary near-masterpiece.
