Video: Ronald Koal & The Trillionaires "I Don't Wanna Die A Virgin" (1981)

Destination Zero - The Fast Short Life Of Ronald Koal

On Wednesdays, typically I post an article about the artist or band I'm highlighting for the week. This one is a bit different, as I want to draw attention to the in-progress documentary being made about Ronald Koal called Destination Zero - The Fast Short Life Of Ronald Koal. Here's a bit of info:

Ronald was genuinely talented and never really got where he wanted to be. Most people that watched his progress seemed to just assume there was going to be a time when he got his big break. It just never happened.  He sacrificed so much in the name of achieving his goals. 

Ronald's progress was dictated to some degree by the times he lived in and the challenges that those times presented almost all musicians. The film is as much about those other musicians as it is about Ronald. 

The documentary offers a wide overview of the time and the challenges Ronald faced.  While those that knew or knew of Ronald help explain what was so special about him, The music industry pros witnessed first hand the huge changes in the industry and the "how and the why" that determined who got picked and others didn't.  The film explores the reality of what happens when you do "make it." 

New Additions: Ronald Koal And The Trillionaires self-titled 1983 Album

Ronald Koal was a name I heard long before I started on this project. I knew he was something of a legend, opening for big bands in the 80s, and dying too young, but I didn't get my hands on any of the music until this project. I'm glad I did, as this is the sort of well-produced, catchy and inventive rock/new wave-ish sound that, while clearly of the 80s, does not sound particularly dated. I was able to grab a rather inexpensive copy of the self-titled Trillionaires record of Discogs, and was happy to get my hands on it since the album is hard track down for listening otherwise.

Know Yer Artist: Ronald Koal

Artist: Ronald Koal (Robert Gooslin, Jr.)

Bands
Ronald Koal And The Trillionaires
Ronald Koal Band
Kid Koal
Daddy Long Legs
Ice Machine
Messiah Factory

Releases
1981 - Ronald Koal And The Trillionaires What A Bargain! 7" single (No Other Records)
1982 - Ronald Koal And The Trillionaires Destination Zero 7" single (No Other Records)
1983 - Ronald Koal And The Trillionaires s/t album (No Other Records)
1988 - Ronald Koal track on Exhibit C: Ohio's Undercurrent (Play Records)
1990 - Ronald Koal Band White Light album (Watertower Records)

Ultimate Classic Rock: That Time Elvis Costello Incited A Brawl With Racist Remarks

I've heard various interpretations of this event from people around Columbus, but here are the details on the infamous incident involving Elvis Costello in 1979:

It started out with slight insults between bands. Members of the old rock guard (the Stephen Stills Band) and the new wave (Elvis Costello and the Attractions) converged in the Holiday Inn bar in Columbus, Ohio, after playing separate gigs on March 15, 1979. 

Costello was already drunk when Stills and friends walked in. As he got drunker, his words got nastier in a desperate attempt to inflame the sensibilities of his elders. Stills soon left to go to his room. Backing singer Bonnie Bramlett (of Delaney & Bonnie fame) continued to engage Costello, who kept disparaging America and its most hallowed rock stars. After 2AM he described James Brown as a “jive-arsed n------” and Ray Charles as a “blind, ignorant n------.” In response, Bramlett backhanded the 24-year-old up-and-comer. It all ended in a brawl, quickly broken up by the bartender.

Video: The Means - The Last Days

MusicBanter Blog: VIL/VIOL by The Means Album Review

Despite being a band in 2000s, there's a dearth of reviews or articles about The Means. I dug and found this blog/message board called MusicBanter, and a poster named Bob high-lighted the The Means and their 2002 debut album VIL/VIOL:

their name fits the music perfectly....its raw and mean....i first found out about them in 2002 while living in Baltimore....i remember coming back to Reno for a visit and going out with my friends Sean and Paul....i told them "you guys love Nirvana right?....this is what they wished they were!" by the end of the second track Paul looked at me and said "this is what Nirvana's older brother would sound like while they were playing Nazi interrogation"....a perfect description Paul

New Additions: Gimme The Creeps, Steve 7" single by The Means

The Means were around the same time I was playing in bands in Columbus, but somehow I never ended up catching them. They always seemed to playing out of town, and in truth they came and went faster than I remembered, releasing three albums and a pair of singles in just under four years. The first addition of theirs to my collection is the single Gimme The Creeps, Steve. It's a blistering punk rock collection of songs written by people who already cut their teeth and are stretching beyond the basic confines of punk.

Know Yer Band: The Means

Band: The Means

Members
Vocals - Jason Frederick
Guitar - David Allen
Bass - Emily Ann Allen
Drums - Brad Swiniarski

Releases
2002 - Gimme The Creeps, Steve 7" single (Roostercrow Records)
2002 - VIL/VIOL album (Doubleplusgood Records)
2003 - Community Horse album (Reptilian Records)
2003 - The Divine Right Of The Means album (Doubleplusgood Records)
2004 - Split 7" single with STNNNG (Nodak Records)

Alive (2009): Hardcore meets dance floor

A 2009 Alive article on Scotty Niemet, who was an important part of the hardcore music scene in Columbus in the 2000s:

Scotty Niemet sits in Short North coffee shop-slash-scooter dealership Kickstart, waiting patiently to be interviewed. 

The setting is fitting. Lattes and Lambrettas don’t seem to belong in the same space, but neither do Niemet’s two most beloved pastimes, hardcore shows and dance parties. That hasn’t stopped him from becoming a major player in both arenas and, in the process, facilitating a spillover between the denizens of the city’s dingiest basements and its most avid hip-swingers. 

Niemet, 35, has been putting on house shows for almost two decades. During that time he’s become a respected fixture of the Columbus hardcore scene, both as a promoter of events such as More Than Music Fest and as a member of bands like Inept and The Lack. 

He’s been dancing for just as long, but mostly just throwing down at parties, not throwing them. That’s changed in recent years as Niemet has become just as active in party promotion as he is in hosting hardcore events.

Video: Howlin' Maggie - I'm A Slut

Alive: Howlin’ Maggie revisits ‘Hyde’

Back in 2016, Happy Chichester reformed Howlin' Maggie for a pair of shows revisiting the 2001 album Hyde. The Alive interviewed Happy around that time to talk about the album and shows:

In 2001, Chichester and his wife launched their own label, PopFly Music, to release Howlin’ Maggie’s Hyde. On Friday, Chichester will celebrate the 15th anniversary of PopFly by performing Hyde in its entirety (plus a few Honeysuckle Strange cuts) at Natalie’s Coal-Fired Pizza alongside Smith, guitarist Ellison, original Maggie bassist Jim Rico and additional guitarist Joey Hebdo. 

Until recent rehearsals, Chichester hadn’t played most of the Hyde songs in 14 years, but fans were anxious to hear the tunes again: The Natalie’s show sold out in fewer than 12 hours, so he booked an encore Hyde performance at Ace of Cups for Thursday, Sept. 22. 

“The songs have aged pretty well in my estimation - even ones that I would not have expected to have a shelf life,” said Chichester, seated in a booth at an Old North bar for a recent interview. “Sometimes songs are totems almost. ... It’s like dream analysis. You gain some insights into your dreams when you have some more distance.”

New Additions: Hyde by Howlin' Maggie

Here's the weird thing about this album - the band I was in at the time played with Howlin' Maggie at Little Brother's in Columbus for this album release, I didn't pick up a copy of the album at that time. Maybe it was because I was seeing the band constantly around this time, and that I was a poor musician, but when I finally got the album, I recognized almost all the songs. It helps that Harold "Happy" Chichester is an amazing songwriter and can write a great hook, lodging these tunes in my brain for almost twenty years.

Know Yer Band: Howlin Maggie

Band: Howlin' Maggie

Members
Vocals/Guitar/Keys - Harold Chichester
Guitar - Andy Harrison/Lance Ellison
Bass - Jim Rico/Christian Hurd
Drums - Jerome Dillon/Carlton Smith

Releases
1996 - Honeysuckle Strange album (Columbia)
2001 - Hyde album (PopFly Music)

Blue Ash Records and Kingsmill Recording Studio

Blue Ash Records was a Columbus based recording label that existed for about ten years, from the early 1970s to the early 1980s with about fifty releases. Digging up information on the label has been difficult, to say the least. Discogs says they were the in-house label of Kingsmill Recording Studio, which itself has little information available. There's an entry at 45rpmrecords, but with even less info. The usually reliable BuckeyeBeat.com has no info, and much of the search results on Google end up with Blue Ash, Ohio, the city outside Cincinnati.

So, if you're reading this, and have any info on Blue Ash Records and/or Kingsmill Recording Studio, feel free to reach out.

Video: The History of Pure Jam

Chillicothe Gazette (1984): "Pure Jam" to perform at OU-C

There's not a whole lot on Pure Jam out on the internet, but I found this at Newspapers.com from 1984:

New Additions: Pure Jam 1976 Self-Titled Album

Tracking down the only record from Pure Jam, the 1976 self-titled release on Blue Ash Records, became a bit of a game. Both of the singles contained songs on the album, so acquiring them would only be a stop-gap solution. As the album regularly sells in the mid-thirty dollar range, with current copies around fifty, that wasn't sound budgeting. Luckily, keeping a regular eye on eBay paid off, as a copy popped up for a much more affordable price, and I was able to check out the interesting combo '70s power pop with touches of psychedelia and soul.

Know Yer Band: Pure Jam

Band: Pure Jam

Members
Vocals/Percussion - Joe Mellencamp
Guitar/Vocals - Glenn Dalton
Keys/Guitar/Vocals - Eric Austin
Bass/Vocals - Bentley Austin
Drums/Percussion/Vocals - Craig Austin

Releases
1975 - Between The Lines/See Your Around 7" single (Blue Ash Records)
1976 - Taxi Dancer/Lady Liberty 7" single (Blue Ash Records)
1976 - Pure Jam album (Blue Ash Records)
Unknown - Howard Johnson's Moon 7" single (Pizza)

The Lantern: History of Newport Music Hall

Back in 2008, The Lantern ran a piece detailing some of the history of the Newport Music Hall. Here is some of that:

The Newport hosts more than 100 shows a year, with at least 2,400 shows since it first opened. 

The first Neil Young show was one of the most memorable, Stienecker said. Among others were Skid Row, a 20-minute sell out and Pearl Jam, who were booked for only $1,000 in 1992 before they made it big. 

Pearl Jam wasn’t the only act the Newport booked that went on to fame. 

“We booked Hootie and the Blowfish in March of 1994 at the Newport and sold around 700 tickets,” Stienecker said. “Then in September of the same year we booked them at the Polaris Amphitheater where they sold out. That’s over 18,000 people.” 

That’s not to say that the Newport didn’t host a slew of large, already well-known acts as well. 

When Queen came to play, they had so much equipment on stage that the opening band couldn’t fit and Freddie Mercury had a five-foot space to stand in. 

And when AC/DC played one Sunday night, they announced in the middle of their show they would play another concert the following night, with tickets available after their set. The Monday night show sold out that evening.