Trouser Press on the Gibson Bros.

Trouser Press provides a nice overview of the Gibson Bros. and their related/connected bands in a 1990s write-up, here is some of that:

The Gibson Bros came howling out of Columbus, Ohio with a reckless, feckless brand of semi-competent minimalist American roots revisionism, twisting blues, hillbilly and gospel gems — as well as their own already bent tunes — dementedly passionate, loosely played music that never stooped to gimmicks or camp. The quartet, which included rock-critic-turned-drummer-turned-guitarist-and- singer Don Howland (ex-Great Plains), did their level best to put their town on the map. Although often compared to the Cramps (also from Ohio, as it happens), the Gibsons cast a wider musical net, digging their wildly reverbed guitars, super-simple drumming and Jeff Evans' frantic vocals into obscure blues and hillbilly tunes, gospel classics and derivative originals (where the lyrics can get pretty bizarre), all with equal fervor. Not always focused — or tuned up — enough to be enjoyable, the willfully hapless Gibson Bros were still capable of deep wit and high excitement. 

Big Pine Boogie boasts the hysterical mantra of "Bo Diddley Pulled a Boner," while Dedicated Fool (on which the group dispenses with bass and has a guest saxman on two songs) has clearer crappy production and reveals a taste for rock'n'roll ("Tight Capris," Elvis Presley's "Trying to Get to You," Alice Cooper's "Caught in a Dream") amid the blues ("No Way to Get Along"), gospel ("Lone Wild Bird") and junkabilly ("Poor White Trash"). 

After that, however, the quartet splintered, with guitarist (and OKra Records founder) Dan Dow and drummer Ellen Hoover leaving Evans and Howland to carry on the family name. On The Man Who Loved Couch Dancing, they explore unlikely new approaches while maintaining the Gibson Bros' tradition of good-natured obnoxiousness. The first half consists of home recordings made with Memphis guitarist Brent Stokesberry and drummer Ross Johnson, punctuated with a wacky assortment of samples and spoken- word tomfoolery; the music is even more casual than usual but has its moments. Side Two consists of sporadically absorbing live tracks recorded by a short-lived foursome with Pussy Galore/Boss Hog twins Jon Spencer (guitar) and Cristina Martinez (drums).

New Additions: Keepers seven inch single by Gibson Bros.

When I decided to dig into the Gibson Bros., I wanted to start at the beginning. That meant tracking down their first release, not only for the band, but for the Okra label as well - the 1986 seven inch Keepers. Appropriately, it sets up the sound of the band, that would stay consistent with the slightest augmentation in players and instrumentation - a lo-fi/garage interpretation of rockabilly and traditional country. This was, of course, wildly out place in the mid-80s alternative/indie rock world, which makes it all more the fascinating.

Know Yer Band: Gibson Bros

Band: Gibson Bros

Members
Vocal/Guitar/Banjo - Jeffrey Evans
Guitar/Vocals/Bass/Drums - Don "Chet" Howland
Guitar - Dan Dow
Drums - Ellen Hoover/Cristina Martinez/Rick Lilash
Guitar - Jon Spencer/Jack Taylor

Releases
1986 - Keepers 7" single (Okra Records)
1986 - Build A Raft album (Old Age)
1987 - Big Pine Boogie album (Okra Records)
1989 - Dedicated Fool album (Homestead Records)
1990 - Emulsified 7" single (Siltbreeze)
1990 - The Man Who Loved Couch Dancing album (Homestead Records)
1990 - Southbound 7" single (Glitterhouse Records)
1990 - Split album w/Workdogs, Punk Rock Truck Drivin' Son Of A Gun (Homestead Records)
1991 - Mean Mistreater 7" single (Homestead Records)
1991 - My Huckleberry Friend 7" single (Giant Claw)
1991 - White N*gger 7" single (Sympathy For The Record Industry)
1992 - Knock Down My Blues 7" single (In The Red Recordings)
1993 - Memphis Sol Today! album (Sympathy For The Record Industry)
1996 - Columbus Soul 85 album (In The Red Recordings)

Crazy Mama's 40th Anniversary Show at Skully's on October 4th, 2019

Not too long ago, Bruce Nutt announced the 40th Anniversary show celebrating the legendary club Crazy Mama's with an all-star show. Nutt, who used to co-own the venue in the 1980s with his brother Charlie, provided the following update the Crazy Mama's Facebook page:

its' happening, crazy mamas 40th anniversary reunion show is now set for Friday October 4th at Skullys. What a night we are going to have. Live bands include the kings of Garage rock from new york The Fleshtones, The reunion of the hottest rockabilly band in the midwest The flyin' Saucers, Jack Neat will reunite with Nikki Wonder, Matt Newman and company, and central ohio music legend Willie Phoenix will tear it up with the soul underground. We have original mamas djs spinning throughout the night including Mary Margret, Darrell Sheehan, Tim Anstaett, Charley Wonder, and others. 

We will have vintage video and photos  and many surprises. The most important part of the evening will be seeing all of you come together one more time, cause we gonna ball till the walls fall. 

Looking at 7pm doors and 8pm showtime, will have more info as we get closer to the show.  Wanna see  all of the children of the night reunite.

Tickets are available via Ticketfly. Here's a vintage Crazy Mama's commercial for your enjoyment:

Video: 84 NASH -LIVE AT BERNIE'S, COLUMBUS, OH MAY 1998 PART 4.mp4

The Lantern: Dayton-based 84 Nash rocks back with new album

Although their origins lie in Dayton, the majority of the 84 Nash output from their relocation to Columbus. The Lantern covered the band in 1999 around the time their second album Band For Hire was released, here is some of that:

84 Nash, the energetic band originally from Dayton, Ohio is back with a new full-length album that’s sure to make music fans say, “yeah!”Given the surge of indie rock releases in the past few years, most albums of that genre are easily overlooked or underrated. “Band for Hire” is one album that holds its own ground. 

Even though 84 Nash creates and produces all its own music and is signed to Rock-a-Thon Records, an independent label, it prefers not to be called an indie band. As a matter of fact, the band has its own term to describe its sound.”We’re simply rock and roll. We’re not trying to make music that fits into a certain category. We just make our music,” said Kevin Elliott, lead singer for 84 Nash. “We call it ‘Yeah rock,’ because it’s authentic, arena rock. It’s the kind of stuff people can dance and sing along to.”

New Additions: A Secret Reward by 84 Nash

I have now purchased A Secret Reward by 84 Nash twice. Once back in the early 2000s, probably at a local store like Used Kids or Magnolia Thunderpussy, where I used to go to pick up local and used CDs. But in the mid-2000s, when MP3s and file sharing and external hard-drives became a thing, I dumped most of my CD catalog off for cash and unfortunately parted with this album. Luckily, the internet provide a multitude of ways to reacquire albums lost in a such a foolish decision, and A Secret Reward has made it back into my collection. I remember at the time the band being compared to Guided By Voices, but A Secret Reward really sounds like a band fully in charge of their sound, with lo-fi sketches fleshed out to near-power pop rockers.

Know Yer Band: 84 Nash

Band: 84 Nash

Members
Singer - Kevin Elliott
Guitar - J.P. Hermann / Ben Schetek
Bass - Andy Hampel
Drums - Dan Bandman / James Brent

Releases
1997 - The Kings Of Yeah album (Rockathon)
1998 - Snacks Of Wealth 7" single (Cushion Records)
1999 - Band For Hire album (Rockathon)
2001 - Bright Orange Hearts 7" single (Insect Siren Recordings)
2003 - A Secret Reward album (Insect Siren Recordings)

Magnet Magazine - 15 In Philly: Siltbreeze Records

Although not a Columbus label, Siltbreeze out of Philadelphia is an important supporter of the Columbus music scene going back decades, with ties that bind the Gibson Bros. and Times New Viking. Magnet Magazine provided a nice primer on the label in 2009, here is some of that:

Siltbreeze’s aesthetic was all over the stylistic and geographical map, from the cracked country of Ohio’s Gibson Bros. to the overloaded Philly skronk of Blue. The label’s biggest finds, however, were avant-garde New Zealand artists such as Alastair Galbraith and the Dead C. 

“New Zealand was churning out all sorts of strange and personal folk and noise music that no one was paying attention to in the early ’90s,” says Jay Hinman, editor of music zine Superdope. “Siltbreeze got the Dead C stuff out in America first, and over the next few years, people really started taking notice.”

Video: One St. Stephen - Old Man (1975)

Don Patterson of One St. Stephen talked with It's Psychedelic Baby magazine about the One St. Stephen album back in 2011, a testament to the longevity this legendary Columbus release has attained. Here is some of that interview:

IPB: If I understand this correctly One St. Stephen album was somehow a soundtrack for your film called The Devil’s Reservation? I would like to know how did you come together to do this album? 

DP: I had written a script titled the DEVIL’S RESERVATION in 1974. While finalizing the script, mailing it off to The American Film Institute for a hopeful grant and waiting for their response — a group of musicians and I went into OWL studios to put together a 11 songs I had written (music and lyrics) and 1 song (music by Bill Blechschmid with my lyrics) for the soundtrack. I picked up the entire tab. We concentrated and recorded nine tunes in five days.

New Additions: One St. Stephen self-titled album (1975)

There are few albums that sit in as legendary a status as the self-titled 1975 release by One St. Stephen on Owl. Whether it was on a 2000s message board talks at Donewaiting.com, or interviewing people for the book, this release stood alone as one of the most sought after in it's original form. Legend has it that only three hundred or so copies were originally pressed, and it's has entered into elite collector status, fetching over a grand for a first press. Later incarnations, both on vinyl and compact disc, have made actually getting a hold of the music easier. Which is good, because this deserves the hype - a psychedelic slab of folk and rock that's both centered and freaky weird.

Know Yer Band: One St. Stephen

Band: One St. Stephen

Members
Don Patterson
Bill Blechschmid
Bruce Roberts
Charles Squires (Bleak)
Danny Lawson
David Pierce
Franklin Reynolds
Terry Finneran

Releases
1975 - One St. Stephen self-titled album (Owl)

Teenage Rampage 1970s Zine

Columbus has a long and plentiful history of folks D.I.Y.'ing it, whether it's music, gig space, music recording, or in this case, writing. Specifically, the formerly all analog and currently mostly digital music zine. Ricki C, who can often be found contributing at Pencilstorm, explained the history of the 1970s zine Teenage Rampage on his blog:

Teenage Rampage was born when the Service Merchandise store copy machine was moved from the front office to the warehouse because we had to make so many more copies: of purchase orders, bills of lading, packing slips, etc.  At some point we realized there was a way to turn the counter of the copier back one entire digit, i.e. we could make 300 copies but only 30 showed up on the counter.  Voila, I had a publishing empire.  (I can't tell you how many times our store manager of the time would comment, when he visited the warehouse to make front-office copies, "I can't understand how we're constantly out of copy paper when we're only making 100 copies."  My good friend to this day Rob and I would shrug our shoulders and make some non-committal comment.) 

I'd type up the issues at home on the trusty Royal typewriter that my sainted Italian father (see blog entry Birthday Blog, June 30th, 2013) had brought home for me in the 1960's, when I developed an interest in typing, from the Columbia Gas Of Ohio warehouse where he worked.  (Is there ANY aspect of the creation of Teenage Rampage that does not include petty theft of office materials?)  I'd post a lookout outside the warehouse office and run off maybe a hundred copies at a time.  (Said lookout failed miserably at his job at least once during production of the mag when the store manager walked in on me while I had about 100 pages of issue two spread out all over the copy area.  I just threw some purchase order copies over the top of them and tried to gather them up as calmly and innocently as I could.  By luck, nothing came of it.  I could have gotten fired for that infraction and I needed that job.)

Video: Th' Flyin' Saucers - Live Comfest 2011

The Lantern: Th’ Flyin’ Saucers fans more than `rockabillies’

Lucky for me, The Lantern keeps it's archive open and available to access, otherwise I wouldn't be able to track interviews and articles on so many Columbus bands. In this case, it's Th' Flyin' Saucers, who were profiled back in 1997. Here's some of that:

After chasing UFOs all over the country, the X-Files’ Mulder and Sculley need to check out the Columbus music scene. Formed in 1989, Th’ Flyin’ Saucers have made a name for themselves by playing an energetic blend of ’90s rockabilly and punk rock and just happen to have a licensed voodoo priest in the band. “We probably lean a little more towards real rockabilly,” singer/guitarist Johnny Rebel said. “But we’re definitely a psychobilly band. You can take the boy out of the punk rock, but you can’t take the punk rock out of the boy.”The three-piece Saucers, made up of Rebel (voodoo priest), upright bass player Dan SaGraves and drummer Rex Xanders put on exciting shows that are characterized by loud and catchy music, each song punctuated by drum rolls, breakdowns and Rebel’s skillful guitar solos. The set list is comprised of mostly originals like “My Baby’s Love is Poison” and “She’s Evil”, as well as a few cover tunes. 

New Additions: Th' Flyin' Saucers / Gut Piston split single

In researching the Columbus scene, it's a good refresher there are always sub-scenes of the bigger umbrella described as "alternative" or "indie." Punk is a larger umbrella, that splits off into hardcore, queercore, oi!, skate punk and a few dozen others.  Same goes for rockabilly and psychobilly, a hybrid descendant of country & western and garage rock. Some cities have entire rockabilly scenes with particular watering holes. Columbus doesn't appear to be one of those, or at least not outwardly. Th' Flyin' Saucers are the first I've come across with thanks to the split single they released on Eardrop Productions in 1993 with Gut Piston.

Know Yer Band: Th' Flyin' Saucers

Band: Th' Flyin' Saucers

Members
Guitar/Vocals - Johnny Rebel
Bass - Dan Sagraves/Bart Jenkins
Drums - Rex Xanders

Releases
1993 - Split w/Gut Piston 7" single (Eardrop Productions)
1996 - Recorded Live at Stache's 2/24/96 album (Oahu Records)

Razorcake: Columbus Sucks Because You Suck

I recently learned about a local zine called "Columbus Sucks Because You Suck," which in Googling to learn more brought me to this article by Bret Liebendorfer, documenting the Columbus punk/hardcore scene circa 2010. Lots of good insights, including:

To understand matters, first you need to know about the city’s greatest legacy (and infamy): The Ohio State University. Most punk is found in its nearby student ghetto. This inexpensive, noise-tolerant, and liberal neighborhood serves 55,000 students at the nation’s largest university plus an estimated 100,000 additional college-aged people. 

The college-punk relationship can be stressful, but it’s far from preps versus cutters, as most punks are students, recent graduates, or dropouts. Some eventually leave for the liberal working-class neighborhood of Clintonville, directly north, or the yuppified Victorian Village, directly south. However, cheap rent, temporary unskilled jobs, and fellow punks are enough to keep most in the student ghetto. 

With the exception of the Legion of Doom (which has been hosting DIY shows for around twenty years), most punk houses last a few years and come and go with the annual August 31 rental agreements (everything here seems to be tied to the university schedule). Annually, there’s always a steady supply of punks willing to host shows from their basement, living room, back yard, garage, van, and even outdoor shows powered by a generator. Houses do have their niches—pop punk, hardcore, noise, metal, ones where bands are secondary to the party—but different styles often play together and subgroups mingle without problems.

Video: Big Back Forty - Just What I Need

Iowa State Daily: Big Back Forty brings Americana to Ames

Back when Bested, the lone album by Big Back Forty, was released, the band got out on the road for shows. One stop included a bar by Iowa State in 1997, where the band got a right up in the Iowa State Daily paper. Here's a snippet of that:

Big Back Forty has been described as blending the elements of rock, pop and country into one unified sound — a characteristic that can be both positive and negative. 

The Columbus, Ohio, foursome is not limited to certain clubs or radio stations and can draw listeners from a wide array of ages and personalities. 

"It's only a problem when we are trying to decide which cover to learn next," lead singer Sean Beal said from his Lincoln, Neb., hotel room. 

The band, which "usually plays one cover a night," has been known to do anything from Waylon Jennings to Beastie Boys. 

"We have been throwing around the possibility of doing a Prince cover, but I just don't think it's going to work with this band," Beal said.

New Additions: Big Back Forty album Bested

Knowing that Big Back Forty had drawn comparisons to another Columbus band from around this time (Haynes Boys), I had a rough idea what to expect when I grabbed this off Discogs. The first noticeable difference is Sean Beal's voice, which carries a nice amount of weight in its depth. With the McGann brothers from Greenhorn onboard as the rhythm section, it's expectedly tight, but it's Barry Hensley that operates as the secret weapon, playing half a dozen credited instruments that help shape the edges of the songs.

Know Yer Band: Big Back Forty

Band: Big Back Forty

Members
Guitar, Pedal Steel Guitar, Mandolin, Banjo, Vocals – Barry Hensley
Guitar, Organ, Accordion, Harmonica, Vocals – Sean Beal
Bass – Steve McCann/Dan Cochran
Drums, Percussion – Patrick McCann/Mark Boquist

Releases
1996 - Big Back Forty EP (Polydor)
1997 - Big Back Forty album (Polydor)