“Used Kids was created as a very organic enterprise,” says Bela Koe-Krompecher, who worked at the store from 1990 to 2007 and was co-owner for 14 of those years. “Both Ron and Dan were well educated, but wanted to live a life that existed around music. There was really no intention to make money beyond paying bills and being submerged in music.”
In the pre-Internet days, record stores often served as a gathering place for musicians and other like-minded people. Used Kids Records became a sort of clubhouse for the Columbus music community, the walls and ceilings plastered with album covers, stickers, concert fliers and photos.
Not only do Hensley and Sturgis display an increased confidence in their music making, but HensleySturgis also is a full band this time around. The rhythm section, now solidified around drummer Pat McGann (who appeared on the debut) and new bassist Trent Arnold, adds muscle to the mix. The songs are injected with a greater dynamic sense, which makes this record a more potent piece of music. While they may not yet have broken into the alt-country's upper echelon, these Ohio boys do mine a very appealing Midwestern vein of Americana.
The people behind many a recording studio have envisioned their business as a hub and catalyst for the Columbus music scene. Few have been as successful at realizing that goal as the brain trust at Central City Recording.
“Our overriding mission statement is to provide a resource for the music scene and for the musicians here in town and as far as we can reach,” explained studio president Andrew Dodson. “To that end, it has always been important to us to be as active in everything as possible. If we can help out, we’re going to help out.”
And they have. Dodson, Max Lewis, Ben Miller and Erik Smith are constantly seeking new ways to support the sounds coming out of this town.
They’ve had a hand in events including the Rock Potluck, ComFest, Agora, Independents Day and the Here Comes Your Weekend Parking Lot Blowout. They rent their studio, a state-of-the-art facility in a Clintonville storefront, to freelance engineers and offer it for free to charity projects like Blues for a Cure. Dodson, Lewis and Miller teach classes at Jazz Arts Group’s Jazz Academy.
Mark Eitzel and Columbus go way back. At one time Eitzel wrote for Tim Anstaett’s The Offence, and his early, Joy Division-esque band Naked Skinnies began here. They were the “hero band” of Ron House, who played lots of shows with Naked Skinnies and helped put out the band’s first 7-inch, “All My Life,” on “Naked House Records” in 1981. Eitzel formed the Skinnies, his precursor to American Music Club, with Greg Bonnell (AMC, Moviola), John Hricko and Nancy Kangas before heading out to San Francisco. Though Eitzel doesn’t recall the period with particular fondness and has yet to permit digital dissemination of the aforementioned 7-inch, it’s better than he remembers it to be and a fascinating look into how Eitzel started out.
DA : Tell me about Columbus, Ohio. Is it a good scene?
BB : Yes, band wise there are tons of bands, and a lot of different musical styles. It's also real cheap to record and to rent out a place to practice. Unfortunately, most Columbusites seem to like restaurants and sports more than local rock acts, so not a lot of people come to shows. But it's still a lot of fun to get real loaded and play with your friends. It's kind of like baseball...
PC : Columbus as a city is nice. It's large but it still has a small town feel to it, and it's cheap to live here. Unlike Chicago where the prices are high and there are tons of bands, you can exist in Columbus and be known in "the scene". There are some great bands that have come from Columbus, and some great bands that are in Columbus right now. I think part of "the scene" loves people to fail, and we expected that from people when we signed with Cargo, but there have been people that have been very supportive, and the negative people are the small minded ones who want to be local heroes and not to try and expand out of the city.
