Bored Out: Interview with Don Howland

In 2016, Ryan Leach at the Bored Out website conducted a lengthy and in-depth interview with Don Howland of Gibson Bros., Great Plains and Bassholes. Here is some of that:

Ryan: How did joining Great Plains come about? Did you learn bass to play in the band? 

Don: I did. I bought a bass from a kid in a trailer who needed money to buy a gun. Bass isn’t hard to learn. I was good enough to play pretty quick. There were only ten or fifteen people in the Columbus scene. Ron and I knew each other from the record store. Amrep (Michael Hummel) and Jim Shepard were around—all the Ego Summit guys. In a bigger city we would’ve likely been acquaintances, but in a city the size of Columbus we all became compadres I guess. I was the youngest in the group. I was an outsider, being from a white flight suburb, but it was no big deal.  Tim Anstaett of the Offense went to my high school, so when he moved back to Columbus from Florida there were two of us. 

Ryan: You wrote for the Offense and contributed to some of the last issues of New York Rocker. 

Don: That was thanks to Tim Anstaett from the Offense. He gave people free reign. Tim had an insane work ethic. Whatever his passions were at the time, he’d devote thirty-six hours a day to them. He wrote a telephone book-sized tome on bass fishing in Florida. Andy Schwartz and Ira Kaplan at the New York Rocker were very open to the fanzine vibe.  Through New York Rocker—I also sent some of my work with the Offense to him—I got to know Robert Christgau at the Village Voice. I started writing for the Voice. Christgau was a super nice guy. I probably learned more about writing and English from him than from anyone else, and I’ve taught English for twenty-one years. Christgau would spend two-and-a-half hours editing a two-hundred-fifty-word piece. That was a great experience. I started with the Voice in ’81 and wrote for them until the early ‘90s. There wasn’t a whole lot of great music going on then. The early ‘80s were rough. When punk died—and you could tell it died—hardcore came along and it’s like, “Shit. This is not the same. There are no girls here anymore. It’s just like a football game.” I wrote for Spin as well.

Video: Gibson Brothers Comfest 1987 whole show

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)