Know Yer Artist: Jim Shepard

Artist: Jim Shepard

Bands
Creature
Ego Summit
Lacquer
Phantom Limb
Skullbank
Snooks
V-3
Vertical Slit

Releases
1977 - Slit and Pre-Slit album (Not On Label)
1987 - Jagged Flash album (Old Age/New Age)
1991 - No Big Deal album (Iron Press)
1991 - Amsterdam album (Iron Press)
1991 - Whiskey Priest With A Master Plan (Iron Press)
1991 - The Folk City Aztec Drama Series: Volume One album (Iron Press)
1995 - Picking Through The Wreckage With A Stick album (Siltbreeze)
1995 - Morphine Monogram album (Iron Press)
1995 - Evil Deeper Love album (Thrill Jockey)
1995 - The Folk City Aztec Drama Series: Volume Two album (Iron Press)
1996 - The Evil Twin album (Iron Press)
1996 - Plays The Songs Of Kim Fowley - The Hollywood Hills Are Alive And Well 7" single (Anopheles)
1998 - Motorcycle Movie album (Iron Press)
1998 - Collisions compilation album (Iron Press)
2001 - The Dispossessed w/Charles Cicirella album (Shrimper)
2009 - The Voices Of Men 7" single (Columbus Discount Records)
2010 - V-3 Next Album (Not On Label)
2018 - The Letter Tapes album (Feeding Tube Records)
2019 - Heavy Action album (Ever/Never)

Northberg Tavern

One of the spots that I used to regularly see bands at and occasionally play was the Northerberg Tavern. Though not as storied as Bernie's or Stache's, it definitely had a history:

From a 2001 piece in The Lantern:

Walk down the narrow stairway next to Donatos, get a drink at the bar, enjoy the live band, sit back and take in the atmosphere at the Northberg Tavern. 

The intimate bar, which is now owned by Donatos, has been a part of the Ohio State off-campus culture since the 1950s. It was originally named the North Heidelberg, after the town Heidelberg in Germany, and was affiliated with the South Heidelberg further down High Street. 

Bar Manager Greg Gould said it closed in 1988 for four years because it was in poor condition, and then it burned down. After the fire, it opened as Donatos Downstairs and was used as a party room that also featured comedy acts, he said. 

“At that point in time, Donatos didn’t feel a bar fit in their structure, so to speak,” said Tony Federer, manager of both Donatos and Northberg. Federer re-opened the bar in January 1997 under the Northberg name.

Here's a blog post from Jason McGathey at Lover Letter To Columbus about the Northberg:

The Northberg is located beneath a Donatos Pizza at the corner of Frambes and High. After descending a flight of stairs and handing over the minimal admission to an absent minded doorman, I find most of the gang immediately, probably because they’re clustered at the most prominent table in the room. A long, banana shaped table with holes cut out to wrap around two pillars, it runs through the center of the tiny bar and affords the best possible view. 

A funky, electric blue light suffuses the space, lending it a sickly and garish 1980s worthy hue. That coupled with the poor sound in the early going don’t seem to promise much of a future, and you add a sterile basement vibe into the mix. But man, though we never would have dreamed such at the time, for about a solid year, I and my friends – in various configurations, and numerous reasons – will wind up spending an awful lot of time at the Northberg.

Here's video of The Cusacks playing at the Northberg in 1998:

Cityscene: Sidetracked from Abstract

Cityscene: Sidetracked from Abstract

Nov 30, 2015

There’s no telling what will help Barth get in the right headspace for creating. Usually, music does the trick. Bob Dylan and Superchunk records often make up his personal soundtrack. Lately, he’s also taken a liking to Nick Cave and Cheap Trick. 

“You can spend hours in the studio and nothing will happen,” Barth says. “Usually, there’s music or a Cleveland Indians game playing. There’s also a drum set in the studio. I wish I knew how to make it so that the setting is right all the time. There’s no solution to having the right atmosphere. Sometimes, it’s just a frame of mind.” 

Barth, a self-described “mid-career artist,” says he doesn’t know where his profession will take him next. Younger artists, he says, don’t have much to lose. Those with established careers are always looking for ways to stay relevant.

Terminal Boredom: Datapaniked in the Year 2005: A Look Back at One of the Best Labels of the 90s

Terminal Boredom
Datapaniked in the Year 2005: A Look Back at One of the Best Labels of the 90s

Boys From Nowhere / Two Hour Trip - split 7" 

From 1990, where it all began. With two then-current Columbus bands playing covers of Ohio 70s proto-punk classics, this was originally intended to be a give-away with a zine by first Datapanik label-head Craig Regala. Somewhere along the way, the zine was forgotten and a label was born. Boys From Nowhere had been around since at least the mid-80s, putting out a number of solid garage-tinged singles and an album. Their high-energy cover of Mike Rep and the Quota's "Rocket to Nowhere" is in my opinion the best thing they ever did. Chuck Warner of Hyped 2 Death once accurately said that you need to hear this (hi-fi) cover in order to fully appreciate the (lo-fi) original. Two Hour Trip were a pre-Greenhorn, pre-Gaunt band whose only recorded output is this straight-forward, but solid cover of Peter Laughner's "Dear Richard". It seems this record was always hyped to collectors primarily as the label's first release, but it's definitely in the top half musically of the label's output and well worth owning. Scum info: 650 numbered copies, but probably more total pressed since there are 25 numbered promos plus un-numbered ones out there. The xerox covers are usually on white paper, but at least a couple very low-numbered copies are on blue. There's also some slight variations to sleeves, especially on the promo and low-numbered ones, probably because they were made in small batches to start.

Know Yer Band: Two Hour Trip

Band: Two Hour Trip

Members
Bass – Eric Barth
Drums – Stephen Hanula
Guitars, Vocals – Dan Spurgeon, Mark Spurgeon

Releases
1989 - Boys From Nowhere/Two Hour Trip 7" single (Datapanik)

Video: The Black Swans "Where Are You Tonight?" (Official Video)

Pitchfork: Words Are Stupid by The Black Swans review (2010)

Pitchfork: Words Are Stupid by The Black Swans review
April 29, 2010

When I say the Black Swans' new songs are "haunted," I mean that as literally as the word can be interpreted. After the Columbus, Ohio, band finished recording its second album Change!, violinist Noel Sayre died suddenly in a swimming pool accident in July 2008. He left a laptop full of recordings-- some incidental music, some snippets of melody-- which singer-songwriter Jerry DeCicca incorporated into the Black Swans' follow-up, Words Are Stupid. That's Sayre setting the scene on opener "Blurk", adding dramatic eddies of violin to "Open Sky", and kazooing on "Kazood". He remains only a glimmer at the edges of the music-- present and pointedly not present-- but it's not the tragedy of his death that makes this strange, smart, soulful album resonate so darkly. His playing has always been crucial to the band's sound, adding a dusky ambiance to DeCicca's world-weary croak and bluesy, brainy lyrics. Why wouldn't these found sounds do the same?

New Additions: Occasion For Song album by The Black Swans

Though they were around when I was an active participant in the Columbus music scene, I didn't quite get The Black Swans back then. But as my ears have changed, I've come to appreciate the subtle, low-key approach of the band while crafting tunes that can fall in between beautiful and haunting, like on the 2012 album Occasion For Song that I picked up in the winter.

Know Yer Band: The Black Swans

Band: The Black Swans

Members
Vocals/Guitar - Jerry DeCicca
Guitar - Milan Karcic / Chris Forbes
Bass - Matt Surgeson / Canaan Faulkner
Drums - Jovan Karcic / Keith Hanlon
Violin/Viola - Noel Sayre
Keyboards - Jon Beard
Banjo - Tyler Evans

Releases
2004 - Who Will Walk In The Darkness With You? album (Delmore Recording Society)
2006 - Sex Brain EP (Bwatue Records)
2007 - Change! album (The Listening Party)
2009 - Split single w/Alina Simone (Sunken Treasure Records)
2010 - Split single w/Bonnie "Prince" Billy (LJW)
2010 - Words Are Stupid album (St. Ives)
2011 - Blue Bayou/Joe Tex 7" single (Scioto Records)
2011 - Don't Blame The Stars album (Misra)
2011 - Split single w/The Fisherman Three (Shelved Records)
2011 - Split single w/Ed Askew (Scioto Records)
2012 - Occasion For Song album (Misra)
2012 - Split single w/The Malefactors Of Great Wealth (Not On Label)
2012 - Singles 2003 - 2012 compilation album (Scioto Records)

Video: WOSU Columbus Neighborhoods: Music in Columbus

VIDEO: TALK TO ME BABY performed by RAY FULLER and THE BLUESROCKERS

Video: Comfest 2018 Quick_Highlights

Blues Blast Magazine: Ray Fuller and The Bluesrockers – Pay The Price | Album Review

Blues Blast Magazine

Ray Fuller and The Bluesrockers – Pay The Price | Album Review

A true road warrior, Ray Fuller has been playing music professionally for the last forty-five years, mixing tours of one-nighters with frequent trips to far-flung gigs outside of the USA. With his slashing slide guitar style and solid backing from the Bluesrockers, Fuller’s music is exactly the right tonic when you want to hit the local roadhouse on a Saturday, looking for music that drives away that stress of a mundane work week. 

There is little difference between the eight Fuller original tunes and six covers. The band is adept at creating a hard-edged, driving sound that is often irresistible. The opener, “Hoodoo Train,” teems with palpable energy as Fuller delves into the pleasures and mystery of a journey deep into Louisiana. The title track sports a solid foundation from drummer Tutu Jumper and long-time Bluesrocker Manny Manuel on bass. Fuller has a strong voice, and his years of experience have taught him to take his time, to let the story unfold at an unhurried pace.

New Additions: The Ray Fuller Band album (1978)

When considering the Columbus music scene over the past forty years, Ray Fuller was not a name that jumped immediately to mind. But in talking with musicians for this project, it became apparent that Fuller plays an important part in the evolution of the music scene, more so in the 70s and 80s than the more recent years. With that, I picked up his first record, the only one under the name The Ray Fuller Band, released on Blue Ash Records in 1978, a collection of well-done blues standards that show that rawer edge that would get smoothed out over the years.

Know Yer Artist: Ray Fuller

Artist: Ray Fuller

Bands
The Ray Fuller Band
Ray Fuller And The Bluesrockers

Releases
1978 - The Ray Fuller Band album (Blue Ash Records)
1984 - Somethin' Shakin w/The Bluesrockers album (Midnight Records)
1987 - Damn Guitars w/The Bluesrockers album (Oahu Records)
1992 - Live w/The Bluesrockers album (Oahu Records)
1997 - Pearlene w/The Bluesrockers album (Oahu Records)
1999 - Twist Of Fate album (Oahu Records)
2004 - "Live" Rockin The Blues w/The Bluesrockers album (Not On Label)
2011 - Piece Of Work w/The Bluesrockers album (Azuretone Records)
2014 - Live At Buddy Guy's Legends w/The Bluesrockers album (Azuretone Records)
2016 - Long Black Train w/The Bluesrockers album (Azuretone Records)
2019 - Pay The Price w/The The Bluesrockers album (Azuretone Records)