ARTIST PROFILES: THE ENERGY CLINIC

Photos courtesy of Zane Miller Photography                  Life gotcha down? Bummed cause you’re stuck, listening to the same old stuff on the radio (and music library)? Well perhaps you should take a trip to The Energy Clinic. This young foursome can take any drab room (or bar) and quickly fill it with colorful sounds of dreamy melodic progressions. Zane Miller Photography      Their music is kinda like an uptempo-ish rock with groovy and funky twists and turns - Does anyone remember ‘No Doubt?’ Ok, so think old-school ‘No Doubt,’ with early/mid Incubus progressive alternative rock styles. Now make it really...

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ARTIST PROFILES: KARATE COYOTE

Written by Raad Shubaily Pop music has many faces.  The collage of sounds Karate Coyote ties together to produce their signature synthesizer and effect-laden sound is a statement of that fact.  They put together different pieces of pop music’s past to create their own original style.  From pleasant synth lines to jangly guitar breaks, there are plenty of sounds to keep your ears entertained. One of the aspects of musicianship that can be easily neglected is working as a team.  With a band like this, it could be easy to overplay because of all the different instruments and singers.  However, they fill out their individual parts perfectly without interrupting the overall sound.   The rhythm...

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ARTIST PROFILES: THE GEORGE ELLIOT UNDERGROUND

Written by Raad Shubaily      There are a lot of rock bands in Columbus.  Of course, there are only a handful of truly great rock bands in town.  Without a doubt, The George Elliot Underground (G.E.U.) is one of them.      From the way they craft dance-floor-ready anthems to their natural rock n’ roll spunk, they basically have all the required ingredients to extend the long standing traditions of rock music.  With a bit of Rockabilly in the mix, blaring guitar solos, melodically tight riffs and fancy dance moves, it’s easy to picture them playing in an arena. Their sound is so big that it almost belongs to be played in a large space.    They’ve more or less...

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VENUE: KAFE KEROUAC

Written by Meghan Kelly Photo courtesy of Writers' Block Poetry Night Photo courtesy of Mike Heslop on Facebook Mike Heslop is the backbone of a local café you might have heard of: Kafe Kerouac, (www.kafekerouac.com) the best coffee shop north of Lane Avenue. How did it all come about, and how did such a small place remain open during these harsh financial times? Mike’s answer, “I’m stubborn and I don’t like to give up.” Really, is there any better business plan than that? After graduating from The Ohio State University, Mike bartended at the airport while playing music and writing on his own time. That is when he got the idea to open a café’… but this wouldn’t be the standard coffee shop, instead there would be books, games,...

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ARTIST PROFILES: NORTHWOOD PROJECT

Written by Josh Weiker It blows my mind how many good bands there are in this city. Right when you think you’ve started to get a grasp on what the local music scene has to offer, a scattered mess of instrument aficionados congeal to create a new beastly monster of sound - that is precisely what happened in the case of Northwood Project.             Lets just start with the obvious; when going to a live show, if you see more than 6 people on stage, you can place a safe bet that your ears will be ringing by the time you leave (i.e. - its gonna get loud). Well, this band has nine people … that’s right, I said it – NINE! For the record, that’s a guitarist, a bassist, a trumpet player,...

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ARTIST PROFILES: DIRTY GIRLS

written by Josh Weiker “I’m going to see Dirty Girls tonight – you wanna come?” The correct answer without a doubt or any hesitation should be a definite and immediate “YES!” Without even knowing what it is or what’s happening – simply having those two words in conjunction equates for what can only be described as the implication of a magnificent adventure.              Fortunately, if you dare venture out to see these dirty, Dirty Girls, your ear holes will be rewarded with a fanciful audial precession of hook-based, high-energy nostalgic rock tunes.  Reminiscent of 1960’s retro-Cali surfer-pop rock, this foursome will have you twistin’ and shakin’ all night long,...

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