Britney Spears is to Big Mac as Philo is to ?
Posted Feb 3, 2006
Last Updated Jun 21, 2012
Where do you go for a really great hamburger? If you answered McDonald’s or any other fast food place, just stop reading this article now. Maybe you picked Red Robin, or Steak and Shake, or some other national burger chain. If so, you have been missing out on life my friend. Most of you choose a restaurant or bar or diner that I’ve never heard of. That’s because you chose some little local mom-and-pop place, or perhaps a fancy local restaurant that serves Kobe beef. All the best food comes from local joints. Don’t get me wrong, Applebee’s can be a fun place to go, and the food tastes fine, but that’s not where you go for the best. When you watch Boy Meets Grill on the Food network, Bobby Flay doesn’t go sample Applebee’s boneless chicken wings.
Local music is the same way. Trust me, the best music in the world is not being played on TRL. It’s being played in a bar in downtown (fill in the nearest major city). Just like a local burger has it’s own unique and fantastic taste, local music has it’s own style and sentiment, and you won’t find it anywhere else. And just like local food, it can be found cheaper. Music labels exist to make money by producing and distributing music. To make the most money, the music needs to appeal to the most people. Listen to recent music from the same genre and you will hear a homogonous style that appeals to the baseline. Nothing at Applebee’s is very spicy, and neither is anything on the radio. I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy Staind, or that Missy Elliot is without talent. I’m just saying that there is better if you go out and hear it.
I recently went to a concert at Peabody’s Downunder in Cleveland, OH, and heard some really good music. Here’s the lineup:
Better than Green Day
OK, so they don’t sound at all the same, but I couldn’t think of any other Power Trios right now. Really, Green Day is wonderful, but how tired is American Idiot?. I’m no huge fan of the current Administration, but Jon Stewart is funnier and less annoying. But this isn’t about them, it’s about 4 Star Radar. I love female bass guitarists. How cool is that? Very cool. A solid mix of late 70’s guitar and 00’s depression.
Better than 80’s night on your local rock station
Leather pants. Yellow superman shirt. Actually, I don’t think they were real leather, just shiny. Like plether, or vinyl. Oh, sorry, I got distracted by the shiny pants. These guy’s music sounded so damned cheery, and it had something rock has been missing since the 80’s – melodies written in a major key. Seriously, if the Beach Boys had been a Cleveland Rock Band in 2006, they would have sounded like Yellow Delicious.
Better than Staind
I have never seen a bass player’s hands move so fast. Peabody’s imported these guys from Columbus, and they provided a refreshing offset to the Clevelandness that was everyone else. Philo is a return to the old values of Rock and Roll. Loud enough that your parents will hate it, but not so loud that it’s impossible to understand what the hell they are screaming about. Corbin’s vocals can be piercing sometimes, but his singing is filled with emotion. Why aren’t these guys signed? Oh yeah, because they don’t sound like everyone else.
Better than that annoying tall chick.
That’s right Gwen Stefani, your solo work is trite, musicless, and boring. You are nothing but another MTV slut without No Doubt. Hey Kira, if you ever make it big, don’t ditch the guys. You need them. Jaded Era makes fun music. You have to love female rock. Some of it seemed like a throwback to Roxette, but I love Roxette, and I know you do too. Really who doesn’t? Probably the most well-rounded of the bands I heard, Jaded Era can move from rocking your socks off to a stirring ballad at the drop of a hat. And Kira is equally as talented at keyboards as she is at guitar. Like if Michelle Branch fused with Vanessa Carlton and learned how to rock out. If you live in Cleveland and you listen to WMMS, you have already heard Jaded Era’s “Invisible†in regular rotation. And like me, you probably didn’t know they are just a local band.
So put down you Applebee’s My Chemical Romance Burger with extra John Mayernnaise, and pick up something local. If you are from Cleveland or just visiting, check out these fine bands. And when you are visiting a new city, check out some local music to go with your local food. No one goes to New York to eat at Arby’s so why would you go there to listen to Kanye West?
Local music is the same way. Trust me, the best music in the world is not being played on TRL. It’s being played in a bar in downtown (fill in the nearest major city). Just like a local burger has it’s own unique and fantastic taste, local music has it’s own style and sentiment, and you won’t find it anywhere else. And just like local food, it can be found cheaper. Music labels exist to make money by producing and distributing music. To make the most money, the music needs to appeal to the most people. Listen to recent music from the same genre and you will hear a homogonous style that appeals to the baseline. Nothing at Applebee’s is very spicy, and neither is anything on the radio. I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy Staind, or that Missy Elliot is without talent. I’m just saying that there is better if you go out and hear it.
I recently went to a concert at Peabody’s Downunder in Cleveland, OH, and heard some really good music. Here’s the lineup:
4 Star Radar
Better than Green Day
OK, so they don’t sound at all the same, but I couldn’t think of any other Power Trios right now. Really, Green Day is wonderful, but how tired is American Idiot?. I’m no huge fan of the current Administration, but Jon Stewart is funnier and less annoying. But this isn’t about them, it’s about 4 Star Radar. I love female bass guitarists. How cool is that? Very cool. A solid mix of late 70’s guitar and 00’s depression.
Yellow Delicious
Better than 80’s night on your local rock station
Leather pants. Yellow superman shirt. Actually, I don’t think they were real leather, just shiny. Like plether, or vinyl. Oh, sorry, I got distracted by the shiny pants. These guy’s music sounded so damned cheery, and it had something rock has been missing since the 80’s – melodies written in a major key. Seriously, if the Beach Boys had been a Cleveland Rock Band in 2006, they would have sounded like Yellow Delicious.
Philo
Better than Staind
I have never seen a bass player’s hands move so fast. Peabody’s imported these guys from Columbus, and they provided a refreshing offset to the Clevelandness that was everyone else. Philo is a return to the old values of Rock and Roll. Loud enough that your parents will hate it, but not so loud that it’s impossible to understand what the hell they are screaming about. Corbin’s vocals can be piercing sometimes, but his singing is filled with emotion. Why aren’t these guys signed? Oh yeah, because they don’t sound like everyone else.
Jaded Era
Better than that annoying tall chick.
That’s right Gwen Stefani, your solo work is trite, musicless, and boring. You are nothing but another MTV slut without No Doubt. Hey Kira, if you ever make it big, don’t ditch the guys. You need them. Jaded Era makes fun music. You have to love female rock. Some of it seemed like a throwback to Roxette, but I love Roxette, and I know you do too. Really who doesn’t? Probably the most well-rounded of the bands I heard, Jaded Era can move from rocking your socks off to a stirring ballad at the drop of a hat. And Kira is equally as talented at keyboards as she is at guitar. Like if Michelle Branch fused with Vanessa Carlton and learned how to rock out. If you live in Cleveland and you listen to WMMS, you have already heard Jaded Era’s “Invisible†in regular rotation. And like me, you probably didn’t know they are just a local band.
So put down you Applebee’s My Chemical Romance Burger with extra John Mayernnaise, and pick up something local. If you are from Cleveland or just visiting, check out these fine bands. And when you are visiting a new city, check out some local music to go with your local food. No one goes to New York to eat at Arby’s so why would you go there to listen to Kanye West?
- Related Topics