Many Toledo musicians expressed the same emotion regarding Amy Winehouse’s July 23 death — a lack of surprise.

The British singer, 27, was found dead in her London apartment on July 23. A cause of death has not yet been determined.

“I wasn’t too surprised,” said Amjad Doumani, owner of B-Bop Records, who found out on Facebook. “But it’s always sad when someone so young dies.”

The petite songstress with the big voice famously sang about her troubles with love, alcohol and drugs on her 2006 album “Back to Black.” The album won five Grammys and featured the hit single “Rehab” about Winehouse’s refusal to seek help. Pat O’Connor, owner of Culture Clash Records and a self-described former addict, said that song stuck out to him because “it’s so anti what I think.”

Aaron Brown, a Toledo-based DJ who also learned about Winehouse’s death on Facebook, said, “I was surprised that many of my friends A. cared, B. were surprised.” He added that although Winehouse had a good voice, “past that she was just a famous junkie.”

Other area musicians also said they noticed the irony of the song’s shocking lyrics.

“Based on her escalating self-destructive behavior, her death came as no surprise. ‘Rehab’ foretold it,” said Doreen Robideaux, lead singer of the Frostbite Band.

“It (‘Rehab’) was kind of funny and maybe a little tongue-in-cheek and a little rebellious,” said Ryan Bunch, performing and literary arts coordinator for the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo. Still, he added of her attitude, “Ironically and ultimately, that’s what killed her.”

Danni Stinson, poet, spoken-word artist and entrepreneur, said the song “Tears Dry on Their Own” inspired her and helped her through bad relationships.

“She was actually one of my favorite artists,” Stinson said. “I was hoping she’d get back on track.”

However, Stinson said when she saw footage of Winehouse’s last public performance in Belgrade, Serbia, she knew the opposite was true.

“I remember thinking to myself, ‘this poor baby’,” said Kim Buehler, singer for 6th Edition and jazz educator, of Winehouse’s onstage slurring. Winehouse canceled the rest of her European tour after being booed off the stage.

Chavar Dontae, a local musician who just signed with Submerge in Detroit, said he learned of Winehouse’s death on Twitter.

“I hope people don’t make her whole legacy the problems she had,” Dontae said. Winehouse’s honesty in her song lyrics inspired Dontae. “I believed what she said and that’s the way I look at songwriting.”

Others also noted Winehouse’s upfront approach to her music.

“Amy was a natural talent, and what I mean by that was that she did not have to contrive a sound or an image. She was who she was,” said Megan Yasu Davis, an area musician.

O’Connor said he doubts Winehouse’s problems will cause anyone to give up drugs.

“Not one drug addict thinks, ‘That’s going to happen to me’,” he said.

Calvin Cordy, guitarist for Prayers for Rain, also said he didn’t think Winehouse’s death would motivate anyone to give up drugs or alcohol.

“It’s just the same as Courtney Love — predictable,” he said.

Still, many like Stinson found Winehouse’s sudden death “heartbreaking” if not surprising. Like Dontae, Stinson said she found inspiration in Winehouse’s lyrics and would write with Winehouse’s music playing.

Buehler, who felt sick after reading about Winehouse’s death, said that although many people wish they possessed talent like Winehouse’s, people with “creative talent are often tortured by it.”

Winehouse among music talents gone too soon

By Jake Coyle

Associated Press Entertainment Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Amy Winehouse released only two albums in her life, one of which sold more than a million copies, won five Grammys and sparked a retro soul movement that hasn’t yet stopped.

The small output, in inverse relation to her outsized talent, made her death July 23 in London all the more tragic. Fans will only be able to imagine the unrecorded singles, the never-to-be concerts and the comeback album that didn’t come.

It’s a sadly familiar script in pop music, the history of which is checkered with greats and would-be greats snuffed out too early in life.

Almost as soon as news of Winehouse’s death broke and spread across social media, fans were inducting her into the unfortunate pantheon of music talents gone too soon. Many noted that Winehouse, 27, shared the same age at death as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison.

“You would think that Amy Winehouse would clean up her act given that,” Danni Stinson, poet, spoken-word artist and entrepreneur, said.

“Americans talk about Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin in this kind of romantic way,” said Ryan Bunch, performing and literary arts coordinator for the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo. “I would hope that it’s at least a wake-up call for kids that it’s really not that glamorous.”

The British singer-songwriter Billy Bragg, though, realized that a meaningful commonality was being mistaken for coincidence.

“It’s not age that Hendrix, Jones, Joplin, Morrison, Cobain & Amy have in common,’’ wrote Bragg on Twitter. “It’s drug abuse, sadly.’’

Those names were touted on the Web as the 27 Club, a ghoulish glamourizing of rock star death that makes it sound as though even in death VIPs remain behind a seductive velvet rope.

It’s a term, sometimes called the Forever 27 Club, that has spawned a Wikipedia entry, an independent 2008 movie (“The 27 Club”), numerous websites and at least one book (“The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock & Roll’’).

The causes of death vary. Jones, the Rolling Stones guitarist, was found dead at the bottom of his swimming pool in 1969 and was ruled dead “by misadventure.’’ Hendrix, having mixed sleeping pills and wine, died in 1970 in a London hotel room. Joplin, also in 1970, died in her Porsche in Los Angeles, with heroin suspected as the culprit. Morrison died of heart failure in 1971 in the bathtub of his Paris apartment. Cobain killed himself in 1994.

Some have claimed Cobain was aware of the so-called 27 Club. After his death, his mother, Wendy O’Connor, was understandably fed up with the concept, saying: “I told him not to join that stupid club.’’

Early death typically mythologizes pop stars, inflating their reputation. Pop culture writer Chuck Klosterman, in his book “Killing Yourself to Live,’’ wondered why “the greatest career move any musician can make is to stop breathing.’’

The posthumous releases from Winehouse will surely follow, and her legacy will grow. But hopefully mythologizing will be resisted.

Winehouse’s death, an unfortunate but unsurprising end to a long, public decline, might be best remembered not just as another tragic loss but as a modern portrait of how untrue those rock myths really are.

Tags: Aaron Brown, Amjad Doumani, Amy Winehouse, Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, B-Bop Records, Calvin Cordy, Chavar Dontae, Courtney Love, Culture Clash, Danni Stinson, Doreen Robideaux, Facebook, Frostbite Band, Kim Buehler, Megan Yasu Davis, Pat O'Connor, Prayers for Rain, Ryan Bunch

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 26th, 2011 at 1:15 pm and is filed under Featured, Music, Star.
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Psychedelic indie rockers The Black Angels will play a sold-out show at the Magic Stick in Detroit on April 16. As a bonus for local fans, the band will play a show at 1 p.m. at Culture Clash Records as part of the fourth annual Record Store Day.

“I’m blown away,” Culture Clash’s Pat O’Connor said. “I love The Black Angels. One of their Record Store Day releases completely knocked me out. The day we got it in I probably listened to it nine times straight just flipping it and flipping it. It’s amazing.”

Record Store Day is a nationwide movement to shine a light on independent music retail and local business in general.

Pat O’Connor, left, and Shane Shirey of Culture Clash Records. TOLEDO FREE PRESS STAR PHOTO BY JASON MACK

“There’s not going to be much room to move around if it’s anything like last year,” Culture Clash’s Shane Shirey said. “While we had great bands last year, none of them are anywhere near on the page where The Black Angels are at right now. Even looking nationwide, we have the biggest one where the band is actually playing.”

One way bands and record companies support Record Store Day is by providing new releases exclusively to independent record stores. This year’s Record Store Day features more than 300 albums, including records from Foo Fighters, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys and Pink Floyd.

The Black Angels has three releases on Record Store Day including limited edition B-sides of its album “Phosphene Dream” on white vinyl.

“We’ve chosen to celebrate by bringing in bands that embrace the day,” Shirey said. “The Black Angels embraced it big time by putting out three exclusive releases for that day. Even if you don’t pick up one of the releases, we’ve got these great bands playing starting at 1 p.m.”

On top of working, Shirey will perform with his band Frank & Jesse as it releases its new album, “Let It Come Down.” (see story below)

O’Connor sees Record Store Day as an opportunity to introduce people to quality music.

“Music is still widely enjoyed; it’s not like music has died down,” O’Connor said. “The physical end of music certainly has really diminished. This turns people on to the alt experience you take in at a record store and preserves that culture.”

Culture Clash Records is located at 4020 Secor Road. The store opens at 10 a.m. on April 16 with live music beginning at 1 p.m. Visit TheCultureClash.com for more information.

Ramalama Records at 3151 W. Central Ave. is also participating in Record Store Day. Call (419) 531-ROCK for more information.

Frank & Jesse debut new CD with concerts at Culture Clash, Ottawa Tavern

Toledo rockers Frank & Jesse will perform two free shows April 16 to celebrate the release of its first full-length album, “Let It Come Down.”

The group will play at Culture Clash Records, 4020 Secor Road, at 3 p.m. as part of Record Store Day, a national event featuring in-store performances, exclusive releases and deep discounts on merchandise. Also playing will be The Black Angels and Suuns.

The official CD release party will be at the Ottawa Tavern, 1817 Adams St., where the group will play around 10 p.m. Also playing will be Joey and the Traitors, Fangs Out and Chicago’s Delmar and the Dedications.

Frank & Jesse

“Let It Come Down” speaks to Rust Belt residents, said guitarist and vocalist John Salvage.

“The thread or the theme of it is exactly what we are — four guys that grew up in Northwest Ohio or Southeast Michigan,” Salvage said. “There’s not really any overt message or anything like that, but the feeling of it, at least I hope, is pretty familiar to anybody who grew up in this area of the country.”

A vinyl version of “Let It Come Down” will be pressed in late May.

Frank & Jesse — named after the outlaw James brothers — formed about two years ago, said Salvage, who was performing mainly solo shows when longtime friend Shane Shirey approached him about starting a band.

“He was really dramatic about it, said if I didn’t start a band with him he was gonna quit music, that that was all he wanted,” Salvage said, laughing. “It was very flattering.”

The plan was to form an alt-country outfit.

“Mostly because when I played those songs by myself, they sounded kind of country just because they were played on acoustic guitar and I played harmonica with it, but when the full band came over, it didn’t play in as well as we thought,” Salvage said. “We still have country tendencies but we quickly became rock ‘n’ roll because we all grew up playing punk music. So we had these country songs in theory, but they were played through hugely loud, distorted guitars so they didn’t really sound twangy at all.”

Drummer Shirey, guitarist Seth Williams and bassist Eddie Keaveny — all veterans of various Toledo-area bands, including the Uncertain 5 and Unsinkable Molly Brown — currently round out the group.

Former bassist Seth Anderson, who played on the album and recently split amicably with the group, will play the Ottawa Tavern show.

“It took a lot of time to get out and Seth was a part of that whole thing so we definitely wanted Seth to be a part of the release,” Salvage said.

Putting out a full-length album took longer than expected and was a huge learning process for the band, Salvage said. The album was recorded at Toledo’s Firefly Studios with producer Brett Dennison. For more information, visit www.frankandjessemusic.com.

— Sarah Ottney

Tags: Black Angels, Culture Clash, Pat O'Connor, Ramalama, Record Store Day, Shane Shirey

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 12th, 2011 at 8:29 am and is filed under Music.
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The Glass City is alive with the sound of music, and for the patrons of Mickey Finn’s Pub, the party is just getting started. The popular night spot will soon play host to a monthlong series of local music and films presented by Culture Clash Records and Justajunkie Films. It is set to kick off at 8 p.m. every Thursday beginning Jan. 6.

The free arts extravaganza is the brainchild of Justajunkie filmmakers Tim Ide and Megan Bremer.

“This whole thing started because we were looking for somewhere to show many of the 400 or so concert films of local musicians that we had shot and produced over the last four years,” Ide said. “Mickey Finn’s was very generous with time, offering us 25 or 26 hours, so we went to Pat O’Connor at Culture Clash to see if they would sponsor the event and then we decided to share the wealth by opening things up to other local artists.”

Megan Bremer and Tim Ide from Justajunkie Films.

The series at Mickey Finn’s is just one of many developments for Justajunkie Films. The team also recently won the Rulemaking Matters! Video Contest sponsored by the eRulemaking Program and the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection. More information can be found at www.regulations.gov. Additionally, Justajunkie Films had a clip selected for potential inclusion in the Ridley Scott/Kevin Macdonald “Life in a Day” project. The feature-length documentary will showcase content generated by users of YouTube on the subject of what it was like to be alive on July 24, 2010. The top 20 filmmakers will be named co-directors and will have their work premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

“We have shot a number of different things, but with bands, I really feel like we’re helping them,” Ide said. “Say we shoot an art opening, it’s great, but with a band we may capture their last show and that really means something. Plus, music is just a lot of fun. The programming at Mickey Finn’s will be pretty fast and loose, with no set schedule. We want the people included in the films to be able to wander in at any point in the evening and see themselves onscreen.”

Series highlights will also include screen tests shot in Mickey Finn’s and submitted to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City,  in conjunction with the renowned museum’s “Andy Warhol: Motion Pictures” exhibition on display through March 21. More information can be found at www.facebook.com/MoMaonfilm and www.moma.org.

Jan. 20 will feature “The Henchman,” while the show on Jan. 27 will serve as the premiere of the Pretend Records compilation “Nowhere at All.” The album showcases the work of 12 local bands. There will be a free CD giveaway. Those in attendance will also have the opportunity to win a “Nowhere at all” tattoo from Monk at Infinite Art Tattoo.

“If this month goes well, Mickey Finn’s has already expressed an interest in continuing things in the future,” Ide said. “While I don’t see it happening once a week because of all the work involved, something every other week or maybe once a month would be great. We still have at least 100 other films in the can that we haven’t been able to get out yet and I think that some of these films may really become important over time.”

Participating photographers and filmmakers will include Bob Sadowy, Debrah Rose, Michael Rys, Dave Picciuto, Reva May, Jeff Beach, Nicholas Wiczynski, Nathan Elias, Brian “Monk” Taylor, Shystie Films, Hannah Fritch, Carrie Theuring, Erica Vance Hartmann, Bremer, Ide and a host of others.

Mickey Finn’s Pub is located at 602 Lagrange St. at Huron Street. For information, call (419) 246-3466 or visit www.mickeyfinnspub.com.

Tags: Culture Clash, Justajunkie, Mickey Finn's, Pat O'Connor

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 4th, 2011 at 9:39 am and is filed under Film, Music, Star.
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Big Dad Ritch, who fronts The Texas Hippie Coalition, said the southern five-piece “Red Dirt Metal” band is out to “save the music.”

“I used to love MTV man, it’s what I grew up on,” Ritch said in his heavy southern drawl. “About nine years ago it got to the point where I didn’t like anything I was seein’ on MTV, nothing on the radio made me feel passionate about music like I did when I was a kid. I wasn’t getting that vibe and I didn’t see that passion falling into the generations behind me.”

Texas Hippie Coalition

So Ritch joined with lead guitarist Randy Cooper, bassist John Exall, rhythm guitarist Crawfish and drummer Ryan “The Kid” Bennett to form THC, a well-balanced and perfectly blended “Southern-Fried Texas Metal” band.

“I put on the mask and cape and I’m out here tryin’ to bring the real music back,” Ritch said. “A lot of times people say we have that Texas groove and they hear Pantera in our sound. I think that’s great, I love to hear it. I wish Pantera was still here makin’ music. I bump into people all the time that say they hear ZZ Top or Skynyrd when we play, they hear that southern pride.”

Whether it’s writing new material or touring the country playing live shows, Ritch describes the music business as only a southern gentleman could.

“The business is like riding a bull and you have to hold on and some people can’t hold on. We’re heading in the right direction now and the whole eight seconds is about to be ridden out,” he said.

With the  release of its album “Pride of Texas” in 2008 and the release of “Rollin’” in July, THC’s proverbial “bull ride” is gaining attention.

“I can’t believe such ugly guys like us can pull such beautiful women to shows,” Ritch laughed. “We have a lot of alpha males comin’ to the shows, everyone from bikers to police. We reach a wide range of people. We’re not trying to hit a certain group, we’re not tryin’ to pick a target. Being able to have that craziness makes our shows very wild.”

So what of this “Red Dirt Metal” description? Ritch said “Red Dirt” means the songs tell a story.

“It’s not a broadstroke brush,” he said. “I try not to get too carried away with everything, I try to keep it more about what I know and that’s life. We’re no different than the people who listen to our music, we’re workin’ to make our house payment, keep the cable on and keep up on child support.”

Doors for the Oct. 21 THC show at Headliners open at 8 p.m. and advance tickets can be purchased from Ramalama Records and Culture Clash for $8. Tickets will be $10 at the door. Visit THC online at thcoutlaw.com.

Tags: Culture Clash, Headliners, Ramalama Records, Texas Hippie Coalition

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 19th, 2010 at 10:16 am and is filed under In Concert, Star.
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In 2004, following the death of local institution Boogie Records, a new store, named Culture Clash Records, opened on Secor. It carried with it many of the same sensibilities and focus that made Boogie so beloved; spotlighting young and undiscovered acts, the largest selection of vinyl LPs available in the area, and more. Fittingly, it was the brainchild of one of the driving forces behind the late, great Boogie, Pat O’Connor.

Now, five years later, Culture Clash Records is still going strong. And to celebrate the anniversary, the store held a grand birthday bash, called “Rediscover Music,” on December 4th, 5th and 6th.

“We’re just kinda celebrating, saying ‘Hey, we’re still here!’,” said Pat O’Connor in a phone interview.

The enthusiasm in O’Connor’s voice mirrors the obvious passion he has for music, and why he has been involved with it in his professional life for three and a half decades.

He was a co-owner of Boogie Records for over 30 years, and many of the ideas behind Culture Clash were inspired by his experiences at Boogie.

“The process was kind of narrowing down the way I wanted to take on the music retail scene in Toledo,” O’Connor said of the inspiration for Culture Clash. “We were kinda looking at, what kind of indy stuff would work well in Toledo, what kind of direction would we take to really reflect what people are into in our area.”

In addition to the differing musical focus, Culture Clash also announces its independence with its decor. In an era where the homogeny of retailers leads to a Best Buy in Maine looking exactly like one in Texas, the Culture Clash storefront practically revels in its individuality, from the hand-painted logo on the building to the floor space being packed to bursting with its wide range of products.

“It kind of grew organically,” O’Connor said of the store’s look and variety. “What I was interested in musically has certainly shifted. What I was into five years ago, just on a personal level, and what I thought was the coolest thing in the world, has expanded and changed and grown. So that’s kinda what music is to me — I’m constantly learning.”

Among the products Culture Clash specializes in is an almost unparalleled selection of vinyl records. O’Connor said that despite the advent of compact discs and file services, for many music lovers the charm of listening to vinyl will never be replaced. In discussing the format, he lovingly invokes the visual of taking out an album, putting it on, savoring the process of how you listen as much as what you listen to.

“It has this realness that you just can’t escape. Someone might call it the drudgery of an album, I call it the ritual,” O’Connor said. “There’s also an argument about if it sounds better or not. In a lot of instances, a record just can’t be beat.”

And as Culture Clash looks ahead to its next 5 years, O’Connor says he is heartened by the audience that comes to his store, many of whom are just discovering the joy of independent music for the first time.

“We are seeing a brand new generation of kids who are getting interested in music again,” he said. “A lot of both young and old are getting into discovering music, or re-living what they used to enjoy.”

— Jeff McGinnins

RamaLama Records to host ‘Rock and Rummage’

The owner of RamaLama Records is giving holiday shoppers a reason to sing.

Rob Kimple will host “Rock and Rummage,” a virtual music flea market with vendors selling all kinds of music from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 18. He is offering 10 percent off all RamaLama store goods during the event.

“Our overall selection of disks and vinyl is better than any store around here,” Kimple said. “We have the largest selection of ‘metal’ music in the area and that’s what sets us apart from everyone else.”

Kimple has operated RamaLama Records from Cricket West shop for the past six years. Before opening, Kimple was a promoter in the music business.

RamaLama Records offers 20,000 to 25,000 disks and vinyl LP records in stock with everything from classic, polka and rock ‘n’ roll to current releases, such as Leonard Cohen’s “Live At The Isle of Wright 1970” album, according to Kimple.  The legendary singer-songwriter’s performance at the music festival, which followed a set by Jimi Hendrix, was released for the first time this year.

The store also has Bob Dylan’s Christmas album and classic holiday music for sale, in addition to featuring a special section of local artists.

Kimple buys, sells and trades used and new CDs, DVDs and vinyl records at the store.

He said the store has the largest selection of used LP records, starting at 50 cents and ranging from $8 to $50 for new LP albums, such as the latest from “Them Crooked Vultures.”

“There had been a resurgence of LPs in the last six years. Everything is coming out on vinyl now and they’re making record players again,” Kimple said.

The name, RamaLama, comes from a song by MC5, which is a band from the Ann Arbor and Detroit area, Kimple said.

“Places like RamaLama Records make Toledo unique,” said Stacy Jurich, executive director of Toledo Choose Local that represents about 150 businesses. “It is our culture. Through Rob’s love for music and hard work comes a truly original store that supports local musicians and music lovers.

“Rob has been at the heart of the Toledo music scene for years and has been a vital part of its integrity,” she said. “Only at locally-owned record stores like RamaLama, will you find records of local musicians like The Blue Hook, The Antivillans and Boogaloosa Prayer. They are our roots and our people and we should support them.”

— Duane Ramsey

Tags: Culture Clash, Rama Lama

This entry was posted on Friday, December 11th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Arts and Life, Retail.
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