By Estar Cohen and Stacy Jurich

Toledo/Brooklyn-based indie-Americana quintet The Antivillains will headline a show at Mickey Finn’s Pub, 602 Lagrange St., on Nov. 24. New York City rock n’ rollers The Poor Whites and Bowling Green’s experimental Balloon Messenger will open.

Led by the core trio of siblings Ben and Sarah Cohen and percussionist Sam Woldenberg, this will be the first time in two years The Antivillains will perform together in Toledo. The show will start at 10 p.m. with a cover of $5 at the door.

Of the group’s debut feature length album, “So Much For Romance,”Allmusic.com said, “[The Antivillains] have created a set of lovely, ethereal music built around simple harmonies, bittersweet guitar melodies and artfully executed arrangements that conjure up a world of broken hearts and glorious sadness, echoing through the bedrooms of lonesome bohemians late on a mid-winter’s night.”

The Antivillains are contemplating their sophomore album to be recorded in 2013. The group plans to play some of its new music at Mickey Finn’s, according to lead singer/rhythm guitarist Ben Cohen.

For more information about The Antivillains, visit theantivillains.bandcamp.com.

Tags: Mickey Finn's, The Antivillains

This entry was posted on Monday, November 19th, 2012 at 7:41 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, Music.
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“Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone” is a star-studded documentary that shows how the innovative L.A. rockers have influenced many and continue to create.

Narrated by actor Laurence Fishburne, the film features fans Gwen Stefani, Ice-T, Branford Marsalis, George Clinton, Flea of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Les Claypool of Primus and more.

“Honestly, I couldn’t tell if the documentary was good or bad when I saw the first cut; I didn’t know the entertainment value. I knew that it was honest,” said Fishbone bass player John Norwood Fisher.

“The entertainment value of it I wouldn’t realize until we started going to screenings and seeing and feeling the audiences’ vibe with it and going on a journey.”

Released in 2010, the movie chronicles how the group came together in 1979 and by the mid-1980s dazzled with its eclectic fusion of music.

“Punk rock, new wave, hip-hop and techno — all that stuff was just forming. The ska music out of England was just happening. Reggae was just taking on really in a big way in the United States. All this was happening at the same time,” Fisher said.

And Fishbone added funk, rock and soul to all of that for a fun, frenetic sound that sometimes has a sense of humor or tackles social issues.

“We want to express life and the celebration of it as well as like, hey, we view issues personally and in the big scheme of things like society as a whole,” Fisher said during a call from his home in Santa Monica, Calif. “You can dance to it or you could choose to escape or really listen to what we’re saying and feel it, you know, there’s passion, anger, laughter.”

Spike Lee directed the video for Fishbone’s 1991 hit, “Sunless Saturday.” “Everyday Sunshine” also charted that year.

“The fact that we were all blacks didn’t — that wasn’t special to us, that we were black guys playing hard rock, or playing rock ‘n’ roll in the basic sense or venturing into punk rock,” Norwood said. “Us mixing up all the styles of music just came natural.”

Fishbone — Fisher, singer and sax man Angelo Moore, trumpeter Walter A. Kibby II, drummer John Steward, guitarist Rocky George, keyboardist Dre Gipson, trombonist Jay Armant — will play Sept. 14 at Mickey Finn’s Pub at 9 p.m. with openers Downtown Brown, Gold and The Grubs. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 day of the show.

In 2011, the band released an EP, “Crazy Glue.”

“It’s the band Fishbone looking inward,” Fisher joked about the title track.

For better or worse, he and original members Moore and Kibby have stuck together.

“At a certain point, you become self-aware and you go, ‘Oh my god, there’s this impact that we’re having.’ And you read your own press and people make a big deal about you being an all-black band doing what you do,” Fisher said.

“There’s a part of me that, like, you know, this is a legacy that must carry on and actually continue to create a future because as long as we’re doing what we’re doing, I believe that we create the possibility that other people can do similar things or even unsimilar things but maybe further out. We took it to one level, and somebody else can come along and take it to another level.”

Tags: Angelo Moore, Crazy Glue, Downtown Brown, Dre Gipson, Fishbone, Gold and The Grubs, In Concert, Jay Armant, John Steward, Mickey Finn's, Music, Rocky George, Walter A. Kibby II

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 12th, 2012 at 12:02 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, In Concert, Music.
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Most artists don’t wait six years to release a new album as Cory Branan did with “MUTT,” his third full-length record and first since 2006’s “12 Songs.” But then again, the Memphis-bred singer-songwriter isn’t most artists.

“I’m not that marketable,” Branan said with a laugh. “Let’s just put it like that.”

On June 24, Branan will bring his unique sound to Toledo when he performs at Mickey Finn’s.

Given the nature of his music, “MUTT” is a fitting title for Branan’s latest effort. The album was released on May 22 via Bloodshot Records after an arduous process of Branan trying to find a label that believed in his work.

“No one’s been making any money, hardly, so labels are very touchy with who they sign,” Branan said. “And I’m not some, you know, 20-year-old kid, and I don’t play one kind of music. You can’t really say what it is in three words, I don’t think.”

With a father who was a drummer and Memphis in close proximity to his birthplace of Southaven, Miss., music was a natural progression for Branan. After dabbling in heavier music early on, Branan credited John Prine for opening his eyes to a different direction.

But while his music can’t necessarily be pigeonholed into a single genre, Branan is a storyteller at his core.

“I like songs that don’t really — they can open up inside the listener, yes — but I like songs that kind of pull you in,” Branan said. “I like songs that the door’s open end, kind of.”

That storytelling talent helped Branan earn praise before he had a record contract. In 2000, he received the Phillips Award for “Newcomer of the Year” by the Memphis chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

As his career progressed with debut album “The Hell You Say” in 2002 and the aforementioned “12 Songs,” Branan also garnered praise from Rolling Stone, GQ, Billboard and Blender, among others.

“I had never had any plans,” Branan said on the development of his music career and the early praise he received. “I’ve never really made plans, and so it just was happening, you know? I’m married to it now.”

After two albums with Memphis-based indie label MADJACK Records, “MUTT” is Branan’s first work with Bloodshot Records, a label that has followed his career for quite some time.

“Touring as an artist, whatever, and doing like I do now, you don’t really know what a weekend is,” Branan said. “But I feel like all the work I’ve been doing over the years, it feels like I’ve been digging ditches, almost, and Bloodshot is the weekend.”

Recorded at Closer Studios in San Francisco with the late Tim Mooney (drummer/engineer for American Music Club), Branan described “MUTT” as a “circle-type record” where the songs relate to each other. Though he never stopped working in between the release of “12 Songs” and “MUTT,” Branan added that the time gap allowed him to structure the new material accordingly.

“I had more to choose from, and I could write songs to reinforce the connections between the others,” Branan said of “MUTT.” “So I had time to write it out and arrange it the way I wanted.”

Featuring contributions from the likes of Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars), Jon Snodgrass (Drag the River) and Ralph Carney (horn player for Tom Waits), “MUTT” received a “commendable” rating from Paste, while Lee Stabert of Nashville Scene described it as “every bit as beguiling, sweet and strange as its predecessors.”

“People have been very kind,” Branan said of “MUTT,” which reached No. 45 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. “I’m not sure if everyone gets it. Even some of the nice reviews are a little off base, but people have been kind.”

Praise or no praise, it doesn’t matter much to Branan as long as he can make the music he wants to make. With a label that’s allowing him to do that in Bloodshot Records, he’s excited to bring songs from “MUTT” to people live, including those in Toledo.

“I don’t expect ever to have hundreds of people at shows,” Branan said. “It’s more of the kind of intensity that people bring, and I’ve had some intense shows in Toledo. People are involved. They’re not just there because it’s some sort of social event.

“There are people who are thirsty for music there, so it’ll be great to come back.”

• On June 24, Cory Branan, Audra Mae and Michael Corwin & Tim Richissen will perform at Mickey Finn’s, located at 602 Lagrange St. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster. The show starts at 9 p.m. For more information, visit mickeyfinnspub.com or call (419) 246-3466.

Tags: "MUTT", Cory Branan, Mickey Finn's, Mike Bauman, storyteller

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 21st, 2012 at 3:00 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, In Concert, Music.
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From her teenage days of listening to Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel and Sting, worldly instruments have been a major influence in Erin Zindle’s music career.

“My love for world music started around then, as a teenager. I started writing songs around then and as I’ve grown over the years, these sounds I’m so emerged in and in love with have kind of found their own way into my songs and my writing in one way or another,” she said.

Zindle is the frontwoman, fiddler, banjo and mandolin player of the Ann Arbor based Ragbirds, who are set to play its 8:30 p.m. gig at Mickey Finn’s April 21.

The Ragbirds are defined by its website as a fusion of folk rock with some danceable beats along with Zindle’s Celtic style fiddle playing.

“[The audience] can expect to see a diverse range of music but there is also a common thread throughout, which mostly has to do with my vocal and violin parts,” Zindle said. “One may be a tango and the next is an African drum piece and the next is Latin. It keeps people interested and it’s a lot of fun for us.”

While studying her family’s roots and culture, Zindle learned more about Celtic music, another influence. Aside from its typical song list, the Ragbirds bring styles such as Latin dance and African drum pieces. Each member plays a drum and Zindle said it helps establish communication between the band mates during the set.

“The music is polyrhythmic and you have a whole bunch of people listening to each other really well to make the piece make sense,” she said. “It’s a good thing to learn. I found out the players change over the years, but every time we get a new player we teach them the African drum pieces and it’s just a good way to rehearse and tighten up as a band.”

Aside from Zindle, the Ragbirds is comprised of guitarist T.J. Zindle, brother of the frontwoman, Brian Crist on bass, Loren Kranz on drumset and Erin Zindle’s husband Randall Moore as a general percussionist.

The married couple met prior to the formation of the Ragbirds while traveling in similar musical circles. Moore was a guest performer in Zindle’s former band. When that group split, the duo played in a few different bands together as well as street performing in Ann Arbor.

“As we were dating we would perform in the street for tips in downtown Ann Arbor and get enough money for cocktails later in the night,” Moore said. “We definitely bonded over music.”

The band name, coined by Zindle, comes from an unexplainable childhood fascination with birds.

The band is raising funds for its fourth studio album, with help through the Kickstarter program. Kickstarter is the world’s largest fundraising project for artists ranging from literature to fine arts to performing musicians.

Moore said the artist sets a fundraising goal and fans, friends and family are able to make pledges to help fund the project.

“We used Kickstarter as a way to get our fans involved in the recording process and it also helped raise money to help us because we’re an independent band and we’re recording solely on our own is a very expensive process,” he said. “Instead of going into debt over it, we decided to use Kickstarter.”

The Ragbirds’ goal of $10,000 was met recently and as of April 19, more than $13,000 has been raised, according to the band’s website.

Moore said they were able to raise money quickly through an incentive program ranging from autographed albums to merchandise and the largest incentive being a private performance by the Ragbirds.

“We’re really blessed by the amount of supporters,” Moore said.

Tags: Mickey Finn's, Ragbirds

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 19th, 2011 at 6:19 pm and is filed under In Concert, Star.
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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.”

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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Breathe Owl Breathe comes to Mickey Finn’s 9 p.m. Oct. 2 straight out of a log cabin in Michigan’s East Jordan Valley. The trio of Micah Middaugh on guitar and vocals, Andréa Moreno-Beals on cello and vocals, and percussionist Trevor Hobbs bring a flowing yet eclectic style to their storytelling alternative songs.

“We have a minimalist kind of approach to things and are getting more interested in textures and building textures,” Middaugh said. “Every night we’ll be rediscovered in a song.”

The three friends all live in a log cabin built by Middaugh’s family for his grandmother and grandfather. His grandparents have since vacated the place to allow the 20-somethings to record and create.

Its newest album “Magic Central,” released Sept. 28, is a product of winter days spent snowbound at the log cabin, when the band members were able to concentrate on processing all of their experiences from touring on the road into a creative flow of recordings.

“It was a time to really dig deep and record when you wanted to record and record when you didn’t want to record,” Middaugh said. “It’s amazing in both places what happened.”

The band has pressed two of its four and half albums to vinyl, and still records many of its parts on cassette tapes.

“We’re always inspired by the old,” Middaugh said.

Hobbs and Middaugh met through a mutual friend and roommate, and recorded an amateur VHS zombie movie the day they met. Middaugh met Moreno-Beals through a friend in a Dairy Queen parking lot in Boyne City, Mich., when he had just started a small band with Hobbs around five years ago. After recording a cassette tape together, Hobbs and Middaugh invited Moreno-Beals back to play a festival. They continued to write songs and compiled “Fall Album” that autumn. Hobbs and Moreno-Beals slowly migrated back to Middaugh’s cabin to continue recording.

“We recorded on this little 16 track that I have — the bones of the songs, and brought them down to outside of Ann Arbor to Jim Roll’s studio,” Middaugh said. “It sounds like swimming. We enjoy not really pinning down any ‘label’ or specific sound. A lot of times I’ll go for a run and a couple lines will come to me, and then make a song out of it.”

Breathe Owl Breathe got its name out of a vivid dream Middaugh had of a field mouse and an owl the night before the band was surprised with their first show. It opened for Little Wings at DAC in Grand Rapids.

“It was the most amazing first show we could possibly have,” Middaugh said.

Middaugh, who is also a printmaker, is turning two of the songs he wrote and recorded with Roll into children’s books. “The Listeners,” about a mole and an ostrich, and “These Train Tracks,” about train tracks that turn into a ladder, will be turned into hardcover, hand-bound books featuring Middaugh’s woodcut illustrations. Middaugh is collaborating with world-famous book binder Chad Pastotnik of Deep Wood Press. Each copy of the painstakingly hand-stitched book will include a 7-inch vinyl record in the middle, Middaugh said.

For more information on the Oct. 2 show, call Mickey Finn’s at (419) 246-3466.

Tags: Breathe Owl Breathe, Mickey Finn's

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 28th, 2010 at 9:03 am and is filed under In Concert, Star.
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It’s all been done before. We have all either heard or used that phrase at some point and quite often it’s the truth. As far as “rock ‘n’ roll” is concerned, this phrase carries extra weight because there is very little left that hasn’t been done.

Enter Hypernova, a ridiculously dope collective of four musicians from Iran that will play Mickey Finn’s on June 30. The show at Finn’s is part of Hypernova’s first headlining tour in support of its new album, “Through The Chaos,” which was released in April.

While the backstory of Hypernova is impressive, it would be unjust to omit how damned good its music is (myspace.com/hypernova). Granted, indie rock doesn’t hold the lion’s share of the music market; it’s still evolving, growing and becoming less and less of a subgenre. Hypernova may be the band to help push indie music to where it wants to be.

Hypernova’s sound isn’t uniquely organic, hypnotic or groundbreaking. However, what Hypernova offers is something that many people still look for in new rock — energy and melodies that resonate.

The Iranian four-piece has a genuine yet modern rock sound and writes songs that command attention. Vocalist and rhythm guitarist Raam has an amazing baritone voice. His deep tones and exceptional control are the foundation for the band’s potent lyrical content.

Lead guitarist Kodi and bassist Jam embody what rock is. They’ve got the rock look, slick playing style and solid timing. So often, rock bands tend to play the same notes at the same time. While this generates some massively thick sounds, it doesn’t always leave room for counter-melodies or tonal motion. The way the guitars and bass interact keeps each Hypernova joint fluid and engaging.

Last, but certainly not least, is Kami, the expressive and nearly inhumanly accurate left-handed drummer for Hypernova. While the show will be the first time I’ve seen him live, watching him play in the “Fairytales” video and live on other videos it’s clear that what we’re hearing is not a studio derivative; this guy can play.

The Hypernova show at Finn’s is the result of ridiculous persistence, years of hard work and some extraordinary luck.

“To come to the States we had to apply for visas and that was a difficult task because it’s not easy getting visas when you’re from the Axis of Evil” said frontman Raam in a recent interview. “As artists we’re the good guys, we’re not the bad guys. When we came here, all we wanted was a shot.

“We sent a demo to the South by Southwest festival and a few weeks later we got an e-mail back from them telling us we were selected to showcase. We went to Dubai to visit the American Embassy so we could get visas.

“After months of waiting for work petitions we had an interview and were denied the visas because we couldn’t prove we were a legitimate band. The problem is, there is no way to prove you’re a legitimate band when you’ve spent your music career trying to hide!”

It was shortly after being denied visas that Hypernova received its first bit of good fortune. People handling work visas and immigration in the states learned of the situation and forwarded the issue to New York State Representative Chuck Schumer, who promptly faxed a letter to the U.S. Embassy in Dubai.

“We went in for a second interview and they didn’t even interview us, they just gave us the visas and told us we had a very powerful fan in the states,” Raam laughed. “We were just crazy kids with a dream of coming to America to perform in New York. We came here not knowing what to expect. We didn’t even know how to do a proper sound check, we never played on a real stage before.”

Hypernova’s lack of “proper” experience wasn’t for a lack of skill or talent, it was because as rock musicians in Iran they had to stay buried in the underground and stay hidden.

“We missed the South by Southwest festival because of the delayed visas but we came to New York and played one show. It was a shitty venue on a shitty night and we really didn’t expect all of the attention we got. We were quite overwhelmed by it,” Raam said. “I understand the human interest part of the story as people haven’t heard bands from the underground of Iran. The way the media sometimes depicts our country and our culture, it’s not as accurate as one would believe.”

The overwhelming attention Hypernova attracted included a New York Times interview that “exploded.”

“We were only supposed to stay a few weeks and go back home. We hadn’t even said proper good-byes to our friends and family,” Raam said. “We really didn’t feel like we deserved the attention because our music really sucked when we first came here, it was quite overwhelming.”

As Hypernova continued to play shows and gain fans, they continually extended their visas. Three years later Hypernova is the first band from Iran to get signed and tour across the United States. According to Raam, “It’s been a wild journey.”

“When we first came to the States, I would have given us a 1 out of 100, now I’d give us a 10!” Raam laughed. “We worked so hard to get here, we don’t take anything for granted.” Even if our journey ends today, we’d still be the happiest people on the planet.”

When asked about Hypernova’s success, Raam said, “It’s the American Dream, but it’s also the American way. If you want to become successful you have to earn it. That’s what we’ve been doing, we’ve been grinding it out, we’ve had lots of ups and downs, and we’ve had a lot of bad things happen, but it’s all part of the journey.”

It is hard work being on the road and constantly touring for three years.

“It’s the greatest drug, there’s so much freedom just being on the road,” Raam said. ‘You’re in this complete state of bliss where you’re just waiting for the next show and just taking things as they come and just really enjoying the moments that make up your life.”

While touring the United States and playing shows in different cities every night sounds like a dream, Raam said, “I’ve never been poorer, but I’ve also never been happier.” Despite the poor economy and hit-or-miss shows from city to city, Raam said, “Every night we play in front of 10,000 people in our minds!”

What’s the best part of realizing your dreams? What is the most amazing thing about making it to the States, touring with your band for years, playing shows for thousands of screaming fans and the freedom that comes with all of that? According to Raam, it’s “the girls!”

“The women are the best part of this whole thing. That’s how most of my bandmates have learned how to speak English; it’s all the girlfriend’s they’ve had,” Raam laughed.

What’s more rock ‘n’ roll than that?

The doors for the Hypernova show open at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Tags: Hypernova, Mickey Finn's

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 at 10:18 am and is filed under In Concert, Star.
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There are lessons to be learned at Mickey Finn’s Pub on Aug. 1. Hard ones. But with a brand-new album full of rock ‘n’ roll to perform, Augie Visocchi of the band The Hard Lessons promises a good time.

“We have really great shows in Toledo,” he said. “Our latest drummer, Ryan Vandeberghe, has made the band the best it’s ever been, and we’re playing a lot of the new songs from ‘Arms Forest.’”

Released on May 26, “Arms Forest” is the newest album from the group, which is comprised of Augie, Ryan and Augie’s wife, Korin.

The Hard Lessons originally began as a duo in the winter of 2003, when Augie and Korin not only noticed each other on the campus of Michigan State University, but also the guitars in their respective dorm rooms.

“We sort of fell into making music together,” Augie said. “I was getting into some delta blues music at the time, and Korin had this really cool old Stella, which was the brand Leadbelly and Charlie Patton played at times. From there it progressed to writing some songs on my four-track, some of which became early The Hard Lessons songs.”

Quite quickly, Augie and Korin’s private jam sessions transitioned from playing for fun to something more.

“There were so many opportunities on campus that we took advantage of,” Augie said. “In the span of a couple weeks, we played our first gig at a battle of the bands, won $400, recorded a demo for free and pressed a run of CDs to start booking gigs. We played our first club gigs in Ypsilanti, Grand Rapids, Detroit and Lansing that winter [of 2003].”

With their band name taken from the writing on the inside of Korin’s inherited Stella guitar, Augie said The Hard Lessons have always been about playing good old rock ‘n’ roll ­— nothing more and nothing less.

“That’s becoming increasingly hard for people to understand, as the Internet constantly creates microscopic genres within genres,” he said. “We don’t subscribe to that. I think it’s really sad that a lot of people don’t listen to music anymore. They relate to it like a fashion accessory. They need to know what box a band fits into so they can brag about it on their blog and identify with the promo photo more than the lyrics.”

Now that their newest compilation is on store shelves, The Hard Lessons have been traveling the country via van to share the songs from “Arms Forest” with music lovers everywhere. Just don’t try to label them as simply artists.

“At our level, band members are more than just artists,” Augie said. “This means we work with the artists designing record sleeves, put together mailings and book shows. We have a manager and a label who help out with that as well, but it is still a lot of work. [Korin] and I both write songs. She handles a lot of the finances. I end up driving the van most of the time.”

When that van makes its stop in the Glass City, Augie encourages Toledoans to come see what The Hard Lessons are all about. After all, he said, “We’re more than just neighbors, Toledo. We’re family.”

For more information on the band, visit www.thehardlessons.com.

Tags: Hard Lessons, Mickey Finn's

This entry was posted on Friday, July 24th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Arts and Life, In Concert.
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