lottery league props

i'm quite certain i've been remiss with giving propers to a couple people that are instrumental in the lottery leagues success to date. jae kristoff is the fellow who thought up this great idea and had the motivation to get [nearly] hundreds involved & excited so much so that i consider the idea to be a huge success already without being close to the end game. i'm not sure exactly what the 'end-game' exactly is for the LL though the 'big-show' is april 12 at the beachland ballroom/tavern where all 33 bands will perform on three stages and there is a compilation CD planned to come out as well as a DVD but i believe the relationships and camaraderies amongst many of those involved that either did not know of each other or only knew through what they heard or read, will have a positive affect that will last for years in cleveland's music scene.

i wanted to write this post before the scene magazine article that features the lottery league arrives at local cafes & pubs later this afternoon, for the main reason that i doubt the article will detail much of jae's involvement in the project and that isn't the scene magazines fault because jae went out of his way to become unnoticed through all of this and divert attention away from him and towards the bands & musicians that have went out of their way to make their band and the project succeed.
jae had as much success as staying invisible as the creator of the league as he has had in getting the project off the ground. i did not quite realize jae's anonymity within the league until i was shooting a 'gandhi ss' practice a couple weeks ago that had the writer from the scene present interviewing members of the band and one of the questions the writer asked was 'how did you all become involved in this project' [i'm paraphrasing] and davis spoke up when others were searching for an answer and said 'well, i'm not really sure, i remember someone asking me and i said: eh, yah, sure!' [paraphrasing again], the others in the room gave similar answers. those replies don't seem so shocking unless you happen to know that davis grew up with jae in lorain and has been in a couple bands with him including 'self destruct button', it took me a few seconds to pick my jaw off the ground and realize what a coup jae pulled off with his anonymity.
i'm not sure if the writer interviewed jae and if she did, i'm sure his answer would of been the same as davis not unlike when the free times writer asked jae who it was that came up with punk-rock softball and he replied: 'i think it was lou menz'. heh.

there are also several more folks that deserves thanks for their time and effort: john delzoppo, michael pultz & ed sotelo belong on top of that list, alyssa, paul, laura, matt, mike also put aside time & effort as well as some others i'm sure i'm forgetting, my apologies.

jae probably won't appreciate me shining light on them here but i thought it was only right and i'm hoping the tentative title is not what i recently heard.

related links: my LL blog posts / official LL blog / LL myspace page / LL bowling night photos / LL practice sessions photos / LL slot selection photos / LL bowling night photos

semper fi, shampoon & stimulus package

during the draft that chose the bandmates for each of the LL bands it appeared that 'band 29' was the one band assembling a group of all punk dudes until michaels number came up and poltz found himself in his first punk outfit complete with vegan appetites, DIY principles, crass jokes and america bashing. the ironic part of all this happening was that michael had to kick-out a drunken vic from the beachland only a couple weeks before finding out that guy he cursed over and clearly stated 'i don't care WHO his friend he is' is now his LL bassist.

i tried to imagine what their first get-together was like and if someone asked 'what kinda music should we play'? i doubt if that question ever came up even though after six weeks of visiting practices i still hear that question arise in different forms from a couple of the other bands.

as their name implies, 'semper fi' not only had their songs written, named & sufficiently rehearsed but they also have their theatrics & choreography planned, what costumes/haircuts they'll don, how the lighting should be at the show, which sound samples from war movies they plan to use, which stage they desired [before the slot selection], a recording date set and they also went through their whole 9 minute 26 second set a number of times the hour i visited in what i believe was their third or fourth practice at the tower.

maybe they should of named themselves: 'less-than-a-minute men'.

'semper fi' is another one of those bands that i would not miss regardless of how bad you have to pee during the late hours of april 12 at the beachland. the website i linked below is the bands third after the first 2 was deleted by myspace, they also have a 'fan-site' which i heard was more raw than their deleted two [neither are SFW].

[SEMPER FI: Marc Russo (Sun God, No Peace), Beckett Warren (ICUP, Beckett and Friends), Michael Pultz (blktygr, Seers), Victor Anaya (McShitz, Pathetics)]

photos / myspace / fan-site

'shampoon' is the lottery leagues only three piece that has 3 vocalists, 3 drummers & 3 guitarists, though the night of the 'big show' they will have no vocals and no one behind the drum-kit.
'shampoon' did not plan on being a 3 piece nor did they plan on not having no vocals but how it was explained to me is that their fourth member: leslie bassola,[sp?] bailed after their first practice and hasn't returned any emails or phone calls. no one in the band has any idea who leslie is or how she got in the lottery league nor has anyone heard of the alleged band she was in, reportedly named 'viral minds'.

the night i dropped into shampoon's practice the troika did not seem to care what they did or didn't have and were working on an intricate instrumental with nate & andrew on guitars & shawn on keyboards. nate is going to record the drums so they'll at least sound like a full band april 12.

[SHAMPOON: Nate Schieble (The X Bolex, Self Destruct Button), Andrew Penmer (Plasma For Guns, Tightrope Kaleidoscope, Afternoon Naps), Shawn Mishak (Kid Tested, Franchise)]

photos /

'stimulus package' is the first lottery league band i shot at the compound these previous six weeks, i know that 'psych' practices here as well but they practice falls on a monday night and i work every monday night..

i was told that SP was having their first practice with vocals when i arrived and thus they were recording via the computer. this was also the first [i quit cringing on the number of times i hear myself type 'first' during these LL blogs, the fact is that the league was specifically setup and arranged by jae for an innumerable amount of 'firsts' to happen, thats the genius in it..] that i've heard of britt on lead vocals and she appears to be quite comfortable with that role.

the final 45 minutes that i was able to witness of SP's practice they were able to record a couple short songs in just a few takes regardless of the trash can being full of empty 16oz sparks cans. the catchy number brittany named 'motorboat' had a 'heart' kinda feel to it though despite britt's slight resemblance to [a young] ann wilson and the fact that 'crazy on you' was written under the influence of mushrooms, i'll wrap up by saying the coincidences ended there.

[STIMULUS PACKAGE: Kevin Jaworski (Sun God, Nine Shocks Terror), Matt Jauch (Boatzz, Chalkline), Rodny Davis (Dad of Rock), Brittany Hudak (The Very Knees, Shesus)

photos / myspace

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my next LL posting should include: 'harsburg lip', 'postcards from a foreign shore' & 'chicago UK'
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related links: my LL blog posts / official LL blog / LL myspace page / LL bowling night photos / LL practice sessions photos / LL slot selection photos / LL bowling night photos

lottery league bowling night & slot selection process

the rescheduled lottery league bowling night took place this past saturday at mahall lanes. every band sans three were represented this night that allowed for bands to be choose what stage and time slot they want to perform on at the big show on april 12.

the draft chose the teams/bands six weeks ago, the slot selection process ran the same way by picking ping-pong balls out of a hopper and whatever band name the ball read a representative of said band would decide not only which time slot they would like to perform their 10 minute set but also which of the three beachland stages they desire.

the LL will have the main ballroom stage [blue], the tavern stage [red] and an auxiliary side stage [red] left of the ballroom stage, the first band goes on at 5pm to perform their 10 minute set, there is a 15 minute break after every 9 bands. the first bands picked from the hopper had the first choice of where & when they would go on, the three bands that did not represent were given slots randomly by the 'council of chiefs' that were remaining after all others were chosen. props to john neeley for DJing some choice cuts tonight.

i pasted the complete schedule below, here is a photo of 'the big show' board that was at the selection process in mahall's lobby. the bowling photos are here. photos of the ping-pong pull for slot selections at the end of the evening are here.

i'll have a few more band practices [semper fi, shampoon, hapsburg lip] posted within the next few days.

related links: my LL blog posts / official LL blog / LL myspace page / LL bowling night photos / LL practice sessions photos / LL slot selection photos / LL bowling night photos

born raped, gandhi SS

unfortunately the snowstorm canceled the lottery league bowling night this past saturday and has been rescheduled for the 'ides of march' which is also a saturday this year as it was when julius ceaser was assassinated.

i was able to visit a couple practices the week that led up to the snowstorm, the first thing i noticed when i got to the practice cubicle of 'born raped' at R&R city was all the 'stuff' they have in their space, i spotted a large TV [jim-konya uses this to keep his kick from drifting], a few chairs, radios, several amps, lawn furniture, traffic cones, rugs, a hot plate, lawn darts, tape decks and much more that i am not able to recall.
jim konya [funny rant] gave me a big smile & high-five when he seen me come in exclaiming "yes! a steeler fan!" much to the dismay of his bassist jimmy-d.
roxanne was working on a couple songs on the keytar as jim was beating the living shit out of a large set of drums. JK was very open minded in any direction the band was exploring and roxanne was doing her best to key something that could soften the virile sound the others were creating.
i'm not sure if i was there long enough to hear one song all the way through as BR practiced pieces & parts of different tunes to be assembled later.

photos / myspace

[BORN RAPED: Jim Konya (Nunslaughter, Schnauzer), Roxanne Starnik (Blisse Anonyon Atu, JJ Magazine), Mike Tolan (Tusco Terror, 6 Parts 7), Jimmy Donadio (Flat Can Co., Speaker/Cranker)]

'gandhi SS' is one of the few five piece lottery league bands and this was their first practice with all five members. SS has two bassists including melissa that was trying to learn the couple songs her band had wrote previously in her absence.
as i wrote about earlier, the biggest obstacle for the LL bands is arranging practice times that is convenient for all band members especially when you consider that nearly everyone involved in this has full-time jobs and are members of other bands that have practices & shows scheduled of their own.

the two songs that gandhi SS were practicing this evening sounded great and nearly flawless considering the limited time that they have worked on them.

photos / myspace

[GANDHI SS: Matt Fish (Lives of the Saints, Chargers Street Gang), Davis Straub (State of Ohio, Neo Nothing), Adrian Bertolone (Ay, Shells), Noah Hrbek (To Be A Highpowered Executive), PP Envy (Kill The Hippies)]

the tuesday after the snowstorm i was able to make it to another 'rad bathhouse' practice at 'zombie proof'. RB is another five-piece that has yet to have all members present for any one session but that apparently has not slowed them down. with at least five songs in the can RB was writing another diddy i named 'hot towels, beers and queers', a pop-rock anthem that will have the kids going crazy on the evening of april 12.
pete made it to his first practice after a tour with 'sun god' but he quickly caught on and added some much needed bass. hearing jae ccuzi sing a ballad was also fun especially that very few vocalists [if any] involved in the LL are 'singing a different tune' what i mean by that is that most vocalists in the other 16+ bands i've seen practice so far is pretty much going with the same style they are used to.

there was some mention of the 'legalities' of 'outsiders' or those not drafted in said band writing songs for the 'rad bathhouse' but i believe that worry is just paranoia especially considering that it is fine for the lottery league bands to do covers of others and that fact coupled with the reality that this band has been averaging a couple members short each rehearsal should make that query a non-issue but i may have a 'conflict of interest' in that regard..

photos / myspace

related links: my LL blog posts / official LL blog / LL myspace page / LL bowling night photos / LL practice sessions photos / LL slot selection photos / LL bowling night photos

vin scully gets a first look at clayton kershaw's bender

i have no access to baseball tonight so i search through youtube for my spring baseball fix and found a short 20 second clip of 19 year old clayton kershaw of the los angeles dodgers going against pittsburgh native and boston red sox owned shawn casey sunday afternoon.
i heard much about kershaw but this was the first i witnessed his talent. with one look of his curve ball that breaks at the shoulder and ends up at the knees in a nano-second i could understand why joe torre has been sporting a smile this spring.

the bonus is of watching this clip was hearing 80 year old emmy winning hall of famer vin scully's reaction as casey buckles his knees at the plate, classic..

a river runs through this

this is my third or fourth post regarding lottery league where everyones name was pulled out of a hopper and paired with a bandmate that they have never made music with before. bands have eight weeks to practice and come up with a short set for the largest one day show in the beachland ballrooms history [i'm wondering if there has ever been more bands [33] to perform at a one day show in cleveland?]

"i just spent 8 days on the road and i wanna make it home tonight" -roger miller

i went out sunday at 2pm and got home at 10:30, so i guess it was actually 8 hours on the road. i crossed the cuyahoga river 9 diferent times to shoot 4 bands [west, east, west, east, repeat] and grab dinner at steves lunch so all in all it was a good day.

'good news for people with credit problems' was first on my list this afternoon and is also my favorite band name. GNFPWCP practice over in the kinsman & E151 area which i'm quite familiar with after working on the kinsman & 153rd corner for eight years 20 years ago and was reminded that there is still no quick way to get there from the near west side.
the band was already practicing when i got to the address and i presumed they wouldn't hear me ringing the bell so i had to guess what door to enter which is tricky business in this neighborhood, my investigative skills led me to abandon the front 2 doors and try the rear side door because it appeared to have the fresher footprints in the snow surrounding it. the next hurdle was what to do about the german shepard attached to a chain that was big enough to tow barges.
after finding my courage, i dart inside and hear a 'hey!' from a dark figure inside [everything appears dark because of my snow eyes], i say hey back and notice my chest is bullet hole free so i assume my door guess was right.
i follow the guitar-riffs to the basement of carls palatial estate where i meet the other band members with someone asking me if i seen carl upstairs, i replied that all i seen was a shadow cross the hall but does carl yell 'hey!' when white boys barge unannounced through his side door? someone explains that he ran upstairs to see why the dog is going nuts.

'good news for people with credit problems' was working on a couple intricate punk songs in the hour i was there, stopping whenever a note or drumbeat was missed or played incorrectly and then starting over again & again. GNFPWCP gets my 'taking this lottery league shit, dead serious award'. that was quite refreshing after seeing a couple 'fuck songwriting, we can just jam for ten minutes' attitudes.
all three guitarists as well as carl the drummer appear to know exactly their role in the band which gave this observer the impression that they've been together quite sometime or certainly longer than a month instead of a couple weeks.
i labeled 'good news for people with credit problems' as a punk band a few sentences back but i should be more specific and say 'a punk band with three guitarists one of which that has wandered off the reservation with a couple squaws in tow'. it is that 'wandering guitarist' that gives GNFPWCP an unique sound, hearing tony erba sing while playing a mean bass was also a bonus. definitely, GNFPWCP is a lottery league contender.

[GOOD NEWS FOR PEOPLE WITH CREDIT PROBLEMS: Carl Holt (Zyklus II, In Cold Blood), Tony Erba (Cheap Tragedies, Face Value), Ted Flynn (Theodore Vril, Flux Up 10%), Nick Lacotta (Hot Rails)]

photos / myspace w/songs!

the second practice was of 'anal cheetahs' who have a space overlooking the cuyahoga river and perhaps the river is the reason AC have gone the ambient route. actually the band was missing two of their band mates, one of significance but with katherine on theremin, brian on keyboards and nick with a minimist approach on the drums that had their sound flowing smoother than the frozen cuyahoga.
something i did not know until the end of the practice was that katherine makes her own instruments including the theremin she was using during 'lazy river, frozen time', this came as a surprise to me, not that i didn't believe kath could build an instrument [if katherine told me she built the log cabin sitting across the river i would believe her] but that the theremin works and sounds as any 'store bought' theremin and the woodwork is done flawlessly so much that it looks antique. katherine also mentioned she has a thumb guitar made from a lawn rake. i inquired on what it would take to build me a guitar that would have live fish swimming in its translucent body, i believe she is 'crunching the numbers as i speak'.

[THE ANAL CHEETAHS: Nick Riley (Mystery of Two, The Lobster Clause), Brian Straw (Low Lamps, 6 Parts 7), Katherine Koenig (Maximum Consumption), Stephanie Griffin (Afternoon Naps, Cleveland Country Band), Julius Kwolek (Hoagie Tres, Plus Ultra)]

photos /

after making a few snow angels in my skives on the banks of the river i hustle over to the surwest-side. i've been to R&R city several times within the last few weeks and each time i take a left onto 53rd street and proceed down the hill i get the feeling 'oh shit, i took a wrong turn and somehow wound up on the set of cloverfield'. there are other areas of cleveland/pittsburgh that i get the same feeling at times when it is deserted and empty but so far it seems that it is every time i descend down that part of west 53rd that i get that feeling. there is a term i heard from graffiti artists urban beautifiers: 'post america' that also describes that experience of being somewhere that was the heart & soul of the community while providing the lifestyles & employment for thousands during the roaring 50s only to be rotting from time since its abandonment.
at the bottom of 53rd sits the 'stepfather factory', a huge rotting brick building that takes up about 10 acres on what seems like a 500 acre lot [i guess they needed that huge lot for all the big cars they drove back then], the place is surrounded by a ten foot fence all the way around the perimeter that has areas cut out so people can check the place out if they wish. the building itself has a sign the size of a basketball court hanging from it that read something like 'for sale' before it started to detach and become unreadable.

when i get to the 'homeless sexuals' practice space i find out from chris that half of their band is absent, i confess to chris that i'm half ninja [i was being funny, its actually 3/4]. its another funny coincidence of the lottery league bands that this one band would wind up with two of the most dedicated musicians of the lot. some bands have other odd coincidences and some have other dedicated musicians but it appears to me that there are only few that are dedicated as chris smith & jonathan morgan. it would of seemed natural to me that if only one of them would of been practicing alone when i walked through the door.
its hard to realize how good a guitarist/musician chris is until you see him practicing with only a drummer and the ability he has to create a riff.
jonathan is the style of drummer every kid dreams of becoming, easily creating a roll or bridge for the most complex of guitarists.
the interesting practice will be the one that the other half of the band can make an appearance, michael may find a chance to be creative with his vocals and bubba could learn much from chris.

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[HOMELESSSEXUAL: Jonathan Morgan (Disengage), Chris Smith (Keelhaul, Inmates)
Bubba O'Connor (Machine Go Boom, Burger Boys), Mike Diliberto (Boatzz, 30 Lincoln)
Matthew T (20,000 Leagues Under the Industry)]

after dinner at steves lunch which consisted of 'the meatloaf sandwich' opened face style & smothered in mama steves awesome homemade gravy with a diet-rite soda. a couple dudes along the counter looked at me in envy as my platter arrived, some may have been thinking 'why is this dude wasting 3 bucks on a deluxe cuisine when he could get for the same 3 dollars, 6 chili cheeze dogs that will be with you for days?'
i was shot a couple of glares as i left but it was i[my digestive system] that had 'the last laugh'..

i head cross the divide towards east 72nd & st.clair better known as 'the embassy'. i was at this space last sunday at this precise time only to be locked out and without a cellphone. this time i called j guy in advance on my landline that i arranged for someone to graciously allow me entrance to 'the embassy' 15 minutes after i hangup the phone. as i pull in the 'lot with the boats' i notice the warehouse elevator descending and by the time a get to the door, rich is there to greet me.

'mohammed cartoon' has a couple/three practices previous to this evening and it shows. jim was putting his vocals through some kind of filter to make it sound cartoonish or as if he was inhaling helium [jim explains it as singing through a box fan]. rich was doing some interesting things on guitar and sometimes bass while jeff was maneuvering them clear of the icebergs with his guitar.
john neeley was absent from this practice and i'm not sure what his role is but i'm guessing guitar.
MC appears to be another lottery league band that has their shit together and i'm looking forward their set at the big show april 12 at the beachland.

[MOHAMMED CARTOON: J Guy (Dead Peasant Insurance, Scarcity of Tanks), Rich Raponi (Self Destruct Button, The Deathers), Jim Karpinski (Burger Boys, Giant Eagle), Jeff Curtis (Iron Ixide, Gem), John Neely (Tokyo Storm Warning)]

photos / myspace [w/songs!]


related links: my LL blog posts / official LL blog / LL myspace page / LL bowling night photos / LL practice sessions photos / LL slot selection photos / LL bowling night photos