Oct 6 - THE SWANS with BABY DEE
Outland Live / $20 adv / $23 door / ages 18+ / 7pm

Oct 12 - WOMEN with MM/DD/YYYY
Skully’s / $8 adv/ $10 door / 8pm

Oct 16 - GUIDED BY VOICES
Outland Live / SOLD OUT / ages 21+ / 7pm

Oct 19 - PEPPER RABBIT, BONNEVILLE
Kobo / $5 adv / $7 door / 8pm

Oct 23 - BLACK PRAIRIE, ALWOOD SISTERS
Kobo / $8 adv / $10 door / 8pm

Oct 25 - K-OS w/ SHAD
Skully’s / $13 adv / $15 door / 8pm

Oct 27 - INTELLIGENCE, EX WHITES
Cafe Bourbon St. / $5 adv / $7 doors / 8pm

Oct 27 - KURT VILE and SOFT PACK
Skully’s / $10 adv / $12 doors / 8pm

Oct 27 - CHRIS TRAPPER
Rumba / $10 adv / $10 door / 6pm

Nov 11 - THE POSIES, BRENDAN BENSON, AQUEDUCT
Outland Live / $18 adv / $20 door / 7pm
Onsale Saturday August 28, 2010 - 10am

Sep 22 - BEST COAST featuring MALE BONDING
The Summit / $12 adv / $14 door / ages 18+ / 8pm

Sep 22 - MARGOT & THE NUCLEAR SO & SO’S, THE LONELY FOREST, CAMERON MCGILL & WHAT ARMY, TIN ARMOR
Circus / $9.99 adv / $12 door / ages 18+ / 8pm

Sep 23 - BIRDS OF AVALON
Cafe Bourbon St. / $5 adv / $7 door / 9pm

Sep 24 - RIVER CITY EXTENSION, TRAINS ACROSS THE SEA
Kobo / $5 adv / $7 door

Sep 25 - TWO COW GARAGE CD Release Party
Rumba / $5 adv / $7 door / 8pm

Sep 26 - THE STRANGE BOYS WITH GENTLEMAN JESSE AND HIS MEN, NATURAL CHILD, EX-WHITES
The Summit / $6 adv / ages 18+ / 8pm

Sep 28 - FRONTIER RUCKUS
Woodlands Tavern / $5 adv / $7 doors / 8pm

Sep 29 - RYAN MONTBLEAU BAND with ERIC ZIELINSKI
Rumba Cafe / $7 adv / ages 18+ / 8pm

Oct 3 - JASON REEVES w/ JOE BROOKS
Rumba / $8 adv / $10 door / 6pm

Oct 4 - ARRINGTON DE DIONYSO’S MALAIKAT DAN SINGA with T.K. WEBB
Cafe Bourbon Street / $5 adv / $7 door / ages 18+ / 9pm

Outland Live

95 Liberty Street
(614) 299-2099

SOLD OUT
ages 21+

Guided By Voices
http://www.gbv.com/

Inspired equally by jangle pop and arty post-punk, Guided by Voices created a series of trebly, hissy indie rock records filled with infectiously brief pop songs that fell somewhere between the British Invasion and prog rock. After recording six self-released albums between 1986 and 1992, the Dayton, OH-based band attracted a handful of fans within the American indie rock underground. With the 1994 release of Bee Thousand, the group became an unexpected alternative rock sensation, winning positive reviews throughout the mainstream music press and signing a larger distribution deal with Matador Records. Despite all of the attention, the band never changed their aesthetic, continuing to record their albums on cheap four-track tape decks and thereby limiting their potential audience, yet that devotion to lo-fi indie rock helped Guided by Voices maintain a sizable cult during the late ’90s.

Schoolteacher Robert Pollard formed Guided by Voices in the early ’80s. Throughout the group’s history, Pollard was at the center, writing the majority of the songs and leading each incarnation of the band. During the ’80s, Pollard was frequently joined by his brother Jim, who continued to write songs for the group even after his departure in the late ’80s. Guided by Voices didn’t become a full-fledged band until guitarist Tobin Sprout and bassist Dan Toohey joined the group in 1985. A year later, the group released an EP, Forever Since Breakfast, on the local indie I Wanna Records. Guided by Voices released their first full-length album, Devil Between My Toes, on their own G Records in 1987; it was followed several months later by Sandbox, which appeared on Halo. Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia was released on Halo in 1989 and Same Place the Fly Got Smashed appeared on Rocket #9 Records in 1990.

During the latter half of the ’80s, Guided by Voices was essentially a hobby. The band rarely performed, and a wide array of musicians appeared on the group’s albums — according to some estimations, nearly 40 musicians passed through the band during its first decade. Nearly all of the Guided by Voices albums before Vampire on Titus were recorded in Steve Wilbur’s eight-track studio in his home garage; Wilbur occasionally played guitar and bass on the records. Guided by Voices added Mitch Mitchell (rhythm guitar) and Kevin Fennell (drums) around the time of Propeller (1992), which was released on Rockathon Records.

Prior to 1993’s Vampire on Titus, all of Guided by Voices’ records were essentially interchangeable musically, and none were widely available. Vampire on Titus was the first album the band released on the Cleveland-based indie label Scat, and the wider distribution meant the record was heard by a larger audience. Soon, the group had won fans like fellow Dayton native Kim Deal (Pixies, Breeders) and Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore. Later in 1993, the band began playing live for the first time in several years, with Greg Demos replacing bassist Toohey. By the spring of 1994, Scat had entered a national distribution deal with Matador Records. Bee Thousand was the first album released under the deal, and it became a surprise word-of-mouth hit, earning positive reviews from mainstream publications like Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly. Pollard had quit teaching shortly before the spring release of Bee Thousand, and the group toured heavily behind the album, appearing on the second stage at several Lollapalooza dates. By the fall, GBV’s video for “I Am a Scientist” was aired a handful of times on MTV. Demos left the band in late 1994 to study law and was replaced by music journalist Jim Greer.

By the release of 1995’s Alien Lanes, the group had joined Matador’s official roster; their contract with Scat was completed with the spring release of Box, a five-disc box set containing the band’s pre-Propeller albums. Alien Lanes was greeted with positive reviews upon its March release, and the group embarked on its first full-scale American tour. Greer left the band before the recording for Under the Bushes Under the Stars, which was released in spring of 1996. That fall, Pollard and Tobin Sprout both released solo albums on the same day; the records were quickly followed by an album-length EP a month after their release. As the solo albums indicated, Pollard and Sprout had a falling out during the group’s extensive tour earlier that year, which resulted in Robert firing the rest of the group.

At the end of 1996, Pollard recorded the next Guided by Voices record, Mag Earwhig!, supported by the Cleveland garage punk band Cobra Verde. In 1999, Guided by Voices left Matador to sign with TVT Records, who paired the band with producer Ric Ocasek in hopes of giving GBV’s label debut, Do the Collapse, a more radio-friendly sound. Pollard, however, allowed fans of his older work to revel in his lo-fi period with Suitcase: Failed Experiments and Trashed Aircraft, a four-disc box set featuring 100 unreleased songs recorded over the space of 25 years. While GBV’s second album for TVT, 2001’s polished and hard-rocking Isolation Drills, received strong reviews, the band hadn’t expanded their fan base far beyond their loyal cult, and in 2002 GBV returned to Matador with Universal Truths and Cycles, as well as releasing a number of side projects through Pollard’s reactivated Rockathon label.

In the spring of 2004, Pollard startled his fans with the announcement that he would be breaking up Guided by Voices later that year. The band’s final album, Half Smiles of the Decomposed, was released the following August, and the resulting farewell tour concluded with a New Year’s Eve show in Chicago. Even broken up, 2005 was a busy year for GBV. Pollard signed with Chapel Hill’s Merge Records and announced plans for a 2006 solo album. Rock critic and former bandmember Jim Greer released Guided by Voices: A Brief History: Twenty-One Years of Hunting Accidents in the Forests of Rock and Roll. There was another boxed set of unreleased material, this one entitled Suitcase 2: American Superdream Wow, and the 1992 album Propeller was reissued. To add to the accumulation of GBV material, a live album, Live from Austin, Texas, was released in 2007, showcasing one of their last recorded performances. - ©2010 Rovi, All Music Guide

Nick Mitchell
http://www.myspace.com/nickmitchellmusic

Nick is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and classic song enthusiast performing 270+ live dates per year in the Dayton/Cincinnati/Columbus area, and occasional tours of the United Kingdom. Nick also records and performs with the band Skeptical Cats, more information at www.skepcat.com

At the request of friend and fellow Daytonian Robert Pollard, Nick will be opening for the Guided By Voices Classic Lineup Reunion tour shows at Southgate House in Covington, KY on Friday October 15 and the following night in Columbus at Outlands Live. Nick will be performing a one-man-band suite of songs chosen by Robert Pollard that span the career of Guided By Voices and Bob’s solo career, including 3 songs from Bob’s most recent and possibly greatest ever release, “Moses On A Snail”.

Here is a review from the Dayton Daily News:

“Sometimes, you notice that a performer is so relaxed and at ease with his audience and material that he’s able to cleverly adapt his show to what’s going on around him at just that moment. Such was the case last Wednesday when singer/guitarist Nick Mitchell acknowledged the weather outside the Dublin Pub, where he was playing, by slipping into a cover of ‘Rain Song’ by Led Zeppelin–which was entirely appropriate given the fact that a monsoon had just blown in, drenching bargoers as they struggled through the parking lot (we were happy to be inside). After a while it blew past, as monsoons eventually do, and so what came next? Why, ‘Here Comes The Sun’ by the Beatles, of course. Mitchell, by the way, has a fine, flexible voice and is a solid guitar player. He plays with the local band Skeptical Cats, about whom you can learn more at www.skepticalcats.com. Nick is a fine local Troubadour!”

Outland Live

95 Liberty Street
(614) 299-2099

Ages 18+
$16 adv / $18 door

Bob Schneider
http://bobschneidermusic.com/

Bob Schneider is a fixture on the Austin scene, having kicked around for years in various bands before embarking on a solo career. He dropped out of the University of Texas at El Paso to front his first band, the funk and rap outfit Joe Rockhead. The band independently released three albums before disbanding immediately prior to signing with a major label. A stint with a jamming, slightly Phishy outfit called the Ugly Americans followed, which experienced some success as an opening act for the Dave Matthews Band. In 1997, Schneider went on to co-found the Scabs, where he made a further name for himself as a crotch-grabbing frontman. In 1999, Schneider became a solo act, though performing at first under the band name Lonelyland.

Schneider’s musical approach as a solo artist has proven as eclectic as the diverse musical styles of his former bands — a little bit singer/songwriter, a whole lot of bits and pieces of funk, country, rock, and folk. His scruffy good looks and strong, husky voice provide a good complement to his semi-confessional songwriting. His music is redolent of singer/songwriters of the ’70s from Neil Young to Paul Simon, with a slightly more modern musical sensibility reminiscent of Beck. Schneider has a knack for creating pleasant adult alternative music with edgy lyrics about alienation, drug addiction, and lost romance. His success may well depend on the twists and turns of music industry trends, which come to embrace talents such as his in cyclical fashion. Schneider’s solo albums include the major-label release Lonelyland, which arrived via Universal Records in 2001. After an appearance at the annual SXSW Music Conference in spring 2004, Schneider issued I’m Good Now. In 2006 he released The Californian, followed by When the Sun Breaks Down on the Moon in 2007 and Lovely Creatures in 2009. - ©2010 Rovi, All Music Guide

The Summit

2210 Summit St.
(614) 268-9377

Ages 18+
$6 adv

Turbo Fruits
http://turbofruits.com/

The Southern-fried punk project of guitarist/vocalist Jonas Stein, Turbo Fruits formed while Stein was still in the band Be Your Own Pet. The earliest version of Turbo Fruits also included Be Your Own Pet drummer John Eatherly; the duo added bassist Max Peebles for its self-titled debut, which was released in 2006 in the U.K. and the following year in the U.S. via Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace! label. Stein continued the band after Be Your Own Pet folded in 2008, adding bassist Wes Traylor and drummer Zack Martin for Turbo Fruits’ second album, Echo Kid, which was released in fall 2009 on Fat Possum. That fall, the band also appeared in the movie Whip It. - ©2010 Rovi, All Music Guide

Savage Pinkos
http://www.myspace.com/savagepinkospunk

Skully’s Music Diner

1151 N. High Street
(614) 291-8856

Ages 18+
$10 adv / $12 door

Wavves
http://wavves.net/

Named for his fear of the ocean, Wavves, the skuzzy project of San Diego slacker Nathan Williams, is a blend of distorted no-fi and refined sunshiny melodies. Charmingly messy, most of his lyrics, while difficult to decipher, generally revolve around the subjects of weed, boredom, and the beach — when he isn’t poking jabs at the gloomy subculture of goth rock (a common theme, found in “Goth Girls,” “California Goths,” “Summer Goths,” “Surf Goths,” and “Beach Goths”). Wavves was conceived just after Williams, at age 21, quit his job as a clerk at Music Trader, while he was dividing his free time between skateboarding, writing for his hip-hop blog, Ghost Ramp, and making music using an ’80s Tascam cassette recorder and Garage Band software. Due to his inexperience with the program, the result of one month’s worth of bedroom recording sessions was two full albums of songs: all completely mangled by overdriven inputs. Rather than scrapping the material, he embraced the in-the-red aesthetic and started promoting the songs online. Wavves was quickly embraced and touted as “the next big thing” by Internet music critics and fellow bloggers.

Many praised the immediacy and D.I.Y. nature of his work, and Williams capitalized on those aspects, continuously uploading free digital versions of his music — including two 7″ singles, a cassette, and an EP — all with simple self-drawn artwork or scanned photos for cover art. Wavves’ first LP, simply titled Wavves became available around this time as well, and it was released in a limited run by Woodsist. The more confusingly titled Wavvves (note the third “V”) followed just after, and was planned for release by De Stijl, before Williams jumped ship to Fat Possum. After the track list was revamped, the release date was pushed back a month and Wavvves was officially made available on March 17, 2009. After receiving mostly glowing reviews in April, Wavves got his share of bad press in late May. While performing live at the Primavera Sound Festival, assisted by drummer Ryan Ulsh, Williams had a minor meltdown and walked offstage. Williams later issued an apology, chalking up the incident to poor decision-making and a drug concoction of ecstasy, Valium, and Xanax. - ©2010 Rovi, All Music Guide

Christmas Island
http://www.myspace.com/xmasisland

There’s a moment on Christmas Island’s debut album, ‘Blackout Summer’, where the dating duo of Brian Carver and Lucy Wehrly add an extra fistful of twee to their Tronics-inspired Cali garage. Boyishly pondering the existence of scaly prehistoric monsters, ‘Dinosaurs’ is also the track you’ll sing for the whole of the following day, flatly, if you’re doing it right.

“Ceratosaurus are my favourite dinosaur,” says Brian without a second thought. “It was basically like a T-Rex but with a horn on its nose. Pretty badass. I also like the really huge dinosaurs like Seismosaurus, Supersaurus and Argentinosaurus. It boggles my mind that things that big ever walked the Earth.”

He’s not making these names up – I’ve checked. Brian is simply a man with the kind of childlike wonderment you’d expect from a Christmas Islander who chose their name “because it sounded like some magical, imaginary place,” and Lucy, whose old band were called [best put your slice of pizza down for this] The Cowabunga Dudes, clearly tows the same youthful line. Together they’ve been stoking the San-Diego-is-so-rad-right-now fire for a little over a year, along with Wavves, Dum Dum Girls and Crocodiles. ‘Blackout Summer’ is their dude-licious take on west coast, summer jams, and a record that buries a sizable booty of different influences along its shoreline.

“I’d like to think we have our own sound,” says Brian. “We’ve been kind of lumped into the whole ‘lo-fi’ thing going on right now and I don’t really know how to address that. On one hand, I like a lot of bands that fall under that umbrella and it’s helped us achieve some degree of success, but it’s also frustrating because we never set out to be a part of some bigger movement, especially one where the unifying factor seems to be shitty-sounding recordings. Initially, we were going to record the LP ourselves but then I thought, here’s a great opportunity and why sabotage it by doing something I know will sound like shit. That’s why we ended up recording with Mike McHugh at the Distillery. The bands that inspired us initially were The Urinals, Tronics, Television Personalities and The Clean. Lately, I’ve been really into artists/bands with really strong, up-front guitar like Alex Chilton, The Soft Boys and Television.”

So far, so DIY, which is exactly what Christmas Island are, but on tracks like ‘Bed Island’, Brian’s melodies are more Beach Boys than Strange Boys; it’s slowed down surf pop about “a mattress made of sand” somewhere between Nodzzz’s horny no-fi and a Brian Wilson high school love song. ‘Egypt’, semi-slurring to a snake-charming organ doing a convincing impression of The Stranglers’ ‘No More Heroes’, sounds not unlike our own Graffiti Island; ‘My Baby’ is Shangri Las tambourine bashes and a big girl group swoon for those who’ve been dumped at the prom. The point is, Christmas Island really aren’t a lo-fi garage band in the cheese-burger-and-boners, carton sense, not like Black Lips or The German Measles are. They know more than two and a half chords and bands between them, and yet their logo is a candy cane crossed with a bong, and their debut album can’t help but include a handful of big, dumb summer tunes about Southern California, getting stoned and jumping into swimming pools. It is called ‘Blackout Summer’, I guess.

“Our friend Shauna coined the term,” explains Brian. “A couple of summers ago she said something to the effect of, “This will be our blackout summer,” in reference to how it would be an epic summer for getting wasted. I thought it sounded really cool and it seemed fitting for a song about the summertime and how it brings back heartache, hazy memories, etc.”

Hazy because they were long ago, or for some other reason, Brian? Your logo is a candy cane/bong emblem, after all, even if it only exists on your front cover in the form of a crude ankle tattoo. And whose ankle is that, exactly?

“Actually, it’s our friend Mike Bova’s, and yes, it’s a real tattoo,” nods Brian proudly. “He wrote to us one day and said he was going to a get a stick-and-poke Christmas Island tattoo. We were just like, ‘Uh…OK.’ Next thing we know he sends us a picture of the tattoo. We were really flattered to say the least. The logo was all his idea. It’s kind of a goofy album cover but there was no way we weren’t going to use it. I’m glad you noticed it was a bong because people always confuse it either as a penis, blow dryer or crack pipe. It seems pretty obvious to me that it’s a bong.”

Mike Bova, it seems, knows Christmas Island as well as Brian knows Jurassic beasties. His own handy-work might mean that his stick of striped candy looks as if it’s being crossed with a particularly unpleasant wang, but it is a bong, and that logo says a lot about Christmas Island. It says they’re innocent but dangerous; sweet but corrupt; naïve but wild. It describes them pretty accurately. They consistently write melodies superior to a lot of the American DIY set, but we can’t help but notice that one minute they’re about Stegosauruses and the next they’re about “acting like a fuck-head” (‘It’s True’), puking in the deep end (‘Blackout Summer’) or shear petulance (‘I Don’t Care’). Maybe it’s this schizophrenia that, in the year that has given us more lo-fi punk bands than you can shake a blow dryer/crack pipe/cock at, has made Christmas Island stick. Unlike so many others, we’re still talking about these ones. - Loud & Quiet

Feature Films
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Feature-Films/115538558496252?ref=ts

The Summit

2210 Summit St.
(614) 268-9377

The Summit
Ages 18+
$7 adv / $7 door

Rangda
http://www.myspace.com/calonarang

Rangda is named for the Javanese demon queen of the leyaks. This power trio is an instrumental psych rock and no wave-styled noise unit. Its members are guitarists Sir Richard Bishop (Sun City Girls) and Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance, Comets on Fire, Current 93) and drummer Chris Corsano (Björk, Dredd Foole, Jandek, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Six Organs of Admittance, Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, Nels Cline, Jim O’Rourke). Its members live in three distinctly different parts of the United States, making rehearsals difficult. They came together over time first as an idea, since each man’s schedule was quite heavy. Assembling as a touring unit, they tried out their very original material before recording their debut False Flag full-length. It was released by Drag City in May of 2010. - ©2010 Rovi, All Music Guide

Brainbow
http://www.myspace.com/brainbowband

Stoner wit is a rare find, but you know it when you see it. The band name Brainbow sounds like it comes from a dorm-room listening of Dark Side of the Moon, or the conversation during a long, tripped-out hike. . . you know, “the whole universe … Full Descriptionis, like, an atom in a giant’s fingernail, man,” moment.All jibes aside, there is an amazingly talented local band called Brainbow that may or may not have lived any of those events (though surely they heard “Dark Side” in a dorm room sometime. Didn’t everyone?). But judging by the sound of the band’s self-titled debut disc, full of acid-damaged, desert sun-scorched, instrumental guitar psychedelia, they’ve at least read very good accounts of events like those.Instrumental rock, for all its charms, is rarely anyone’s first pick for a live show, but Brainbow has made a case for it over the past couple of years, even garnering a sizable fan club in the process. Especially with those who like a little experimentation with their wine and cheese.The album opens with the long, slow strains of “The Cast,” which splits the difference between Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd and jazz guitar guru Bill Frisell at his most loose and free. Toward the end of its eight-minute lifespan, it takes on the warm, swirling guitar miasma used to such a wonderful degree in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, when shoe-gazers walked the Earth. Those of you bemoaning the lack of a revived My Bloody Valentine show no closer than Chicago should take “The Cast” for a spin.Such an expansive piece is pretty de rigueur for Brainbow, and indicative of the otherworldly mindset their live show induces.Instead of relying on that formula, the band explores a lot of nooks and crannies, occasionally stepping outside the expected prog rock conventions.“Trance Figure,” which picks up where “The Cast” leaves off, is a lot more driving and kinetic, embracing a noise-rock framework akin to a much livelier Jesus and Mary Chain b-side.“Feather Mountain” carries a great deal of weighty darkness amid its seven and a half minutes, and “Hex Remover” manages to tear it up unlike any other track on the album.Keep in mind, this is measuring Brainbow against Brainbow, and if you aren’t up for long, slow-moving guitar jams, even really interesting long, slow-moving guitar jams, this may not be your bag. Which is fine. That means more psychedelic guitar rock for the rest of us. - Rick Allen, The Other Paper

Old Worlds
http://www.myspace.com/oldworlds

Aaron Sturgill invests much thought when considering the sound of Old Worlds. When asked a question about how the ambitious nature of post-rock - a genre that eschews verse-chorus-verse songwriting for overgrown instrumental scapes - affects his own writing process, he paused for a few moments. “It makes it more difficult,” said the guitarist/vocalist. He immediately corrected himself, “It’s easier because we are not focused on writing a hook. We’re not really concerned with a marketable success as much as we are with expressing something tangible that hopefully a lot of people can relate to. That may sound a little dubious but all I’m concerned with is getting a story across - an idea - through instrumental music. In that way, it’s easier because we write what we want.”

Old Worlds produces the complex, roaming kind of sound such an answer deserves. First using the Old Worlds name late last year as a solo project, Sturgill was approached by Mike Poston at a concert. After the pair jammed, Poston joined the project as a drummer and the duo kept the moniker Sturgill used. Then, Brian Maxwell - a friend of Poston’s - joined as a bassist in the same manner. The group is not entirely complete, notes Sturgill. “We’re talking to a couple of people about additional members,” he said. “We’re very excited about fleshing out the project into a real collaboration and not just a project of my basement songs plus a drummer and bass player.”

It was post-rock that originally brought Sturgill and Poston together as friends about five years ago. “We listened to the same bands and started going to some shows together, doing various things while listening to this music,” recalls the front man. “When he joined the band, it didn’t even need to be stated. He was so on board with late ’90s/early 2000s math rock and post-rock that I didn’t have to tell him.”

Sturgill said likes the group’s vast sound to the output crafted by the likes of Minus The Bear, repeating an observation made by someone else that is a particularly apt account of the Old Worlds’ dynamic, “We split the difference between Battles and Explosions in the Sky. Lots of rhythmic complexity, but at the same time we shoot for some wide-screen instrumental projects too.” He champions two elements that play a crucial part in the group’s music: “very close harmonies on the guitar” and “very tight rhythmic changes.” The guitarist noted, “I like big riffs, but I don’t like power chords.”

The reason Old Worlds crafts their work in this lesser-heard style is as much because of sonic preferences as it is something more innate. “I embrace that style because it takes the emotional distress of emo and puts it in an adult perspective where life goes on and you have to become a better person to deal with the issues of youth,” mentioned Sturgill. “The post-rock we do expresses the issues of youth, but also promotes a solution as far as growth and maturity. It doesn’t just dwell in the pain and distress of the issues.”

Currently, the group’s only release is a self-titled demo available from a few outlets. “We recorded a live demo at a place called The Barn with James Allison. He runs The Outer Sounds,” said Sturgill. “We cut four tracks in about an hour and a half. It’s pretty rough but it’s the only official release we have. You can download it for free. You can’t buy it in stores but we’re giving it away at shows.” There’s more material on the way/ “We’re hoping for a spring release of a new EP,” he said.

Aside from the songs, Sturgill and company plan to sink a significant chunk of time into live shows, to build a reputation for Old Worlds. “I’ve started looking at DIY tours,” he says. “We’re hoping to get out of the state in the spring and possibly out of the Midwest in the summer or fall of 2010. For a band that’s not gearing towards radio play, ambitious touring is the only thing that I could see gaining us any exposure. We’re saving money and talking to new people and trying to make as many contacts as we can all over the country.”

Old Worlds will perform at Bernie’s Distillery (1896 N. High St.) and the Ravari Room (2661 N. High St.) on Nov. 7, Ruby Tuesday (1978 Summit St.) on Nov. 13, and the Ravari Room on Nov. 28. For more information, visit myspace.com/oldworlds. - Reyan Ali, UWeekly

Circus

1227 N. High Street
(614) 421-2998

Ages 18+
$8 adv / $10 door

Suckers
http://www.myspace.com/suckers

“If the bouncy poly-rhythms of the Talking Heads made sweet, sweet love to Purple Rain-era Prince, with a healthy dose of lo-fi fuzz and DayGlo swirls.” - MTV

“These guys are… homing in on the New Wave sweet spot between Madness and Tears For Fears.” - Rolling Stone (”Hot List,” June 25 issue)

“Suckers are… redefining notions of off-kilter guitar-pop.” - Interview Magazine

“During [Suckers's] set, my music journo friend and I simultaneously gave each other the same exact “These guys are good, huh?” face. I’ve been to a lot of shows with this friend and the face thing is an extremely rare occurrence.” - Pitchfork Media

“The shaggy, joyous tunes of local quartet Suckers sound like campfire sing-alongs for the Animal Collective generation.” - Time Out NY

“These lads melt together a peachy knack for warm and fuzzy, squiggly psych-pop, complete with whistling and Morricone-like druthers.” - URB (”Next 100″ issue)

“There’s an irrepressible, slow-building energy that pours out of this four-piece band.” - Bob Boilen, “All Songs Considered”

Maza Blaska
http://www.myspace.com/mazablaska

The sheer amount of talent compiled in Maza Blaska made the band a must-see, so last Tuesday I went to Carabar and did just that.

Since midway through last year, the core of the band has remained Yoni Mizrachi and Sam Corlett (she of Karate Coyote fame) doubling up on vocals, with Mizrachi strumming his guitar and Corlett wielding an array of instruments including mandolin and Glockenspiel. Bassist Kyle Charles and drummer Tim Murray have been consistent contributors too, though Murray is on his way out to tend to daddy duties.

The new and (presumably) improved ensemble on view Tuesday featured two of the city’s most talented solo acts flexing their sideman muscles on the flanks. At stage left was Dane Terry, one of the city’s truest musical talents whose piano playing enriches just about everything he contributes to.

Stage right found Blake Miller, a former Alive Bands to Watch honoree for his whispery indie-rock concoctions, contributing sonic special effects with his guitar machinery - with his back to the audience, of course.

The songs I previewed on MySpace were sonically minimal and wide open, like Islands’ take on tropical twee filtered through Spoon’s production values. So I didn’t expect a stage sound as thick as the one they unveiled. The extra pieces totally transformed this band’s identity from light and airy to densely saturated. Sometimes it worked wonders, but just as often it sounded over-stuffed. Lots of good ideas but not enough focus? Edit, edit, edit. - Chris DeVille, Alive

Phantods
http://phantods.com/

If one chooses to wander from the beaten path, they will be drawn to the sounds of Phantods, drifting over from the dark side of the hill. Phantods’ haunting melodies, driving guitars, and masterful songwriting conjure a dynamic, unique brand of music that is palatable to the widest ranges of listeners.

In 2009, Phantods’ debut self-titled LP charted in the CMJ Top 200. Later that year, the four song EP, Revival, was released to rave reviews. In 2010, Phantods hit the ground running. Almost half of Phantods’ debut LP has been used in shows on MTV, including The Real World and The Challenge. Phantods is currently writing and recording their sophomore LP, Creature, due out in October 2010.

“Fantods: n.pl. Nervous movements caused by tension. An outburst of emotion. A fit.
That’s what Webster has to say about it. Columbus would say Dynamic, Melodic, Mysterious, Creative. And they would spell it Phantods.”
-The Hot 17

“Each track is painted in dark shades, sewn together with nimble rhythmic tricks and led by Kind’s doe-eyed siren call.”
-Columbus Alive

“The Phantods were the highlight of what was caught on Sunday evening, playing a set of tight, eclective, penny-dreadful pop with enough teeth and theatrical elan to overcome the inherent limitations of the space and showcase its potential.”
-The Other Paper

“I basically went to see Phantods because they’re rad… I really can’t stress enough how tight Phantods are live and how awesome Gretchen King’s voice is.”
-Donewaiting.com

The Summit

2210 Summit St.
(614) 268-9377

$5

co-presented by JackinthePocket.com and The SBB

The Spooks
http://www.thespooksband.com/

Not to be confused with hometown hip-hop/R&B crew of the same moniker, Fishtown’s The Spooks may be lost in time. Their unassailably lo-fi, surf-influenced sound is immersed in a fjord of nostalgic throwback reserves, flowing with reverb-heavy erratic guitars and granular subjacent vocals - or late ‘60s/early ’70s crossover garage rock as the kiddios say. But their fancy for this overtaxed genus is never tiresome - instead, it’s like you’re wearing a comfy, over-sized Blue Cheer t-shirt while watching Freaks and Geeks on your couch. You just know you were born three decades too late. - Annamarya Scaccia, The Deli

Spruce Campbells
http://www.myspace.com/thesprucecampbells

It all started with a few rough demos… Then it grew into a band… And the rest is up to the future.

The Woozies
http://www.myspace.com/thewoozies

Some band names imply a lot about what a band might sound like. Moondrones is one of those names. So when the spacey psych trio decided to retool its sound toward power-charged pop nuggets and bring in second singer Kelly Williams for near constant harmonizing with Tommy Clark, a change of nomenclature seemed in order.

Thus, the band that played Wild Goose Creative last Saturday was called The Woozies. After an evening of progressively more complex music courtesy of Bird and Flower, Old Hundred and visitors Jookabox, the Woozies snapped things back to simplicity through two-minute bursts of guitar pop.

Though Clark, bassist Rob Ottman and drummer Ryan Dyson comprise nothing more than a traditional power trio, they did a lot with those basic ingredients, shifting from Cramps-style punk to Yo La Tengo distortion swoons to off-kilter Pixies madness. The tunes were packaged in simple, snappy structures that wasted no time in reeling me in then veering to a halt before they had time to go stale.

For all the Woozies’ instrumental prowess, though, Williams was the band’s shoeless sparkplug. Her harmonies with Clark were crisp and emphatic, and her stage presence - that of a rubber bouncy ball careening off the walls and ceiling - was a welcome jolt.

See ‘em as soon as you can. - Chris DeVille, Columbus Alive

The Summit

2210 Summit St.
(614) 268-9377

Ages 18+
$12 adv / $14 door

Titus Andronicus
http://www.titusandronicus.net/

A punk-inflected indie rock group whose bawling, thrashing sound reflected a wide range of influences ranging from the Pixies to Bright Eyes to Bruce Springsteen, Glen Rock, NJ’s Titus Andronicus formed in 2005 with Liam Betson, Ian Graetzer, Eric Harm, Patrick Stickles, and Dan Tews. The band’s debut full-length, The Airing of Grievances (which makes reference to a Seinfeld episode), was first released by Troubleman Unlimited in 2008, then picked up for wider distribution by XL Recordings in January 2009. For the band’s impressive 2010 follow-up, The Monitor, Titus Andronicus beefed up the production value and enlisted the help of musicians from ten other indie acts, including members of the Hold Steady, Vivian Girls, and Ponytail. - ©2010 Rovi, All Music Guide

The Compressions
http://www.facebook.com/thecompressions

Mark Himmel is somewhat of an amazing character. Outstanding drummer, great song writer, hauntingly powerful vision and, probably, the most powerful used car salesman smile in rock n roll music. Don’t believe me? Just talk to him for 10 minutes. Mark was the drummer of The Slide Machine. My first backing band and the people who helped me kick-start Sinkane nearly three years ago. He also has been a pinnacle element in the recording sessions of both Color Voice and my latest self-titled record. Besides playing some drums, percussion and singing on both records he also co-produced them with me and engineered on both of them. Anyway, his new project is called The Compressions and it is good. It’s very very good. Mark has always had a great understanding of melody and It’s always easy working with him because we approach music in a similar way. The Compressions is a very simple project that incorporates standard instruments to create classic rock and roll. It is, probably, one of the most refreshing musics that I have heard in a while. It seems like a lot of people (including myself) are trying to incorporate so many different elements into their music so as to create something new. Mark isn’t doing that at all. He conjures up the spirit of Neil Young with this band in such an amazing way. His voice is haunted by his words but seems optimistic. Listen for yourself: - Sinkane

Blastronauts
http://www.myspace.com/Blastronauts

Space, stars, planets, NASA, rockets - blastronauts? Blastronauts is the brain child of duo James Allison and Jacob Halpern and is quickly gathering pace on its musical quest. After being in the popular rock group Jingo and playing in many other bands together and separately, in the US and abroad, James Allison and Jacob Halpern decided to reunite to form Blastronauts, later adding drummer Matt Whitslar to the mix. With an indie psychedelic sound that has garnered comparisons to the Flaming Lips, Pink Floyd, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Annuals and Royal Crescent Mob, interest in the group has taken off as the trio has embarked on numerous treks across the Northeast and Midwest. The trio released their debut EP, “Interstellar Groove Machine” in March 2008 as part of their own two night festival called “The Outer Sounds.” Because of the success of the festival, The Outer Sounds has since become a weekly showcase of some of the best acts in indie, psychedelic, folk, and experimental rock in Columbus, OH and draws acts from all over the Midwest and the national scene, which Blastronauts continue to curate. The group also released a single at the end of 2008, “I am a Ferriswheel.” The single received airplay on Columbus’ biggest Radio station, CD101, as well as underground radio Columbus, WCRS Public Radio, WERS radio in boston, and Breakthru Internet Radio in New York. The last year has seen the group accomplish many feats including three festival appearances at the Mid American Music Festival in Omaha, the Midpoint Music Festival in Cincinnati (which they have been invited back for in 2009), and the Dayton Music Festival, a live flophouse session for the “band in boston” podcast, a live session on WERS radio in Boston, and live appearances with Gentlemen Auction House, Dressy Bessy (Elephant 6), Fastball, The Rosewood Thieves, Miniature Tigers, and Fink. The future holds many promising opportunities for Blastronauts with the continuing success of the Outer Sounds and a four part EP series based on famous astronomers, starting with the EP “Galileo,” to be released in August, 2009