Mote, Brownstar, Anna's Mom - Loud 'n Local, Howard's Club H, 6/4/96

June 4, 1996. Another Loud-n-Local show, another trip down mid-'90s memory lane. Mote shared the stage with Anna's Mom, a band I know absolutely nothing about (I don't even recall the name) and the scatalogically-inspired Brownstar (here rendered as Brown Star). Brownstar had a revolving line-up, the regulars being Paul Casey (formerly of '80s LA-punk band The Adolescents on guitar and vox), Kyle Barnett (guitar), free jazz maestro Jeff Schwartz (bass), yours truly (on drums) and Anne Fredericks (vox), although Steve Steel (keyboards) made regular cameo appearances. In a box somewhere I have a VHS copy of an Easystreet show.

Fenderbender, Goiter Jelly, Savage Grace - Loud and Local, Howard's Club H, 1/23/95

Flyer by Drew Auld

January 23, 1995. Here's Bob Sadowy:

In 1995 the local band scene in Bowling Green was buzzing with love for the advent of Loud and Local night at Howard's Club H.  This was an open mic night at the H with no cover and the bands were paid with free draft beer and promotion.

Larry (can't remember his last name) was the first to start this Howard's tradition sometime in the mid-'90s and Howard's sound engineer Maurice Austin resurrected Loud and Local on Wednesday nights in April of this year.

Fender Bender was a 4 piece "grunge" band from Bowling Green, Ohio formed in 1995.  Members included Rich Weaver (bass), Joe Kudart (vox), Bob Sadowy (guitar), and Henry "Feezil" Hirzel (drums).  Although this was a short lived project of only about 6 months or so, Rich and myself cover quite a few Fender Bender songs in our current band The Black Swamp Rats...and the music lives on.

The Wobblies - Howard's Club H, 4/15/97

April 15, 1997. We have flyers from this band than any other here in the archives at AOBGN Towers. There are a couple of reasons for this, the first being that the band are very effective promoters and have always done a great job advertising their shows over the years, and also they are nice guys and always pass along their flyers so we can put them in our time capsule (hint hint).

The Wobblies (Mike Dooley, vox/guitar; Bob Sadowy, guitar; Rich Weaver, bass; Jason Parritt, drums) recently reformed after a twelve-year hiatus and describe their sound as subject to indie, post punk, garage and blues influences, although "heavy two guitar rock" is probably more accurate as a description.

Here's an early photo of the band at Howard's from around the same time as the flyer with Dave Smith on drums (who knows, maybe it's even the same show?). I hope that's a beer stain up there in the corner.

The Sygn - Sam B's, BG, 3/30/89

March 30, 1989. Transplanted Brit Iain Ellis played a highly visible role in the BG music scene for over ten years before leaving town in 2000, fronting a string of popular and accessible bands all of which featured his trademark stage presence and songwriting, vocal and guitar talents.

The Sygn: L-R - Frank, Austin, Wasley, Ellis and Stephens

The Sygn began life as an acoustic act playing gigs at venues such as Campus Polleyes. Eventually, with the addition of fellow European expatriates Michael Stephens (vox/guitar) and Dieter Frank (vox/guitar), the band grew into an electric outfit playing mainly originals. Patrick Wasley played bass and Denny Austin drums.

This flyer advertises a show at Sam B's, an unlikely venue for a BG rock show. What was the occasion, I wonder? Drummer Denny Austin has more:

I remember this show. It was my first with the band and I wasn't old enough to drink yet. I had to join in late because I was playing for my high school's musical on the same night. Weird venue - we were set up in front. They just moved some tables out of the way.

Ellis went on to write Rebels Wit Attitude: Subversive Rock Humorists (Soft Skull, 2008) and also pens regular columns for music webzine PopMatters.

Assignment Moongirl, Brownout, Goiter Jelly, Hal Hixson, June 10, the Spaceship 9 - The Farmhouse Family Fiasco, 1502 Napoleon Road, BG, 7/4/96

July 4, 1996. The people of 1502 Napoleon Road in Bowling Green commemorated the 220th birthday of the United States of America with "The Family Farmhouse Fiasco," a memorable outdoor show that featured bands playing on the roof and all the expected peripheral mayhem. I played at this show (either in Assignment Moongirl or as Brownout--I can't remember which), but Spaceship 9's Geoff "Geo" Grant has clearer memories:

This show was semi-legendary for so many reasons and the first and last time I ever played on the roof of something. it was held at the recently re-located "Peace House" and we brought Michael O'Brien and Blake Methena with us for maximum rhythm. Probably our best show. I can remember setting up my gazillion effects pedals along the corner of the roof, mainly to make sure I didn't venture past them and fall into the crowd. This day our Gong cover of "Fohat Digs Holes in Space" was epic as the 3-piece percussion pushed everything to new highs. I also want to note that this was also one of the first times Hal Hixson played his solo material during a separate set which really hinted to the singer-songwriter genius he was soon to become.

The Spaceship 9 was a flashback to early 70's progrock (a la Hawkwind, Gong and Magma) and we were weird as the day is long, but always with a smile. We were never going to be that band that set everyone on their ear, but the talent that spread from it is note-worthy. Matt has had an amazing run in Portland with the semi-legendary band Drats as well as Lord Master. Hal's solo career and time with bands like The Savages (which I was so lucky to be involved in) as well as his newest project Old Hundred deserves mention. And Anthony Buehrer helped form Aloha, one of finest BG bands of all time. Mike Pennington was a solid bass-player and a creative force. While he may not be involved in music any more, he was one half of Sweatpants which produced a great BG underground recording.

Flower Noise, "Alien Cholesterol From the Planet Venuts" - cassette, 1991

1991. As well as the thousands upon thousands of live gigs over the years, the BG music scene has probably produced hundreds of recordings, ranging from cassettes to vinyl to CDs. Most of these languish today in boxes and basements and are rarely heard anymore, although if we here at AOBGN can help it, that will likely change. Here's a cassette cover for the band Flower Noise's 1991 release, Alien Cholesterol From The Planet Venuts. I know nothing about this early-'90s two-piece, so over to Bob Sadowy, who sent these in:

Flower Noise was formed by Brian Worthing and myself in 1991.  I sang and played acoustic guitar with Brian playing electric guitar.  We met in the record library at West Hall and we were both DJs for AM 680 WFAL, and Flower Noise eventually became the regular opening act (along with Derek Wolfgram) for Iain Ellis's Merry Can Men at Easy St Cafe's Open Mic night.

Our sound was influenced by Velvet Underground and early Pixies and we recorded this on 4 track and distributed the cassette at Madhatter Music Co. Jon Stavole, a mutual friend of the band, designed the cover art for the album; later, Jon and I formed The Sweaty Whiskers along with Joe Kelso (Shanty Digs) and Jeff Dewitte (Pogey Bait, Tin Ponies). 

"The final Flower Noise show [August 13, 1992--ed.] ended with Brian smashing his Ibanez on the Good Tymes stage . . . Stavole also designed the flyer for this gig."

Umclunk - BGSU Planetarium, 4/7/90

Stardate April 7, 1990. I've always loved this flyer, not only for its pretty hand-drawn flowers and stars, but because it's the only one in the AOBGN archives to mark the existence of Umclunk, who were comprised of former members of Schwah, Sheepish Green and The Living End (Chris Comer, piano/tape edits; Bart Foster, drums; John Binkowski, guitar; Troy Raszka, bass). As the flyer says, Umclunk created "an intriguing yet perplexing collage of harmonious musical experiments" which the ever-useful Toledowiki describes as "weirdo noise and found sounds."

This particular show goes down in BG music history for the "blown burned speaker" incident in which Troy Raszka's borrowed bass cabinet caught fire and the BGSU Planetarium had to be evacuated. Good times! The cabinet in question went on to contribute both the cover image and name for an Umclunk cassette. They released another cassette (bareschlonghoagie) around this time too.

Chris Comer went into radio, a career he continues to pursue in Cincinnatti.