P.J. Hogan Talks About Marah and his Successful House Shows - by Colin Gawel

Marah is playing the Hogan House Friday April 20th. Click here to read Marah - Five Songs You Need to Know by Joe Oestreich.

Colin G. - Let's jump right in with the Marah show on April 20th. Why did you want to host this show?

P.J. - Marah is one of my favorite bands of all time.  As far as live rock bands, they and Mekons would probably be my top two current favorite bands.  I saw them many times before they split up and since the brothers have reformed I’ve seen them 3-4 times in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Virginia. And don't get me wrong, I've caught other versions of the band through the years and they have always been excellent. But it's hard to replicate the dynamic Bielenko brothers when they are on stage together. They are a band I’ve reached out to every year or so to see if they would be interested in a house show. As a huge Watershed fan as well, (and your solo stuff) having you open is going to make this an amazing night.  I remember being jealous of reading the article on Pencilstorm on seeing their holiday show in Philadelphia a few years ago. I went to the show this year in Philly and I may make that an annual tradition.

Colin G - Ah shucks, you are too kind. But yes, us Watershed guys have always been beating the Marah drum. It's a thrill for me to weasel onto the bill. Back to your situation,  when booking a show, do you reach out to the artist or booking agent?

P.J. - I’ve had the best luck booking bands by going directly to them through Facebook.  Dealing with booking agents, I’m not always sure they understand what it is I’m doing.  One agent sent me a rider asking for air transportation, hotel, merchandise salesman, etc.  I had to explain that I make 0 money doing this so I don’t have a budget to provide all of those kind of perks.  What I do provide is 100% of ticket price directly to artists and food and bedrooms.

Colin G. - At what point did the idea hosting shows in your basement switch from a dream to a reality?

P.J. - It was kind of a fluke to get into hosting shows.  I’ve always been a huge fan of live music and before having a child probably went to 60 or shows a year.  There is a company called Undertow that books house shows and they were looking for volunteers in Columbus area to host a band called Vandaveer.  My wife, Abbie and I are both big fans so we took the plunge and hosted the show in 2014. It was a wonderful experience. The crowd was respectful and were there for the music.  There was more interaction with the crowd than at a normal show. The last time I had seen Vandaveer at MOTR in Cincinnati the crowd spoke through the entire set. That was the first show we hosted and we’ve hosted Vandaveer every year since and have become friends with the band.  The lead singer recently played a surprise birthday concert for my wife. We had about 30 friends all realizing they were at a concert but my wife was shocked. It was a special evening. There is a video of it I can send.

The next year we hosted another Undertow show for Chris Mills.  An artist I loved since the late 90s when I lived near Chicago. Another great crowd and show and we met some great friends at the show.  We also hosted Vandaveer again. This time through their booking agent. Dolly Varden was the first show I booked directly with the artist.  They are one of my favorite bands. It was difficult selling tickets but still an amazing show.  First show I had where someone flew in to attend.

Once I started booking the shows myself I would occasionally book a local opener to try and spread the word of the show and to selfishly see lineups that get me excited. We’ve also had some nice moments where bands that might not have much awareness of each other become great friends by the end of the night.  Jon Langford was so taken with Happy Chichester that he booked him for a show in England with him. Craig Finn and Bottle Rockets were both Undertow shows.  Bands with built in audiences like that are very easy to put on.  Undertow puts the tickets up for sale and they both sold out quickly.

Robbie Fulks was booked by working with his booking agent.  I’m still not sure his agent understood it was a house show but it all worked out very well and he seemed open to doing it again someday.

Colin G. - Are you a musician yourself? What motivated you to start doing this.

P.J. - I’m not a musician myself.  I’ve just always been a big music fan.  I’m very shy in normal social situations.  I would never go speak to a musician at a show, but by having shows in my house I’ve become friends with some of my musical heroes.  The fact that Jon Langford will comment on my daughter being goofy on facebook is something I’ll never get over. Also that there is video of Jon Langford and I singing Charlie Rich’s “Most Beautiful Girl in the World” into breadstick ‘microphones’ makes this whole crazy thing worthwhile.

Colin G. - What is the hardest part of hosting these shows?

P.J. - The hardest part is trying to get the word out on shows.  The fact that all money goes to the bands means that any traditional advertising would come out of my pocket.  I’ve had a couple shows where I thought there would be great crowds and struggled to get 15 people.

Colin G. - What is your favorite part?

Favorite part is usually the show itself.  I can stop trying to sell tickets at that point and just enjoy the music.  It helps to have a full crowd of fans of the bands playing but we’ve had great shows where it’s just a handful of my friends.

Colin G. - You have had some amazing acts so far, who is on your wish list?

P.J. - I’ve been very lucky with booking my favorite acts. If I had to rank bands, Mekons/Jon Langford would be my favorite.  Hosting Jon Langford was a dream come true and having him be a good guy who loves playing at our house has been a great joy.  He said he’ll keep coming as long as we will have him. Other all-time favorites for me that I’ve been shocked to have play would include Marah, Bottle Rockets, Two Cow Garage.  

Of my all-time bands left, I would love to host Slobberbone/Brent Best but I’m not sure if they will make it out to Ohio.  I’m flying to Texas to see their 25th Anniversary show in May. Bands I would love to host (That some people have heard of): Hayden, Lisa Germano, Bonnie Prince Billy, Joe Firstman, Kimya Dawson, Matthew Ryan, Gary Louris, on and on.  I have a list of about 100.

Colin G. - Do you have any plans to expand? How long do you see yourself doing this? 

I don’t necessarily have any plans to expand.  I’ll keep doing this as long as it’s fun. There are times when we have shows coming up and not selling any tickets that it becomes more stressful than fun.  I’ve had day dreams of opening a traditional club but I fear I might lose some of the love of the music if it became 100% a business for me. I still love going to Rumba or Ace of Cups as just a fan and enjoy a show.

Colin G. - Any random thoughts you would like to share before wrapping this up?

P.J. - Sure....

Things I’ve grown to love with the basement shows:

Posted set times. I’m too old to go to a show where ticket says 9:00 but opening act doesn’t go on until 10:30.  Columbus clubs have gotten better about posting set times and that has been very helpful with getting to see more shows.  Our shows normally start at 8PM (or a little later based on putting our daughter to bed) and usually over by 9:30 with one act or 10:30 with two acts.

Fully seated.  We can sell up to 55 tickets and have a seat for everyone.  

Crowd has been respectful to artists at every show.  Have never had to ask anyone to quiet down.

Shows are BYOB and much more social than a normal club show.  Most people feel somewhat uncomfortable going to someone’s house for a show.  We try to make it feel as much like a party at our house. Usually people mingle before and after shows.

Show history

2014 (Vandaveer)

2015 (Vandaveer, Chris Mills)

2016 (Vandaveer, Clem Snide, Dolly Varden, Justin Wells/Shane Sweeney/Todd Farrell, Syd Straw/Happy Chichester)

2017 (Craig Finn, Flat Five, Jon Langford/Happy Chichester, Bottle Rockets, Vandaveer/Lizard McGee, Richard Buckner, Adam Carroll, Jon Langford’s Four Lost Souls/Micah Schnabel

2018:  Robbie Fulks, Tommy Womack/Micah Schnabel, Marah/Colin Gawel, Amy Rigby, Dean Schlabowske


 

The Spring Game, the QBs and “If you were Urban…” - Baver Answers Colin’s Questions

Follow @baverbuckeyebag and listen for him on the CD1025 Morning Show with Brian Phillips.

Colin: Do spring games tell you anything? I mean, if they did…wouldn’t Bam Childress have ended up with a couple of Heismans?

Baver: Indeed…..ha. You don’t get much from these things. The halftime races and QB throwing contests they have now are often more entertaining than the actual scrimmages. But I do like to see the freshmen that arrived early and those frosh that redshirted the prior year, at least to see what they bring to the table athletically. And it’s nice to see the Buckeye QBs in scrimmage action, especially if they haven’t played much. And to be honest, I think that watching Bam Childress go off once a year in April was actually pretty cool.

Colin: If you were Urban, would you tell Ohio boy Joe Burrow he has no shot and have him transfer or lead him on as insurance?

Baver: I really don’t think that’s the case….that Burrow has no shot. I think Burrow was likely your #2 guy before his hand injury last August. But Haskins held his own in mop time, and more than held his own leading OSU to the comeback win in Ann Arbor. And there are whispers that Haskins has the backing of the rest of the team more so than Burrow. So I agree Haskins has the leg up, but Burrow is the more accurate of the two, and will do more with his legs than Haskins will. But to try to answer your question, I don’t think anyone outside of the coaches’ room will know of Urban’s pecking order at QB anytime soon. If Burrow transfers, he may end up at Nebraska or even worse, heading 4 hours north of us to play, and playing immediately. UM would be a longer shot with them likely getting a waiver for Shea Patterson to play this fall, but it’s not out of the question….and Urban is well aware of that.

Colin: How does Tate Martell play into the QB equation?

Baver: I see almost no way Meyer names Tate Martell the #1 guy, as he risks having Burrow and Haskins both transfer. They can probably satisfy Tate by promising him legit playing time, and in packages with Haskins or Burrow on the field with him at the same time. I do struggle seeing Tate as a true #1 QB at OSU at any point in his career. He is much smaller than two other guys he is being compared with – Johnny Football and Baker Mayfield. But Tate appears to be a gamer and a guy that can cause college defenses a lot of problems if you utilize him the right way. The kid is going to see quite a few snaps this fall, and not just playing the mop-up roll.

Colin: Seems like a lot of question marks on this team…at least for a team you expect to win 11+ games every year. What’s your gut telling you about this ’18 team?

Baver: Urban has had the Buckeyes, at a minimum, on the playoff bubble each of the four years the CFP has been around. I fully expect them to be there again.  With the last two recruiting classes, Urban and co. are on the verge of stockpiling talent at every position the way Bama has done it for years. I haven’t said that in the past, as I always considered Bama a clear cut above the rest in talent level (and everything else for that matter). But you are right, there are a lot of questions. Replacing both OTs and a Remington Award winning center is rough. Tons of talent at linebacker, but not sure who will be manning any of the three specific LB positions come September. There was a clear drop-off after Denzel Ward at corner last year, and now he’s gone. Again, plenty of talent there but no proven star, and no tutelage from Kerry Coombs anymore. Still, Ohio St will be fine at QB and WR, and are loaded at running back. They also, of course, have another elite D-line. This team should go 10-2 or 11-1, and maybe make another legit run

 

Your Marah Primer: Five Songs You Need to Know - by Joe Oestreich

Marah (Bielanko Brothers Acoustic) w/Colin Gawel Friday April 20th at Hogan House Productions.

Your Marah Primer: Five Songs You Need to Know  -  by Joe Oestreich

Of all the bands that got lumped into the imprecisely named ‘90s alternative country movement, Marah is my favorite. Sure, they were once signed to alt-country godfather Steve Earle’s E-Squared label, but Marah isn’t country. Marah is city. Less honky tonks and bass boats and more cheap Chinese joints, Vietnamese barbers, and muddy rivers that spit out Colt .45 bottles and bags of dead kittens.

The specific city in the case of Dave and Serge Bielanko—the brothers who started the band—is Philadelphia, but we’re not talking about the clichéd boxing-and-cheesesteaks Philly, about Balboa v. Creed and Pat’s v. Geno’s. Marah sings about the true Philadelphia, or at least a Philadelphia so dense with unexpected and raw detail that when listening to their records I assume it to be true. But even if it’s not, Marah’s melodies and lyrics are so freaking great, I’ll happily take the Bielanko Brothers’ word for it.

Should you go see Marah  play an acoustic house show in Columbus of Friday April 20th? Absolutely. (Click here for event info) Could I possibly write anything that would convince you that you should go? Maybe not. For nearly fifteen years writers far more accomplished than me have been trying to get people to queue up for Marah.  

Exhibit A: Nick Hornby writing for The New York Times .

Exhibit B: Stephen King (Click here for his favorite record of 2005)

So, yeah. You should go. But if you’re not yet ready to commit—if you’re still just Marah-curious—here are five songs you might consider when weighing your options.

1. “Christian Street” from Kids in Philly

Perhaps the most Phila-centric song on their most Phila-centric record. You get the sense that the Bielanko Bros. have a complicated relationship with their hometown. After all, they eventually moved away, relocating the band to Brooklyn for a time. Then again, judging by the street-level detail in this song, it’s clear that while they were living there, they were paying attention. And as Sister Sarah Joan says to Lady Bird in last year’s Oscar-nominated film, isn’t paying attention the same thing as love?

2. “What 2 Bring” from Float Away with the Friday Night Gods

For the follow-up to Kids in Philly, Marah moved about as far away from alt-country as they could, geographically (to London), artistically (the big shades and bubble gum on the album cover), and musically (the mega-chorus power pop of this song). This album pretty much tanked, but it made me love Marah for their disco ball-sized gonads.

3. “Pizzeria” from 20,000 Streets Under the Sky

Serge Bielanko’s doo-wop influenced ode to a slice shop that turned Chinese. If you can’t taste the garlic powder after listening to this song, then you obviously have no soul (or maybe it’s just because the sound quality on this video ain’t so hot).

4. “The Closer” from If You Didn’t Laugh, You’d Cry

This is Dave Bielanko applying to Brooklyn that same eye for detail he once employed in cataloging Philadelphia. But now with added playfulness. Stick around to the end to find out how much it costs to have a Mississippi pickle applied to your Brooklyn buns.

5. “Angels of Destruction” from Angels of Destruction!

My computer is right now telling me that this is the thirteenth most-ever played song in my iTunes. More significantly, this song features perhaps the most honest and true lyric in rock history: I love you so much. Now let’s get something to eat.

Bonus! Exhibit C: Bruce Springsteen. In case the tunes above aren’t doing it for you, here’s an additional celebrity endorsement, straight from the rock and roll CEO.

Clearly, not going to the Marah’s Columbus show would amount to insubordination. I can’t speak for you, but I wouldn’t want that on my permanent record.

Joe Oestreich is the bass player for Watershed and the author of four books, including Hitless Wonder: A Life in Minor League Rock and Roll and Waiting to Derail: Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown, Alt-Country’s Brilliant Wreck (co-written with Thomas O’Keefe), which is forthcoming in June.


 

Pencilstorm is Going to WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans!! - by Colin Gawel

Say what you want about Vince McMahon and the WWE, but they know how to take care of the press. Pencilstorm WWE writer Big Vin Vader was invited down to the Big Easy to cover Wrestlemania 34 and as editor I insisted on being his + 1 in the name of journalistic integrity. No fake news in our professional wrestling coverage. It's all serious business.

We fly out from Columbus Sunday morning and I will be sure to post a picture on the Pencilstorm facebook page from the Superdome or some place cool. Big Vin Vader will have his recap of the show posted next week right here at Pencilstorm. - Colin

My KISS Record - by David Martin

To see full Unmasked draft results click here. Click here to see records selected by Colin Gawel and Scott Carr.

My KISS Record - by David Martin

Side One

King of the Mountain (Round No. 3)

Heaven's on Fire (2)

Betrayed (7)

When Your Walls Come Down (9)

Gimme More (8)

God Gave Rock and Roll To You II (5) 

 

Side Two

Lick It Up (1)

Under The Gun (4)

Trial by Fire (6) 

Bang Bang You (12)

Radar for Love (10)

You Love Me To Hate You (11) 

 

Comments

I was pleased "Lick It Up" was available with the sixth pick. Kiss lyrics are generally terrible, but "Don't want to wait till you know me better" is a great opening line. I should have taken "Tears Are Falling" with my next pick. My Gene songs are generic: "Trial by Fire" is a toe-tapper, but "Betrayed" is pretty forgettable.

I like the history of "God Gave Rock and Roll To You" more than I like the actual song. One of the flaws with my album is that "God Gave" is the only song from "Revenge" that I drafted. 

We were 15 years old when "Animalize" was released, so we may not have fully comprehended the line in "Under the Gun" about hitting the highway doing 69. I remember Joe Oestreich joking that he used to listen to the song and think, "Sixty-nine? That's not that fast."

"Bang Bang You" was the worst song on the worst set list Kiss ever took on tour.