Music

Scene Music Festival 2007

Continued from page 5

Mayor Jackson should . . . rock out with his cock out, then settle a bet -- black or white?

Best part of town: The St. Clair neighborhood. Now that's Cleveland.

We'll never forget . . . summer of '05. We played the CMJ Rock Hall festival on a Saturday afternoon, then hopped in Cooter's plane and flew over the lake for a 1 a.m. show in Toronto.

Your music sounds best when drinking . . . Yes, our music does sound best when drinking.

Why we need to see you: You don't need to see us. We're just blokes tripping over one another, trying to remember how the hell our songs are played.

Which band will rule the Scene Music Festival? Any band that doesn't have the number 454 in its name.

Return of Simple

11:20 P.M., VELVET DOG, FLOOR ONE

Website: http://www.returnofsimple.com.

Personnel: Rob Kovacs, Gary C. Thobaben, and Joey Scale.

Your best release: Our Saffron EP. A lot of hard work went into writing those songs.

Describe your sound: Ben Folds + Radiohead + Brian Wilson + Steve Reich = Return of Simple.

Favorite venue to play: The Beachland Ballroom.

Hottest pop star ever: Fergie is so super-hot that people still love her after that time she peed herself on stage.

Have you ever broken up? Never, unless Rob keeps acting like a giant douche.

Mayor Jackson should . . . give more grants to indie bands.

We’ll never forget . . . when we replaced our first drummer with Joey, who was our first drummer’s student at the time.

Why we need to see you: To see us play it live is to see us at our best. We’re bringing back the concept of the power trio.

Cleveland’s greatest band:This Is Exploding. Dan Price is one of the best drummers in town.

Which band will rule the Scene Music Festival? Every band is a winner in our book — but seriously, Return of Simple.

Gordon Robertson

8:40 P.M., liquid/fusion

Website: www.myspace.com/107848450.

Personnel: Solo -- guitar and vocals.

Three classic bands you would open for: Nick Drake, the Animals, and the Rolling Stones.

Favorite place to play: Edison's, Tremont.

Hottest pop star ever: Xtina. I love her juicy J.

Cleveland's no. 1 make-out spot: Tony Gutowski's bed.

Mayor Jackson should . . . suck a fart. Maybe two.

Best part of town: Ohio City.

Why fans need to see you: I am really good-looking.

Ever swim naked in the Cuyahoga? Yes.

Rosella

10:30 P.M., BLIND PIG, FLOOR ONE

Website: www.myspace.com/rosellaband.

Personnel: Sean Barbarotta, Chris Dudas, Ian Leffel, Ben Marthey, and Chris Urminski.

Your best release: Seasons, our debut. We made and released it ourselves, right down to the artwork.

Describe your sound: Hard-edged melodic rock.

Three classic bands you would open for: Led Zeppelin, the Doors, and Black Sabbath.

Cleveland's no. 1 make-out spot: Our beds.

Best part of town: Little Italy/Coventry. The combination of art, food, and music is awesome. There's so much culture in such a small area.

We'll never forget . . . the Loudonville Bike and Rib Festival. We won the battle of the bands.

Cleveland's greatest band: Ian's dad was in a band called Granicus, who signed to RCA in 1973. They are a favorite among collectors of obscure '70s hard rock.

Which band will rule the Scene Music Festival? Disown. Too bad they're playing the same time as we are.

William Russell

12 A.M., BLIND PIG, FLOOR TWO

Website: http://www.myspace.com/williamrussell216.

Your best release: "Time to Get Away," the LCD Soundsystem remix I did a while back. It got heavy blog circulation around the world and got me some nods from folks that I would have never guessed were listening.

How long have you been around? I've been deejaying for nine years or so and messing around with production for most of those years. But I just started putting stuff out last October.

Describe your sound: Bass in yo' face!

Three artists you would open for: MSTRKRFT, Justice, and Switch & Sinden.

Favorite venue to play: The basement at Touch Supper Club.

Cleveland's no. 1 make-out spot: Anywhere with my Missus J.

Your biggest influence: I have a lot, so it's hard to pick just one. Daft Punk is definitely someone in terms of electronic music.

I'll never forget . . . Derrick Carter in the basement at Touch Supper Club.

Cleveland's greatest band: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

Ryan Humbert Band

9:40 P.M., LIQUID/FUSION

Website: www.ryanhumbert.com.

Personnel: Ryan Humbert, Emily Bates, Ben Evans, and Steve Norgrove.

Your best release: One Night Only: Acoustic Live, our new live CD/DVD. We recorded 33 songs with a nine-piece band in front of seven cameras -- all in front of 200 people at a small Akron club.

Describe your sound: An eclectic blend of Americana.

Three bands you would open for: We've been fortunate enough to open for Dave Mason, Foreigner, and Elvis Costello.

Favorite venue to play: House of Blues.

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