It turns out that Erika Wennerstrom (lead singer/main songwriter/leader of the band Heartless Bastards) is even cooler than I thought she was. (And I thought she was pretty cool before this past weekend.)
Her solo show at The Columbia (the one that came to be thanks to some random connections – as blogged about in these pages last week) was even more amazing than I thought it would be.
Erika’s otherworldly voice in an old church = pure magic!
My friend Laura owns the church that served as the venue. Her husband Eric (my friend and co-worker) recently had surgery, so Laura asked her friend Keith and me to be on-site early to help with getting set up for the show. We helped Erika unload her merchandise, install batteries in the fake candles, and generally served as grips and go-fers. When the doors opened, I was the ticket-taker (really just checking names off the list). Showbiz ain’t always glamorous. But the show was stellar.
Better yet, Erika was super-nice. So was Steve, the local musician who served as her sound guy. And Erica (with a “c”) who worked the merch booth. That starts with Erika – she picked Steve to run sound because she’s known him forever, and knows that he’ll get the sound right without causing any drama. And Erica was Steve’s friend. Surrounding yourself with good people and treating folks kindly makes a big difference in the experience. You can be a rock star without acting like one.
But the biggest karma award goes to Laura. The venue where Erika played her holiday shows in years past was asking for a pretty hefty percentage of the ticket sales this year. Whereas Laura donated her space for the show. Which meant more ticket sales overall, and more money going to the artist. No everyone would be in a position to donate use of an old church as a venue… but not everyone who owned an old church would let someone play there without worrying about their “cut” of the sales.
120 people were at the show – nearly all of them had never been there before, and many raved about the space. Laura’s “investment” in helping out an artist will pay dividends down the line, as the word spreads about The Columbia as a cool venue. Whatever she could’ve made in rental fees on Friday night, she’ll make tenfold over the next year.
Be helpful. Be kind. Don’t be heartless. Music to my ears!
I’ve always liked comedian Brian Regan. I think he’s one of the funniest standups going, and has been for years. His bit about going to the emergency room is an all-time great.
His material is clean, too, which earns extra credit in my book.
Brian’s got a four-episode series on Netflix called “Standing Up and Away!”
It’s an interesting format: he does some standup, but they intersperse a few short pre-recorded comedy sketches into the show, and he takes a question from the audience at the end (ala “The Carol Burnett Show”).
I watched all four episodes over the past couple of days and thoroughly enjoyed the stand-up bits and the video sketches. And “Cincinnati” even gets some air time in a recorded sketch – with a callback during the audience questions segment!
If you’re looking for some laughs — and who isn’t these days? — it’s well worth the investment of 24 minutes per episode.
My co-worker Eric knows I love music. In fact, ALL of my co-workers know it. I work in internal communications and pepper the weekly all-company newsletter with all manner of music references, most leaning toward obscure indie rock (and Rush). So it’s pretty easy to pick up on my passion for tunes.
Two and a half years ago, Eric said “hey, I know you’re into music — my wife bought an old church in the East End and wants to do some music stuff there. Would you be willing to meet with her so she can pick your brain?”
If I were a heartless bastard, I’d tell Eric to buzz off. But I’m not a heartless bastard; I like to be a helper. And music, as previously noted, is my passion. So of course the answer was yes.
I’m no Don Kirshner or Artie Fufkin. (Paul Shaffer tie-in for the win!)
The only things I could provide to Laura were connections and suggestions.
I introduced her to Dan McCabe, a legendary concert booker/promoter who had recently refurbished an old movie theater in Lawrenceburg, Indiana and turned it into a music venue. (I wrote about that for Cincinnati Magazine!) And Ric Hordinski, an extremely talented musician and music producer who had turned a decommissioned church into a recording studio. And John Madden, who has been booking and promoting concerts in this area for more than 30 years. (I wrote about John for Cincinnati Magazine too!) And I suggested that she connect with Scott Skeabeck, who runs a “listening room” concert series at various unique venues in the area. All four gents were extremely generous with their time and helpful in sharing their expertise.
I connected Laura with Taylor Fox from Inhailer Radio, an online station that plays indie music. She wound up running some ads on Inhailer for the “Ween Wednesday” music events at her venue, now known as The Columbia. The ads brought a few more people out to those events.
I also put Undertow Music on Laura’s radar. Undertow manages several artists, and helps dozens of acts book “house concert” tours. I’ve hosted several Undertow shows at my house.
Spoiler alert: I wound up hosting that Wussy Duo concert at my house. It was amazing! But Laura submitted an application to host an Emma Swift show via Undertow this past summer. And booked it!
The Emma Swift concert at The Columbia was stellar!
It turns out that Emma Swift is friends with singer/songwriter/bandleader Erika Wennerstrom, who is originally from Dayton, Ohio, and started a band in Cincinnati before relocating to Austin, Texas. Erika has done solo “holiday homecoming” shows in both Dayton and Cincy the past few Decembers. (I’ve been to three of the Cincy ones – shocking, I know!). Erika was looking for a new venue for her Cincinnati show this year, and Emma Swift mentioned her wonderful experience at The Columbia.
Erika’s show at The Columbia is next Friday, December 19th. All 100+ tickets sold out quickly.
What’s the moral of this long-and-winding musical story: Don’t be a heartless bastard. Instead, help your friend book a Heartless Bastard.
Before I break my arm patting myself on the back, let the record show that before Laura and I connected, she had arranged for a local band called The Hiders to film a music video at The Columbia. And Beth Harris, who is in The Hiders, is also a touring member of Heartless Bastards.
So the holiday show might’ve happened without any involvement from me. But it was Emma Swift’s Undertow show that got the ball rolling this time around. And I’ve never been happier to be a helper!
Take a gander at this group of old guys (and one younger lady):
You might think there’s nothing remarkable about them. But you’d be wrong. I met all the guys in the picture when they were young dudes, back in 1982. It was our freshman year of college at Xavier University. (I know that’s hard to believe, as we all look so young… there’s no way we’re in our 60s!)
And here we are, 43 years later. A band of brothers with a bond of friendship that’ll never be broken. That’s truly remarkable.
It stinks that it’s usually sad occasions that bring us together. The first photo above was after yesterday’s funeral for our friend LJ – that’s his wife Patty in the middle. She went to XU too – she and LJ started dating in college, so she’s been part of the gang for nearly as long as we’ve been a gang.
Our friend Ned isn’t in the top photo either – he passed away two years ago, sadly. And a few fellas couldn’t make it in for the services. But they were there in spirit.
In S.E. Hinton’s novel That Was Then, This Is Now, narrator Bryon Douglas said:
If you have two friends in your lifetime, you’re lucky. If you have one good friend, you’re more than lucky.
If that’s the case, then we all won the friendship Powerball lottery. When I showed up at XU back in August of 1982, I had no idea that I was about to hit the jackpot. Such rewarding relationships, with friends that are good as gold.
My buddy Rick (yep, he’s in the photo from yesterday) sent me a text today and summed it up beautifully:
I’ve been thinking this morning that of all the non-XU friends I have, there is not a single one who can claim a cohesive group of 30-40 people who are always there for each other no matter the distance, the financial status, or the time between interactions, the way our crew is. It is honestly a really great feeling, even in times of sadness that will inevitably draw us together again and again, but knowing that even in the sad times, there will always be great stories, great memories, and uncontrollable laughter as the by-product. I thank God for you and our whole group of misfits that somehow all fit together!
Sorry for the ouroboros-like post today. It’s been two years and one day since the passing of my friend Ned. Just like last year, I’m reposting my blog entry from October of 2023, and adding a few new thoughts on life and death (you know, just a couple of light topics).
It’s hard to believe it’s been two years. Maybe some of that is due to the fact that time seems to speed up as we age. But for me, I think a big part of it is because the pain, the sting, the overwhelming sadness of Ned’s passing diminishes over time, and yet the smiles, the joy, the love that Ned gave to all of us is still just as strong, just as vivid, just as real. His death was a punch to the gut that sent all of us reeling. But it had no lasting impact on our hearts. If anything, we love him more, because his absence gives us a greater appreciation for what he meant to us.
The sadness doesn’t go away, but it dulls over time. And the smiles are as fresh as today. Or yesterday. Or two years and one day ago.
Be Like Ned (from Oct. 2024)
One year ago today, we lost our dear friend Ned. (The “we” in this case includes the countless people Ned befriended during his too-short time on earth.)
I’m reposting my tribute to Ned from last October below. And adding a few more thoughts:
Be kind to everyone you meet, from the cashier at the supermarket on up, like Ned was.
Be caring, like Ned was. Ask others how they are doing.
Be faithful, like Ned was. A devoted husband, a proud parent, and a true-blue friend.
Be open to adventure, like Ned was.
If we could all be a bit more like Ned, the world would be a much better place. And to those of us who were lucky enough to know Ned, our part of the world IS a better place than it was before he came into our lives.
Photographs and Memories (from oct. 2023)
Back in my college days, if we needed someone to get swung around like a helicopter blade during a party, Ned was there.
If we needed someone to dress up like an elf, Ned was there.
Getting handcuffed to a loft? Ned was there.
Beer bongs? Ned was there.
For all of our Spring break adventures, Ned was there.
If we needed someone to man the grill, Ned was there.
At all those parties — in the dorm rooms, in the quad, and at the bars — Ned was there.
Whenever you needed a friend, Ned was there.
After college, when some folks from our gang got married, Ned was there.
At all the memorable moments over the past 40 years , Ned was there. Always.
Then, this past Monday, out of the blue, Ned was no longer there.
Suddenly — You were gone From all the lives You left your mark upon
Ned had a stroke back in May of 2020 – it caused all sorts of health complications. But his departure still came as a shock. Now he’s in another “there” and we’re still here.
Tried to believe But you know it’s no good This is something That just can’t be understood
Every one of us has a special place in our heart for the guy who was good-natured, sweet, kind, caring, smart, attentive, funny… and always up for a good time. Ned is still there. He always will be.
Have some woman in West Chester, Ohio read the story, and send the main photo from it to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for potential use in his “Lookalikes” segment. (I don’t know who you are, but thanks Kathleen Bentley!)
Watch what happened on Monday night.
File this in the “Never in a Million Years” category.
I’m so happy that Cincinnati Magazine got a shout-out, and the crowd cheering “Freekbass! Freekbass!” was surreal. It should be noted that the amazing photo that served as inspiration for the late-night lunacy was the handiwork of Devyn Glista.
(And yes, Jimmy looks more like the guy from Night Moves.)
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