The End of a Chapter

On Thursday, 10/24, we will be having our 18th and final CLE Songwriter Series.  The event has been a great experience for local songwriters, local music lovers, and last but not least myself.  It has been amazing to have a front row seat every month to watch local musicians share a piece of themselves with total strangers.  I have been a fan of local music for a long time, but mc’ing this event each month has taken that appreciation to a new level.

A special thank you to the team and CLE Urban Winery for hosting this event for the last 2 years.  They have been an absolute dream to work with.  I hope they continue their success as a local business and their incredible support of the local music and art community.

Stay tuned for future ideas and events from NEOMSC.

February Events

A few things you should know about in February:

• We will be having our monthly Songwriter Series at CLE Urban Winery on February 21st from 7:00-9:30.  It should be a good one this month with a nice mix of CLE veterans and newcomers
  • Jerry Slea
  • Molly AH
  • Big Jul Green
  • Bob Sammon
• We will also be having our normal songwriter circle at Perkatory Coffee Shop on February 25th from 7:00-10:00.  Bring your new or in progress songs.

Hope to see you sometime in February!

Artist Spotlight: The Chestertons

The Chestertons is a band from Cleveland, OH that explores the often unexplainable mysteries of the heart through passionate, guitar-based rock and roll. Formed by Kevin Bianchi and Brian Bianchi, they have been pursuing introspective songwriting for over a decade. Since 2015, the Chestertons have been joined by multi-instrumentalist Justin Hartman and Rob Wynne on drums. Following a solo project from Kevin Bianchi, the Chestertons went to work exploring a new musical language that is both introspective and universal. It approaches mystery as both a starting point and a conclusion. Drawn to many divergent sources of influence, textures of British Post Punk and Indie Rock can be discovered in their songs.

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The Chestertons released their most recent single ‘Big Life’ mixed by Grammy-nominated musician Dave Douglas (Relient K), in December of 2018. The single has received strong reviews and consistent regional radio support. Through it all, the Chestertons remain committed to delivering authentic and inspiring performances that connect with each listener.

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Hear the new single “Big Life”

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Their new album, Into the Unknown, drops on 12/21/18.  You can attend their album release party at Coda.

Album Release Party Facebook Page

Album Release Party Tickets

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Band Members:

Kevin Bianchi: Vocals and Guitar

Brian Bianchi: Guitar

Justin Hartman: Bass

Rob Wynne: Drums

December Events

Hey all, please note that there will be no 4th Monday Songwriter Circle in December as that date falls on Christmas Eve.  All other events will still be happening.  Have a great holiday season and may you get some new material for songs!

Monday 12/3, Songwriter Summit

Monday 12/10, Cleveland Songwriters Meeting

Sunday 12/16, Sanctuary Concert XII: The Finale

Thursday 12/20, CLE Songwriter Series at CLE Urban Winery

August Updates

Check out our new Artist Spotlight for August:  Olivia Martinez. 

Also uploaded the contact info for the artists featured at the CLE Songwriter Series in August.  

New: Featured Artists

We’ve added a new section to the website: Featured Artists.  We’ll use this new resource to promote individual artists and their upcoming events.

We’re very excited to have Hannah Stak as our first Featured Artist.  We had the pleasure of hearing her play in the cozy setting of our CLE Songwriter Series back in may and were very impressed.   Hannah is a major player in the local music scene, playing a wide variety of shows and hosting others.

This Friday, 7/6, Hannah will kick-off the release her EP: Retrograde, with a release party/concert at CODA.  Learn more about it here.

CLE Songwriter Series – June Session

Another great night of original music from a wide range of Cleveland songwriters.  Thanks to Dan Holt, Olivia Martinez, Mack McKenzie, and Corry Michaels for sharing a piece of yourself with  us.   Check out links to their personal pages here.

Dan Holt

Olivia Martinez

Mack McKenzie

Corry Michaels

 

Busy June

Another month, and another slew of of opportunities for creators and consumers of local music.  We hope to see you at one of the below events in June.

June 4th: Songwriter Summit

June 11th: Monthly Meeting of the Cleveland Songwriters

June 17th: Sanctuary Concert VI

June 21st: CLE Songwriter Series 

June 25th: Songwriter Circle and Jam Night @ Perkatory

An Excellent Pairing

This Thursday, 5/17, we’ll be hosting our first ever CLE Songwriter Series event at CLE Urban Winery.  We’ll continue to have this event on the third Thursday of each month.  This month the lineup is:

7:00 Dustin Kaiser

7:30 Kim Kennedy

8:00 Guy Snowdon

8:30 Shawn & Shelby

9:00 Hannah Stak

Hope to see you there!

Open Mic Resource

We are in the process of compiling a list of open mics in northeast Ohio.  If you host an open mic, or have a favorite one, please let us know so we can add it to our list.  If possible, we would like to include more than just where and when.  A little information about the format of the event (15 minute sets), or maybe the vibe of it (very professional vs. laid back) would be helpful to a musician/songwriter who is trying to pick an open mic to attend.

The Journey Begins

In 2017, I had the opportunity to co-host a songwriting camp for middle school and high school kids. I was really taken by how much their collaboration with each other unlocked new untapped creativity in each individual. Up until that point, all of my songwriting had been done solo, and I wondered how a group setting would enhance and augment my own process.

After attending various open mics and speaking with other songwriters, it became clear that I was not the only one who was searching for a like-minded community to share and collaborate with. It seems there were many “bedroom songwriters” out there who desired something bigger. On January 28th, 2018, after much procrastination, the Northeast Ohio Musicians and Songwriters Collaboration was created. Its main purpose being to facilitate and encourage the creation of music through collaborative efforts.

It will be exciting to see what shape this takes and what amazing things come from it.

Community, collaboration, creation, repeat…

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

Road Trip Review

Road Trip Review:  Matt Harmon, Take Your Time

 

In his latest album, Take Your Time, Matt Harmon takes a few million steps back from his usual vantage point to give us the one-billion-foot view of things on earth: as they were, as they are, and as they could be.  The songs in this album make the listener feel like a small speck in some greater interstellar scheme while at the same time feeling connected with the “giant beating heart” around which we all spin.  But don’t worry folks despite the cosmic motif of this album, Take Your Time still has all those quintessential elements of a Matt Harmon record:  new vocabulary words, a sense of humor, and a sprinkling of optimism.  And if you listen close enough, you might just find some wise themes to live by:  take your time, pay attention, and find some peace. Because as Matt says “on the cosmological scale, after all, we get just a moment.”

Album available for purchase at www.mattharmonmusic.com

Album art by Mat Tonti

Check out a great video of the album artwork in action here:

https://youtu.be/RSThYL-c0O8

April Update and Events

Spring has arrived, at least according to the calendar.  As the seasons change in NEO we continue to find new ways to support the local songwriter community.  We’ve recently updated our open mic list, and we’ll have our usual complement of songwriter events in April.

First Monday:  Songwriter Summit

Second Monday:  Cleveland Songwriters’ Meeting

Third Thursday:  CLE Songwriter Series

Fourth Monday:  Songwriter Circle and Jam Night

Also check out our featured local artist this month:  Mack McKenzie.