News

Support Aquabear on Kickstarter! Only a Few Days Left…

As many of you may have heard, Aquabear Legion is getting ready to release our eighth compilation, Aquabear Legion Volume 4 later this Spring and to help pay for it we started a Kickstarter project. Well, we have been blown away by the support we have received! In 25 days we have raised 124% of our original $750 goal, receiving a total of $945 from 34 awesome backers. You can click on the link above or over to the right on our sidebar. Even though we have reached our goal, we can keep going over! The more we raise: the more comps that we can make, the nicer stuff we can use, and most importantly the more compilations we can send out to media, radio stations, and of course the bands. The compilation features over 30 bands from around Ohio and we are producing and distributing the whole thing on our own, even screenprinting it ourselves. Help Aquabear fund this amazing project, and get some cool stuff in return! Any donation helps… and please spread the word to your friends and family too.

And we’re back to normal: Weekly wrap-up.

So, we have 8 days left to go in our Kickstarter campaign to fund our new comp, Aquabear Volume 4, and we have raised 124% of our goal. That’s a whopping $935 from 33 donors. Needless to say, we are floored, humbled, and amazed. Thank you so much. Todd and Brian have begun work on the comp, having received the awesome artwork from our friend, Jed Collins and songs from nearly all of the 30+ musicians and bands involved. It’s quite an undertaking, but we cannot wait for you to see (and hear!) the finished product. The industrious young men that make up Southeast Engine have released a real gem of a record this week, Canary. This week only, you can listen to the full album over at AOL Music Spinner. You can catch SEE in LA tonight at Spaceland, and tomorrow in San Diego before they begin to wind their way back east. Full tour dates can be found here. Athens’ own Duke Junior and the Smokey Boots are battling it out to be named the best band in the Midwest by Billboard. Give ‘em a hand by voting, and make sure to spread the word! Aquabear ex-pat...

16th Annual Blackoutfest Lineup Revealed

There’s a blackout in store for Athens just a few weeks from today, and fortunately it’s not the kind that will leave you reading by candle light. Rather, the 16th annual Blackoutfest will be taking place April 14-16, organized by the locally-based Blackout Booking and bringing bands from across the nation as well as regional and local favorites onto the Union’s stage for a weekend of wall-to-wall garage/punk-inclined rock and roll. Headliners for this year’s lineup include Columbus’s Times New Viking, who are preparing to embark on a European tour in support of their upcoming Merge Records release Dancer Equired. Also heading up the bill are Tennessee glamrockers Cheap Time, psychedelic devotees Buffalo Killers, Chicago power duo White Mystery and eclectic noisemakers Fergus & Geronimo. Once again, Blackoutfest will be sharing the weekend with the annual Record Store Day, which means you’ll be able to start your Saturday off at Haffa’s before jumping across the street to the Union for some live music. Tickets are currently on sale at Haffa’s, at $8 a night or $20 for all three days. Doors open at 6PM on Thursday and Friday, and at 4PM on Saturday. Complete list of band (which we’ll...

Whoops, I accidentally took most of March off. Sorry about that. Not wanting to rest on our laurels, we launched the Kickstarter for our upcoming comp, Aquabear Legion Volume 4. As I write, we are at 114% of our goal. AMAZING. On that note, please know that the more money we raise to produce this comp, the more comps we’ll be able to produce! It sounds redundant, I know, but this is a really great opportunity to get the word out about a really excellent group of Ohio musicians. In other Aquabear news from the past couple weeks: Check out Todd Jacops’ videos from the Aquabear County Fair on our YouTube channel Laura McMullen took a trip out to Marietta to check out local letterpress studio justAjar Design + Press Sometimes the Bear Eats You: Episode Deux. Join Kris and Noah as they talk about Cleveland, listen to music, and say alarmingly funny things. And news from Ohio bands that we’re fond of: The always-lovely Super Desserts have released a video for their song, Wicker Chair AND they’re opening up for Here We Go Magic this upcoming Tuesday at The Wex. Sweet! Southeast Engine are getting their Tom Joad...

Aquabear Spring Break TONIGHT at Casa Cantina in Athens!

Attention Athenians! Our wonderful town is extra sleepy this week so come out an enjoy YOUR well deserved break from all the craziness of the students with an awesome FREE show of Ohio rock and roll at Casa Cantina TONIGHT (Thursday, March 24) at 10:30. We welcome Athens ex-pats In Silent Movies down from Columbus to join local acts The D-Rays (awesome loud and fast rock and roll, members of Speedknobs), and Poppycock (Athens legends who have returned for some awesome shows as of late). And if that wasn’t enough… we added a short set from Aquabear favorites the experimental/improv duo Weedghost! Hope to see you there.

Times New Viking Get Back to Their Roots

In this latest promotional video for Times New Viking’s upcoming release Dancer Equired, the recent Merge Records signees traipse through the snow in their Ohio hometowns. The short film takes the viewer to the small towns of Troy, New Lebanon and Gahanna, Ohio—all the while being serenaded by cuts from TNV’s new record. If the songs sound a bit less noisy than usual, that’s because the band took to a studio for the first time ever to record these tracks. The album was recorded at Columbus Discount Records and the famed Musicol Recording Studio in Columbus, Ohio. Dancer Equired hits record shops on April 26. In the meantime, you can catch the band as they head to SXSW—dates after the jump.

Aquabear County Fair Preview: DAY FOUR Sunday, March 6 at ARTS/West

The 5th annual Aquabear County Fair is coming up this weekend (March 3-6) and we think this year just might be the best yet. The Aquabear is serving up four days of Ohio music with 16 bands. We finish the 5th annual Aquabear County Fair off with a FREE afternoon potluck at the always awesome ARTS/West (132 W. State Street in Athens) on SUNDAY, MARCH 6 at 2:00pm. Its a great lineup too featuring Super Desserts (columbus), Brian Harnetty (columbus), and Athens’ own Adam Remnant. Plus it’s free (though donations help pay for bands, space, and sound) and it’s a potluck so bring some food to share and enjoy some amazing music. Trust us, you will have a great time. We’re bringing kelbasa and bread from Crumbs and a giant chocolate bunny. Super Desserts are a fantastic band from Columbus, Ohio. Come see them this afternoon and you will love them as much as we do. Brian Harnetty is a musician and artist from ohio, and his work involves overlooked elements of sound. many of his pieces transform found material––including field recordings, transcriptions, and historic recordings––into personal sound worlds. He’s recorded and worked with Will Oldham, and graced stages...

Weekly wrap-up: Aquabear County Fair Edition

Fact: I can never remember what this post is called. I will type “Weekly Update” into the post field and stare at it for a minute before I realize that’s not right. Time for a catchier name. Something like ReBear.. but not dumb. Holy shit, it’s Aquabear County fair week, finally. I get that we’re a little biased, but it’s one of our favorite weekends of the year in Athens. Four days of totally solid bills at venues all over town? Yes, please. Last night, we kicked off the fair at The Union with Zoobombs (honorary Ohioans from Tokyo!), Wheels on Fire, Valleyboys, and The Pleasure Domes. It was awesome, and thanks to everyone who came out. There was a time that existed before the Aquabear County Fair, and here’s what happened during that time: Aquabear Andrew reviewed Orchestraville’s Poison Berries, calling it “fantastic collection of songs, by people that still give a shit about writing real songs.” True. ACRN previews nights one and two (tonight!) of the County Fair Aquabear Brian also previews each night of the County Fair (one, two, and three. Look for the preview of the Sunday sometime tomorrow afternoon. Hey, if you’re going to...

Aquabear County Fair Preview: NIGHT THREE Saturday, March 5 at The Union

The 5th annual Aquabear County Fair is coming up this weekend (March 3-6) and we think this year just might be the best yet. The Aquabear is serving up four days of Ohio music with 16 bands. SATURDAY, March 5th the County Fair moves back to The Union for a huge night of rock and roll. Chickenpussy (Athens), Hex Net (Athens), Megachurch (Cleveland), Scubadog (Athens), Left Hand Shake (Athens), and Weedghost (Athens/Dayton). Music starts at 9pm (sharp), doors before that. Chickenpussy! I guarantee that I will be right up in front of the stage rocking out really hard. I hope we can all do that together. Hex Net is Seth Riddlebarger (Dragline Brothers) new project with an all-star lineup of some of our county’s finest musicians. These guys play some damn near perfect psychedelic garage rock, and can be counted on for both badass riffs and weird projects. There is no videos of the Hex Net, so you will just have to come see them with your real non-internet eyes. Megachurch is from Cleveland, Ohio. They were described by our own Aquabear writer Kris Poland who said of their self titled debut “Through a mere six songs, Megachurch rocks...

Aquabear County Fair Preview: NIGHT TWO Friday, March 4 at Casa Cantina

The 5th annual Aquabear County Fair is coming up this weekend (March 3-6) and we think this year just might be the best yet. The Aquabear is serving up four days of Ohio music with 16 bands. Remember to head over to our Facebook to see our favorite videos of all of this year’s bands. FRIDAY, March 4th the County Fair at Casa Cantina with a FREE SHOW featuring She Bears (Columbus), Whale Zombie (Athens), and Narrow & The Brights (Columbus). The show starts at 10:30pm and is FREE, however we do encourage donations which will go to Aquabear Legion and helps us cover some of the costs of the Aquabear County Fair! She Bears call Columbus home now, but they just can’t stay away from Athens. These guys have been busy the past year… touring around the country, signing to Deep Elm Records, and showing up somehow on both Teen Mom and in the Apple Store. But, trust me these guys aren’t big enough superstars to not want you to buy them drinks. Whale Zombie are a shoegaze-y, psychedelic, fuzzy band from here in Athens that has really been playing some badass shows lately. They have played basements,...

Aquabear County Fair Preview: NIGHT ONE Thursday, March 3 at The Union

The 5th annual Aquabear County Fair is coming up this weekend (March 3-6) and we think this year just might be the best yet. The Aquabear is serving up four days of Ohio music with 16 bands. THURSDAY, MARCH 3rd the County Fair kicks off at The Union with Zoobombs (Japan), Wheels On Fire (Athens), Valleyboys (Athens), and The Pleasure Domes (Athens). 10pm, cover. The whole night is curated by Blackout! Zoobombs join the Aquabear County Fair as the only non-Ohio act this year and The Aquabear’s first international collaboration. THE ZOOBOMBS were formed by DON Matsuo (vocals/guitar), Matta (keyboards), and Moostop (bass) in Tokyo in September 1994 and — together with various drummers — have been amazing rock audiences in Japan, North America and Australia ever since. Expect punk, funk, and really anything else you can think of. Wheels On Fire are a rock and roll band from Athens described as “Elvis Costello meets The Stooges”, and they’ve put out records on Big Legal Mess and Trouble In Mind. This four piece has played clubs all over the USA and Europe, and their new LP Liar Liar is really, really good. Valleyboys are self-described as “essentially- fast garage...

The Aquabear is running at full steam right now. We’re less than a week out from the 5th Annual Aquabear County Fair, pummeling through the paperwork in our quest to become a non-profit organization, and pulling together our latest comp, Aquabear Legion Volume 4 along with a Kickstarter (more on that very soon) project to fund the comp. Whoa! Speaking of the comp, did you catch the sneak preview of the cover? Our friend and NYC comic artist, Jed Collins, did the illustration, and it’s definitely awesome. In other comp-related news, it was really nice to come home today to an Alwood Sisters CD, sitting in our mailbox. The Alwood Sisters are joining about 30 other Ohio bands on Volume 4. This week in Ohio music: We were stoked to debut our very first podcast, Sometimes the Bear Eats You, courtesy of Kris Poland and Noah Andrews. Listen as Kris and Noah say exceptionally funny things and play some great Ohio music. It’s our goal to make this a somewhat regular addition to the site; let us know what you think! Cinci trio The Seedy Seeds released a new album, available at Bandcamp and Shake It Records! Also, catch...

Aquabear Legion Volume 4 Due Out in Spring! 2-cd’s and Over 30 Ohio Bands!

The Aquabear Legion is excited to announce our 8th release of Ohio music, Aquabear Legion Volume 4! The 2-cd compilation (which will feature over 30 Ohio bands) will be released this coming Spring as a handmade screenprinted package with original artwork from NYC via Athens artist Jed Collins. Full list of bands announced next week, and a Kickstarter to help raise money for its production and distribution. The Kickstarter will also serve as pre-order for the new compilation and offer some very limited edition Aquabear items for those who offer their support.

It’s unseasonably warm in Ohio this weekend. Which is good, considering all the awesome shows you need to get yourself to. Stuff you missed or need to revisit: Columbus folk-rockers The Black Swans are attempting to raise $3000 to fund the release of their new album on vinyl, via the website Kickstarter. They’re almost halfway there, with only 31 days to reach their goal. Can you help? Southeast Engine, who will play Casa tonight, are taking pre-orders for their new album, Canary, due out in March. Sweet. Kris Poland highly approves of Whale Zombie‘s new album, pedal usage. We announced the line-up for the 5th Annual County Fair! God damn, it’s gonna be awesome. ACRN previews the Buffalo Killers show at The Union on Saturday (a show which is a partnership between Aquabear and Blackout Booking!) Not to harp on the extremely awesome weather, but get out of your house and get to some shows this weekend. Columbus! Did you get to Skylab on Tuesday to check out Calvin Johnson and Bird + Flower? Was it the best thing ever? I figured. Anyway, if you’re in C-bus tonight, head on over to Ruby Tuesday for the first of two...

5th Annual Aquabear County Fair (March 3-6 in Athens) Lineups Announced!

This year mark’s the 5th annual Aquabear County Fair so we decided to make it bigger than ever before. We’re pretty excited for this one… many more details to come. This year we present 16 bands total in Athens, Ohio over 4 days on March 3-6. 15 Ohio bands and even 1 from Japan. Thursday, March 3 at 10pm COUNTY FAIR NIGHT ONE at The Union curated by Blackout Zoobombs (Japan) Wheels On Fire (Athens) Valleyboys (Athens) The Pleasuredomes (Athens) Friday, March 4 at 10:30pm COUNTY FAIR NIGHT TWO at Casa Cantina – FREE SHOW! She Bears (Columbus) Narrow + The Brights (Columbus) Whale Zombie (Athens) *donations benefit Aquabear Legion Saturday, March 5 at 9pm COUNTY FAIR NIGHT THREE at The Union Chickenpussy (Athens) Megachurch (Cleveland) Hex Net (Athens) Scubadog (Athens) The 65′s (Athens) Weedghost (Athens/Dayton) Sunday, March 6 at 2pm COUNTY FAIR DAY FOUR at ARTS/West – FREE AFTERNOON POTLUCK Super Desserts (Columbus) Brian Harnetty (Columbus) Adam Remnant (Athens) *donations encouraged to benefit bands and space Support Local Music! Help spread the word.

What you missed this week, and what you need to do this weekend. In case you missed it, The Nelsonville Music Festival announced its headliners last Friday at Casa: The Flaming Lips, Neko Case, and George Jones. One of the best things about the Nelsonville Fest is the ridiculous amount of talented local and regional bands that get to share this amazing bill. So far, Scubadog, Whale Zombie, Duke Junior and the Smokey Boots, and Chris Biester have been added to the lineup. We’ll keep you updated as more Ohio bands are added! “Living Museum”, a Seascapes song, was featured in a Thread video that depicts a bunch of fashion-forward OU students standing around in a library while not reading books. Seascapes! Check out ACRN’s preview of the Humane Society benefit at Donkey tonight. Athen singer-songwriters covering.. other Athens singer-songwriters. It’s a great idea, and it’s going to be a great show. Check out this Tapes on the Floor interview of Maps and Atlases, who headlined an otherwise all-Ohio Cabin Fever Festival at Stuart’s Opera House back in January Happy 8th anniversary to Lost Weekend Records in Columbus! This is fixing to be one of those weekends where there’s...

Flaming Lips, George Jones, Neko Case to Headline May’s Nelsonville Music Festival

Stuart’s Opera House has announced the headliners for the 7th annual Nelsonville Music Festival on May 13-15, 2011. The Flaming Lips (saturday), George Jones (friday), and Neko Case (sunday) were all announced last night at the “kind of halfway” party at Casa Cantina in Athens. The festival always has a great spread of Ohio bands too, so look for those in the coming month or two and last night Athens bands Scubadog, Whale Zombie, Duke Junior and the Smokey Boots, and Chris Biester were added to the May lineup after playing the Casa party. Weekend passes go on sale (with a limited number at ONLY $60) this Monday, February 7th and you can get them at www.nelsonvillefest.org or by calling (740) 753-1924.

I’m so stoked Friday is here. Mostly because this weekend is going to be awesome. Here’s some stuff you might have missed this week. We held our fifth annual Pancake Breakfast, with the new addition of all-local food. Almost 70 people came to ARTS/West to eat delicious pancakes, listen to 78s, and hang out. Thanks to all who came and supported Aquabear! Columbus shitgazers Psychedelic Horseshit get signed to FatCat Records, and Zach Long wonders who’s next Athens Rock and/or Roll is back after a hiatus with some live Chickenpussy ACRN previews the kind of, sort of halfway to Nelsonville Fest show that’s happening at Casa in Athens tonight Kris Poland reviews the new Megachurch record; proclaims it “fucking awesome”; is correct Did you see the amazing flyer for Donewaiting’s 8 Year Anniversary Show, going on tonight at Kobo? Comic artist Jed Collins, who is designing the cover of our next comp (more on that soon!!) won a SPACE prize – first place in the webcomic category for his epic Champ 2010 series. Congrats, Jed! So, about tonight. If you’re in Columbus, check out Donewaiting’s anniversary party. It looks to be awesome, with Phantods, Ghost Shirt, Time and Temperature,...

Pancakes in Review!

Thanks to all who came out for our annual Aquabear Legion Pancake Breakfast at ARTS/West last Sunday. It was our most successful one yet, and I have to say it was the tastiest one too. Lots of thank you’s and love to send around so please see below and support those who support the Aquabear! Pictures from John McVicker, and more below! There are a lot of local businesses and awesome individuals who helped make this event happen and a big Aquabear thank you goes out to ARTS/West (for the space!), Snowville Creamery (for milk, cream, and half & half!), Shagbark Seed and Mill Company (for flour for our pancakes!), Donkey Coffee (for the coffee and cups!), Jackie O’s (for fresh baked bread!), King Family Farm (for our bacon and eggs!), Coonskin Sugarbush (for the maple syrup!), Athens Farmers Market, Tim Peacock & Matt McElroy (for playin’ 78′s all afternoon!), Becky Whittington (for making sausage gravy!), Noah Andrews & 5unday 5essions for coming down to cover the event, all of Aquabear Legionnaires who helped cook/mix/wash dishes/and everything else, and a big thank you to the Lauchnor, Burton & Landon families (for lending griddles to make our pancakes!)

As if the recent glut of Ohio-centric record label signings wasn’t enough, you can add Columbus-based Psychedelic Horseshit to the list. FatCat Records, an independent English label most famous for its discovery of Icelandic post-rockers Sigur Rós, today signed the noisy Ohio collective fronted by the ever-opinionated Matt Whitehurst. Psychedelic Horseshit’s painfully lo-fi recordings—dubbed ‘shitgaze’ by the group itself—have formerly seen release through Columbus Discount Records, Woodsist and Slitbreeze. FatCat will release the band’s latest record later this year. In the meantime, they’ve made last year’s cassette album Acid Tape available for free download. Additionally, signing up for the group’s mailing list will net you a brand new MP3 from the forthcoming record. At this rate, you might want to consider placing your bets on the next Columbus-based band to get signed.

I would have posted this earlier, but I was too busy MAKING DELICIOUS BUTTER FROM SCRATCH for our annual Pancake Breakfast, happening this Sunday at ARTS/West. All local food, all delicious, and proceeds go to help us on our quest to become a non-profit! Here’s some stuff you might have missed this week. Maps & Atlases, totally and completely unplugged at Stuart’s Opera House, playing “The Ongoing Horrible” in one of the best encores we’ve seen in a while (video from our friend Andy Spear) Columbus Alive praises Narrow & the Brights (ex-Russenorsk, current-awesome) Super Desserts were featured in Cincinnati’s CityBeat Cincy band Pomegranates were interviewed by Tapes on the Floor Headin’ out to see some music this weekend? If you find yourself in Columbus, make sure to head over to The Treehouse on Saturday night for The Kyle Sowashes, She Bears, and Pat Dull and His Media Whores. In Athens on Saturday? Don’t miss Alwood Sisters at Casa. They’re playing with Tin Armor and Zapano. Cincy folks, do the right thing and head to MOTR to see Super Desserts and darlene. So get out there see some awesome local music, and come hungry for the Aquabear Legion Pancake...

Come eat (all local) pancakes with us on Sunday, Jan. 30 at ARTS/West from 1pm-4pm!

Aquabear Legion will be holding its annual Pancake Breakfast at ARTS/West on Sunday, January 30th from 1pm-4pm. Aquabear is working with Snowville Creamery, Donkey Coffee, Shagbark Mill, Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery and a whole bunch more so that people can support local music while eating local food. ONLY 5 BUCKS! Bring friends, tell people, and help spread the word. ARTS/West is located at 132 W. State Street in Athens (up the hill from town at the fork in the road by the cemetary) and the breakfast takes place in the basement. The Aquabear Legion Pancake Breakfast will feature all you can eat pancakes (made with Shagbark Mill flour and Snowville Creamery milk), Jackie O’s fresh baked bread, and all you can drink Donkey Coffee for only $5! There will also be (King Family Farm) bacon upgrades available for a small donation. Money raised at the event will go to Aquabear Legion to help us continue our programming and work throughout the year and will help with our initial non-profit filing costs. The event will also feature Tim Peacock and Matt McElroy spinning 78 rpm records all afternoon long. Todd and I are headin’ to the Athens Farmers Market...