Sunday at the Nelsonville Music Festival was always the best. I think most of my personal memories relate to happy Sundays, when you got to soak it up for one more day and the greatest work was behind us. It felt like I could relax a little bit. I wanted to make sure to put one of these episodes out on a Sunday, and I encourage you all to sit outside on this beautiful day and play this. This episode is PACKED. Lots of great music and a couple special guests drop by to intro their songs! And we have lots of personal NMF memories too. Heron Oblivion! William Tyler! Drakkar Sauna! Weedghost! Endless Boogie! This one is solid. I hope you enjoy!
Heron Oblivion (2016) Blueprint (2018) Thee Oh Sees (2019) William Tyler (2013) Kurt Vile & The Violators (2014) WYD – Gladden House Session (2019) Nick Tolford & Co (2013) Drakkar Sauna (2011) Wheels On Fire (2013) The D-Rays (2013) Akron/Family (2008) Flor de Toloache – Gladden House Session (2019) The Flaming Lips (2015) Twain – Gladden House Session (2018) Mary Lattimore (2018) Larry Yes – Gladden House Session (2018) Michael Nau – Gladden House Session (2018) Weedghost (2011) Endless Boogie (2013)
For Aquabear Legion Volume 8, the only rule was a band could not have been on the last two “Volume†collections to be on the new one. The result is a 17-song compilation with music from all around the state featuring Blanket Boys, Brat Curse, Cutler Station, The Infinite Improbability Drive, Matthew J. Rolin, Mery Steel, Messrs, Minority Threat, no stars, Paige Beller, Slackluster, Slut Castle, Speaking Suns, Supernobody, Thee Thee’s, Unmonunmental, and Weedghost. Listen and download now.
Welcome to another episode of Athena Headache (number 2 if you are counting) here on Aquabear Legion, this podcast is the place for all of the weird, strange, noisy, improv, and experimental music from the Midwest we can jam into it. Episode 002 is hosted by Andrew Lampela. We hope you enjoy! Perfect for your headphones, a workout, or some background music. Find us on iTunes and Google Play here soon and subscribe, rate, review, and tell your friends.
Jacops/Prince Duo – “Untitled 1”
Knohm – “The Swollen Bead Dangles From the Fingertips” (excerpt)
Kid Panda Hands – Ghost of a Weed
Leslie Keffer – Dodder
Aaron Michael Butler/Gabe Mitchell/Andrew Lampela – Why Does the Absence of Light Disturb Him Less Than The Presence of Noise Pt. II
Remainder
Weedghost
Dead Winds of Summer – “Whisperings of the Field”
Aquabear Legion has brand new show titled Athena Headache that will focus on the fringes of Ohio and Midwestern music. Noise, experimental, improvisational, weird, strange, and everything in between. The hosts of the show will rotate and since Brian (who hosts Western Reserve) is doing the first one it only made sense to have the first episode of Athena Headache also be the new episode of The Western Reserve. Like some sort of comic book crossover! Plus, this episode finishes off where our last episode of The Western Reserve left off. This time it’s the more experimental end of our host’s college years in Athens, with a whole bunch of noise from 2001-2007 or so: Weedghost, Dinner of Swords, Casiotone Orchestra, Dead Winds of Summer, Leslie Keffer, and even the one time only Toneghost Freakestra. Perfect for your headphones, a workout, or some background music. Please find us on iTunes and Google Play here soon and subscribe, rate, review, and tell your friends.
Athena Headache 001 / The Western Reserve 020
Kid Panda Hands – “Caves of Silk”
Dead Winds of Summer – From Weedghost/Dead Winds split
Weedghost – “Makes Breakfast”
Casiotone Orchestra – Aquabear Showcase at The Wire, March 2005 (excerpt)
Leslie Keffer – “Thrive”
Dinner of Swords – ARTS/West Noise Show, October 2007 (excerpt)
Toneghost Freakestra – ARTS/West, December 2005 (excerpt)
We’re back! This episode it is all about the music, no guests here. You will hear music from some of Ohio’s best and even a few songs from the amazing collections put together by the fine folks at Numero Group. Music from Dayton (Braniac and The Breeders), Athens (Hex Net, Caitlin Kraus-Torres, Weedghost), and a few selections from the massive Numero Group Ohio releases including The Four Mints and Lou Ragland & The Bandmasters. 45 minutes of great music from the Buckeye State. See you in a few weeks for episode 5.
Braniac – “Vincent Come On Down”
Extra Medium Pony – “Reindeer Boots”
The Four Mints – “Too Far Gone”
Angela Alexander & J.D Saddler – “Don’t Make Me Kill You”
Men of Gentle Birth – “Wake Up”
Hex Net – “Last Night”
Bridesmaid – “Curtisy Call”
Earwig (ft. Lydia Loveless) – “Wasted on You”
This Moment In Black History – “Family Day at Euclid Beach”
The Breeders – “The New Year”
Caitlin Kraus-Torres – “Waiting for the World”
Weedghost – “Excerpt from I”
Lou Ragland & The Bandmasters – “Party at Lester’s”
The 9th annual Aquabear County Fair features 19 bands on October 22-25 in Athens, Ohio!
Our own little County Fair is really starting to grow up (sniff), this year marks it’s 9th birthday and we are celebrating October 22-25 in beautiful, scenic Athens, Ohio! Over 18 acts are playing over 4 days with 2 bar shows, 2 house shows, and a experimental music show at a record store. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22 at 8:00pm is the County Fair Kickoff at The Bat Lounge w/ Bad Luck (washington), Marina Peterson (athens), and Girl Colors (athens), please bring donations for the bands. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23 at 10:00pm is at Jackie O’s Public House with We March (athens), Kyle Sowashes (columbus), Palestras (cleveland), and Slackluster (athens) with a $5 cover. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24 at 6:00pm is the Nobrow Sound Series at Haffa’s Records with Pete Fosco (cincinnati), Tim Feeney (alabama), Weedghost (fairborn/athens), Nobrow.collective (athens), and bring a $7 donation for the bands. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24 at 10:30pm is a FREE show at Casa Cantina with Blam Blams (athens), The Bygones (columbus), Supernobody (athens), and Water Witches (athens). And we finish up on SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25 at 4:00pm with a show at The Hen House with Dead Hand of Man (athens), Unmonumental (athens), Sardukar (athens), and Dead Winds of Summer (athens), bring some donations for the bands for that one. We’re gonna try to grill up some food too! There will be copies of the 2LP Aquabear Legion Volume 5 record for sale (only $20!) along with amazing limited edition Aquabear Legion screenprints from Charlie Touvell, and new t-shirts and sweatshirts too! See you all at the Fair.
Thursday, October 22nd at 8:00pm
Kickoff at The Bat Lounge – Donations
(e-mail contact@aquabearlegion.com for info)
Bad Luck (last), Marina Peterson (second), Girl Colors (first)
Friday, October 23rd at 10:00pm
Jackie O’s Public House (W. Union Street) – $5
10:00pm: Â Slackluster
11:00pm: Â Palestras
12:00am: Â The Kyle Sowashes
1:00am: Â Â We March
Saturday, October 24th at 10:30pm
Casa Cantina – FREE!
10:30pm: Â Water Witches
11:15pm: Â Supernobody
12:00am: Â The Bygones
1:00am: Â Â Blam Blams
Saturday, October 24th at 6:00pm
Haffa’s Records (15 W. Union Street) – $7 suggested donation
Tim Feeney, Pete Fosco, Weedghost, Nobrow.collective
Sunday, October 25th at 4:00pm
Aquabear-B-Q at The Hen House – Donations
(e-mail contact@aquabearlegion.com for info)
4:00pm: Â Â Sardukar
5:00pm: Â Â Dead Winds of Summer
5:15pm: Â Â Unmonumental
6:00pm: Â Â Dead Hand of Man
As if the 17th annual Athens Community Music Festival wasn’t enough, ARTS/West on the beautiful Westside of Athens, Ohio is celebrating 10 years this weekend with a whole slew of free events for the community on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! Aquabear is helping with the festivities on Sunday, August 16th from 4pm-7pm with a special screening of some films by longtime Legionnaire Brian Wiebe (Brian’s doing an Indiegogo campaign for his upcoming feature A Good Person, which you should give your money too, more info below) including a few videos made for fellow Athens ex-pat and current Austinite Adam Torres, a few short films, and a trailer and teaser for his upcoming feature A Good Person. After the films are done it’s time for a Noise Show “reunion” of sorts with a whole bunch of experimental and improv music from the folks who did that same thing for years at ARTS/West beginning in 2005. Music from Kid Panda Hands (rare reunion set), Dinner of Swords, Scott Hedrick, Aaron Michael Butler, Weedghost, and more plus poetry from Wendy McVicker and some dance too? And it’s a potluck, so bring some food to share, especially popsicles for Andrew.
Filmmaker Brian Wiebe and Aquabear go way back, like literally all the way back. Currently based out of Chicago, Wiebe was a resident of Athens and Yellow Springs for years, and the ‘Bear is excited to screen some of his amazing work. Right now, Brian is raising money on Indiegogo to help him submit his upcoming feature A Good Person to film festivals all around the world and help get this thing out there. You can get all sorts of great stuff for supporting the campaign including posters, DVD’s, and more and for ONLY $3 you can watch the film right on your device of choosing when it comes out.
Here’s a video for “Dusty Wing Spirit” by Adam Torres from Brian Wiebe:
Has it been a whole year since the last Sometimes the Bear Eats You too? Yes, it has. Has the Earth completed a single orbit around the Sun since the last Nelsonville Music Festival. Again, yes. That must mean that it’s time for Aquabear Legion presents Sometimes the Bear Eats You too’s coverage of the 2015 Nelsonville Music Festival! Yay! In this first installment, you’ll hear some of the great artist that kicked off the festival on Thursday night. What follows is a list of performers and how many minutes into the podcast you’ll find recordings from their sets. Consume the podcast in its entirety or skip ahead to your personal favorite. Enjoy, and keep Ohio weird!
NMF15: Thursday
Cory Branan (3:33)
Megan Wormz Bihn (6:22)
Dead Hand of Man (9:38)
Elephant Revival (15:57)
Speaking Suns (19:27)
Weedghost (23:21)
Trampled by Turtles (49:15)
Ezra Furman (53:30)
A bunch of Ohio bands are playing this weekend at the Nelsonville Music Festival (May 28th-31st). A few of them will also appear on this year’s Aquabear Legion Volume 5 Double LP. Don’t miss this amazing festival and all the great bands involved. Now in its 11th year.
Here’s a list of Ohio bands performing at the NMF15
* Connections – Columbus (Featured on ABL Vol. 5)
Good English – Dayton
Bummers – Columbus
* The D-Rays – Athens (Featured on ABL Vol. 5)
* Speaking Suns – Yellow Springs (Featured on ABL Vol. 5)
* Weird Science – Athens (Featured on ABL Vol. 5)
* Dead Hand Of Man – Athens (Featured on ABL Vol. 5)
The Summoners – Athens
The Wild Honeybees – Athens
Chris Biester – Athens
Ryan Jewell – Columbus
Scott Hedrick – Athens
Ben Stalets – Toledo
Mike Elliott – Athens
The Teardrops – Athens
Bram Riddlebarger – Athens
Chris Monday – Athens
Nathan & Brendan Moore – Athens
Megan Wormz Bihn – Athens
* Weedghost – Athens/Fairborn (Featured on ABL Vol. 5)
Stuart’s Afterschool Bands – Athens County
Heatwave Dance Party – Columbus
Dj Barticus – Athens
John E. Clift – Columbus
Honorary
Bassholes – Asheville, NC
Adam Torres – Austin, TX
Michael Hurley – Portland, OR
A sneak peak (about half way done) of Charlie Touvell's artwork for the inside of the upcoming Aquabear Volume 5 double LP!
A sneak peak (about half way done) of Charlie Touvell’s artwork for the inside of the upcoming Aquabear Volume 5 double LP!
Wow. The Aquabear Legion would like to thank all of you who supported our recent project, a massive 24 band/song double LP release of all Ohio bands. With a pre-order and donation page through Indiegogo we raised 110% of our goal (and still have 5 days to go), an amazing $5,491 from 135 contributors. We still have a few days left to raise some more money and for you to pre-order your copy, plus there are awesome extras like colored vinyl, hoodies, and unbelievable limited edition prints from Charlie Touvell of the Aquabear fighting a sea creature (see the halfway done version above). Here’s the link, get your copy.
The songs are being mastered with Bernie Nau at Peachfork Studios down in Meigs County and artwork and layout is being finalized in the next week or so, we are hoping to scheduling a pressing and have everything ready to go to be sent out by the end of the month if not sooner! The plan now is to have this album out and ready to go in June 2015, we of course will keep everyone up to date as the schedule progresses.
Aquabear Legion Volume 5Â will include music from 24 Ohio bands on 2 LPs:
The 1984 Draft, Black Owls, Connections, Dead Hand of Man, Dead Winds of Summer, The D-Rays, The Guitars, Herzog, Hookers Made Out of Cocaine, Hyrrokkin, Joseph Airport, Kid Tested, The Kyle Sowashes, The Motel Beds, Murderedman, Nick Tolford & Company, She Bears, Speaking Suns, Sport Fishing USA, Supernobody, Unmonumental, Weedghost, Weird Science, and WV White.
Putting this record out means an awful lot to Aquabear and we could not be more excited to share it with you all. Help us spread the work and share this link, just 5 days to go!
To celebrate our 10th birthday the Aquabear decided to release a double LP featuring 24 Ohio bands and set up an Indiegogo page to collect pre-orders and support to help make it happen. The Aquabear is thrilled to be at 56% of our goal with 34 days remaining and a total of $2801 of $5000 raised! Thanks to all who have supported this project, so far 68 of you have directly contributed to making this thing happen. You are awesome.We need to keep spreading the word to reach our goal, there is still a lot more to go. If you can share this link, and tell anyone you think might like two records of Ohio music we would be thankful. Look for some sketches from Charlie of the liner note art (that will become the awesome limited edition prints that start at the $75 level w/ a record) coming soon.
Below is the track order for the compilation, it’s subject to change of course but it is a really good sequence so it probably won’t. Share the link and support an awesome project.
AQUABEAR LEGION 2015
SIDE A
Joseph Airport  “If I Had An Airplane (I’d Be There)”*
Herzog  “Oh No”
Sport Fishing USA Â “Feeling So Strange”*
Connections  “Everybody High”*
Supernobody  “Quicker Than the Eye”*
Weedghost  “Excerpt from I”
SIDE B
WV White  “Multiple Bathrooms”
Motel Beds  “Stay Out of Riverdale”*
Unmonumental  “Sword”*
The D-Rays  “High Tide”*
The Guitars  “She’s Got Your Heart”
Nick Tolford & Company  “Cancel Your Plans”
SIDE C
Weird Science  “Gimmie Some Time”*
Kid Tested  “#1 Hit”
Hyrrokkin  “Astrionics”
Murderedman  “Love Under Ground”*
The Kyle Sowashes  “A Faster Asshole”*
Dead Winds of Summer  “He’s Gone Man”*
SIDE D
Dead Hand of Man  “Dark Invader”*
Hookers Made Out of Cocaine  “Milky Way”*
Speaking Suns  “Sleeper”
She Bears  “Beach Fires”
Black Owls  “Whorehouse Joke”*
The 1984 Draft  “Scarlet & Cream”
Aquabear 2015 will feature 24 Ohio bands on 2 LPs, donate now and spread the word! (cover art painting by Emily Beveridge)
Aquabear 2015 will feature 24 Ohio bands on 2 LPs, donate now and spread the word! (cover art painting by Emily Beveridge)
To celebrate our 10th birthday Aquabear Legion wanted to release a double LP vinyl compilation of 24 Ohio bands, but we need your support. To fund the release of this compilation Aquabear has set up an Indiegogo page where you can pre-order your copy of the double LP release along with a lot of awesome extras. In less than 2 weeks we have raised 25% of our goal from 32 contributors, but there is still a long way to go. We think we need around 125 people to support this release and reach our goal, are you one of the Aquabear 125? You can directly support the release of this compilation buy pre-ordering your copy and donating now. In addition to the record you can get lots of great extras including limited edition prints by Charlie Touvell (based on the art for the liner notes), colored vinyl, hoodies, t-shirts, and even a new perk: a show from Dayton’s The 1984 Draft (at the appropriate level of $84). We must reach our $5,000 goal by February 13th and currently have $1,235 raised.
We are looking for everyone out there who loves Ohio music, records, and independent rock and roll. Please share this link and help us spread the word, give whatever you can, and tell friends, family, and music lovers in your life.
Aquabear 2015 will include music from 24 Ohio bands on 2 LPs:
The 1984 Draft, Black Owls, Connections, Dead Hand of Man, Dead Winds of Summer, The D-Rays, The Guitars, Herzog, Hookers Made Out of Cocaine, Hyrrokkin, Joseph Airport, Kid Tested, The Kyle Sowashes, The Motel Beds, Murderedman, Nick Tolford & Company, She Bears, Speaking Suns, Sport Fishing USA, Supernobody, Unmonumental, Weedghost, Weird Science, and WV White.
The Aquabear Legion would like to thank our 32 contributors so far for this project, you guys are the best:
Brian Wiebe, David Massimini, Leslie Jankowski, Dave Frush, Sherri Oliver, Carl Raponi, Bill L’Heureux, Chris Pyle, Scott Summerfield, J.R. Fisher, David Butler, Ben Penry, Matthew Cutter, Heath Seifert, Dan Majesky, Arielle Banaszak, Dustin Cell, Eli Alban, Sean Redefer, Mike White, Jessy Lancaster, Michael Bart, Anonymous, Randy Demidovich, Darren Fox, Suzanne Sloo, Blue Eagle Music, Bobby Rosenstock, Jadey Gilmore, Bryan Gibson, Ken & Pam Koscho, and Luke Edwards
The Aquabear (painted here by Athens artist Emily Beveridge) will release a double LP, 24 song vinyl comp in Spring 2015.
The Aquabear (painted here by Athens artist Emily Beveridge) will release a double LP, 24 song vinyl comp in Spring 2015.
Since 2004, Aquabear has worked with over 200 bands and dozens of visual artists and filmmakers. And in that time produced 10 releases including compilations of Ohio music both physical and for free on aquabearlegion.com. But we REALLY want to put out some vinyl. And since we just celebrated our 10th birthday it seemed like a double LP is the way to go. 24 songs from 24 of Ohio’s best bands on 2 LPs. Printed, pressed, designed, and played in Ohio. You can support this project and pre-order your copy at our Indiegogo page here. Please help us spread the word folks!
To help raise money and make some more things in the process we are partnering we a couple local artists for some really cool special items. Charlie Touvell will be making some limited edition prints based on his artwork for the record’s liner notes and even some custom drawings too. We will be making some brand new hoodies and of course have t-shirts, colored vinyl, and countless random Aquabear items we might send along. We sincerely appreciate your support of this project.
Aquabear 2015 will include music from 24 Ohio bands on 2 LPs:
The 1984 Draft, Black Owls, Connections, Dead Hand of Man, Dead Winds of Summer, The D-Rays, The Guitars, Herzog, Hookers Made Out of Cocaine, Hyrrokkin, Joseph Airport, Kid Tested, The Kyle Sowashes, The Motel Beds, Murderedman, Nick Tolford & Company, She Bears, Speaking Suns, Sport Fishing USA, Supernobody, Unmonumental, Weedghost, Weird Science, and WV White.
We have always wanted to make a record, and these are some really amazing songs to do it with. The plan is that if this works we will keep doing it with more and more bands in the future. Here’s a video!
8th annual Aquabear County Fair is this weekend: September 5-6 in Athens, Ohio and is FREE
8th annual Aquabear County Fair is this weekend: September 5-6 in Athens, Ohio and is FREE
It’s Aquabear County Fair time! Now in it’s 8th year (whoa), this annual Aquabear celebration of Ohio music will be in Athens, Ohio on Friday, September 5th (at The Union at 9:00pm) and on Saturday, September 6th (at Haffa’s Records at 3:00pm and The Union at 8:00pm) and it is all FREE. Poster above and full schedule (subject to change of course) is below. We can’t wait to see everyone, here’s the event on Facebook to attend and share.
2014 AQUABEAR COUNTY FAIR SCHEDULE (subject to change)
Friday, September 5th at 9:00pm The Union (18. W. Union Street) – FREE!
9:15pm Summoners
10:15pm The Heartlanders
11:15pm Speaking Suns
12:15am WV White
1:15am The D-Rays
Saturday, September 6th at 3:00pm Haffa’s Records (15 W. Union Street) – FREE!
3:00pm Chris Biester
3:45pm Adam Remnant
4:30pm Joe Anderl
Saturday, September 6th at 8:00pm The Union (18. W. Union Street) – FREE! 8:00pm Weedghost
8:15pm Unmonumental
9:00pm Supernobody
10:00pm Dead Hand of Man
11:00pm The 1984 Draft
12:00am Connections
1:15am Hex Net
Traysh Island II: Burning Mang is this weekend, August 1-2 at 8550 Ohio just outside of Chesterhill. Lots of incredible bands and people, you should go.
The second installment of Traysh Island (titled Burning Mang) comes to 8550 Ohio this weekend August 1-2 just outside the little Appalachian town of Chesterhill. One of the more interesting gatherings of artists and musicians I’ve been at in the absolutely drop-jawed gorgeousness that only Southeast Ohio can bring, Traysh Island features live music and more for two days. The full schedule is waaaay below, but features everyone from Aquabear-ites and Ohio’s own Weedghost, Sport Fishing USA, and Speaking Suns to national acts like Kansas City’s Quadrigarum and Chicago’s Cooper Crain. 8550 OHIO ST RT 377, $10 admission (cash only) // $20 per tent (rsvp @ 8550OHIO@gmail.com).
Aquabear had the chance to ask a few questions to 8550 Ohio’s Jason Ajemian who filled us in on how a bunch of guys from various big cities ended up in the middle of Southeast Ohio.
How did Traysh Island get started?
Jason Ajemian: TRAYSH ISLAND was initiated last spring as a ribbon cutting ceremony for Conrad Freiburg’s Woodshed, the first permanent sculpture at 8550 OHIO, where we have been holding artist residencies for nearly ten years. More recently we developed TRAYSH NEW YORK at the Knockdown Center in Queens, which will be an annual effort. We are also thinking of introducing a Chicago edition in 2015.
How did 8550 get started? What brought the whole thing to Chesterhill?
8550 OHIO was born out of Harold Arts, a not for profit organization founded in Chicago by Jaimie Branch, Joe Jeffers and Nick Wylie. Joe Jeffers is the grandson of Harold and Elizabeth Jeffers, who raised a 3200 acre tree farm in Chesterhill. Jeffers and his team rented this property for a few months every summer in order to host a juried group of emerging and mid-career artists and musicians to gather in the hills for the purpose of interdisciplinary production. The organization became two organizations in 2010, Wylie and others founding ACRE in Wisconsin, while Jeffers moved (literally) to 8550 OHIO (state route 377), which continues to offer residencies for artists and musicians. 8550 OHIO is now run by me, Rebecca Beachy, Joe Jeffers, Frank Van Duerm, with a lot of help from the artists who visit us.
How did you guys all start working together?
Joe and I started working together in 2007, at that time I was working @ Harold as a producer, making records for others and of course developing my own projects. We met in Chicago at various places you might see experimental music.
What kind of things are going on at 8550 year round?
Not much unfortunately, the property is available for rent.
What are the plans for the future?Â
Next year will be the tenth year we’ve hosted artists out here, so we are taking that pretty seriously.
I dont want to say too much, but on the 8550 residency tip we plan to return to working with cultural partners to produce thematic residencies. We’re also hoping that Kelly Kaczynski’s stage may be done in time for TRAYSH ISLAND III : THE LEGEND OF MOLD MANG.
What band are you most excited for this weekend?
Im most excited for QUADRIGARUM, a Kansas city based group led by J Ashley Miller, will be building a “chariot” for their performance, which is a medieval looking device that strums two guitars with two captain’s wheels. Its probably the most spectacular thing on the menu.
Anything else?
TRAYSH ISLAND II: BURNING MANG is free for civil war reenactors. Here’s a radio interview we did for T-NY: http://clocktower.org/show/traysh8550-ohio
SCHEDULE:
FRIDAYÂ AUGUST FIRST
5pm   Chesterhill Singers with Milton Robertson (OHIO)
Joe Anderl and his band The 1984 Draft join the County Fair lineup from Dayton, Ohio
Joe Anderl and his band The 1984 Draft join the County Fair lineup from Dayton, Ohio
The 8th annual Aquabear County Fair is September 5-6, 2014 in Athens, Ohio with Connections and WVWhite heading down from Columbus for a FREE weekend of Ohio music. We are excited to announce another round of bands to join the two we have already announced! Dayton’s The 1984 Draft (Joe Anderl in new full band mode) joins Athens acts The D-Rays, The Heartlanders, Supernobody, and Ohio noise supergroup Weedghost. A few more acts still to come and the whole weekend is FREE. Shows will take place at The Union in Athens on Friday (The D-Rays, WVWhite, The Heartlanders, more TBA) and Saturday (Connections, The 1984 Draft, Supernobody, Weedghost, more TBA) and we will also host a special afternoon acoustic showcase at Haffa’s Records right across the street on Saturday afternoon! Joe Anderl (of 1984 NFL Draft) will be playing along with a few more still to be announced. More information on the Haffa’s show coming soon.
This whole weekend is FREE because we want everyone to come out and enjoy Ohio music and have one less excuse on why they are not watching awesome music. But, Aquabear still pays the bands because we think artists should get paid. We’re having our annual fundraiser (and an event I have dubbed “the best day of the year”) the Aquabear Pancake Breakfast on Sunday, August 10th from 1pm-3pm at UCM in Uptown Athens. All local food from such great partners as Snowville Creamery, Donkey Coffee, Casa Nueva, Shagbark Seed & Mill, Fluff Bakery & Catering, Pierogi Mountain, Fullbrooks Cafe, and many more. $5 in advance (look for tickets at Haffa’s soon, or buy them from us) or $6 at the door for all you can eat pancakes and coffee PLUS $1 upgrades will be available for an exclusive AquaBLUEbear Pierogi Mountain pierogi, local bacon, Casa soysage, and more. Come hang out and eat some killer pancakes.
Sometimes the Bear Eats You Too is back and better than ever with three episodes from the 10th annual Nelsonville Music Festival! We begin with some of the great bands from Thursday night. This episode includes songs from D-Rays, unmonumental, Charles Walker and the Dynamites, Supernobody, Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas, Jason Isbell, and Saint Paul and the Broken Bones. You’ll also hear from some of the most influential names in Athens rock and roll: Scotty Hedrick, Brian Koscho, and Andrew Lampela. All that and the occasional quip from me, Kris P. Enjoy, and be sure to come back soon for more.
The 7th annual Aquabear County Fair is THIS COMING WEEKEND: September 5-7 in beautiful Uptown Athens, Ohio. Things kick off on Thursday, September 5 at The Union at 10:00pm with Weird Science (athens), Palaces (cleveland), Princess (athens), and Night Stalker (athens). Friday, September 6 we move a few block away to Casa Cantina with music from The D-Rays (athens), Hyrrokkin (yellow springs), Supernobody (athens), and The Dead Hand of Man (athens). And we finish off the weekend back at The Union on Saturday, September 7 at 9:00pm with Wussy (cincinnati), Â being joined by a slew of Athens bands including County Pharaohs, Hex Net, Unmonumental, Weedghost, and the night will close out with a performance from We March. ALL FREE. It’s on Facebook here, share this link, bring friends, support Ohio music
The 7th annual Aquabear County Fair is September 5-7 in Athens, Ohio! The weekend features 14 Ohio bands playing three nights for FREE and here’s the final lineup (times TBA):
Thursday, September 5 at The Union, 10pm
Weird Science (athens)
Palaces (cleveland)
Princess (athens)
Night Stalker (athens)
Friday, September 6 at Casa, 10pm
The D-Rays (athens)
Hyrrokkin (yellow springs)
Supernobody (athens)
Dead Hand of Man (athens)
Saturday, September 7 at The Union, 9pm
Wussy (cincinnati)
We March (athens)
County Pharaohs (athens)
Hex Net (athens)
Unmonumental (athens)
Weedghost (fairborn/athens)
All shows are FREE. We still pay the bands so if you’d like to help by making a donation let us know: contact@aquabearlegion.com
Athens' own We March join the Aquabear County Fair lineup and will close out The Union on Saturday, September 7
Athens’ own We March join the Aquabear County Fair lineup and will close out The Union on Saturday, September 7
The 7th annual Aquabear County Fair will take place in beautiful Athens, Ohio on the weekend of September 5-7, 2013! And the Aquabear has another round of bands to announce for this ALL FREE weekend of Ohio music featuring (after about a year off) the Athens legendary punk rockers We March who will close out The Union on Saturday night after Wussy’s set. Joining We March in this round of announcements as well are Hyrrokkin (yellow springs), County Pharaohs (athens), Hex Net (athens), and Princess (athens). The new announcements join a lineup that features Wussy (cincinnati), The D-Rays (athens), Weird Science (athens), Supernobody (athens), Unmonumental (athens), and Weedghost (athens/fairborn). More bands are still to be announced and the entire weekend is FREE. We gladly take donations to help pay the bands, drop us a line at contact@aquabearlegion.com if you’d like to help.
7th Annual Aquabear County Fair
Athens, Ohio – Â ALL FREE
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
The Union, 10pm
with: Weird Science, Princess, and more
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
Casa Cantina, 10pm
with: Hyrokkin, The D-Rays, Supernobdy, and more
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
The Union, 9pm
with: Wussy, We March, County Pharaohs, Hex Net, Unmonumental, Weedghost
Cincinnati’s Wussy will headline the 7th annual Aquabear County Fair!
The 7th annual Aquabear County Fair will take place September 5-7, 2013 in beautiful uptown Athens, Ohio! This year’s Fair will feature tons of great Ohio bands playing all throughout the weekend in Athens FOR FREE and will be headlined by Cincinnati’s acclaimed rock and roll legends Wussy on Saturday, September 7th at The Union. Joining Wussy in this first round of announcements are some of Athens’ finest including The D-Rays, Weird Science, Supernobody, Unmonumental, and Weedghost (dates, venues, times to be announced), with a whole lot more to come. The weekend will kick off on Thursday, September 5th at The Union and continue on Friday, September 6 at Casa Cantina before closing out on Saturday, September 7th back at The Union. There will still be a few more shows and surprises to announce as we get closer. And again, this whole weekend is FREE. If you are an Ohio business interested in sponsoring the Aquabear County Fair to help pay some bands, send us an e-mail at contact@aquabearlegion.com, and if you are a person who thinks this all sounds like a good time and want to support Aquabear you can make a donation here, even a few bucks is a big help.
Check out Wussy’s full KEXP performance from 2012’s SXSW show at Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop
Sometimes The Bear Eats You Too returns with coverage of the 2013 Nelsonville Music Festival! Thursday focused heavily on Athens bands with performances by JJ Reed, Unmonumental, Chris Biester, Hex Net, Weedghost, D-Rays and Makebelieves! Out of towners Old Light and Los Hacheros join the fun as well. Check back soon for highlights from the rest of the weekend’s activities.
Last week, Matt Presutti (The Makebelieves, The Snails, Transmissions from Moonbase Alpha) earned his MFA in print making from the University of South Dakota in the lovely little town of Vermillion, SD. He kindly invited Aquabear Legionnaires Weedghost to provide musical accompaniment to his gallery opening entitled “Locus Nocturna: A History of Curiosity” at LumoStudios & Gallery on Friday, April 26th. Weedghost’s drones were the perfect match to Presutti’s explorations of fact, myth, and unexplained phenomena. Our time spent in Vermillion was filled with old and new friends, beautiful scenery, Hamm’s, Ice Hole, pinball, gamelan, transcribing, the biggest pork chops we’ve ever seen, a mustachioed cat, radioactive Catholics, and one Egyptian assault rifle. Please enjoy the pictures.
Way back on November 5, 2011 Aquabear Legion teamed up with Disjointed Studios to hatch the crazy plan of recording 16 different bands over the course of 16 straight hours with the intent of releasing these recordings as a free online Aquabear compilation. We are excited to finally share Aquabear Legion’s 16 in 16 with all of you for download or streaming. Special thanks to Disjointed (Mike, Jess, and Miles), Dale at Long Run Audio for the mastering, Max Wheeler/Gnarly As I Wanna Be for the artwork, and all of the bands who participated. 16 in 16 is Aquabear’s 9th release since 2004 and features bands from all across Ohio including: Bram Riddlebarger and His Lonesome Band, Saturn Missile Batteries, The Revulvas, Cophugger, Dune, Hookers Made out of Cocaine, Moon High, Skumplast, Octopus and Owl, State Park, Alex Henry/Nate Scheible Duo, Dead Winds of Summer, Weedghost, The Goodbye Goats, Casiotone Orchestra, and Remainder. Download it here, and feel free to make a donation to help support the Aquabear Legion.
Nelsonville! Woooo! This year’s festival kicks off with a free party for all to enjoy. Listen to live performances from Weedghost, Angela Perley and the Howling Moons, Mike Elliott, State Park, Nathan Moore, Southeast Engine and Hex Net. Check back soon for more episodes, more Nelsonville Music Festival, and more fun!
