Columbus | Music

I'll be honest, I am not that big on local music (and it's not particularly big on me either). But when I went record shopping this weekend and came home with a couple LPs by Columbus acts and nothing else I realized there are a handful of truly great things going on here and figured I should share a few of the acts I do enjoy with all of you.

The Black Swans

Frontman Jerry DeCicca spent years alienating people with his deep voice and extreme melancholy. Only after making sure everyone in town had chosen a side of the fence did he tear it down and force everyone to reconsider. He now seems to get his kick putting together bills that are as perverse as they are diverse and watching his audience squirm. My kind of guy.

Time and Temperature

If you listen to any of these songs and think "this is a girl who would do weekend tours with Jason Zeh and Mike Shiflet and is head over heels for Hair Police" then you are a much more intuitive being than I. Congratulations.

Deadsea

These gentlemen are an insanely tight unit. If more metal sounded like this, I would like more metal. Though he is far more popular around town for his wild on-stage persona, I usually manage to catch guitarist/vocalist Adam Smith in far more low key settings manning a mountain of 8-track players and a Moog. And those sets are just a tech & tight as the Deadsea. No slop.

Moon High


With male-female harmonies, excellent production/arrangements, and just the right amount of twang, this four-piece offers up a lot of what I want to hear. Their record sounds so massive that it's hard to believe it was recorded in a little house a few blocks away. Props to David Fowler for his excellent recording and post-production work as well as his in-band duties.

Brainbow

Brainbow are prone to getting epic and I have no problem with that. The band also features one of the three (I would say biggest, but I'm not sure there are more than three...) Oren Ambarchi fans in Columbus and that same gentlemen (Mr. Chris Worth) first turned me on to Tim Hecker years ago, so there's that too.

And of course...

Times New Viking

Odds are if you've heard of any band on this list, it's TNV. They have always been supportive of me and the experimental scene in general, which is icing on a cake I would have happily gobbled up anyway.