Journal

Colin Gawel and The Lonely Bones Live at The Rumba Café Friday September 10th. Doors at 8pm. Show 9:30-11:30. 18 and up. $7

Colin Gawel — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:44:25 +0000

It’s been a while since we returned to our favorite club, the Rumba Café, and I really feel like we have improved in the meantime. Columbus should be on fire with this being the night before the Ohio State vs. Miami football game, so make plans to come out and see us now.

Also- I would like to remind any first time visitors to Colingawel.com that if you are searching for any past article like the Cheap Trick song rankings or Bruce Springsteen essay collection, all that stuff can be found under the archive section of the site.

And… please keep referring people to check out the video to “Superior”. It would be great to see it hit 10,000 views one day. Certainly not impressive by Lady Gaga standards, but it would be a nice round number just the same.

Sign the mailing list.

I have been working in the studio with Mike Landolt and the Bones and the plan is to have a new single ready for Christmas. In the meantime I have been working on some fall booking and with some luck will have dates to announce soon.

Shownotes: 614 Magazine Music Showcase, Skully’s Music Diner, Columbus OH, 8/21/2010

Colin Gawel — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:36:37 +0000

There has been a lot of chatter recently about Columbus music fans not being as supportive of local music as they could be, but boy howdy, you wouldn’t have guessed it from this night. 614 Magazine has really become a player on the scene deserve all the credit for putting together and promoting such a fabulous event.

As for me, I was the lone solo guy and I played a couple short sets between bands setting up. I rarely find the time to catch many local shows with working on my own tunes, the coffee shop, family, ECT, so I was looking forward to catching a handful of Cbus’ latest hard-chargers. –Or- In the words of the late great A&R man Frankie LaRocka, “check out what the kids are listening to.”

Achtung!! I am not a music critic so what follows are merely my personal musings. I probably have many facts/spellings wrong as I am too lazy to background check things. As always, I encourage people to go see bands and make up their minds for themselves.

Old Hundred - opened the show and I really dug their vocals. I was having a drink with Phil Palma from the Treehouse and said, “Trains Across the Sea are really good aren’t they?” He replied, “Yeah Colin, there sure are, but this is the Old Hundred.”

Did I mention these guys could sing? The harmonies were a treat and there was no lack of pop hooks. To my ears they sounded like The La’s which is high praise indeed. As the set moved on they did a cover by the band “Neutral Milk Hotel”, who are rumored all the rage in certain circles these days.

Unfortunately, with such a lame name, I have no choice to summarily dismiss NMH and will not be listening to any of their music.

Q:“Wait, you have the nerve to just dismiss a band without ever listening to their music and you call yourself a musician? Isn’t that shallow?”

A: 1)Yes, I am going to dismiss them based on their name and.. 2) yes it is shallow. In fact, it is very shallow. Rock n Roll needs a little shallow these days. Maybe it’s the Pitchfork-esque pretension floating around giving me the creeps, or perhaps I am just paranoid, but music feels a little too precious these days. So with that in mind, Neutral Milk Hotel can fuck off.

Having said that, the Old Hundred did an excellent cover of one of their songs and I really enjoyed it. If I were going to listen to Neutral Milk Hotel, I would listen to this song, but I am not, so I can’t. Understand?

Check out this clip of the show. I thought this video by Phil Kim captured their energy better than what is posted on the bands official site.

Trains Across the Sea – were up next and brought a ton of energy to a rapidly growing crowd. Folky, but rocking none the less, Trains were a band I found myself rooting for. Ending with a smoking version of “Don’t Think Twice” by Bob Dylan never hurts either.

Trains front man Andy Gallagher recently wrote a guest column for the Other Paper concerning the lack of support concerning the Columbus music scene and so on and so forth. If you have any interest on my two cents on the subject, click below for further viewing. One of them addresses the subject of improving local music. It’s either 1 or 2. I think.

Rock n Roll Stimulus plan Part 1 and Part 2.

Nick Tolford and Company- If fans aren’t supporting local music, don’t tell Nick Tolford and his 8 piece R and B band. Skully’s was packed and the crowd was just ROARING!. It was a beautiful thing to see. My expectations were sky high and although I cannot say they were entirely met, I certainly understand what the hubbub is about and it would not surprise me to see Nick continue adding to his already sizable fan base.

Sitting behind the Keys and wearing a Chicago Bulls jersey, Nick belted out a set of high energy soul numbers that drove the crowd insane. Comparisons to Wilson Pickett and even to Little Richard are obvious. I wondered how many in this crowd had ever heard this kind of R&B in a live setting or is this like some entirely new form of music from Mars?

“Until I Walk Away” was unquestionably the best song he played all night and if Nick can keep writing songs as good as this one, the sky is the limit.

Listen here.

Karate Coyote – had the unenviable task of following after Nick and Company blew the roof off the place. I was getting sleepy myself and with a 6am coffee shop alarm looming less than 275 minutes away, I had serious thoughts about cutting out before the end. Not only did I stay, I stayed for the whole set and the encore so K.C. did something right. Their latest tune is in rotation on CD101-102.5 check out the cool video here.

As for me, click here.

Thanks to Phillip Kim for the video footage.

“Rock is dead they say, long live rock”

Thoughts on Andy “Andyman” Davis

Colin Gawel — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:36:05 +0000

I spent last week in a semi stupor along with the rest of Columbus, Ohio and music fans/bands/friends from all over the country, mourning the sudden passing of Andy “Andyman” Davis. Andy roamed the FM airwaves at the legendary Independent radio station CD101 for over 19 years and was the program director for more than a decade.

Since Andy had so many interests that it would take a Ken Burns like mini series to cover everything, I am going to focus on how I knew him best, as a passionate fan of rock n roll. Family, Friends and Faith always came first for Andy, but I am reasonably confident rock n roll wasn’t too far behind those big three.

I cannot remember the year I first met Andy, but I remember the circumstances. He was the overnight DJ at this new little alternative rock station that had suddenly jumped to life on our Columbus FM dial at 101.1 FM.

Up to this point, if you lived in central Ohio (or almost anywhere in the Midwest for that matter) the only rock music being played on FM radio was…. ironically, the same songs still being played today.. What kind of station dared to play The Replacements, Elvis Costello and Ramones, but not a note from Boston, Rush or Pink Floyd? This couldn’t last! Could it? How could it? CD101 might as well been broadcasting out of the Santa Maria replica floating on the Scioto river in downtown Columbus. It was pirate radio turned loose on a bunch of Ohio State Fair going land lubbers.

Anyway, my band, Watershed had finally finished our first record. And when I say record, I mean a vinyl 45. Not because we were trying to be ironic or retro-cool, but because radio didn’t play CDs yet and still had turntables. I was too timid to drop off our new single during business hours, so I showed up in the middle of the night and tapped on the glass until this bigger than life figure stepped out. I told him I wanted to drop off my band’s first record. (Watershed-“ Rise” b/w “Love Passes Underground” produced by Willie Phoenix 1990) to see if they might want to play it. (Did I mention I was young?)

“Step on in brother..” Actually, I can’t remember what he said, but we did hang out while he was on the air and a friendship was formed.

Over the years, Watershed and CD101 partnered on so many shows, memories still come back to me in random moments. Here is one:

I remember playing New Year’s Eve at Ludlow’s (95-96?) and Andy was wrapped up in Christmas lights and hanging from a giant crane outside the club in the frigid air. They were going to drop “Andyman” like the Times Square ball to bring in the New Year. Andy always understood that radio, along with rock n roll, was supposed to be fun.

Shortly after he took over as acting program director, he added the latest Watershed songs, “Star Vehicle” and “Black Concert T-Shirt” to heavy rotation. It was a tough time for the band and me. We had been dropped by our label, manager, agent and our original drummer Herb had left the band. To add insult to injury, I had no car and had to ride my bike from Clintonville to my job at Subway (on Lane Ave in UA!) every morning. And my cat died..

Suddenly both songs started doing very well. I remember doing laundry in my basement at 256 Crestview where I lived when “Star Vehicle” was the #1 song of the day or whatever they had then. I got a little emotional as the highest I had ever finished in anything was #3 in kickball kick at field day in 5th grade. Andy and CD101 had “by the grace of their mighty hand taken Watershed off life-support and plugged us back in”

BUT…. And this is important…

I ran into to Andy at O’Riley’s bar not long after and said, “Andy, thanks so much for playing our songs, it’s really cool of you.. to..”

Andy cut me off and pulled me aside, “Let’s get this straight. I’m not playing Watershed because we are friends, I’m playing it because I think it sounds good on the radio and people will like it. If I can take one local band, put it in rotation, and it tests well with the listeners, that means I can justify adding another local band the next time I hear something I like.”

Columbus Bands that have been in regular rotation on CD101:
(That I can remember..)
Willie Phoenix/Happy Chichester/Scrawl/Earwig/ Pretty Mighty Mighty/ Scott Gorsech/Karate Coyote /Gaunt/ The Johnson Brothers/ The Sun/ X Rated Cowboys/ RC Mob/ The Toll/ The Whiles/ Scrawl/ Watershed/ Howlin Maggie/Two Cow Garage/ Envelope/ Me – and many more.

If you are keeping score at home, Watershed songs that have been in rotation “How do You Feel”, “If That’s How You Want It”, “Star Vehicle”, “Black Concert T Shirt”, “Mercurochrome”, “Can’t Be Myself”, “Anniversary”, “Obvious” and “Superior” with the Bones.

But really, while adding local bands to regular rotation is a huge deal and would get most PDs fired if they missed on even one song, Andy made an even bigger contribution to the Columbus Music scene by his little acts of kindness.

“Andyman was watching us tonight!!!”

Andy loved local music and would always check out bands and was happy to receive any demo. He would mention all kinds of shows on the air and not just the coolest or biggest shows. Especially not the coolest or biggest.

I can testify first hand that when your show gets mentioned by Andy on the radio: your boss cuts you some slack, your girl/boy friend suddenly finds you a little sexier, you parents quit bitching about you getting a job with benefits for a couple of weeks, drummers show up to practice on time, ect. It improves moral for everybody. Columbus is an amazing place to be a musician and Andy was/is the biggest part of that.

If there is such a thing as the Columbus Music Scene, we might as well rename it “Andyman”.

In the past year, Andy and my paths crossed less frequently. Sure, we still had our annual time on the Andymanathon, but with families, coffee shops and Quinn and Andy selling the Treehouse, there just weren’t as many random late night rendezvous as in past years.

Still, I looked up one morning at Colin’s Coffee and there was Andy towering over me with a big grin on his face, “We’ve got to get you back on the airwaves and I think I have an idea how to do it…and I’ll take a large coffee”

Thus, “Colin Karaoke” was born on Friday afternoons around 4:30pm. I never was really comfortable with the Karaoke part as I don’t know many sing along tunes and cannot even spell Kareoke, but I was very comfortable hanging out with my friend Andy, laughing, playing rock n roll, “taking calls” and calling it “work”.

The thing is, with Andy Davis, radio and rock n roll was never work to him. Despite all his success and talents as a promoter, DJ and programmer, he remained a fan first.

“Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life” True words. So long my friend.

________________________________________________________
I got a number of e-mails concerning what I said and played at the Andyman Remembrance at the LC Thursday July 22,2010

To summarize: Andy put his life’s work into CD101. Now you need to help spread the word and keep his dream alive and thriving. E-mail somebody, tell them to tune in, wear a shirt, take out an ad. Get involved. Don’t just sit and listen in your car by yourself. Run a bus off the road, roll the windows down, turn that mother way up and scream “check out this radio station!!”

The songs I played at the remembrance were:

New Depression

Over Too Soon

Guy At Show: “Dude- why are you going to play over too soon? That song is such a bummer.”

Me: “Because this is a bummer, dude.”

My Obsession: Ranking the Songs of Cheap Trick

Colin Gawel — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:16:47 +0000

Welcome Cheap Trick Fans! I've spent the last 5 weeks ranking every single Cheap Trick song along with essays, comments and links to audio/video. I've lost all my friends and my family won't talk to me, but I think you will agree it was worth it. Click here to view "My Obsession, The Complete Ranking of All Cheap Trick Songs 2010" -Colin

Goodale Park Music Series - Sunday 7/11 at 12:30

Colin Gawel — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 13:43:51 +0000

Looking forward to our show at the Goodale Park Music Series this Sunday at 12:30. Great concept by Alexandra Kelley to pair music with local food bloggers to create a fun community event. Check out the CMH Gourmand's post about Sunday's food theme.

ComFest Recap 2010

Colin Gawel — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:02:48 +0000

Growing up in Columbus, ComFest has always been the OSU V Michigan of gigs in this city. As a teenager in Worthington, I would catch the #2 COTA bus down High Street and see bands like the R.C. Mob and Willie Phoenix and The Shadowlords playing crushing sets to huge crowds and think “I cannot believe our city has something this cool”. At that young age the goal was very clear. We have to play Comfest one day.

I can still remember the moment Gabor Klein told me that Watershed was in Comfest and would be performing Saturday night on the main stage. It was a dream come true to grace the same stage as all my local heroes before me and we treated Comfest gigs with extra attention, as we knew we were filling big shoes of rockers past.

Though I couldn’t find any record of Comfest gigs before 2000 here are some links to past show notes:

And if you want to read the back story to the McWatershed gig at ComFest, here you go:

So it goes without saying that both I and the Bones were all extremely excited to be back on the Bozo stage to perform this year. The weather was perfect and the amplifiers all worked. Thanks to all the volunteers who keep the festival running so smoothly and for all the people who made it out to the gig. We couldn’t say “Hi” to everybody that night so you are getting it now.

The Set: Sad Drive/ Words We Say/ Lonely Bones/ I-65/ Small Doses/ Downed (Cheap Trick)/ Chemotherapy/ See You Tonight/ Superior/ Black Concert T Shirt

Just Announced: ComFest Main Stage Friday, June 25

Colin Gawel — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:28:02 +0000

Colin Gawel & the Lonely Bones will be playing on the Main Stage (the Bozo Stage) on Friday June 25 at 6:00 PM. It goes without saying that we are honored and excited to perform once again at everyone's favorite festival.

ComFest is a labor of love by a group of dedicated volunteers. Please consider giving some of your time to make sure the organization continues to grow and thrive. And besides, working the beer tent for an hour isn't exactly hard labor... Click here for more info.

Singing the National Anthem at Rugby Championship !... ?... !

Colin Gawel — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:40:54 +0000

So it's true, I will be performing the national anthem tomorrow (Sat. June 5th 1:50pm)) at Crew Stadium for the The USA Seven's Rugby Championship. I've had offers for other events before (Chill, Clippers, Blue Jackets etc.) but always turned them down for fear that I would forget the words and end up getting linked next to Roseanne Barr on YouTube for all eternity.

This time I said yes. What has changed? Well, for starters it all happened really fast so I sort of agreed before having a chance to wuss out. Secondly, I'm not getting any younger so I might as well give this a go at least once before my number is called. Finally and possibly most important, I hear Rugby players and fans party even harder than rock stars, so that is intriguing. Wish me luck and hope to see you there.

Live Radio Interview / Studio Performance on WTMD: 6/2 at 5:30pm

Colin Gawel — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:23:24 +0000

Colin will be doing a live appearance on WTMD in Baltimore on June 2 at 5:30 PM. John Mathews will talk with Colin about his new releases and talk about old times. Listen in for a chance to win free tickets to that evening's show at the 8X10.

Tune in to WTMD at 89.7 FM or stream it live from here.