Miniature Tigers are new ban from sunny Arizona and it comes through in their sound,….I guess like those California cows. They opened for Ben Folds during his sold out show in Columbus. Then they were playing a bunch of sold out shows with Cut Copy. Ohio Rocks took a moment to find out their roots and what Rick and Charley think about this roller coaster ride of a tour.

OHIO ROCKS: Yea, so I know for this album you guys have decided to take on a new member, a bassist, Joanna Bolme, what prompted that?

 

SAM: Well, our last record before this most recent one, Janet and I recorded as a duo in the studio, but then we over-dubbed some extra parts on it, bass parts on it afterwards. Then when we toured we felt like we needed the bass on there, so Joanna went out with us on that tour, and then we just didn’t want to go back.

Ohio Rocks: Are there any cities you look forward to playing? Akron?

Polysics: Akron feels different, a special feeling. Yes the fact that Devo is from there is really cool. It’s historic. We walk by the theaters they first played in. We look in the windows and can’t wait until we can go on stage.

OHIO ROCKS: What was it like going from nothing to big time?

Joe: We feel like,.... feel lucky. We spent 5yrs in a van touring. Nobody cared. Now well,…..its amazing. Its rad that its grown but sometimes we realize it’s not any different for us,….. if 25 or 2500 people show up. We are just playing.

Ohio Rocks – Do you feel like because you were a late-bloomer that you have a lot more musical creativity built up?

Chuck – Oh yeah, absolutely. I’ve been writing songs for as long as I can remember. Just because I didn’t know how to play an instrument, I still wrote songs. I thought, finally, that I better learn how to play because I can’t get these out of my head. So I learned to play and it took me forever because I’m not a real natural at the guitar. I’ve been playing long enough that I can play it now.

OHIO ROCKS: On the title track of the album,…….is it a song about your grandfather?

Brian Fallon: Oh, The 59 Sound…..no it’s his grandmothers radio. The grandmother’s radio is just a memory but the song it’s about three different people. Some had passed away and some were with me at the time. It was a look at what happened from start to finish type song. It about life and death moments we experience and how they blend together. It’s very strange sometimes. You have memories of people who were there at the beginning of your life and now they’re not here but the memories are still here.

Ohio Rocks: Can you give any advice to local bands that want to be able to make their music a career?

MVP: I would highly encourage them to get out of their comfort zone and start touring. That more than anything else.

We spoke with a member of the Von Bondies Before the show in Columbus. Lead singer, Jason Stollsteimer, sat down with Ohio Rocks to talk about the new album, guitars, good fans and memorable nights. Make sure to check out their new release Love, Hate and Then There’s You.

OHIO ROCKS: Who or what was your biggest inspiration for this band? Doing folk and going in that direction?

Justin: It was a lot of things. I started playing this music while I still lived in Idaho , before I moved to Portland Oregon in 2004. I played in rock band’s most of my life I was kind of done with it. I couldn’t get a job and was unemployed for about four months when I first moved to Portland. I wrote my first record in my bedroom, funny story. I was broke and kind of at one of those crossroads where I didn’t really know what I was doing. I wasn't intending to play music anymore and then I wrote the majority of my first record. That I would say was the biggest inspiration. It was kind of break from life for awhile but specifically folk music,  I kinda got into it because of that. The whole mindset of being alone and a little bit more quiet, laid back and the mentality and the music and arrangements came after that. My initial songwriting was pretty much started in that mindset,.... in my room.

Rock on the Range is now held in Columbus OH. The heavy rock fest features famous acts like Motley Crew, Alice in Chains and Korn. Blue October, as an addition to the list, was a nice treat.   They played in the afternoon on a perfect day. The platinum recording artists are riding the wave of their new single, Dirt Room, that is dominating the airwaves.   Band members Ryan and CB sat down with OHIO ROCKS to answer a few questions before their set.

Ohio Rocks – It seems like some of the songs on the new album are a little more upbeat. Is there anything different in the transition from the last album to this one?

Tony – With that stuff it comes from adding new people. We’ve always had a fluid membership in the band and on this album everyone was emphasizing their influences and their creativity. When I write songs, I write them for acoustic guitar and voice. Then I bring the songs to the band and we kind of see where they go. On this album it was really fascinating to watch the songs transform from simple songs with acoustic guitar and voice, into more up-tempo numbers.