Parting Shot: Why I'm Still Poor

I have ideas all the damn time. No one ever asks me for them, though. Sometimes, I tell people who haven’t asked, but that’s usually because of special environmental...

Adventures in Underland

That really is a Vietnam vet sitting next to what appears to be a giant cat. Shadowbox Live’s newest original musical involves psychedelics, drug trips, and hippies – and a...1

The Heartbreak Kid

Josh Ritter is a busy man...(Wait, lets back up a bit)... Starting in 2007 with his release of The Historical Conquest of Josh Ritter, Josh went on what can only be described...

In Pursuit of Happyness

“Getting dropped [from a major label] should be approached the way a stunt man approaches jumping out of a moving car…it happens all the time.” Harold Chichester never...

Out on a Limb

When (614) caught up to Matt Monta for this interview, he was performing at an open mic at the same bar where he will release his solo debut. His tall frame was silhouetted...

Opening Volley

Michael and Sarah Bongiorno are to blame for this. When the couple behind Columbus Design Week distributed 500 of their orange Ideabooks last fall – 4.25-inches by 5.5-inches...

Making the Old New Again

Al Jarreau is an artist whose creativity knows no limits. Since the mid-1970’s, this versatile singer has applied his whimsical, rhythmic, one-of-a-kind gymnastic scatting to...

Caesar Then & Now

According to legend, when Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island for his fight against Apartheid in South Africa, a book of the complete works of William Shakespeare was...1

The New Normal

There was a time not too long ago when the word “cult” conjured up visions of poisoned Kool-Aid, Christ complexes, comets, and neatly placed tennis shoes. But for a cult to...

Big Picture

Space Cowboy

Who knew that a Columbus hillbilly comedy band called Poop House Riley could lay the foundation for one of Ohio’s beloved children’s music groups? Such is the story of the...

Opening Volley

In 2012, I joined a gym, shacked up with a dog, and watched at least three reality shows – most of them at said gym. That’s because in 2012, I fell in love with a woman; a...2

Parting Shot

Imagine a factory that produces only one product – let’s say, oh I don’t know, widgets. Imagine also that the factory is open just eight months per year, because...

The Little Blog that Could

Moving to a new city is always a daunting endeavor. When New Jersey native Robert Duffy found himself in Columbus after a move from San Francisco in 2002, the usual questions of...

Life on Mars

When Ahmed Gallab handed over a CD of his Sinkane project to Caribou frontman Dan Snaith at a Cleveland show five years ago, he probably couldn’t have predicted where the...

Face Paint & Phil Collins

Since releasing their major-label debut last June, Ohio’s very own kinetic pop quartet Walk the Moon has turned their name into a prophecy. After opening gigs for buzz magnets...