Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker of the band Wussy are two of the best songwriters in the known universe. They’re also an absolute blast to talk to about (in no particular order): music, their Forever Sounds radio show, bad movies, Swedish Eagle, the Eagles, TV show filling station characters, ball peen hammers, ascots, super-glued teeth, and other important matters. Oh, and fecal matter too – because we’re erudite!
Wussy is doing a full band show at The Woodward Theater on Friday, February 27. Advance Base (the latest project from Owen Ashworth, formerly of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone) and Moontype open the show. Get tickets here.
Chuck and Lisa also do a radio show on WAIF-FM every Tuesday morning (i.e. Monday night when the clock strikes midnight). As Lisa mentioned in our podcast interview, they play music like you’d hear on stations like 97X. And their on-air banter is equal parts enlightening and hilarious. You can find a full archive of their past episodes on Mixcloud and Apple Podcasts.
The Wussy oeuvre is chock-full of gems – there are so many amazing tunes that it’s tough to single out just one. But here’s Chuck’s favorite Wussy song:
Lisa’s description of the interplay between her voice and Chuck’s as a flipped version of John Doe and Exene Cervenka of the band X is a fitting comparison.
You can really hear it in a song like “Airborne.”
Chuck and Lisa also did an digital album of cover songs as a fundraiser for WAIF.
You can get that album here for a pledge of $25 or more.
97X fans no doubt know that Chuck also was the front man for the fantastic Cincinnati band Ass Ponys. (Or “A-Ponys” as we sometimes had to refer to them on 97X in their early days.)
A few years ago, we interviewed Mark Messerly from Wussy for a two-part Rumblings podcast – here and here.
Last, but certainly not least, here’s the trailer for the 1979 movie Angels Revenge:
Goober says “hey!”
3 responses to “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush: Chuck & Lisa from Wussy”
Fred
What a great episode — thank you! I’m a huge Wussy fan and could listen to their banter forever. I like Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, but honestly, I’d take their back-and-forth over Conan’s crew any day.
And thanks for the reminder about WAIF and Mixcloud. I used to use Mixcloud to listen to former 97Xer Mike Taylor’s The Big Beat, but it kind of fell off my radar. Now that I can catch Chuck and Lisa’s show there, I’m also going to check out Trash Flow Radio on Mixcloud.
I’ve been following Lisa’s Spotify playlist, Majestic 12 Radio, and have discovered so many great gems through it. I sometimes struggle to find good music discovery avenues, and their weekly radio show is definitely one I’ll be tuning into regularly now.
Thanks again — I love this podcast!
Thanks for listening, Fred, and we’re glad you enjoyed it. Forever Sounds and Trash Flow Radio are the best – and thanks for pointing us to Lisa’s Majestic 12 Radio playlist on Spotify!
Johnny Gill (of New Edition) plays the Ludlow Garage on Sunday, November 23.
Feast week starts Monday, November 24, with BOTH of my son’s bands (The Collies and Van Winkle) playing The Comet in Northside.
On Wednesday, November 26 (a.k.a. Thanksgiving Eve, a.k.a. the biggest bar night of the year), The Distractions (a.k.a. Cereal Killers) will be doing an all-Elvis (Costello) set, along with Dot.Dot.Dot. doing R.E.M. at The Village Theater in Covington. Be there!
Other shows that same evening:
The Woodward has An Evening with Ray’s Music Exchange. They will be joined by members of Ernie Johnson from Detroit, who will then play at MOTR starting at 10:30.
The Liberty Theater features an Adam Wade Gilliam album release show, with The Spectacular Fantastic.
Southgate’s Revival Room features Shelter from the Storm (Dylan tribute) and the Dead Revival Band (GD tribute)
List member Keith Neltner has created another cool design for the Maker’s Mark album featuring tunes from The Tillers and Buffalo Wabs & The Price Hill Hustle. The release shows (plural this year!) are at Arnold’s on 11/26 and 11/28:
Friday, November 28 (a.k.a. Black Friday):
Freekbass plays his Funksgiving show at Urban Artifact (look for a 97X Rumblings podcast interview with Freekbass coming soon)
Buffalo Wabs & The Price Hill Hustle at Arnold’s
Mama Said String Band plays the Liberty Theater, with Dave Lacey & Ten Pound Hammer
Stolen Faces (Grateful Dead tribute band) play the Woodward
On Saturday, November 29:
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones play a “Jingle all the Way” (not sure if that’s a Christmas reference or a revenue reference) show at the Taft
Tripping Billies (DMB tribute) at Ludlow
Last, but certainly not least, The Mynabirds play an Undertow show at The Columbia on Eastern Avenue. Tickets are available here.
If you’re not familiar with The Mynabirds (solo nom-de-stage of Laura Burhenn), check out her new release on Bandcamp.
Bandcamp, not Spotify… here’s the only Mynabirds song selection you’ll find on Spotify:
Right on!
Finally, Stevie Nicks plays a sold-out show at the Coliseum on Sunday, November 30. Resale tix in the cheap seats are going for $350 (and TicketBastard will once again charge exorbitant fees on the resale, even though they already collected fees on the original sale).
A Halloween treat
Katie Crutchfield (Waxahatchee) and her twin sister Allison (Swearin’) teamed up with MJ Lenderman and super-producer Brad Cook to form the band Snocaps, and they dropped a tasty album on 10/31. Read more on Stereogum.
Forever Sounds: forever cool
Lisa Walker and Chuck Cleaver do a weekly show on WAIF-FM called “Forever Sounds” and they’re giving out a digital album of cover songs (GBV, Bill Fay, Joni Mitchell, The Bats, Hüsker Dü and many more) to folks who pledge to support their show.
You’ll find the pledge form and past episodes here.
The full Wussy band also did a couple of songs — including a brand new one — at the new Cincinnati Public Radio studio with former woxy.com Lounge Acts engineer Brian Niecz.
Kathleen Edwards and her fantastic band the next night in Louisville: transcendent!
Three nights of Buffalo Tom in Boston – including John Wesley Harding, Moving Targets, and a Pogues tribute band as openers, an acoustic set that included several tasty covers (see setlist below), a band Q&A, and much more: Stupendous!
Wishy at Madison Live last night: not too shabby!
But we don’t always love it live
Rickie Lee Jones played a great set at Memorial Hall.
Patty Griffin? Not so much. I understand the desire to feature several new songs – I expect that from most artists with a new album out. But to completely ignore a large part of your catalog — including the most popular songs — is not my cup of tea. The set was pretty much a snoozefest.
Wright State pitching star on Miami U. turf
Good old Robert Pollard – he can make a cool tune out of city and school district names.
Forget Bitcoin – invest in Lu!
Chuck Prophet can see the future. And the future is pure Lucinda Williams gold!
The full post is here. Chuck’s Substack is worth a subscribe.
Mailbag
In case you missed this fun exchange in the comments section of our last post, list members Lisa Collins and Dan Lewis took issue with my Beatles ranking:
Here’s that Westerberg clip that Lisa Collins sent me:
And Dan Lewis is right about me fitting in with the Goad Family. I certainly have the wardrobe for it:
Speaking of retired Cincinnati Reds superstar salesman Herb Tarlek Dan Lewis, I’m happy to report that he has found another modeling gig that’s perfect for his golden years. He’s the official spokesperson for this product:
“Fall” doesn’t mean the season, it means taking a tumble. Here’s Dan modeling the product:
“Collision to the elderly head” would be a great name for a punk band!
Album Cover(s) of the Week(s): Hair today, gone tomorrow
Her hair took up so much space on the cover that they had to reduce the font size of the type.
Ditto for “Lee Michaels” (we all know it’s really a young Richard Lewis.)
One response to “Tofurkey tunes”
Dan Lewis
Tyrannical power at its worst. I’m reminded of the Holy Grail Monty Python quote “see the violence inherent in the system. Help help, I’m being repressed.” You can’t fight city hall…
I let you down yet again (you should be used to it by now). I’m tardy with my list of gigs so I didn’t get to tell you about the New Pornographers show at Memorial Hall last night. That said, the show was sold out. Besides, I don’t know why people need New Pornographers, the old ones still work just fine.
Tonight, Southgate House is hosting The Nude Party. (It’s a band, get your mind out of the old pornographers gutter.)
OK, let’s focus on the future. The Future of Rock and Roll, that is. Robin James wrote the book about 97X, and thanks to Northside’s Downbound Books and Shake It Records, she’ll be talking about it with a couple of knuckleheads at the Mercantile Library this Thursday. If you’re one of the faithful 200 who registered for this event, you can hear from Robin, get a book signed and enjoy some tasty Great Lakes Brewing Co. beverages courtesy of our ol’ pal Howard Cohen (Cereal Killers… more on them later).
If you can’t attend in person, you can stream the event on Crowdcast here. (Great Lakes Beer not included.)
Tomorrow night, Richard Thompson plays a solo acoustic show at the 20th Century Theater. I’ll be there, of course. Forget about King Charles III, to me, King Richard is the Brit who rules.
KT Tunstall and Martin Sexton are also playing a double bill tomorrow, at Memorial Hall.
On Thursday, if you can’t make the Merc, Memorial Hall is hosting An Evening with the Cowboy Junkies.
Wait, wrong sort of Cowboy Junkie…
Friday night, Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker from the band Wussy are playing at my house. (Apparently they didn’t learn their lesson from the first time I hosted them back in October of 2022 and totally fanboyed out.)
John “Don’t call me Cougar” Mellencamp also kicks off a two-night stand at the Aronoff on Friday. And The Comet hosts BurritoFest 2023 on Friday and Saturday.
The Taft Theatre has some interesting shows lined up:
An Evening with Natalie Merchant on Sunday
The Wood Brothers with Shovels & Rope on Tuesday, May 16th
David Cross on Thursday, May 18th
Roger McGuinn does a “Songs & Stories” gig at Memorial Hall on 5/18.
On Friday, May 19th, Cereal Killers play at MadTree Brewing in Oakley. 7-11 p.m. First beer’s on me.
I won’t be dressed like that… unless you ask nicely.
That same evening, Frank Turner plays Bogart’s and Leo Kottke is at Ludlow Garage.
On Saturday, 5/20, Dopapod is at the Madison Theater, Steve Goodie and Eric Gnezda play a comedy music show in Florence, KY, and Fountain Square hosts the KISS tribute band Strutter.
The Gem City shines
Dayton, Ohio (birthplace of flight… and the Deal sisters) has some really nice freebie shows coming up this summer at the Levitt Pavilion downtown, including Dave Alvin, John Doe, Tab Benoit, Ernie Johnson from Detroit, and Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys. The first gig is The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band on Thursday, June 1st. Check out the full lineup here.
Mailbag
List member Mighty Joe Sampson, a resident of a posh Cincy suburb, wrote:
This longtime subscriber is formally objecting to your slanderous comment about Madeira aka “the friendly town.”
You’re right, Joe. Madeira is very accepting of strangers… as long as they follow the instructions to leave the DoorDash food delivery on the front porch.
Those wacky Brits… I don’t know how in the heck you can guard a horse when your helmet obstructs 70% of your field of vision and your “chin” strap is well above your chin. But… “tradition!”
Some folks like to trick you with nasty Halloween candy:
But I’m going to treat you to two weeks’ worth of concerts, which will take us right up to the eve of All Hallows Eve.
It’s OK, Charlie Brown, we all gotta rock.
On Monday, JD Pinkus (of Butthole Surfers and the Melvins) plays Southgate House.
Local H is at Top Cats on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Madeleine Peyroux and Paula Cole play Memorial Hall and Illuminati Hotties play Top Cats.
Thursday:
Freedy Johnston is at Southgate
Jeff Beck rocks the Greg Brady
The Cadillac Three play Bogart’s
Baby Jake is at Top Cats
Bumpin Uglies are at Madison Live
The shows this Friday really run the gig gamut:
Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives play Memorial Hall (I’ll be at that show)
Joslyn & the Sweet Compression are at Madison Live
John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band… also part of the backing band for Steve Martin’s “King Tut”) and the Circle Band play Ludlow Garage
GWAR (the band that thinks every day is Halloween) plays Bogart’s
Saturday’s a busy day for live music as well:
The Redemptioners will be at Neltner’s Farm Fall Fest in the afternoon
The Record Company is at Madison Theater
Gogol Bordello plays Bogart’s
Joe Satriani is at Taft
Acoustic Alchemy plays Ludlow Garage
Ramble On Bros (Grateful Dead tunes) play Carriage House Farm
Next Monday (10/24), Judas Priest and Queensryche play the Mike Brady.
American Authors play Madison Live on Tuesday, 10/25. Our favorite American author is Franklin W. Dixon.
A riveting tale of Joe Hardy’s heroin addiction. Or not.
On Wednesday, 10/26, Corb Lund is at Southgate, and Michael Martin Murphey is at Ludlow Garage. Ol’ 3M can no longer play the west coast because “Wildfire” is a dirty word out there. However, he did compose the state ballad of New Mexico, “Land of Enchantment.”
Next Thursday, 10/27, features some fun band names on the bill:
Puddles Pity Party and Piff the Magic Dragon play Taft
Squirrel Nut Zippers play Ludlow Garage
Next Friday, 10/28, I get a real treat: Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker of Wussy play my house!
List members Ken Laube, Dr. David Reid, Dave Roberto, Jay Stowe and Matt Fellerhoff will be in the house too.
Next Saturday, 10/29:
The Lone Bellow plays Memorial Hall
EXTC is at Ludlow Garage
Paul Anka plays the Hard Rock Casino… talk about an oxymoron!
Jordan Smart is at Neltner’s Farm
Michael Schenker plays Bogart’s
The Newbees and Bad Ass Brass host the Flower Power Ball, a benefit for Shriner’s Hospital.
Dropkick Murphys play the Cindy Brady
On Sunday, October 30, Randy Steffen and The Poor Hours wrap up the Neltner’s Farm Fall Fest.
Guided by non-sucky Voices
A fun interview with Robert Pollard is herein the Sydney Morning Herald. And I totally agree with him about Sting:
Chuck’s a brilliant songwriter, and a heck of a singer. (As he says in the interview, his voice is an “acquired taste” but it fits his songs so well.)
As fate would have it, I had listened to the Ass Ponys album Some Stupid with a Flare Gun the day before the interview came out. Man, what a great album! Just like all the other Ass Ponys albums. And all the Wussy albums. And I’m sure his new solo effort is fantastic as well.
The CityBeat piece is a lengthy profile that runs the gamut of Chuck’s career and captures his self-deprecating attitude so well.
“I don’t consider what I have as a career,” he says without a trace of irony. “I think it’s a passion that sort of went haywire.”
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