Some bands just never make it to the big time, but that doesn’t mean the music cannot leave a lasting impact on a local scene.
The Seventh Annual Aquabear County Fair is a three-day concert in celebration of those misfit Ohio bands that are just in it for the passion and fun of creating and performing music. Aquabear Legion hosts the event in order to support Ohio music.
“Not only is it a big showcase of Ohio music and a chance to see a bunch of great bands, but it’s also free,” Brian Koscho, co-director at Aquabear Legion, said. “We don’t want anything to stop people from coming out and experiencing some great Ohio music.”
Koscho said Saturday’s headliner, Wussy, is a perfect fit and embodies the spirit of the fair.
This Cincinnati noisy-rock band has been together since the early 2000s and has accumulated support in the music industry. Robert Christgau, one of the earliest American rock critics, has even written, “Wussy have been the best band in America since they released the first of their five superb albums in 2005, only nobody knows it except me and my friends.”
Chuck Cleaver, frontman for the band, said even though the band has stayed in obscurity, its fan base has picked up over the years.'
“Critical acclaim unfortunately doesn’t pay the bills, but it’s better than a bunch of people saying you blow,” Cleaver said. “We’ve had a lot of critics and people of the business champion us. I’ve always been in bands that have the word ‘cult’ or ‘underappreciated’ attached to us.”
The band is working on a new album that Cleaver said they hope to release by March and will likely incorporate more of the tonal, steel pedal guitar sound they incorporated on their last album Strawberry.
“I know a lot of people lean towards stuff like Mumford & Sons and the Lumineers, but without some noise it doesn’t really interest me all that much,” Cleaver said. “If there’s not something going on that puts the fly in the ointment I’m usually not very interested.”
Wussy is headlining but the reunited Athens band We March will close out Saturday night. Zachary Fuller and Nolan Klock of Weird Science have brought the band back together after a year of hiatus and Klock said the group has a heavier style than the duo’s other project.
Other community bands will play through the weekend including Hex Net, Unmonumental, Weedghost and The D-Rays as well as The County Pharaohs, which is the reinvention of Appalachian Death Ride — Casa Nueva’s open mic night operator Chris Biester’s former band.
“That was a band that definitely had an important impact on my musical development,” Koscho said. “Talk about a band that never got through. I think those guys got close several times to having a lot of people hear their music … and those songs are still incredible.”
wh092010@ohiou.edu
@Wilbur_Hoffman
