Interview with Glenn Morrow !

Glenn Morrow has a storied history as a founding member of “a” the first band to play at the legendary Hoboken music club Maxwell’s in the late 70s – the rest of that band went on to form the Bongos. Glenn next formed the Individuals and toured across the U.S. with that outfit. At the same time, he also served as an editor and writer at New York Rocker magazine.

In 1986, his new band Rage To Live became the first act signed to startup label Bar/None Records. Later that year, Glenn would become a partner with the label’s founder Tom Prendergast and eventually sole proprietor, a post he held until earlier this year when he turned the label over to A&R guru, Emmy Black.

Morrow felt the itch to make music again and wade back into band life after being inspired by re-union performances with his old groups at the closing night of Maxwell’s on July 31, 2013. When a flood of new song ideas arrived, he didn’t want the fun to stop.

In 2014, a band took shape around Mike Rosenberg (bass), Ric Sherman (guitar) and Ron Metz (drums). All were veterans of the local Hoboken scene (Human Switchboard, the Schramms, the Pussywillows).

Their debut album Glenn Morrow’s Cry For Help was released on the Rhyme & Reason label in 2017 followed by their streaming-only sophomore album “2” in the COVID-crazed latter days of 2020. There are plans for a vinyl release of “2”, later this year.

Ray Ketchem had this to say about working with the band—

“Producing the third album from Glenn Morrow’s Cry For Help drove home how sharp their instincts for hooks remain - they land with the confidence that only comes from decades of playing in bands. Glenn’s storytelling honestly reflects his generation, with a touch of melancholy, that gives the record an emotional weight,”

Here’s hoping Glenn Morrow’s Cry For Help will make it to your town in 2026.

https://www.instagram.com/glennmorrowscryforhelp/

https://www.facebook.com/glennmorrowscryforhelp/

Interview and performance by Sweet Ignition.

Zig At The Gig goes live at Negative Space bringing the talent from the streets of Cleveland to you! with Sweet Ignition! Sweet Ignition is a Pop punk from Northeast Ohio. Fronted by singer songwriter, and guitarist Michael Gallup Sweet Ignition dives deep in this conversation and rocks hard!

A true up and coming talent to keep your eye on !

https://www.instagram.com/sweetignitionoh/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6UcAfSbuSbqAHtNRWqshUj

Chuck Smith is a New York-based documentary filmmaker, television producer and author.

He created a 48-minute film Forrest Bess: Key to the Riddle in 1999 about the artist Forrest Bess  It featured Willem Dafoe as the voice of Bess and was co-directed by Ari Marcopoulos .

His 2018 film Barbara Rubin & the Exploding NY Underground was a biographical documentary about the 1960s experimental filmmaker and scene-maker  Barbara Rubin The film won the 2018 Metropolis Competition at the DOC NYC film festival.

Smith's publications include a Forrest Bess book that was published by Powerhouse books  in 2013 with a Foreword by Robert Thurman and Film Culture 80: The Legend of Barbara Rubin (2019) co-edited with J Jonas Mekas and published by Spector Books. 

About the Fugs Film !

fugs-film

https://www.instagram.com/chucksmithnyc/

https://www.youtube.com/@chucksmithNYC

https://vimeo.com/producerchuck

Interview iwth Johnny Iguana of The Claudettes

Johnny Iguana, the Claudettes' composer/pianist (who has played on albums featuring Derek Trucks, Johnny Winter, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, James Cotton and Johnny's own Chicago punk-organ cult band Oh My God), has been reaching a worldwide audience as co-composer of the original score of Emmy-winning smash FX/Hulu series "The Bear." His co-creator of that score, JQ, joined Johnny to co-produce two tracks on GARAGE GLAMOUR. In addition, Grammy-winning producer and musical Renaissance man Steve Berkowitz (who also happens to be Johnny Iguana's uncle) flew from NY to Chicago to co-produce much of GARAGE GLAMOUR.

But the big coming-out party here belongs to lead singer Rachel Williams, who has been dropping jaws at Claudettes shows since early 2023 and now makes her album debut with the band. Riveting concert crowds with her six-foot height, powerfully soulful vocals and dazzling array of stunning outfits, Rachel simply amazes on GARAGE GLAMOUR. She joins Grammy-nominated guest singer/guitarist John Primer on the deeply moving album opener "(You Are My) Whole World." Their duet is a thing of profound beauty, as John fell in love with this song in the studio, just as the tape was rolling. This is one of those precious occasions where the moment of musical and emotional discovery is documented just as it flowered. To listen to (now-80-year-old) Primer, distinguished alumnus of the Muddy Waters Band, pour his whole heart into this duet with Rachel is something supremely special.

"'(You Are My) Whole World' is a Chicago song, through and through," says Iguana. "The Chi-Lites' 'Oh Girl' was a musical inspiration, and John Primer is not only one of the last great Chicago blues legends alive, but he loves soul songs so much. He has sung soul classics on stage and in the studio for years, and so I knew that he would bring something extraordinary to this song. My wife and our drummer's wife both cried when they first heard the track with John's vocal on it. I knew we had something remarkable here."

The band, with Michael Caskey on drums and Zach Verdoorn on bass and guitar, create rock-steady grooves on the galloping "Winter Came While You Were Gone" and the throwback reverb-soaked rock 'n' roll of "Whirlpool," the band's spin on a classic Wanda Jackson B-side. Lustful wishes go in two different directions on "No Matter How Much" and "Touch You Back." In the former, an ominous buildup of stomps and lurches that gives way to a heroic prog-rock hoedown, Rachel blames all her problems on some maddeningly ineffective magic potion…100-proof Kentucky magic potion. In the latter, a tight dance-floor post-punker (featuring musical shoutouts to everyone from Kraftwerk and Gary Numan to CCR, the Doors and the Zombies), clear romantic signals are somehow missed, but Rachel won't give up so easily. Funk perfection is brought to "Touch You Back" in the form of guest guitar by the one and only Ella Feingold (Erykah Badu, Queen Latifah, Silk Sonic…), and both "No Matter How Much" and "Touch You Back" were co-produced with Iguana's "The Bear" partner JQ.

Musical menace and a wide array of keyboards (from Hammond organ and acoustic piano to Roland JX-3P analog synth and Mellotron flutes) emerge on the maniacal rock-opera treatment of the real-life war of wills between Jeff Bezos and David Pecker on "Mr. Pecker's Apoplexy" and the heist-gone-wrong chiller "That Could Be Arranged." Another cinematic gem is the David Lynch-worthy "The Aftermath," in which the questioning narrator seems to ask from beyond the grave, "Are they still looking for me?" Finally, GARAGE GLAMOUR ends with the burning message of "Don't Give It Up to the Thieves," in which Rachel bursts out of the gate to urge us to stop feeling forever aggrieved, reverse the trend of finding enemies everywhere and reclaim the innocence and naivety of childhood. The second half of that album-closing suite, "There Is No Other Side," doubles down on the mission to reject this age of enmity, with the final line, "Heaven, hell and war are built on lies. There is no other side."

Radically ranging from powerhouse singer to protean character actor, Rachel Williams asserts herself majestically here ("majestic" being the way one audience member described Rachel's entrance to the stage at an outdoor summer concert). And for all the sounds, styles, omens and homages heard on this astonishing new album, GARAGE GLAMOUR presents a band with a unified sound and an ultimately uplifting outlook.

"These are wild times, in the worst way," says Iguana. "So let's get wild, in the best way. Have fun. Make fun. Make music. Be your weird self, all the way. We'll show you how."

https://theclaudettes.com

https://www.facebook.com/TheClaudettes/

https://www.youtube.com/c/TheClaudettesOfficial

https://www.instagram.com/the_claudettes/?hl=en

https://theclaudettes.bandcamp.com/

On The Books With John Skrtic August 2026

A side quest here on Zig At The Gig where we get a monthly update for John Skrtic about all the amazing free events happing at Cleveland Public Library !

Saturday, August 15, 2026 The Cleveland Hip Hop Exhibit: 20 Years Strong

Time:2:00pm - 8:00pm

Location:Main 00 - Eastman Reading Garden

Branch: Main Library - Downtown

Saturday, August 15, 2026 Speak In Tongues Where shit happened book release

3:00–5:00 PM Location: Visible Voice Books, 4601 Lorain Ave., Cleveland, OH 44102

Wednesday, August 12 2026

Sound Bites: Justin Tibb's Spark Trio

Time:12:00pm - 1:00pm

Location:Main 00 - Eastman Reading Garden

Branch: Main Library - Downtown

Wednesday, August 19 2026

Sound Bites: Lex Moda

Time:12:00pm - 1:00pm

Location:Main 00 - Eastman Reading Garden

Branch: Main Library - Downtown

And She Was Loved: A Celebration of Toni Morrison with Andrea Pinkney

September 17, 2026, from 11:00 AM–1:00 PM at the Cleveland Public Library, Martin Luther King, Jr. Campus (10601 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland) and is free and open to the public. https://ohiocelebratestonimorrison.org/event/and-she-was-loved-a-celebration-of-toni-morrison-with-andrea-pinkney/

Edward S. Curtis's Collection The Cleveland Public Library houses a rare, original 20-volume set of Edward S. Curtis’s monumental work, The North American Indian (Set Number 331), published between 1907 and 1930. Located in the Fine Arts and Special Collections department at 325 Superior Avenue, the holding includes roughly 1,500 original photogravure prints documenting indigenous tribal life.

Interview with and performance by Danny G !

Zig At The Gig goes live at Negative Space bringing the talent from the streets of Cleveland to you! with Danny G as our first guest! Danny Gardner is a singer songwriter from North East Ohio, whose melodies are as infectious as his positive demeanor!

Follow Danny Here : https://www.facebook.com/danny.gardner.963

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuMHRACC4wk

https://www.instagram.com/dannyg3339?igsh=bmJoeDdibTlkb29x

Interview with Stephen Hunking of Hypnolovewheel !

Hypnolovewheel was founded in 1986 in New York City by guitarists Dave Ramirez and Stephen Hunking and bassist Dan Cuddy, already old-time friends and veterans of Long Island garage-rock prodigies Plastic Device. They were quickly joined by Peter Walsh, a Connecticut garage-rock prodigy and the sole respondent to an esoteric “Wanted Drummers” flyer that sought a percussionist in the mold of:

1. Moe Tucker

2. Chris Partridge

3. Micky Dolenz

4. Molty (hope I Spelled That Right) [NB: He did not.]

5. Jughead

6. Charlie Watts

7. Simon (Alvin’s Brother)”

A perplexed Walsh mistook the plural “Drummers” as an indication that he was enlisting in some sort of drum corps, but the situation was quickly clarified, and with that magic connection made, the quirky quartet were off to the races, playing at CBGB in the midnight Sunday slot and at the Lismar Lounge way too many times. In 1987, the band released a 4-track, 7-inch EP on their own Snatch-O-Matic imprint and contributed a theme song to Pat Bishow’s psychotronic film classic Soultangler.

A debut album, Turn! Turn! Burn! (produced by Albert Garzon) followed the next year on the boutique Fabian Aural Products label to high-profile accolades: It was a “real gem,” per David Browne in the New York Daily News. In The Village Voice, R. J. Smith praised “the heel-in-amp feedback fuzz, the raga goo-goo gaga . . . they want to howl, and this record makes you listen.”

And it was onward and upward from there, with local shows, regional tours, and a follow-up album, Candy Mantra, released in 1989. By this auspicious point, the group was garnering attention from underground tastemakers Conflict and 18 Wheeler, not to mention the lofty likes of The New York Times. (According to the Grey Lady, Hypnolovewheel played “slightly cockeyed, 1960’s-style pop-rock, layered with 1980’s fuzz, noise, and irony.”)

All the critical hubbub and CMJ chart success attracted the interest of larger labels, and Hypnolovewheel signed with California’s Alias Records for a trilogy of acclaimed albums: Space Mountain (1991), Angel Food (1992), and Altered States (1993), all created in collaboration with producer/engineer Lou Giordano.

Hypnolovewheel’s four songwriters and vocalists gave them an eclectic range that encompassed the driving noise rock of “I Dream of Jeannie” and jangling pop of “Bridget Because,” both college radio hits with videos directed by Walsh featured on MTV’s 120 Minutes. That versatility may not have served them particularly well in the commercial realm, but it allowed them to successfully share stages with acts ranging from the Fleshtones to the Jesus Lizard to fIREHOSE to Widespread Panic. They toured the US with NYC smart-alecks King Missile, featuring Plastic Device colleague and Hypno coproducer Chris Xefos and Ramirez on drums. They toured some more with UK shoegazers Kitchens of Distinction and power-pop poohbahs The Posies. They toured a lotby themselves, and they rubbed elbows with iconic rock heroes Moe Tucker and Arthur Lee and indie all-stars Galaxie 500, Pavement, Bongwater, Unrest, Superchunk, Brainiac, and Scrawl, among many others. Thanks to Cuddy’s day job, they were featured multiple times in Marvel’s Spider-Man comics.

At a certain point they stopped playing and did a lot of other things. Then they got back together in 2001 for one of Yo La Tengo’s inaugural Hanukkah shows at Maxwell’s. Then they stopped again and did some more things, including such notable musical projects as Dew Claw, High Tunnels, The Special Pillow, Sleepyhead, Electostim, Grand Union, XL Kings, and the revivified, superannuated Plastic Device.

Peter Walsh died too young in 2021. Not all stories have happy endings. But not all stories are over when you think they are. Eventually, Hypnolovewheel got the rights to their music back, and it will all be streaming to you in the near future. Starting now!

https://open.spotify.com/artist/54TWW2ZcDuyn8KxnpwtUaf?si=HLp1f0U-QKaJecudDh6Gqw

https://www.instagram.com/hypnolovewheel/

Interview with Bob Bert drummer from Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, and Lydia Lunch!

After seeing the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan show as an eight-year-old, he took drum lessons for one year at age twelve and learned enough to bang along to the Rolling Stones and garage-punk nuggets of the 60’s (Cue up the Barbarians’ "Are You A Boy Or Are You A Girl"). Bob became desperate to get out of the hell of his Catholic grade school. “In my town, which was 11 miles outside New York City, we had two types of kids, the rah rahs (jocks) and the hoods (greasers).

The hoods were mainly in the public school, and I gravitated towards the hoods mainly for the style; black leather jackets and girls that looked like the Shangri-Las and the Ronettes. I told my mom I would drop out if she didn't take me out of Catholic School!” One day Bob got called out of class by the principal who slapped his face back and forth saying "why would you ever want to go to public school?!”. (cue up "Mississippi Queen,” Quaalude Interlude", and "Oink Oink"). In high school Bob drifted away from drumming and headed towards Pop Art, Andy Warhol being a big influence. He got into Glam Rock hitting the NYC clubs to see the New York Dolls, Harlots of 42nd Street, Wayne County and the Backstreet Boys etc. He discovered CBGBs in 1975, when he wandered into a Television / Patti Smith double bill. He took classes at SVA and learned how to silk screen. He moved into Manhattan in 1978 and became a fine art silkscreen printer, eventually working for Warhol up until his death. (Cue up the Velvet Underground’s " Foggy Notion" and the Modern Lovers’ "Pablo Picasso"). In 1979, Bert saw an ad in the Village Voice soliciting “Punk Rock art,” submitted a piece which was accepted for a group show at the Nonson Gallery on Wooster Street, much to his delight. The opening was a gas, the whole downtown scene was in full effect.

Joey Ramone’s piece was a toothbrush with red paint on it glued to the ceiling entitled "Bloody Gums.” Daniel Rey’s Shrapnel performed in the back and someone drove a motorcycle through the front door! It was at Nonson that Bob met artist Linda Wolfe. In 1981, Bob and Linda moved to Hoboken, living a block away from the famed club, Maxwell's where Bob would spend half of his life seeing great shows and making tons of friends. In 1981 while hanging at a different club, he got up on stage making a racket with Peter Missing and Jeff Holiday (RIP). “We became the band Drunk Driving causing trouble most of the time we played. We were banned from Maxwells after Peter put his upside-down martini glass graffitti, which he became well known for when he formed his next band Missing Foundation, on the newly painted wall.” After about seven months, Bert saw a flier that Sonic Youth needed a drummer. Bob took the flyer which he still has and joined in 1982. As it turns out he was the only one to call. After his tenure with them, he joined Pussy Galore, staying with them from the mid-80’s through the end of the decade.

Bob's new album

bob-bert

Interview with Don Cento !

Halfway to Mellowtown is the debut album from Austin-based Cento Threeo, a Jazz / Americana trio led by guitarist and composer Don Cento. The album was recorded by Stuart Sikes (White Stripes, Cat Power, Loretta Lynn) at Church House in the band’s hometown with Cento producing. Halfway to Mellowtown is being released June 19 June by SecondBridge Records on 12” LP vinyl, CD, digital download and streaming services.

The album was cut live in two days with Don on guitar, drummer Norm Bergeron and Phil Spencer on bass. All eleven numbers – mainly Cento originals – are rooted in composition but make ample room for improvisation. The trio’s sound merges the sophistication of late-'90s jazz guitar records and classic '60s post-bop with the textural sensibilities of Americana and indie rock - a unique fusion born from Cento’s diverse musical background. 

“The Judy Valve” opens the album with a steady ramp up, shifting focus around the band. “It Takes What It Takes” began as a vocal song but finds a new life as an instrumental while retaining it’s pop-tune structure. “Dennis Muren” is an homage to the FX wizard from Industrial Light & Magic, that hits the laughing gas and give nods to composer and conductor, Jack Elliott. The eerie blues-waltz “Make the Silence Louder” opens Side B with a crack. "Filibuster in E Minor" is all noir ostinato, that plays a game of cat-and-mouse at the intersection of Henry Mancini and David Lynch. The album’s final track is the Rosanne Cash song, “Seven Year Ache,” the album’s only cover tune, whose melody Cento toys with like it’s made of Silly Putty. 

Don Cento’s three-decade career spans jazz, indie rock, and Americana. He has toured and recorded with numerous award-winning artists including Sarah Jaffe, Ume, Little Jack Melody, and Chomsky. His production work extends across genres from metal to classical with artists like Matt Kivel, Jerry David DeCicca, and Vitskär Süden on labels like Drag City, Bloodshot, Ripple Music, Worried Songs, Idol Records and Tompkins Square. His contributions to these projects have been admiringly noted in features on NPR’s Weekend Edition, Uncut, SPIN, The New Yorker, and Aquarium Drunkard. As a solo artist, Centohas released music under the moniker El Cento and with instrumental group Shibboleth, scoring placements with both on FOX, MTV and Discovery. 

Cento Threeo marks Don’s return to Jazz and represents his most personal artistic statement to date. The project began as a casual outlet for reimagining '60s and '70s FM classics through an atmospheric, jazz-adjacent lens. What started as a covers project quickly evolved as Cento reconnected with his love for jazz and began writing original compositions in earnest. 

Following the recording of Halfway to Mellowtown, the drum seat in CentoThreeo was taken over by Matt Johnson (Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainright, St. Vincent). 

https://www.instagram.com/elcento/.

https://centothreeo.com.

https://centothreeo.bandcamp.com.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0w6l3kea2PeCYvfixOFiox.

https://music.apple.com/us/artist/cento-threeo/1875616656.

On The Books With John Skrtic July 2026

On The Books is a quick monthly update about some of the amazing things happening at Cleveland Public Library !

July 1st Sound Bites: Black Voltron Main Main Library - Downtown

July 11th Conversation with Brian Michael Bendis & Marc Andreyko Main Library - Downtown https://cpl.libcal.com/event/17131018

July 11, 2026 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM Ohio Goes to the Movies - The Scarlet Letter Main Library - Downtown https://cuyahogacounty.gov/america-250/event-details/2026/07/11/america-250/ohio-goes-to-the-movies---the-scarlet-letter

July 13th Free Firearm Safes and Programming GLENVILLE. Monday, July 13 | 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM https://cpl.org/firearm-safety/ Summer reading club !!!! https://cpl.org/cleveland-reads/

July 5th CLEVELAND READS MID-SUMMER CELEBRATION WITH THE CLEVELAND GUARDIANS! 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Gateway Park https://cpl.org/onecle/one-cleveland-events/

Saturday, August 15th CLEVELAND HIP-HOP: 20 YEARS STRONG Main Library

Cleveland Public Library Digital Gallery https://cplorg.contentdm.oclc.org/

All Info here https://cpl.org/