The Chernobyl Babies
Pogo / Street Punk
myspace.com/thechernobylbabies

MLM Studios
myspace.com/mepprecords

On Leonard Street in Grand Rapids, in the long, smoky rock-n-roll music den that is Juke's Bar, a crowd of punk rockers gathered. I sat with a beer and a handheld recorder. It was a Sunday at 7:30 p.m. A young drunk in a Baja tried to guilt me into giving him a cigarette. He said he didn't understand satire. I waited for Tony Cozzaglio, guitarist of The Chernobyl Babies to show up.

The Chernobyl Babies, a Grand Rapids four-piece pogo-punk band, exemplify the genre with their hard drinking, gang vocals, speedy punk rock and old school fashion sense (complete with a Mohawk hairdo and t-shirts of other punk bands).

When he arrived, I asked Cozzaglio about his band's flavor of punk rock.

"It's pogo-punk, or like, street-punk," he said. "The biggest band of this style would probably be The Casualties. It's really fast and aggressive, but still really chant-y and sing-along."

The pogo trademark "gang vocals" - groups of punks (preferably drunk) yelling along to certain parts of the songs - make the performances gloriously crowd participatory, and pushes the energy of the 30-odd-year-old genre through the decades.

Tonight's show is a return from a two-night stint in Wisconsin.

"Milwaukee is like a second home for the Chernobyl Babies," Cozzaglio said. "We go there once a month. They really enjoy it - they have a good scene for that particular kind of punk rock."

For the band, it's all about making new friends, playing new cities, and having fun. Amidst all the partying and the gigging, the band has managed to put together a 13-song disc.

"We're in the middle of recording right now," Cozzaglio said. "We started out, our friend (Matt Meppelink of MLM Studios) brought his recording equipment over and we recorded individually - drums first, then we added guitar and bass. We've been waiting because the band that we have coming tonight to play (The Bad Engrish, from Denver), tomorrow is going to record vocals for us."

The band doesn't know the release date, but they do know there will be a supporting tour and are ready for it to happen.

"It'll be called Pogoed at the Pub," Cozzaglio said. "If you want to listen to a record to drink to and have fun with your friends, this will be an album to do it to."

Be on the lookout for the new disc soon at myspace.com/thechernobylbabies.

Nicholas James
myspace.com/nicholasjamesthomasma

Academic Audio
myspace.com/academicaudio

"I've got a new puppy here. She jumps..." said Academic Audio Studio Owner Greg Baxter as I entered his studio and was immediately loved to death by a darling rescued dog named August.

After a brief tour of the under-construction studio, meeting a couple of beautiful microphones and singer/songwriter Nicholas James Thomasma, we got down to business of discussing the new album by Thomasma.

"Mostly the record will be centered on me and the guitar, and there's like six or seven more musicians involved in the recording," said Thomasma. "It doesn't sound like a traditional bluegrass record - it wasn't recorded in a barn by the river with one microphone, so in that sense it's modern. Also some of the lyrical content is more modern, but it's all roots music. It's a folk record for sure."

But Thomasma didn't start out like a normal musician, knowing he wanted to play music. He actually went the opposite direction.
"I worked as a radio DJ for years and that's how I got exposed to a lot of bands,"

Thomasma said. "One day I was like, ‘I'm on the wrong side of this [mixing] board.' I got a guitar and taught myself to play. My dad was a guitar player and my grandmother's a pianist, so there's a lot of musical background in my family, and it just made sense."

From there, he made the most of his involvement in the Michigan scene by bringing in top shelf musicians he's met over recent years to collaborate various projects.

"I've been really blessed in my musical career. I've never been able to find a band that will stick around, but everybody I meet wants to play with me, so everywhere I go I have musicians."

Starting with a list of nearly 20 songs and whittling them down to 13 or so solid tracks, Thomasma and Baxter have been taking what some would call a leisurely pace in putting the record together.

"Work will take the space you give it. If you have a week to make a record, it will take a week. If you have a month, it will take a month," said Baxter.
Baxter, a musician himself, has recently taken the role of the recording engineer, working with artists like Karisa Wilson and Ralston Bowles.
Look for the disc, complete with cover art by a local printmaker Alynn Guererra, to come out in February or March - see myspace.com/nicholasjamesthomasma for details.

grrRoPoLis
myspace.com/grrropolis

Surrounded by computers, drums, guitars and assorted art-making accoutrement, the five members of grrRoPoLis seemed entirely in their element - and specifically excited about talking at length regarding their plans for the new CD which is to be released in March.
Still in the pre-production phase creating demo recordings and polishing up the songs for what is to be the first official release in the band's current lineup, the members of grrRoPoLis are highly confident in their new material, having scrapped all 40 of their previously written songs after recently solidifying the band roster (embodying the philosophy that "new band = new songs"), and is very much looking forward to working with engineer Matt Ten Clay at Skull Studio.
"I think that anybody who comes across these new songs is going to love grrRoPoLis- I feel very comfortable about this material," said Percussionist Eric Deacon.
A tour is currently being planned for early 2010 to support the album, and there is every indication that the band members are being mindful of how they are handling their business.
"I feel like I've picked up a few tricks of the trade. Our approach to this coming CD will be in a much more professional manner, and we look forward to expanding it and really getting it out there," said Michael Cunningham, guitarist and co-founder of the group with Bassist Ryan Eardley.
In addition to the attention to marketing and songwriting, the band is also consciously pushing what it can do artistically. Augmenting the music with the video art of Fay Nielsen is increasingly becoming a key element to the band's identity on stage, and may become even more so in the world of digital media.
"We expect at least half the songs will have videos," said Dustin Anderson, guitarist. Anderson (aka Dust A.C. of Severed Records and the Cedar Rock Basement Program) also very much hopes to have vinyl of the new album available.
This band seems to be out to create itself as the best thing it possibly can, and its enthusiasm is infectious. Obviously enjoying the hell out of themselves and savoring every detail and point of pride in being in a band, there is an air of reverence in each of grrRoPoLis' members - a great reminder to all musicians to be thankful for what they are able to do, which so many people are unable to experience.

Photo: Dan Slane, Matt Ten Clay, Nate Scott
Info Box
Those Eighty Acres
Indie Folk Rock
myspace.com/thoseeightyacres

Skull Studio
Matt Ten Clay
Engineer / Owner
Web site under construction, but please contact:
myspace.com/matttenclay
or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
$15/hr for mixing and mastering

After climbing up the stairs in an industrial building in downtown GR and asking a few random tenants where he was, I met Matt Ten Clay at the door of his drum room. Having only moved in within the last few weeks, the décor was sparse, but there was a rack of guitars, an organ with a Leslie speaker and a fully operational control room - it felt perfectly inviting.

Sitting on the couch/sound-dampening device were two members of up-and-coming Indie/folk group Those Eighty Acres, Nate Scott (chief songwriter) and Dan Slane (drummer). Missing from the recording project roster were co-engineer Dan Vocino, bassist Kevin Fein and guitarist Jordan Griffis.

"I'm writing all the time, and about a year ago [I] started looking for guys to play with. I went through a lot of musicians to arrive at the four guys we have right now," Scott said.

Stylistically ranging from Bob Dylan to more jazz-oriented affairs, the group is working hard on their first effort together, having already forged chemistry.

"Jordan (guitar) blows me away. He has certain written parts, but mostly when we practice it's different every time we play it, which I think is so good and gives it a really organic feel," Scott said. "Dan of all the guys changes it on the drums more than anything else. The songs have more of an upbeat feel. But these guys have been great."

Hoping to release the album in late October or early November, the band has 12 songs nearly completed and sleeve art ideas are brewing.

Certainly a very friendly vibe was apparent between the band and the engineer, helped along by the fact that Ten Clay is also a gigging musician and can readily understand where the band is coming from.

In addition to loving music, Ten Clay is also very much in love with his gear.

"My API's are out right now. I'm thinking about swapping them for a more Neve-esque sound - this brand called Great River. API's are nice and punchy, but Great River's got more... girth," he said before pointing out his beloved ribbon mics.

The band's disc will be out soon - check out its MySpace for details.