Listen! A Northeast Ohio Music Preservation Project

I’m back in the saddle sharing the oral histories of the Northeast Ohio music scene. This month, we feature an interview with Jim Butterfield who made his mark in the 1980s and early 1990s as Butterfield 8. Butterfield 8 was Jim’s studio project which he created after a successful run leading the Leisure Set which […]

This month’s podcast is an interview with Dan & Scott Phillips who burst onto the Cleveland music scene in the late 1980’s/early 1990’s as one half of Rotary Ten. Both brothers are still making music today. Earlier this month, Dan who is based in Cincinnati by way of Chicago, released a new, self-titled album as […]

This month’s podcast features an interview with author and archivist for the Akron Sound Museum, Calvin Rydbom. A professional archivist by day, Calvin’s 2018 book, The Akron Sound: The Heyday of the Midwest’s Punk Capital, is a superb account of the Akron/Kent music scene from the mid 1970’s to the mid 1980’s when the Rubber […]

Sometimes I have to pinch myself when it comes to these interviews. I mean, I ask my self how in the hell I managed to set these things up but when one of the most prolific and talented Cleveland songwriters sends you a Facebook message, you take the opening and ask for an interview opportunity. […]

Fifty years ago, in a small town in Northeast Ohio, America was forever changed on a spring day.  In less than a minute, Kent, Ohio jumped from relative anonymity to a lasting symbol of a nation divided.  “Four dead in Ohio” became a battle cry for the Boomer Generation and a stark reminder of the […]

Some guys come up with a moniker that is an expression of ego rather than to describe the actual.  In the case of Marky Ray, Rock ‘N Roll Mercenary the moniker fits like a glove on a hand.  Marky IS NE Ohio music.  With a start in the early 80’s, this kid from Hudson, Ohio […]

It’s April 7, 2020.  We’re still staying at home, sheltering in place and practicing social distancing but to keep your spirits up and to bring you entertainment, the Listen Project is here with another podcast featuring the music that made NE Ohio such a vibrant scene from 1975 to the early 21st century.  For this episode, we are […]

I’m serving up yet another bonus podcast for all of you who are shut in and actively fighting the good fight against the spread of COVID-19.  I’m opening the vaults of the Jim Benson NE Ohio music collection as well as my own personal collection and focusing on the years 1988 to 1993 when I […]

My regular job is as a first responder, so during the COVID-19 pandemic, my life now consists of hours at work and then some time at home to eat, sleep and try to relax before the process repeats. I’m not complaining – I love my job and in these uncertain times, anything I can do […]

DROPPING THE PODCAST A FEW DAYS EARLY TO HELP YOU COPE WITH YOUR COVID-19 CONFINEMENT. BE SAFE AND BE WELL Who would’ve ever guessed that one of my blog posts from last year would lead to bigger things? Certainly not me but much to my surprise, Wild Giraffes drummer, Alan McGinty emailed me at the […]

This month, our focus is on music recorded live in front of an audience.  As a musician myself, while I love listening to music from an album, I love performing in front of a live audience and watching how a song connects with the collective.  I’ve chosen 21 live tracks, some never released for your listening […]

Lots of great music to kick off a brand new year.  Enjoy! Setlist “Blue Venus Aflame” – Children’s Crusade From the 7” Scorpio Moon (1985) “For Eternity” – Beyond Blue From the Cleveland Music Group compilation Northern Exposure (1993) “Strangeland County” – Spike in Vain From the They Pelted Us with Rocks and Garbage compilation […]

Here’s a special NE Ohio Christmas podcast.  Enjoy and Merry Christmas from me and mine to you and yours.

When it comes to the success of the Listen Project (and success is surly a subjective concept here), there is no way that I would have been able to put together and present all of the music from our shared past without Jim Benson.  For over 20 years, Jim WAS the Local Artists Show on […]