While some students may enjoy relaxing on the weekends, others may be able to find a thriving music scene in Bowling Green.
The University and the town is full of musicians and bands some people may not be aware of, such as Lesson 22, Human Juicebox, Dismantle and Forgetting Frank. There are also local venues to watch live concerts at, such as the Cla-Zel and Howard’s Club H.
Graduate students Sean Helbig, Matt Gruen and senior Zack Porach make up the hardcore band Dismantle, along with member Jake Murphy on drums. Members of the band lived and hosted hardcore shows in their living room once a month including performances from Citizen, Light Years, React and The Fight Within. Though the members have recently moved out of the house, there will be new shows hosted by different people.
Zack Porach plays guitar in Dismantle and said it’s because of the community of the DIY scene that keeps him playing music.
“The music is what ties everything together but the community aspect of hardcore is amazing,” Porach said. “It’s the sole reason I play music. I like playing to get to know people.”
Sixth-year student Andy Russo became the drummer of the psychedelic/alternative funk band Human Juicebox based out of Maumee, Ohio. He said he saw the band at Howard’s, which sparked a liking to the band and went on to replace the spot of Alex Rodriguez back in April at the tail-end of the school year. He said he remembers going to Howard’s as a freshman to see a few bands perform and instantly wanted to become a part of the music scene.
“I went to the Black Swamp Arts Festival and went to go see a few bands at Howard’s and I knew that I wanted to play there someday,” Russo said.
Russo said he doesn’t think it will be hard managing his time being a full-time student and drumming for the band because he was already starting to manage it at the end of the previous school year.
“It’s not that much of a problem,” Russo said. “Most of the practices take place after class and I’ll usually be home from practice around 9 or 10 p.m. after we play and there’s still time to do homework.”
Another local is the alternative rock band Lesson 22. The four-man group is known for performing at Howard’s and at venues in Toledo, Ohio like Frankie’s Inner-City.
Guitarist Chris Kirk said his favorite place to perform is at Howard’s because the atmosphere makes it so the set is completely interactive with the audience.
“It’s the most comfortable there and it’s our home field,” Kirk said. “I’m most comfortable when we’re crowded together.”
Students and the general public are able to go and watch concerts during the week and on the weekends at Howard’s and Cla-Zel both located on Main Street. The dates for the next set of house shows will be announced in the near future.
For those into other alternative bands, members of the local band Forgetting Frank, Aaron Mehling, guitarist, Jon Thrasher, bassist and Nate Adams on drums will be performing music throughout the town. For those who enjoy general rock ‘n’ roll, instructor in the department of Popular Culture, Matt Donahue, has a project called MAD 45 which includes punk rock mixed with experimental rock.
