Neon Trees Are Poppin' Up In Cleveland

Photo credit: Mathew Hartman

 The Neon Trees are getting intimate. After three years away, the alt-pop band returns to Cleveland this Friday for its new small venues tour, An Intimate Night Out With Neon Trees, at the House of Blues. Although the band hasn’t released an album since 2014's Pop Psychology, the mostly poppy, slightly rocky band released its single, “Songs I Can’t Listen To,” earlier this May. “The most important thing for us has always been to write and record and play music that we all enjoy,” says the band’s drummer Elaine Bradley. We tune in with Bradley to see what the band will be turning up on its latest tour.

Q: Why did you decide to take the tour to more intimate settings? 
A: This tour was kind of a selfish venture. We just kind of, almost last-minute were like, We don’t want to not tour this year, and we kind of want to see the fans, and we want to play music. And so we just decided to do a smaller tour for people that care. And also, there’s like this, raw energy that happens when you play in a smaller venue and don’t use all the bells and whistles and all the production and all the stage pieces. It’s just you playing your music, and people enjoying your music. There’s something really cool about that.

Q: You recently announced that you’ll be adding a third little one to your family and are currently touring while pregnant. What’s that been like for you? 
A: First of all, being on tour pregnant basically just makes everything less comfortable. It’s one of those things where my husband and I are on the same page. He really loves being a stay-at-home dad, and I really love playing music. And so long as that works where we’re on the same page, then we do it. And it’s one of those things where I don’t really see myself being a touring artist until like, 50 or 60. So you do the sacrifices up front to have more time later. But for now, it works and maybe the kids will think it’s cool. The problem is your own kids don’t think you’re as cool as anybody else does.

Q: You’ve been touring for over a month now. What’s the most exciting thing to happen so far?
A: There’s just been an energy and a vibe and so many people have shown up and been singing every word. ‘Cause you know, this is more for fans. So I think the shows themselves have been the most unique and exciting part, and just seeing people’s reactions. It’s always confusing to be at a Neon Trees show and look out at the audience and you’re like, These people seemingly have no ties to each other. They’re all different types of people. Like, they didn’t come together, you know? But it’s so cool because it’s the music they came for, and it creates a very cool vibe when you have a bunch of different types of people enjoying the same thing.

How Gay Are We:GG9 Ends with Hot 7 Deadly Sins After-party

The Gay Games closed its weeklong event with a rather steamy, sinful bash at the House of Blues Saturday night. With dimmed lights, candle-lined bars and local go-go boys personifying the seven deadly sins, the official after-party was underway. Celebrity transgender model, Amanda Lepore invited Murray Swanby, Pablo Hernandez and Cory Zwierzynski from Andrew Christian, a popular men's underwear line, onto the stage after Real Housewives of New York City star Carole Radziwill hand-selected 10 hunks from the crowd to dress down and dance alongside them. Famous for their music videos and known for targeting the gay community with their brand, the Andrew Christian models threw free underwear into the crowd before joining the party. As the night went on, models danced on elevated platforms while several members of the crowd stripped down, and when the lights came on at 2 a.m., it was clear that no one really wanted to leave it all behind.

Murray Swanby, Pablo Hernandez, Cory Zwierzynski and Amanda Lepore

Carole Radziwill and Amanda Lepore looking fabulous in the Foundation Room

The Andrew Christian boys take the stage.

Hip-Hop Zone

Matt Zone (center) and fellow members of Project 5 with singer Claudja Barry, mid-1980s

In 1982, when Matt Zone was 19, he visited his brother in New York City, witnessed break-dancers on 42nd Street and was instantly in awe.

Back home in Cleveland, Zone created Project 5, a hip-hop group inspired by what he had seen in the Big Apple.

Thirty years later, Zone, a Cleveland city councilman, is reuniting Project 5, the city’s preeminent break-dancing crew for the first time in 25 years. This Saturday, they’re opening for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Grandmaster Flash at the House of Blues to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Progressive Arts Alliance.

Be prepared to see some tabletops, backspins, windmills and flares as Zone and other Project 5 members complete synchronized routines and individual dances.

“For us, it didn’t matter about where we came from,” says Zone. “It was all about your craft and what you could do on the dance floor.”

Project 5 is a diverse group; three original members are Puerto Rican and one is African-American, while Zone is white. “It enhanced my skills as a leader,” Zone says, “and what I do today, working with diverse individuals.” Break dancing also connected Zone with his wife; they met at a performance in 1984.

Founded in 2002, the Progressive Arts Alliance is a non-profit organization that inspires young people through the arts and 21st century media. At the alliance's anniversary bash, employees of local workplaces such as Bonbon Pastry and Cafe and the Cleveland Public Library will battle it out on stage to see who has the best dance moves. Guests can learn how to scratch a record by hand, create a custom graffiti hat and make a screen-printed T-shirt.

Although Project 5 disbanded in 1987, Zone says the group is ready to perform again.

“It’s like riding a bike. It wasn’t long until we shook off the rust,” says Zone, who has been rehearsing for the past three weeks.

“We put together what I think is a very solid routine. I think people are going to be quite surprised with what we do.”

'Gravity' Pulls Bay Village's Kate Voegele Home for Cleveland Tour Date

Much like pop star Kate Voegele, Cleveland rocks. Even more important, Voegele knows it.

After releasing her third album, Gravity Happens, in May, the Bay Village native had a small dilemma. Word got out to her fans that she wouldn't play any Ohio dates while on tour opening for Natasha Bedingfield. They did not take the news very well.

“People don’t know if you’re on Natasha’s tour, you have to go where Natasha goes,” Voegele says.

So Voegele added Ohio to the map herself. She performs at the House of Blues on June 14. The 24-year-old musician talked to us about her Cleveland roots and venturing into new waters to make Gravity Happens.

Cleveland Magazine: Are there places you like to go when you come back to Cleveland?
Kate Voegele: Yes, absolutely. I am a big fan of Coventry; it's an artistic and inspiring spot. I used to spend a lot of time there during high school. I'm also a big fan of Moosehead Saloon. It's like the best food on Earth.

CM: How is this album different from your first and your second?
KV: This album is definitely an evolution for me from the other ones. It's not a stark contrast in that I didn't go out there and make a hip-hop record, but it's more rootsy, more honest. It's much closer to who I really think I am as an artist.

CM: Is there anything different you wanted to do or try out with Gravity Happens that you hadn’t done with your previous albums?
KV: I think that what I wanted to do with this album is, in the lighter areas, go lighter, and in the darker areas, go darker. There's some fun, happy songs on this album, and I haven't really done as much of that as I'd like to in my first two albums. But then in the darker areas there are songs like "Burning the Harbor" and "Gravity Happens" that are really about the heavy things in life. I wanted to be more honest, vulnerable, and to make a record that was as human as I could possibly come up with.

CM: What is your favorite song to perform off of this album?
KV: "Sandcastles." It has this classic, rootsy feel and it's fun to sing, but it's probably one of the most honest songs on the album. The line in the chorus is, "I'd rather be making sandcastles instead of these wide-world decisions." It's something I hope a lot of people can relate to.

CM: How has your appearance on [The CW’s TV show] One Tree Hill and your character Mia helped you develop as a musician, singer and songwriter?
KV: I think that OTH has been a pretty cool piece of the puzzle for me. And getting in front of a camera as an actor taught me certain things about performing, being comfortable with myself and how to become more poised as a performer.

CM: Do you have any big plans for the near future?
KV: Later this summer I'll be releasing a signature pair of sunglasses that I designed with my sponsor, Oakley’s. What’s cool about these sunglasses is that they're tied to my new record. The artwork that's on the sunglasses is the same artwork that's on the CD cover. If you buy the sunglasses, you get a download card for the album, so you basically get the album for free.