Cleveland, OH

Mushroomhead to celebrate 30th Anniversary with epic Halloween show at the Agora

Published

10 months ago

October 24, 2023

Mushroomhead to celebrate 30th Anniversary with epic Halloween show at the Agora

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Milestone anniversaries are exceedingly rare in creative endeavors. That notion is not lost on Steve “Skinny” Felton, drummer and founder of Cleveland theatrical art-metal ensemble, Mushroomhead.

“October 23 is the actual date of our very first performance 30 years ago,” said Felton, checking in with Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer last week from St. Louis, Missouri.

“Even more interesting and oddly unique is that we’ll play the Agora on October 28,” he added.

“That’s the first time we ever played the Agora. It’s quite fitting that we’re back home on that date for this year’s Halloween show.”

And yet, every day for the last 30 years has been Halloween for these masked marauders of mayhem.

Known for their incognito stage performances, Mushroomhead’s blend of firebrand metal, rock and arthouse theatrics struck a note with fans almost immediately when the band emerged in 1993.

Their jumpsuit-and-mask aesthetic with unsettling music to match quickly harkens back to the early days of Alice Cooper—albeit turned up to eleven and filtered through John Carpenter and grindhouse films, with stage production to match.

Haunted, hard n’ heavy Halloween: Some creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky Cleveland gigs worth checking out

The band inspired many other artists to do the same, perhaps most notably Iowa’s Slipknot. This led to a highly publicized feud between the two musical units back in the early 2000s.

Mushroomhead self-released their 1995 debut, which became an instant underground hit. Subsequent self-releases “Superbuick” (1996) and “M3″ in 1999, were pushed by a street team effort. From that point on, the group’s looks and line-ups began to morph—not unlike those of Swedish heavy outfit Ghost.

After a brief stint on Eclipse Records, Mushroomhead signed to Universal Records for the release of “XX,” itself a compilation of the band’s independent releases. The group later released “Savior Sorrow” for the pioneering rock label, Megaforce Records (Metallica, Anthrax, Ministry) in 2006. “Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children” would follow in the Fall of 2010, debuting at #44 on the Billboard charts.

Felton said that the whirlwind has “provided a lot of gold star moments” over the years.

“So many of those moments, really. Like, holy [expletive], signed to a major with Universal Records, you know? Then it’s the [Ozzy Osbourne’s] Ozzfest roadshow. Being on the other side of the world and having fans walking up to you and show off their [Mushroomhead] ‘X-Face’ tattoos,” Felton recounted.

“And it all just keeps snowballing, man. Like being logistically 11,000 miles from home for the first time, your head is just spinning,” he added. “You’re almost having these out-of-body experiences on-stage—and you’re signed to a major label. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I was definitely terrified at first.”

Felton said that while band personnel, management and label were “all high-fiving” in celebration of having “made it,” he saw all these moments a little differently.

“For me, it was, ‘Oh, wow. Now the bar’s been raised, we must stay at this level,’” he said. “This [didn’t feel like] time to celebrate and kick your feet up. It’s time to work harder, a little bit of a Catch-22.”

That paradox led to many line-up changes, a couple of label moves and several new-look costume changes. Today, the band is signed to Napalm Records and has a new, “as-yet-untitled album due June 2024,” which is currently being mixed by Matt Wallace (Faith No More, The Replacements).

“We’ve been proofing mixes on the road,” said Felton.

“Things are sounding good. Writing and getting into the final stretch of a record always takes me back. It reminds me of how fortunate I am to create art and share it with people all around the world.”

Felton is equally grateful for the Internet, “which is a far [expletive] cry from street teams and handing out music. Back in the ‘90s when we started, we were lucky to get our cassettes and our CDs out there,” he said.

“Today, you don’t have to be in New York, Los Angeles or London to be discovered anymore,” he added. “That really keeps your hometown pride solid. You remember that first show where we were paid $60 at Flash Gordon’s [defunct club, Kamm’s Corners] and you smile because you remember how it started.”

Felton is pragmatic when asked if there’s a secret recipe for bands to follow to enjoy that kind of success.

“All I can say is that we have been very blessed to be able to do this. Whether it’s 10-20-30 years—pretty much any time at all—anyone who gets to do this for any length of time knows how blessed and lucky and fortunate they are and to really soak in that,” he said.

“If there’s a secret, it’s to wake up every day with the goal of figuring out how to make your band, brand or artwork a little more accessible,” Felton said.

“To have an opportunity to create art with multiple people—to have their attention, time and creativity for a while—while chasing that creative element, staying inspired, believing in yourself and being true to your art is what does it, from my point of view,” he offered.

Having equally dedicated people around you doesn’t hurt either.

“If not for the tremendous contributions of the many band members, crew people, management, labels over 30 years? It’s a blessing. I can’t imagine what it would have been like without them,” he added.

Mushroomhead’s 30th Anniversary Halloween concert with special guests Hellzapoppin, Kurt Diemer, Fleischkrieg, Bittersweet Revenge and Twysted Asylum happens this Saturday, Oct. 28, at the Cleveland Agora, 5000 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 44103. Tickets: 216-881-2221 or visit agoracleveland.com.

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Cleveland, OH

GCSC Summer Golf Classic | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

Published

7 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

GCSC Summer Golf Classic | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

Get Your Golf On!
Golfers of all abilities are invited to play in GCSC’s Summer Golf Classic presented by First National Bank on Monday, August 5, 2024 at Cleveland Metroparks Sleepy Hollow.
Join us for a day of 18 holes with cart featuring beverages, contests & prizes, lunch and a buffet dinner.
FORMAT:…

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Cleveland, OH

Fatal shooting on east side after reports of large fight: Cleveland Police

Published

14 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

Fatal shooting on east side after reports of large fight: Cleveland Police

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – One man is dead after a shooting following reports of a large fight on the east side, according to Cleveland Police.

Police got reports of a large fight around 2:50 a.m. on Saturday in the 1000 block of East 71st Street.

While officers were en route, they learned that two people were shot.

Police located a 22-year-old man and a 24-year-old man who were both shot, according to a release.

Both of the men were taken to the hospital by EMS.

The 22-year-old man later died at the hospital.

The condition of the 24-year-old is unknown.

Cleveland Police homicide unit is investigating, according to police.

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Cleveland, OH

WWE SummerSlam 2024 Results: Winners And Grades On August 3, 2024

Published

22 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

WWE SummerSlam 2024 results

Credit: WWE.com

WWE SummerSlam 2024 from Cleveland, Ohio advertised six championship matches. Among them was Solo Sikoa challenging Cody Rhodes for the WWE Undisputed Championship, LA Knight challenging Logan Paul for the WWE United States Championship, Sami Zayn defending the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Bron Breakker and GUNTHER challenging Damian Priest for the WWE World Championship.

This week’s broadcast of WWE Raw garnered 1.412 million viewers on SyFy after being preempted by the Olympics.

WWE SummerSlam Results | August 3, 2024

Liv Morgan def. Rhea Ripley | WWE Women’s World Championship
Bron Breakker def. Sami Zayn | WWE Intercontinental Championship
LA Knight def. Logan Paul | WWE United States Championship
Nia Jax def. Bayley | WWE Women’s Championship
Drew McIntyre def. CM Punk
GUNTHER def. Damian Priest | WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Cody Rhodes def. Solo Sikoa | WWE Undisputed Championship

WWE SummerSlam 2024 Ticket Sales

WWE SummerSlam 2024 Venue: Cleveland Browns Stadium (Cleveland, OH)
WWE SummerSlam 2024 Tickets Distributed: 55,858
WWE SummerSlam 2024 Tickets Available: 807

WWE Money In The Bank 2024 Winners And Grades

Liv Morgan Def. Rhea Ripley

Despite all the talk of The Judgment Day competing by themselves, Dominik Mysterio accompanied Rhea Ripley to the ring.

Michael Cole noted the last time Rhea Ripley lost a singles match was 26 months ago. To Liv Morgan.

This match started as a cat-and-mouse as Liv ran away from Ripley. Fans became frustrated and booed Liv loudly.

Rhea dominated this match until Liv Morgan dodged a charging Ripley and followed up by throwing her, shoulder-first, into the turnbuckle. Ripley could be heard (kayfabe) saying “it’s out, it’s out!”

Fans were split as they made dueling chants of “let’s go Rhea/let’s go Liv!”

Liv Morgan (kayfabe) popped her shoulder back into place by running herself into the announce table and fans went crazy.

Ripley hit the riptide, but did not pin Morgan. Instead, she grabbed a steel chair that Morgan brought into the ring. Mysterio grabbed the chair from her, which was the wise decision because she would have gotten herself disqualified. This led to an Oblivion for a nearfall and “holy s—t” chants.

Dom distracted the ref, leading to an Oblivion on the steel chair for the win. After the match, Dominik Mysterio kissed Liv Morgan and they left together.

Backstage, Damian Priest was furious with Dominik Mysterio for his actions. Finn and the rest of the Judgment Day vowed to go find him. I don’t trust them.

Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan Grade: A-

Bron Breakker Def. Sami Zayn

Bron Breakker hit his always impressive Breakkensteiner early on, then he proceeded to scream “quit!” at Sami Zayn.

Bron Breakker cut Sami Zayn off with a Spear, then he hit ayn with another Spear for the win. This wasn’t necessarily a squash match, but it was definitely a dominant win for Breakker.

Bron Breakker vs. Sami Zayn Grade: B

LA Knight Def. Logan Paul

Logan Paul wore a Cleveland-inspired American Flag vest and greeted two security guards on his way to the ring. One of hte security guards turned out to be Cleveland’s own MGK.

LA Knight shattered the glass on Logan Paul’s Prime vehicle before making his way to the ring.

Paul cleared the table, but LA Knight got the better of him with a modified TKO, though the table didn’t break.

Paul won these people over with a springboard moonsault on LA Knight. Though they cheered the spot, they eventually came to their senses and chanted “you still suck!”

After jumping up on the top rope, LA Knight hit a scary looking superplex. Fans chanted “this is awesome” after a nearfall.

Logan Paul borrowed brass knuckles from MGK. After a shot to LA Knight, Knight countered with a BFT.

Logan Paul vs. LA Knight Grade: A-

Nia Jax Def. Bayley

Bayley relentlessly knocked Nia Jax off her feet early in the match.

Nia Jax took control of the match, to the point where she hit the Annihilator, but Bayley kicked out.

Jax called herself “reckless” and “clumsy” while trash-talking Bayley on offense.

Bayley hit an awesome power bomb on Nia Jax from the top rope. The fans were fervently into a match that struggled to follow Logan Paul vs. LA Knight.

A Tiffany Stratton cash-in was thwarted by Bayley, but the distraction led to two power bombs and two Annihilators for the win.

Nia Jax vs. Bayley Grade: A-

Drew McIntyre Def. CM Punk

Seth Rollins walked out in a long cloak, and what was under the jacket was certain to be even wilder.

WWE used ref cameras on the referee’s ear, and there were never more ref cam shots than during Seth Rollins’ entrance.

Rollins’ referee outfit were baggy, bedazzled pants and a cutoff shirt similar to Shawn Michaels.

Fans chanted “CM Punk” to start the match as punk donned pink gear in homage to Bret Hart.

Rollins did a great job working the fans into a frenzy before ringing the bell. When the bell rang, Punk and McIntyre brawled like crazy.

Instead of counting to 10 while Punk and McIntyre were outside of the ring, Rollins instead chose to tie his shoes. Rollins also took immense pleasure in seeing Punk and Rollins beat the hell out of one another.

During an Anaconda Vice on McIntyre, Punk secured his friendship bracelet and the entire stadium celebrated.

Punk stopped his GTS on McIntyre dead in its tracks and confronted Rollins about wearing his bracelet, which Rollins picked up off the ground did wear, but out of no malice.

After a ref bump and a nearfall (followed by a second visual pinfall), Punk and Rollins got into a heated argument. Punk hit a Go To Sleep on Rollins and took his bracelet back, but it cost him the match.

Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk Grade: B+

GUNTHER Def. Damian Priest

Finn Balor wished Damian Priest luck before the match. Famous last words.

GUNTHER already had chop marks on his chest before the match even started.

GUNTHER and Priest chopped the hell out of one another to the point where GUNTHER was bleeding from the chest.

Finn Balor hit the ring, presumably to save Priest, but he ended up costing Priest the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by putting GUNTHER’s leg on the bottom rope.

After this match, Jelly Roll, The Miz and R-Truth took out A-Town Down Under.

GUNTHER vs. Damian Priest Grade: B+

Cody Rhodes Def. Solo Sikoa

Cody Rhodes ran into Arn Anderson backstage, and Anderson said he called in a few favors to a few allies of Cody Rhodes. Some of whom he knows, some he doesn’t.

For a full recap of Cody vs. Solo Sikoa in Bloodline Rules, click here.

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