Joining our team is Chris McLafferty, an entreprenuer and music enthusiast with connections all around Columbus. He presents this reflection on a memorable show earlier this year:

Mike Wojniak’s CD Release w/ Forest & The Evergreens, Karate Coyote, & The Young Heirlooms AKA Where the real musicians were the night of Rock on the Range

Columbus gentleman of the year, Mike Wojniak, threw a night of great music and fun times for the release of his highly-anticipated new album, Libero, at the constantly impressing Scarlet & Grey (more on that later).  Mike has been quite impressive since the release of his last album, Memento Vivere back in 2010. His beautiful hit “Clock is a Myth” gathered + 2,500 hits on youtube, played Independent’s Fest, went on tour, as well as being recognized by the Columbus bicentennial for his single “The Rhodes Tower” for its representation of Columbus.  Mike was at his impressive self again when he created the pants-dropping line-up for his album release, featuring The Young Heirlooms, Karate Coyote and Forest and the Evergreens.

First and foremost I must apologize to the Young Heirlooms for I got a new level of drunk (Thanks  to my Nickelback loving friends in from out of town for Rock on the Range, and yes I still hangout with people who like Nickelback-can’t tell if that makes me a good person for seeing through their flaws OR bad for indirectly supporting their listeners)  the previous night and introduced my insides to the dark ominous world of underground sewage until about 8:30 PM, thus missing their opening set. From what I hear it was the exact opposite of the hellacious soul sucking dementor hang-over I was cry-crawling though.  I’m sorry I’m a drunk, someday I hope to make it up to you, but then again I’m a drunk so who knows.

Next up was the new look Karate Coyote without the recent departing of singer April Kitchen. This band keeps impressing me with their continued perseverance through all (the departure of April, a great portion of their gear stolen, among others). The thing is, not only are they surviving, but they seem to thrive on the hardships, as they excel to a higher level after each brush that would seem to cripple most bands. And under the Scarlet & Grey lights (excellently done by David Allyn Haberman, one of the best in all of Columbus) they’ve never shined a more complete professional look. With the loss of April, singer Kendra Jados has had to take more of the singing load, and my god is she owning it. She’s never seemed so comfortable on stage and her voice is really starting to show off that impressive range she’s been harboring in all this time.  She takes your ears hostage from the very beginning and doesn’t let go til she’s preciously satisfied every inch of each drum.  It’s definitely going to be something to keep an eye on as the band moves forward with her as the main female voice because if it’s this outstanding this little after April’s departure, the possibilities will be endless with more time.  The same could be said for male voice Ryan Horn. With these new set of songs (from their soon to be released album on 9/28) Ryan has really taken the vocals to be his own with his creative hip wing and is flying this band into it’s completely own identity.  KC seems to really be honing in together, which is a dangerous thing for unsuspecting listeners as each of the members (Eric Vescelius on guitar, Nic Jados on bass, Ted Bigham on drums, with Ryan and Kendra pulling double duty on guitar and boards) are some of the best at their respected positions with off the chart music IQ levels. This band is becoming increasingly polished which was on full display this night. They had such a mature look, like they had been together for decades, and their sound was so tight it’s impossible for me to put current words on it as there is just nothing that grasps the performance. It’s an absolute musical nirvana to watch this young talent fully grow into its potential, leaving one to be completely speechless.   This is definitely not the Karate Coyote of old and is poised to leave a permanent stamp on Columbus (and more?!) with this new album. This band is not to be missed, keep a very close eye out of them.

Closing out the night was heat risers, Forest & The Evergreens. Hot damn they’re a feisty treat! It’s a musical talent party not seen since the days of Ruby Wednesdays w/ the Floorwalkers. They take complete control of the mood with a “Let’s rock and soul this night” attitude and never let go. You can’t help but dance and lose yourself when their rock soul thetans infuse themselves in your body like a drug too good to be legal. It’s not unfathomable in the near future to see politicians starting a campaign to illegalize Forest & The Evergreens for the influence on society dropping responsibility and letting loose of their inhibitions to take another hit of Forest & the Evergreens. With Columbus’s John Mayer on vocals and guitar (minus the sex hotline addiction….at least that I know of), Forest and The Evergreens absolutely slays both sexually (Adam Bidwell rips his shirt off at least once a show) and talently. They kicked things off with their masterful soul rock funk jam, “Spaceghost” creating a floor of dancing fools blissfully unaware of their surroundings (which were damn good-this was about the time Durant nailed the deep 3 in the closing seconds to beat the Lakers) . Parker Muntz (Singer/Guitarist) thrived with that soul deep mature voice (looking crazily unproportionate compared to his ID’d at rated R movie babyface) and stunning guitar skills, that like Durant that night went to killer attack mode when the spotlight shined,  rocking the solo something so fierce that Jimi Hendrix felt shivers down his spine. Mickey Drury plays no second fiddle, Russel Westbrooking his way into your ears with such guitar jazz you’re momentarily paralyzed as hot awesomeness burns through your veins with Andrew Balazs creating the sweetly pounding throbbing that’s exponentially growing as the set continues. Meanwhile the jumps in your heart beats are the right on cue Sax and trumpets of Dominic Carioti and Adam, that are the extra flavor your body is craving. During all this you probably realize you lost your legs while they freely flow to Mike Twice’s dangerous beats. CONTEXT CLUES will tell you, this band is one to watch.

Before we get into Mike Wojniak, I just wanted to take a brief moment to spotlight the rise of Scarlet & Grey Cafe to one of my top places in Columbus.  Not just this show but everything they do, including their weekly specials of Tuesday Open Comic night and Wednesday Mike Perkins, they’ve been doing at an elite level. This all starts from the top with head-honcho Helen Yebio over seeing and being one of the friendliest liveliest people at every show. She’s been making great show bookings, while also understanding that greatness doesn’t end with the line-up.  She’s put together a great staff of people starting from the moment you walk-in with the always friendly and courteous doormen. Then not underestimating how us concert goers love to drink, she has put together one hell of a bartending team with each member appearing to have 8 arms by the quickness and efficentness of them. Combine that with an always plentiful selection of get hammered drink specials and you have a dangerous situation for me, it’s the equivalent of a $5 Cameron Mitchell buffet line for a Jenny Craiger.  Scarlet & Grey really shows it true colors with its (in my opinion) Columbus best sound and lights, all masterfully created and ran by David Allyn Haberman. Not only is David one of the best at his craft but much like headliner Mike Wojniak, he’s a world class gentleman. Always extremely courteous and helpful, he really makes any show enjoyable. Not everyone knows, but it’s sometimes a pain in the ass to work with sound guys, some will just kinda set-it up generically and go about the show. Not David, he works with each band specifically and timely to create that band’s distinguishing character sound. Then he pulls double duty creating the best house light show of any venue I’ve seen thus far, making the show look and sound very professional. So kudos to you Scarlet and Grey for making a pleasant professional experience that should cost $30, for an affordable $5.

Mike Wojniak. There’s so much to say about this man. Do I discuss the (testicular fortitude) of the World’s Most Manly beard? Do I discuss how he is quite possibly the nicest person in all of Columbus? An absolute true gentlemen on every accord of the word. When Webster accepted the definition of gentleman, it was clearly to paint the picture of what Mike is. Where to start? I guess since this is a musical article I should start with that voice. You know that voice that could relax you into a decade long coma. That voice that when I have kids I will pay to have it speak to my child when he/she is being a little Johnny/Sally SonOfABitch to calm into a submissive fetal position. That voice with such power and beauty that could cure all conflict. That voice that if played over a loud speaker during war would bring both sides to hold hands and reflect what’s really relevant in life.  Ahh yes, THAT voice. Mike Wojniak has perhaps the most recognizable sounding voice to match with that equally iconic beard (Ron Swanson would stand and salute that beard). But Mike Wojniak is so much more than just that voice, he writes all the songs on the album, he’s a way of life. If this doesn’t make sense to you, you don’t know him personally. He just has such a caring free spirit (have you seen his tour video) that knows how to really touch people with his interactions and his music. And this performance is no different. When he takes the stage with the rest of the band, joined by Andrew Gordon-Seifert on cello, Chad Wojniak on vocals and guitar, Matt Wooten on bass and Forest & The Evergreen’s Mike Twice on the drums, there’s clearly a change in mood and something different takes the air. People are sitting to brace for when the music hits them with such an intense emotional force. For the record I’ve never seen anyone sitting on Scarlet & Grey’s floor, I’m mean I’ve seen people fall on the floor but this is different. A difference that’s not just evident by the floor people but by the sound and feel of something filling our senses that’s more than music. It’s not just the presence of the cello, though it’s pretty badass, it’s the way that Mike’s voice carries his meanings. There’s the way people scream to get across feelings, which don’t get me wrong I love melodic screaming, but the way Mike summons all the power of an anger yet releases it with a lovely voice just empowers this set to a different level of experiencing music. The creation of the booming yet delightfully smooth musical mood only enables Mike to walk you down this path.  Mike’s voice is the guide while the band lays down the beautiful road that releases the sense of truth, which allows you to let yourself fully follow Mike’s lessons.