MUSIC NEWS

Cleveland Local Music, Local Bands, Concerts, Blogs & More

WKRK FM/92.3 on Monday morning flipped to a new, jock-free format and a new nickname, Radio 92.3. Listeners will hear more music and fewer commercial breaks, said CBS Radio Cleveland Group Senior Vice President Chris Maduri. WKRK is under the CBS Radio umbrella.

Feedback so far has been "outstanding," Maduri said. He said that getting rid of local voices makes for entertaining radio. "It's gonna surprise you every time," he said. "Sometimes you've got to be different."

But fans of the syndicated morning duo Opie and Anthony aren't giving the change high marks. The show, which used to be heard 6 to 10 a.m., no longer has a home on Radio 92.3

Midday host Rachel Steele has left WKRK. Program Director and afternoon host Dominick Nardella remains there as program director, but no longer has a show, Maduri said.

Country star Taylor Swift will be among the performers at Wednesday's Grammy Awards TV concert special.

ONLINE EXTRAS
• Official Grammy Award Web site

• Multimedia artist Phil Hansen created the official artwork for this year's Grammys. You can see a special video of him creating the work on YouTube.

LOS ANGELES -- In an era where awards shows are as commonplace as reality shows, even the top-tier events are finding it hard to stand out. So the Recording Academy is trying something different when it announces its nominees for its upcoming Grammys. Instead of its traditional morning roll call of nominee names at a staid press conference, top nominees will be revealed during a prime-time concert special to air live Wednesday on CBS.

Among the performers are Mariah Carey, John Mayer and Taylor Swift -- a potential nominee.

"This gives us an opportunity to have more music on television and ... really bring the ultimate amount of attention to the beginning of Grammy season," Neil Portnow, president and chief executive of the Recording Academy, said in an interview. "It's a more grand way to initiate Grammy season for us."

Swift and LL Cool J are set to host the Grammy show, which will announce nominees in just a handful of the Grammy Awards' 110 categories. The nominations special -- also set to include performances by Foo Fighters, Celine Dion and B.B. King -- "has great potential" to become an annual event, Portnow said, adding that artists will perform classic recordings recently inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Portnow also hinted that several newly nominated artists would be on hand Wednesday to talk about their nominations.

Sarah Brightman, Cleveland, 12.02.08 from John Soeder on Vimeo.

REVIEW
Sarah Brightman
The Q
Dec. 2, 2008

There's over-the-top, then there's Sarah Brightman.

The British soprano went all out when she performed Tuesday night at The Q in Cleveland. The only thing modest about the occasion was the turnout. The arena was three-quarters empty, with the uppermost level curtained off completely.

If this was a blow to Brightman's ego, she didn't show it.

When you attend one of singer-songwriter Chris Allen's holiday gatherings, you're expected to sing. No whining, no excuses. In his opinion, everyone sounds good when they're having fun.

About five years ago, he started writing songs to be sung and performed at holiday house parties. From that small beginning has sprung a Cleveland-themed CD of seasonal songs, "Love and Hope" by the Ohio City Singers.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PATRICK RYANRonan Tynan: You knew him as an Irish tenor. Now he's a New Yorker and a solo performer.

PREVIEW
What: Ronan Tynan: A Christmas Concert
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Where: Palace Theatre at Playhouse Square, Cleveland.
Tickets: $10 to $38. Call 216-241-6000 or 1-866-546-1353, or go to Playhousesquare.com.

Ronan Tynan first became famous in the United States as one of the Irish Tenors. America embraced him, stunned not only by his immense voice and intense inflection but his story of personal triumph.

He was called to sing at President Ronald Reagan's funeral; he sang at many memorial services for firefighters and police officers after 9/11, and now he regularly performs "God Bless America" at Yankee Stadium during baseball season.

The 48-year-old tenor from Kilkenny lives in Manhattan full time now and has for nearly a decade. He considers it a perfect fit.

"It's the one city in the world that matches my personality," Tynan says. "It never stops; it stays alive. That's what I love about America."

NEW YORK -- One of the first things you see at the new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex NYC is a 10-minute film of iconic performers in action, ranging from Muddy Waters to U2. It does a good job of re-creating the adrenaline rush of a concert. And the presentation closes with a priceless quote from Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones:

"Rock and roll is music for the neck downwards."

At the Rock Hall Annex, the fun doesn't stop at your collar. The $10 million, 25,000-square-foot spinoff of Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum stimulates your eyes, ears and noggin, too.

The grand opening is Tuesday, Dec. 2. Reporters got a sneak peek during a soft launch last week.

Circus
Britney Spears
Jive
"I'm a put-on-a-show kind of girl," Spears declares on this comeback bid. Tell us something we don't know, right? OK, how about this: The pop superstar retakes control of her destiny on "Circus," in cahoots with a team of A-list collaborators that includes Max Martin and Timbaland protege Danja. "Lace and Leather," the paparazzi-baiting "Kill the Lights" and "Womanizer" -- a steamroller of a single -- serve notice: Spears is back in the driver's seat. Let's just hope she has a valid license. In stores Tuesday, Dec. 2. Grade: A-

LOCAL BEAT

John L. "Lexx" Thomas, hip-hop

Hometown: Cleveland.

Years performing: Eight.

Day gig: Medical technician.

Calling himself an entertainer and emcee, John L. "Lexx" Thomas is hoping his rap skills can bring a bigger spotlight to the Northeast Ohio rap scene. "I'm basically a mix between East Coast and Midwest hip-hop," said Thomas, a 1998 Cleveland Heights High School graduate.

"I have a lot of influences because my family lives on the East Coast and I'm in Cleveland. So I go back and forth and kind of soak in both cultures. Right now I'm about five songs away from completing my album 'Mr. 216,' which drops in the spring. I have a new song called 'Exclusive,' which always gets the crowd hyped and is an up-tempo party song. It's straight hip-hop, kind of like my anthem. I also have a song called 'Enemies' that I do with my guy Slick P. That track is very mellow and laid-back, something you can really ride and vibe to."

Lexx is scheduled to play at 9 p.m. Friday at the Symposium Nite Club, 11802 Detroit Ave., Lakewood. Also on the bill is OuttaNowhere. Tickets are $10 ($13 under 21). Call 216-228-6300.

R&B singer Keith Sweat, who joined forces with Johnny Gill and the late Gerald Levert in the supergroup LSG, is on tour to promote a solo album, "Just Me." Sweat performs at 8 p.m. Saturday at PlayhouseSquare's Allen Theatre in Cleveland.

Tickets are $55-$65 at the box office and www.playhousesquare.com, or call 1-866-546-1353 or 216-241-6000.