Friday, December 23, 2005
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Rock out to great album art

By Kate Westrich

Lock a bunch of music fans in one room and arguments are sure to abound. Who’s the greatest…? Who was the first…? Who did… right? So when the Cincinnati Art Museum opened their “Borrowed Time: The Photograph as Music Album Cover” exhibit, music lovers were in heaven.

In fact, perhaps the only thing that could have been better than having a collection of some of the best album art created would be to have the artists associated with those albums playing a show together. At the Southgate House on Jan. 6, 2006, the next best thing will be happening when bands cover music from the albums on display at the Cincinnati Art Museum, as a benefit for the Museum.

Covering bands from the Borrowed Time exhibit creates challenges for the bands performing. Local band SOHIO will be covering “Murder Inc” by Bruce Springsteen. “The Boss is the Boss for a reason,” said lead SOHIO singer Mark Houk. “He's an amazing performer. ‘Murder Inc’ does a really good job of capturing that era when his songs were high energy and big. This is just how SOHIO likes it, so there's not much of a challenge there. However, the biggest challenge has to be trying to find someone to play the saxophone solos.”

SOHIO is considering solving this problem by replacing the saxophone with a harmonica. Facing a similar problem is Kendall Bruns, who would have covered a Philip Glass song, but decided he “couldn't assemble an orchestra in time.” Instead Bruns, a local musician, will be covering “Eye in the Sky” by Alan Parsons.

Although the Le TechnoPUSS13S will be performing a Bob Dylan song, band guitarist Jamie Thorman doesn’t count himself as a huge fan of Dylan’s music.

“This is going to sound pretty weak, but I'm not really a huge Dylan fan. Admirer? Yes. Respecter of? Definitely. Fan? Not so much. The only Dylan [album] I own is a dubbed cassette of greatest hits that has The Jesus and Mary Chain's ‘Barbwire Kisses’ on the other side. I've had that tape for 14 years and it now lives in a box in a closet in my attic.”

“The bands got to personally pick a song from one of the albums represented in the exhibit,” Zach Mechlem from the band Mack West. “So I volunteered Mack West to play ‘Hillfarmer's Blues’ off of his 2002 solo release, ‘Ragpicker's Dream.’”

The Cincinnati Art Museum exhibit features album art from artists that range from Bruce Springsteen and the Beastie Boys to Philip Glass and Miles Davis. Posed the question of what album art is their favorite, performers from the Borrowed Time benefit show weighed in with these albums:

• "Ladies and Gentlemen" by the Afghan Whigs; Mark Houk of SOHIO

• "Unknown Pleasure" by the Joy Division; Kendall Bruns

• "American Recordings" by Johnny Cash; Zach Mechlem of Mack West

• "Locust Abortion Technician" by Butthole Surfers or "The White Album" by the Beatles; Jamie Thorman of Le TechnoPUSS13S

Tickets to see the Borrowed Time benefit show at the Southgate House are $10 and include a ticket to see the museum exhibit. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. The show begins at 9 p.m. For more information, contact (859) 431-2201.

Kate Westrich is a Cincinnati native and avid flip-flop wearer.

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