re: #155 ObserverArt

Hey! I have relatives that lived in Wooster. Went to my first big concert at College of Wooster in 1970 to see Chicago. Great show for a first timer. Also saw Emerson, Lake and Palmer (with the Doctor Hook Medicine Show) and Sly and the Family Stone (with Jo Jo Gunn) there.

I lived about 45 minutes due west in Mansfield. My friends and I covered concerts from Clevelan/Akron to Wooster and Mansfield to Columbus.

That school has a great drama department. Pretty campus too.

Yeah, there is a reason Cleveland was picked for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame…much to the chagrin to many in music. The Agora in Cleveland (and Columbus and Toledo) are famous for great shows and loved by a lot of artists due to crowds ready to rock with anyone that can play well…familiar or not.

I am going through a book right now I just got from the Columbus library: Rock ‘n’ Roll - The Cleveland Connection. It is almost like an encyclopedia of everything to do with the history of the Cleveland music scene. It talks about all the local bands, the venues, the local rock writers, outside opinions of Cleveland music from artists, etc. It’s great, but so much to go through.

And yes, there is a strong connection to the Detroit sound in Cleveland bands.

That’s great to know. We usually stop on our way from New Hampshire to family home in Illinois somewhere south of Akron, but one night misjudged and ended up in a Travel Lodge at the Mansfield exit. While I’m sure Mansfield is beautiful, our hotel was the kind where you can be sure a hooker died in your room. As for Wooster, we have family connections—some on my grandmother’s side went to China and India as missionaries after studying there in the late 1800s (I think). Anyway, one of their kids did well and donated money for the McGaw Chapel on campus.