Blogs

It appears that Solon sergeant Andrew Kolcinko isn't the only local cop who's been threatening to kill his significant other. While Kolcinko awaits his trial in Garfield Heights for threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend, an Akron cop awaits his own date in court for doing the same.

In January, Leslie Jones allegedly chased his wife around their house with a knife, threatening to kill her. When she tried to call the police, he disconnected the phones. But it appears that Jones' wife eventually reached 911. This week, Jones appeared in a Summit County courtroom, where he was indicted on five different charges, including domestic violence. He was also placed on leave. -- Denise Grollmus

This just in: Democratic bigshot Terry McCauliffe canceled his appearance at Joseph-Beth Friday night.

You can still read our interview with him. You just won't be able to laugh at McCauliffe in person for asking singer-songwriter Paul Simon about his "dad," the late Senator Paul Simon — who was in no way whatsoever related to the diminutive pop star who supported Art Garfunkle for years. --Michael Gallucci

Chris Korleski: No longer an agent of evil?

Maybe we were wrong about Chris Korleski, the new head of the Ohio EPA. After our story ran about the agency's continued refusal to speak to Scene's reporters, the EPA's new spokesperson called to "extend an olive branch between the two of us and try to start fresh."

It was an historic day, considering Scene's relationship with the agency. Ever since a 2001 story chronicling the agency's seven years of stalling in cleaning up a chemical leak in Middlefield, it's been chillier than a shuffleboard game between Fatah and Hamas.

But Melissa Fazekas, former communications director for the Ohio Senate Democrats, said Korleski wants to wipe away the hard feelings and give Scene a "clean slate."

"It is a new day and we will try to go forward from here," says Fazekas. If we're really good, says Fazekas, we might even get to see the secret room where they stash all the people with the glowing heads. — Jared Klaus

Kevin McCarthy is from �??Frisco, but don�??t hold that against him

Money Where Your Mouth Is:
Scene's music writers are busy scraping off their black nail polish after Monday's emo-riffic My Chemical Romance concert, so they hereby surrender the podium to let a band speak for itself.

Band: Kevin McCarthy & Beautiful Loser

Hometown: "Bi-coastal: Cleveland/San Francisco"

Sounds like: "Dan Ben, Jack Johnson"

Fun fact: "Scott Barkan from Hypnotic Clambake plays guitar on new release, which was co-produced by former Clevelander Jerry Becker, now in The Bittersweets. Jeremy Bleich of Birth will be in town to perform at the CD release party."

Playing: "Don't miss the CD Release Party at the Agora (5000 Euclid Ave., 216-881-6911) on Friday March 2 at 8 p.m. Advance tickets purchased off the web site before Friday will include a copy of the CD in the ticket price. Advance ticket price is $15. Tix at the door are $20."

Why you need to see them: "McCarthy has taken his jam-band jazzy roots and melded them onto a dreamy, rhythmic singer songwriter foundation." - Katherine

If you haven't heard them yet, know that Canton's Lovedrug rules. They're good guys, and the music's midway between Bends-era Radiohead and non-sucky emo. Check out this week's Scene for a review of their new disc, Everything Starts Where It Ends.

You can see the band at their CD release party this Saturday, March 2 at Akron's Lime Spider (207 S. Main St.). The set will be an acoustic storytellers show. Fans who buy Lovedrug's new Everything Starts Where It Ends will receive a free copy of the Everything Starts... Tour Bootleg EP.

The show will also featuring Goodmorning Valentine's Joey Beltram, who's a tremendous singer-songwriter. -- D.X. Ferris

I want to thank you for your groundbreaking article concerning the misappropriation of power in the Cleveland Orchestra ["Sour Notes," February 21]. This has been an ever increasing and scandalous issue that has needed exposure for some time.

Mr. Rosenberg at The Plain Dealer had been made aware of it, but failed to address it. A couple of years back, when he was curious about pursuing the matter, executives re-appropriated a portion of his music column to Ms. Salisbury. Apparently the paper wanted to avoid a scandal, and preferred to simply avert public focus. I believe that bringing community concerns to awareness is the implied responsibility of any news organization. I applaud you for tackling this issue and giving it the attention it deserves.

The power abuse within The Orchestra has been going on for some time, and actually you have only begun to graze the surface. Let me fill you in a little:

When Mr. Daniel Majeske passed untimely, his Concertmaster post was taken up by Mr. Martin Chalifour, who received the position of 'Acting' Concertmaster. Usually, this 'acting' precept is temporary (for one season, perhaps two at most), and the decision is made to either complete the promotion, or finalize auditions for someone fully capable. The management unfairly led on Mr. Chalifour for several seasons, never giving him his properly due and deserved title.

During this period Mr. Tom Morris, who was a close friend of Mr. Bill Preucil, allowed Bill to convince him of his competence and intent to step in and take over the position. This was done without proper process in a back-room maneuver. The post should have been awarded to the more talented Mr. Chalifour, who later left in disgust to become Concertmaster of The Los Angeles Philharmonic (a definite loss for Cleveland). The appointment was pre-determined in favor of Mr. Preucil, in spite of other fine alternatives. In fact, Mr. Andres Cardenas, Concertmaster of The Pittsburgh Symphony was another who was interested in auditioning, but was beaurocratically delayed until finally informed that the selection process period had already closed(!) Incidentally, Mr. Preucil played the Cleveland vs. Philadelphia Orchestra card against the Orchestra management when, in reality, Philadelphia was not so interested in him anyhow.

Once Mr. Preucil was appointed to his current post, he began to further his power plays. This led to the early/forced retirement of a number of musicians who questioned his musical ability and intent, as they were deemed a threat to his security. The saddest thing is that many of these members were the sole remaining sounds from the Szell/Maazel eras, and responsible for transferring that tonal lineage to the younger generation. Not to mention that they were not reserved to the string section, but any section where Mr. Preucil may have wanted to load the audition process with his family, friends, or romantic interests.

The general process of how this was done was that Mr. Preucil would bully Mr. Dochnanyi into humiliating the musicians by moving them to the back of their section, under the (false) pretense that they were no longer playing up to their proper level. Generally, this was a greater embarrassment for many of the players that they preferred to retire early with the dignity of holding their chairs.

Mr. Yarden Faden and the late Mr. Ed Ormond were sad examples of this political smear maneuver from the viola section. Mr. Stephen Majeske (Principal Second Violins) was on disability leave when his post was illegally given away and his contract prematurely terminated. Mr. Alvaro deGranda, the former Assistant Concertmaster, was forced into a private audition for the Conductor, supposedly in order to prove his skill and retain his chair. He was a strong principal player from the Szell era, and could not simply be moved. His personal audition for Dochnanyi (which is unheard of in the first place, since the Conductor should be able to make such a determination on his own -- the principal string players already sit directly under his nose) gave no indication of inadequacy, so he could not be coerced into losing his post.

However, he suffered much mental duress from the situation. He later stepped back on his own accord as a retaliatory act against the increasingly unfair back-room politics, thus saving his principal level income, reducing his responsibilities, and forcing the management to fill his empty seat with another player requiring higher principal salary.

At this point, Mr. Preucil tried to swing his family member Mr. Stephen Rose into the chair, however his audition level was undeniably far inferior. By process of elimination, the best player to audition was Mr. Lev Polyakin, which is how he was offered the seat (against Mr. Preucil's wishes, and the ultimate regret of Mr. Dochnanyi for harassing Mr. deGranda toward a move in the first place). Mr. Preucil then whispered into the ear of Tom Morris that he was questioning renewing the long term contract the Orchestra held for Maestro Dochnanyi, and suggested that perhaps a better option may be discovered. The management and Mr. Preucil began giving Mr. Dochnanyi a difficult time, until he eventually decided to quietly move on.

In fact, there were a number of highly competent and big name conductors calling on Cleveland (Simon Rattle being one, as well as Jajha Ling and Vladimir Ashkenazy, both of whom already had standing associations and are now curiously absent), but they would have threatened Mr. Preucil's stranglehold, so were deemed inappropriate. Mr. Preucil needed someone who could be manipulated from the beginning, someone talented but younger without an already established reputation (enter Mr. Franz Welsner Most). Interestingly, the person who helped Mr. Preucil's rise to power, Mr. Tom Morris, was later coerced out when he himself became an obstacle to Mr. Preucil's intentions. When Mr. Preucil decided that he wanted to take over the top violin post of the Cleveland Institute of Music, he succeeded in forcing Mr. Wallerstein into moving to Boston.

At this point, a portion of Mr. Preucil's power abuse is becoming public (thanks to your reporting!) and The Orchestra is highly polarized between those who acknowledge his abuse, and those too scared to speak out in fear of retaliation.

One interesting item of note is the difficult predicament of Ms. Ellen dePasquale. Recently Mr. Preucil was slated to perform the Adams Violin Concerto with the Orchestra, a highly technical and difficult piece. This is not in the normal collection of repertoire, and takes a good month to practice it to a performance level. One week before his scheduled performance, Mr. Preucil decided that he was no longer going to play the program, and handed the responsibility over to Ms. dePasquale, knowing that her odds of failure were statistically high. On the contrary (and with an exceptional level of musicianship far higher than Mr. Preucil himself!) she shone brilliantly at her performance. Mr. Preucil, not to be foiled, continued to harass her until she recently decided to resign at the end of the upcoming summer season (prior to your article's release).

On a similar note, in order to squeeze Mr. Polyakin out of his chair and back into the regular section, Mr. Preucil decided to open a new (unnecessary) position of First Associate Concertmaster within the center of the principal section, thus dissolving the last principal chair, coincidentally in which sits Mr. Polyakin. It will be interesting to see as events transpire if he can manage to follow through with this scam, with the pending resignation of Ms. dePasquale and the subsequent opening of her own chair now at hand.

Thanks to your article Mr. Preucil is now finding himself with unprecedented challenges in holding on to his influence. PLEASE DON'T STOP! We, the City of Cleveland, need to regain our illuminated Orchestra's level of quality and respect before it is fully usurped and lost. There are enough names listed here for you to network from. Hopefully you will not encounter too many hurdles, although some of the persons involved may not be able to discuss the matter freely, as they have already successfully sued the Orchestra for forcing their untimely retirement (yet another hidden secret!)

Thank you again for all that you are doing. It is a service to the continued tradition of Cleveland and its internationally reputed Orchestra.

-- received via email

Charles Fleck

A friendly anonymous tipster left a vague message for me last night: Someone died at Flex, they reported excitedly. Why don't you check it out?

Flex, of course, is developer Charles Fleck's multimillion-dollar gay fun house just east of downtown, which we first told you about last May. It's had a somewhat rocky go of it since then: construction was delayed, local health officials tried to screw him, and a woman filed a complaint accusing Fleck of discrimination after he turned her down for a job.

But things are looking up for Fleck: The club is up and running and starting to pick up business, he says. While the woman's complaint isn't yet resolved, Fleck says he's been granted an exemption and can now legally discriminate against women, seeing as how his joint is loaded with naked men -- be still, my heart! -- walking around.

And while someone did die there recently, it wasn't anyone famously straight, nor was it particularly scandalous. An old guy apparently had a heart attack. In a palace of saunas and Stairmasters, it's no surprise when someone's ticker suddenly won't turn over. — Joe P. Tone

Nine Inch Nails, Cleveland's biggest rock export in recent memory, has a new live DVD, and a new studio album will be here before you know it.

In stores today, the Beside You In Time DVD captures a full show from 2006's With Teeth tour, plus bonus clips and promo videos from the album. Concert DVDs generally suck, but the strobing live footage will give you a sunburn.

NIN's new studio disc is due April 17. Entitled Year Zero, it's just one part of an elabroate, future-shock multimedia project from NIN mastermind Trent Reznor -- kind of like The Lost Experience meets The Handmaid's Tale . Check out a creepy trailer for it here. Early songs suggest it's way less poppy than 2005's With Teeth, and more of a disturbing mood piece like 2000's underrated The Fragile. -- D.X. Ferris

I am a Cleveland resident and a college student. I enjoyed your story on "Black On Black Crime" [February 21]. Your powerful article has empowered me to write to my congresswoman, the national NACCP, and the Urban League to inform them of this crime against people who want to work.

I am outraged at the black leaders who walk all over their own people for money. As a student who attends one of the universities, I have seen the wickedness and corruption of no diversity on major construction projects. I plan to write more national leaders about this crime. Thank you again for this eye opening article.

--received anonymously by email

You know that feeling you get, when you cruise the designer department at Sak's as if you could actually afford something? That's how I was feeling this morning, paging through the current issue of Gourmet, past the ads for Jags, Viking ranges, and West Coast spas. As a Midwestern wage slave, there's no way I'm among Gourmet's affluent demographic.

Which then lead me to ponder the actual connection between wealth and good eating. My conclusion? Eating well may be the most affordable luxury around.

Consider: Even if your budget prohibits foie gras, caviar, and other stereotypical splurges, what could possibly be more indulgent than fresh, wholesome, simply prepared food? A juicy orange, a buttery bowl of fresh fettuccini, a crisp Ohio apple... all luxurious, sensual interludes available at bargain-basement prices.

You don't have to be Martha Stewart to bake a batch of brownies; or Bill Gates to tuck into freshly baked bread. Grow fresh tomatoes on your doorstep. Bring home broccoli from a farm stand. Or simply skip the junk food for a month, and use the savings to dine at a great restaurant.

My guess is that's why food --- growing it, buying it, cooking it, eating it, or simply reading about it — has become a national passion, right up there with music, film, and sex. Visceral, pleasurable, and always luxurious, eating well is the great equalizer, a true indulgence that nearly any of us can afford. -- Elaine T. Cicora

Scott Taylor: Crushing small restaurants for fun and fame.

Thinking of taking your date to Luchita's on Shaker Square tonight? Then you should know about a new special on the menu: mouse poop con queso!

Action 19 investigator Scott Taylor, known for his courageous battles to shut down small, family-owned, ethnic restaurants, found health department violations for rodent droppings in the Mexican restaurant's kitchen, ole! You can see the video, and all of Scott Taylor's searing "Dirty Dining" investigations here. -- Jared Klaus

The Police are coming to the Q

This week, Scene has more new concerts than J.D.'s got Salinger. The Police's long-anticipated reunion tour comes to the Q. Top-shelf hip-hop from Nas. Hot dance tunes from NYC's Baby Dayliner. Punky-trad Celtic music par excellence from Black 47. Premium screamo from From Autumn to Ashes. Melodic sissy metal from Sonata Arctica. Operatic black metal from Dimmu Borgir. And 42 more.

THIS JUST IN:

Joseph Arthur/Stars of Track & Field: Sun., May 20, 9:30 p.m., $5, 21 and over/$10, 18-20. Lime Spider.

August Burns Red/I Killed the Prom Queen/See You Next Tuesday/Chasing Victory/Life in Your Way: Wed., May 2, 6 p.m., all ages. Lime Spider.

Baby Dayliner/JJ Magazine: Fri., March 16, 9 p.m., $5. B-Side Liquor Lounge.

Black 47: Sat., March 24, 9 p.m., $15. Wilbert's.

Ronnie Baker Brooks/Brickhouse Blues Band: Fri., June 1, 8 p.m., $15. Beachland Tavern.

Brother Ali/Psalm One/ BK One/OneBelo/Toki Wright: Sun., April 29, 9 p.m., $12 ADV/$14 DOS. Grog Shop.

Savoy Brown:< @$p> Wed., May 16, 9 p.m., $20. The Winchester.

Bullet for My Valentine/Escape the Fate/the Confession: Tue., April 24, 7 p.m., $15.50. House of Blues.

Andy Caldwell: Sat., March 10. View Cleveland.

Mike Dillon's GoGo Jungle: Sun., April 15, 9 p.m., $8. Grog Shop.

Dimmu Borgir/Unearth/Devil Driver/Kataklysm: Fri., April 20, 7:30 p.m., $22. Agora Theatre.

Joao Donato Trio: Wed., April 4, two shows: 7 and 9 p.m., $30. Nighttown.

Doro Pesh: Thu., June 14, 7 p.m., $14 ADV/$16 DOS. Peabody's.

Fred Eaglesmith: Tue., May 8, 8 p.m., $20. Beachland Ballroom.

Electrelane/the Blow/Tender Forever: Mon., May 21, 9 p.m., $10 ADV/$12 DOS. Grog Shop.

Epica/Visions of Atlantis: Sat., Sept. 15, 7 p.m., $15 ADV/$18 DOS. Peabody's.

The Fad: Mon., April 9. Pirate's Cove.

Fairport Convention: Fri., May 18, 9 p.m., $20. The Winchester.

Finntroll: Wed., Sept. 26, 7 p.m., $17 ADV/$20 DOS. Peabody's.

From Autumn to Ashes/Haste the Day: Tue., May 1, 6:30 p.m. Agora Ballroom.

G. Love & Special Sauce: Tue., April 10, 7 p.m., $20. House of Blues.

Gary Hoey Band: Sat., May 12, 9 p.m., $15. The Winchester.

The Greencards: Fri., May 4, 8 p.m., $12 ADV/$14 DOS. Beachland Tavern.

Jamie McLean Band (of Dirty Dozen Brass Band): Wed., March 21, 8 p.m., $10. Wilbert's.

Kamelot/Leaves Eyes: Sat., Aug. 25, 7 p.m., $18 ADV/$20 DOS. Peabody's.

Lil Ed & the Blues Imperials: Thu., April 19, 9 p.m., $12. The Winchester.

David Lindley: Wed., April 25, 8:30 p.m., $12. The Winchester.

Little Charlie & the Nightcats: Fri., April 20, 9:30 p.m. Wilbert's.

Lucero/Catfish Haven/American Princess: Wed., April 11, 8:30 p.m. Beachland Ballroom.

Making April/My Favorite Highway: Sun., March 25, 7 p.m., $10. Pirate's Cove.

Coco Montoya (with band): Thu., March 22, 8:30 p.m., $15. The Winchester.

Nas: Mon., April 2, 8 p.m., $34. House of Blues.

The Nighthawks: Sat., April 14, 9:30 p.m. Wilbert's.

Over the Rhine: Fri., May 4, 9:30 p.m., $5, 21 and over/$10, 18-20. Lime Spider.

verkill: Thu., Oct. 18, 7 p.m., $17 ADv/$20 DOS. Peabody's.

Packway Handle Band: Wed., March 7, 8:30 p.m. Wilbert's.

Piebald/MC Chris/Street to Nowhere: Wed., March 21, 8 p.m., $10. Grog Shop.

The Police/Fiction Plane: Mon., July 16, $50/$90/$200. Quicken Loans Arena.

The Ponys: Sun., April 22, 9 p.m., $8. Grog Shop.

Prong: Wed., Oct. 31, 7 p.m., $14 ADV/$17 DOS. Peabody's.

Sick Puppies: 92.3 KROCK low-dough show, Tue., March 20, $.92. House of Blues Cambridge Room.

Willie "Big Eyes" Smith/Blue Lunch: Fri., March 9, 8:30 p.m. Wilbert's.

So Serious Getting Down to Business: Sun., March 11, 9 p.m., $10. Rockstar Cleveland.

Sonata Arctica: Sun., Sept. 23, 7 p.m., $17 ADV/$20 DOS. Peabody's.

Garrison Starr: Tue., March 13, 8 p.m. Beachland Tavern.

Straylight Run: Mon., March 26, 7 p.m., $12 ADV/$14 DOS. Peabody's.

Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd tribute): Two-set show, featuring acoustic set, Tue., April 10, 7 p.m., $20. House of Blues.

Tommy Womack & Band: Sat., March 10, 7 p.m. Beachland Tavern.

Zibra Zibra: Tue., May 29, $5, 21 and over/$10, 20 and under (all ages). Lime Spider.

CANCELED
Guru's Jazzmatazz: Mon., April 2. House of Blues.

SOLD OUT
Cartel/Cobra Starship/Boys Like Girls/New Atlantic: Sat., March 10, 6:30 p.m., $16. House of Blues.

Received via voicemail:

Hi. I was calling concerning the article...that you wrote on Black on Black Crime. I was just calling to tell you what a great job that you did on this article, and I'm happy that you were able to expose a lot of our black leaders -- who we are looking up to and looking... forward to them helping a lot of us black, poor people to find these construction jobs... And look what they've done to us.

A lot of black people blame white people for a lot of things that are going on in the construction business, about us not being able to find these jobs.

I'm 46 years old and I was never able to actually get me a construction job, except through a temporary agency. And now I come to find out that my own black leaders, who I was supposed to put my trust into to help me find a job, are the very ones that stopped from even finding a job to help feed my kids.

So anyway, I just wanted to thank you... Just wanted you to know that there's some black people out here who know this is definitely the truth, and it really hurts me to read this. It really did.

I read your piece on Preucil ["Sour Notes," February 14]. I do understand why the orch members couldn't go on record as to who they are. There is that air over there as of late that if somebody talks to the press, it's thought of as betrayal. I do know that people do fear for their jobs over there. As a matter of fact my unemployment was being contested by them. I asked several of my former co-workers to testify at my hearing on my behalf and they couldn't because they feared for their jobs. Sign of the times.

In any case, this story has been brewing for a very long time. I knew that this was going on and I also knew that CIM paid for that incident to go away for Preucil. They told him that they were going to keep him on so he could attempt to pay them back.

--Anonymous

Greg Brinda

When Craig Karmazin, owner of Good Karma Broadcasting (but better known as the son of Viacom president Mel Karmazin), scooped up both of Cleveland's sports-radio stations, he spent an afternoon talking to listeners. Most wanted to know, in the words of one caller, "if there was some other way Greg Brinda could be leveraged."

In an overhaul of the morning drive at WKNR — excuse us, "ESPN 850 WKNR" (the name's changing, too) — the station has bumped Brinda, The Sam Fulwood of Radio�, from the 9 a.m. weekday slot he's soiled for the past two years. He'll now air at 6 p.m., when his tired ramblings and pubescent screech are less likely to incite workplace violence.

Karmazin has tapped Tony Rizzo, the sports director at FOX 8 TV, to fill Brinda's slot. He can't be expecting much -- Rizzo hasn't anchored a radio broadcast in more than 10 years. It's like talking your hitting coach out of retirement to take the ninth spot in the order.

Preceding Rizzo will be "Mike & Mike in the Morning," plucked by Karmazin from sister station AM 1540 — sorry, "Cleveland's AM 1540 KNR2." That's where Steve Czaben, who held 850's old morning-drive slot, is headed, in an even swap for The Mikes.

Brinda debuted with a bang. He berated listeners for not remembering that it was he who first projected the Browns might spend April's third pick on Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson. Then he tried to stir a debate on why free throws aren't important. And then, because every audience apparently needs a name, he christened his "The Nightcrawlers." "That's got an edge to it," he said.

He appeased one caller's worries by revealing this was at least the sixth change in his air time since the station started in 1991. "I'm a firm believer in things happening randomly," he said.

Then, to prove it, he insulted two of the next three callers. -- Jason Nedley