It’s heartbreaking trying to write this, Jared Koston drummer from local metal act Venomin James has succumbed after a long battle to stage 4 melanoma cancer. He leaves behind a beautiful wife and four lovely children who need your help!

From Venomin James guitarist Joe Fortunato: ’Jared is a singular, unique and supremely talented person, a big-hearted guy that was loving life, his family and playing music. He is a stellar individual and it’s an honor to know him and play music with him.’

The Koston family was battling this insidious disease while out of work and uninsured and now must cover funeral costs. Follow this link to find details on how you can help. You can also find out how you can help by listening to the Inner Sanctum this Sunday night as we welcome back Bill Peters (Auburn Records President) longtime friend and label head to Jared and Venomin James. Our deepest sympathies go out to the Koston family and all of Jared’s wonderful friends from all of us here at Radio 92.3

Tonight on the Inner Sanctum for memorial day Jim, Matt and I are going to go through our archives and play our favorites from the past and present incarnations of the show! Tune in tonight at 10pm on Radio 92.3!

Dave Douglas (former drummer of Reliant K) and Red form the main songwriting core of this relatively new Cleveland band. Formed in late 2008 they have since release one LP ‘When the moon was big’ and an EP ‘Satellite Songs’. Their song ‘You never knew’, which has been getting regular airplay on our show, was one of 50 semi-finalists in the Pop/Top 40 category of the International Songwriting Competition (over 15,000 songs were submitted). click for more…

Here is some info from their bio:

A little bit ago, songwriting team DAVE DOUGLAS and RED decided to write music up in the great nether regions of the North in a land called Cleveland.

For much of the year it’s unbelievably frosty in Cleveland. You have to find something to keep you warm. Dave & Red thought music was a nice way to defrost their toes and fingers while getting out all those snow-buried stories they kept inside, so they started ATTACK CAT.

Before all this, Dave used to be the drummer for the gold-selling band RELIENT K and toured with them for a bunch of years.

When the two made music, they realized the music made them happier and warmer. They hope the music makes you happier too.

We shatter neon lights -Attack Cat

This is a cool video of them working in the studio. You can hear them This Sunday night live on the Inner Sanctum at 10pm on Radio 92.3

Local favorites The Jack Fords are set to release ‘Way Things Should Be’ with a party May 8th at The Happy Dog in Ohio City! But you can get a preview of the new record this Sunday at 10pm on Radio 92.3. Brent, Bobby, Jim and Ed will also be playing a few tunes Live!

Here is a cool version of New Orleans peformed a few months ago at Brother’s Lounge:

Akron’s favorite sons announce the release of ‘Brothers’ on May 18th!

The new album includes the Danger Mouse-produced song “Tighten Up” (streaming now on the band’s MySpace: myspace.com/theblackkeys) and a cover of the Jerry Butler classic “Never Gonna Give You Up.” The remaining songs on Brothers are written, performed and produced by The Black Keys. Carney admits Brothers is the album they’ve always wanted to make and taps into their creative force as a duo. “Dan and I grew up a lot as individuals and musicians prior to making this album. Our relationship was tested in many ways but at the end of the day, we’re brothers, and I think these songs reflect that.”

You can pre-order tickets for their upcoming tour at theblackkeys.com which will include a special bundle of ‘Brothers’ (either digital only or digital and vinyl/CD) and you will also be able to download 2 songs right away, the first single ‘Tighten Up’ and ‘Next Girl’. Here are the tour dates which notably include an opening slot for Pearl Jam on May 20th, late night TV appearances on David Letterman and Jimmy Fallon, and a slot on the Bonnaroo festival:

April 8 University of Iowa Memorial / Iowa City, IA

April 10 Yuri’s Night Bay Area 2010 / San Francisco, CA

April 17 Wanee Music Festival / Live Oak, FL

April 18 The Fillmore Miami Beach at The Jackie Gleason Theater / Miami, FL

April 19 The House of Blues / Orlando, FL

May 20 Madison Square Garden / New York, NY

*OPENING FOR PEARL JAM*

May 25 “Late Show with David Letterman” / New York, NY

May 26 “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” / New York, NY

June 2 The Depot / Salt Lake City, UT

June 3 The Fillmore / Denver, CO

June 4 The Crossroads / Kansas City, MO

June 8 First Ave / Minneapolis, MN

June 9 First Ave / Minneapolis, MN

June 10 The Pagaent / St. Louis, MO

June 11 Bonnaroo / Manchester, TN

July 27 Central Park SummerStage / New York, NY

July 28 Central Park SummerStage / New York, NY

Here’s the opening song from their Myspace secret show at the Beachland Tavern from ‘08 (where they played their very first show!)

Musician Jared Koston, drummer for Cleveland-based metal band Venomin James is currently battling stage 4 melanoma cancer. Diagnosed with two brain tumors stemming from the cancer, Koston and his family are struggling to make ends meet financially while they fight Koston’s illness. Auburn Records president Bill Peters recently released the following statement regarding Koston’s condition, with helpful information on how people can help:

“Jared and his family need financial help immediately”, says Auburn Records president Bill Peters. “Jared has four beautiful children and a wonderful wife by his side. The heavy metal community is always very generous and supportive when it comes to good causes.

”Anything you can contribute to the Koston family during their time of need is greatly appreciated. This family is doing everything they can to keep things going but can’t do it alone. Jared and his wife Michele are both hard working people but had to leave their jobs while they continue to battle this illness. All of the money raised will go directly to Jared and his family to help cover medical and travel expenses. Please take a few minutes to contribute if you are able. No donation is too small. You can make a difference.”

Donations can be made in several ways:

Cash, checks and money orders (payable to Jared Koston) can be sent to:

The Koston Family
3060 Princeton Drive
Madison, Ohio 44057
USA

PayPal donations can be sent to: jaredkoston@rocketmail.com
(Be sure to mark ‘personal’ then select ‘gift’)

There also is a Koston Cancer Fund page setup on Facebook.

Michele Koston has organized two spaghetti dinner fund raisers at the Stadium Grill in Mentor, Ohio on May 3 from 6-8 p.m. and at the Wagon Wheel Restaurant in Madison, Ohio on May 24 from 5-8 p.m.

More info from Venomin James:

“Jared’s started radiation therapy, but his doctors have basically said that we should prepare for the worst”, says Venomin James guitarist Joe Fortunato. “I don’t even know where to begin. It has all happened so rapidly that it took us all by surprise. He had been getting chemotherapy, but a bad reaction hospitalized him, which is how they found more going on. Originally, it was only in his shoulder but has now spread to his spleen and brain. It may happen that he doesn’t survive too much longer. We were planning to have a benefit concert for him and for Melanoma charities, but it looks like he may not even be around long enough to see it, let alone play at it. The fundraiser is at a very early stage. I have several bands willing to donate performances. We’re praying he makes it through this okay”.

Additional information, including a statement from Michele Koston with extensive details regarding Jared’s condition can be found here.

With no current income or health insurance, anything that you can do to help will be very much appreciated by the Koston family.

We have been patiently waiting for the DVD release of this project that had been hung up on, as with most small film projects, MONEY! These guys did a great job on the project, using all of their own funds thus far, as a labor of love. but now they need our help!

Here are the 107.9 The End documentary making team Mike Wendt and Keith Auekman talking about the state of the project:

The End of the World As We Knew It-Kickstarter Pitch Video! from Michael Wendt on Vimeo.

Sorry for the cut and paste job here guys, doing this from my phone and wanted to get it up with the time limit…

DEVO TO OFFER “FRESH” NEW SONG FREE TO FANS ONLINE FOR 24 HOURS ONLY BEGINNING FEBRUARY 22ND

FREE DOWNLOAD COINCIDES WITH BAND’S PERFORMANCE AT THE VANCOUVER 2010 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES ON THE SAME DAY

Until then, please drop by www.clubdevo.com

for info, DEVO Communiqués, tour dates, exclusive merchandise, and much, much…much more.  Get “Fresh” for free this Monday, Feb 22^nd.

Our good buds Mystery of Two will be hosting a month of free shows! Here are the deets from their press release:

Mystery of Two

Winter Residency

THE ULTIMATE TWO CD/TWO DVD RE-MASTERED EDITION OF SEMINAL RECORDINGS FROM OHIO ART-ROCK PIONEERS AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE

All product details can be found at…
http://www.clubdevo.com/store/product/ultra-devo-lux-ltd-edition

To Tide you over here are a few cool videos!

Devo – Mongoloid from 1978 french TV:

Devo – I can’t get no (Satisfaction) – 2007 Plant Terra Festival

This is VERY cool, Pearl Jam covering ‘Whip It’ on the final night of their tour in Philly!