Hed Cheez, Stephe DK, Porch Party

HED CHEEZ is a solo project by Mike Baker from The Tufted Puffins, Sleazy Jesus and the Splatter Pigs, and Hucklebuck fame. This is a stark departure from Mike's punk rock history into an experimental realm utilizing free jazz, loops, composition, electrified trumpet, effects peddles, Electronic Wind Instrument, vocals, sonic landscapes, samples... in other words it's kind of hard to describe. In this project, Mike is throwing his creative kitchen sink at it and nothing is out of bounds. Stephe DK (pronounced , "rdquo" -> Steve Decay") made a lasting mark in Cleveland music as the voice of polarizing outfits like Proletarian Art Threat and the New Lou Reeds. His new eponymous band---a stopgap band name until all concerned can agree on an identity---is a tightly focused distillation of all he's done before: blues-adjacent guitars run through a blender, and fearless lyrics decrying the brutalities and hypocrisies of late-Capitalist life, buttressed by the tight and groove-oriented rhythm section of Night Medicine drummer Pat Simen and DK's erstwhile Prole Art Threat bandmate Ron Kretsch on electric upright bass, all sweetened with the addition of vocalist and percussionist Ali Smith. Born on a porch in the westside of Cleveland, Porch Party combines your favorite post, punk, modern rock with the urgency of a teenager scorned. Immediate and straight ahead, we think you'll get it!