The Akron Sound - Calvin Rydbom

 Of course, growing up in the Mid West in the 60's and 70's means that the sounds from that area are near'n'dear to my rock'n'roll heart, particularly, the ever-popular, high-energy Detroit sounds and the true bizarreness that came from Ohio. I bought whatever I could find from the new bands at the time, but not many of the Ohio congregation came to my small hometown or surrounding area, so I didn't see many, at least until I moved to LA and bands like the Rubber City Rebels would come through regularly. I did manage to play a gig with the Bizarros in the late 70's though and they were a nice as could be!

Rydbom was an aspiring punk musician himself, but decided that he did not really have what it takes for that end of things and became a writer and this book is actually an exposition on a well received chapter of a previous release about the area in general. He also is a mainstay in the Akron Sound Museum, which appears on all major social media platforms, has had pop-up exhibits and hopes to have a brick'n'mortar building soon, if it doesn't already. (This book was published in 2018).

There is a short chapter touching upon the musical history of the area and the various musical acts throughout the years to emerge from this locale - including hitmakers Ruby and the Romantics and Joe Walsh, among others. From there we move into the meat of the "Akron Sound", the 70's, in which music everywhere moved from Top Forty/Heavy Metal to Glam to Punk and beyond. Calvin spotlights groups such as the Rubber City Rebels, Tin Huey, the Bizarros, and many more, some much more well known than others. His writing style is not polished (not that I am one to talk) - appropriate for the subject matter - and overall reads more like an enthusiastic fanzine. There is word-for-word repetition and many references from chapter to chapter which may be a way of keeping the ideas fresh in the reader's mind, but is a bit awkward, regardless. It also may come from writing articles as opposed to books, and I mention it only as a nit-pick, not a serious critique. 

In any case, there is a lot of information here, even with major bands like Devo (some of their early philosophical influences are a bit of a revelation to me) and the Waitresses, who started as a fake band and, after becoming a "real" group, weren't nearly as popular as their most played songs would make you think, but who had major players in the group, such as drummer Billy Ficca from Television and bassist Tracy Wormworth, who would play with numerous other acts, and became a mainstay with the B52s.

Calvin also highlights the clubs that supported the scene, along with the small, somewhat primitive recording studio associated with Tin Huey and the record label started by the Bizarros, both of which helped to herald the sounds of the city.

Despite my criticisms, I enjoyed this and certainly learned more about the area so while I wouldn't necessarily call it a great work of literature (which I'm sure was not the intent), I would recommend it for those who want to learn more about the midwest punk/new wave scene? Now, where the heck are my Akron compilations?!