Sat 12/21@ 9PM
Chardon-based Mr. Gnome are one of the top dogs of the local music scene, and they’re expanding their empire into new areas each year, winning new converts with their funhouse sound that lulls listeners with soothing melodic passages before throwing them against the wall with jagged wails and stuttering rhythms.
But they didn’t get there all of a sudden. They’ve painstakingly built the edifice by themselves with the help of family and friends, year by year, recording, designing their own merch, packaging their own records and CDs, producing their own striking and artsy videos.
It helps that the band is a self-contained touring duo comprising the husband-and-wife team of drummer/keyboard player Sam Meister and guitarist/vocalist Nicole Barille. They’re lean and prepared to hit the road anytime. The twosome generally mixes short bursting of touring with stints at home working on new material.
“We’ve been writing and recording so much material over the year, two different writing and recording sessions in fact,” they emailed us. “Still wrapping it all up…we’ll be picking the best of the best from all the material we’ve written, so still figuring out what will be on the record. Can’t wait to finish it up & plan the release.”
It’s looking like 2014 is shaping up to be another banner year for Mr. Gnome with that new album in the pipeline to follow up 2011’s Madness in Miniature, and showcases at Austin’s SXSW and a slot on the Treefort Music Festival in Boise, Idaho already lined up.
Meanwhile, Sam and Nicole told us, “We’ve been doing a bunch of regional weekend shows throughout December, playing songs off of our three full-length albums. We’ve been working on wrapping up our new record for the past few months now, so it’s been great to get back out there & revisit all of our older material. This Cleveland show is really special to us…we’ve been doing these holiday shows for years now & it’s turned into one insane party. We’re gonna try to throw in a new song as well.”
Mr. Gnome does only a handful of local shows each year and they’ve become increasingly packed. The last few Christmastime shows they’ve done at the Beachland Ballroom have been packed to the rafters. This year’s is likely to be no different. They’ll be bringing a handmade, one-of-a-kind, limited edition 7” “Softly Mad,” and their merch table will be well-stocked with sweatshirts to help fans get through the winter.
If These Trees Could Talk and Leah Lou & the 2 Left Shoes open.
Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door.