Smedley's and the Jack Fords

I just can't get my head around this thing today.  I have been looking at the blank white of this new post screen for going on three hours.  My shit just ain't working right today.  I have a case of the cobwebs of the head or something.  It wasn't a drinking thing or anything honestly I just have been feeling off.  Vertigo spells a couple times last week coupled with this fatigue that I felt like I had to battle just to keep my eyes open the better part of last week.  Like I said before it happens from time to time, but I still am going to try and bring the "A" game so to speak.  The Jack Fords certainly did last night at Smedley's.  It's the least I can do.

Smedley's...ahhhh an oasis on a street filled with the beautiful people bars across the street.  Kamm's Corner has turned around by leaps and bounds since the old days when it used to be pretty much dead.  The most action you could find was down the road over at the Public House.  Now it is a mini West 6th street kind of scene over there.  Honestly the bars across the street are not my kind of thing.  I have been a couple times when coaxed out my friend's but it's not my style.  I think there are excellent bars over there I just don't like the high fashion crowd.  I don't fit in there too well and feel like a dirtball at times.  It's not like I wear ripped jeans and white shirts with pit stains or anything, but I just feel out of place in that type of environment.  I honestly commend them for what they brought to the area.

However, as long as I can remember Smedley's has been there.  It was called a couple different things over the years.  I used to live down the road from it when I was in Fairview and would hit it for a cheap karaoke night back in the day.  I don't recall what incarnation or name it was back at that time though.  I just remember they had cheap drinks and great food specials, and I would throw darts there.  Not much has changed.  The drinks and food are still cheap.  I think my tab was under $30 for more than a couple rounds between friends.  The space itself is pretty big; long bar, small stage and dance floor area, multiple tables, pool table in the back.  They took out the old school bowling machine which I was a little sad about but we made due.  

The walls are adorned with biker memorabilia, military flags and regalia.  To say this bar is pro-military is like saying I am pro-Cleveland music.  They beyond support our troops, they embrace them with open arms.  The crowd is mixed but heavy on the biker thing.  Not the hobbyist type, but the real deal.  We are talking the guys you would see as Extras in Easy Rider or running security at Altamont.  I am not saying Hells Angels here, I don't know that, but these are some serious bikers.  God love 'em, they are nice people too.  Some of them look scary as fuck, but no one really bothered anyone.  I guess there were a couple of altercations there last night but they were so subdued I didn't really notice.  I think that is pretty much because of Stibbs behind the bar.  If they had a photo in a dictionary for "people you probably shouldn't fuck with", you would see a picture of Stibbs.  Stibbs is a mountain of a man and seems to be well respected behind the bar.  He is a great bartender #1 and acts as Bouncer and general keeper of the peace.  

I never once felt unsafe at this place at all.  Everyone I talked to was friendly and they even joked about the man purse I carry that is my camera bag.  So, I paint a picture of a pretty gritty place but honestly it is what it is. It is gritty.  It's a dive biker/military/law enforcement/firefighter joint.  If you walk in their looking for trouble it more than likely is going have no trouble finding you.  That being said I don't think many are stupid enough to do so.  On the other hand it is a great place to drink and eat on the cheap and honestly a great place to see a local band.  That is what we were there for, to see The Jack Fords bring that shit home, and did they ever.

The Jack Fords, 2007's Best Rock and Roll band, as voted by the now defunct Free Times is the reason we decided to come to Smedley's.  The Jack Fords mix in some down home southern rock, blended with a little alt-country and finish it off with some dirty blues.  They are rock and roll personified and pull it off with a swagger that would rival the Stones.  They ran through 20 plus songs in what seemed to be a never ending first set.  The 20 plus, I need to add were all originals and incredible. I would clock the first set in at an hour and a half to pretty close to 2 hours.  The second set was chocked full of covers to appease the masses as the dance floor was packed by the end of the night.  They did it all from Johnny Cash to The Band to Cheap Trick.  This was a great warm up for what will be an awesome show for the release of their new CD The Way Things Should Be May 8th at the Happy Dog.  

To call them a hard working group of musicians is putting it mildly.  Singer-Guitarist Brent Kirby can be seen solo all over town or playing with The New Soft Shoe doing all Gram Parsons material.  Bass player Ed Sotelo can be found laying down fat beats in The Fords and playing with Cobra Verde, The New Lou Reeds and his newly formed Beachland Lottery League band.  Jim Wall lays down the drum tracks.  Jim's resume reads like a who's who of Cleveland blues playing with the Bad Boys of Blues, and a stint sitting in with Big Brother and the Holding Company.  He was also a member of the touring Love, Janis show.  Bobby Latina plays he guitar like a man on a mission.  He is a great player and to call him animated would be an understatement.  He's a ham, he knows it, and I am good with that.  The bands he plays with or played with were all pretty damn solid.  We are talking The Cowslingers, Hayshaker Jones, and The Whiskey Daredevils.  

Add all this talent into one band or you are in for one hell of a ride taking you from dirty blues that would get a standing ovation from the Black Keys to alt-country numbers that would make even Wilco jealous.  They have an energy to them that keeps people enthralled and the have built up a solid fan base in a pretty short amount of time.  How a band like this remains unsigned should be a crime, but it makes for a night on the cheap for entertainment an easy thing.  There was no cover last night and you can see them around town for under 5 or 10 bucks.  I would not only say go see them, but go see them now when they are truly at home playing at a true rock and roll bar like Smedley's.  They look and feel like they are at home playing places like this.  Smedley's is a great place to check out combined with a truly great rock and roll band like The Jack Fords made it even that much better.