8 Questions with Cleveland’s Dave Hill.

Dave Hill is the new Hollywood “It” girl, the next Leo, America’s fresh-faced boy next door, and your new best friend all rolled into one. A poet, a dancer, and- perhaps most of all- a thief. Soon to steal your heart. Or something to that effect.

8 Questions with Joshua Smith of the Cleveland Orchestra

Firmly established as one of America’s outstanding flutists, Joshua Smith is equally at home as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. This past fall, he was the the soloist on The Cleveland Orchestra’s European tour, performing Jörg Widmann’s flute concerto. Smith received a Grammy nomination for his Telarc recording, Air, and has recorded two discs…

8 Questions with Talent Manager and Rock-Radio Pioneer David Spero

DAVID SPERO was destined to be part of Rock n Roll’s history! Starting at age 13, he worked on his father Herman’s Upbeat TV show holding cue cards and later serving as ‘Talent Coordinator’. Upbeat was seen in over 100 cities between 1964 and 1971. He has since produced four Upbeat Live shows on Cleveland…

8 Questions with Stephanie Sheldon, Creative Mind Behind The Cleveland Flea & The Indie Foundry

Stephanie Sheldon refers to herself as a recovering architect, after leaving the field to pursue her own design business as a graphic designer, brand specialist and coach for small creative businesses & freelancers. She received her Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Architecture from The University of Michigan where her focus was creative engagement through pop-up…

8 Questions with Travis Peebles, Co-owner of Blazing Saddle Cycle

Travis Peebles, was born in Lyons, Ohio. And has been a Cleveland resident for 11 years. He owns and operates Blazing Saddle Cycle on Cleveland’s near westside. He met his business partner James Rychak six years ago and soon began building things together. Before bikes came guitars, furniture, and other small projects from which they…

Cleveland Q&A with the Minister of Culture Michael Heaton

  Michael Heaton is the Plain Dealer’s Minister of Culture, an award-winning columnist and reporter. His byline has appeared regularly in the Plain Dealer since 1987. Prior to that he was a critic and columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and a reporter for People magazine. He is a graduate of Kent State University. He…

8 Questions with Cleveland Comix Creator Derf Backderf

Comix creator Derf Backderf was born and raised in Richfield, Ohio, a small farm town south of Cleveland. After a brief stint at art school, he dropped out and worked on the back of a garbage truck, an experience that was the basis for his ongoing comix project, TRASHED (SLG Publishing, 2002), a webcomic in…

8 Questions with Cleveland’s “Iron-Man of Reggae” Carlos Jones

  The “iron-man” of the reggae scene in Cleveland, Ohio is without question, Carlos Jones. Carlos’ journey is a history of Cleveland reggae itself. He started out as a sideman (percussion/vocals) with the band, I-Tal in the late 70’s. Their contribution to Cleveland’s musical history cannot be overlooked. Even though there were earlier local reggae…

8 Questions with Cleveland comedian and writer Mike Polk Jr.

Mike Polk Jr. (Comedic Provocateur) is a Cleveland-based writer and comedian whose self-produced videos have more than 50 million combined views on You Tube alone. He is responsible for such viral hits as “The Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video” (which appeared in the Michael Moore documentary “Capitalism: A Love Story”), “The Honest R&B Song”, “The…

8 Questions with Cleveland Singer/Songwriter Tracy Marie.

Singer/Songwriter, Tracy Marie has just released her 4th CD titled, True Blue. The album pays tribute to her love for Cleveland and includes just a few of the 100+ songs she has written or co-written, some of which she has produced into the full-length album. Her original music spans the styles of rock, alternative, pop,…

8 Questions with Sam McNulty, Ohio City’s informal mayor and ambassador. Beer Taster.

“This is Ohio City, This is a real urban neighborhood with a proud past that’s coming back to life.” – Sam McNulty The always-enthusiastic entrepreneur has been instrumental in that process. McNulty, owns four other bars within a bottle’s throw of his Market Garden Brewery: Nano Brew, Bar Cento, Speakeasy and Bier Markt. He’s also…

8 Questions with Violinist Ariel Clayton

Violinist Ariel Clayton maintains a diverse schedule of performance and education endeavors throughout northeast Ohio. As an independent freelance musician, she gives over 100 performances yearly at major public and private events, within healthcare environments, and as part of her ensemble, OPUS 216. She collaborates regularly with the Cleveland Clinic, the Cleveland Museum of Art,…

8 Questions with W. (creator of OnTapCleveland, ruler of this realm, lovable curmudgeon)

1. Favorite place to stop and just decompress after a hard day? Depends on the day, but The Happy Dog is on my way home from work and is a great spot with great people, customers and staff, to grab a cold one.  If I just need peace and quiet Rocky River Park at sunset. 2. You’re…