Winter Music Series: Brian Straw

February 24, 2012 | 7-9pm

Brian Straw seemed to pop up from nowhere around the time that the late Nineties made their last stand against the encroachment of the then-new millenium.  Given his musical choices, this Indiana native found himself in a unique musical place: a singer-songwriter placed squarely in the middle of the experimental and often noisy underground Cleveland scene of that era.  So what happened was that Straw combined his somber songs -- sometimes compared to Mark Kozelek (Sun Kil Moon, Red House Painters) and Richard Buckner -- with layers of effects that ranged from percussive to abrasive.  With this combination of avant-garde and traditional, Brian Straw’s released a wide array of music, whether as a solo artist, or with the bands Six Parts Seven and Buried Wires. In addition to performing, he currently helps to curate events at West Side art / performance space, Survival Kit.

Old Husher's Urban Farm Manifesto Fuel Fillup Pickup Party

February 25, 2012 | 7-9pm

Coming right off of what should be a successful Rockethub campaign, we are proud to host Old Husher's Urban Farm Manifesto Fuel Fillup Pickup Party on Saturday, February 25th. All fuelers in NE Ohio and beyond are invited! Fuelers' libations include complimentary Manifesto Strong Ale from Origins Brewery (while supplies last) and Old Husher's hot vegan raised sweet potato donuts with Ohio Maple Syrup Glaze and/or Cleveland Honey Glaze. We will also have vino for sale. However, if Old Hush hits his secondary sub-goal of $2,100, vino will be on him.

To help fuel the Manifesto through the crowdfunding method, click on Artist Bio.

Sunday Sip and Swap

February 26, 2012 | 2-4

Bring those books that you've already loved and swap them with whatever gems everyone else brings to the shop. What could be better than sorting through strangers' treasures? Being able to take them home and... mimosas for four bucks.

Winter Music Series: Brandon & the Luckey Ones

March 3, 2012 | 7:30-9:30

A beloved feature of The Flying Monkey in Tremont, Brandon and the Luckey Ones plays a woozy, boozy and fun kind of old-timey folk full of banjo and fiddle. They’ll play a whole slew of original tunes, as well as traditional tunes and classic rock numbers. It’ll be like sitting in front of a campfire, but only within the confines of our cozy bookstore. Just be careful with those embers.

ArtWalk: Photography of Ryan Poorman

March 9, 2012 | 6-10

Ryan Poorman is a local photographer who started his hobby with some gifts he received from his father as a teenager, an old Nikon Fm1 and some darkroom equipment. He prefers the complexity of film, finding digital photography to be unchallenging and impersonal. His portraits are simple black and white moments that deserve inspection, and his photos of the abandoned, dark parts of the city show his love of the Rust Belt’s gritty charm.

Winter Music Series: Wallace Coleman

March 10, 2012 | 7-9pm

If you want blues, look no further. Harp player Wallace Coleman has been a fixture in Cleveland’s blues scene for decades. And he’s got the cred to back it up.   He moved here from his native Tennessee in the 50s, and immediately immersed himself in the vibrant African-American musical scene of that time. Great blues artists like Muddy Waters and Sonny Boy Williamson performed regularly, much to the amazement of young Wallace.  This budding young musician in turn made a name for himself, playing in local watering holes while supplementing his day job’s earnings.  His dilligence paid off, and eventually Coleman was hired by Cleveland blues great Robert Jr. Lockwood to join his band as harmonica player.  The rest was history. Wallace Coleman is still going strong, touring with the energy of a much younger man.  Come see and hear this tireless member of our city’s blues heritage.

Winter Music Series: Brian Strazek

March 16, 2012 | 7-9pm

If you’re a fan of Neil Young, My Morning Jacket, or Built To Spill, don’t miss Brian Strazek. Even though he played in hardcore band Grain and the heavy melody machine known as Viva Caramel, Strazek’s always had a fondness for rustic & rural songs full of lopsided twang and seemingly stream-of-consciousness lyrics.  But there’s no phony aw-shucks country pose here: Strazek’s folk is strictly gritty Cleveland. He currently plays in the band Tinko, a band that fuses classic rock to the scattershot riffage of bands like Archers of Loaf.  Strazek’s music defies easy categories -- you’ll just have to come down and hear him play!

Wine Tasting with TC and Maria

March 16, 2012 | 7-9pm

Come taste some fancy selections before the St. Patirck's day parade. It'll be like an alcohol innoculation against the green beer that will take over your body the next morning. And afternoon. And evening.

Jim Toman & Alan Dutka : Cleveland Landmarks Press : Book Event

March 23, 2012 | 7-8 pm

About The Peter Witt Streetcars of Cleveland by James A. Toman and James R. Spangler...
Cleveland was a dynamic leader in many areas at the start of the 20th Century. One such pacesetting sector was its street railway system whose lines crisscrossed the city. Perhaps its most significant contribution to public transportation came in 1915 with the invention of the Car Rider’s Car, designed by Cleveland Street Railway Commissioner Peter Witt. Witt’s design, to which his name became permanently attached, was widely copied in systems across the United States and abroad as well. Through text and photographs, this book details the seven different series of Peter Witt streetcars that operated in their home city of Cleveland.

About East Fourth Street: The Rise, Decline, and Rebirth of an Urban Cleveland Street by Alan F. Dutka...
Short in distance but long in memories, East Fourth Street's story has mirrored downtown Cleveland's dynamic rise, decline, and rebirth. Once the home to Cleveland's opera house, central markets, and five and dime stores, Fourth Street fell into disrepair in the second half of the 20th Century. Yet, the historic alleyway found new life with help of visionary leaders, and now East Fourth Street serves as the center of a chic entertainment and residential district – perhaps the coolest place in Cleveland. Relive the stories and follow the renaissance of an urban Cleveland hotspot.

Winter Music Series: Anthony Doran

March 24, 2012 | 7-9pm

Anthony Doran is a local singer/songwriter.  After fifteen years of playing his songs with bands (You're Among Friends for the past five years and Mojometer for ten years before that), Anthony decided it was time to focus on being a solo artist.  He has been playing solo acoustic shows lately, and he plans to start working on a new album in the near future.  Come spend an intimate evening with Anthony right here at Visible Voice.  He will play all of his best songs while you sip wine and check out our great selection of books and magazines!

Alex Shakar: Luminarium: Book Reading

March 29, 2012 | 6:30-8pm

Alex Shakar, whose first book City of Love: the New York Metamorphoses was the winner of the FC2 National Fiction Competition, and whose second book was a New York Times notable book of 2001, has written a highly acclaimed third book, Luminarium.  It was named a notable book of the year by the Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, and NPR’s Kojo Nnamdi Show, among others.

Luminarium considers how our perceptions of the world are manipulated and controlled, exploring the nature of reality and the interplay of technology and perception.  Shakar has set his story against the background of personal and national grief, and the result is a strikingly metaphysical novel that never dematerializes into misty cliches, a book to challenge the mystic and the doubter alike. The great pleasure of Shakar’s writing, besides his luxuriously cool style, is his ability to weave old metaphysical issues through a plot electrified with contemporary details.

Moving between the research hospitals of Manhattan, the streets of a meticulously planned Florida city, the neighborhoods of Brooklyn and the uncanny, immersive worlds of urban disaster simulation; threading through military listserv geek-speak, Hindu cosmology, the maxims of outmoded self-help books and the latest neuro-scientific breakthroughs, Luminarium is an exploration of the way we live now, a novel that’s as much about the role technology and spirituality play in shaping our reality as it is about the undying bond between brothers, and the redemptive possibilities of love.

Winter Music Series: Cassie & Genevieve from How to Breathe Underwater and Erin from Noon

March 30, 2012 | 7-9pm

The ethereal voices of Cassie & Genevieve from indie band How To Breathe Underwater will be featured tonight, along with the sweet pop of Noon, aka piano player/singer Erin Kapferer.   How To Breathe Underwater’s garnered attention in Cleveland with their mellow pop in the vein of influential bands like The Blake Babies; tonight, we’ll have their guitarist and keyboard player regale us with tunes stripped down to their core, sans bass and drums.  Noon’s been busy gigging at various farmer’s markets in town, and occasionally is a featured performer at the various singer/songwriter nights held by Cleveland musical catalyst Brent Kirby.

Rev. Stephen Rosenberger: In Jesus' Briefcase

March 31, 2012 | 7-8 pm

     Scripture provides a blueprint for mankind to follow while living on this earth. "In Jesus' Briefcase" was written purely to find those principles that pertain directly to our understanding of how the Bible, Business and the Body of Christ can act in harmony with one another to change a hurting world. Author Stephen Rosenberger will be sharing from the book, signing copies and offering copies of the text for sale.   

Wellness Night in the Neighborhood

April 6, 2012 | 6-8pm

It's time to celebrate and promote wellness here in Tremont and Cleveland beyond! Join us for a night of speakers and promos to learn your local wellness practitioners!

Tammy Polenz, CPT, has been a Fitness Professional since 1991, is the author of Think Fit 2 Be Fit, and founded Vedas – the first eco-friendly holistic focused fitness facility in downtown Cleveland.  Tammy has been featured in such fitness magazines and shows as: Oxygen magazine, Live on Five, Fox 8 “Kickin’ it with Kenny,” The Morning Exchange, and more.  She has been a personal trainer, club Manager for a large chain, club Owner, and a Corporate Wellness Consultant.  And today, she wants to talk to you about a fitness vision.

Tammy’s talk will tie in a range of topics relevant to her book, including: What is a fitness vision? What is your personal fitness vision? Discover what it looks like and feels like to be fit.  Explore feelings about your body today and what it says about you. Learn how to create and manifest your fitness vision. Afterwards she will have a Q&A and book signing.


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Tiiu Gennert is the owner of Studio 11 in Tremont, offering Yoga, Pilates, and Thai Yoga Massage since 2005 with the goal of uniting the body and mind through the power of breath.   Tiiu is certified as a Sivananda Hatha Yoga Instructor and a Registered Yoga Teacher at the 500 Hour Level, and has been practicing yoga since 1997. Tiiu has a background in biology, anthropology and public health, and has found Sivananda yoga to be a perfect complement to her academic training because of its scientific approach to holistic health. She is inspired by the way in which yoga practice integrates into her daily life as well as the lives of her students.

Respecting a classical approach to teaching yoga, she became enamored with Power Pilates' classical, systematic and integrative approach to strengthening and stabilizing the core (the "powerhouse") of the body.  Additionally, Tiiu practices the healing art of Thai Yoga Massage, which combines yoga postures and breathing practices, Ayurveda, and meditation, and has been described as assisted Hatha yoga.

This evening Tiiu will be discussing yoga, pilates, Thai Yoga Massage, and the vision of Studio 11 in utilizing these and other techniques to assist clientele in reaching higher levels of wellness and awareness, while facilitating universal peace, love and joy.

Join her and Studio 11 staff after the talk for free massage demos and, of course, wine.

Regina Geither: Island of Tory: Book Reading

April 14, 2012 | 2-4pm

Island of Tory…the story of a boy, a girl, and an Irish curse.

When sixteen year old Arella Cline’s summer vacation begins with the tragic death of her parents, she is sent to live with her aunt to begin a new life on a remote island off the western coast of Ireland. But there are strange things happening on Tory Island-shadow figures, mysterious auras, and the haunting sound of her deceased parents’ voices.

The only thing Arella finds appealing about Tory is the handsome, dark-haired Declan McQuilan.  But Cannon Fidelous, a mysterious outcast, warns her that the island and its inhabitants are hiding a dark secret.  And when Arella finds an ancient book of prophecies, she discovers the island’s curse-a curse that only she can undo.

Regina M. Geither grew up telling stories of talking animals, cursed treasure, and mystical lands.  She is an avid reader and writer and published author of the book Swamp Stallion, part of McGraw-Hill’s Imagine It! reading series.  Along with being a writer, Regina is a teacher, a wife, and mother of three.  She resides in northern Ohio and is currently working on the sequel to Island of Tory, Cursing Stone.

Nick & Laurel Salupo: Shopping Cart Filled with Love: Book Reading

April 27, 2012 | 6:30-7:30p

Join us for another installation of local authors Nick and Laurel Salupo reading from their book, Shopping Cart Filled with Love. The book is designed to give well deserved praise and honor to all of the seemingly ordinary women everywhere, who are truly extraordinary people. This evening they will be reading from the chapter entitled "Johnny Cash," chronicling the country legend's performance at Cain Park.

From 6:30-7:00 the authors will be hosting a Tremont Trivia, Jeopardy-like game with their dear friend Jerry Nemeth.  They will also be providing a pastry tray.  Come around for an all-over good time!

Leslie Anne Mcilroy : Poetry Reading

June 2, 2012 | 7-8 pm

Leslie Anne Mcilroy won the 2001 Word Press Poetry Prize for her full-length collection Rare Space and the 1997 Slipstream Poetry Chapbook Prize for her chapbook Gravel. She also took first place in the 1997 Chicago Literary Awards Competition judged by Gerald Stern. Her second full-length book, Liquid Like This, was published by Word Press in 2008. Leslie's work appears in numerous publications including American Poetry: The Next Generation, Dogwood, The Emily Dickinson Award Anthology, The Ledge, The Mississippi Review, and the Nimrod International Journal of Prose & Poetry and Pearl. Leslie works as a copywriter in Pittsburgh, PA, where she lives with her daughter Silas, and writer/guitarist, Don Bertschman, with whom she also performs poetry.

"Leslie Anne Mcilroy’s Rare Space is a stunning collection of poems, daring, taut, sexually alive, and politically astute. A myriad of familiar themes becomes incandescent under her unflinching gaze. We’re invited to look closely at family, sex, race, physical disability, psychic pain and what it is to be a young American woman at the beginning of a new century facing down old ills like racism, classism, and misogyny armed with little more than a laptop and an indomitable will. Rare Space is a new American poetry at its absolute best." — Sapphire