OHO? Aha! That's a name that rings bells. Baltimore's answer to Pink Floyd, an American underground icon, a band that came out of nowhere playing music the chroniclers swore was years ahead of its time. OHO sneaks around the musical conventions that have mummified so many others, unleashing sliders where you'd expect curve balls, fast balls where you'd expect change-ups. Part of its their sense of humor, part of it their unerring humanity. Definitely, one of a kind and all in good fun...its got to be. . . The story begins around 1970 at a Baltimore club called "Bluesette." Mark O'Connor, Joe O'Sullivan and Jay Graboski played there in a group known as Quinn. In 1971 Mark, Jay, Jay's brother/drummer Jeff and Trent Zeigen formed Little Hans, a gothic-progressive quartet featuring two keyboardists, guitar and percussion. In 1973 O'Connor with friends Steve Heck and Joe O'Sullivan began a period of crazed experimentation that would lead to their most infamous incarnation OHO. Jay Graboski and fusion drummer Larry Bright were invited to join. This latest collaboration resulted in a debut album "Okinawa". In June, 1974 OHO disappeared into Sheffield studios to record the follow-up, "Vitamin OHO", adventurous, jazz-flecked, elemental, chamber music fusing psychedelic and progressive moves into one fascinating whole. "Dream of the Ridiculous Band" reveal OHO as a highly competent progressive band with hints of Crimson, Genesis and Grobschnitt. By early '77, "OHO House", was intended to move toward a more basic style of music with straightforward arrangements. A handful of songs (including "Trick Or Treat?" featured on this downloadable compilation) were begun before things fell apart. Jay and Mark continued to play through the new wave in Dark Side, Trixy & The Testones and Food For Worms but each of these bands is subject enough for a story of its own. The 1984 version of OHO recorded "Rocktronics", a 7 song EP produced by Jack Heyrman and WIYY DJ Ty Ford for the former's Clean Cuts records. The OHO moniker became synonymous with the word persistence. In 1990, the eponymously entitled "OHO" was released on Sky Records with acid-folk edginess and trademark lyrical unpredictability combining Grace Hearn's stellar, unwavering vocals, bassist/engineer Steve Carr's crystalline production, Jay Graboski's assiduous songwriting and David Reeve's muscular rhythms and was listed as an "editors' choice" for 1990 in CD Review (06/91 Vol. VII Number 10). In 1991 OHO signed with Little Wing Of Refugees based in Kastl, Germany releasing "Vitamin OHO" in 1991 and reissuing "Okinawa" in 1995 and "ECCE OHO" on CD in 199. The 2002 OHO Music (OM052) edition of "Recollections" was also included as a CD bonus in Progression magazine #41, in the Fall 2002 issue. In March 2008 OHO released their retrospective 2 disc CD/DVD "Bricolage" (available at CD Baby) consisting largely of previously unreleased sonic and video material (culled from their 1983-2008 "Mach III" phase), dominated by stunning female vocalization with tough lyrical musings, abundant hook-laden melodies, and intriguing arrangements of their jubilant, jangly folk/prog/rock. . . 21st Century OHO continues as a trio consisting of keyboardist/vocalist, Ray Jozwiak, drummer/percussionist/vocalist, David Reeve, and guitarist/vocalist, Jay Graboski.
Original OHO co-founder Jay Graboski's Just Jay & His Sonic Sphere of Acquaintance 'Steps', OHO's 2016 release 'GAZEBO' (which includes brand-new material and re-imagined OHO classics) and the single 'The Hours' can all be purchased at online music retailers AND be on the lookout for the latest album, over ten years in the making, 'Ahora' coming very soon . . . As "imagination stretches to match the long reach of time," look for much more music from OHO in the future.
". . . It should no longer be a surprise that, after he loses or his candidate loses an election, Trump amplifies false and easily discredited claims of fraud. He did it way back in 2012, when Mitt Romney lost but Trump didn't buy it, again in early 2016, when Sen. Ted Cruz beat him in the Iowa caucuses, and even after he won the presidency but lost the popular vote. . . But unlike his false claims about the 2020 election, his most recent insinuations of voter fraud are being almost entirely ignored. . . One thing that makes these claims harder for some Republicans to swallow is surely that, for the most part, these are votes by Republicans that Trump is baselessly suggesting were not properly cast or counted. . . For some Republicans and many Democrats, there may be another lesson out of the primary season beyond the fact that some Trump candidates are losing. Also losing is the idea that fighting nonexistent voter fraud -- and maybe hurting GOP turnout in the process -- is a winning concept for Republicans moving forward. . ."
". . . The prime-time hearing began at 8 p.m. Eastern time. When Rep. Bennie Thompson gaveled the hearing to order, Fox News host Tucker Carlson ignored him. Carlson declared that the "ruling class" was giving "yet another lecture about January 6." He called the hearing "propaganda" and reveled in his refusal to air it. "They are lying," he said, "and we are not going to help them do it." . . . Carlson then lied himself: He said "if something noteworthy happens" at the hearing, "obviously we will bring it to you immediately." But his show did not do that.. . . When Thompson said January 6 was "the culmination of an attempted coup," Carlson asked why the news media cared at all. . . "
". . . “It was such a juicy burger that Fox News knew that even their viewers would be tempted to take a bite, which is why — and this is true — for the first hour of his show opposite the hearings, Tucker Carlson took no commercial breaks. Do you understand what that means? Fox News is willing to lose money to keep their viewers from flipping over and accidentally learning information.” — STEPHEN COLBERT. . . “That’s right, the Jan. 6 committee aired a 90-minute hearing tonight, which was carried live by all the major news networks except Fox News. Though Fox ended up with better ratings by just airing the original Capitol attack.” — SETH MEYERS. . . “Instead, they’re showing reruns of Jan. 6 with a laugh track.” — JIMMY FALLON . . . “Of course Fox isn’t airing it — they’re a key suspect in it. They would be — that would be like if Court TV’s coverage of the O.J. trial had been hosted by O.J.” — SETH MEYERS. . . "
". . . Philosophical reasons aside, it’s not practical to leave an artwork untitled. Keeping track of untitled works can be a logistical nightmare for gallerists and cataloguers, and psychology studies have suggested that viewers both pay less attention to and have a lower understanding of artworks that are untitled. Still, “Untitled” has become so pervasive, it functions as a title in and of itself—and a charged one. The word can subtly jab at the institutional framework of museums and galleries, emphasize an abstractionist’s evasion of representation, or offer a blank space for the viewer to come up with their own interpretation of a work. . . Sometimes, “Untitled” is simply a relic of a bygone past—before titling became common practice. In her book Picture Titles: How and Why Western Paintings Acquired Their Names (2015), Ruth Yeazell, a professor of English at Yale University, explains that in pre-18th-century Europe, artists did not need to title their work because most art stayed in one place. . ."
