The Generators Receive “In Celebration Of, A Tribute To” Treatment at the Beachland Ballroom

Sun 11/5 @ 7PM

The latest “In Celebration Of, A Tribute To” event celebrates the lives and music of the Generators (Mark Addison, Eva Dilcue, Neon Don Buchanan, Stutz Bearcat and Jimmy Lee).

During a three-year stretch starting in the late ’70s and ending in the early ’80s, the band grew a large local following regularly playing gigs at the old Euclid Tavern, Peabody’s and the Phantasy. The outfit even had its own WMMS Coffeebreak Concert.

The November 5 affair features guest performances by Cary Mathews, David Smeltz, Carlos Jones, Alex Bevan, Michael Stacey, Tim Matson, Chip Fitzgerald and David Loy. Acting as the master of ceremonies is Charlie Wiener. The event benefits Purple Heart Homes and local nonprofit Cleveland Rocks: Past, Present & Future.

CoolCleveland talked to comedian/musician Charlie Weiner about the Generators and the “In Celebration Of, A Tribute To” series.

CoolCleveland: Over the years “In Celebration Of, A Tribute To” event has been held celebrating the music of Alex Bevan, Pat Dailey, Michael Stanley, Carlos Jones and the Kidney Brothers. Why did you feel it was time to add the Generators to that list?

Charlie Weiner: The reason we’re doing the Generators is we felt they were kind of a seminal band of the ’80s. I knew Mark and everybody from the ’70s. We keep trying to find people to celebrate that I feel made contributions to the Northeast Ohio music scene. I feel they deserve it because they were very original in their approach to what they were doing at the time. They were high-energy with just phenomenal musicianship doing something nobody else was doing at the time.

CC: For those unaware of the Generator’s music, which bands would you compare them to?

CW: I don’t think you can compare them to anybody. That was the idea, they weren’t like other people. They had the energy of a punk sort of thing, but more melodic. I felt like their lyrics are more poignant. I felt like they were kind of the next step, but not the natural progression. They took it off into a different direction doing what other people were doing at the time. It was kind of like trying to prove the theory of evolution and then you find a missing piece. They were one of those missing pieces with the evolution of music.

CC: Your description conjures up a little bit of the Clash.

CW: Yeah, maybe, but little bits of pieces. Everyone has their influences that are very evident. With the Generators, I don’t think it’s as obvious. I think they are little bits of pieces of many different forms of music. They were basically Buzzy Linhart’s back-up band, the folky-singer-songwriter sort of thing. So they take the depth of the lyric, but yet they have the energy of punk in a lot of ways. And it’s danceable. It’s a very infectious sort of music.

CC: Tell us about the “In Celebration Of, A Tribute To” series?

CW: There was a folk singer named John Bassette. John was the king of the roost for a long time and then disappeared. Alex Bevan found John again and so we decided we’d do a tribute to show him how much we loved him. The problem was as I sat there and watched this entire night unfold where we were playing John’s songs at a packed house at the Beachland, I don’t think John really knew what was going on. He was too far gone at that point. It just broke my heart. I thought, “Why do we always wait until people are sick, dying or dead to tell them we love them?” So I came up with this idea of we should do a once-a-year celebration of a different person that has been seminal to the music scene of Northeast Ohio. So it’s kind of an “atta-boy.” It’s not a roast. This is a lovefest. It’s a chance for the fans to come and say thank you.

CC: Finally, what can the audience expect to witness at the Generators tribute?

CW: All the people listed are performing, and the idea is that they will do one original song and one song by the Generators. At the end of the show, we’re bringing the Generators up where we make a presentation and force them to work. We’ve found this has worked out really well. Sometimes people play for 10 minutes. Sometimes people play for half an hour. It’s up to the acts whatever they want to do because it’s their night.

Cleveland, OH 44110

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