Riddle me this: What has 60-80,000 arms AND legs, has been growing for 24 years in obscure, warm & sunny conditions, lures passersby siren-like with a variety of musical stylings, and distracts children with inflatable mountains, slides, climbing tubes while intoxicating adults with alcohol and all manner of unnatural treats to eat? And did I mention that the word Pain is involved? The answer is the celebrated, inundated, huge but best-kept-secret Painesville Party in the Park, happening Fri 7/16 from noon to 1AM thru Sun 7/18 at Painesville's downtown square. This entertainment mainstay's been around for almost two and half decades in a scenic city east of Cleveland. Learn more at http://www.PainesvillePartyInThePark.com

This event was originally organized to help revitalize the economic and social aspects of the city; it's a three day marathon that turns out to be a miniature Lalapalooza of sorts with morals...and tons of music. Or to quote Jeffrey Koski, Entertainment Chairman for the past four years, "Where else can you listen to 29 musical acts in a beautiful setting for FREE, eat great food, have a beer or cooler while your kids play in their own supervised area?" Well said, Koski! Jeffrey spends the entire year leading up to each event searching out and listening to local talent performing original and cover music, corresponding with potential acts, and attending a multitude of concerts. Koski strives to promote the original music scene in the region as well as represent the growing cultural climate in the area. As Jeffrey states, "Painesville is a very much a multi-cultural community. It's important to find music that represents all of our population....Roberto Ocasio's Latin Jazz Project was signed just weeks prior to Roberto's untimely death. And Light of Day is a great Motown review band that includes music from Etta James to Outkast to The Funkadelics. I want all segments of our community to feel part of our event." And the food Jeffrey's referring to comes from the 20 plus vendors who are on hand throughout the weekend; then there's the beer--from the beer garden, a veritable promised land where brew drips or bubbles out of the ground (from the beer kegs!). And The Kid Zone is an area for kids; remember those giant inflatable domes you could bounce in when you were younger at carnivals? Well, brothers and sisters, the inflatable-toys-for-public-girls-and-boys industry has evolved quite a bit since then, now offering mountains to climb and climbing walls to mount, and slides, tunnels and adventurous good fun afoot for little ones.

But it's the 29 musical acts part that's pretty inspiring. Starting at 3PM on Fri 7/16 and at 11AM both Sat 7/17 and Sun 7/18, 29 different bands and performers ranging from Jazz and Swing to Rock and Polka--with Funk and Motown right in the middle--will take their turns on two stages side by side. With a sophisticated sound system engineered by Vertical Sound of Cleveland, bands will get to play from an hour, to an hour and a half each with only about ten minutes between acts. The bands will play until Midnight both Friday and Saturday and until 11PM on Sunday. The Painesville Party in the Park isn't a tour showcasing new bands on major labels--most of the bands hail from the Northeastern Ohio area.

2004's Party in the Park features a number of working bands and performers who have been "paying their dues" and entertaining audiences for a many a summer, guaranteed to put on rockin' stage shows that should keep Clevelanders quite enthralled. Cletus Black, who was again nominated by the Free Times as Best Singer/Songwriter in the American Roots/Folk category, will be on hand performing tracks from his sixth CD, Bloodlines to the Heart, his new disc featuring great work by many regional musicians. Cats on Holiday (didn't their drummer start Microsoft or something like that?) bill themselves as "swamp pop music"--performing together for the past 6 years in countless venues and gigs, are six musicians who whip up Cajun and Roots-inflected originals and party classics that fill the dance floor effortlessly. Then there's Lords of The Highway, who have been together since 1992, roaring through the streets of Cleveland with their hellfire-and-brimstone rockabilly popularized by such acts as Reverand Horton Heat and Southern Culture on the Skids (the Lords have opened for both these groups)--featuring Painesville's own guitarist/vocalist, Dennis Bell, along with the sexy upright bass stylings of femme musicale Sugar. There's also the very cool and refreshing Cleveland-based Brit/Jangle Pop ethos of Sputnik, (who were interviewed in Cool Cleveland.com not too long ago) playing tracks from their recording I, Cosmonaut. Comprised of members of several fairly-historic Eighties rock outfits like The Terrible Parade, Sputnik should definitely add some U.K. sound to the atmosphere of Painesville. And surf-rock aficionados Spy-Fi will bring a slightly more modern-cum-retro feeling to the stage for their performance, mixing spaghetti western intrique and beach-blanket thematics together for a flavorful cultural stew. There's also the classic and jazz guitarmanship of Ryann Anderson, not to be missed, who has a sweet guitar. Anderson's been making the scene for several years now and is working very hard at all sorts of gigs so that folks won't miss the beautiful music he makes. Koski has also booked popular bands from out of state. Redheaded Stepchild, hailing from Buffalo, New York play hillbilly/jazz to bluegrass; these are just a few of the plethora of performers who will be on hand for this jaunty little summer festival.

A free event, a weekend getaway, plenty of music, plus fun extras like classic cars, face painting, demos, displays and a 5 mile run you don't have to participate in-- all point towards Painesville the third weekend of July. Don't ignore the signs for a cool time.
For info visit http://www.painesvillepartyinthepark.com has all the details, including directions on how to get there, where to park and even where to stay overnight. Rock on. from Cool Cleveland music correspondent Daiv Whaley (:divend:)