The Beautiful Mothers craft a unique blend of Midwest punk and hard-hitting rock that pulses and swirls with rhythmic explosiveness. After cutting his teeth in the much-adored band The Spiveys, singer/guitarist and Cleveland-area native Eric Balaban packed his bags for Seattle. Joined by fellow Cleveland expat Joey Lazerhead on bass and Rob Wheeler on drums, The Beautiful Mothers were born, and Eric once again had an outlet for his prolific songwriting. Best experienced on stage, shows have stretched down the West Coast and into the live houses of Japan.
All their albums have just been digitally re-released by Tsurumi Records, and they are now gearing up for a 2026 Midwest Tour, with Dave McClain of heavy metal legends Machine Head on drums. Expanding their set to pull in some more songs from Eric's other projects, The Second Academy and Spiveys, these shows promise to be like none before!
Picture Bill and Ted, but instead of affably goofy surfer bros, they’re indomitable weirdos with ADHD who got bullied in middle school for reading a lot. Also, instead of being into ’70s radio buttrock, they’re bonkers about Brainiac, Dan Deacon, Lightning Bolt, and Devo. Cleveland’s AWESOME*QUEST! are Alec Schumann (drums, electronics) and Ron Kretsch (bass, electronics), seeking to build the aggressive overtones of post-hardcore and the spikiness of synth-pop into a mountain of FUCK YEAH.
Having already played together in an instrumental post-rock quartet and a Krautrock-inspired electronic trio, Schumann and Kretsch found that they weren’t done yet even if their bands were, and just started doing what came naturally to them—a convulsive, high-energy alloy of noise rock ferocity and New Wave twitchiness, on display in their two EPs “Idiot + Idiot = Genius” and “Prophecy is Theft from the Future,” and in a live show that puts a premium on catharsis and fun.
