Panza Foundation

Q: Are you a Cleveland native? If not, where did you live before and how long have you lived here?

A: Yes, I am a Cleveland native. I grew up in Rocky River and moved back there after graduation until I met and married my husband. We lived in Old Brooklyn for a time and now we live in Olmsted Township, so I am a lifelong Clevelander, and I love it here. 

Q: How long have you been working with the Panza Foundation, and how did you first get involved?

A: This is my second year working with the Panza Foundation. Last year during their tenth anniversary, John and Jane approached me with an opportunity to do some contract work to celebrate the milestone year, amp up the bands, and try to do a little bit more of a push to really celebrate everything that the foundation had accomplished over the last decade. Of course I said yes because it’s John and Jane and they’re very dear friends, so I was very happy and flattered to be asked to help out. It was a one-year deal, but I enjoyed it so much that I decided to become a volunteer and continue helping with marketing and PR. 

Q: Can you tell us a little about the work you do for the Panza Foundation?

A: The work I did last year during the tenth anniversary started with a website audit, just making sure that the information was up to date, accurate, and organized in the best possible way, so that was one of the first things that I did for them. I also helped out with band interviews. We really wanted to highlight and elevate the work of the bands through the platform that the foundation has, through the blog posts and then the foundation’s social media feeds. We thought that was a great way to raise their profile and in the meantime give the foundation some really good content to post. I’ve also been helping them do media outreach. For example, during the big anniversary show, I would be the one to help draft the press releases and put together a sponsorship letter with requests for help, or reach out to reporters and see if there’s any interest in getting coverage for the events. So it’s multifaceted, but it boils down to a lot of writing for the blog and social media, releases, etc and some interpersonal connections and outreach as well. 

Q: Outside of the work you do for the foundation, what are some of the other hats you wear or hobbies you enjoy?

A: I work for a public relations agency called Fahlgren Mortine. I have been there for the last eighteen months. It’s a great job—I do a lot of similar things to what I do for the Panza Foundation. I’ve got two kids; my daughter is fourteen and my son is eleven. One of the things I’m really proud of is I recently joined the board for The Edna House for Women. It helps local women get and stay sober and reestablish their lives, so that’s something I’m very passionate about helping with. For hobbies, I love books—my house is basically one big stack of things I need to read or am reading—, I love anything on the water, and I love theater and speech & debate. I was a speech & debate coach for a number of years. 

Q: Who are some of your personal favorite bands, Panza Foundation or otherwise?

A: One of my all-time favorites is Matthew Good Band. Matthew Good is a Canadian alt-rock musician. I was introduced to him years ago and I just love his voice and his body of work; it’s very well-written and sung, and there’s a song for every mood. I also really like Garbage and The Smashing Pumpkins. That was the very first show I ever saw live, and it was absolute magic. It kind of ruined me for all other concerts after that. A very close second was Our Lady Peace. The Panza Foundation has introduced me to some absolutely amazing local bands and artists that I might not have discovered otherwise. I always love being introduced to new musicians and hearing their art and expanding my mind a little bit about what music can sound like. 

Q: Are you able to share anything about what lies in the foundation’s near future?

(Photo by Weird Alfie)

For the fourth and final blog post featuring Panza Foundation 2025 bands, we spoke with Kristal Mills of Slugg.

Q: I’ve seen your music described as “electro sludge,” which seems pretty accurate and is a unique fusion of genres. What drew you towards those types of sounds? 

A: I guess I tend to like heavier things, more aggressive things. I grew up listening to a lot of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. My dad always had music playing, which shapes you and your mind. I’ve always really been interested in rhythm. When I listen to songs, it’s mostly the rhythm I hear, and the drums. I started getting into electronic music around 2017 and going to underground DIY shows. There was a thing called In Training over a decade ago at No Class and it was great. It was this late night thing, and I really enjoyed what I heard, but sometimes I wished they’d make it a little heavier, a little nastier. I hadn’t come across music like that yet. Before that I had made an electronic album that was a lot lighter, more like house music. About seven years ago I bought a drum machine. I’d never used it because I didn’t want to read the manual and finally someone read it for me and showed me how to use it, and I learned that you can buy pedals and adjust the sound, which I preferred. It’s a lot easier to push down on something and turn a knob than go into a computer and select different things. It was a lot easier for me to manipulate things in the moment, easier than anything else I’d used, whether it was a program on ProTools or using the drum machine itself, and from there I just experimented with the different effects that could give me the nastiness that I wanted to hear. 

Q: I’ve read that you were previously a math teacher. Do you feel your knowledge of mathematics informs the way you compose or think of music? I’m very much a humanities-minded person but I find the mathematics of music very fascinating and I wish I had more of a grasp on that side of it in addition to the more intuitive side. 

A: Yeah, I think because I have studied math for so long that it’s just the way my mind thinks. I look for patterns and can identify and feel patterns easily. I am not someone who knows anything about theory. I don’t even understand odd time signatures sometimes, like if someone says, “This is in 5/7,” it takes me a moment to really understand what that means, so I don’t actually use math in any of my writing—it’s all feeling. But I do think the math part of my mind is involved. When you study math you see logic and you kind of think like a computer in some weird way, and I think that is how I approach what I’m writing. It’s all kind of the feeling, but things are dealt in absolutes in some way, so when I turn knobs it’s either zero or cranked all the way up. With the math mind, I can get bored easily, so I try to make things interesting with transitions and moving things around. 

Q: Who would you say were some of your formative musical influences, and who are some of your current favorites? 

A: I listen to a lot of music all the time. I love post-punk. My first track on my debut album is called Martyr because I wanted to cover Bauhaus’s “Stigmata Martyr,” so if you listen to that song you can kind of hear elements of that in it, mostly percussive. I write songs with certain songs in mind, but it always ends up taking on a life of its own. So definitely Bauhaus, also Wire, Preoccupations, and Protomartyr. I love The Jesus Lizard so much. The first track on the split I just did with Arms & Armour is very influenced by The Jesus Lizard. The Breeders is my favorite band. I love Kim Deal. There’s also the foundation of the music I grew up on; I feel lucky that there was music constantly playing, anything from King Crimson to The Allman Brothers. When I started exploring music on my own, Radiohead was a big one for me, and Ace of Base and Silverchair. I just love all music. I love to go to local shows and just hear what people make. It’s so cool to see what people that are in your nearby vicinity are making, like, this person lives five minutes down the road and they’re doing some weird stuff on stage that I’m really enjoying. 

Q: Do you have any gear that you feel has really shaped the direction of your music?

A: It’s the Slash edition of this MXR Octave fuzz pedal. I think I found it at Guitar Center where they mark things down and it has been everything. It is the Slugg sound. I have it on pretty much all the time when I'm playing. I'll turn on others at different points, but that pedal's always on.

Q: Forgive me for not knowing the title as I’ve only found it in your live sets, but you have that one song that goes “You asshole!” that is very effective for purging anger. Would you mind telling us a little about the story behind that?

A: This entire project was concurrent with a spiritual journey after a really sad experience that shed light on my perspective in my life, where I had victim consciousness instead of realizing that I have power in situations. There’s a lot of pressure and it’s very difficult, but the freedom to make choices in life is very empowering. I was doing silent retreats and a lot of meditation, focusing on healing, spending a lot of time in nature, and building a connection with myself that I felt was fairly severed. I’d done things like rage dances that are very cathartic, where you’re just learning to tap into your emotions, feel them and release them. When I started to make music, I just wanted something hard and nasty, but when I really started to write more was in the middle of this spiritual journey. That song sounds like a breakup but it’s literally about an experience at a job. It was right when I decided to leave my corporate career because I’d been doing that for almost ten years at various companies and I saw how they treated us. You feel trapped because you think you need that amount of money that they pay you. I had an experience where I just was fed up and I started to realize I could choose something different, which becomes more apparent when you realize you deserve better. It was after a meeting with my manager during the financial crisis a few years ago and they were continuously asking us to take more and more on and I was like, No, I’m not taking more on, and they decided to do certain things to make that very difficult. It was the frustration of just not being treated fairly in a lot of situations where I felt like I gave a lot. I took a break from work and went over to my machine. I was just pressing buttons and I played a beat and just in a joking way was like, “You fucking asshole,” just kind of making fun of how upset I was by everything and being silly. I like to do something where I say the same phrase over and over, so I kept saying, “This is fucking bullshit!” It just kind of morphed into different things and as I was doing it, I just felt better. Everything felt lighter and it kind of felt funny. When things initially happen, I cry and then get angry, and I was trying to find ways of using my anger creatively. I was like, Why do I care about this job? Why do I care about any of this stuff? You start to challenge your beliefs around things and that’s when I was like, Yeah, I'm not gonna do this anymore—I’m not giving all my time and energy to these companies. It’s fucking bullshit to have to sit 40 hours a week in front of a computer and give all your energy to something you don’t care about and then have none left for the things you are passionate about and good at. The “fucking assholes” are those people that have drunk the Koolaid and manipulate you into squeezing every little drop out of yourself so they get their new title or their raise. Sometimes I’ll play that song and I’ll be going through something else totally different, like a relationship thing or a friend thing, and I’ll play that song. So it can take on different meanings, but that was the origin of that song.

Q: How would you describe your creative process and artistic journey?

A: Anything I write is kind of stream-of-consciousness, whatever I’m feeling in that moment. My artistic journey has been interesting. Even when I played in a band for a long time when I was younger and when I played music in high school, I never called myself a musician or an artist. I just played in a band and went to shows because I liked that stuff. I was studying math and wanted to become a teacher. I was more focused on trying to make a career for myself to have stability in my life. I had to take care of my family and I also left home and was on my own from a young age. Even though I had people who helped me, I had the feeling that all I had to rely on was myself. When I look back, I was an extremely creative child. I was doing performances on the playground in like third grade for my friends. If you want to get to know yourself more, look for things that you really enjoyed doing as a kid, things that you actually like to do, and those can give you some hints as to what you can pursue or put your time into and learn about. It’s important to stay true to yourself and know yourself. A lot of my journey has been the more I know myself, the more I pursue creative things. There have been many times in my life where I had to force myself to do things because I thought that’s what I was supposed to do, and the other kids I knew that were creative, some of them ended up doing drugs and struggling with money and to me, either of those outcomes would be 100% unacceptable in my life. So I think I might’ve been a little misguided on what you could do as a creative. I thought I had to get a degree and a typical job because I wanted to avoid anything that might negatively affect my life. But when you do start to make a lot of money, you realize it’s actually not enough and the trade-off is too high of a price to pay. My journey has also been dealing with insecurity and imposter syndrome—still making music because I want to make it, but being scared to show it to people, constantly questioning myself or feeling like it’s silly, like I’m too old to be doing what I’m doing. Luckily, I’ve already tried the married life with a good career, so when I'm panicking and have thoughts around “You need to grow up, get a real job and settle down,” I can challenge that because I have that data point and have learned it’s not for me. I’ve developed enough confidence and trust in myself to take care of myself and pursue the things that I love. 

Q: What are your thoughts on the Cleveland music scene? 

A: It’s incredible. It’s big, way bigger than I knew. There are so many bands! I feel like it covers almost every genre. There’s something for everybody, and I feel like it’s all about kind of figuring out where you fit in. I was not previously aware of the genre “noise” and would not have considered myself to be a part of that. I’d say I’m not fully that, but I am close enough and all the people I've met in that scene, we’re kind of similar. So I feel like I’ve found people that are like me, and I enjoy talking to everyone. Everybody’s super supportive and super talented. There’s just something about the energy of Cleveland. I have no desire, really, to go anywhere else. I like all the venues. I pretty much can see any show anytime I want to, and there’s always cool people to talk to. I don’t think you need anything else. I didn’t really know the Panza Foundation existed before. I’d heard people talk about it before, but I figured you probably had to do something to get the grants, like be around for a while or apply, so I didn’t really look into it. Then I met John Panza. I saw his setup for Arms & Armour and it looked similar to mine, so I was telling him about that, and then he came to one of my shows. I thought these people just wanted to be my friend and thought I was cool. I didn’t know they were scouting or that I was in a selection process! 

Q: Do you have a favorite venue to play or a dream venue you want to play someday?

A: I love them all, but my favorite venues are Little Rose in Westpark and Cave in Akron. I love the community there and the sound. Everybody’s just so kind and supportive. I also love the Happy Dog. I’ve been going to Happy Dog forever, and I’ve seen some incredible shows there. I love the Grog Shop too. I started going to shows there in high school and it’s such an intimate experience. There’s always so much energy—it’s just one of the best venues. I actually love them all. There’s so many incredible music venues in Cleveland. I don’t have a dream venue to play at, but what I have a dream of is putting on a dream DIY show where we re-create the wall of sound. I want it to be in a small enough space but it’s packed, and the subs are really loud so the ground is shaking and your bones are shaking, but you can still hear the mids and highs—just a show with the best sound setup and my favorite bands at some weird DIY space for one night. 

Q: How did you find out you were selected by the Panza Foundation as a grant recipient? If you haven’t already, do you have an idea of how you’re going to use your grant funds?

A: When I got the text from John, that morning I was feeling kind of silly about my decisions. It was one of those moments where the old programming starts to override you and you panic. So I was feeling a little down that day, and an hour later I got a text from John like, “Would you like to be sponsored by the Panza Foundation? Give me a call for more info.” I was like, “Wow, yes I would! You guys like what I’m doing?” So I learned more details about it and how they serve as a committee to help guide you. We like to believe we don’t need a lot of external validation, but we do. I know I do, and in that moment I needed to know that people saw what I saw and I wasn’t making a mistake. It came when I needed it the most, not even financially but just in terms of feeling seen and valued in what I'm doing. I’ve used maybe half of the money, maybe more. I’ve used it for this tour I’m on right now. I also used it on mastering my album and for merch, and with the rest of the money, I think I want to try and invest in lights. I really enjoyed the show I did for Re:Sound by CUSP where I programmed lights, so I’d like to maybe find a way to make that setup simpler and invest in that.

Q: What’s next for Slugg? Do you plan on putting out an album soon? 

A: It’s done and it’s being released by Unifactor, so actually you can preorder it now. It’s part of a batch order, three releases all at once: Slugg, Nothing Phase, and Vedic Dread. It’s all being released on August 9th, so the three of us are doing a big show at the Little Rose Tavern. That'll be my debut album release show. I worked on that with John Panza at Dark Current and we spent a lot of time on it. We recorded it live and then went through and tweaked some things, and the experience was just so fun. I think we work well together. Right now I’m on tour with Acid 87. We are currently in the middle of it—sixteen shows in like seventeen days. We started in Warren, Ohio and we’re playing a show every single night until L.A. When I think about Slugg, what’s next is that I continue to meet other artists in my community and across the country, continue to play shows, and then write and make better music. This is my first solo thing ever so I want to sit on this album and take it in and enjoy it for a little bit, and then probably in the winter I’ll start writing some more again. I just wanna play a lot of shows and maybe collaborate with other musicians.

Q: Any final thoughts?

For the third blog post featuring Panza Foundation 2025 bands, we spoke with Nicole Barille and Sam Meister of Mr. Gnome.

Q: I think the name Mr. Gnome really captures the fantastical, imaginative vibe of the project. Is there a story behind it, and did you know that was going to be the name from the beginning? 

NB: No, we were Gnome for like the first year when we were just getting started. We’re really into surrealism and fantasy and that’s probably where it first came from, and then when we were making our name official and creating our website, we found out that another band had been Gnome in the 90s so we decided to throw a Mr. on it. We’ve made up many stories about it over the years just to confuse people (laughs), but now we’re just kind of real about it.

Q: Your album artwork is always very compelling and immersive. I’ve read that you design all of your own visuals, which is super cool. I admire the DIY ethos. Did your passion for visual art and music develop simultaneously, or did you start by making art for the band? 

SM: I went to school for video and TV production. When we started Mr. Gnome, we just decided we would try to do as much of it as we could all by ourselves. Because of that, we started doing the artwork and it became a thing where people were finding out about us from our artwork and our videos and finding our music second. So we became artists who made visual art only because we started making music. 

NB: I went to school for art. When we started Mr. Gnome, we saw it as this opportunity to start putting all the art into the album covers and videos and it was so cool to marry the two. We were just stoked about it. The art and the music started becoming synonymous with each other. Sam is the one that primarily does the artwork and he kept finding himself as a visual artist and coming up with concepts as we kept developing as musicians. We understood what we wanted the art to evoke because we wanted it to look like what the music sounds like. 

Q: Who would you say were some of your formative musical and artistic influences, and who are some of your current favorites? Also, when you started the project, did you bring in a lot of the same influences or do you have a lot of different reference points between the two of you? I think it’s cool how you just kind of do your own thing and aren’t easily categorizable. I love a lot of different kinds of music so I love bands like that, like The Smashing Pumpkins. 

NB: Sam and I met in high school and we quickly bonded over our love for music and art. Right away we were turning each other onto different bands and different artists. I think we’ve always been into surrealism and folk art. Music-wise, I feel like when we first started, Sam was getting me into more classic stuff, like Bowie, Pink Floyd, Otis Redding, Sam Cook, just introducing me to more of a classic side of things, and I was introducing him to Portishead, Björk, more electronic and heavier music too. We just kept inspiring each other. We were both really open to everything. 

If anything, I think other bands’ production seeps into our own music more than anything. We’ve gotten to see so many bands after years and years of touring, and seeing what other musicians are doing and those ideas can seep into the way you’re writing and what equipment you’re using. Right now, we’ve been listening to a lot of hip-hop, pop music, indie rock. Growing up and as a teenager, I really couldn’t get into much pop music, but now I feel like hip hop and pop artists are really pushing the envelope creatively and that’s super exciting to hear, especially production-wise. But overall as music fans, we’re all over the place. We really love everything as long as we can connect to it. When you start to limit yourself or try to sound like something, you stop being authentic. You have to let the moment guide you instead of wondering what people are gonna like. I think our fans have allowed us to do that. 

Q: You’ve been putting out albums together for 20 years now. Do you have a personal favorite, one that you feel the most proud of or that you think represents the Mr. Gnome vision the best? 

NB: Madness in Miniature, our third record, has always held a special place in my heart. In that moment we were writing a record pretty much every year, touring nonstop, and I was just really excited about where we were at. We recorded that record over two weeks; we went out to L.A. to do the music and came back here to do the vocals. At the end we were so exhausted, but we were really proud of how it all came together. We released a record in 2020 called The Day You Flew Away and that’s slowly becoming one of my favorites as well. There’s so much emotion in that album and so many crazy things were going on in our lives when we created it. So for a while it was hard to listen to, but now I think I'm finally able to appreciate it in a different way.

SM: All of the records represent a different moment in our lives and they’re all special to me for that reason. I think they’re all very important building blocks. A very special moment for me specifically was when we did Heave Yer Skeleton, our second album. We got an opportunity to work with someone who is now a good friend of ours, Justin Smith. That moment was special because it kind of made us realize we could be artists that just focus on their art, that we could do it for a living and we could put 100% into it. Up until then we were working jobs as well as making records and doing shows, but when we started writing Heave, we went in 100%, like, We’re musicians now. This is what we’re gonna do for as long as we can do it. So it’s special because of that. And here we are today! It was a very important crossroads.

Q: How would you describe your creative process and artistic journey?

NB: We write in all different types of ways. Sometimes we’ll write stuff together in a live setting, but more and more lately we’ll have separate sessions where we create music and then present it to each other. Sam’s been writing a ton of material over the last year that will probably end up as our newest record. We have a bajillion songs that no one’s ever heard. With a lot of it, we still like the music, it’s just whatever rises to the top, really. 

SM: We have evolved as music writers over the past 20 years because when we first started, we would lock ourselves in a practice spot and just play for hours, write live, be critical of the writing live, like, That’s wrong—do it this way or That’s perfect—let’s keep doing that. We worked it all out while we were playing and that, after a while, became less effective for us, and we started to do some more stuff in the box where we would just really spend time being more critical of the music-writing alone. We’d write stuff alone and be like, That’s not right, so let’s figure this out with the other person and we’d exchange and do this trading back and forth thing. We wrote a lot of the last two records like that. On this record we’re writing now, we’re getting back into the live setting more. It’s kind of half and half; we’re writing a lot of it live, but in the box as well. The process evolved a lot because we had our son. That’s a big reason we had to evolve and change.

NB: Covid too, that changed everything. I think if you resist change and freak out that you can’t do things the old way, it can really limit you. It’s much more beneficial to lean into it and find a new path. 

Q: What are your thoughts on the Cleveland music scene? 

NB: I think it’s fantastic. In 2016 we had our last tour, then my dad passed away and then a couple weeks later I found out I was pregnant, so it was a major life shift. Then Covid happened, so this past year is the first time we got back to playing live together. So we feel like we missed a lot in the Cleveland scene. A lot of Cleveland bands started following us and we’re like, Man, there is so much good stuff going on right now! I’m super excited. For our Beachland show, we’ve got The Rosies and King Buu on the lineup and I’m so excited to see both of them. I’m so proud of our city. It’s so diverse. When we were first coming up, it was a very specific indie rock sound and we were a little too loud, but artists right now in Cleveland are very supportive of each other.

SM: It’s amazing. It’s having a moment for sure. There’s so much good music, including the other bands that have been awarded money from the Panza Foundation. They’re all great. I’m so happy to be a part of a group like that.

Q: Do you have a favorite venue to play in Cleveland or a dream venue you want to play someday?

SM: Definitely for me the Beachland. It’s always been my favorite. We went there for a show the first year it opened and we were like, This place is awesome!

NB: It’s like a high school auditorium vibe, but way better. They’ve always been so good to us from the beginning and we’ve been loyal to them. We know a bunch of people that work at so many venues around town and we love them all. We’ve played so many different venues in Cleveland. For a dream venue, there are some really cool Playhouse theaters that would be so cool. We’ve talked about doing a show at The Little Rose. I like really tiny punk rock shows. 

Q: How did you find out you were selected by the Panza Foundation as a grant recipient? If you haven’t already, do you have an idea of how you’re going to use your grant funds?

NB: We were just starting our tour last year and John Panza hit me up on Instagram about it, and we were just so flattered. The whole thing’s amazing. It’s such a selfless organization of trying to help bands in your hometown, artists that are working really hard—it’s just the coolest thing. I admire him so much for dedicating so much time to it. The money will be going right into our merchandise because we have to make so much stuff before this tour, so that’s the plan. As much as we’d love to buy some weird gear we’ve always wanted…

SM: It’ll be turned into t-shirts or posters or something that will give people a chance to take a piece of us home after they see us play. 

Q: You mentioned you’re working on another record. Do you have a tentative release date for that? I think it’s impressive that you’re so prolific!

NB: We’ve been writing the album since we got home from our last tour in November. We have a ton recorded but it’s not quite done. Now we’re dipping into rehearsals. Our hopes are that we can wrap up this next album after we get back from our upcoming tour and release it sometime next year. We just feel super lucky that people still care about what we’re doing. We’re just along for the ride, taking it one year at a time pretty much. 

Q: Any final thoughts? 

NB: Just a huge thank you to the Panza Foundation. We love Cleveland so much. It’ll always be our favorite stop.

Q: Tell us about yourself. Where did you grow up? Educational background? Interests?

A: I spent my childhood in Strongsville and my adolescence in Bainbridge, and just last summer my family moved to Brecksville, so I have lived all over the Cleveland metropolitan area. I graduated from John Carroll University in May, where I was an English and French major with a concentration in Creative Writing and music co-director at WJCU 88.7. I am very passionate about the arts and humanities, as well as the environment, animals and the natural world. 

Q: What attracted you to music? To radio? To local bands? Etc.

A: I have always had a deep love for music, with a specialty in alternative and indie. I grew up hearing all different kinds of music thanks to my parents, who were always playing music at home and in the car, as well as through the soundtracks of my favorite video games. In addition to inheriting the ability to play by ear from our mother, my brother and I began taking piano lessons at a young age. As a teenager, my main hobbies were largely music-related—exploring different genres through YouTube rabbit holes, learning about music history and the stories behind my favorite bands, collecting music memorabilia and merchandise, analyzing lyrics, doing piano covers of songs I love, and going to concerts. I started an Instagram page when I was 14 dedicated to my musical obsessions and connecting with other fans, which I still run today. I planned to eventually work for AltPress, but unfortunately they left Cleveland by the time I was of age. As someone who loves curating playlists, rambling about and introducing people to music, I developed an interest in radio, particularly college radio because of its non-commercial format and history of championing underrated and underground artists (including many of my personal favorites), which led me to pursue a gig as a DJ (and later, music co-director) at WJCU. I have always loved the fact that Cleveland is the city of rock and roll and am proud of the fact that it has produced several iconic acts. I became seriously invested in the Cleveland music scene after seeing some incredible local bands live as openers.

Q: What attracted you to Panza Foundation and this internship opportunity?

A: I first discovered the Panza Foundation while interning for Dobama Theatre last summer. One day, while searching for potential donors for Dobama in a magazine, I stumbled across the Panza Foundation and was immediately attracted by its mission of supporting homegrown musicians. The description also mentioned that John Panza had been an English major at John Carroll University just like I was, which I thought was awesome. It felt like perfect serendipity, and I decided then that I would look into any opportunities to work with the Panza Foundation in the future. I began checking out former Panza Foundation bands and loved what I was hearing. In the fall semester of my senior year, I took a copyediting class with Jane Panza and learned more about the foundation through her. She helped me to set up this internship and I could not be more grateful!

Q: What have you learned from the work you've done so far as the foundation's summer intern?

A: As an aspiring music journalist, having the opportunity to interview several musicians has been a wonderful experience for me both personally and professionally. Having read and watched many interviews with musicians over the years, I knew that I wanted to avoid asking the bands any questions that they have already been asked repeatedly, so I made sure to browse previous interviews in order to craft unique questions. As such, I would say that I’ve learned how to ask more original and interesting questions, and generally become a more effective communicator; as someone with social anxiety it has been another means of working through that barrier. Overall, I feel more confident in my writing and speaking abilities, and I love that I have been able to combine my passions for writing and music and help promote this amazing group of bands! 

Q: What are your plans now that you're graduated?

(Photo by L.A. Carr)

For the second blog post featuring Panza Foundation 2025 bands, we spoke with Grace Sullivan of Wish Queen. 

Q: Saturnalia is a very resonant and relevant record. You have a knack for putting very relatable feelings into powerful poetry and setting them to gorgeous music. I can’t help but have a good cry when I listen to songs like “Grievances,” which I feel is such a poignant encapsulation of how it feels to be living in the 2020s, especially as a sensitive and aware person, trying to navigate your own personal battles while the world around you is also burning and coping with that. It’s a perfect, honest anthem for our era, the kind of song that I think I and a lot of people probably needed to hear. Then there are songs like “Magic” and “Prophecy” that perfectly put into words the anguish of watching love that was supposed to last forever fall apart and being powerless to stop it. Was it as cathartic for you to make Saturnalia as it is for us to listen to? 

A: Definitely. I think it really helped me work through a lot of feelings that were just sitting stagnant, and usually once I write a song out I'm able to just kind of let whatever I was upset about soften. It feels like a necessary process, like sometimes I just obsess about things and as soon as I write it out, it gives it some breathing room. 

Q: I love the album cover of Saturnalia. It kind of reminds me of The Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream, which I love, this sort of innocent, whimsical vibe. It feels very nostalgic, which makes me wonder, was it an old photograph you used or was it taken for the album?

A: It was an old photograph of me and my sister. We were playing Pretty Pretty Princess where you spin a board game and put on different pieces of jewelry. My dad was like, “I have the perfect photo for your album,” and I was like “Okay Dad, whatever,” and then he pulled it out of an old photo album and I was like, This is literally perfect so I just digitized it. The physical vinyl cover is different because the digitized version wasn’t looking good printed out. But it felt really important because I didn’t really know what I was doing, I was just like, I’m gonna make an album, just following the threads, and I think the little girl version of me with a crown on is how I felt. I’m just stepping into this role that I don't quite know what it is and I felt very young doing it. It was a new thing and I wasn’t sure how it was going to go. 

Q: When I listen to your music, I can hear some echoes of other artists I love such as Weyes Blood, Mazzy Star, and Beach House. Who would you say were some of your formative musical influences, and who inspires you the most today? 

A: Those artists for sure inspired the sound, I’ve always loved Joni Mitchell too. I love her songwriting. I grew up listening to her heavily. I have a lot of different types of music I’ve listened to over the years. I’m not sure if any of these are reflected in my music but I loved Modest Mouse and The Killers growing up. I also love Joanna Newsom. When I listen to Joni and Joanna I feel like I connect with a deeper level of myself. I’m also a huge Lana [Del Ray] head and in the last few years I’ve been obsessed with Ethel Cain. I can't wait for her new album.

Q: I feel like Wish Queen channels the “divine feminine.” Would you say that’s a conscious part of your vision?

A: Yeah, it’s funny because I think that was the original intention, that Wish Queen was kind of this divine feminine alter ego that had this magical element. I think it’s shifting a little bit. I think that quality will still exist, but the other side of the word “wish” is longing, wishing things were different. That sadness has become more of a part of it. I’ve surprised myself. This is kind of what Wish Queen means more than this untouchable fairy godmother who has it all figured out. That’s just not what my music is. 

Q: How would you describe your creative process and artistic journey? 

A: The creative process is interesting because I don’t play an instrument. I can really only do it when I’m by myself. When I'm driving or in the shower, I’ll just sing nonsense melodies to myself and suddenly something will stick and I’ll pop it in my phone and whatever little phrase that is, I’ll write it on my computer and build a poem from that. Some songs have come fully formed. “Magic” just came into my head, like, There it is! Other songs started as a poem and I made it into a song and it took a little more workshopping. In order to bring it to life I have my friend and bandmate Austyn Benyak, who is also my producer. We work very well together. He’s my creative partner so I'll take my melodies to him and ask him what he’s hearing instrumentally and we’ll craft it from there. He plays almost every instrument so he's been crucial. We have a very special connection. 

Q: I remember reading an interview in which you spoke about acting in plays when you were younger. Would you say that experience informs how you approach your performances?

A: Yeah, I would say so. One of my favorite parts about being in plays is the script and prepping for it. I just love the process of prepping for live shows whether it’s theater or a concert. The practice, the rehearsal, the building up and the anxiety and then just doing it, the adrenaline rush, connecting with the crowd and the comedown, like now I can relax—I love that cycle. I also think it helped in that I have some base knowledge about how to be on stage. So I wasn’t starting from scratch. You know, it’s like the scariest thing ever. But it was something I always missed. I stopped doing it after high school so this feels like a nice way to keep that part of myself alive. 

Q: What are your thoughts on the Cleveland music scene? 

A: Honestly, there are so many talented people here. I started a little later; I didn’t start until I was almost 28. I had all this regret, like It’s too late, there are so many people who have been doing this so much longer than me. But everybody was so receptive and kind. I feel like I've been given so many opportunities by people here who want to help see it thrive. I wish the Cleveland music scene had more attention and eyes on it because there’s so much talent here and so many different types of talent. So many people are doing cool things and I feel really proud to be a part of it. 

Q: Do you have a favorite venue to play or a dream venue you want to play someday?

A: My favorite local venues are the Beachland and the Grog Shop. I have a really good relationship with the bookers there. They give great opportunities and pay people well. I love playing the House of Blues as well. It’s so fun. I would love to play on the big stage there; I’ve only ever played the Foundation Room. I loved playing Brite Winter. That was like the biggest audience I’ve played to. I think for a dream venue, there’s this venue in North Carolina called Cat’s Cradle. I’ve only ever played the backroom but if I could play the main stage someday, that would be awesome. I’ve been kind of back and forth between Cleveland and North Carolina. It’s been cool to have my feet in both scenes and to see what another scene is like. 

Q: How did you find out you were selected by the Panza Foundation as a grant recipient? If you haven’t already, do you have an idea of how you’re going to use your grant funds?

A: I was in Italy for a wedding. I was not on my phone a lot because I was traveling and then I looked at my Instagram DMs. It was so informal. John Panza DMed me and was like “Hey, you’ve been selected for this grant. Let us know if you accept.” For a second I was like, Is this a scam? Then we jumped on a Whatsapp call. It was super late in Italy time. I just wanted to make sure it was real. He was like “Yep, this is legit.” It was kinda funny. I was a little wine drunk. I had also just gotten engaged so it felt like a really magical moment, like, What else is gonna happen now? I’ve used half of the funds already to build new pedal boards for my band. We’ve reworked the whole set so it’s not a 5-piece, now it’s a 3-piece. We wanted to get really specific with the sound and have shimmery reverbed guitars. We’re debuting it at the Wax Mage show. I’m using the rest of it for a live video recording with the new set. We’re styling it out really cool at the Panza studio [Dark Current]. So it’s mostly going towards artistic direction and production. I originally wanted to record new songs with it but this year has been personally very difficult so I haven’t been able to delve into that. If I can at least get some demos done that would be great. 

Q: What’s next for Wish Queen?

A: I had so many plans this year that kind of fell through because my dad got sick and he died a few weeks ago. Obviously I’ve been writing a lot. I don’t really know what to do with it yet but I think everything that happened this year is really gonna inform the next album or EP or whatever it ends up being. I’d love to just write more and recalibrate and re-hone the vision. I just need to process everything that's happened, so I'm just trying to trust the timing and not rush it. It’ll happen when it’s meant to happen, even though it’s really hard because there's so much I want to do. There’s definitely gonna be a second album. I just don’t know the timing yet. It’s hard when you have a creative vision and life just gets in the way. I hope I have the capacity to do it sooner than later. Once I get my studio set up I’ll be able to sit down and get to work. 

Q: Any final thoughts?

For the first blog post featuring Panza Foundation 2025 bands, we spoke with Nate Eberhardt of Nature Nvoke. 

Q: Your Spotify bio mentions you’ve been making music ever since you were a kid. That’s quite impressive! What initially interested you at a young age to begin making music, and how did you start learning how to play? Does your family have any musical background? 

A: I was the first out of my immediate family to really take music seriously. My brother played sports, and my sister was really good in school. For me, I started the saxophone in 5th grade. That was the start of it. I joined the sports teams and got really entrenched into that stuff over time and kind of forgot about my love for music for a little bit. Around my first year of college I bought a guitar and I said you know what, I’m going to teach myself how to play the blues and in different kinds of ways. My father was a really big influence for me there. I grew up listening to Bloc Party in like 2008-2009, hanging out with my buddies and listening to all this British post-punk revival music which sparked something in me at that age. I’ve always dreamt of being a frontman and playing music like Kele from Bloc Party. I used to play Guitar Hero. That kind of sparked that first initial interest, like, Hey, I can probably do this. The world was telling me I’m supposed to play sports or rap as a young Black youth. But I would see Bob Marley on TV and feel inspired, see people like The Clash and Joe Strummer and feel that spirit of punk. I was hearing all these things at different times but they were cool together. I loved learning the history of music. As I got older I became a real bookworm when it came to the history.

Q: In your bio you talk about finding electronic and post-punk music uniquely inspiring. Some of my personal gateway bands into those genres were The Cure, Depeche Mode, and Gary Numan. Who were some of your formative influences and who are some of your current favorites? 

A: Definitely Bloc Party and Foals and the indie and post-punk revival. It was me hearing these songs at a young age, like, How is he doing that on guitar? Then I got informed about Joy Division, the darker side and more melancholy side of post-punk. Then I started producing electronic darkwave. I would study bands like Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Skinny Puppy, more industrial-inspired bands. I kinda started with that stuff with Nature. It was just me and electronic instrumentals. I would think what would Trent do, how would he approach performing this live? That’s kinda how I branched out into all different genres. When we get into guitar work, Drab Majesty is a great influence, love them currently. Light Asylum and Special Interest, I love what they’ve got going on—they’re killing it right now. Zoe Zanias is dancy but pure goth. I’d love to be in a project like Kaelan Mikla; that’s one of the bands I’m listening to currently. Protomartyr is a huge influence on me. With Protomartyr I discovered them on a tour. We went to Seattle to Sub Pop and dropped off merch and they were like take these CDs with you. I got The Agent Intellect by Protomartyr. I got back to Cleveland and put it in my CD player and I was like How is he doing this on guitar? I have to figure this out! That pushed me more into the contemporary side of post-punk. One of my biggest influences with my guitar playing and production is The Soft Moon. What he did on guitar and his influence on the culture, on darkwave & post-punk is second to none. I remember listening to all his music before he passed away, studying his art. One of my favorite records by him is Exister. I love all of his records. “The Pain” was one of the best songs I had ever heard. He starts it out so vulnerable and then everything cuts out and it drops, the bassline is ripping, the guitar…I was just like Wow, this is the best. With his loss, that was very tough on post-punk. The list goes on. I love the two-piece approach of Boy Harsher. Spelling is another one—anything Sacred Bones touches. I would love to be on a label like Sacred Bones. 

Q: What drew you towards making more instrumental music?

A: Just playing music I wanted to hear. I didn’t wanna make it so emphatic. I just wanted to make easy listening music. Some of them, if the lyrics are there, they’re there. If people wanna collaborate and put lyrics over it if they’re inspired they can. I would rather put music out in the world and let it inspire others than leave it on my hard-drive. Luis Vasquez would put out a whole entire record and the instrumentals. He thinks the same way as me; it’s about the music, not so much the lyrics. You’re using your voice as an instrument, and sometimes less is more. The current record that we’re working on now we’re about to record on Tuesday, and I feel like I’ve finally found my voice as Nature as a post-punk pioneer in 2025. I have songs that help me express myself; I’m singing out more profoundly and I’m expressing myself on guitar a lot. I feel like this is the record where I’ve really found it.

Q: How would you describe your creative process and artistic journey? 

A: How I started initially was just me in my bedroom, more lo-fi like Beach Fossils. My girlfriend and I loved DIIV, also. We loved Is The Is Are. We were like What does this mean? And we loved the cover art. I was listening to DIIV a lot as well. 

Q: I’ve read that you consider yourself an Afro-Futurist as well. Are there any artists or works in Afrofuturism that you would say have particularly inspired your music? I will add I also like the nod to Aldous Huxley with the title Doors of Perception.

A: Rammellzee. He’s a New York graffiti artist and hip-hop artist. He would dress in these Afrofuturistic styles, kind of like the glasses I got on now. Sun Ra, he’s the godfather. Anybody now who pushes those boundaries and understands unity, I’m all for growing that community. Mourning [A] BLKStar, LaToya Kent, James Longs, these people are all Afrofuturistic in the current contemporary state of Cleveland. I love what they’re doing. They’re carrying the torch and opening the door for me. That’s kind of how I viewed Kele from Bloc Party. I don’t know if he identified as Afrofuturist but to me it was like, I don’t have to be any kind of way society wants me to be. He’s an honorary Afrofuturist if not an Afrofuturist. Doors of Perception, that was a whole other time period, just making the best music I could make at that time. That was when I started recruiting more instrumentalists to play with me and expanding my sound more. That was where I kind of could bring in all of my influences and mix in the electronic with the post-punk band three-piece approach. I could kind of experiment in a more psychedelic way.

Q: How did you come up with the band name Nature Nvoke? 

A: My name is Nate, and a lot of people used to call me nature but I couldn’t outright have that name for copyright reasons. So Nature Nvoke has its own special identity. But it initially started with just me having the name Nate. I would say I am earthly, very earthly-inclined. I know how to farm, and I love nature and outdoor things. We played a show at Kentucky Gardens last summer, actually. It was a synchronicity vibe, where it all kind of aligned. I didn’t even have to think twice about the name. 

Q: What are your thoughts on the Cleveland music scene? 

A: I love it. I love being able to be a part of Coventry Village. We’ve got the Grog Shop. There are a lot of great venues that keep the scene alive and I love all of them. I love the Panza Foundation, everything they've done for me and the artists before us. Every band that’s been a part of that fraternity, they’ve all carried the torch. We’ve all been great allies to each other. I feel like we’re growing and getting stronger together. I feel that there’s no competition here; everybody’s got their own lane and is able to express themselves in the best kind of way.

Q: Do you have a favorite venue to play or a dream venue you want to play someday?

A: House of Blues would be great. I feel like I would be at one of the highest levels as a punk rocker. A lot of people are more DIY and they think no, we wouldn’t wanna play there but I feel like that would be a great stepping stone. Or the Rock Hall, I would truly be honored to play there. I’ve played the Grog Shop, Beachland, Agora, Happy Dog, venues like that.

Q: How did you find out you were selected by the Panza Foundation as a grant recipient? Do you know how you plan to use the funds yet?

A: We spent the funds on travel expenses. We did two shows in Chicago and a festival in Lansing, Michigan and we did outstanding out there. I’m so thankful for them. We were able to get a rental van, we had no gear lost, and we got an AirBNB. That all helped us get to the next level now; John and Jane helping out with that has helped us branch out to other cities. I wouldn’t have been able to get to Chicago without them. To take care of my guys and get us out there safely and sound would’ve been very difficult. John helped me meet A Place to Bury Strangers and bands as well. I’m grateful for all of that.

Q: What’s next for Nature Nvoke?

A: We are recording on Tuesday and a music video is releasing on July 19th. I wanna really shop this record around to record labels. I started on Mannequin, which is a good electronic label in Berlin. I’m more than willing to talk to labels like Hardly Art. I know tariffs are pretty rough right now so labels are kind of crunching it but I’m willing to still give it a shot. I’ve always dreamt of being on Sub Pop. I remember going to Seattle and visiting KEXP. For World Goth Day they picked Nature for their top 10 playlist. They want the real action—they can’t get you off potential, so that’s why I’m seizing the moment now as best as I can. I’m talking to different labels. I wanna see us with a record deal soon and also just more music videos. We’re playing Larchmere PorchFest June 28th and Waterloo Arts Fest on September 13th. On July 10th we’re playing with Arms & Armour at The Brothers Lounge. There are a lot of shows, a lot of recording to do, and some visuals to help take us to that next level. July 31st we’re playing the BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia. If I could open for Bloc Party or TV on the Radio someday, I would be jumping for two days straight.

Q: Any final thoughts?

How has Panza Foundation impacted you/your work? Ingenuity Cleveland is an organization that helps emerging creatives of all backgrounds impact communities positively. We are most known for our annual IngenuityFest, which brings accessible arts experiences to a wide audience, igniting the creative spark and stoking curiosity while creating exposure to a wide variety of art forms. Music is a huge part of this, and Panza Foundation's direct support of the Dock stage helps underwrite musician fees for nearly 20 musical groups. Without the support of Panza foundation, we would not be able to present the range of emerging and established artists who play this stage. More importantly, though, the support of Panza Foundation supports the overall creative ecosystem of Ingenuity and Cleveland more broadly. By supporting emerging and underground talent, Panza Foundation helps create exposure and connections that would otherwise not occur, allowing us to fulfill our mission by creating connections among a wide array of working artists [musical, visual, technological] who all come together to create an experience that would not happen in Cleveland's year-round music venues, clubs, or more traditional music festivals. From the screen printer to the set builder to the projection artists to the year-round inhabitants of IngenuityLabs, Panza Foundation support touches every aspect of what Ingenuity Cleveland does. Furthermore, by supporting the Festival, Panza Foundation supports IngenuityLabs, a year-round home for makers and creatives that is a staple in the Cleveland landscape - it is a Big Loud Dirty Messy space that allows creativity to thrive, and is not replicated elsewhere in town. Each year, we support dozens of photo shoots, music video shoots, fundraisers, pop-up events and large-scale events like Lottery League that can not happen elsewhere. Panza Foundation's support is accessible, offered without undue burden or excessive stipulations that are often attached to other funding, and also comes with a unique perspective on our work. In addition to funding, we enjoy Panza Foundation's knowledge-sharing and advice on the underground music scene that is invaluable to our operations.

What do you feel Panza Foundation's impact has been on the independent and underground Cleveland music scene?

Panza Foundation's impact is one-of-a-kind. While other organizations exist to support larger projects or more "formal" music scholarship and performance, Panza Foundation is the only funder (to our knowledge) exclusively and directly supporting the independent and underground music scene in ways that help the scene grow, thrive and contribute to a complete arts and culture ecosystem for Cleveland. The ripple effect of this support is broad and far-reaching, helping our venues, independent artists, and authentic Cleveland culture survive and thrive. The Panza Foundation is a crucial component of the funding landscape, especially as the philanthropic landscape changes. It is well known and documented that artist and musician fees/payments have not kept pace with the cost of living. Cleveland's independent music scene is vital to our city's character and overall economy, and Panza Foundation's support is critical in ensuring emerging artists have the chance of choosing to stay here, versus leaving for a larger market. For those who do wish to "make it" elsewhere, early career support from the Panza Foundation is one of the few resources formally available to help launch careers. And for those who value exposure to music simply for its intrinsic (versus economic) value, Panza Foundation is creating treasured opportunities, such as Lottery League, that break the mold and define what's possible in independent music.

How has Panza Foundation impacted you/your work?

Panza Foundation played a crucial role in supporting the 2024 Lottery League season, and has helped to grow this region-wide art project every step of the way since we first joined the Foundation following our 2019 season. Given an extended span of five years between seasons due to the pandemic, the 2024 season was particularly significant and important to the local music scene. Panza Foundation not only operates as the Lottery League's non-profit fiscal agent, but they also collaborated and assisted in recruiting artists who formed our most engaged roster of participants yet. Remarkably, of the 172 musicians who took part and were drafted into 43 bands this season, 99% of the roster successfully completed the entire season within the band's they were drafted. Without question, Panza Foundation played a vital role in every bit of the success of this season. For the Lottery Leagues' organizers specifically (aka The Council), navigating a five-year hiatus between seasons in regards to managing relationships, making tough decisions behind the scenes, and all while juggling our family and careers, was no small feat. Throughout all of this, Panza Foundation’s support has extended way beyond merely operating as our fiscal agent. We’re thrilled about the Lottery League’s collaborative efforts with the Panza Foundation that went into making our 2024 season the best ever, and we couldn't be more excited about our future with them in working to ensure the Lottery League's sustainability for years to come.

What do you feel Panza Foundation's impact has been on the independent and underground Cleveland music scene?

The sheer number of bands and artists since its formation who have directly benefited from the various means in which Panza Foundation provides support, has truly had an immeasurable positive effect on the local music scene. Their direct support and the developed relationships within the local community of independent and underground musicians are key to what made the collaboration between our project and Panza Foundation such a beneficial pairing for us both.

How has Panza Foundation impacted you/your work? 

Firstly, the Panza Foundation has funded the purchase of several essential items of gear and partially funded the purchase of a vehicle that allows us to tour. Touring is the number one way we are able to make money and gain followers as a band, so having a van to do so in is essential. Secondly, the Foundation promotes our shows and releases on their social media platforms which expands our reach. Lastly, the Foundation has been endlessly helpful in any way they possibly can be- sourcing bookers in unfamiliar cities, providing discounts for in-house recording- they are always looking for ways to help us out and we are endlessly grateful for them.

What do you feel Panza Foundation's impact has been on the independent and underground Cleveland music scene?

In the fourth and final blog post featuring the Panza Foundation’s 2024 Bands, Osi Okoro discusses how she learned to play guitar and the origins of the band’s unique name. Q: What inspired you to form your band? OO: The band formed in 2017. I was writing songs and I met and brought in Ryan and TJ. My inspiration is music. Music impacted me and I wanted to do the same for other people. Q: Where did you learn how to play? OO: I am self-taught. I started watching JustinGuitar online and learned how to play. Q: How would you describe your sound for someone who has never heard you perform? OO: I take a lot of inspiration from Modest Mouse and Alex G. I like their riffs and their lyricism. It’s a lot of indie and guitar music. Q: How did you come up with your band’s name? OO: I love sweet tea and lemonade! I worked at Waffle House and we had that on the menu – like an Arnold Palmer. Q: How did you hear you were a recipient of a 2024 Panza Foundation grant and what does it mean to you? OO: We never check Facebook, but we did and saw we had a message from John [Panza]. I thought “what the heck, this is so cool”. I was so happy and grateful! Q: Any idea how you’re going to allocate the grant funds? OO: We would love to fly TJ in from Seattle and schedule time with John to get into the studio. We’ve got songs that were written a loooong time ago that we’re just now trying to get recorded. Q: What are your thoughts on the local music scene in Northeast Ohio? OO: The music scene here has so many possibilities. There are a lot of venues where you can play. It’s a very nice atmosphere and very welcoming. Q: What’s coming up next for Teamonade?

In this third blog post featuring Panza Foundation 2024 Bands, Jen Powers and Matthew Rolin discuss incorporating a unique instrument into their music and what makes the Cleveland music scene the best in Ohio.

Q: What inspired you to form your band?

JP: Matt and I met through a mutual friend and hit it off. 

MR: Our first time playing together, we winged it. I never thought about playing with a hammered dulcimer player, but we just let it fly. 

JP: Yeah, we agreed on which key to play in, but the rest was very improvisational. Matt is a very melodic musician. 

Q: Jen -can you please about how you two incorporated a hammer dulcimer into your music.

JP: My mom’s cousin had a hammered dulcimer in her attic and gave it to me. I started messing around with it and it felt good!

Q: How would you describe your sound for someone who has never heard you perform?

MR: I would describe our sound as folk music, but not in a traditional sense. Maybe more like spiritual jazz or like drone music with looping and using delays.

JP: Yeah, I’d say our sound is open to interpretation. It sounds like different things to different people. We’ve been categorized as a lot of things – rock, pop, New Age, but I don’t think any of those descriptors fit the bill. I would say we’re tonal, experimental folk.

MR: There are elements of other people, but we are uniquely our own.

Q: How did you hear you were a recipient of a 2024 Panza Foundation grant and what does it mean to you?

MR: John [Panza] messaged us on Instagram. Several Board members on the Panza Foundation advocated for us. They are really great for musicians since they ask you how they can help you instead of you asking them.

Q: Any idea how you’re going to allocate the grant funds?

JP: I think we’re going to allocate those funds to reliable transportation so we can go on tour. We’re planning on going to western Massachusetts; Kingston, New York; and other parts of New England. Having transportation we can rely on just reduces stress and allows us to have more creative energy.

Q: What are your thoughts on the local music scene in Northeast Ohio?

MR: Northeast Ohio has the best music scene in Ohio – better than a lot of the country. Even on a Tuesday night you can play at a small venue and you will find enthusiastic and supportive people.

JP: I think there’s an adventurousness to the local music scene. People who play different types of music are very willing to interact with each other. There’s a lot of small to midsize venues that you can book yourself. That’s not the case everywhere. 

Get to know Floco Torres and HR3 from Free Black!, a hip-hop duo based in Akron. Free Black! was selected as a 2024 Panza Foundation band.

Q: What inspired you to form your duo?

HR3: I met Floco in 2017 at Baxter’s Speakeasy in Akron. I gave him a copy of some recordings and we began collaborating. 

FT: Not to sound cliché, but everything came together organically. We were two artists that didn’t know each other, and we just started playing around and getting feedback. We received a lot of support from people in our circle saying our sound reminded them of seeing The Roots or Common. 

Q: Tell me about the name Free Black! 

FT: We actually began collaborating without a group name. We felt we needed one once we got to a place with seven or eight demos. HR3 and I are very different personalities, but we were both experiencing the same things as Black men in America.

HR3: We started a text thread and were throwing around names. We both threw out “Free,” and Floco threw out “Black.” I’m not sure where the exclamation point came from, but we started using it and it never went away. I had always wanted to be in a hip-hop group and was drawn to the creative process of this.

Q: How did you find out the Panza Foundation selected Free Black! as a grant recipient?

FT: We found out on Instagram! [John] Panza was trying to set up a meeting with us, and we went back and forth a bit and then he called.

HR3: To get that message from John, whose Board is musicians, whose foundation was founded by musicians was amazing.

Q: Any idea how you’ll allocate that grant?

FT: We used the grant for equipment for our live shows. Our live shows are our calling card. We’ve been working on tweaking our sound, and the grant helps us do that. 

HR3: We’ll be able to try new things on stage and see what the vibe is with the crowd.

Q: What do you wish people knew about performing in Northeast Ohio?

HR3: It’s an interesting area to be in. There is so much talent here. It feels like one big family. People come up with some really amazing sounds and there are so many venues to see them perform live.

FT: I would invite people to come and be a part of the story! Live music is nothing without people believing in us and seeing us. The Black Keys are not the Black Keys if people don’t come out to see them! You could be the person that says “I saw them perform for two people, and I saw them play to a crowd of 20,000.”

Q: What’s up next for you?

FT: We just released a live album, Live at Cave Akron. Check it out!

Congrats to Powers/Rolin Duo, Teamonade, Napsack, and Free Black! for being selected as our 2024 bands. We can't wait to work with you.