The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
On the C-Level
Northeast Ohio rock act keeps plugging away, about to release album at Grog Shop show
The formative years for any musician provide a lifelong spark of interest. However, those moments come in many shapes.
Take, for instance, the story of North Ridgeville native and Cleveland resident Coda Crose. At the same time he was studying the masters — you know, jamming on the guitar along to Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix tunes — met Dave “Ziggy” Deitke.
It’s apropos that the fateful encounter, more than a decade ago, took place while each was playing music in a North Olmsted bar. Little did the then-underage teenagers know at the time they’d be spending the next dozen years together as members of band CLevel, performing for any audience they could find around Northeast Ohio.
“We probably wouldn’t have met each other if it wasn’t for that open-mic night at a bar,” Cross said. “I think I was 13 and he was 16. My mom was (a) bartender — we both were definitely too young to be in the bar.
“Our relationship
started on stage, where we began learning music together. We just always had this bond together that kept us going.”
Started in 2010, C-Level — Crose (bass), Deitke (vocals and guitar) and Pat Boland (drums) — has grown into a high-energy outfit that isn’t afraid to switch gears between funk, punk, reggae, bluegrass and rock with impunity.
The group’s latest effort is its fourth studio album, “Think 4 Yourself.” The tunes were mostly recorded during the pandemic, when time wasn’t an issue and the band was able to enlist plenty of friends to contribute.
The album includes members of The Quasi Kings, Lea Marra and The
Dream Catchers, James Muschler (formerly of Moon Hooch) and Cellophane Jane.
“This album is the first journey to using a lot of guest musicians, which is something we’ve become fond of,” Crose said. “Stylistically, we kind of hit everything on this album.
“There’s a good mix of reggae, rock, country/ Americana. They’re all styles we wouldn’t have been able to hit as easily without the help of friends.”
The diverse album boasts the Americanasounding “DIYs & Open Mics,” as well as the reggae-driven
“Quick Fixer” and the harder-hitting title track.
While it’s one thing to use all of the crayons in the box, a danger is creating an experience that lacks cohesion.
“It’s definitely a challenge at times just because the music world is so sort of structured toward one sound or one genre,” Crose said. “I like to think we have our own sound.
“Whether we’re playing a reggae song or a funk song or a rock song, it all kind of fits under that CLevel umbrella because of the mix of stringed instruments (Deitke) uses and sort of the locked-in rhythm section that Pat and I provide.”
C-Level has booked a “Think 4 Yourself” CD-release show for March 4 at the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights. Joining the trio are openers Joint Operation, The Cat’s Meow and The Frans.
The Cat’s Meow, which includes Crose, will perform popular songs from the “Tony Hawk Pro Skater” soundtrack.
“It’s usually an improv group, where we bring up guest musicians and our friends to jam,” Crose said. “I’ll be playing bass and singing (Motorhead’s) ‘Ace of Spades.’”
The moment will be full circle for Crose, who at the time he met Deitke was learning how to play music and jamming along to classic-rock gems — including Motörhead.
“Lemmy (Kilmister) has always been a big hero of mine,” Crose said of the late Motorhead frontman. “I definitely have a statue of him in my house on the shelf. I’m going to make him proud.”