DISINTEGRATION
Electronic goth with elements of synth-pop, post-punk, industrial, and dark wave, Disintegration’s Noah Anthony (guitar/synths), Tuck Mindrum (bass), and Haley Himiko (vocals) create swells of guitar noise underpinned with vocal intensity and driving beats. Starting as a more traditional rock quartet but then recently changing direction and leaning into sampled beats and a more guitar-synth-forward sound the past year caught our attention as did the accolades from other musicians and club owners. Assembling a more intentional touring schedule — including a recent run with 2025’s Slugg — showed us that Disintegration is a band that we would love to support.
JINARI KEMET
The Swiss Army Knife of the Cleveland music scene, multi-instrumentalist Jinari Kemet (birth name Kemet Ojo) as a solo artist is but a fraction of his diverse oeuvre. His solo work focuses on hip hop with elements of heavy metal and glam, but his overall output includes collaborations with multiple projects locally playing guitar, bass, even drums. We enjoy his theatrical tendencies, his raw live performance energy, and his willingness to be either center stage or one element of an ensemble. We will focus on his hip hop roots this year as we work with the “solo” Jinari. And, who knows, this might our first chance to invest foundation support for the purchase of Japanese headbands, capes, and kimonos. ifykyk
AUTOPOLITAN
This post-punk power trio consists of Joe Boyer (guitar/bass/vox), TJ Duke (guitar), and Juan Granda (drums). Experienced, road-worn, and well-versed in sonic dynamics, Autopolitan lays waste to pop with angular and noisy songs held together by Boyer’s intense vocals. Wholly Pere Ubu-ish in their Cleveland art rock intensity, Autopolitan has expanded its touring schedule and started releasing new songs at a fast clip, suggesting to us a band about to make a national move. It’s an honor to have them on board for 2026.
PAL
Channeling weirdo art rock of the 1970s but with a freshness that roots them clearly in the 2020s, PAL is both an art punk throwback and a forward looking pop band. We love their unbridled live shows and fuzzy, buzzy sound. The lineup of Maureen Joyce (synth/vocals), Jake Schott (guitar), Adam Atkinson (bass), and Mario Slagle (drums) stuns audiences unfamiliar with their sound and live performance antics, and as far as we are concerned, there is no better Cleveland band to have played both DEVOtional and opened for the Dead Milkmen in a six-month period. We love PAL and hope you will too.
ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE IN 2026
CLEVELAND LOTTERY LEAGUE
We continue to serve as the non-profit financial arm of the notorious and influential Cleveland Lottery League, which will hold a new season in 2026! If you’d like to make a donation earmarked to the league, donate to the foundation with "For Lottery League" in the note. Checks can be made directly out to Lottery League and sent to us.
Rustbelt Ripperfest
Yet again, we are helping support this massive metal, punk, and hardcore festival spearheaded by Matt Sacchire and held in February in Cleveland all around town. It’s the kind of festival we’d do if we were inclined to do festivals…but we will leave that to the experts like Matt.
INGENUITYFEST 2026
We work with our friends at Ingenuity to sponsor a stage and help select bands to perform at each year’s Ingenuity. Ingenuity has been supportive of local music and artists for nearly two decades.
EARTHQUAKER DAY 2026
We are once again proud sponsors of Earthquaker Devices' fun day of pedal demos and bands. Our friends at Earthquaker make some of the finest guitar pedals in the industry. We love them.
