Home2012 Reviews and Interviews Miami Valley Music Winter Fest
Miami Valley Music Winter Fest
Written by Jimmy Cummings
Last summer Buckeye Music Magazine was honored to be a part
of many of Ohio’s top festivals, one of which was the Miami Valley Music
Festival in Troy, OH. The summer festival was a big success despite a huge
storm on Saturday night that threatened the festivities. It takes the hard work
of guys like Brad Denson, Brad Centers, and the Miami Valley Music Association
(MVMFA) President Nick Christian, as well as the many volunteers that make
events like this possible. These guys seem to always be up to a challenge and
this year the challenge was to throw a festival in the middle of Winter and
offer folks the choice to camp if they so choose. I know what you’re thinking,
are these guys crazy! No way, these guys know what they’re doing. Through
months of planning and promoting, the MVMFA Winter Fest was a HUGE success and
was the most fun I have had at a show in quite some time. Despite the falling
temperatures the Troy Eagles Campground was blooming with music lover just
itching for spring and ready to get their boogie on. The Winter Festival
featured a full day of music by some of the area’s best local bands like Rumpke
Mountain Boys, Boogie Matrix, GLostik Willy, Demolition Crew, Soul Rebels, SOL,
and more. The guys had the Eagles hall decked out with a great sound system and
killer light show for the main stage with a huge tent adjacent to the hall for
vendors, complete with an acoustic stage.
The first band on the main stage was Troy’s Lost on Iddings.
Denson and Centers are both in the band and seemed to enjoy their time on
stage. These guys have been preparing things all week and this was a great
release for them before getting back making sure the rest of the day ran
smoothly. It was a great set that featured one of my favorite Neil Young tunes,
“Cortez the Killer” that rocked. Next to the stage was Shawn Spivey and SOL
from Piqua, OH. I first caught SOL at last year’s summer fest and I have been
hooked ever since. The band draws inspiration from a number of different genres
from Blues, Funk, Soul, Hip-Hop, and Jazz that gives SOL a unique sound that
will rock you to your core. Spivey (Lead Vocals, Percussion) guides the band
that consists of Greg Clem (Guitar), Adam Pierce (Piano, Keyboards, Kirk
Klinger (Bass), Denis Osborne (Drums) into a groove that makes you bang your
head and mover your feet. Songs like “Stop Look and Listen” and one of my
favorites “Call” are why SOL is making some serious noise in the Miami Valley.
Lost on Iddings and SOL
The good vibes and great music continued when Soul Rebels
from Yellow Springs, OH took to the Winter Fest stage. You could feel the
emotions of the crowd as good vibes and great tunes collided and folks seem to
be ready to boogie. Soul Rebels have been tearing up the local scene with their
brand of Funk and Reggae. The band just make you feel like smiling; this is
feel good music at its best. Jonny Dreadlocks (Guitar, Vocals), Jonhathon Stillwell
(Guitar, Vocals), Ari Harker (Bass), Carl Schumacher (Keys), KC Walden
(Percussion) and the rest of the band are great ambassadors for the Miami
Valley music scene. It’s cool to see the band having as much fun as the crowd
and it makes for an exhaustingly entertaining set of tunes. The guys were joined
on stage by Stan Middleton (Demolition Crew) on the trombone and the crowd went
nuts just as they did when he joined SOL for a tune. Stan was just getting
warmed up because Demolition Crew was next up and the guys just added to what
was already an amazing evening of music and friends. When Demolition Crew takes
any stage you can rest assured that you are going to witness some of the most
talented musicians in the world; and that’s not exaggerating. Along with being
great live musicians many in the band are also much wanted commodities in the
studio as well. Middleton, Danny Sauers Sax, Harmonica, Vocals), Tony Allen
(Bass), Steven Napper (Keys, Vocals), Cameron Carr (Guitar) and the guys rocked
the Winter Fest crowd with their trademark Reggae and Ska sound.
Next up was Glostik Willy from Muncie, IN. The three piece
band was joined on stage by former Werks Percussionist Aaron Armstrong and a
new dimension to their progressive sound. These guys are one of the most
impressive trios around and have garnered quite a following here in the Buckeye
State. In fact the band is playing so many Ohio dates that BMM declared Glostik
Willy honorary Buckeyes and welcome to jam anywhere in Ohio, any time. The band
consists of members Ralf Mowf (Drums), Jameson Bradford (Guitar, Vocals), and
Buddha Aguilar (Bass and Vocals) have come a long way in a relatively short
time. In an interview done later that night the guys said they would try and
get booked into festivals and if they weren’t accepted they simply went to the
fest anyway and built a makeshift stage wherever people would listen; now
that’s determination. These are some great guys and we had a blast hanging out.
Following Glostik Willy was another band that is making a name for themselves
in the area, Nine False Suns. Rich Reuter (Guitar, Vocals), Christopher Lee
(Guitar), Greg Lewis (Bass), Justin Moore (Drums), and Erich Reith (Percussion)
are a Rock & Roll band that’s not afraid to get funky. The band from Dayton
has influences from The Grateful Dead to the Ohio Players and Lakeside. The
guys have been known to funk things up, and they do it quite well. On this
night the guys played an amazing set that ripped the campgrounds; even the
building couldn’t hold the sound, these guys were on fire!
Following Nine False Suns was Boogie Matrix from Toledo, OH.
This was our first time to see the band since the announcement made by Boogie
front man Johnny Kuntz that he and his wife are expecting their first child.
Needless to say Johnny was on cloud nine and ready to expend some energy. The
rest of the guys follow suit and proceeded to give the Winter Fest crowd a set
that they will never forget. Kuntz (Guitar, Vocals), Ben Durham (Bass, Vocals),
Bob Maltby (Guitar), Jim Kahmann (Keys), and Seth Kafoure (Drums) were full of
surprises, one of which was when Ben Gourley and Jason Wolf, members of the
Rumpke Mountain Boys came up for a jam session that almost brought the house
down. At one point in the set Wolf adorned himself with a horse head mask; not every
day you see a horse jamming on a Banjo. It was freakin hilarious. Boogie was
also joined on stage by Aaron Armstrong and Glostik Willy Drummer Ralf Mowf on
percussion. The high energy set was just what the Winter Fest crowd needed
because the temps were dropping fast. But that didn’t stop folks from going into
the big tent outside for some great acoustic sets by Lyle Runner, Tony Herdman
and Tracy Lakes, Houndstooth Bindle and more.
The final band of the night was the Rumpke Mountain Boys
from Cincinnati, OH. Rumpke is a riding high; the guys were just added to the
All Good Music Festival line-up. A line-up that includes The Allman Brothers, Phil Lesh
& Friends, The Flaming Lips, Bob Weir & Bruce Hornsby, and more. All
Good is turning into one of the best festivals in the country so being a part
of it is huge. This was my first time to see the band with new Bass player JD
Westmoreland so I was stoked to finally see the new line-up. Westmoreland fit
in just fine with members Jason Wolf (Banjo, Vocals), Ben Gourley (Mandolin),
and Adam Copeland. Westmoreland’s voice kind of added a new dimension to what
the band calls their patented Trashgrass sound. Rumpke gave the crowd their
money’s worth playing till almost 4am, it was the perfect way to end the day.
Buckeye Music Magazine would like to thank the Miami Valley Music Festival association
for their hospitality and their dedication to the community. While everyone in attendance
had a great time and we partied till the wee hours of the morning, no one lost
site of the reason we were there; to support the MVMFA and their efforts to
make a difference in the Miami Valley. So thanks to everyone who came out, it’s
people like you who keep the MVMFA going. BMM is a proud supporter of this fine
organization and we can’t thank them enough for the work they do. And special
thanks to Nick Christian, Brad Denson, Brad Centers, and all the bands and volunteers
that made Winter Fest a night to remember.
The next event for the MVMFA is the River Run. The Miami
Valley Music Fest is teaming up with The Miami County Park District to educate
you all on the beautiful backyard that we all take for granted! The event will be held March 24th at the Eagles of Troy on Elm. We will break
off into groups and clean the river, local parks, and other various spots needing trash collection. Then after all your
hard work we will return to the Eagles for dinner and a night full of great
live music! So come out and join forces with Buckeye Music Magazine and the
Miami Valley Music Association and join us March 24 in Troy. And be sure to mark your calendars for August 9th-11th and join us for the 2012 Miami Valley Music Festival.
2012 Reviews and Interviews 
their time on
stage. These guys have been preparing things all week and this was a great
release for them before getting back making sure the rest of the day ran
smoothly. It was a great set that featured one of my favorite Neil Young tunes,
“Cortez the Killer” that rocked. Next to the stage was Shawn Spivey and SOL
from Piqua, OH. I first caught SOL at last year’s summer fest and I have been
hooked ever since. The band draws inspiration from a number of different genres
from Blues, Funk, Soul, Hip-Hop, and Jazz that gives SOL a unique sound that
will rock you to your core. Spivey (Lead Vocals, Percussion) guides the band
that consists of Greg Clem (Guitar), Adam Pierce (Piano, Keyboards, Kirk
Klinger (Bass), Denis Osborne (Drums) into a groove that makes you bang your
head and mover your feet. Songs like “Stop Look and Listen” and one of my
favorites “Call” are why SOL is making some serious noise in the Miami Valley. 
announcement made by Boogie
front man Johnny Kuntz that he and his wife are expecting their first child.
Needless to say Johnny was on cloud nine and ready to expend some energy. The
rest of the guys follow suit and proceeded to give the Winter Fest crowd a set
that they will never forget. Kuntz (Guitar, Vocals), Ben Durham (Bass, Vocals),
Bob Maltby (Guitar), Jim Kahmann (Keys), and Seth Kafoure (Drums) were full of
surprises, one of which was when Ben Gourley and Jason Wolf, members of the
Rumpke Mountain Boys came up for a jam session that almost brought the house
down. At one point in the set Wolf adorned himself with a horse head mask; not every
day you see a horse jamming on a Banjo. It was freakin hilarious. Boogie was
also joined on stage by Aaron Armstrong and Glostik Willy Drummer Ralf Mowf on
percussion. The high energy set was just what the Winter Fest crowd needed
because the temps were dropping fast. But that didn’t stop folks from going into
the big tent outside for some great acoustic sets by Lyle Runner, Tony Herdman
and Tracy Lakes, Houndstooth Bindle and more.
