Kill Me in Cleveland

Ohio is the promised land!

I wrote an Ohio Trilogy: Kill Me in Cleveland, Youngstown, and Red Toledo. Living in Michigan we usually travelled south through Ohio whenever we went on a roadtrip. I guess I associate Ohio with the beginning of an adventure. I lived in Toledo from 1995 to 2005 and rather enjoyed it--the city did not disappoint me.

When I was in high school people would make fun of me for my peculiar style. I would either growl or say "Kill Me in Cleveland". The song is based on those teenage years. The duck in the song was a small plastic duck and the fish named "Alfred" was a dead little fish I found on a Lake Erie beach that had dried in the sun. I kept them in a black case that I carried all my stuff in.

The first recording of this song was on my third tape "My Damn World" made in high school around 1985-86. A "club mix" dance version was on the tape "Watching My Dreams from a Lawnchair" while a studio version appeared on "Freinds, Poets, and 100 Dead Enemies".

This was another favorite to perform, and a crowd favorite. The audience would scream along: "Aaaaaaagh! Kill me in Cleveland!"

The recording found on "This Machine Eats Bacon" is from the T.V. Silvia sessions. Tom V. Silvia was a local musician who built a recording studio in a garage. He offered to produce some songs and captured the raw sound of Vladimir's Universe well. Tom also gave me many tidbits of sage advice about writing, singing and performing.

He dressed like a beatnik when he was a kid.
He carried a duck and a fish named Alfred.
He walked through the school with a big black box
and when they laughed he sang this song:
Aaaaagh! Kill me in Cleveland!
Ohio is the promised land.
He always wanted to be a dictator.
He wrote a bunch of songs and some propoganda.
He was ridiculed for thinking too much.
and when they laughed he sang this song:
Aaaaagh! Kill me in Cleveland!
Ohio is the promised land.