MUAMIN COLLECTIVE
Josiah “Zion” Quarles (vocals), Aaron “aLive” Snorton (beats), James “Jungle” Quarles (vocals)
Muamin Collective‘s Zion and aLIVE have been collaborators for the better part of two decades. Before they formed the group, they met at a teen camp during nightly freestyles, tapping out beats with pencils against bunk beds. For the band’s album The Hues Brothers, Quarles enlisted his own brother, Jungle, as co-writer. Jungle stayed on. An infectious hip-hop group that has been a mainstay on Cleveland stages for years, Muamin Collective‘s releases have been praised equally for their grit and sublimity. Their members are frequent collaborators with local punk and indie groups, and they can be seen playing as many shows at Now That’s Class as the Grog Shop. Their most recent release was Tailor Made in 2020.
MARCUS ALAN WARD
Being the lifeblood of his own independent solo project, MAW describes his music as electro-soul with an amalgam of reality and fantasy. Nowhere is this most evident than in his dynamic stage shows, equal parts musical performance and performance art, with colorful surprises and the consistent sounds of psychedelic, indie, disco, folk, R and B, and a number of other genres getting equal time. MAW’s guitar playing is renowned as if there weren’t already ten reasons to like him. His most recent release was an Earthquaker Live Session from 2021.
OREGON SPACE TRAIL OF DOOM
Nolan Cavano (guitar, vocals), Ryan Fletterick (guitar, vocals), Nick Yanosko (bass, vocals), Tony Kazel (drums)
What can be said of Oregon Space Trail of Doom other than holy shit? These cosmic cowboys have spent the past few years cultivating a sound that comes at listeners from all angles, coupling psychedelia, classic rock, shoegaze, even heavy metal into a rough-headed beast that both entertains and awes. Sometimes even performing as the mysterious Oregon Space Trail of Jazz – yes, playing classic jazz – the guys have shown they have both the music chops and creativity to keep their audiences guessing. Although we sponsored them in 2020, we felt that Covid shortened their window for using our funds, so we brought OSToD back on board for another year.
BIITCHSEAT
Talor Smith (guitar, vocals), Kris Schmit (guitar), Connor Hunt (bass), Evan Searls (drums)
Unabashedly poppy and shimmery, Biitchseat – yes, with two Is, thank you very much – is a friendly reminder that it’s ok to go to a show in Cleveland, dance a bit, and leave happier than you arrived. The unabashed joy in their music is only matched by their performances, which are always energetic and, at times, captivating and vulnerable. Recently showing up on more and more national bills and hosting shows themselves that pack in friends, fans, and new listeners. Biitchseat was sponsored by us in 2020, but we’ll call that a Covid-shortened year. We are excited to have them on board again.
ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE IN 2022
CLEVELAND LOTTERY LEAGUE
We continue to serve as the non-profit financial arm of the notorious and influential Cleveland Lottery League. Covid has sidelined the event in 2022, but look for a return of this fantastic monstrosity very soon. If you’d like to make a donation earmarked to the league, donate to the foundation with "For Lottery League" in the note.
NO CLASS
The recently sold Now That’s Class gives way in 2022 to No Class. With Emma Jochum at the helm, No Class picks up where NTC ended and runs with it. The same mix of punk, metal, weirdo, rock, and hip-hop will flood the speakers there, and we at Panza Foundation decided to help upgrade those speakers. We were proud to provide a grant to the club for its new subs.
JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION IN COVENTRY VILLAGE
The foundation is one of a couple of sponsors of the mainstage acts at this year’s Juneteenth celebration in Cleveland Heights’ Coventry Village. With performances by former foundation bands The Katy and Mourning [a] BLKStr’s Feeq and Toya and many others.
THE LITTLE ROSE TAVERN
The foundation is excited to see The Little Rose Tavern in Cleveland hosting local shows and beginning the hard work of increasing its sound capabilities for bands and DJs alike. We have made a donation to the tavern that will help them purchase a sub and other gear.
INGENUITY 2022
We will be working with our friends at Ingenuity to sponsor a stage at this year’s return of Ingenuity. Ingenuity has been supportive of local music and artists for nearly two decades, and we are excited to collaborate with them in their post-Covid return.
