Rustbelt Rock Review

By: Z.M. Delgado

Rustbeltrockreview.com

Volume #219: HAMS, The Robert Conn Band, Kill The Hippies & Dr. Haj

December 12th, 2025

No Class 11213 Detroit Ave, Cleveland, OH 44102

What’s happening, Cleveland? And to all of you in the world beyond, greetings as well. I’m glad to be back here with you, as I return from yet another magnificent Rock N’ Roll journey. This was a good one, so buckle up, and awaaaay we go! It all began with me punching out of work and frantically navigating traffic in a race against time. I had to get home, eat dinner and change my clothes in a hurry. Then it was a quick kiss goodbye to the wife and kids and I was right back out the door and on my way to the club. Traversing greater Cleveland I traveled from the east side to the west. I arrived at my destination and was amazed at the beautiful parking spot I grabbed. Then it was a quick stroll across the street to No Class. I went inside and made way to the HAMS merch table where I ran into Marco. One by one the rest of the boys wandered in. We all exchanged cheerful hellos and I snagged a HAMS button for my battlevest. Then I got hit with some questions as to the evening’s agenda. You see Friday was the night we were shooting HEAVY ON CLEVELAND episode three, and HAMS was the targeted band. So I gave the boys the run down on what was the plan, and we waited for the rest of the team: Jimmy “The Dook” Fedor of ROXXXSTARRADIO and Jessica Mowrer of Stargazer Studios. Soon enough they turned up and we set about collecting preliminary footage. We wandered the club, filming this and that. Then, once all the concerned parties were ready, we adjourned to the basement to begin our interview. And begin it we did, but it wasn’t more than one question into the conversation that Kill The Hippies started sound checking, thus making recording impossible. With a pledge from the band to reconvene later, we went upstairs and waited for the show to begin.

Up first, coming out of Detroit, was Dr. Haj. This is a solo acoustic performer: Just a dude and his Guitar. Wearing sunglasses and a Buc-ee’s T shirt he addressed the crowd like a lone gun fighter. I suppose you could call what he did Folk Rock, if you were so inclined. I wasn’t familiar with his music, but based on the amount of people who were singing along, I assume a considerable portion of the set was comprised of covers. He opened up with a rendition of “In The Pines” which I thought was pretty damn good. His delivery was smooth and soulful and often quite passionate. The crowd responded positively all the way through, joining in on vocals and applauding heavily after each song. On his fifth number, he alleged that the lyrics of the song would be entirely ad-libbed, which was cool.

What was even cooler was on his final track, he put down the Guitar and asked the crowd to provide a hand clapped rhythm. The fans obliged and soon the room was alive with clapping hands and stomping feet. As the pulse Rocked the room, he began to sing out a powerful verse. It was an excellent moment of music. The song peaked then faded out and died. The silence was met and then broken by energetic applause and cheers. Dr. Haj’s time was at a close, but he had certainly made an impression and had warmed up the crowd nicely. There was no time to bask in the warmth though. As arranged, we swept the HAMS boys back into the basement to resume our interview.

The interview was going very well indeed. The Dook and I sat at a table with the band, as Jessica and our friend, Laura of the Blunts, circled us with our two cameras. Unfortunately we were only about halfway through the interview when we were once again interrupted by Kill The Hippies, this time as they geared up for their set. Frustrated, but not defeated, we repeated our vow to resume after the set and we headed back up the stairs. There the band was already rocking. Kill The Hippies is a three piece old school Punk Band. They are made up of Guitar/Vocals, Bass/Vocals and Drums. One of their Vocalists is a guy (Guitar) and the other is a gal (Bass), just so you know we are dealing with two different Vocal ranges. The Guitarist was on the mic as we entered the room, but that quickly changed as the Bassist took over for the next track. Their music was energetic and upbeat, earning them big applause from the crowd. I was really impressed with their Drummer early on in the set, and continued to be throughout. My notes are riddled with praise for just how tight and quick the percussion was. It was really top notch stuff.

The Guitarist sang the lyrics to “State Funeral,” which they said was something they were really hoping to see soon. The song had an excellent Bass line and elicited another big cheer from the fans. They had some mic troubles during their fifth song, but the Sound engineer acted quickly to rectify the situation. Their Guitarist had some wild riffs and great stage presence. He was seen headbanging, Rocking out and jumping around throughout the set, keeping things on the stage lively. They played a total of eleven songs, I think, though it can be hard to tell sometimes. The fans loved them and layered on some hearty cheers at the end of the set. Kill The Hippies was great and they kept the vibe rolling as the night continued on. With Kill The Hippies now concluded it was back to the basement to finish out interview. The Dook took it upon himself to buy a round of Hamm’s Lager for the boys and I, and together we sat down, had a cold one, and concluded our talk. Once the interview was complete we returned to the club and headed straight to the patio for a doobie interlude.

Eric Stevenson: The Official Tattoo Artist of the Rustbelt Rock Review

We heard the rumblings from within, finished the joint and returned to the club. There we found The Robert Conn Band already underway, kicking out a cover of “Please Don’t Touch.” I think this may have been their second song, but who knows. Whatever the number, The Robert Conn Band was busting out some hard driving Rock N’ Roll and I was digging it. The R.C.B. is a Punk adjacent Rock quintet, made up of Vocals, Two Guitars/backing Vocals, Bass and Drums. By this point in the evening the crowd had reached a very nice level, and the energy was high. My notes reflect that I was impressed with the Drum work early on. I also dug their track “Eyes of Satan” which had a bitchin’ Bass line. It was super fast and I wrote down that it was a “wild ride of a song.”

The next track I described as “some rippin’ badassery” which ended with them screaming “music is the revolution!” It kicked ass. The crowd was into it for sure, Headbanging as they danced. They Rocked us with a “song for all the pretty ladies,” another where they proclaimed “I want to be a rich man!” and then one called “Gimme Some More” On their final song, their Guitarist took over on Vocals. His voice was a sweet snarl, that I really dug it. It brought the set to a close in a kick ass way and the crowd cheered enthusiastically. With The Robert Conn Band now through we once again took a patio break before the main event started up.

We were back inside and ready to roll as HAMS plugged in. The Dook and I decided that we needed two cameras running for the HAMS set, and I was Volun-told that I would be collecting footage. As such my HAMS notes are a little sparse and disjointed. I however was having a great time fiddling with the camera and collecting action shots of the crowd, so it was a fair trade off. Anyways, for those of you who are not familiar with the subject of tonight’s episode, please allow me to break it down. HAMS are a four man Rock N’ Roll band, that has a strong Punk angle with a dash of Speed Metal thrown in in to sweeten the sauce. Bass master Marco kicked things off with their hammer smash opener “Oh Yeah!” As the Bass strings twanged, the room erupted instantly. People danced and sang along from the get go, feeding off of and into the energy of the song. Next, with a dedication to yours truly, they broke into my favorite HAMS song, “Comeback.” It was around this time that I noticed Vern from Vandalizard had arrived, fresh from his gig at The 5. He was seen down on the floor, chugging beers, singing along and loosing his shit with the rest of us. Next came “Riot,” which is exactly how it felt at the foot of the No Class stage. The fans were wild with excitement and the vibe was only getting better.

Then came a cover of the Teenage Knock Outs song “Southside.” Frontman Tommy had the whole room clapping their hands in time with the rhythm. Meanwhile the Guitarist, Dill, left the stage and began to collide with the fans, effectively moshing while playing his ax. After that was “Time and Time Again,” followed by “Debbie” and “Suicide Pact.” At this point Tommy abruptly left the stage to take a leak. During the interlude the band began to jam out, and quickly Dr. Haj jumped on the mic and began wailing. In time the jam unwound, Tommy returned and the set continued. They dropped into “Bad Things” which is a slower groove than the rest of the set, but still a damn good song. “Kill it” had the crowd moving and screaming “If you ain’t gonna fucking dance!” while Lucas drove home the rhythm from behind the kit. On “Suits” the band lost it on stage with vigor, which led to the crowd following along. “Trouble” had the room explode with Moshing, wild energy and fun vibrations. That fun overflowed as the band whipped out their anthem, “Broke Forever.” The room detonated. It was bedlam on the floor. Tommy was down in the pit, getting mobbed by fans, all of them screaming together, “I wanna be broke!” It was madness, it was fever, it was Rock N’ Roll. The set could’ve ended there and we all would have been happy, but HAMS weren’t through yet, no sir. They had one more nasty shot for us, and we were ready to take it. They finally and riotously closed out with a cover of CCR’s “Bad Moon Rising” and it brought down the house. The room went nutso one last time and then the set was done. The fans screamed and cheered and hooted and hollered and did all that shit… and it was well deserved. I’ve seen HAMS a lot of times and that was by far one of the best. They were on fire as they tore through their set and they sounded phenomenal. Maybe the sound tech just had shit dialed in, or maybe the boys played just a little bit better, I sure don’t know. Whatever it was it was a night to remember and a set never to forget.

The lights came up. The amps ceased to hum. The crowd fanned out and dispersed, leaving only the die-hards, HAMS and the dedicated team of Heavy on Cleveland. We conducted out post show interview, thanked the band, and said good night. Out into the cold we went, for some final shots and then it was adios muchachos. I said farewell to The Dook and Jessica and we went our separate ways. Then I headed east toward the dawn. It had been a great night. The shooting and the interviews felt like they went well. The show had been awesome and as always the Cleveland Metal Scene provided ample friends and good vibes. I want to thank Emma and No Class for being such great hosts and for allowing us to film. Also HAMS, thanks for being such good sports about the whole thing! And as always I want to thank you for reading, for Rocking and for supporting underground art and artists.

Until next time, Rock on, Rustbelt,

-Z.M. Delgado

Rustbelt Rock Review

Rustbeltrockreview.com

12/7/2025

Links:

HAMS

https://www.facebook.com/hamsusa2022/

The Robert Conn Band

https://www.facebook.com/p/Robert-CONN-BAND-61577335887006/

Kill The Hippies

https://www.facebook.com/p/Kill-The-Hippies-100041290425573/