YOUNGSTOWN Cedars Lounge helps support local bands

After a two-year hiatus, TiLT 360 is back on track.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- The music scene is alive and well in Youngstown.
Over the next week, Cedars Lounge has booked three shows (TiLT 360, Friday; The Champions of All Time, Saturday; and December Son, Jan. 28) with the hopes the area can experience the best of what's around.
"Cedars has always supported local musicians," said Club Manager Mara Simon. "I like to give Youngstown variety, something different to see. Each of these bands haven't played in a while, so I'm hoping the draw will be a little bit better this time around."
Simon admits an ebb and flow of new regional bands exists. That is, sometimes it feels as though the same acts are playing every month. However, she hopes the mixture of international, Stateside and regional bands keeps the Cedars Lounge lineup fresh. This is the case with TiLT 360, a post-grunge metal act out of Youngstown and New Castle that recently reunited at Nyabinghi after a two-year hiatus.
Back together
"We had our first [reunion] show last month and have released our seven-song album 'From the Inside Out,' which is available at our shows," said TiLT 360 vocalist Bill Smaltz. In fact, it's the album, which Smaltz said sat on the shelf for two years, that brought the band back together. The 29-year-old singer and 1994 Austintown Fitch High School graduate felt compelled to mix the material at his home using ProTools. Soon he put it on the Internet and, well, the rest could be history.
Said Smaltz, "It started getting good feedback in a lot of cities around the U.S., so we decided to talk to the band again and get it back together because it's worth it."
The quartet -- Smaltz, Drew Salzano (bass), Jay Miller (guitar) and Heather Jurina (drums) -- hopes to tour this year "as far as our van will take us," said the singer. There's also talk of starting an indie label.
"We're just trying to build it up and have fun," Smaltz said. "If something happens, great. Eventually, we'd like to get signed and be musicians full-time instead of struggling around."
Since its reunion, TiLT 360 has been working hard at songwriting, crafting another batch of album material it plans on finishing this summer. For now, the band is hoping its upcoming Cedars Lounge date capitalizes on last month's gig.
"That was a good reaction," Smaltz said, "so this should be a really good show."
Simon concurred, "I would really hope to see people just support the local musicians so that they can continue to do what they love to do. It's very important that we embrace local musicians, and it's a good environment for our customers to enjoy themselves, relax for the evening, get away from all of their daily worries and troubles and just come out, hear good music and have a good time."