CRAIG BELL: From pre-punk anthems to streetwise social commentary to timeless pop, Craig’s career as a musician/singer/songwriter now spans five decades and a long list of bands.  From Cleveland, Ohio, to New Haven, Connecticut, and presently Indianapolis, Indiana, Craig continues to perform and record.

Craig’s catalog of recordings is impressive: albums by Mirrors and Rocket From the Tombs; two singles with Saucers, (1979-1980); songs by Saucers and the Plan on the compilation LP It Happened But Nobody Noticed (1982, reissued on CD 2008); a single by The Plan (1983); the Bell System’s “America Now” (on the radio-station-only SCREAM promo LP in 1985); What We Did, a 2002 CD of Saucers studio recordings released by Grand Theft Audio of Los Angeles; a CD EP Second Saucer (2009), a reunion of members of Saucers; as well as a CD (America Now), CD EP (Beehunter), and two singles by the Down-fi (2008-2014).

There was still more unreleased material in the archives, some of which saw the light of day on aka Darwin Layne, released by ever/never Records in 2016.  And in 2018, Rerun  Records released a vinyl collection of Saucers recordings, Third Saucer From The Sun.

In 2020 Craig released his first solo album, The Room In My Head.

Craig Bell & The Dead Man’s Handle is currently taking some of these songs on the road along with their new album released in 2024, From A Distance

Don’t miss this rare chance to see and hear a living legend.

Akron’s Bizarros had substantial impact on the early indie scene, through their hard-edged records and singer Nick Nicholis’s Clone label, which released records by The Waitresses, Human Switchboard and others. In a classic case of bridesmaidery, the Bizarros – who reformed in the 21st century – were more influential than popular. Playing serious, intense, sometimes hypnotic rock with poetically inclined verbiage and pre-Gang of Four jabbing guitars, Bizarros music was strong and affecting. Their half of From Akron (a 1977 album they shared with Rubber City Rebels) is pretty raw and hard to enjoy.
But by the time of their 1979 self-titled album (released by a major label, self-produced with an engineer, wrapped in strictly amateur artwork) the band had developed considerable polish, which they used to good advantage without compromising their strength. Five subsequent releases followed, the last in 1981, and The Bizarros took a 23-year hiatus, reemerging in 2003 with You Can’t Fight Your Way Up Town From Here.