The CLE Connection

For the majority of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert 's nearly 11-year run , Jon Lampley was a big part of the musical accompaniment. First hired by Jon Batiste as a member of Stay Human, Lampley continued with Louis Cato and the Great Big Joy Machine as the group's trumpet and tuba player. The Late Show ended in May, and later in the summer, Lampley debuted his latest solo album, Notes to Self,...

You might recognize Don Dixon from his work with the Smithereens, or his team-up with Mitch Easter on R.E.M.'s early records. Maybe you've caught him on tour with Mary Chapin Carpenter, experienced his band Arrogance in the '70s, or witnessed his performances in the Cleveland holiday supergroup Ohio City Singers. Both Dixon and Marti Jones, his wife and musical collaborator, are music legends base...

The Boar Vessel, a piece of ancient pottery at the Cleveland Museum of Art, had its 15 minutes of internet fame back in 2018. The silly internet memes drew massive amounts of attention to the small artwork — and also drew new scrutiny. Following its viral moment online, questions emerged around whether or not the boar vessel was truly an ancient work, and whether it may be a modern forgery. It led...

In one episode of the NBC show 30 Rock , Cleveland is a star. The plot follows the show’s main character Liz Lemon (played by Tina Fey) as she briefly considers moving out of New York City to an idealized version of Cleveland with her boyfriend Floyd (Jason Sudeikis). Jack Burditt, a Northeast Ohio native, co-wrote the episode with Robert Carlock. Burditt has also been involved in shows like Last...

Norelle, an accomplished singer from Cleveland, has performed at the Super Bowl, on shows like American Idol and Saturday Night Live , and sung with some of the biggest musicians of our time, including Pharrell, Kelly Clarkson, Mariah Carey, Rihanna and more. In this episode of The CLE Connection, we caught up with the singer to hear more about what her life is like in the spotlight, including her...

Howard the Duck: a true Clevelander. In this episode of The CLE Connection, hear from Val Mayerik, the first illustrator to depict the feathered Marvel character created by comic book writer Steve Gerber. Howard first appeared in a series featuring The Man-Thing in the 1970s. Later, the cigar-smoking, beer-drinking character got his own comic book, which was then developed into a George Lucas-prod...

What's it like to become a meme or experience a viral online moment? In this episode of The CLE Connection, hear from two Northeast Ohioans who inadvertently became internet sensations — in their own ways. Akronite Kyle Craven is the face of the "Bad Luck Brian" meme, which was actually a high school yearbook photo prank at Archbishop Hoban High School. Meanwhile, Clevelander Nisha Godfrey went vi...

Before Strawberry Shortcake became a doll or a beloved children's cartoon, she was a greeting card developed at American Greetings in the 1970s. In this episode of The CLE Connection, hear from illustrator Muriel Fahrion, who played a major role in developing Strawberry Shortcake, Blueberry Muffin, Huckleberry Pie and other figures in the Northeast Ohio company's "Those Characters From Cleveland"...

This summer, the iconic Cleveland hip-hop group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony gets its latest accolade: a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In this episode of The CLE Connection, hear from band member Krayzie Bone, aka Anthony Henderson, about Bone Thugs’ recent achievements, the band’s upcoming tour with Wu-Tang Clan and stories about what went into the making of the band’s breakout album E. 1999 Eterna...

There always seems to be a Cleveland connection. For instance: Did you know that Marvel's Howard The Duck is a Clevelander? Or that a Tallmadge-born trumpet player performed for more than a decade on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert ? Or that the Strawberry Shortcake cartoon franchise started out as a greeting card illustration at American Greetings in Westlake? Cleveland Magazine's podcast docu...