Cleveland, Ohio’s This Moment in Black History may carry a name that suggests an all–African-American lineup, yet the incendiary quartet actually draws from a broader mix of backgrounds. The group channels rapid, high-volume, rage-fueled punk laced with blues inflection and an undercurrent of humor that persists even amid pointed political fury. Its members arrive with substantial prior experience: guitarist Buddy Akita previously worked with the Spasms and the Bassholes; keyboardist Christopher “CK1” Kulscar continues to perform alongside the Chargers Street Gang; original bassist Mike D’Amico played in the Teenage Heartthrobs and the Lesbian Makers alongside Akita; current bassist Lawrence Daniel Caswell maintains an ongoing association with Lives of the Saints; and drummer Lamont “Bim” Thomas has logged time in both the Bassholes and the Cheater Slicks.
The band coalesced in 2001 after Akita and D’Amico settled into a shared Cleveland residence following the dissolution of their earlier project, Neon King Kong. At the same moment the Chargers Street Gang were winding down their activities, freeing Kulscar, while Thomas had recently relocated from Columbus, Ohio. The four musicians pooled their histories, began playing local shows, and issued their first EP, The Cleveland Finger, in 2003. A two-song 7-inch appeared shortly afterward. In 2004 the group released a split 12-inch with the Fatal Flying Guilloteens together with their debut full-length, Midwesterncuttalistick. D’Amico departed the following year and Caswell—who also helps operate the Cleveland Cinematheque film society—stepped in; that autumn the quartet entered Chicago’s Electrical Audio studio with engineer Steve Albini to track their second album, It Takes a Nation of Assholes, issued by Cold Sweat Records in fall 2006. The band then undertook extensive touring, highlighted by a warmly received set at the 2007 South by Southwest Music Conference.
