Died On This Date (May 7, 2009) Matt Mugridge / Cleveland Music Impresario
themusicsover Matt Mugridge
1966 – May 7, 2009
Cleveland’s Matt Mugridge was a constant in the city’s changing music scene. A passionate music fan and punk musician himself, Mugridge co-founded the legendary Grog Shop on Cleveland’s east side in 1992. Thanks to Mugridge, future stars like Flaming Lips, Oasis and the Offspring played early gigs at the Grog Shop. In later years, Mugridge opened a couple of other clubs and started his own film company where he shot live concert films for acts such as the Black Keys and Neko Case. Mugridge passed away in his home on May 7, 2009.
Grant McClennan was an Australian singer-songwriter who is best remembered for co-founding the critically acclaimed alternative rock back, the Go-Betweens. Formed with Robert Forster in 1977, the band released six albums until disbanding in 1989. During their time together, McClennan and Forster were celebrated as their time’s greatest songwriting team by no less than the Village Voice. As is often the case, despite such accolades and a rabid core fan base, the Go-Betweens never found the success they deserved. Following the band’s break-up, McClennan released a handful of albums as both a solo artist and under collaboration with others. In 2000, he reunited with the Go-Betweens for three more albums. On May 6, 2006, Grant McClennan died of a fatal heart attack in his home. He was 48.
Ean Evans was most recently the bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd, having joined the band in 2001, replacing 
Rocky Benton was a favorite in and around the Corpus Christi blues scene for many years thanks in part to his outstanding harmonica playing. Blind since childhood, Benton gravitated toward music early, first learning to play the harmonica at age six and later, keyboards and drums. By ten, he was singing and drumming in a jazz band while attending the Texas School For The Blind in Austin. By the early ’90s, Benton was living in Corpus Christi where he became a fixture in the city’s music scene, sharing the bill with the likes of