Arnold's to release album for Record Store Day

Just because you own the city's oldest tavern doesn't mean you can't do something completely new. And just because you aren't in a band doesn't mean you can't put out a record.

Chris Breeden is proof. He manages Arnold's Bar and Grill with his wife, Bethany, and his mother, Ronda. Now, Breeden has teamed up with Keith Neltner of Neltner Small Batch to release "Arnold's Bootleggers and Hustlers," a limited-edition record featuring 10 bands that have taken the stage at the Downtown bar and restaurant.

An official release is set for Record Store Day on April 18, which will include 300 signed and numbered pieces pressed on transparent red vinyl. They've labeled the record "volume one" with an eye toward releasing a new one every year. Held the third Saturday in April, Record Store Day celebrates independently owned record stores.

Breeden and Neltner have worked together before, including on branding Arnold's. Neltner partnered with with Artworks to create the large Brewery District mural at 131 E. McMicken Ave. in Over-the-Rhine. He has also created apparel, album artwork and other branding for musicians that include Hank Williams III and Shooter Jennings.

The two have similar taste in music – the bands Breeden books at Arnold's are similar to those that Neltner books for the fall festivals at Neltner's Farm in Camp Springs, Kentucky. (Neltner's brother, Kevin Neltner, operates the farm.) Both liked the idea of putting out an album – so they decided not having a band wouldn't stop them. And adding "Neltner Small Batch Records" seemed like a natural extension for Neltner's music background, he said.

All 10 songs on the record are old-time music or Americana – genres that represent about 75 percent of the music played Arnold's stage.

"There is a huge wealth of talent in Cincinnati for (those genres), and they play at Arnold's," Breeden said. Arnold's offers music in the courtyard Tuesdays through Saturdays.

Many of the featured bands have a long history with the bar. The Cincinnati Dancing Pigs, whose track "Chili Blues" is featured, have played there for more than 30 years and currently take the stage once a month. (Scroll to the bottom for the full track list.) Arnold's, which dates to 1861, has been offering live music at least since the 1970s, when Jim Tarbell owned it, Breeden said. His mother, Androski, bought Arnold's in 1999.

It might seem unusual for a bar and grill to put out a record. But Breeden, who collects vinyl and gig posters, has an explanation.

"Arnold's isn't jut a restaurant or a bar; it's an institution," he said. "Everyone in the city who knows about Arnold's feels like they own a little piece of it. That allows us to stretch a little more from what other restaurants or bars can do."

That has often included hosting events with a more artistic bent. For this year's Cincinnati Beer Week, for example, Arnold's tapped six local artists to create original art in conjunction with the breweries that held events there. During Bockfest in March and Arnold's own Local Local Local event in January, the bar brings in artists and crafters.

The new record release fits well with that.

"We tried to make it more than just an album," Breeden said. "We wanted to make it a work of art on its own."

Tattoo artist Nate Hudak created a bird tattoo for the cover that Neltner interpreted for letterpress printing, which will be done at Otto Printing in Newport. The bird, a swallow, is sort of a "rough around the edges" symbol in the tattoo world, Neltner said – which fits with the "Bootleggers and Hustlers" name. (That name, of course, is a nod to Arnold's history. After all, the iconic bathtub on the second floor was allegedly used to make gin during Prohibition.)

Breeden and Neltner don't expect the record to be a moneymaker. They'll sell them wholesale for $15 – almost what it costs to make them, Breeden said – to local record stores. On April 18, they'll be sold for $20 only at those select stores: Shake It Records and Black Plastic Records in Northside, Everybody's Records in Pleasant Ridge, Mole's Record Exchange in Clifton Heights, Plaid Room Records in Loveland and Sugarcube Records in Covington. If the albums don't sell out, they'll be for sale at Arnold's after that date.

But they're OK with not getting rich off the project. After all, a CD would be cheaper and easier to produce, but Breeden sees vinyl as "a million times cooler."

"It's more of a passion project, you'd say," he said. "We (at Arnold's) just have been enjoying things that are more artistic than capitalistic."

"Arnold's Bootleggers and Hustlers" includes 10 tracks by artists that have played at Arnold's. The full list is:

"Sweet River," The Goodle Boys

"The Very Best," Buffalo Wabs and the Price Hill Hustle

"Mountain Main," River City Roustabout

"Wildly Dear," The Tillers

"Prayer," The Kentucky Struts

"Meet Fred Freddie," The Sundresses

"The Bockfest Song," Jake Speed and the Freddies

"Pirates in a Bathtub," Clusterpluck

"Chili Blues," The Cincinnati Dancing Pigs

"Whiskey on My Breath," The Part-Time Gentlemen