C-Level is a high-energy three-piece band with a unique blend of funk, punk, reggae, bluegrass and rock. Their exhilarating sound is driven by the philosophy “Honest Self-Expression is the Path to Good Music” (George F. Hartwig), and that only through music can we surround hate and force it to surrender to the reality of love.
C-level began when Dave (Ziggy) Deitke (guitar, throat) met Coda Crose (bass) at an open mic night in North Olmsted. Upon playing together the two found a sweet sound that could only be produced by their musical union and shared passion for the melding of many diverse musical styles. The two then began to play in various projects around North Ridgeville and Olmsted. One of them being Aberration which featured Dave and Coda both on bass and guitar, periodically during their sets they would switch instruments.
Since 2011 C-Level has been actively playing and recording. C-Level has played everything from house shows, music festivals such as Nelson Ledge’s Winter thaw bash( headlined) Mid-summer samba, Tribal connection, to multiple Cumulus Entertainment raves. Dave Deitke of C-Level leads his mic nights at bars and cafes in cities such as Lakewood, Cleveland, Parma, North Olmsted, Berea, and Olmsted Falls to which he invites C-Level to play at often. C-Level consistently continues to play in all of these types of venues.
Throughout their journey C-Level has gone through a few line change ups as well as gaining a few new members, continually changing and adding a new dynamic. C-Level is Dave Ziggy Deitke guitar and throat, Coda Crose Bass, and Pat Boland Drums.
2020 brought up many challenges for everyone, but despite those difficulties, C-Level found a way to stay busy and help keep their culture and community alive. C-level accomplished this by organizing benefit shows throughout 2020 to support various local venues, galleries, and individuals to ensure the survival of the creative culture that Cleveland has to offer.
The first significant benefit of 2020 that C-Level organized was a week of streamed shows to keep Negative Space (a non-profit art) gallery open. 4-6 artists streamed an hour show from their homes every night of the week. At the end of the week, C-level streamed from Negative Space with Gadi Zamir ( NS founder) as he painted with them during their set. The fundraiser raised over $5000, which was enough to keep the gallery open for the rest of the year.
C-level’s next fundraiser was to support the local venues The Grog Shop and The Beachland Ballroom. To celebrate their 10th anniversary, C-Level hosted a two-night socially distant concert series at The Grog Shop and The Beachland Ballroom. Both nights sold out. C-level donated 100% of the money made from these shows to the venues raising over $4000. Each show featured an array of special guests that significantly impacted the band throughout their musical development.
The last fundraiser C-Level organized during 2020 was the Dog For Diego benefit. Dave Ziggy Deitke is muisc educator at a charter school for kids with autism. One of Dave’s students, Diego, is 11 years old boy battling autism, depression, ADHD, and severe anxiety. Diego and his family were trying to fundraise for a service dog, but were seeing little results. C-level organized a week for streamed shows to promote his Wags-4-Kids campaign. Each night featured four bands live from two venues, the Beachland Ballroom and The Winchester. The shows had socially distant crowds and were streamed on the internet and, together with an art raffle from Negative Space, raised over $9000, getting Diego his service dog and helping other kids with their Wags-4-Kids campaigns.
C-Level is currently in the works on their 4th album, with an estimated release date of 2021.
