if two guys name their art gallery after an expression from some Bone Thugs-N-Harmony tracks, it's a safe bet they're not worried about their place in high culture. Recent college graduates and co-owners Joe Lanzilotta and Derek Maxfield opened BuckBuck Studio in April with a concert, art show and chili cookoff, a collaboration with Ohio City neighbor Palookaville Chili. "We really want an accessible creative space," says Lanzilotta. "We didn't want to close anybody out. We decided to just keep it loose and let there be room for change." Next, they staged Pffft!, an exhibition of cartoonlike art that included Sage Perrott's potty-humor-themed drawings and other art unafraid to depict embarrassing sides of human nature. They followed up in August with the more pleasant and sophisticated Haiku, which contrasted Janet Bruhn's small, bright, slightly impressionistic paintings of ordinary household and neighborhood objects with Andy Curlowe's large partial landscapes that reveal the geometry of geography. BuckBuck's storefront adds art to a not-yet-gentrified block of Lorain Avenue, while studio space in the rear adds working creativity. 3910 Lorain Ave., Cleveland, 216-407-9558, buckbuckcle.blogspot.com
World's Largest Drumsticks
These would make one loud drum roll. Unveiled in July to honor Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, a native son of Warren, the larger-than-life sticks match the rocker's stature in scale — each is 23 feet long and weighs 900 pounds. Joe O'Grady, the Warren policeman and past Main Street Warren president who successfully lobbied to rename a downtown alley after Grohl in 2009, came up with the idea for the massive tribute last year during a motorcycle tour of the western United States with his girlfriend. "If something is the biggest, we are going to go there and get a picture," he says. The $5,000 attraction, financed through sales of souvenir T-shirts and shot glasses, was carved from poplar by local artist Joel Eggert. The drumsticks currently reside at the Warren Community Amphitheatre; there are plans to move them to a spot in Dave Grohl Alley later this fall. At press time, O'Grady had not contacted Guinness World Records about certifying them as the world's largest. He's more interested in getting Grohl to sign them. "We're going to need the world's largest Sharpie," he jokes. exploretrumbullcounty.com
Bowling Alley Makeover
With its manual scoring and 1960s-era pinsetters, the bowling at Mahall's Twenty Lanes remains pleasantly retro. But Mahall's bar menu is as unexpected as picking up a 7-10 split. When new owners took over the alley in December, they added upscale, locally sourced bar food, including fried chicken, vegan tacos and hand-rolled soft pretzels. Once a month, guest chefs — including Eric Williams of Momocho and Steve Schimoler of Crop — take over the alley's kitchen duties, making appetizers such as Mexican street-style tacos and black bean burgers. "Some of the people who come to Mahall's don't even go bowling," says co-owner Kelly Flamos. "They just come for the cocktails and food." The new owners have even stripped the billiards lounge of its tables and turned the room into an airy, live music venue, hosting four to seven shows a week. Some of the bands, such as Sonny & the Sunsets, a surf pop group from San Francisco, take to the lanes before the show, making it possible to be both rocking and bowling all night long. 13200 Madison Ave., 216-521-3280, mahalls20lanes.com
Picker's Paradise
The Bomb Shelter is where the gloriously huge, the dazzlingly garish and the just plain large leftovers of a former era come to retire in style. "We deal in a lot more bulky items," says co-owner Kevin Royer. "Cars, auto fenders, large signs, freezer doors from the '50s that are brand new and never used." In case you're wondering if there's a market for old/new freezer doors, "you would be surprised," says Royer. Meanwhile, a Krispy Kreme sign — salvaged from a nearby scrap yard — at least 15 feet long rests against one wall, while over in the "automotive" department a white '71 VW bus is set up in a camping vignette. With so many random, aging pieces strewn through the space, it's a sort of post-apocalyptic wonderland where browsing is most of the fun, and for Royer, buying is a bonus. "We're trying to offer an experience," he says. "A lot of people come here to just kind of relive their past." 923 Bank St., Akron, 330-258-0088, thebombshelterstore.com