CEILING BRINGS DOWN THE HOUSE
By melissa A. Burden
For five local men, it is the love of music that keeps them playing, not the money. Although they have garnered a sizable following in recent years, none of them has quit his “day job” yet.
“I love music and that is the bottom line,” said Kevin Koester, 30, rhythm guitarist of the local band ”Ceiling”. I love playing so much, I would do it for free.
A 1987 Clay graduate, Koester makes his living as a union painting contractor by day, but his real love is taking to the stage in smaller clubs on the weekends. “For me, I could do this indefinitely,” Koester said. “It really is better than sex.”
According to Koester, the original name of the group, formed in 1992, was just that, “Sex,” but fate stepped in and the new name, “ceiling” sort of just fell from the sky.
“We were practicing one night and the acoustical ceiling fell on top of us,” he explained. “We just kind of went with the name.”
Ceiling is compromised of Koester, fellow Clay grads Robert Flanagan, drummer, and Mark Schmidlin, lead guitarist; Greg Kucera, lead singer and 1987 Cardinal Stritch grad; and 1986 Waite grad Sean Grindle, the group’s bass guitarist.
For Kucera, 29, it is an “inner passion” that makes him keep singing. “It really is a whole lot of fun. We may not be making a whole lot of money at it, but it was never about making a whole lot of money. It was about fun.”
Kucera said the group plays a mix of music from the 1970s through current hits. The band’s repertoire includes ZZ Top, Steppenwolf and KC and the Sunshine Band. On any given night, crowds can be found dancing to cover songs from Creed, Metallica, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice in Chains, Green Day and Beastie Boys. Ceiling also play several original songs written by Kucera and Koester.
“I would say the music we play is laid back ,’kick ass’, and versatile, all at the same time,” Kucera said. “We play different styles of music from varying artists. That is what makes us different. We are not stuck in a single niche. We pretty much will try anything once,” he said.
The group can currently be seen at O’Malley’s in East Toledo, Missi’s Sports Bar and Lounge on Alexis Road, and Checkers in Bowling Green, and the L A Pitt Stop in Swanton.
| Although Ceiling did play for Citifest in 1998, the group has found it difficult to break into the larger clubs around town. “I would love to play at the Distillery or the Main Event, but it is hard to get into those clubs,” Kucera said.
An employee at Libbey Glass, finding the phone time to help promote the group has proven difficult. “We have sent tapes and promotional packets, but we have to do that on our own time. It seems once you get into a place you are in and they want to keep booking you but it’s hard to get the initial foot in the door,” he explained.
At O’Malley’s an East Toledo night club, just announcing that the group “Ceiling” will be playing is enough to bring in extra bar staff.
They are the most popular band we have playing here,” said Jodi Roth, a bartender at the Woodville Road club. “They draw in a great crowd when they are here. We are just packed. We try to keep booking them for that reason,” Roth said,
For Grindle, 30, playing in the group has been a dream come true and a destiny of sorts.Grindle’s father Johnny Ginger, has been a local celebrity for years. In the 1960s, Ginger had a children’s show broadcast from Detroit, and also appeared in a Three Stooges movie. Ginger is currently shooting an Agatha Christie movie in Detroit.
Music and entertaining really is in my blood,” Grindle said. “Hopefully we will get big enough to quit our day jobs. That is our biggest dream.”

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