NYC rocker Matthew Leonard joins Columbus rock and jazz veterans in this gorgeous '70s throwback album. Recorded with vintage instruments on an Ampex 440 reel-to-reel tape machine, this epic album features Columbus rock royalty (David Holm, Bret Burleson, Bill Heingartner) and Brooklyn indie alumni: JC and John Kole, plus indomitable guitarist Dwight Scott. Sunnyside Ohio builds a sonic landscape that ranges from the George Harrison-inspired "Drums of Kin" to the bass-driven indie rock anthem "Aphasia", with vintage organ interludes and Optigan-infused melodic pop ("Lovely Young Sunday", "The Music"). The album also features a cover of British indie legend Babybird's "I Didn't Want to Wake You Up". Leonard's signature instrument is the Optigan, a plastic organ produced by Mattel in the 1970s, prized for its early sampling ability. Pea Hicks of Optigan.com wrote, "Matthew Leonard strikes right balance between catchy and weird, lo-fi yet coherent production". Several tracks on the album use custom Optigan.com discs, including RADIOAKTIVOX! and Sitar, licensed under Creative Commons (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/).