By Chris Varias / Enquirer contributor

Grant Arnow (left), Shane Miller, Kevin Leaton and Brett Scharf of Spindle are members of one of the local bands that are creating a national buzz. The Cincinnati Enquirer/BRANDI STAFFORD

Cincinnati rocks.

It's an opinion local music enthusiasts have long held, and now a major national magazine concurs.

In its April 2004 issue, Esquire puts Cincinnati seventh on its top 10 list of "Cities that Rock." Pittsburgh topped the list, followed by Denver, Minneapolis, Raleigh, N.C., Gainesville, Fla., and Fresno, Calif. Behind Cincinnati were New Orleans, Phoenix/Tempe and San Francisco.

Esquire associate editor Chris Berend says obvious choices such as New York and Los Angeles were purposely omitted.

"This was about uncovering gems," he says. "Everybody already knows about Chicago and the Smashing Pumpkins. There're other Midwest towns like Pittsburgh and Cincinnati that have civic pride, and they're psyched that people have noticed them."

Cities were picked based on the talent in their music scenes, their venues and record stores.

Cincinnati's rich musical history stretch from Syd Nathan's King Records - which cut tracks with James Brown, John Lee Hooker , the Stanley Brothers and Hank Ballard in the 1940s and '50s - to homegrown hero Bootsy Collins, former Cincinnatian Greg Dulli (the Afghan Whigs) and recent addition Peter Frampton.

But it was the work of a few people and places that the magazine singled out. They included local bands the Stapletons, Spindle and Cari Clara and live-music venue the Southgate House. Also mentioned was Everybody's Records and Covington greasy spoon, the Anchor Grill.

Eric Diedrichs' atmospheric pop-rockers Cari Clara, a mellow departure from his last band, the Simpletons, has been touring steadily and is preparing a CD on local label Tiberius Records. He agrees with the ranking.

"Especially traveling around and touring, it makes me see what we have. With the bands here, the talent level is higher per capita, the songwriting's better and the bands are more professional," he says.

Country-rockers the Stapletons have been a steady draw for four years and routinely tour the Midwest and the South. Singer Jody Stapleton credits a sense of community for the success.

"There's a lot of places to play and a lot of places for musicians to hang out with other musicians, almost like New York, or how Manchester, England, was in the '80s," he says. The group made the cut after an Esquire reporter got wind of its plans to stage a song-by-song recreation, with local acts, of the Band's classic all-star send-off party The Last Waltz. That was in November at Newport's Southgate House.

The band Spindle recently landed a deal with Triple Crown Records of New York. Lead singer Grant Arnow says friendships and cooperation with other Cincinnati bands has helped Spindle succeed.

"At least a quarter of our local crowds are people in other bands," Arnow says. "We share information about other venues and other towns where it's good to play, and who to talk to about getting shows."

The Southgate has been the top local venue for years, and has presented such national bands as the Strokes, the Flatlanders and Dayton natives Guided By Voices. But Southgate promotions manager Chris Schadler says there's room in town for competing clubs to thrive.

"The number of clubs doing original music has doubled in the last few years - Jack Quinn's, the Cavern, Plush, Northside Tavern, the Madison Theater, Radio Down, the rebirth of Sudsy's," he says.

Everybody's Records in Pleasant Ridge has beaten the odds, surviving as an independent record store for 25 years in the age of chain stores by offering a wide selection of new and used CDs and vinyl, as well as maintaining its scrappy neighborhood feel.

Anchor Grill, the 24-hour Covington institution, is an after-show destination for musicians and fans alike, famous for the neon promise in its front window, "We may doze, but never close."

Berend says the Anchor Grill was included in the article to provide another dimension to the scene, though Cassie Penick, a cook at the restaurant, said she was unaware that the Anchor was a landmark on the local rock map.

Asked to name any musicians who have dined there, Penick drew a blank. "We did have a professional wrestler here one time," she said.

E-mail cv@fuse.net