Dennis Proctor. Photo taken from Dennis Proctor’s Facebook page.
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.
One Track Mind features a Washtenaw County-associated artist or band discussing a single song.
Standout Track: No. 2, “Blue Streak Blues,” from Dennis Proctor, who lives “on the border of South Canton and Ypsi, a few hundred feet from the Washtenaw county line.” The latest solo album, Deuce, from the Haviland frontman and honorary Washtenawtonian explores themes ranging from living in the current landscape to getting second chances to dealing with change.
On “Blue Streak Blues,” Proctor recalls an awkward encounter at Cedar Point and pays tribute to the longtime wooden roller coaster that bears the song’s name. At the start of the song, he sings about running into a naked man screaming in a restroom outside of the amusement park gates. “The opening lines are literally about that event: trying to understand what that man was going through and how I could’ve helped,” writes Proctor in an email interview. “The idea of someone in that much pain and not being able to properly express it got me thinking about writing from that perspective more.”
The Lansing, Michigan, trio celebrates being present and adopts an easygoing mindset on its latest EP, Enjoy the Journey.
“At this point, I would say it’s sonically closing a chapter,” said Lindsey Taylor, the vocalist and guitarist for La La Delivery. “After this, we’re in more of our fun era. We have to close that [old] chapter of our lives and move forward. We’re going to be a little sillier from here on out.”
Along with bassist James Mitchell and drummer Dan Zanetti, Taylor takes a lighthearted but intentional approach to La La Delivery’s songs about overthinking life, feeling nostalgic, and overcoming depression.
“There will still be some melancholy that writes its way in there because that doesn’t just go away,” she said. “You can’t control how it comes out of you, because when you write, it’s just gonna be what it is. You just have to let it come out and get it out of your system.”
Enjoy the Journey also reflects the personal thoughts and experiences of all three members since the pandemic.
“A lot has gone on both in the world and individually for all of us,” Mitchell said. “This EP definitely feels like we have gone through so much. We are—like Lindsey said—closing that chapter and headed toward something [new].”
Like the band, listeners can explore those relatable themes and moments through contemplative songs and introspective lyrics.
“Just like anything, it’s a craft, and we just keep building on it,” Zanetti said. We keep honing, finding efficiencies, and learning. It’s just one big learning opportunity and growth for all of us.”
Sonically, the six tracks on Enjoy the Journey come to life through ethereal vocals, vibrant electric guitars, thumping bass, and driving drums. The EP also reflects a variety of styles, ranging from indie rock and shoegaze to post-punk and alternative rock.
I recently spoke with La La Delivery about the inspiration behind Enjoy the Journey.
From left: Ruby Howard, Steve Poeschel, Laura Topf, and Evan Beane of Sleep Tight Tiger. Photo taken from Sleep Tight Tiger’s website.
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.
One Track Mind” features a Washtenaw County-associated artist or band discussing a single song.
Standout Track: No. 1, “Skate” from Ypsilanti’s Sleep Tight Tiger. The indie-pop band’s debut EP, Plum Something, explores being vulnerable and sharing that emotional experience with others.
On “Skate,” the band sings about feeling carefree and spending time with friends. The members of Sleep Tight Tiger—Ruby Howard, Steve Poeschel, Laura Topf, and Evan Beane—pooled a bunch of their memories together while writing the song. “Those times with friends that arise spontaneously—running into a friend on the street and deciding to walk to the river, or both being homesick at the same time and lying out in a backyard together under the sun—feel easy and fleeting in a way that I hold dear,” writes Topf in an email interview. “There were a couple of roller skaters among the WCBN students that I have fond memories with, who inspired the hook of the song.” (Sleep Tight Tiger members were all involved with the University of Michigan student radio station.)
The San Francisco composer, multi-instrumentalist, and sequential artist saw Brando as Mark Antony in the 1953 film based on William Shakespeare’s tragedy and became intrigued.
“I said, ‘This is just amazing,’ especially with all of those fantastic actors in it,” said Berry, who also fronts Nubdug Ensemble, an experimental music collective.
“At one point, I was thinking about adapting Julius Caesar as a comic strip and thought, ‘I can do a little bit each day.’ Once I started plotting it out, I had to draw so many panels a day and realized there was no way I could do that. I kind of abandoned it, but it was always in my head.”
While the comic strip didn’t work out, Berry eventually landed on doing a musical adaptation of Julius Caesar instead.
“I said, ‘Well, I know that because I’ve done all that research already on the comic strip, so why don’t I do that?’” Berry said. “I just started fiddling around with it, seeing how the words would work over the top of it.”
Berry spent the next two years composing, arranging, and recording Third with Nubdug Ensemble. He assembled 17 notable musicians to help him record 11 tracks for the ambitious album, which includes elements of jazz, funk, and prog rock.
“Once I had a structure and the pre-existing characters of Julius Caesar, I said, ‘I can write a song from this person’s perspective and from this person’s perspective,’” Berry said. “They can be different, but they’ll be unified because it’ll be under the overarching themes of the play.”
On Third, Berry explores themes of ambition, power, corruption, and political violence. The album includes compelling instrumentals and vocal tracks to reimagine Julius Caesar as a musical adaptation for the 21st century.
“It’s talking about the end of the republic, and the story is timeless and timely,” Berry said. “It seemed like this would be the time to do it, if ever there were.”
What resulted is an innovative, genre-bending album filled with poetic lyrics and cerebral instrumentation. Third refreshingly chronicles the political assassination of Roman dictator Julius Caesar and his murder by a group of senators led by Cassius and Brutus.
“These are all archetypes, and these are things that keep coming up again and again through history,” Berry said. “Leading up to the [2024] election, I had that sinking feeling and thought, ‘I think I see how it’s gonna go, but I hope it’s not.’ I personally wanted to be able to work through those feelings in a way that could somehow be positive and not just worry myself to death.”
To learn more, I spoke with Berry about writing and recording Third.
Mike Green intentionally wrote a song about blind spots.
The Ann Arbor, Michigan, singer-songwriter wanted to explore that concept while working on new material for what would become his second album, Blind Spot.
“I hardly ever do that,” Green said. “Usually, I play with ideas, and it starts to coalesce into something. But then, I have to really craft it. Sometimes, the song ends up being very different from how I started, so I try to follow the creative muse.”
That creative muse led Green to the song, “Blind Spot,” which acknowledges accepting and loving someone despite their flaws.
Backed by carefree electric guitar and organ, Green sings, “You have a blind spot when it comes to all my faults, maybe you don’t just care / I’ve made enough mistakes to fill a goddamn vault, you gotta be aware / So if it’s true, you love me, too, well, that just prove the same thing’s wrong with you.”
“I had a version of the song with a whole verse about Trump,” he said. “And then I had a love song version. I brought it into the songwriting group, and they said the other one is funny, but doing it as a love song, it has more legs to it.”
“Blind Spot” soon became the title track for Green’s new folk album, which features 13 tracks about identifying and understanding different gaps in life.
“A lot of writers will say truth doesn’t have to be factual truth; it has to have emotional resonance,” Green said. “There are a lot of love songs, and I write about [experiencing] joy and depression, paying attention, and [recognizing] the resilience coming through all of that.”
Green easily conveys those truths and emotions through anecdotal lyrics, warm vocals, and earnest instrumentation.
“In a lot of ways, [my songs] start out autobiographical, but I don’t want to write in great graphic detail about my own life,” he said. “I have to draw on what I understand.”
I recently spoke with Green about the inspiration behind Blind Spot.
The Stratton Setlist 