Author: Lori Stratton

Music blogger, concert goer, vinyl collector and music curator

Forever Young — Issac Burgess and Friends Pay Tribute to Sam Carroll and Matt Szakal at “Samstock” Memorial Concert

Issac Burgess. Courtesy photo.

Issac Burgess wants to pay tribute to two dearly missed friends.

The Detroit singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is hosting Samstock, a memorial concert for Sam Carroll and Matt Szakal, on November 2 at Outer Limits Lounge.

Both Carroll and Szakal passed away unexpectedly this summer.

“A group of about eight to 10 of us have kept in close contact since the boys left us,” said Burgess, who’s also curating the event. “We all wanted to put a show together of some sort because we know that Sam and Matt would have honored us the same way.”

Samstock will feature a lineup of Hamtramck and Detroit-based acts, including Burgess and his band, Boy Blue, Mars and the Satellites, Electric Bug, Josh Lutey and Friends, Rose St. Germaine, Sancho, Fishfly’s Nick Vasseur, and Cinquex.

“We reached out to all of the bands the guys had liked, and those that were available are ecstatic to participate,” Burgess said. “We booked who we could, and then I spoke to John [Szymanski] at Outer Limits about the idea. He was very supportive.”

The show will include a mixture of live music and speeches to honor the lives and contributions of Carroll and Szakal.

“We are planning a straightforward show,” Burgess said. “We’ve all got a few tunes we’re going to play for everyone, and we will probably say a few words. Our friend Mir is making bracelets for everyone. We’re going to keep it simple.”

I recently spoke with Burgess about Carroll and Szakal, as well as his latest music releases, ahead of Samstock.

Continue reading “Forever Young — Issac Burgess and Friends Pay Tribute to Sam Carroll and Matt Szakal at “Samstock” Memorial Concert” →

Mood Music — Brian Perrone Unearths Dark Emotions on “Bend Until It Breaks” EP

Brian Perrone tackles change and closure on “Bend Until It Breaks.” Courtesy photo.

Brian Perrone isn’t afraid to get dark and moody on Bend Until It Breaks.

The singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist delves into complex emotions, ranging from confusion to heartbreak to frustration, on his latest EP.

“In today’s world, these emotions will find you at some point,” said Perrone, who’s based in Livonia, Michigan. “I find it fascinating how people, including myself, deal with them in different ways.”

He also unearths the mental health struggles people face when they’re coping with change and searching for closure.

“Directly or indirectly, experiences from our past help us to cope,” Perrone said. “Finding a resolution in times of trouble is an interesting topic to me that I felt was worth exploring.”

Perrone’s baritone vocals evoke feelings of anticipation and longing in fans as they process their experiences while listening to Bend Until It Breaks. The EP’s five tracks feature contemplative lyrics, haunting instrumentation, and elements of indie rock, alt rock, shoegaze, and post-rock.

To learn more, I spoke with Perrone about the EP ahead of a November 15 show at the Ghost Light in Hamtramck.

Continue reading “Mood Music — Brian Perrone Unearths Dark Emotions on “Bend Until It Breaks” EP” →

On the Move — DASHpf Finds Hope and Connection in New Places on “Things We Used to Make” EP

DASHpf’s Peter Felsman gets nostalgic on “Things We Used to Make” EP. Courtesy photo.

In August 2021, Peter Felsman traded Brooklyn for Marquette.

The indie-folk singer-songwriter had relocated from New York City to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for an assistant professor of social work position at Northern Michigan University.

While adjusting to that change, Felsman had started writing songs for what would become Things We Used to Make.

“It is beautiful in Marquette, but the pace of life was a huge contrast to Brooklyn, where I had moved from, and I had more space to reflect on the last few years,” said Felsman, who records and performs as DASHpf, about his latest EP.

“A lot of the songs focus on making meaning of the past to help move forward, and they did. I was able to make a lot of amazing memories in the U.P. and [find] fodder for new albums.”

Felsman explores the EP’s overall theme through five concise tracks, which feature honest lyrics, soulful vocals, and earnest instrumentation.

“Thematically, this EP feels very nostalgic,” he said. “It is past-focused in a way, but it is fundamentally a hopeful album.

“[The track], ‘Witch in California,’ is a song about attending an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Bootcamp and committing to be a better person! ‘Nicole’ is a song about missing my friends, but ultimately motivated the creation of the [EP] with my friends.”

A year ago, Felsman made another professional move from Northern Michigan University to Oakland University.

I recently spoke with Felsman about the inspiration behind Things We Used to Make and his new role in academia.

Continue reading “On the Move — DASHpf Finds Hope and Connection in New Places on “Things We Used to Make” EP” →

The Pursuit of Happiness — King Ink Starts New Chapter and Finds New Sound on “Good News” Single

King Ink’s Sean DeWard, JD Waldvogel, Becca Coberly, and Evan Coberly. Photo – Live Aperture Concert Photography

King Ink is ready for a new start.

The Grand Rapids, Michigan band celebrates meeting the right person and planning for the future on its latest Heartland-rock single, “Good News.”

“Lyrically, it’s a mix of finding the right person and feeling secure in that,” said JD Waldvogel, the band’s lead vocalist and guitarist.

“The big thing I want people to take away from listening to us or seeing us live is joy and happiness. We played a show recently where they asked for our bio, and it said, ‘We play bright alternative rock.’ And then on the pamphlet, they said, ‘King Ink—bright rock,’ as our descriptor. I said, ‘I’ve never heard of that genre, but I think we’re starting a new one.’”

Waldvogel captures that positive attitude and upbeat sound with bandmates Becca Coberly (guitar, bass), Evan Coberly (guitar, bass, saxophone), and Sean DeWard (drums) on “Good News.”

He sings, “Cut to you, cut to me / Living in harmony / Not gonna waste my chance / Let’s rewrite history / Hope you’re fine with hyperbole / And maybe in your eyes / Maybe you can see through my disguise / The whole damn world is our stage / Let’s start a new page.”

“I really wanted to feel that from a song, which is just like a sense of joy and a sense of things are good, and that is OK,” Waldvogel said. “I also wanted there to be a sing-along part in there. That song has been a benchmark, or a signpost, saying, ‘Where do we want to go from here?’”

To learn more, I spoke with Waldvogel, Becca Coberly, and Evan Coberly about the band’s background and latest single.

Continue reading “The Pursuit of Happiness — King Ink Starts New Chapter and Finds New Sound on “Good News” Single” →

Hitting the Road — The Soods Embark on Midwest Fall Tour This Week

Jason Roy of The Soods. Photo – Matt Ten Clay

The Soods are ready to hit the road.

The indie-rock collective is embarking on a short Midwest tour, which runs October 11 to 16.

The tour includes shows in Grand Rapids and Lansing, Michigan, as well as Chicago; Davenport, Iowa; and Fort Wayne, Indiana. It will also celebrate a milestone for one of The Soods’ side projects—Elroy Meltzer.

“This one will just be Steven [Meltzer] and me,” said Jason Roy, frontman and co-producer for The Soods, who’s based in Grand Rapids.

“It actually marks 10 years this year since we started Elroy Meltzer together, so we actually will be doing some songs off those first two albums. Steven still actively writes, records, and performs as Elroy Meltzer and has an album coming out on October 10 called 9 Out of 10 Ain’t Bad that people should check out as well.”

For its tour, The Soods have prepared an extensive setlist filled with new songs, old favorites, and covers.

“I think we have rehearsed about 25 or 26 songs, five covers ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Gorillaz, and then a pretty even split of Soods songs and the aforementioned Elroy stuff,” Roy said. “We’re pretty excited to play five unreleased ones as it’ll be the first time we played a few of them.”

I recently spoke with Roy about the collective’s tour and recent releases.

Continue reading “Hitting the Road — The Soods Embark on Midwest Fall Tour This Week” →

Back in Time — “Experience the Music of 1971” Show Pays Tribute to Songs From a Definitive Year

In high school, Billy Harrington started compiling iTunes playlists of his favorite music.

Those playlists included music recorded at Motown and Stax Records as well as songs and albums released in 1971.

“I became someone who was really interested in the liner notes, and I was making my own custom columns of [music] being done in [different] studios,” said Harrington, a drummer-producer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

“I also had playlists based on different years, and I kept noticing all of these great records that were happening in 1971. [That year] kept popping up, and it wasn’t just albums that I knew were famous and popular, but they happened to be my favorite albums. They were my cherished recordings, and they all kept coming out in 1971.”

Years later, Harrington and his brother, guitarist Michael Harrington, met Mark Jay, owner-engineer of Ann Arbor-based Immerisfi Recording Services. They would often discuss music while hanging out at the bar, and many of those conversations led to a love of music from the 1970s.

“We’re air-drumming to all of these songs, and it became a laughable inside joke,” said Harrington, who’s produced several artists and performed and toured nationally with different tribute shows. “We’d say ‘This is ’71 again.’ It kept coming up, and Mark was one of the inspirations to push it into the show world.”

What resulted is “Experience the Music of 1971,” a revue-style show that takes place October 11 at the Canton Village Theater and pays tribute to music recorded and released that year. 

It’s a time when Carole King, James Taylor, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Marvin Gaye, David Bowie, and others released era-defining music.

“We had done a James Taylor show, and we had done a Beatles-themed show,” said Harrington, who’s co-producing Experience the Music of 1971 with Michael Harrington and working with Jay as one of the show’s sponsors.

“Both of those shows were at the Canton Village Theater, and we thought, ‘Maybe it’s time to do something new.’ And 1971 was highly requested by Mark, and I thought, ‘There’s so much great music that I want to play on stage with people.’”

I recently spoke to Billy Harrington, Michael Harrington, and Mark Jay about the show ahead of its debut at the Canton Village Theater.

Continue reading “Back in Time — “Experience the Music of 1971” Show Pays Tribute to Songs From a Definitive Year” →

Living the Dream — Jennifer Hudson-Prenkert Builds Community Through Kalamazoo’s Sounds of the Zoo Music Festival

Jennifer Hudson-Prenkert, founder, curator, and director of Sounds of the Zoo. Courtesy photo.

When it comes to curating a music festival, Jennifer Hudson-Prenkert looks to Willie Nelson.

She remembers watching Nelson and other artists perform during Farm Aid when it aired on TV while she was growing up.

“I never went to it, but somehow, through the TV, it made me feel like there were legitimate people running it,” said Hudson-Prenkert, who’s based in Kalamazoo and is the founder, curator, and director of the Sounds of the Zoo music festival.

“There was something different about Farm Aid from a regular trying-to-make-money music festival. Obviously, we know it’s for farming, but it’s about quality. You get good artists to come in, and the artists want to be there.”

She took that inspiration and ran with it for planning, organizing, and spearheading the inaugural Sounds of the Zoo festival in 2022. The festival was the perfect antidote for reinvigorating local live music coming out of the pandemic.

“I feel like the Farm Aid mentality, to me, was given a mission and had the right people in play. It was the curated invite and not the mentality of saying, ‘You’re not worthy,’” Hudson-Prenkert said.

What resulted is a free-admission festival filled with 50-plus acts performing at eight locations over a week. It also includes music industry workshops and documentary screenings.

“I have different genres of music, and this is a community,” Hudson-Prenkert said. “It’s a mission-driven music festival, so it means all things.”

Hudson-Prenkert is gearing up for the fourth Sounds of the Zoo festival, which runs September 22-28, and features performances from Hannah Laine, Super Dre, Jordan Hamilton, Luke Winslow-King, Louie Lee, Jennifer Westwood and The Handsome Devils, Yolonda Lavender, The Go Rounds, and others.

There’s also a “Push the City Cypher” competition, the premiere of the Kalamazoo Gals documentary, busking stations, and workshops by Maggie Heeren and Chris Simpson.

To learn more, I recently spoke with Hudson-Prenkert about her background and the festival.

Continue reading “Living the Dream — Jennifer Hudson-Prenkert Builds Community Through Kalamazoo’s Sounds of the Zoo Music Festival” →

Fighting Fires with “Fires” — The City Lines’ New Album Explores Heritage, Mental Health, and The Environment

Pat Deneau, Bob Zammit, and Megan Marcoux of The City Lines. Photo by Crista Deneau.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog and has been expanded for this publication.

Pat Deneau sings about the adrenaline rush he gets from work and music on the song “Hits the Same.”

The musician-firefighter’s heart pounds as he climbs on a firetruck with the Ann Arbor Fire Department, or sets foot onstage with The City Lines and sings, “I don’t know what I’m doing here / But my heart is racing / Is this the price to feel so alive?”

“When I’m singing those lines, I’m almost picturing like I’ve got the hose line in my arm, and I’ve got my buddy on my back pushing me in and the fire’s pouring overhead,” said Deneau about the anthemic opener from the Ann Arbor trio’s new album, Prescribed Fires. “It feels exactly the same as flipping the standby switch on the amp, and the volume control is up and the cymbals wash.”

“Hits the Same” also sets the compelling narrative for The City Lines’ third album, which explores parenthood, career, mental health, heritage, and the environment.

Through that narrative, the alt-rock band shares cathartic experiences that confront the past and promote future growth. Metaphorically, it’s akin to a prescribed fire, an environmental stewardship practice that relies on controlled flames to restore health to ecosystems.

“And so we’re writing honest music about what this is like,” said Bob Zammit, drummer for The City Lines. “I accept that some people are not going to connect to it because it’s theoretical for them—they’re not in that space. But my sincere hope is that for some people who are, there’s not 100 records released in Southeast Michigan that cover the same topics.”

Prescribed Fires examines those topics through existential lyrics, heartfelt vocals, and bold instrumentation.

“We’re talking about some heavy stuff here, but the production on the record is so upbeat,” Deneau said. “It sounds kind of late ‘90s, early 2000s rock, and I think that’s a cool juxtaposition. I think that worked out really well for this collection of songs.”

Deneau, Zammit, and Megan Marcoux (bass, flute, vocals) will soon share that new collection of songs during an October 24 album release show at Ziggy’s in Ypsilanti.

I recently spoke to Deneau and Zammit about Prescribed Fires ahead of the band’s show.

Continue reading “Fighting Fires with “Fires” — The City Lines’ New Album Explores Heritage, Mental Health, and The Environment” →

Origin Story — Studying Popular Music and Preparing for The Stratton Setlist

At age 5 with my first record player, a Fisher-Price Change-A-Record Music Box Record Player

Editor’s Note: This is the first installment in a multipart series celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Stratton Setlist.

I never planned to be a music journalist, but I’ve been unknowingly training for it my whole life.

My parents and older brother, Steve, served as my coaches, offering me different educational resources along the way—ranging from albums, TV shows, and magazines to concerts and festivals.

Those resources helped shape my love of music, a desire to acquire more music knowledge, an obsession with live music and physical media, and an uncanny ability to remember all kinds of music facts and trivia. It was that lifetime of training that quietly prepared me to eventually seek a profession that combined my passion for music with writing.

Now, nearly 45 years later and a decade into running my own music blog, here’s how it all started.

Continue reading “Origin Story — Studying Popular Music and Preparing for The Stratton Setlist” →