Category: Concerts

‘Just Like the Sun’ – Indy’s From Elsewhere Make First Detroit Appearance Sunday Night, Release Brilliant Debut EP

Indy’s From Elsewhere released their debut EP, “Just Like the Sun,” on Friday.

 

Indianapolis’ From Elsewhere will bring their vibrant indie rock to the Motor City Sunday night.

The burgeoning trio will make their live Detroit debut at Nice Place, 70 Glynn Ct., starting at 6 p.m. with Merga, Anomaly and Carter Erickson. The show also will feature artwork from local visual artists.

“It’s going to be a mixed genre show with some hip hop,” said Nikhil Ramani, From Elsewhere’s vocalist and guitarist who originally hails from Chennai, India. “I’m really excited for Sunday because it’s going to be a good community of artists.”

Along with bandmates Travis Lee (bass) and Luke Duckworth (drums), Ramani will share tracks from their sparkling debut EP, “Just Like the Sun,” which dropped Friday.

The shimmering six-song EP features an eclectic mix of shoegaze and alternative rock – think Death Cab for Cutie, Smashing Pumpkins, Slowdive and Snail Mail rolled into one. The band recorded the EP over three days in late August, early September at Russian Recording in Bloomington, Ind., with Ben Lumsdaine.

With shiny guitar tones, solid bass lines and pulsating drumbeats, “Just Like the Sun” illuminates the dreariest Midwestern winter morning and creates a vivid, laid-back summer afternoon in the mind’s eye. From Elsewhere’s first two brilliant singles, “The Color Yellow” and “Collective Thoughts,” dropped earlier this fall.

“A lot of the EP is about finding yourself, your self-identity and a little bit of loneliness and sadness, just all human emotion basically,” said Ramani, who formed From Elsewhere with Lee and Duckworth in June. “Each song on the EP isn’t about strictly one particular theme or thing, it’s kind of a mix.”

Continue reading “‘Just Like the Sun’ – Indy’s From Elsewhere Make First Detroit Appearance Sunday Night, Release Brilliant Debut EP” →

Jam Session – Desmond Jones Promises Unique Set for Thursday’s Headlining Show at The Blind Pig

Grand Rapids funk-rock-jazz fusion quintet Desmond Jones will perform at The Blind Pig Thursday night with Pajamas.

For Desmond Jones, no two setlists or shows are alike.

The Grand Rapids funk-rock-jazz fusion quintet relies on skillful improvisation, sophisticated musicianship and scintillating compositions to capture a crowd’s attention. Each show brings a unique vibe and sonic quality depending the band, audience and venue.

“The more cut and dry structured songs we don’t take out at all in terms of improvisation and jams,” Even if we write a setlist out before a show, which we don’t always do, a lot of times on stage we’ll pick what songs feel right or naturally transition into them,” said John Nowak, Desmond Jones’ drummer, vocalist and guitarist.

“Lately, we’ve been mixing in a sense of humor in terms of making weird or spacey noises. We’re deliberately trying to shock the audience, be as weird as we possibly can and see how they react.”

That ingenious live approach has connected Desmond Jones to thousands of fans at more than 500 shows over five years nationwide. The band also has a sprawling online archive of 300-plus shows available for streaming on their website.

Luckily, Ann Arbor fans will be able to visit the Desmond Jones online live archive after Thursday’s show at The Blind Pig, 208 S. First St., with Pajamas, a Tree Town rock-funk fusion trio.

“When you get a good opening act, I think that vibe is strong with the crowd because it gets people moving and ready to go. Then, we’ll come on, and we’ll rock out,” Nowak said. “We love playing The Blind Pig. I think that venue offers a certain one-of-a-kind dirty, grungy, fun atmosphere, which is where we’re also at with our music.”

Nowak and his Desmond Jones bandmates – Isaac Berkowitz (guitar, vocals, drums), Chris Bota (guitar, vocals), George Falk (saxophone, vocals) and John Loria (bass, vocals) – will play new material and older improvisational jams from their extensive catalog of 50-plus tunes.

“We’ll be playing a wider range of things, some new songs that aren’t on any of the albums. It’s always fun because unless you’re listening to the archives or have gone to a lot of shows, then a lot of the songs will be new to your ears,” Nowak said. “Expect a lot of different feels, but definitely some improvisational jams and opportunities for dancing.”

Continue reading “Jam Session – Desmond Jones Promises Unique Set for Thursday’s Headlining Show at The Blind Pig” →

Smart Pop – John Kay & Who’s To Say Plays Saturday Acoustic Show at Warren’s Dovetail, Follows Strategic Musical Approach

John Kay & Who’s To Say (left to right): Steve Lupinski, Brandon McNall, John Kay, Tamara Marla Laflin and Jason Rauschenberger. Photo by Adam Barnett

John Kay & Who’s To Say will make their Dovetail debut Saturday night in Warren.

The Detroit progressive pop group will perform a free acoustic show at The Dovetail, 29200 Hoover Road, beginning at 8 p.m.

“We’re going to be performing stripped-down versions of our music – no drums, no high-powered amplifiers,” said John Kay, the group’s lead vocalist and guitarist. “We’ll still plug in some instruments, but this isn’t going to be a full-band, over-the-top kind of night.”

Kay will be joined by Who’s To Say bandmates Steve Lupinski (bass, vocals), Brandon McNall (lead guitar) and Jason Rauschenberger (rhythm guitar, percussion, vocals) for the one-hour set, which will feature songs from Kay’s 2016 album, “Dealing with People,” as well as some newer tunes and maybe a cover. Mark Bolohan of Scarlet Lies will kick off the music Saturday night.

“Steve and I visited the Dovetail last month, and the place is clean with an inviting atmosphere,” said Kay, who grew up in Livonia and started playing drums at age two. “It should be an interesting night and allow for meeting some cool new people.”

John Kay & Who’s To Say are building a strong live music presence in Detroit after performing their first show at a sold-out P.J.’s Lager House in March. Kay and his bandmates spent some time building a solid musical and artistic foundation before booking shows.

“We rehearsed for over a year in the dark; we didn’t put up photos, we didn’t put out snippets, we didn’t tease anything,” Kay said. “What we did was we worked hard, and we busted our ass until we had three rehearsals in a row that we thought, ‘Hey, we could have done all three of those rehearsals in front of a paying audience, and they would’ve gotten their money’s worth.’”

Continue reading “Smart Pop – John Kay & Who’s To Say Plays Saturday Acoustic Show at Warren’s Dovetail, Follows Strategic Musical Approach” →

Circle of Friends – 4 Metro Detroit Artists Host Friday ‘Songwriters Round’ at Farmington Civic Theater

Four metro Detroit singer-songwriters will share their tunes, tales and triumphs Friday night with an intimate Farmington audience.

Mark Jewett, Amy Petty, Sam Corbin and Rochelle Clark will host a “Songwriters Round” performance as part of the Farmington Civic Theater’s “Friday Night Live” concert series.

During the show, each singer-songwriter will take a turn performing their own material, tell stories behind their music, delve into their personal creative process and introduce a new track. “There will be some interesting and funny stories probably, and I think everyone in this lineup likes crowd engagement,” Jewett said. “We’re not looking for the hushed symphony audience.”

This is the third time Jewett has teamed up with Petty and Corbin to host a “Songwriters Round” in metro Detroit since May 2017. In the past, they’ve hosted similar events at 20 Front Street in Lake Orion and Trinity House Theatre in Livonia with Chelsea folk singer-songwriter Annie Capps.

Instead, Clark, Ypsilanti singer-songwriter, will join the trio for Friday’s show to share her burgeoning Americana roots music with the crowd.

“We found that we have a pretty good chemistry, and we are able to follow whatever kind of flow the group has got going. I don’t think anyone is coming with a specific setlist of songs they’re absolutely going to play, maybe a longer list they can pick from, but that’s what I like about songwriter rounds,” Jewett said. “They’re dynamic, you can either follow someone’s lead and go deeper into a topic, or if you feel like the audience has had enough of that, then you can do a quick change-up and play something for contrast.”

Show Details:

Friday Night Live Songwriters Round with Mark Jewett, Amy Petty, Sam Corbin and Rochelle Clark

8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9

Farmington Civic Theater

33332 Grand River Ave. in Farmington, MI

Tickets are $15 each through Eventbrite.

Continue reading “Circle of Friends – 4 Metro Detroit Artists Host Friday ‘Songwriters Round’ at Farmington Civic Theater” →

Jam On – Ypsilanti’s Doogatron Drops Self-titled Debut Album, Hosts Release Party Tonight at Ziggy’s

Doogatron’s self-titled album is out today.

With an electrifying new album and turbo-charged release party, Doogatron doesn’t miss a beat.

The Ypsilanti techno trio is celebrating a jam-packed day with the arrival of their self-titled debut album and an 8 p.m. release party tonight at Ziggy’s.

DoogaTron’s Stevie Tee and Kyle will perform together and host separate DJ sets while two of Yspilanti’s finest producers and DJs, Jason Hogans aka :brownstudy and Sleezy Hamilton, and DJ Sean Brocash will round out the release party.

Tonight’s release party serves as the ideal environment for hearing and experiencing Doogatron’s debut album live through a robust sound system built on a mix of analog and digital synthesizers and technology. Their techno sound encompasses heady machine-funk combined with synth freak-outs.

“We’re getting to a point where we can open up the idea of what we’re doing with DJing and playing our stuff. We can do a whole night like that,” Tee said. “We’re going to do the first couple of hours, and then we’re going to turn it over to our friends and have fun and party with people afterward.”

Today’s album drop and release party have been nearly four years in the making. Together, Tee (bass synths, additional textures, samples and occasional vocals) and Kyle (drum machines/samples) DJed as Doogatron for about two years before switching to a live PA setup. At the same time, Tee recorded techno music with Mike (lead/synth pads) as part of a separate project called Chill Spector.

Continue reading “Jam On – Ypsilanti’s Doogatron Drops Self-titled Debut Album, Hosts Release Party Tonight at Ziggy’s” →

Medieval Times — Olivia Millerschin Headlines Saturday Show at Detroit Masonic Temple’s Historic Chapel Theater

Olivia Millerschin will headline a Saturday show at Detroit Masonic Temple’s Chapel theater.

Olivia Millerschin will travel back in time Saturday night.

The Auburn Hills indie folk singer-songwriter will play for 400 people at The Chapel, a historic theater located inside the Detroit Masonic Temple that’s designed as a smaller scale replica of Westminster Abbey.

It’s symbolic of the original abbey where the knights of the round table likely gathered before they went to battle. “They actually have a stained-glass window, and they’ve had it blocked off because it was for knighting, but they just broke down the blocked off part, and now you can see the light,” said Millerschin, who teamed up with Fusion Shows to select the iconic theater for Saturday’s show. “The stones in the chapel room are rounded on the edges because they wanted it to look like knights had been walking on them.”

During Saturday’s show, Millerschin will breathe new life into the historic venue and perform a set of timeless heartfelt songs from her critically-acclaimed 2016 album, “Look Both Ways.” She’ll also debut seven or eight new songs and feature special guest performances from Ann Arbor folk singer-songwriter Chris DuPont and Nashville pop singer-songwriter Jilian Linklater.

“I’ve got tons of new music, and I’ve been so focused on the children’s book that I haven’t recorded it. It will be cool to debut it live in front of people and see what they think of it,” said Millerschin, who grew up in Rochester as a classically trained opera singer and started writing songs at age 13.

“Chris is one of my favorites, and he’s an incredible artist. As for Jilian, I played a show in Nashville with her the last time I was there, so I decided to throw her on this gig. I think people are going to like both of them.”

Continue reading “Medieval Times — Olivia Millerschin Headlines Saturday Show at Detroit Masonic Temple’s Historic Chapel Theater” →

Brilliant Disguise – 3 Michigan Bands to Perform Halloween Cover Sets at Ypsilanti’s The Late Station

Three Michigan bands will go undercover to perform classic tunes Wednesday during a Halloween show at one of Ypsilanti’s burgeoning DIY underground music venues.

Strange Flavors, The Sneeks and Liquid Thickness will cover songs from The Black Keys, Mac DeMarco and the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtracks at The Late Station starting at 8 p.m. Former Critics and Complainer will be unable to perform as No Doubt.

“All these bands chose their own covers, and they’ll be doing complete 30-minute cover sets,” said Greg Hughes, the After Hours Radio bassist who co-runs The Late Station with his three bandmates. “I started recruiting bands a little over a month before the show, which is a lot to learn in a short amount of time for a true Halloween costume cover set.”

To get in the Halloween spirit, some bands will wear costumes to impersonate artists while others will come as they are. With costumes and holiday-themed wear, Strange Flavors, The Sneeks and Liquid Thickness will ensure the crowd grooves to spooktacular cover sets.

“We will be encouraging the crowd to wear costumes, that’s kind of the whole idea,” said Hughes, who’s been booking shows at The Late Station since February. “It’s an informal welcoming space that serves as a platform for different kinds of artists and genres.”

Continue reading “Brilliant Disguise – 3 Michigan Bands to Perform Halloween Cover Sets at Ypsilanti’s The Late Station” →

‘The Color Yellow’ – New Indy Trio Drops Sparkling Debut Single from Forthcoming ‘Just Like the Sun’ EP

With their vibrant debut single, “The Color Yellow,” From Elsewhere is illuminating the Indianapolis indie rock scene.

The newly formed indie rock trio dropped the first track from their forthcoming EP, “Just Like the Sun,” last week, and it’s an eclectic mix of shoegaze and alternative rock – think remnants of Smashing Pumpkins, Slowdive, Snail Mail and Death Cab for Cutie rolled into one.

With its shimmering guitars, solid bass lines and pulsating drumbeats, “The Color Yellow” provides a gorgeous splatter of upbeat rhythms, but includes a dark lyrical layer hidden below.

“It’s about Vincent Van Gogh, and the whole idea of the troubled artist. He tried to eat yellow paint because he was ready to do anything to make himself happy,” said Nikhil Ramani, the From Elsewhere frontman and guitarist who originally hails from Chennai, India. “We see mental health awareness becoming a big thing now, but we still see so many suicides. The song is also about how we can bring that number down.”

As a senior studying psychology at the University of Indianapolis, Ramani wrote the band’s debut single after trying to understand the correlation between successful artists and their depression. “The Color Yellow” serves as a budding piece of musical research to further address and explore the issue.

“Is art just an escape, or is the gene the same?” asked Ramani, who learned how to play guitar at age eight and counts Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pink Floyd and Death Cab among his major influences. “Yellow is such a happy color, but it has a bit of melancholy feel to it in this song.”

Despite the delicate subject matter, Ramani and his bandmates, Travis Lee (bass) and Luke Duckworth (drums), are eager to see where their new musical journey is headed. Together, the trio formed From Elsewhere in June after meeting up with Ramani.

“Back in the summer, I was just working at the front desk at school, and there were a lot of hours where I didn’t have much to do, so I would go on Craigslist, and I made this ad for an indie rock band,” Ramani said. “I had these songs, so I wanted to see if anyone was out there.”

After forming the band, Ramani, Lee and Duckworth recorded six songs, including “The Color Yellow,” at Russian Recording in Bloomington, Ind., for “Just Like the Sun,” which will drop in December. They also plan to release a follow-up single to “The Color Yellow” soon.

Since August, From Elsewhere has played several Indy shows to growing audiences with Ongoing Story, The Latin for Maple and Dopplepopolis. They’ll play next with Heart Attack Man and Juice Nov. 4 at the Hoosier Dome, 1627 Prospect St., in Indy.

“We really want to go on tour and play out-of-town shows,” Ramani said. “When we do go on tour, it will be cool to say, ‘Hey, we’re From Elsewhere.’”

For Song Sake – Motor City Artists Debut New ‘Best Guess’ Track for Tonight’s Black Crystal Studio Songwriting Challenge

Jeff Scott will perform tonight at Black Crystal Studio as part of the “For Song Sake” songwriting challenge.

Four metro Detroit area artists will demonstrate their songwriting prowess tonight at Ann Arbor’s most intimate and private music venue.

Jeff Scott, Brooke Ratliff, Kelsey Detering and Mike Gentry will participate in “For Song Sake,” a creative challenge in which songwriters compose a new tune over six weeks and debut it before a live audience at Black Crystal Studio. Songwriters apply to participate in the challenge.

All artists are given the same song title, but must write their own lyrics and music as well as determine the genre. Tonight’s song is called “Best Guess,” said Gerald Wayne “G.W.” Staton, who’s owned and operated the 44-seat Black Crystal Studio since 2007.

“I gave the artists an example of something I wrote just to show them what they might do with it. Two of them have written me and said, ‘I’m deep in the rabbit hole,’ but they’re challenged by it,” he said. “Artists always say they needed that challenge, and they needed something thrown at them to get out of a rut.”

During “For Song Sake,” audience members will rate each song from one to five based on lyrics, melody and likability. The winning songwriter will receive a prize, which could include cash, an instrument, a short trip or another item.

Staton and his Black Crystal Studio crew will record each artist’s performance of “Best Guess” and air the recording during an upcoming “For Song Sake” session on Ann Arbor Radio, one of the venue’s two online radio stations. Each artist will receive a copy of the recording.

“I’ve got four dates for ‘For Song Sake’ lined up for next year, one a quarter,” Staton said. “The audience was what impressed me. People came out that I wouldn’t have guessed would come, but they were interested in hearing about songwriting.”

Continue reading “For Song Sake – Motor City Artists Debut New ‘Best Guess’ Track for Tonight’s Black Crystal Studio Songwriting Challenge” →

In the Round – Livonia’s Brian Perrone Joins Tonight’s Songwriter Showcase at Parliament Room, Releases New ‘Dog with Ball’ EP

Brian Perrone performs tonight at The Parliament Room at Otus Supply in Ferndale.

At tonight’s “Singers in the Round” Songwriter Showcase, Brian Perrone will debut tracks from his new “Dog with Ball” EP in a live, intimate acoustic setting in Ferndale.

He will perform at The Parliament Room at Otus Supply, 345 E. 9 Mile Road, starting at 7 p.m. with Tom Butwin, Shiny Penny and JonPaul Wallace.

“It’s such a neat experience because every person is clearly different, so you might have somebody playing blues, somebody playing folk. I feel really honored and blessed to have an opportunity to take the stage with the three people I’ll be playing with,” said Perrone, a Livonia singer-songwriter.

“I get to do four songs, and I’m going to do at least one from ‘All Growns Up,” and then I’m going to do two from ‘Dog with Ball.’ My fourth one is either going to be this brand new one I just wrote or another one from ‘All Growns Up.’”

Today also marks another significant musical milestone for Perrone – the release of “Dog with Ball,” a new five-song EP with stripped-down, piano-based tracks that chronicle changing relationships, personal growth and inner reflections. It’s a warm, dreamy follow-up to his 2014 jazzy debut, “All Growns Up.”

Perrone collaborated with a host of talented, established Detroit area musicians on “Dog with Ball,” including Ypsilanti producer and guitarist Steve Somers, Re-Cure and Ethos guitarist and Siamese bassist Eric Cojacari, bassist Ronnie Smith, guitarist James Peltier and Honey Monsoon vocalist and guitarist Ana Gomulka.

“I think I’m gravitating toward more rock, that’s where I’m really rooted, and I love acoustic simple stripped-down basic songwriting,” said Perrone, who features his bulldog Sookie on the EP’s cover. “I love the singer-songwriter movement that’s going on.”

Continue reading “In the Round – Livonia’s Brian Perrone Joins Tonight’s Songwriter Showcase at Parliament Room, Releases New ‘Dog with Ball’ EP” →