Tag: Detroit

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.

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The Navigator — Discipline Explores Life in the Digital and Physical Worlds on “Breadcrumbs” Album

Discipline’s Chris Herin, Mathew Kennedy, Henry Parmenter, and Matthew Parmenter. Photo – Bryant Stuckey

Discipline understands the struggles of navigating the online world.

The prog-rock band weighs the permanency of having a digital footprint with the instant gratification of using new technology on “Breadcrumbs.”

“In my mind, the origin of it was also this notion that when we look at ourselves, we change during our lifetimes,” said Matthew Parmenter, Discipline’s frontman and multi-instrumentalist, about the title track from Breadcrumbs.

“And here we are in this age where so much of what we do is captured, and now, how do we each get to have that luxury that I had as a person growing up, which is to make mistakes and to learn a little from them and to change as we grow. How do we do that when everything we do or utter is recorded forever online?”

Discipline explores that thought as Parmenter sings, “Should we have known / Might we have chosen for ourselves / Now it’s the platform decides / What survives archives our lives.”

“I fear that it leads us to having to become like extreme versions of ourselves, because once you say it, you gotta live up to it,” said Parmenter, who’s based in Metro Detroit. “You can’t let it go. You can’t wake up the next day and say, ‘I probably shouldn’t have said that.’ It’s gone, it’s there. So these were some of the thoughts that generated that particular song.”

In addition to the title track, Parmenter and his Discipline bandmates—guitarist Chris Herin, bassist Mathew Kennedy, and drummer Henry Parmenter—shine on their latest album, Breadcrumbs.

Parmenter’s haunting vocals and philosophical lyrics, along with the band’s spellbinding instrumentation, take listeners on a contemplative journey across five tracks.

To learn more, I spoke with Parmenter about his background, the band, and the album.

Continue reading “The Navigator — Discipline Explores Life in the Digital and Physical Worlds on “Breadcrumbs” Album” →

Fun Fest Gears Up for Fifth Edition at Ypsilanti’s Frog Island Park on August 9

Dani Darling performs at the inaugural Fun Fest in 2021. Photo – Tim Blackman II

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.

Taylor Greenshields didn’t anticipate he’d be doing Fun Fest this long.

The Ypsilanti audio engineer, producer, and drummer started the annual event in 2021 after envisioning Frog Island Park’s amphitheater as the ideal space for an outdoor music festival.

“Yeah, it’s crazy that it’s the fifth year,” said Greenshields, who’s curating and hosting the event on August 9. “The first year was like a test run, and then seeing people enjoy the fest so much the next couple years, I had to keep it going.”

Since then, he’s featured an eclectic group of local artists performing at Fun Fest, including Travis Auckerman, Stormy Chromer, Ki5, The Macpodz, Thornetta Davis, and others.

“It’s almost like the festival is its own organism at this point,” said Greenshields, also the owner and operator of Fundamental Sound Co., an Ypsilanti-based recording studio.

“The festival has grown in many ways over the years by having different activities for kids [and] all sorts of different vendors, bands, and artists. Just the word getting around about the festival has really evolved over the last few years [as well].”

Now, he’s gearing up for the fifth edition of Fun Fest, which includes returning acts Al Bettis, Dani Darling, Ma Baker, and Violet Sol. It also features the new additions of Marcus Elliot, Peter Madcat Ruth’s C.A.R.Ma Quartet, and Jacuzzi Beach to the festival’s lineup.

“I want to keep the lineup different every year, but wanted to bring back some of the staples from the first couple Fun Fests,” he said. “I like how Marcus represents Detroit and Madcat represents Ann Arbor, and we are bringing them together in the middle in Ypsi.”

I recently did an email interview with Greenshields ahead of the festival.

Continue reading “Fun Fest Gears Up for Fifth Edition at Ypsilanti’s Frog Island Park on August 9” →

Fresh Start — Arct1c Finds Hope and Resilience on “Blip in Time” EP

Arc1c is future-oriented on “Blip in Time.” Photo – Brandon Russell

William Carey is ready to leave the past behind.

The Detroit producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist feels relieved after recovering from a recent bout of Crohn’s disease.

“When you’re finally out of it, it feels so incredibly freeing, and that’s where this EP came from,” said Carey, who performs and records as Arct1c—pronounced Arctic—about Blip in Time.

“It feels freeing to create and freeing to write, knowing that I’m on the other side of this and that everything’s gonna be good. I’m gonna be good for a while, and it felt good to write like that.”

On Blip in Time, Carey provides a cathartic and spiritual electronic journey about experiencing a temporary setback and acquiring newfound strength for the future.

“Because a year ago, I was in a hospital, and I had to get a blood transfusion,” he said. “I finally got past that little final portion, and I’m not gonna let those last couple of years hold me back from anything now.”

The EP’s five electronic instrumentals sonically reflect Carey’s shifting mindset during his health struggle. While going through the tracks, he quickly trades disappointment and self-doubt for hope and resilience.

“All that is just a blip in time,” he said. “It’s in the past, and now I have to transfer all of my energy towards the present and the future.”

To learn more, I spoke with Carey about his background and latest release.

Continue reading “Fresh Start — Arct1c Finds Hope and Resilience on “Blip in Time” EP” →

Music Mavens — Katherine Yeske Taylor’s “She’s a Badass” Book Features Conversations with 20 Women Rockers About Feminism and the Music Industry

Katherine Yeske Taylor. Photo – Karen Stackpole

When I was a kid, I used to watch Happy Days.

I remember coming home from elementary school and watching reruns of the show, which featured several episodes of Suzi Quatro playing a musician named Leather Tuscadero.

There was something cool about Leather and the way she carried herself. I liked the idea of a woman fronting her own band, and in this case, it was Leather and the Suedes.

By the time I was nine, I started fronting my own imaginary band called Lori and The Red Hearts. It was inspired by women rockers like Suzi Quatro and Joan Jett.

While Lori and The Red Hearts never came to fruition, I learned later on that Quatro grew up in Detroit and is proud to be from there.

“It’s just a special city. You’ve got your Black and white completely coming together. Musically, it’s joined somehow. You’ve got your energy level. You’ve got your edge. You’ve got this almost desperation. It’s one of the best music cities, if not the best music city, in the world,” said Quatro in an interview with author-music journalist Katherine Yeske Taylor for the book, She’s a Badass: Women in Rock Shaping Feminism.

While she appreciates her hometown, Quatro also said she’s always been a square peg in a round hole and has forged her own musical path in life.

“From the time I started to play bass in a band, I was aware that I didn’t have my own niche in which to fit. It did not exist, so I created my own,” she said.

Quatro is one of 20 women rockers featured in Yeske Taylor’s book, which takes an in-depth look at the talent, determination, and humor they needed to succeed in their music careers. She’s a Badass also profiles Heart’s Ann Wilson, X’s Exene Cervenka, The Go-Go’s Gina Shock, Suzanne Vega, L7’s Donita Sparks, Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray, Paula Cole, and more.

“As I interviewed the women for this book, many of them proudly proclaimed themselves to be feminists—but several others had various reasons to reject that label. In either case, the way these artists have led their lives has turned them into role models (whether they actually intended to be or not), thereby promoting gender equality in the music business—and, arguably, in society overall,” writes Yeske Taylor in the book’s introduction.

To learn more, I spoke to Yeske Taylor about her background, music journalism career, and latest book.

Continue reading “Music Mavens — Katherine Yeske Taylor’s “She’s a Badass” Book Features Conversations with 20 Women Rockers About Feminism and the Music Industry” →

From Lyric to Lore — Metro Detroit’s Nick Juno Finds His Folk Through Timeless Stories and Songs

Nick Juno stands in front of a Wayne Kramer mural at Detroit’s Lager House. Mural by Eric Patrick Kelly. 

Nick Juno knows how to tell a powerful story.

The folk singer-songwriter, historian, and storyteller is driven by curiosity and a desire to understand, express, and connect with listeners.

“I want to know something,” said Juno, who lives in Metro Detroit. “I want to say something; I want to feel something. And I want the listener to feel something, too.”

Whether he’s writing and singing about women working in cigar factories or calling for the release of a wrongly imprisoned activist, Juno’s songs hit an emotional and thoughtful mark.

“I’m a topical folk singer with songs often inspired by front-page headlines, historical events, museums, or personal stories shared by everyday people,” he said.

“My music, whether personal or historical, aims to honor the power of storytelling and connect people to both the past and present.”

His engaging stories and songs are best heard in intimate settings, like coffeehouses, taverns, small theaters, and house concerts.

“House concerts are a favorite setting at this stage of my career,” said Juno, who hails from Flint and has been writing and performing since the early ‘80s.

“Intimate and conversational spaces allow me to set up songs, tell their stories, and create memorable, meaningful events with listeners up close.”

I recently spoke with Juno about select songs from his catalog and his upcoming plans.

Continue reading “From Lyric to Lore — Metro Detroit’s Nick Juno Finds His Folk Through Timeless Stories and Songs” →

From Now On — Detroit’s Mike Ward Looks to the Future on “The Time That Remains” Album

Mike Ward embraces the future on “The Time That Remains” album. Photo – Steven Glynn

Mike Ward lives each day to the fullest.

The Detroit singer-songwriter and guitarist reconciles the past and embraces the future on The Time That Remains.

“I feel like I know these songs the best,” said Ward about his new folk album. “When I released The Darkness and The Light, most of those songs I knew as well as these. I feel like these songs are a lot closer to me than anything I’ve done.”

For his seventh release, Ward gets up close and personal about love, loss, and wisdom across the album’s dozen tracks. He spent considerable time fine-tuning the album’s evocative lyrics, heartfelt vocals, and earnest instrumentation before going into the studio last fall.

“This is unlike any album I’ve done because the songs have been performed out more than any of my other albums,” Ward said.

“When we recorded it, we produced 15 songs, but we trimmed it back because we felt these were the songs that hung together [the best]. At one point, we had a working title called Prayers, Parables, and Pet Peeves, and those are the buckets [the songs] fell into.”

I recently spoke with Ward about The Time That Remains ahead of an August 3 album release show in Ferndale, Michigan.

Continue reading “From Now On — Detroit’s Mike Ward Looks to the Future on “The Time That Remains” Album” →

The Message — 1980s Hip-Hop Through The Eyes of Local Media

Graphic by Nate Pocsi-Morrison.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.

In August 1983, 200 people entered a new dimension above the Heidelberg in Ann Arbor.

The clubgoers stepped into an unfamiliar yet fascinating music realm at the Big Beat Club, now known as Club Above, to dance the night away.

“Want to be on the cutting edge?” wrote Jim Boyd for The Michigan Daily on July 28, 1983. “New York, as usual, is the place to be, but this Friday you can save the plane fare by going to the Big Beat Club. There you will be able to experience the latest music/dance craze that is now surfacing in New York. It’s called ‘hip hop’ and its impact may prove to be culturally vast.”

The show was pushed back to August 5, 1983, but when the concert finally happened, curious viewers arrived to watch Harold “Whiz Kid” McGuire, a New York City DJ, spin and mix records in a “new” musical style known as “hip-hop.”

“There have been articles about ‘hip hop’ – which includes a style of manipulating turntables known as ‘scratching,’ for which the Whiz Kid is known, ‘break’ dancing, and ‘rapping’ – in such prestigious publications as Rolling Stone and the New Musical Express,” wrote Bill Brown in a July 23, 1983 article for The Ann Arbor News.

During Whiz Kid’s mesmerizing set, clubgoers watched his hands move as smoothly as a Kung Fu master while he played, mixed, and scratched records.

“The Whiz Kid’s ‘show’ consisted of a continuous, five-hour stream of heavily synthesized, emphatically rhythmic dance music,” wrote Brown in an August 12, 1983, review for The Ann Arbor News.

“At some points, especially when more people were watching him than dancing, he would play straight, uninterrupted records such as ‘Billie Jean.’ He would gradually throw in rhythmic accents that he either improvised on his electronic drum machine, created by manipulating the turntable’s needle, or snatched directly from other records.”

Continue reading “The Message — 1980s Hip-Hop Through The Eyes of Local Media” →

Folk Storytellers — Kate Hinote Trio Shares Vivid and Emotional Tales on “Stowaways” Album

Kate Hinote, Matthew Parmenter, and David Johnson of the Kate Hinote Trio. Photo – Greg Aubry of Aubry Photo

Whether fact or fiction, the Kate Hinote Trio uncovers buried emotions on Stowaways.

The Metro Detroit group explores everything from longing to disappointment to grief on its latest indie-folk album.

“These songs came out less like poetry than my typical lyrics because I was very focused on telling a story each time,” said Hinote, the trio’s vocalist and one of its songwriters.

“We wanted each one of these songs to be like a window into another world. We wanted the stories to be clear, and I didn’t want to be too vague about what I was saying.”

The 10 new original tracks featured on Stowaways are anything but vague. Many of the tracks include a vivid storyline about a protagonist examining the purpose of a relationship and the intense feelings that accompany it.

“One of the big differences in writing this record with Matthew is that he’s also a songwriter who’s been composing his own songs on his own for decades,” said Hinote, who co-wrote six of the album’s tracks with violinist Matthew Parmenter and one with guitarist David Johnson.

“The lyrics and story are very important to him, and we always talk about ‘What’s the story here? What does the song mean? What will it mean to others when they hear it?’”

The trio’s lyrics range from fictional to personal and encourage listeners to process their relationships alongside them. Those sonic experiences are further heightened by Hinote’s enchanting vocals and Parmenter and Johnson’s vibrant acoustic instrumentation.

To learn more, I spoke with Hinote about the inspiration behind the trio’s latest album.

Continue reading “Folk Storytellers — Kate Hinote Trio Shares Vivid and Emotional Tales on “Stowaways” Album” →