Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.
Back in 1977, high school friends Steve Girbach and John Mooneyham bonded over listening to Rush, Judas Priest, and AC/DC albums after school.
Those listening sessions at Mooneyham’s house in Manchester, Mchigan eventually turned into serious discussions about forming a band and playing live shows.
It wasn’t until a few years after graduating from Manchester High School that Girbach and Mooneyham put their musical plan into action.
“Steve and I were talking and we said, ‘Why don’t we get some gear and we’ll put on shows and festivals?’ We had all these grand ideas people in their early 20s come up with,” said Mooneyham, who now co-runs the Manchester Underground Music and Art monthly concert series with Girbach.
“About a month later, Steve said, ‘I invited some guys over to your house to play some music and you’re gonna play bass.’”
Together, guitarist Girbach and bassist Mooneyham played in two cover bands, Allister and The DTs, and later hosted a music festival featuring 13 acts at a former amusement park in the Irish Hills.
Not long after that, The DTs called it quits and everyday life took over for Girbach and Mooneyham. What they didn’t realize at the time was that initial music festival helped lay the groundwork for what would become Manchester Underground Music and Art in 2019.
The Stratton Setlist 