Tag: Michigan

Musical Feast – Pond Jam Festivalgoers Experience First Taste of Mercury Salad Sandwich’s Savory Acoustic Funk over Labor Day Weekend

Mercury Salad Sandwich’s Kyle Kipp, Dan “Ozzie” Andrews, Kurt Bonnell and Brooke Ratliff

 

Rapid City, Mich. – Pond Jam festivalgoers will feast on Mercury Salad Sandwich this Labor Day weekend.

They’ll heavily ingest the tasty “acoustic funk” tunes of the burgeoning folk rock and Americana quartet from Ypsilanti, Mich., during their 4:30 p.m. Sunday set on the Pond Jam Second Stage.

It’s also the first time northern Michiganders will sink their teeth into Mercury Salad Sandwich’s delectable music, said Brooke Ratliff, the band’s vocalist, guitarist and percussionist.

“Some of our fave local bands, like Dragon Wagon and Fangs and Twang, are regulars at Pond Jam. There’s a notorious video from Pond Jam of Fangs and Twang playing their jamming song, ‘Big Foot,’ while people in Yeti costumes dance,” she said. “It just seemed like a great time, so we sent them some music, and they let us in.”

A private event, the fifth annual Pond Jam will boast more than 60 bands on four stages today through Sunday at a family’s Rapid City wilderness getaway located about 20 miles east of Traverse City, Mich.

Pond Jam festivalgoers will see an eclectic set from Ratliff and her three Mercury Salad Sandwich bandmates, Kurt Bonnell (acoustic and electric guitar), Dan “Ozzie” Andrews (acoustic and electric bass) and Kyle Kipp (drums and guitar).

“We are playing our folk rock and acoustic funk tunes and debuting one mellow original called ‘The Road,’” Ratliff said. “We are Mazzy Star fans, and the song is our tribute to them.”

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Riding High — The Lows Perform Saturday at Inaugural Motor City Muscle Festival

 

The Lows will play Motor City Muscle on Saturday.
The Lows will be riding high this weekend with a coveted slot at the inaugural Motor City Muscle festival.

The Detroit-based hard rock band will join more than 120 artists, including Ace Frehley, The Dead Kennedys, Belinda Carlisle and Sponge, during the free festival, which includes seven stages of music and a muscle car showcase today through Sunday in downtown Detroit.

The Lows will take the stage in Detroit’s Hart Plaza at 3:15 p.m. Saturday for their hour-long, 15-song set. Fans can expect original Lows’ tunes and covers from Detroit music legends, including Alice Cooper and The Stooges, as well as ‘90s grunge classics.

For Angelo Coppola and his Lows bandmates, the festival is an incredible chance to help revive the rock music scene in the Motor City.

“Basically, I think there’s not enough of the straight-up rock sound going on anymore,” said Coppola, frontman for The Lows. “There are some great bands like Greta Van Fleet and some others from Detroit doing it. I think the world needs more of it, and I think tons of people personally want something to change with mainstream music. We’re just trying to hopefully be part of it carrying the torch and bringing it back around.”

The Lows EP
Coppola learned his band would join the all-star rock music festival lineup after he submitted “Road Trippin’,” a track from The Lows’ 2017 self-titled debut EP for a 12-song Motor City Muscle compilation album.

“The criteria for that was the song had to be about cars, and it had to mention Detroit in the song,” he said. “I went back into the studio where I recorded the EP, and I just changed one line of the first verse with producer Chuck (Alkazian) to include a reference to Detroit in there, then I submitted it, and they picked it for the album.”

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‘LIFE Goals’ – Ann Arbor ‘Attic Folkster’ Peter Felsman Drops New ‘-pf’ Album, Hosts Bike-able Listening Party Today

Peter Felsman, far right, performs with “-pf” members Max Lockwood, Julia Knowles and Rebecca Rosen at the Threads All Arts Festival in Ypsilanti, Mich. Photo by David Newton

Starting at noon today, “attic folk” rocker Peter Felsman will take his new “-pf” album to the streets of Ann Arbor, Mich.

He’ll meet up with “-pf” (pronounced “dash” “pf”) friends and fans to listen to “LIFE Goals,” the band’s newest album, which drops today.

It will be a “reverse progressive” listening party of sorts where people can listen with Felsman throughout the day as he bikes along to the folkish rhythms of “LIFE Goals.”

“I’ll be biking around town to listen with whoever wants to join me,” said Felsman, “-pf” frontman. “I’ve created a Facebook event and invited people in the Ann Arbor bike-able area to message me if they’d like to host a listening event where other people can join or if they’d like to join one.”

LIFE Goals cover art

In classic “-pf” style, the release of “LIFE Goals” coincides with another academic milestone for Felsman, who’s pursuing a doctorate in social work and social psychology at the University of Michigan.

The album marks the beginning of Felsman’s two-year fellowship with the International Max Planck Research School on the Life Course (LIFE), which takes an integrative and interdisciplinary approach to understanding human development in a changing world.

Felsman’s research fellowship is conducted internationally in conjunction with the Free University of Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, the University of Zurich, the University of Virginia and the University of Michigan.

“LIFE Goals” also highlights the first time “-pf” has recorded an album in a proper recording studio, the Kalamazoo, Mich.-based La Luna Recording & Sound owned by Ian Gorman.

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Ypsilanti’s After Hours Radio to Play Homecoming Show Saturday at The Late Station

After Hours Radio knows Ypsilanti, Mich., is the perfect place to end a summer tour.

The progressive, groove-heavy indie rock quartet will end their current 12-date Midwest and East Coast tour with a homecoming show at The Late Station Saturday at 8 p.m.

After starting their tour June 22, band members Nate Erickson (vocals and guitar), Greg Hughes (bass and cello), Jordan Compton (keys and synths) and Mark Dunne (drums) are ready to deliver local fans a memorable and energetic wrap-up show at their own venue.

“We have a fan base out there, and I think that by us going out on tour and coming back by playing a show in our hometown builds a lot of anticipation and excitement in the community,” Dunne said. “We’re well-seasoned by this time, and we’re playing really well together. We want everyone to come out and have a good time.”


After Hours Radio will share their homecoming show with three other artists, including EDM and video game music extraordinaire Vest and Tyler, psychedelic funk rock jam band Trifocal and jazz singer-songwriter Dani Darling. A special “mystery artist” also will be announced the day of the show.

“It’s nice to have it at the tail end versus the beginning because we’ve been sleeping on floors and couches for two weeks straight,” Erickson said. “We want to be able to have a big bash where we can party out late with our friends to really celebrate wrapping it up and just walk nearby to our own beds.”

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Musical Matrimony – FeRn Whale Husband, Wife Duo Bring Meditative Folk Rock to Metro Detroit

Tom and Angela Sheppard of FeRn Whale — photo by Rose Catherine Hohl

As FeRn Whale, Tom and Angela Sheppard are married to the music – and each other.

The Ypsilanti, Mich., husband and wife indie “meditative” folk rock duo started playing together seven years ago in the metro Detroit area and have built a lasting musical and personal partnership.

“We just have totally different roles when we play together so there’s not much of any conflict,” said Tom Sheppard. “Angela does all the writing. I support her writing by coming up with parts to go with it, but she does the singing. I set everything up and carry all the stuff, which I like to do.”

Together, they carry equal parts of FeRn Whale’s musicianship, which includes writing, recording and performing their own material and playing regular gigs at local venues, including Plymouth Rock in Plymouth and Northville Winery and Brewing Company in Northville.

Musical Metamorphosis

Earlier this year, FeRn Whale released their latest single, “Cocoon,” a soothing indie folk rock anthem focused on a personal transformation coinciding with spring’s arrival. They recorded the single on reel-to-reel tape at Royal Grand Studios in Redford last year with producer and friend Mike Bush.

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Family Ties – Detroit’s Brother Elsey Forges Strong Sibling Bond for Roots-oriented Rock

Brother Elsey’s Brady Stablein performs at The Blind Pig in January.
Brother Elsey’s indie folk rock roots run deep within their musical family tree.

The Detroit-based band of brothers credit their family with planting a love of music from one generation to the next.

Together, twins Brady Stablein (vocals, guitar) and Beau Stablein (harmonies, bass), both 21, and their 23-year-old older brother, Jack Stablein (harmonies, guitar), changed their band name from Fifth and Main to Brother Elsey last year to pay homage to their great-grandparents, Elsey and Mary Prater. They also thought the new moniker would resonate more with fans.

“Everyone in that family respected Mary and Elsey on a very deep level, and they really loved who they were,” Brady Stablein said. “Our grandfather, Elsey’s son, he got us into music. He was in a country band for a long time, and growing up around him, he always had us playing guitar, singing old country songs and stuff like that.”

The Stablein brothers’ love of music also grew while spending time with their father. Known for his eclectic music taste, the senior Stablein played everything from America to Enrique Iglesias to 50 Cent to musical theater for his sons.

“There were more genres such as folk or stuff that I don’t think a lot people got into as kids like we did,” Beau Stablein said. “That kinda pointed us in the direction that we’re in now.”

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Buzzworthy — Honey Monsoon Drenches Detroit in Jazz-inspired Indie Rock

Honey Monsoon at Ann Arbor’s Om of Medicine in February. Top row from left: Taylor Greenhields, Ana Gomulka and Ian Griffiths. Bottom row from left: Andrea Holther-Cruz and Leo James Willer.

For Honey Monsoon, the sweet sounds of jazz-inspired indie rock, neo soul and funk are dripping heavily throughout metro Detroit’s music scene.

The Detroit-based quintet are spreading the nectar of the Motor City’s burgeoning jazz indie rock scene at clubs like The Blind Pig and Om of Medicine in Ann Arbor, The Loving Touch in Ferndale, the Plymouth Roc in Plymouth, the Tangent Gallery in Detroit and The Loft in Lansing.

Together, Ana Gomulka (music, lyrics, vocals, guitar and keys), Taylor Greenshields (drums and percussion), Ian Griffiths (bass and vocals), Andrea Holther-Cruz (keys and vocals) and Leo James Willer (live painting) are introducing their talents to a growing Motor City audience.

Gomulka attributes the band’s smooth sound to their longtime love of past and present jazz, soul and funk singers and musicians, including Esperanza Spalding, Sharon Jones, Kneebody and Hiatus Kaiyote.

“When we first started this band, I don’t think any of us were like let’s make jazzy music. When I was young, I grew up listening to Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan because that’s what my parents played,” she said. “So when I sang people would be like, ‘Oh you sound like Sarah Vaughan or something like that.’ I was like, ‘Oh, I wasn’t even trying to sound like her.’ I think that’s where our jazzy sound comes from. It’s just what comes out.”

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Celebrating David Bowie — Musicians, Friends Commemorate Thin White Duke at Royal Oak Music Theatre

The Stratton Setlist caught the Feb. 19 Celebrating David Bowie tribute show at Royal Oak Music Theatre in Royal Oak, Mich.

Fantastic Four — Adventures with Vultures, 3 Other Motor City Acts Showcase Musical Prowess at The Blind Pig

Adventures with Vultures, aka Matt Sauter, headlines his first show at The Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, Mich.

A new “Fantastic Four” demonstrated their musical prowess Jan. 20 at The Blind Pig.

The “Fantastic Four” – Adventures with Vultures, Brother Elsey, Great Expectations and Honey Monsoon – represented some of southeast Michigan’s emerging musical talent during a 3.5-hour show filled with folk, roots, pop and jazz rock at the iconic Ann Arbor, Mich., 400-person venue.

It also served as the first headlining show for Plymouth, Mich.-based folk rocker Adventures with Vultures, also known as Matt Sauter, who released his debut EP, “Junction,” in October on Original 1265 Recordings.

Sauter’s down-home and fun-loving stage presence instantly connected with the crowd during his 45-minute set, which included the folk rock gems “Okay Guy,” “Skies of Gold” and “I Found a Dreamer” as well as a new track, “Hell or High Water.”

“So many of you f*ckers came to the show tonight. I can’t believe it,” said Sauter, who’s also a student at the Detroit Institute of Music Education (DIME). “We used to play at coffee shops in Plymouth, Michigan, and all you guys came here, and we really appreciate it.”

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Folk Implosion — Adventures with Vultures’ Matt Sauter Gets Introspective on New ‘Junction’ EP

Matt Sauter, aka Adventures with Vultures

Matt Sauter found his folk after a painful breakup.

The 25-year-old folk rock singer-songwriter, who’s known as Adventures with Vultures, switched from making hip-hop music after his then girlfriend told family and friends that he played guitar and sang.

“She wasn’t a big fan of me making rap music,” Sauter said. “She would always tell her family and parents that ‘He’s a singer, he plays guitar and sings.’ When she broke up with me, it really hurt, so I said if she wants to tell everybody that I play guitar and sing, then I’m going to play guitar and sing.”

Two years later, Sauter officially entered the folk rock world with the release of his new Adventures with Vultures EP, “Junction,” in October on Original 1265 Recordings. Named after a street in Plymouth, Mich., “Junction” represents a rite of passage for Sauter as an individual and a musician.

“There’s like a handful of us, me and my buddies, we all actually have JCT tattooed on us, so there’s a little brotherhood with these kids that I grew up with, and they’re still my great friends,” he said. “I wanted to make this project for these kids who had been around me since we were 6.”

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