Tag: Mike Galbraith

Random Connections — Detroit’s Television City Celebrates Chance Encounters With Others on “Lost in Arkansas” Single

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Brian Raleigh, left, performs with Garret Bielaniec during a Television City show at Detroit’s Lager House in 2018. Photo – Erick Buchholz

Brian Raleigh reminisces about a special moment in the not-too-distant past.

The Television City frontman reflects on a chance encounter with a woman in the U.P. and relishes that random connection on the band’s latest alt-country-rock single, “Lost in Arkansas.”

“It was a very innocent sort of meeting where we talked, we got to know each other, and we felt a very strong connection. That’s all there was,” said Raleigh, the Detroit band’s vocalist, guitarist, and keyboardist.

Backed by nostalgic electric guitar, pedal steel, and drums, Raleigh sings, “And in the blink of an eye / She was gone as quick as she came / Back to the wind, the Great Lakes / The trees and the rain / And I don’t think I’m ever gonna be the same again / As I was before / But I can remember when.”

“It’s about being lost in that moment,” he said. “It was a few years ago [when I met her] … and we’ve kept in touch a little bit.”

Raleigh wrote the track shortly after that encounter and shared it with his Television City bandmates.

“I might have written the song the day after that occurred or not too long after. And I put it away, and I thought, ‘I don’t even know if this song is any good or not,’” he said.

“And then I brought it out when we were looking for songs to record this next batch, and [guitarist] Garret [Bielaniec] said, ‘That’s the one.’”

Now, Raleigh is celebrating the release of “Lost in Arkansas” with Television City during a September 28 show with Jim Roll, Mike Galbraith, and Courtney Hurley at Ghost Light in Hamtramck, Michigan.

To learn more, I spoke with Raleigh about the band and single ahead of the show.

Continue reading “Random Connections — Detroit’s Television City Celebrates Chance Encounters With Others on “Lost in Arkansas” Single” →

Feeling Seen and Validated — Moonwreckers Examines the Trajectory of Heartbreak and Grief on “Why Look Here?” Album

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Paul Stiem, Jamus Sumner, Matt Konkle, and Matt Galbraith of Moonwreckers. Photo by Chuck Marshall

After encountering heartbreak and grief, Moonwreckers understands the importance of feeling seen and validated.

The Metro Detroit quartet of Matt Galbraith (vocals, guitar), Matt Konkle (drums), Paul Stiem (guitar), and Jamus Sumner (bass, vocals) explores that emotional need and its evolution on the album, Why Look Here?

“It certainly is autobiographical. At the time, I was married, and we were having issues, and we did eventually divorce. A lot of these songs were written around the time when I was in my early 30s, so shit hit the fan between us and we had been together since we were 18 years old,” said Galbraith about the band’s indie-rock-meets-emo debut release.

“I didn’t know what a world looked like without that, so I was very lost, and it was scary to me what life looked like outside of that relationship. There’s some coming-of-age stuff in there, too, but a lot of it has to do with that relationship, the struggles and the attempts of trying to reconcile things, and then failing and rinse and repeat.”

Moonwreckers deeply examines that trajectory across 12 personal tracks on Why Look Here? The album’s honest lyrics, plaintive vocals, and evocative instrumentation prompt listeners to process their emotions and struggles alongside the band.

“There are so many universal themes here. Everyone’s gone through the experience of having a relationship that didn’t pan out to be what they wanted it to be,” Sumner said.

“Everyone’s gone through the frustration or the disappointment of misaligned expectations and incomplete communication and the moment someone passes or walks out of your life. There’s unfinished business and you have to work through that—except you won’t get an answer to everything.”

To learn more, I spoke with Moonwreckers about their latest album ahead of a July 26 show at Detroit’s Batch Brewing Company.

Continue reading “Feeling Seen and Validated — Moonwreckers Examines the Trajectory of Heartbreak and Grief on “Why Look Here?” Album” →