Back in 1986, Billy Brandt and JC Whitelaw placed an ad in the Metro Times looking for a female vocalist and instrumentalist.
The two Metro Detroit singer-songwriters envisioned forming a folk-rock band—now known as Ash Can Van Gogh—that specialized in three-part harmonies.
It wasn’t long until Mary McGuire saw the ad and called Brandt from a payphone at the Inn Season Café in Royal Oak. The Lansing singer-songwriter was working at the vegetarian-vegan restaurant at the time.
“I’m standing there holding the Metro Times, and I put a dime in the phone. Billy answers the phone, and I’m like, ‘Hey, I’m calling about your ad in the Metro Times, and my name is Mary,’ and he’s like, ‘What’s your sign?’” McGuire said.
“That was the first thing he said to me, and I was like, ‘Scorpio,’ and he’s like, ‘Oh, that’s cool; I’m a Capricorn.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, we’ll get along. I have a moon in Capricorn,’ so then we chatted about our influences and found we were big fans of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.”
That first conversation quickly led to Brandt and Whitelaw seeing McGuire perform at Sir Charles Pub in Royal Oak and then singing with her at her house later that night.
The Stratton Setlist 