Tag: Saline

Second Spin – Brad Phillips Gives ‘Dance Again’ Another Whirl as Debut Songwriting Single

Brad Phillips headshot 2a
Brad Phillips features a violin orchestra on his latest single, “Dance Again.” Photo courtesy of Brad Phillips

Brad Phillips never imagined his song “Dance Again” from Willow Run would take on a whole new life.

The Americana singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist revived the initial stripped-down track from the 2018 World War II era play and transformed it into a sweeping, cinematic ballad.

“The song was only two verses with a chorus and was performed with only voice and a simple, lonely acoustic guitar part. There was a lot of anguish and longing at its core at that point,” said Phillips, who’s from Dexter and teaches at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance.

“Since then, there has been another verse added, and the arrangement grew quite dramatically. The instrumentation of this new version is several layers of both acoustic and electric guitars, piano, bass, percussion, background vocals and a violin orchestra.”

Out Feb. 10, “Dance Again” soars and flourishes as Phillips’ debut songwriting single. As a longtime sideman, he’s spent most of his musical career playing acoustic guitar, mandolin and violin with Michigan-based artists, including Jeff Daniels, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, The Verve Pipe and May Erlewine.

“For years, I had wanted to be a songwriter, but I could never get out of my own way enough to let it happen. It wasn’t until I was given permission to be and encouraged to be exactly who I am that I was able to let the music in my heart flow freely,” Phillips said.

“I think I always wanted to share this song with the world beyond its place in Willow Run. This song really represents one of those rare moments in creativity in which it feels like someone else wrote it, and I was simply the conduit through which it was transmitted.”

Continue reading “Second Spin – Brad Phillips Gives ‘Dance Again’ Another Whirl as Debut Songwriting Single” →

Rise Above – Theandric Examines the Challenges of Mortality on ‘Flight Among The Tombs’

Theandric
Theandric’s Bill Bogue, Paul Tiseo and Aaron Wienczak provide an insightful route to self-awareness and personal enlightenment on “Flight Among the Tombs.” Photo – Robert Bruce Photograohy

Theandric majestically soars above the shadow of death.

The Detroit heavy metal trio of Paul Tiseo (vocals, bass, keys, guitars), Bill Bogue (guitars) and Aaron Wienczak (guitars) powerfully glides toward the beacon of life on their new supercharged EP, Flight Among the Tombs.

“Literature and poetry were a big inspiration for me. That was connected to the same time of when we all had to go home in March 2020. Life suddenly breaks, we’re all at home … it was a scary time. One silver lining for me was having that time and space to start reading again,” said Tiseo, who’s also inspired by Iron Maiden.

“I found this poet named Anthony Hecht, and I came across one of his poems that really struck me as powerful. He wrote this book of poems called ‘Flight Among the Tombs,’ and that’s where the title comes from. He wrote a series of poems that were different reflections on the person of death.”

Throughout Flight Among the Tombs, Theandric thoughtfully examines mortality amidst the challenging forces of choice, conflict, condemnation and pride. All four tracks provide an insightful route to self-awareness and personal enlightenment.

“To me, it also meant we’re flying among the tombs … we’re not dead yet, we’re alive. With the pandemic and what was happening, it was like every day we were confronted with death and sickness,” said Tiseo, who wrote the EP’s four tracks. “I wanted to think about how we’re gonna rise above this difficult time. We won’t deny that death is real, but it’s important to live.”

Continue reading “Rise Above – Theandric Examines the Challenges of Mortality on ‘Flight Among The Tombs’” →

Full Circle – Widetrack Returns to Pontiac for Saturday’s ‘November Two Remember’ Crofoot Show

Widetrack’s Ron Tippin and Zach Tippin

Widetrack intentionally creates the perfect sonic circle.

The Waterford alt-prog, father-son duo of Ron Tippin (vocals, guitar, drums) and Zach Tippin (bass, guitar) will fittingly return to their musical birthplace of Pontiac for a Saturday show at The Crofoot.

“We are absolutely stoked to be playing our first Widetrack show together as a two-piece, premiering the public live debut of songs we wrote together for our newest album, The Unwakening,” said Ron Tippin, Widetrack’s founder.

“What makes it really special though is that The Crofoot is literally right across the side street from my old rehearsal and recording facility, where Widetrack was born back in 2006. It’ll be kind of like coming full circle for us.”

Widetrack will join eight other bands – Loud Thoughts, Roc Steady, Negative Gravity, Mars Hill, Stompbox, Cicrus, Letters from Abel and Motor City Vibrations – for Smash Concerts’ “November Two Remember” show and perform a six-song, 30-minute set with haunting, introspective tracks from their mystical four-album catalog.

“We’re really looking forward to playing that same stage with The Crofoot’s amazing sound and lights. We hope that people who’ve never heard us before will find our music and on-stage energy to be inspiring. Inspiring others is our deepest desire as musicians and as a creative force,” said Ron Tippin.

A Spirital Unwakening

Widetrack released “The Unwakening” in April.

With the Tippins at the helm, Widetrack continues to unleash their dark, proggy creative energy since releasing their hypnotic, otherworldly album, The Unwakening, in April. The reflective project ventures through a dozen digital tales to uncover the conflicting duality of our personal and online identities in a “Black Mirror-like” dimension.

“The idea of The Unwakening is how we immerse ourselves in this digital landscape, and it just makes our worst tendencies come out; we just wallow in it. All of our wisdom goes out the window and so does our better nature,” said Ron Tippin.

Continue reading “Full Circle – Widetrack Returns to Pontiac for Saturday’s ‘November Two Remember’ Crofoot Show” →

Olivia Millerschin Performs Holiday Show Tonight in Howell, Hosts ‘Cactus on a Ledge’ Book Signing in Saline Saturday

Olivia Millerschin performs at the Detroit Mason Temple’s Chapel theater in November.

Olivia Millerschin will perform a holiday-themed show in Howell tonight and sign copies of her new children’s book, “Cactus on a Ledge,” in Saline Saturday afternoon at McPherson Local.

The Auburn Hills indie folk singer-songwriter will share her renditions of holiday and jazz standards while playing selections from her own catalog at 7 p.m. tonight inside the Howell Opera House, 123 W. Grand River in Howell.

Built in 1881, the Howell Opera House is a historic landmark in the city’s downtown, and the iconic venue’s first floor was renovated in 2006 for live shows and events.

For her Howell show, Millerschin will be joined by musicians James Pyne (trombone), Brian Riley (guitar) and Bob Mervak (keys).

“I have a couple of original songs and others that have been done by some of my favorite artists that are lesser known,” said Millerschin, who’s performed at the Howell Opera House twice before. “We’ll have some holiday classics by The Carpenters, and then we’ll play some of my own stuff.”

Olivia Millerschin’s “Cactus on a Ledge” book

Millerschin also will celebrate the release of her new children’s book, “Cactus on a Ledge,” with a free signing, meet and greet, and performance at McPherson Local, 105 N. Ann Arbor St. in Saline, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Guests will be able to purchase the book at the gift shop.

“This is the first official store that’s going to be carrying the book, and it’s owned by these incredible people,” Millerschin said. “It’s all Michigan made products, so we just thought, ‘What better place is there to do this?’”

Millerschin didn’t initially plan to write a children’s book. Instead, she wrote an introspective ballad of the same name about a cactus who wants to become a tree, but soon realizes it’s cooler to be herself. After writing the song, family, friends and fans encouraged Millerschin to turn it into a children’s book.

She teamed up with a Matter of Fiction Publishing and artist Kathrin Honesta to compile and illustrate the book, which also includes a companion CD of the “Cactus on a Ledge” song. Honesta also did the cover art for Millerschin’s critically-acclaimed 2016 album, “Look Both Ways.”

To promote the book and song, Millerschin plans to visit local independent book stores, libraries and elementary schools in the coming months. The book will be sold in local shops, at shows and through Millerschin’s website.

“I just wanted to have something really organic and show the people who have supported me from the beginning first,” she said. “I sold almost an entire box of books at The Scarab Club in Detroit last Saturday during Noel Night.”

In addition to her upcoming book tour, Millerschin plans to record and release a live album soon.

“I’ve had a lot of frustration with making new music, and I’ve always had trouble with getting the right production down,” she said. “I’m at a point where we should just sing live with the full band, get right in the studio and release it that way. We’re going to be releasing a lot of new stuff, but just the live versions of it.”