Tag: Steve Lupinski

Looking Inward — Night Sky Alumni Finds Gratitude and Growth on “Down the Rabbit Hole” EP

Night Sky Alumni’s Steve Lupinski, Al Ledford, Jason Longuski, and Joe Daksiewicz. Photo courtesy of the band.

Jason Longuski prefers to get personal with his songwriting.

The Night Sky Alumni frontman pulled from reflections, experiences, and relationships while penning tracks for the Metro Detroit band’s latest EP, Down the Rabbit Hole.

“It is a lot of personal experiences that led to those lyrics, the songs themselves, and the feeling behind them all,” said Longuski, Night Sky Alumni’s vocalist-guitarist. “There’s a story for every one of them and how they came to be.”

The EP’s six tracks serve as an introspective examination of gratitude, growth, and love for the indie-rock band. Longuski’s heartfelt lyrics document everything from valuable lessons to aspirational moments to newfound love.

“For a lot of my writing and lyrics, it could be something I flubbed on or a failure, or it could be something very happy that I started out with,” he said. “Even in the darkest of times or experiences, I’ve always had good people around me—my family, my friends, support groups—that have helped me get through some of the hardest moments of my life.”

On Down the Rabbit Hole, those moments not only soar lyrically but sonically as well. Night Sky Alumni bandmates Joe Daksiewicz (guitar, backing vocals), Steve Lupinski (bass), and Al Ledford (drums) bring fiery and upbeat instrumentation to their sophomore release.

“His lyrical content just complements the music I can write,” Daksiewicz said. “On ‘Let It Rip,’ there’s also an airplane noise, … and to me, it’s part of a story. I’m lucky these guys are willing to allow me to experiment. I feel like a mad scientist sometimes.”

To learn more, I spoke with Longuski and Daksiewicz about the band’s EP ahead of a June 20 release show at Parts and Labor Bar in Melvindale, Michigan.

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Smart Pop – John Kay & Who’s To Say Plays Saturday Acoustic Show at Warren’s Dovetail, Follows Strategic Musical Approach

John Kay & Who’s To Say (left to right): Steve Lupinski, Brandon McNall, John Kay, Tamara Marla Laflin and Jason Rauschenberger. Photo by Adam Barnett

John Kay & Who’s To Say will make their Dovetail debut Saturday night in Warren.

The Detroit progressive pop group will perform a free acoustic show at The Dovetail, 29200 Hoover Road, beginning at 8 p.m.

“We’re going to be performing stripped-down versions of our music – no drums, no high-powered amplifiers,” said John Kay, the group’s lead vocalist and guitarist. “We’ll still plug in some instruments, but this isn’t going to be a full-band, over-the-top kind of night.”

Kay will be joined by Who’s To Say bandmates Steve Lupinski (bass, vocals), Brandon McNall (lead guitar) and Jason Rauschenberger (rhythm guitar, percussion, vocals) for the one-hour set, which will feature songs from Kay’s 2016 album, “Dealing with People,” as well as some newer tunes and maybe a cover. Mark Bolohan of Scarlet Lies will kick off the music Saturday night.

“Steve and I visited the Dovetail last month, and the place is clean with an inviting atmosphere,” said Kay, who grew up in Livonia and started playing drums at age two. “It should be an interesting night and allow for meeting some cool new people.”

John Kay & Who’s To Say are building a strong live music presence in Detroit after performing their first show at a sold-out P.J.’s Lager House in March. Kay and his bandmates spent some time building a solid musical and artistic foundation before booking shows.

“We rehearsed for over a year in the dark; we didn’t put up photos, we didn’t put out snippets, we didn’t tease anything,” Kay said. “What we did was we worked hard, and we busted our ass until we had three rehearsals in a row that we thought, ‘Hey, we could have done all three of those rehearsals in front of a paying audience, and they would’ve gotten their money’s worth.’”

Continue reading “Smart Pop – John Kay & Who’s To Say Plays Saturday Acoustic Show at Warren’s Dovetail, Follows Strategic Musical Approach” →