Cover Stories
So you want to be a Detroiter?
If you haven’t been to Detroit in, say, 20 years, this spring would be an interesting time to drop in on certain neighborhoods. For instance, 20 years ago, the sidewalk of Willis Street near Cass Avenue was choked with weeds, home to a graying 1917 Willys-Overland building and the scrappy Willis Gallery. This spring, it’s…
The Icemen Cometh
BRASH ICE: Conglomerations of small cakes and chunks from other ice formations, coalesced and refrozen into irregular shapes, often with sharp projections. We’re underway, eight nautical miles or thereabouts into the solid white mass of what I’ve been assured is Lake Erie. But it might as well be 8 trillion nautical miles, and it…
New Baltimore is ranked Michigan’s safest city
Safewise.com has published a list of the safest cities to live in Michigan. See it here. New Baltimore is the winner, with Hamburg Township, Riverview, Grosse Ile Township, and Berkley completing the top five. Have a look at the list. Does this seem accurate to you? Is your city on here? Spot any flaws with…
MOCAD hires new Curator of Education and Public Engagement
MOCAD announced a new Curator of Education and Public Engagement in Amy Corle, who arrives at MOCAD after 25 years at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Her resume looks pretty sweet: As the Director of Visitor Engagement at MCA, Corle created and managed a suite of 50 innovative artist-activated, audience-engaged public programs in partnership with outside…
City Slang: Jack White, Outkast, Beck, Replacements to play Forecastle Fest
The Forecastle Festival 2014 lineup has been announced, and local boy Jack White is among the headliners. Also on the bill is Outkast, Beck, a reformed Replacements, Slint, Spoon, Lord Huron, and many more. “The three-day music celebration, now in its 12th year, will take place July 18-20, 2014, at the award-winning Waterfront Park, a…
Yoga pants and an ass fool insecure guys
An excellent video has emerged on Youtube, which sees a guy wearing yoga pants and bending over a car. When other guys walk past and check out his ass, he reveals that he’s male. The reactions are mixed, to say the least. Check it out here:
Toilet talk
Q: Straight female with a question. It’s about something that sometimes happens to me that I’ve never really told anyone about because it’s so weird and gross. It involves my bowel movements, so it’s not very sexy. (No offense to scat lovers, but I have zero interest in “poop play.”) After I have a normal bowel…
Film Review: Non-Stop
Non-Stop | B- U.S. Air Marshal Bill Marks, played by an especially grizzled-looking Liam Neeson, slumps behind the wheel of a parked rental car, grimaces, dumps three fingers of whiskey into his coffee, stirs it with a tooth brush, stares longingly at a photo of a loved one, and then with a resigned grunt, lumbers…
Promises, promises: Papa Joe’s location in downtown Detroit in question
Rendering of Papa Joe’s in the First National Building (Courtesy of Quicken Loans) Metro Times has learned a planned location in the First National Building in downtown Detroit for suburban upscale grocery store Papa Joe’s is up in the air, potentially for good. In an email to Metro Times, Anthony Curtis, co-owner of Papa Joe’s Gourmet Market…
On Duggan’s State of the City speech
One thing that was obvious from Mayor Mike Duggan’s first State of the City Address last week is that Duggan is no silver-tongued devil. Now there are some folks who may consider him a devil nonetheless, but he isn’t pulling people along with his great oratory. We had an orator in Kwame Kilpatrick, silver-tongued devil…
Reviews of El Dee, Charles Boles Quartet and Tinariwen
El Dee Endearment Quack Media El Dee’s latest effort is a gorgeous little record. The band’s name is likely derived from the initials of singer Lauren Deming, who has one of the most beautifully unique, emotive and damned sultry voices in town. The band is at its best when it’s leaning heavily into the past…
‘Detroit Jazz’ documents vibrant jazz scene
Photographer John Osler’s new book Detroit Jazz documents the legacy of local jazz philanthropist Gretchen Valade through a series of pictures taken at Valade’s Dirty Dog Jazz Café in Grosse Pointe Farms, and at the Detroit Jazz Festival. Osler has a great eye, the ability to capture a musician mid-feeling. Everybody and their dogs think…
Maria Nuccilli
Maria Nuccilli: [I play with] Outrageous Cherry, and Deadbeat Beat. I’m also playing as Neurosmut, a new experimental project with Johanna Berger (formerly of the Decks), Neil Laperriere (Deadbeat Beat) and sometimes Alex Glendening (Deadbeat Beat, Twine Time). I’m also starting a new project with Richie from Lo & Behold called the Belle Isles. In addition…
Restaurant Review: El Asador Steakhouse
El Asador Steakhouse 1312 Springwells St., Detroit 313-297-2360 Handicap accessible Entrées: $10-$19 Open 10 a.m. -9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday. On vacation last month in Yucatan, I naturally encountered plenty of dishes that were far off the beaten track of Mexican restaurants here. (They don’t eat tacos or enchiladas at every meal, you…
Davin Brainard releases colorful board book
“It’s the greatest book ever written,” local artist Davin Brainard says when asked about his new release, Mountain Ocean Sun. “Actually, it’s a fast food joint in Japan. It really is. That’s where the name comes from.” It can be hard to tell when Brainard is being serious and when he’s joking, as everything he…
Ilitch’s arena deal takes a one-two punch from media outlets
(Source: Wikimedia Commons) We’ve given a considerable amount of attention as of late to pizza mogul Mike Ilitch’s proposed Detroit Red Wings arena near downtown, as well as the proposed $200 million in spin-off development that no one seems to know much about. Within the past couple of days, a few stories on the plum…
Book Preview: Detroit Food
Native Detroiter Bill Loomis was a longtime resident of the city’s North Rosedale Park neighborhood. He has written for publications as varied as Michigan History, The New York Times, Hour Detroit and The Detroit News. His new book, Detroit Food, came out last month, and we were delighted to have the opportunity to talk with…
Caveman Woodman
The Caveman can’t see why punk music and dance music can’t go together. The Caveman won’t pay heed to any cliquey spats or separations in the scene. He wants it all lumped in and mixed together. That’s why Caveman can’t wait to play at Kelly’s during the inaugural Hamtramck Music Festival. For Frank Woodman, a…
Jesus Chainsaw Massacre
Who the hell do these Jesus Chainsaw Massacre guys think they are? With the band’s blog, the blatant disregard for inter-band civility, free-flowing insults and onstage shenanigans, the band members, particularly guitarist JR and vocalist Bryan Metro, have managed to upset and enrage people all across the contemporary (and indie and alternative) Detroit music scene,…
Peter Hammer debates Detroit Future City
After three years of planning and research, the Detroit Future City plan was unveiled last year, presenting a long-term blueprint for Detroit policy-making for the coming decades. The report offers strategies for reorganizing Detroit, moving people from less-occupied neighborhoods to streamline services, and reforesting vacant areas. Many have praised the plan, including the Kresge Foundation,…
Despite potholes, Republicans seek tax cuts
Today’s specimen of what’s wrong with democracy is one state Sen. Jack Brandenburg, a Macomb County Republican who wants his colleagues to do something the voters don’t want and which will make the roads and schools even worse. Brandenburg, an industrial supply salesman, wants to cut the state income tax rate from the current 4.25…
Detroit ranked in list of best job markets (well, we’re not L.A.)
Well, Detroit, it could be worse. Consumer research group WalletHub conducted a survey of job markets across the U.S. The group analyzed the relative employment opportunities among the cities, factoring 13 unique metrics ranging from job openings per capita and industry variety to cost of living. Detroit ranked as 38 out of 60 job markets…
It’s colder in Detroit today than it is in Alaska
Photo via Reddit user billyzsigray As Reddit user billyzsigray so acutely points out, it’s colder in Detroit today than it is in Alaska. Granted, the redditer did pull weather data for Anchorage, one of the state’s warmer cities. But still, knowing that our friends to the northwest are basking in a balmy 25 degrees today…
City Slang: Detroit Symphony Orchestra to take National Anthem to Detroit Tigers
DSO musical director Leonard Slatkin will take a brass ensemble to Florida for spring training on Monday afternoon, March 3. A press release states, “Slatkin, who is in Florida on tour with the DSO in West Palm Beach, Miami, Vero Beach, Sarasota and Naples, is famed for his love of both teams. During his tenure…
Destroy This Snow… with a hard-rock show: Thursday
We are no longer groovy. No longer zen about all this. We are pissed… Winter’s been going on TOO damn long, here in Michigan. There’s a time for pop-music and for soothing soul and there’s a time for sugary synth-rock… There’s a time for rap, too – be it chill or be it slamming. It…
True Prayer: ‘Santiparo’s Kickstarter’
A report filed by writer Phreddy Wischusen, detailing the heavy, heartening story of a singer, a kicktarter campaign, a spiritual awakening and an album… -posted here by Jeff Milo words by Wiscusen songs by Alan Scheurman ‘True Prayer’ Santiparro’s Kickstarter shows the man in the mirror, under the microscope By Phreddy Wischusen “I…
On Bad Writing
We get all kinds of submissions at the Metro Times offices from aspiring scribes. Some of the writing samples, as you might imagine, are laughably, horribly bad. We couldn’t post them here in good conscience (unless, say, our readers clamored to see them), but that’s not what we want to talk about today. What’s on our…
Northern Michigan newspaper calls congressional candidate for comment, later realizes it was probably someone else
This is Dan Benishek, not Jerry Cannon, OK? (Source: Wikimedia Commons) We all make mistakes. Today, the Daily Mining Gazette says they made one hell of a goof. The story began last month when the northern Michigan newspaper interviewed someone initially believed to be Democratic congressional candidate Jerry Cannon. Cannon, a retired Army Major General, is challenging incumbent…
Metro Times 2014 Annual Manual
Detroit can mean many things. Technically, it is the largest city in Michigan, that fabled, troubled — and lately, heavily documented — metropolis of more than 700,000. For news writers, it can mean Detroit’s big auto companies. Call it “Motown” and it conjures memories of the city’s musical heyday. But for many in southeastern Michigan, it’s…
Predicting the 2014 Oscar winners
Alrighty, it’s Oscar time! Late as always, here are your annual predictions that are guaranteed to be at least 54 percent right. (And maybe higher!) First, a few shout-outs to Grantland’s Mark Harris, Entertainment Weekly’s Anthony Breznican, Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers, and In Contention’s Gregory Ellwood, Guy Lodge, and Kristopher Tapley, all of…
Giant colon heading to Detroit
Yes, you read that correctly. To promote National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, a giant, inflatable, walk-through colon will be coming to the Michigan Science Center on March 28-29, part of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Bayer HeathCare Pharmaceuticals “Keep Your Rear in the Clear” presentation. This is obviously a serious issue, but that…
Bryan Cranston to play Michigan serial killer in new film
Wikimedia Commons Actor Bryan Cranston, best known for his role as Walter White in AMC’s Breaking Bad (aka one of the most ingenious shows in the history of American television), will play a Michigan serial killer in a new film, Holland, Michigan. Naomi Watts is also slated to star. The film, directed by Errol Morris,…
2016 GOP convention not coming to Detroit
(Source: Wikimedia Commons) Detroit won’t host the GOP 2016 nominating gala, the party’s chairman said today, a setback to every Republican strategist who feels the city could be used to appeal to urban voters. The Detroit News reports GOP chairman Reince Priebus tweeted Thursday that “Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Denver, Dallas, Kansas City, Las Vegas & Phoenix” are…
Mindless Self Indulgence to play Detroit
Electro-punks Mindless Self Indulgence will be playing St. Andrew’s Hall on Wednesday, April 2 in support of the new Fuck Machine remix album. The band has also put out an anime music video for the song “Fuck Machine,” which can be seen here: According to a press release, “Fans will be wise to catch the…
City Slang: Hamtramck Music Festival promo by Frank Woodman
Frank Woodman of Caveman Woodman (among others) has made a promo video for the Hamtramck Music Festival. The music is by Bars of Gold. See it here: Plenty of fun. Woodman is running though the streets of Hamtramck, in full caveman garb. We can relate to every moment when he stops, hands on knees, breathing…
Treat yo’self!
Angelic Soaps ($4.75) Michigan Artisans 1400 E. Fisher Fwy., Detroit 810-449-6665; angelicsoapsandgifts.com Available in 37 aromatic — sometimes delectable — varieties from herbal bath and body company Angelic Soaps and Gifts, these soap bars offer a great way to unwind after a long work day. They’re sold in intriguing scents such as Green Tea, Oatmeal Honey,…
Bitchin’ Detroit threads
Hey kids! Download your paper dolls here for the lady and here for the fella!
Five shopping tips for the clueless dude
Five tips for the clueless dude on shopping for that special lady, from the Peacock Room’s Liz Roekle: 1) Jewelry: “We have everything you could want: shiny, punk, studs, spikes, glitz, glam, Swarovski crystals.” 2) A tiny clutch: “One thing all women need is a tiny handbag. It has to be big enough to contain three…
City Slang: Richie Ramone turns back the clock in Detroit
For those of who never had the chance to see the Ramones live, shows like this are a real gift. Of course, seeing Richie Ramone (or Marky, or CJ, or even Tommy’s bluegrass band) isn’t going to be anything like seeing the punk legends in all their glory, back in the day. We all know…
Superieur Brand T-shirts recall Michigan’s yesteryear
Can you imagine the surprise in our editorial office when we received a box of T-shirts that seemed to come straight out of the 1970s, emblazoned with names firmly lodged in the past, including … Pine Knob? The shirts, despite being brand-new, had a faded, vintage look to them that would cause any native Detroiter…
The crafty cop
Brian Russell is an unusual soul. The Detroit cop has taken part in more than a few drug raids and was even in Desert Storm. The man has put his life on the line for his country and his city, so maybe it isn’t too surprising that he has taken up an extra-curricular activity that…
Toast skirts keep you warm, looking cool
Vivian George is a singer-songwriter who splits her time between Canada and Detroit. She also works behind the scenes on TV and film sets, and she has a company called Toast that specializes in making fashionable apparel that keeps the wearer toasty warm — perfect for those who spend a lot of time outside, but…
Guide to Detroit’s other theaters
OK, so you like theater. Maybe you have lots of fun seeing the big Broadway shows come through town at grand spaces like the Fisher Theatre. But you may not know that there are a host of other professional, nonprofit and educational theaters in and around Detroit that are certainly worth a visit as well.…
Artistic annual events in metro Detroit
The Marche du Nain Rouge: March 23 See, in French, nain rouge means “red dwarf.” Many argue that the nain rouge is more like an imp or leprechaun, just with horns and a tail. Frankly, by the time you’ve marched in this costume parade and poured into a nearby bar to drink with revelers, you…
Regional Transit Authority’s fiscal blues
“We’d love to pay additional taxes to support the RTA!” Steven Potter’s probably a bit pissed off today. The Oakland County representative of the Southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority raised a point of contention last week during the board’s monthly meeting. Why, he asked his colleagues, would we re-open a search for a CEO when…
Guide to outdoor art in Detroit
Are art galleries not quite your scene? Do you not care for wine and cheese? Something about the pretentiousness of staring at art in a white room? No worries: There are plenty of alternative places to see great art in Detroit. Here are some of our favorite outdoor works of art in and around town:…
Bankruptcy judge sticks to ‘aggressive timetable’ for Detroit case
If you tuned in to WDET’s Craig Fahle show Monday morning, you likely heard Laura Bartell, professor of law Wayne State University, talk Detroit’s bankruptcy case. During the interview, she said it was highly unlikely that U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes would schedule confirmation hearings anytime soon on the proposed bankruptcy-exit plan, called a “Plan…
Social Media Spread Lice
“Don’t forget to tag the lice!” We get some really out-there press releases here at MT HQ, but every once in a while one of them will send our weird-meter soaring. The latest was a press release quoting the owner of Rapunzel’s Lice Boutique. (Did you realize there WAS a Rapunzel’s Lice Boutique? No? You’ll…
Five questions with Fred Frith
Experimental music icon Fred Frith will be performing solo at Trinosophes this week in what will be the multi-instrumentalist’s first Detroit performance in his decades-spanning career. Since redefining the electric guitar on his pivotal 1974 recording Guitar Solos, Frith has continually challenged musical conventions with his vast set of compositional and improvisational techniques. We managed…
Feelings
The opening song on local quartet Feelings first full-length album is called “Haterade.” The song’s lead guitar is as gnarly and caustic as its lead vocals; the rhythm guitar and bass are setting stormy grooves through grating distortion, and the drums seem hell-bent on dislodging your footing. You could be forgiven for referring to this…
Snyder’s cold heart, kudos for Keros, additions to the Detroit bucket list
Tell Us How You Really Feel Two things about this ongoing public health drama are particularly relevant to the Chapter 9 bankruptcy “plan of adjustment:” 1) Like our potholed roads, they remind us that there is plenty of work repairing and maintaining our society’s infrastructure to keep people employed for generations, if only we chose to…
Parents, children at forefront of medical marijuana debate
Parents and their children seem to be at the forefront of medical marijuana contention in Michigan and across the nation these days. One of the hottest points is Michigan’s proposed SB 736, which was introduced by state Sen. Rick Jones on Jan. 15. The Senate bill addresses issues around the children of medical marijuana patients…
Restaurant review: Craft Work in Detroit
Craft Work 8047 Agnes St., Detroit 313-469-0976 craftworkdetroit.com Handicap accessible Entrées: $9-$18 Hours: 4 p.m.-midnight Monday-Saturday The staff at Craft Work can pour a generous glass of wine. That turns out to be helpful when you’re waiting a long time for your food. On a recent Saturday at 6, it took an hour to seat…
Deboer and Rowse gay marriage trial may soon come to end
April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse’s fight to be recognized as the legal parents of their three children may soon come to an end. About a half-dozen laws prohibiting same-sex marriage across the nation have been reversed since U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman set a trial date between the state and the two women, both nurses…
An alternative to Detroit’s bankruptcy-exit plan unveiled
It’s not pension obligations that led to the city of Detroit’s historic bankruptcy filing; it’s a severe lack of revenue. That was the assertion offered by a coalition of community-based groups Monday in an alternative proposal to the required bankruptcy-exit plan filed last week by Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr. The same assessment was offered…
Troy Gregory & the Witches
Over the course of his career so far, Troy Gregory has played with artists as diverse as Flotsam and Jetsam, Prong, Crime & the City Solution, Kim Fowley, and the Dirtbombs (and we’re only scratching the surface there). He’s also performed as a solo artist, but, for a decade-and-a-half, he has returned time and again…
The science behind richly colored farmers’ eggs
Talk to a backyard chicken farmer long enough, and you’ll eventually hear about the color of their egg yolks and how those of the two dollars-a-dozen commodity eggs literally pale in comparison. You’d think hipster hen keepers invented brightly colored yolks, but consumers have shown yolk color preferences for at least a century. And egg…
Eugene Strobe talks first annual Hamtramck Music Festival
WHEN METRO TIMES moved its annual Blowout music festival from its longtime slot in Hamtramck in early March to Hamtramck and Ferndale a few weeks later in the year, the outcry was immediate. It was as if we were messing with a classic formula: Despite the fact that it almost always snowed every year, fans…
Troy Gregory & The Witches
Over the course of his career so far, Troy Gregory has played with artists as diverse as Flotsam and Jetsam, Prong, Crime & the City Solution, Kim Fowley, and the Dirtbombs (and we’re only scratching the surface there). He’s also performed as a solo artist, but, for a decade-and-a-half, he has returned time and again…
The Detroit drinking matrix
Note: Each category is on a sliding scale, and your mileage may vary. New Divey: If dive bars tend to be classics, it’s because nobody says, “Hey, let’s open up a dive bar.” Usually, these are historic spots where the bad behavior is grandfathered in. But nobody told the owners of My Dad’s Bar, who’ve…
The best of the craft beverage movement
Maestros of Mead In recent years, Michigan has seen the popularity of mead expand exponentially. With B. Nektar and Schramm’s Meadery, metro Detroit now has some of the best mead available. For B. Nektar, it all started as a wedding toast at co-owners Kerri and Brad Dahlhofer’s nuptials. After the two were both laid off…
The major Detroit players in all the key genres
Indie Jamaican Queens Jamaican Queens pile on heavy rap beats, low-woozy-bass bursts, trundling 808 Rolands and cascades of spacey synth samples. Describing the JQ sound with his bandmate Adam Pressley, JQ-co-founder, guitarist, beat experimenter and producer Ryan Spencer tellingly repeats the phrase: “Fuck with it.” (Jeff Milo) Also: George Morris, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Julian…
Keeping the NFL safe for straights
When we heard the news that Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist Jack Burkman intended to introduce a bill calling for a ban on gay players in the NFL, we had a little chuckle. Then there was his over-the-top statement, widely quoted, which said, “We are losing our decency as a nation. Imagine your son being forced to…
Motor City Fives: Top tribute bands
The Mega 80’s Sometimes, we all want to go out and hear what we know. Enter the Mega 80’s. These folks know that, and so they regularly give the patrons of the Magic Bag in Ferndale (as well as a bunch of other local venues) a healthy dose of nostalgia courtesy of the hits of…
Motor City Fives: Record shops worth a closer look
UHF, Royal Oak A relatively new store, UHF has still quickly become a favorite among metro Detroit bargain vinyl hunters. Though it is perhaps best known for its selection of new vinyl, it can also be relied upon for clean, used records. Plenty of reggae, dub and soul, but also a lot of metal, punk…
The Detroit mixtape
Eminem, “Without Me” From 2002’s The Eminem Show, this tune is a perfect example of Mathers’ biting wit, tongue firmly in cheek (even if it happens to be somebody else’s cheek). “We need a little controversy, ’cause it feels so empty without me,” he sings. He’s right too. Bob Seger, “Old Time Rock and Roll” From…
The Detroit food pyramid
Apologies to the USDA, but there are all manner of food pyramids. Beyond the simple triangles designed for mere civilians, there are pyramids for vegetarians, vegans, superfooders. Too often they’re imbued with a kind of subliminal scolding, that if only you could find the right fuel mix, you’d shed pounds and be able to do…
Detroit food trendometer
Following dining in metro Detroit like we do, you get familiar with the ebb and flow of trends. Based on our completely unscientific research, here are the trends we’re spotting, divided into threes — ones that are almost overheating, ones that are coming into their own, and ones that are cooler — most of them…
Claire Nowak-Boyd named new executive director of Preservation Detroit
(Courtesy of Preservation Detroit) Preservation Detroit, the city’s largest historic preservation group, announced today Claire Nowak-Boyd as its new executive director. “We are thrilled to bring Claire on board to help us grow Preservation Detroit,” Amy Elliott Bragg, president of the Board of Directors, said in a statement. “Her talent, experience, and vision will be…
Your guide to Detroit’s ruins
Ruin porn, urban exploring, urban spelunking — call it what you will, but the fascination with Detroit’s ruins is undeniable. Photographer Seph Lawless prefers to use his own term, though. “This isn’t really ‘urban exploring.’ This is a strategic autopsy being done on America,” says Lawless (no, that’s not his real name), who has been…
Annual events in metro Detroit
Ann Arbor Folk Festival January-February; Ann Arbor; theark.org Two-day fest dedicated to all things folk to support Ann Arbor’s great folk venue, the Ark. Meridian Winter Blast February; Detroit; winterblast.com February is right in the thick of a Michigan winter, so why not embrace it with ice-skating, bonfires, snow slides and all sorts of other…
Dear Michigan, please fix the damn roads
Driving down Schaefer toward Eight Mile in Detroit should not make me feel like I’m going to wreck my car. Driving down Greenfield should not make my stomach sink down to my toes, and hitting a pothole should not make me feel like I’m two seconds away from shitting my pants. These potholes for the…
I-94 expansion critics put MDOT in spin mode
A blog post this morning from the Michigan Department of Transportation this morning on why nearly $2 billion should be spent reconstructing I-94 between Conner Avenue and I-96 gave us pause. The 6.7-mile stretch between Conner Avenue and I-96 would be widened one lane in each direction and continuous service drives would be implemented, easing…
Did Nugent apologize to the President?
“I cannot put into adequate terms the condemnation I feel, and so many Americans feel, that this President’s fundamental transformation of this country is indeed the destruction of the American dream of being compensated based on being the best that you can be. The concept of social justice and economic quality is truly bizarre. The…
Local painter Slaw looks to groovy mid-century
We’re fans of local artist Slaw — and not just because he graciously rendered his services to Metro Times at bargain rates, painting the cover for both our Lust Issue as well as some awesome paper dolls for our Annual Manual. We just can’t help but dig his paintings’ playful bachelor pad vibe — “The…
Rainwater Harvesting
The Works Rainwater Collection Barrel Think of last week’s thaw, and the vast amount of water that, in the form of rain and melting snow, ran down our drains. Now imagine that water resulting in a healthful vegetable garden or a verdant lawn. It’s not wishful thinking; it can happen thanks to rainwater management. Given…
P is for Paczki
Paczki Primer — In singular form, it’s called a paczek (PON-check), in their plural form, they’re called paczki (POONCH-key). But even if you just call them plain ol’ jelly donuts, the place and date to enjoy them is Hamtramck on Tuesday, March 4. That’s when the postage stamp-sized city within a city will become paczki…
Reviews of Rock ‘N’ Roll Monkey & the Robots, Lost in the Trees
Rock ’N’ Roll Monkey & the Robots Back to Beatsville Motor Sounds Alright, we admit it. This band got our attention when they sent this reissue along with the same album on an eight-track cassette. In this writer’s 15 years of music journalism, that’s a first, and it sent us scampering to eBay to see how…
City Slang: Weekly music review roundup
Send CDs, vinyl, cassettes, demos and 8-tracks to Brett Callwood, Metro Times, 1200 Woodward Heights, Ferndale MI 48220. Email MP3s and streaming links to bcallwood@metrotimes.com. El Dee’s Endearment (Quack Media) is a gorgeous little record. One would assume that the band’s name is derived from the initials of singer Lauren Deming, who has one of…
