Cover Story
Original white boy
Danny "K"AE’s album My God Reigns Supreme/God Don’t Play is now available for download at iTunes and Amazon, with other albums to follow over the next several months. On the evening of Sept. 8, 2007, Insane Clown Posse co-founder Violent J began his weekly online radio show W-FUCKOFF as scheduled. But America’s most notorious wicked…
City Slang: Backpack Festival this weekend
The 7th annual Backpack Festival takes place August 4-5 at the New Center Park in Detroit from midday to midnight each day. <p)The festival is being presented by techno legend Derrick May, techno music innovator Mad Mike of Underground Resistance, SCP founder Judy Shelton, and John Collins (UR), and it aims to raise money and…
City Slang: Kem’s Mack & Third Live concludes with Maze
Contemporary Motown star Kem’s Mack & Third Live: A Call to Service event will conclude with a headline performance by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly. The concert is free and includes a food drive aiming to help the homeless. It all happens August 26 at Detroit’s Cass Park. “We are so honored that Maze featuring Frankie…
The Sights Tour Diary Entry No. 28: Jamming with the Peacekeepers
Jamming with the Peacekeepers We woke up Tuesday morning after the St. Louis gig at the Schwab manor and made our way to the next gig with Tenacious D: Kansas City. The last time The Sights played Kansas City was on our first tour in 2000 when gas was something ridiculously affordable, like 90 cents…
City Slang: New releases from Five Three Dial Tone
Awesome local label Five Three Dial Tone Records has a couple of great new releases available, featuring Phantasmagoria and Johnny Headband. Phantasmagoria’s Currents is the label’s first 12” LP, and the peeps there are understandably proud. “We’ve pressed 300 copies of Currents and, as usual, 50 of those are on white vinyl. Those 50 copies…
Bring On The Light
Lac La Belle …soundin’ like… Songs from longlost cabins given fresh luminescence by the flicker-flame dynamics of a pair of talented banjo ticklers, acoustical twangers and charismatic balladeers. Detroit voices affecting tall-tale-ish ramblings for river-creek crossings, branch-swinging bravado bards slung through Appalachian-slopes, bolstered by the rich resonance of those buzzy chords, those humming organs, breathy/forceful singing voices…
Weekend Hit List
Friday 27th The Meltdowns Rick Mills is a name known by most on the local rock ’n’ roll scene thanks to his work with the Seat Belts, the Volcanos and, back in the 1980s and ’90s, as “Creepy Rick,” fronting the Cramps… [READ MORE] La Chispa & Company present Duendeando Here’s a bit of delightful coincidence.…
City Slang: Whitey Morgan at the Chelsea Sounds & Sights Fest
Outlaw country boys Whitey Morgan & the 78s play the Chelsea Sounds & Sights Fest tonight, Friday, July 27. The band goes onstage at 7pm and cover is $5. It’s country night, and Morgan is on a bill with the Blue River Band. Saturday’s bill feayure Billy Mack & the Juke Joint Johnnies and Fifty…
The Sights Tour Diary Entry No. 27: They’re Gonna Hang Your Picture, Up There On That Wall
They’re gonna hang your picture, up there on that wall… We’re driving through Missouri on our way to Kansas City for tonight’s gig with Tenacious D. We’re passing a beautiful countryside and Ronnie Lane’s first solo record is our soundtrack–it’s a perfect cocktail for the afternoon. We played Tulsa with the D at the Brady…
City Slang: Tony D’Annunzio talks Grande
At the Lido Gallery tonight (Thursday evening), Louder Than Love: The Grande Ballroom Story director Tony D’Annunzio will be on hand for a meet-and-greet. The chat will be moderated by yours truly. “The evening will feature a talk by Tony and an exhibition of posters by iconic rock poster artist Gary Grimshaw. Louder Than Love:…
Pica points vs. democracy before state’s high court
There were two questions at the heart of today’s oral arguments in Lansing before the Michigan Supreme Court, which is being asked to decide whether a referendum on the state’s controversial emergency manager law should be on the November ballot. The first question: Does the heading on a petition signed by more than 200,000 registered…
Further thoughts on federal lines of credit
When we contacted U-M Professor Miles Kimball about William Greider’s column, he sent us a number of links to his blog.supplysideliberal.com and further thoughts on the idea of using federal lines of credit as economic stimuli: • In particular, here is my reply to Bill Greider, which has some important clarifications: blog.supplysideliberal.com/post/27017988298/bill-greider-on-federal-lines-of-credit-a-new-way-to • The last…
City Slang: Easy Action tops night of punk at New Way
With Californian punk vets Fang rolling into town (remember that “The Money Will Roll Right In” song Nirvana covered?), a solid bill featuring three great Detroit bands was put together for what turned out to be a fantastic evening at the New Way in Ferndale, one of the most underrated venues in Metro Detroit. Death…
The dispensary tour
Maybe there are marijuana dispensaries where clouds of smoke drift through the air behind beaded curtains as loud music pounds from speakers, dancing girls gyrate and heavy lidded smokers nod while reclining on overstuffed pillows. Those kinds of places may exist, but I didn’t see anything like that when I visited the People’s Choice medical…
Character assassins and corruption
Last week, the worst member of the state Legislature — and that’s saying something — dived deeper than ever into the toilet. David Agema, a washed-up airline pilot from Grandville, proclaimed that the president of the United States is a Muslim. "That explains it all. He is a Muslim," Agema proclaimed on Facebook. What’s more,…
Standing up for Dillatroit
The name J Dilla is one that is likely to make most fans of hip hop grin from ear to ear, while people not familiar with that world will perhaps look puzzled. J Dilla, born James Dewitt Yancey and sometimes known as Jay Dee, is in fact one of the most influential figures to have…
Condom condemnation?
I am a hetero female, but one of my biggest fantasies is for a guy to dress up in women’s underwear. Not full-blown drag, just a teddy, fishnets and some heels. He doesn’t even have to act like a woman. I just want him to parade around a bit, and just for me. I’ve had…
Rodriguez – Searching for Sugar Man, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Light in the Attic/Legacy)
The big-buzz doc Searching for Sugar Man doesn’t open locally until next week, but the soundtrack is out as of July 24. It’s a compelling introduction to the work of Sixto Diaz Rodriguez even absent the context of his story or its full details. The bare outline: Motown sessionman Dennis Coffey discovers a gritty Cass…
Short Takes: Trishna, Neil Young Journeys
Trishna | C+ Chameleon filmmaker Michael Winterbottom transposes Tess of the D’Urbervilles to contemporary India and puts the beautiful Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) through the hell of poverty, male entitlement and, inevitably, physical and spiritual rape. There are stunning sequences that capture the color and chaos of the country’s crowded landscapes to be sure,…
Recharge the economy
Rome is burning while Congress fiddles. The president is out on the road trying to secure a second term, while the economy once again teeters on the brink of bad possibilities. The governors of the Federal Reserve Board seem to understand this better than most of Washington’s power hitters. But what can the Fed do?…
Johnny Headband’s ‘serious fun’
Who Cooks For You release party is at 8 p.m. Friday, July 27, at the Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. With Phantasmagoria and Lettercamp. A special 7-inch will be available of "Hot Button Topic" by Johnny Headband and a B-side of Casimer & Casimir, the latest project by former Detroit-based chamber-pop auteur Casimer Pascal…
South of Detroit
Sweet T’s Soul Cookin’ 1515 Ottawa St., Windsor 519-973-1234 Handicap accessible Entrées: $11-$17 Sandwiches: $10 Set aside the fact that it has the worst restaurant name in the area, and also any concerns about what frying may do to your arteries, and prepare to enjoy an evening of excess at Sweet T’s Soul Cookin’, Canadian…
Inspiration overload
Maker Faire runs from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 28-29, at the Henry Ford in Dearborn (20900 Oakwood Blvd.); one-day adult tickets are $13 and up; various packages available; makerfairedetroit.com/attend Prepare yourself for robots, fire-spitting metallic contraptions, flying machines, exploding coke bottles — all sorts of creations to fuel the imagination. It’s the third…
Letters to the Editor
Bother your reps This year the candidates for president will spend hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising, with one telling us of the heroic things he has done, and the other telling us of the miraculous things he will do. Almost everything President Obama takes credit for had to be passed by Congress. The…
Food Stuff
Afternoon veg-out Want to eat local, vegan fare from a kitchen that can accommodate your dietary restrictions, but you’re too busy Thursday afternoon to head out to some locavore paradise? You might consider the Dunch Club, the brainchild of local food enthusiast Lindsay Jewell. She says the club’s goal is "to use as much Michigan…
For art’s sake
A few of the DIA’s top honchos paid a visit to the world headquarters of the Metro Times last week, looking to gin up support for a proposed millage set to go before voters in the tri-county area on Aug. 7. What the Detroit Institute of Arts seeks is this: The approval of voters in…
Facing down Fannie
Facing eviction from her home on Detroit’s west side, Jennifer Britt is taking a stand. But she’s not standing alone. A judge has ordered Britt’s eviction, which means a Dumpster could be dropped off outside the 49-year-old widow’s home on Warwick near Grand River at any time. Supporters of Britt began arriving at her brick…
Direct, but not simple
The Go and Conspiracy of Owls singer-guitarist Bobby Harlow produced this sophomore self-titled LP from New England’s wispy-voiced, fuzz-sweetened, garage-storming pop auteur King Tuff. Harlow said he was attracted particularly by Tuff’s "direct way" of songwriting. "Directness doesn’t mean simple," said Harlow, who hosted Tuff for recording here in Detroit in February. Tuff gives listeners…
The Sights Tour Diary No. 26: Mr. Late Plate
Mr. Late Plate… Here I am, looking out the window in the catering room backstage at the Brady Theater in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The band Live is playing on the local rock radio station and it brings to mind our old manager– he used to manage Live. I have lost touch with him, but he was…
City Slang: Weekly music review roundup
Remember – if you send it, it will get reviewed. That’s the City Slang promise. It doesn’t matter what genre the music is – as long as it has a Metro Detroit connection, it’ll get in. Preferably, we’d like to concentrate on new releases but, while we’re getting warmed up here, feel free to send…
Fake Surfers / Dread Wings
Latest punk rattlings: Fake Surfers are a new-ish local duo busting out bare-bones roars bellicosity on their debut cassette (on Flesh Wave). Feedback is fierce and the drums’ denting, all jitter-juke ricochets, end over end in a napalm-wreathed tumble-drier heating up loads of singed denim; the riffs chug-along, relentless and aerobic, up the stairs then…
Caped crusader and Colorado
"This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object." —The Joker (Heath Ledger), The Dark Knight When my editor asked me to offer up some thoughts about the mass shooting in Aurora, Colo., as a follow-up to my review of The Dark Knight Rises, I wasn’t sure I had anything to say…
