Cover Story
The Music Issue 2012
Detroit music has a rich past, which we’ve often focused on for our annual music issue. This year, we look at a handful of the artists who represent Detroit music’s promising future. We sought out our notable producers, songwriters and recording artists, and asked them about their art and how they do it. And we…
Preposterous!
Got your attention? The title character of the song above is also it’s author -one and the same with the tall, writerly frontman of Detroit-based pyschedelic-power-pop-panache-peddling quartet The High Strung… – His 2nd proper solo album – an expansive trip unwound on bandcamp and rambled-about-below… came out this weekend. The writer is blindfolded and twirled…
City Slang: Sheefy McFly’s Air Up There
Local indie artist Sheefy McFly will throw a party to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of his The Air UP There event on November 30 at Bob’s Classic Kicks. McFly says, “I am having Sir Michael Rocks of the Cool Kids perform at the show as well as myself will be performing plus other Michigan rising…
At Willoughby (11.17.12)
Scenesterism be damned… damned! Metro Times just put out an exceptional Music Issue propping a bevy of bands, many of them noticeably buzzed-up throughout the last calendar year and distinguished by exceptional albums already released or on the cusp of completion. I’d like to take this blog post as a chance to prop the debut…
City Slang: Boldy James at clothing launch
Detroit rapper Boldy James appeared at HipHopSince1987, part of Stalley’s BCG Clothing Launch in Philly. We have footage here. The video features Stalley talking about the new line and performances from himself and Boldy James. Click here to join the City Slang Turntable community!!! Follow @City_Slang
Dial.81~Luminous Stasis
Dial 81 – Luminous Stasis – M1-SESSIONS Dial 81 is staying busy this autumn. After the experimental composer of ambient techno and progressive hip-hop scored evocatively ominous/ruminative instrumental pieces for this summer’s vivid Detropia documentary (pieces he’ll soon be performing live), he also just released a single with his more pop-leaning side project: Dark Wave. Now, with Luminous Stasis out last week, Dial 81 (a.k.a. emcee/producer Blair…
City Slang: ICP get chainsaw crazy
The Insane Clown Posse pays tribute to classic horror movies with its new video for the song “Night of the Chainsaw”, which can be viewed here. Fans of the band will be delighted to see zombies, other creatures and all manner of gruesome deaths, some caused by the chainsaw in the title. They say, “In…
Shea’s Lounge: My year in medical muddle
This edition of long-absent Shea’s Lounge could be called Shea’s Gurney. (Hey, 2012, glad to be here.) Edward Ericson Jr.’s review a while back of Unaccountable by Dr. Marty Makary, asks honesty and humanity of hospitals and doctors. My experience was with a large local hospital where I had thyroid removal surgery last June. In…
City Slang: Savage Grace man sings opera
On Saturday, November 24, Al Jacquez, singer with Grande Ballroom-era band Savage Grace, will play the role of “trusted adviser” in the opera Amahl and the Visitors at the Main Street Opera Theatre. It’s probably fair to say that Detroit’s ‘60s rockers wouldn’t have imagined Jacquez taking on something like this when they were in…
Smashed
Smashed | B- Hipsters have problems too. In this low-budget, indie-styled retread of Days of Wine and Roses, we meet Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), an adorably funky second-grade teacher who is just beginning the descent from functional alcoholism into full-blown alcoholic. Most nights she goes out to clubs with her part-time music journalist husband…
City Slang: Todd’s reunion
Detroiters who used to party at the infamous Todd’s Nightclub in the ‘80s will be delighted to know that they have a chance to relive their glory, and gory, years. There will be a reunion party at the Corktown Tavern in Detroit on Friday, November 23, the night after Thanksgiving. Cover is $7, and a…
City Slang: Battlecross to tour
Detroit metal titans Battlecross has announced that it will be touring with label mates ABIOTIC this December. According to Metal Blade Records, “Detroit, MI’s BATTLECROSS have announced that they will embark on a short, headlining tour with label mates ABIOTIC this December. Two of this year’s breakout Metal Blade bands will embark on The Growing…
The Loneliest Planet
The Loneliest Planet | C+ Meaningful communication, or the lack of it, is what keeps the attractive couple (played by Hani Furstenberg and Gael García Bernal) in The Loneliest Planet from connecting with one another and, frankly, what prevents Julia Loktev’s movie from connecting with its audience. Anyone who saw Loktev’s minimalist terrorist drama Day…
Gestalt-country
The Inside Outlaws was formed in 2005 by Don "Doop" Duprie and Ty Stone. According to Duprie, "The original vision was to get a group of songwriters and musicians together to make good music and really focus on writing great songs." Since that time, the collective has morphed into a group of musicians who can…
Skyfall
Skyfall | A- So, as it turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks. When Jason Bourne hit the big screen in 2002, many heralded the other JB’s inevitable demise. After all, how could Bond’s graying, all too eager-to-please formulaic smarm compete with the real-world grittiness and innate humanity of Matt Damon’s tortured…
Kickstand & deliver
The Kickstand Band record release party is with Lightning Love and the Deadbeat Beat on Saturday, Nov. 10, at PJ’s Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-961-4668. There’s nothing like being in on a secret, especially when it’s a really exciting secret that is well worth knowing. Earlier this year, at the Blowout festival, the…
‘Beyond the blasé’
Jamaican Queens tour the Midwest with Passalacqua through Nov. 17. Find their vimeo channel via their website (jamaicanqueens.com). The video for "Kids Get Away" is tentatively scheduled to drop before Thanksgiving. Their drum machines deceive; this is not dance music. "I don’t want to make party music, I don’t think … ever," surmises singer, guitarist…
The problems that remain
The votes are in — except, that is, for 10 million or so absentee, mail-in and provisional ballots that won’t be counted for days or weeks. Still, odds are you know something I didn’t when I wrote this column: You probably know who won. That is, unless we are hip-deep in another disputed presidential election,…
Letters to the Editor
Ovshinsky, socialism & confusion I’m confused by people like Stan Ovshinsky ("Hero for our planet" by Jack Lessenberry, Oct. 25). I admire his achievements. Through his brainpower, hard work, risk and perseverance, he created wealth, jobs and advancements for a healthier environment. He inspired many. But he still clung to the idea that socialism was…
Rhythm king
The 37-year-old drummer Karriem Riggins has a résumé that reads like two separate careers entirely. In certain circles, Riggins — born and raised in Detroit and back in the area after sojourns in L.A. and New York — is pure hip hop, with production credits for J Dilla, Slum Village, Common, Erykah Badu, the Roots,…
Upper crusts 3
$=$5-$10; $$=$10-$25; $$$=$25-$50; $$$$=$50+ Loui’s Pizza 23141 Dequindre Rd., Hazel Park; 248-547-1711; louispizza.net; $: None of the glitterati treks to Loui’s for its elegant decor or haute cuisine, and none of the regular patrons comes to see the occasional glitterati who wander in. This is a quintessential pizza joint — hundreds of straw-covered Chianti bottles…
All about the song
Catch one of Ashaki Zeigler’s live sets and some things will be clear. She has an infectiously upbeat stage presence and a Champagne-bubbly voice that work together to disarm you. Once your guard is down, you’re hit all the harder by her chops and artistry. She strives to be classy, but if pressed, she can…
Rock ‘n’ roll chaos
Bars of Gold’s next show is Nov. 23 at Small’s Bar in Hamtramck. Final mixing and mastering on Wheels begins soon after for an expected winter release. Marc Paffi’s not aware of how loud he’s screaming, how high he’s jumping — maybe not even where he’ll land. The Bars of Gold lead singer charges into…
Hurricane Sandy’s wake-up call
Leading up to the just-completed presidential election, President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney engaged in three prime-time debates that lasted about 90 minutes each. In addition, VP Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan squared off in their own confrontation, bringing the total to about six hours’ worth of debate between the men who want…
Fifth Beatles
How to sum up the job of the record producer? An expert on audio engineering, a songwriting consultant, a cheerleader, a group psychologist, a referee, a procurer of instruments, a background singer, a studio musician, a studio janitor … Basically, a producer is the guy or gal who does what’s necessary to take a band’s…
Bored by blow jobs
Dear readers: I’m writing this week’s column in a drug-induced coma. Well, not quite a coma, but close. I was fighting a cold for two weeks, and the cold won: It morphed into an insanely painful sinus infection — you know it’s bad when your doctor urges you to err on the side of too…
Rituals & celebrations
Two emcees take the stage at Ann Arbor’s B-Side, a concert venue, dressed all in black and with half opera masks on. Backed by a live three-piece hip-hop group, the frontmen kick into their first song, working the stage hard in character. Just as you’re trying to figure out what just happened, they’re off for…
The good life
Magdaleno Italiano 962 Dix Hwy., Lincoln Park 313-386-0260 Handicap accessible Entrées: $8-$15, mostly $10 Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays, noon to 10 on weekends. I pondered how to write about Magdaleno without sounding snobbish, but failed. So, baldly: I didn’t expect this level of culinary ambition in Lincoln Park. True, next-door Allen…
No show
His booth is dark and locked tight. It’s early afternoon inside the Russell Industrial Center’s weekend bazaar, and Darrell Banks is late for work. Behind the black metal gate are his dollar store elephants, his quaint figurines, his little bags of incense and his hand puppets, all unreachable by anyone who might wander past, because…
The morning after
Well, we survived it all. Just barely. The omnipresent TV attack ads and the mailboxes overflowing with fliers and the robocalls urging us to vote this way and that. But as the frequently noxious smoke from Election Day clears, we here at the Hits thought it might be a good idea to look at the…
A survivor’s song
The day after an election, folks mostly want to talk about the results from the polls. That’s commendable, although I’ve heard numerous people say they couldn’t wait for the election to be over these past few weeks. Unfortunately, my deadline for this column was well before any results were available. So I thought I’d discuss…
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…
