Cover Story
How Protomartyr became one of Detroit’s biggest indie bands in years
Alex Leonard says, actually, he hate boats. “I got seasick on a ferry when we were on tour,” he says. “It was one of the worst experiences of my life.” Leonard plays drums in Protomartyr, one of the most high-profile guitar acts to come out of Detroit in the past decade. His anti-boat stance is…
Jockey Melissa Zajac makes horse-racing history at Hazel Park
Capping off a remarkable rookie season at Hazel Park Raceway, Melissa Zajac made horse-racing history last night, becoming the first apprentice jockey in Michigan ever to win a share of the thoroughbred riding title. With her stunning come-from-behind victory in the ninth and final race aboard the filly Say Shesnotperfect, Zajac finished the season in…
Juggalos March on Washington for the inalienable right to be wicked clowns
Rusty is having serious second thoughts about going through with this. A large man with wire-frame glasses and a goatee — clad in an Insane Clown Posse shirt, naturally — he’s traveled more than 2,000 miles from what he refers to as “a little podunk town that’s 30 minutes from the Colorado border” to be…
Detroit Lions sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Martha Ford and it’s the cutest thing you’ll see all day
In case you missed it, Detroit Lions owner Martha Ford celebrated her 92nd birthday over the weekend and her team is somehow 2-0. So pretty much Martha Ford is having the best week ever and it’s only Tuesday. And the cherry on top came after last night’s thrilling win when the entire team serenaded Martha…
DNR and Belle Isle officials want your opinion on the Detroit Grand Prix
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is asking for park users’ opinions on whether the Belle Isle Grand Prix should be held on the island. A meeting on the topic is planned for Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. at the Belle Isle Nature Center. The session will include an overview from island/DNR officials, and each…
A bunch of dudes dressed as Magnum P.I. got kicked out of Comerica Park
If you were at the Tigers game this past Saturday and saw a gaggle of men dressed as Magnum P.I. being obnoxious, just know that they were kicked out. That’s right. A bachelor party of 45 men all dressed as Tom Selleck’s character from the hit series Magnum P.I. during the Tigers game this past…
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan a no-show at poverty town hall
Detroit mayoral hopeful Coleman Young Jr. has presented a vision for how he would address poverty in Detroit, promising to, if elected, sue the state of Michigan to reinstate city-residency requirements for public employment and take steps to keep people facing foreclosure in their homes. Young Jr. presented the plans at a first-of-its-kind Detroit poverty town…
Gather temporarily closes, will relaunch with a new menu
Gather Detroit, an Eastern Market-area restaurant that specializes in local foods cooked above a wood-burning grill, is temporarily closed. Co-owners Kyle Hunt and Leah Hunt opened the restaurant in May along with chef Nate Vogeli, who was not a partner, Eater reports. Kyle Hunt tells Metro Times that Vogeli left the restaurant abruptly, but on…
Mark’s Carts food cart park will permanently close
Mark’s Carts food cart park in Ann Arbor will permanently close by the end of October, WEMU reports. Owner Mark Hodesh, 73, says the business requires more work than he’s willing to put in. Instead he’ll use the space for the neighboring Bill’s Beer Garden and to hold items from the nearby Downtown Home &…
Breaking down the political speech of Kid Rock and ICP
What a weird week for Detroit music. Within one week, we’ve had two kinds of political speeches coming from two of the Detroit-area’s better-known artists. One of them came from Kid Rock during his splashy series of concerts opening the Pizzarena downtown. The other came from Insane Clown Posse on the National Mall. See our…
Aretha Franklin and Patti Smith featured in new Clive Davis doc
Apple Music released the first trailer for their highly anticipated documentary about music mogul Clive Davis, and if you look closely you may see some familiar Detroit faces. The “Queen of Soul” and the “Godmother of Punk Rock”, Aretha Franklin and Patti Smith respectively, are both featured in the documentary giving candid interviews on Davis,…
About those EB-5 visas that will ‘save’ Ypsilanti with a $300M ‘International Village’
The Ypsilanti City Council is voting on Tuesday on plans for an estimated $300 million “international neighborhood” proposed by a Troy-based Chinese-American developer. The project, called International Village, will be a “regional focal point for Eastern culture, Eastern cuisine, Eastern customs, and Eastern living,” according to the project’s builders. Its inhabitants will consist of international…
Royal Oak gets hit with swastika symbols, police seeking tips
Swastikas spray painted on Royal Oak residents' property https://t.co/LgRZQY9tY2 pic.twitter.com/ayjHit9Bq5 — Detroit Free Press (@freep) September 18, 2017 A half-dozen swastikas and “white power” phrases were found spray painted on garage doors, fences, and cars in Royal Oak over the weekend and police are now seeking tips and investigating the situation. Residents alongside west of Main Street…
Detroit Zoo’s penguin center wins prestigious exhibit award
Alright, so the award may not be all that “prestigious,” but it’s an honor nonetheless that the Detroit Zoo’s Polk Penguin Conservation Center won the 2017 Exhibit Award from the Association of Zoos and Animals. The $33 million exhibit opened in April of 2016 after a redesign of the old exhibit. The new one, which is…
First-year phenom Melissa Zajac bucking the odds in battle for jockeys title at Hazel Park
On the ramshackle backside of Hazel Park, beyond the barbed-wire fences and dilapidated jockeys quarters, a full moon hangs high in the west. The sun has yet to climb the hood ornaments of the beaten and battered cars in the beaten and battered parking lots, and all along the darkened shedrow of Barn 21, the…
Trump endorses Bill Schuette for governor on Twitter, spells his name wrong
There’s nothing like an endorsement from the President of the United States after you’ve announced that you’re going to finally run for governor, except when that President happens to be Donald Trump and he misspells your name in the congratulatory tweet. Not as bad as “covfefe,” but still pretty funny. Attorney General Bill Shuette will…
Vandals nearly destroy Trump Unity Bridge ahead of pro-Trump rally in Washington
Rob Cortis and his Trump Unity Bridge have been stopped. Vandals nearly destroyed the Livonia resident’s vehicle and the parade float it pulls in broad daylight Friday, while he was stopped in Alexandria, Va. on his way to a Saturday pro-Trump rally in Washington. Cortis has driven the bridge more than 10,000 miles across the country…
The Juggalo march on Washington is happening right now
As we announced several months ago, Insane Clown Posse spearheaded a Juggalo March on Washington to be held at noon Sept. 13 at the National Mall. It’s a bit of political activism in response to the FBI categorizing the following of the rap-rock-duo’s devotees as a “loosely organized hybrid gang.” ICP later sued the U.S. Justice…
Fundraiser seeks help uncovering the truth about Wayne County foreclosures
When it comes to Wayne County tax foreclosures, some of the gaps in what even supposed experts know about it are surprising. Few people know this better than Jerry Paffendorf, the CEO of Loveland Technologies. Despite his firm’s best efforts to track the county’s tax foreclosures in Detroit, it’s difficult to get a nuanced picture of…
Another bit of racist Detroit heritage uncovered where we least expected it
Earlier this week, we blogged about an article that points out that racist heritage in civic names and statues isn’t just a Southern thing: There’s plenty of examples in the North too. In fact, right here in metro Detroit. The article that made this point was a piece in the New York Times by U-M…
Giordano’s Chicago-style pizzeria is now open in downtown Detroit
Giordano’s is now open in the downtown space that used to house Bagger Dave’s, which closed in 2015. The Detroit News reports that the restaurant, at 1224 Randolph St., is taking walk in orders for dinner, and plans to be up and running with lunch and dinner service in the next two weeks. The Detroit location is…
Michigan police cite fewer speeders, costing counties patrol dollars
Speeding might be less risky for drivers in Michigan as police officers are issuing fewer citations annually. But that drop is costing county sheriffs’ departments thousands of dollars each year for patrolling the state’s back roads and to investigate crashes. The program, known as secondary road patrol, is a state program of traffic enforcement and…
Decline in boat registrations creating a lack of funding for marine patrols
Over the past decade, state funding for the marine divisions of sheriffs’ offices in Michigan has dwindled with the decline in the number of registered boats. At the same time, the number of unregistered canoes and kayaks has increased, leading to calls for the owners of those craft to also be required to pay the…
Trio of shoplifters got away with over $4,000 in blue jeans at Farmington Hills store
This wasn’t some ordinary shoplifting that went down at the Saks Off 5th in Farmington Hills on Sept. 1 — this was some Ocean’s Eleven-level burglary that led to $4,000 worth of jeans being stolen from the store. According to Farmington Hills Police, the three suspects entered the upscale retail store separately but eventually gathered…
Cine Mexico Now brings south-of-the-border films to Cinema Detroit
Unless you’ve been under a rock for the last 20 years, you’re aware that Mexican cinema is increasingly resurgent, exciting, and relevant. The cinematic talent springing forth south of the border has won such critical acclaim and Hollywood recognition that movie mavens now talk of a second Golden Age of Mexican filmmaking. Such talented film…
Group collects 100K signatures for gerrymandering ballot proposal
Voters Not Politicians is working to gather 316,000 signatures needed to put a proposal on the November 2018 ballot that the group says will end gerrymandering of electoral districts, if it’s approved. The non-partisan, non-profit group is nearly one third of the way there, as of last weekend. It’s proposing amending Michigan’s state constitution to…
DACA workers would leave a hole in Michigan economy if forced to leave
The economic impact to ending DACA is uncertain, but it could have detrimental effects on those already benefiting from it. That’s according to Veronica Thronson, director of the Immigration Law Clinic at Michigan State University. She knows of DACA participants who are research assistants at Michigan State. Another created her own business, she says. “She started…
Lady of The House opens next week in Corktown
Lady Of The House, the long-awaited restaurant of chef Kate Williams, opens next week in Corktown’s former St. CeCe’s space. The soft opening is today, and the Detroit News reports that the former Republic, Parks & Rec, and Rodin chef will be joined by sous chef Larissa Popa, who also worked in Republic’s kitchen. Christian…
The Outer Limits Lounge is relaunching as a legit bar/record label
It seems like there’s no better person to revive the Outer Limits Lounge – a dive bar at the border of northeast Hamtramck and Detroit – than John Szymanski, aka Johnny Hentch. As the organist/bassist for The Hentchmen, The Paybacks, and SSM tells it, he has long held a sweet spot in his heart for…
Dangerously Delicious Pies permanently closes its metro Detroit locations
A weird month for Dangerously Delicious Pies concluded with owner Rodney Henry choosing to permanently close all his Detroit locations. Eater reports that Henry confirmed that he is pulling out of Detroit. Dangerously Delicious was founded in Baltimore and previously ran six locations nationwide. In August, Henry announced that he had temporarily closed Dangerously Delicious’s Midtown…
The Michigan Central Station light show is the coolest thing you’ll see all week
In case you missed it, the historic Michigan Central Station hosted its first legal event since the building shut down in 1988. The “Detroit Homecoming” event was hosted by Crain’s and held inside the former train station. The event brings together a bunch of rich ex-Detroiters together for an evening of reminiscing about Detroit, and…
Michigan police, civil rights groups at odds over military equipment for cops
County sheriff departments eager to acquire more aircraft, observation helicopters, camouflage, and other military equipment can look forward to more opportunity to acquire them after a federal ban on some surplus was lifted. “President Trump’s actions enable law enforcement to provide tools and equipment that comes through the federal government at little to no cost…
Everyone in Michigan should read this new report on the state’s Muslims
We’ve recently seen the results of a new study called Muslims for American Progress. Commissioned by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, the study is considered the first of its kind, offering a broad look at Muslim contributions to the state of Michigan. It examines the ways Muslims have improved Michiganders’ lives over the…
A handmade furniture shop is opening in Ferndale
Dave Hudson has been making furniture for years. In fact, in 2015 he petitioned us to write about his fledgling business, and we couldn’t resist. At the time, Hudson was selling his earthy pieces out of Ferndale’s Rust Belt Market, but now he’s moving into a spot that’s all his own. While he’s used the…
Michigan’s pot shops may have to close by mid-December
Michigan’s medical marijuana licensing board has opted not to encourage dispensaries in the state to close by the end of this week, after a public meeting in which patients described the harm it would cause. But dispensaries will likely have to shut down by Dec. 15, or risk being penalized as they apply for licenses to operate…
Patti Smith and her children performed on ‘Fallon’ last night
Godmother of punk rock and former metro Detroiter Patti Smith made an unexpected showing last nigh on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon where she performed her song “People Have the Power” from her 1988 album Dream of Life. Smith made the stop by Fallon because she is in New York City to perform at a…
YumVillage West African/Caribbean food truck keeps growing in the West Village
After launching over the summer, the YumVillage Food Truck established itself as a fixture at the Villages Biergarten in West Village, and is well-loved for its West African and Caribbean cuisine. But there’s much more than meets the eye. Owner Godwin Ihentuge’s ever-evolving venture started out as a catering company several years ago before he…
Here’s Kid Rock’s ‘Senate speech’
Is Kid Rock really running for Senate? We still don’t know. Much like the way in which he blends the genres of rap and rock, Robert Ritchie seems to like to have it both ways. One the one hand, he’s selling “Kid Rock for U.S. Senate” lawn signs on his website kidrockforsenate.com. (They’re currently sold…
Savage Love: Girls and women and sex
Q: My teenage daughter just came out to us as gay. We told her we love her and support her. As a heterosexual, cisgender mother, how do I make sure she gets good advice about sex? I don’t want her learning from other kids or porn. Do you know of any good, sex-positive advice books…
Ted Leo talks about the personal and political motives behind his new album
It’s been seven years since punk rocker Ted Leo released The Brutalist Bricks, a record he made with backing band the Pharmacists, and it’s good to have him back. Not that he was ever really gone. As outlined in an in-depth profile on Stereogum published last summer, Leo’s been hard at work setting up a…
Michigan’s war on pot
I was at a meeting of the Detroit City Planning Commission when a proposed dispensary law was being discussed. One commissioner, clearly an opponent of marijuana stores, asked, “If we pass this, can we start closing these places tomorrow?” Donald Bailey, a member of the Medical Marihuana Licensing Board that is tasked with setting up…
Kali Uchis talks immigration, ‘Showgirls,’ and her deceptively sweet music
Though filed under the “indie pop-meets-soul singer” category, Karly Marina Loaiza — perhaps better known as her stage persona, Kali Uchis — identifies least with the “songstress” role. Having taken an interest in visual arts, writing lyrics, and composing music since she was a young girl, Loaiza began crafting her aesthetic early on. Armed with…
Why I had the most sex of my adult life to Father John Misty’s ‘Pure Comedy’
Josh Tillman surprises when, at the beginning of our interview, he laughs and says it is the best he’s ever had. I instantly have to wonder just how agonizing his previous interviews must have been to make what has turned into a heavy-handed therapy session stand out. Released earlier this year, Pure Comedy, his third…
Myth-busting the Detroit tax foreclosure crisis
At the time of this writing, Detroit is in the midst of yet another round of the staged cage-fight that is the tax foreclosure auction. In many ways this feels like an individual fight — one home at a time fighting to mitigate the harshest consequences such as eviction, homelessness, and permanent property damage. Yet…
Horoscopes (Sept. 13-19)
ARIES (March 21- April 20): You can’t expect this to turn into a fairy tale. Your experience is showing you a great deal about yourself. If you can put your finger on what made things so complicated it will take you all the way back to your childhood. This is why you can’t put a…
Detroit’s enormous underclass: The problem that’s taboo
I was talking to Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon the other day about Detroit. Napoleon is a cheerful, smart, and decent man who was the last opponent left standing when Mike Duggan was elected mayor four years ago. Napoleon is anything but bitter. “I never at any point thought that Mike would be a bad…
Review: Sushi Coup brings a sea change to Rochester Hills
A lot of people know by now that the word “sushi” actually refers to the rice, not the fish. At a cooking demonstration at the Japanese consulate a few years ago (sponsored by Kikkoman), they showed us how to toss rice vinegar, with a little sugar in it, with hot, just-cooked rice. The rice was…
