On the Rocks Detroit is booking all the bands for this year's People's Arts Festival, which will be held in Detroit at the Russell Industrial Complex on August 28th and 29th. This year, the organizers are accepting band submissions via Sonicbids.com only. To submit for consideration, click here. Submission deadline is June 20th and the submission fee is $10. You have to be a member of sonicbids.com to submit...but please note that free memberships for sonicbids.com are available through BMI.com, with free trial memberships available through Sonicbids.com itself. On the Rocks Detroit will be booking over 30 slots of music in all genres at this year's free festival that will be held on two stages.
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Local longtime music entrepreneur Bob Harris is seeking Detroit bands and musicans to complete his second book, Motor City Music Legends, a work currently in progress that he's co-writing with Grosse Point's John Minnis. Two years ago, Harris co-authored Motor City Rock and Roll: The 1960s and 1970s (Arcadia Publishing) but he wants this one to be a more personal and detailed look at this city's music legends, both household names and the more obscure. He is looking for stories that have never been published before. So far, he's interviewed such subjects as Jeff Lehman of Looking Glass ("Brandy, You're A Fine Girl"), Gino Washington, Question Mark and Grand Funk, among others. Harris is now asking fans and fellow musicians for help in locating past performers as well as photos -- either the performers themselves or people close to them. His "wish list" runs from Jackie Wilson to Rare Earth, Alice Cooper and the Flaming Embers. Those with leads should contact Harris at either 313-399-8285 or e-mail [email protected]
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We need to take care of our teeth, damn it, and MusiCares in conjunction with the Detroit Federation of Musicians are bringing a free Dental Clinic to limited-income, Detroit-area musicians and their children under 18 (if the child is insured by Medicaid) on Fridah, June 11th from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.. Services will include a dental exam, bitewing xrays and a cleaning, and will be provided by the Smiles Programs/Mobile Dentists of Michigan. Appointments must be scheduled in advance via a simple application process. The clinic will be taking place at the Detroit Federation of Musicians, Local 5 AFM offices. To apply, call MusiCares at 877-303-6962 or e-mail [email protected]. Appointments will be given on a "first come-first served" basis. A second date may be added if June 11th fills up quickly. No walk-ins allowed.
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Pure Detroit is hosting a massive benefit for the Heidelberg Project next Friday, May 21st at the Magic Stick — THE HEIDELBERG ROCK PROJECT. The event will present ten local bands on two stages, including the Hard Lessons, Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor, the Frustrations, the Deadbeat Beat, Duende!, Mick Bassett & the Marthas, Troy Gregory and Black Lodge vs. Marco Polio, among others. Tickets are $5 at the door, and all proceeds will directly benefit the Heidelberg Project, which for those of you who don't know, is an eastside Detroit neighborhood that has been transferred into a "living, breathing" art project that's internationally recognized in the art world and draws thousands of visitors to the neighborhood every year.
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Finally, the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, through funding by the National Endowment for the Arts, is bringing its “Peer-to-Peer” jazz education program to thousands of Detroit Public School students next week. Internationally acclaimed jazz recording artists Bobby Watson and Lisa Henry will perform and teach local school kids, alongside gifted young musicians from Miami’s New World School of the Arts. Congressman John Conyers and Detroit Public Schools Superintendent Teresa Gueyser will attend the Monday events and speak on the importance of jazz in Detroit and American history. Thelonious Monk, Jr. will also be on hand. The full schedule is directy below this:
DETROIT PEER-TO-PEER INFORMANCE AND CONCERT SCHEDULE
Monday May 17
Renaissance High School (6565 W. Outer Drive)
11:00am – Assembly Program
12:15pm – Jazz Band and Vocal Workshops
Tuesday May 18
Detroit School of Arts (123 Seldon Street)
1:20pm – Assembly Program
3:00pm – Jazz Band and Vocal Workshops
Wednesday May 19
Duke Ellington Conservatory of Music/Art (8030 E. Outer Drive)
11:00am – Assembly Program
12:15pm – Jazz Band and Vocal Workshops
Thursday May 20
King High School (3200 E. Lafayette Street)
11:00am – Assembly Program
12:15pm – Jazz Band and Vocal Workshops
Friday May 21
Cass Technical High School (2501 2nd Avenue)
11:00am – Assembly Program
12:15pm – Jazz Band and Vocal Workshops
Baker’s Keyboard Lounge (20510 Livernois Avenue)
8:30pm – First set
10:30pm – Second set
Alice Cooper knows the importance of dental hygiene...and, oh, yeah, Bob Harris is looking for you, Coop...
