"the View From Nowhere"
One of the things you need to learn about what goes on with music in this sacred soon-to-be-nationally-discovered creative metropolis that we call Ann Arbor, is that unless you pay really really close attention (read every article, hang out in every club and cappuccino spot until last call and grab each and every cd, tape, or vinyl piece of product in the local music bins) you could very well miss out on something you shouldn't. Harms Way and Larry Miller's Gordon Gigantic are at opposite ends of the local rock and roll universe but both could be classic examples of things you may not know about but should.
Harms Way will probably piss you off. That's the point, stupid. The band's new two song tape-"Down In The Mix" and "Ballistics" is as obnoxious as hell, loud and proud, and mixes grunge punky guitars with rapper style vocals in a Michigan midwestern kick-ass sort of way that leaves pretenders like the Beastie Boys in the dust. This band hates you, they want you dead-end of discussion. It's your white boy rockers who love ear-breaking, loud rock and roll just as much as they love the passion of African American street rap. This cross-cultural combo is unfortunately a rare thing in A2 and is another reason to celebrate this great new single. Go out a buy a copy of this baby...you're sure as hell not going to hear it on the radio.
Larry Miller has been in loads of quirky pop bands over the years from the original lineup of Destroy All Monsters to Nonfiction, the Empty Set and most recently Larynx Zillion's Novelty Shop. With his new tape and band, "Gordon Gigantic," Miller returns to his 1960s-ish pop roots on five perfect songs. On the tune "Same Boat," the singer/guitarist sounds like a true American original with a breathtaking guitar solo and vocal fire that brings to mind John Lennon. On every song the guitar RINGS and soars, while maintaining a familiar pop-tune structure. But this isn't retro music-not at all. It belongs on the radio, programmed between Pearl Jam and the Gin Blossoms. Why Larry Miller has gone so undiscovered for so long is one of the Great Mysteries of Life. Perhaps with Gordon Gigantic this won't be the case for much longer.
Speaking of radio airplay, kudos to WIQB-FM for have the vision and class to add BOTH The Holy Cows and Kiss Me Screaming cuts to their music rotation. While I must admit it;s strange as hell to hear Khalid Hanifi followed by the Rolling Stones or the Cows next to Tom Petty, this is a major breakthrough and the new station owners deserve much praise. While we all know you won't be hearing WIG or Morsel on the station any time soon (until they both chart...) maybe this is the start of a trend. lET'S HOPE SO. note To WIQB: If you want a perfect third track check out The Deterants CD "How's My Driving." Almost any track will do.
The flood of cool local music releases on the Schoolkids' Records label sometimes means that one or two may get lost in the shuffle there as well. one of those, "Caribbean Casino," by Trinidad-born guitanst Steve Springer is worth checking out. A hot blend of pop, steel drum and calypso rhythms, Springer is just the soundtrack for hanging out at the beach, driving around in a convertible or drinking rum on a hot afternoon. For a taste, the band (named after the CD) is playing Friday afternoon happy hour for the month of April at The Tap Room in Ypsilanti. There's no cover charge and in between sets you can pump quarters into one of the best juke boxes around.
I hear it through the grapevine. Word is that Something's Brewing, the upcoming brewpub that replaces the Washington Street Station and a new coffee house on South University, NAC (for Not Another Cafe-get it?) will both be featuring live music occasion. Keep your fingers crossed.
Sigh. It's never healthy to live in the past, but be sure to light a candle on April 13th for the 10th (yes it's been 10 years) anniversary of the closing of all time best dive bar/trend-setting music club Ann Arbor has ever seen: Joe's Star Lounge. (Truth in Journalism Note: For the record, I was a "music consultant" at Joe's which meant I helped with book bands, drove hip rock stars down to WCBN for interviews and spent WAY too much money on the juke box...) While the club's owner, Joe Tiboni, still has a hand in booking the basement shows at Cava Java (and for this you should light a candle as well), The Star was a perfect textbook case of how to operate a local music venue. While the focus was the best of Ann Arbor's rock-and-roll and roots-based bands, Joe's Star was also the home of most every touring national act of import during the 1980s as well-with cheap ticket shows from the likes of Sonic Youth,REM, Big Joe Turner, Los Lobos, Mose Allison, The Replacements, and countless others. The ultimate music club must have the owner's name in the title, cheap drinks, a rundown location that's one step ahead of a bulldozer, and someone running the show with a passion for rock and roll. Joe's Star Lounge had all the above and even after ten years, still stands as an example of the way it should be. RIP.
Lisa Waterbury Alert: In case you've been reading inferior entertaining guides and/or have extreme short-term memory loss, singer/songwriter Lisa Waterbury's two tapes-"Dying In This World of Hell: Parts 1 and 2" were the most intense pieces of low key rock and roll angst to emerge from this area in a mighty long time ("Part 1" was my favorite release of 1994). Waterbury's music will take your soul to an entirely new plane of existence with the mix of pain, humor, and redemption. With the flood of local press and on the street word of mouth, Ms. Waterbury won't remain such a secret much longer. Two gigs happen this month-a free show at Schoolkids' Records on Thursday April 20th (at 7 pm) and the next night, Friday April 21st at all-ages venue, The Green Room, in downtown Ypsilanti, where she opens for the equally fascinating duo, Breech (with another cool singer/songwriter Missy Gibson). Come witness a legend in the making.
The fourth issue of "Michigan Music Monthly," a cooperative newsletter devoted to local bands is out and worth tracking down. Slow Children At Play seems to be in charge of the project but the eight-page mag is a well-designed and well-written example of what the local music scene can do when it unites. Copes can be found at Schoolkids' P.J.'s and an the usual hipster hangouts.
The end. Don't forget: The View From Nowhere, Agenda, 220 S. Main Street, Ann Arbor MI, 48104. Send stuff.