AADL Talks To: arwulf arwulf

Tue, 02/18/2025 - 2:22pm

In this wide-ranging conversation, local radio personality and cultural historian, arwulf, recalls the many Ann Arbor institutions, icons, and events that shaped his life. He discusses the impact of Ann Arbor’s counterculture during his youth in the late 1960s, from an early introduction to 1950s-1960s blues, rock, and jazz; psychedelia in its many forms; and Ann Arbor's anti-war movement, to his artistic awakening through film, theater, art, and radio. He also shares memories of his interactions with members of the Rainbow People's Party, his work as a Psychedelic Ranger during the legendary Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festivals, and Ann Arbor’s experimental alternative education movement. 

AADL Talks To: Pat Oleszko, Performance Artist and Queen of the Ann Arbor Film Festival

Mon, 06/10/2024 - 5:41pm

In this episode AADL Talks to Pat Oleszko, visual and performance artist and Queen of the Ann Arbor Film Festival. Pat came to the University to study art in the late 1960s just as the program was experiencing a countercultural renaissance. She talks with us about her journey as an artist, from the vibrant experimental and collaborative arts community that welcomed her, to the institutions and events like the ONCE Group, the city's film festivals, and the Ozone Parade that shaped her and that she helped shape in turn. Pat also recalls some favorite performances and clashes with both feminists and law enforcement as she charted her inimitable career.

AADL Talks To: Fred LaBour, former writer for The Michigan Daily and member of the musical group Riders in the Sky

Sun, 06/02/2024 - 2:17pm

In this episode, AADL Talks to "Too Slim" Fred LaBour. Fred is a member of Riders in the Sky, an American Country and Western music and comedy quartet that has performed together since 1977. From '67 to '71, Fred was an undergraduate at the University of Michigan where he covered sports and wrote music reviews for The Michigan Daily. Fred discusses the campus culture that shaped his career and he walks us through a day in the life of a too-slim "wise ass" English major whose satirical review of the Beatles’ "Abbey Road" album propelled the “Paul McCartney is Dead” urban legend that took the country by storm.

Read Fred's October 14, 1969 "Paul is Dead" article in The Michigan Daily.

Check out Riders in the Sky in the AADL catalog. The group is also featured on the following CDs: Toy Story Favorites, Toy Story 2, Disney Pixar All Time Favorites, and Woody's Roundup.