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Staging Ground: An American Theater and Its Ghosts
Interweaving past and present, private anecdote and public record, Ann Arbor author Leslie Stainton's new book Staging Ground: An American Theater and Its Ghosts captures the history of one of America’s oldest and most ghosted theaters—the Fulton Theatre in Lancaster, Pennsylvania—and recounts the story of a nation’s tumultuous struggle to invent itself.
Built in 1852 and in use ever since, the Fulton Theatre is uniquely ghosted. Its foundations were once the walls of a colonial jail that in 1763 witnessed the massacre of the last surviving Conestoga Indians. Those same walls later served to incarcerate fugitive slaves.
Staging Ground explores these tragic events and their enduring resonance in a building that later became a town hall, theater, and movie house--the site of minstrel shows, productions of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," oratory by the likes of Thaddeus Stevens and Mark Twain, performances by Buffalo Bill and his troupe of "Wild Indians," Hollywood Westerns, and twenty-first-century musicals. Stainton unfolds the story of this emblematic space, where for more than 250 years Americans scripted and re-scripted their history.
This event features a short reading from the book by Stainton followed by a conversation with Jim Leija (UMS), Martin Walsh (actor and U-M instructor) and Leigh Woods (actor and U-M theater professor).
This event was co-sponsored by the U-M Institute for the Humanities, and the Ann Arbor Book Festival, and the U-M Library in collaboration with UMS and AADL
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Martin Bandyke Under Covers: Gareth Murphy
Martin talks to author Gareth Murphy about his new book Cowboys and Indies: The Epic History of the Record Industry.
While music is an integral part of our daily lives, very little is known about the revolutionary men and women on both sides of the Atlantic who founded and shaped this enduring industry. From the invention of the earliest known sound-recording device in 1850s Paris to the CD crash and digital boom today, Murphy takes readers on an immensely entertaining and encyclopedic ride through the many cataclysmic musical, cultural and technological changes that shaped a century and a half of the music business. The interview was recorded on January 19, 2015.
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Nerd Nite #20 - What the $X#! is the anthropocene? An extraordinary moment in Earth and human history
James Arnott – What the $X#! is the anthropocene? An extraordinary moment in Earth and human history
This talk will introduce you to the extraordinary moment in Earth and human history that you (yes, you) are living through. We’ll look at why now is different than before and why the future is dependent on a unlikely species that grew out of a cave into a skyscraper and now shapes the future of earth, wind, and fire. The anthropocene is now—and here to stay—so come learn what we know, what you should know, and what we all must do!
About James Arnott:
James is a student, researcher, and enthusiast for thinking big. He is pursing a PhD at the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan. Meanwhile, he is Program Director of the Aspen Global Change Institute, an interdisciplinary think tank for global environmental issues.
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Martin Bandyke Under Covers: Mandy Aftel
Martin talks to internationally known artisan perfumer Mandy Aftel about her new book Fragrant: The Secret Life of Scent. An evangelist for the transformative power of scent, Aftel explores the profound connection between our sense of smell and the appetites that move us, give us pleasure, and make us fully alive. A riveting initiation into the history, natural history, and philosophy of scent, Fragrant also includes simple recipes for fragrances and edible and drinkable concoctions that reveal the imaginative possibilities of creating with – and reveling in – aroma. The interview was recorded on December 23, 2014.
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Martin Bandyke Under Covers: Rick Bragg
Martin talks to Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Rick Bragg about his new book Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story, a biography about the wildest and most dangerous of the early rock and rollers. Lewis electrified the world in the 50s with hit records such as “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Great Balls of Fire,” and “Breathless,” then lost his place in the music world after the British press uncovered salacious details about his personal life. Lewis came back in the 60s to become the biggest star of country music, and is still electrifying audiences around the world. Lewis’s story is told in full for the first time in Rick Bragg’s new biography, which is full of incredible stories and anecdotes. The interview was recorded on November 25, 2014.
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Author Louis Hatchett Discusses His Book "Duncan Hines: How A Traveling Salesman Became The Most Trusted Name In Food"
Duncan Hines may be best known for the cake mixes, baked goods, and bread products that bear his name, but most people forget that he was a real person and not just a fictitious figure invented for the brand.
Author Louis Hatchett shares more about this fascinating figure in American cookery and the subject of his book, "Duncan Hines: How A Traveling Salesman Became The Most Trusted Name In Food." As America’s pioneer restaurant critic, Duncan Hines discovered his passion while working as a traveling salesman during the 1920s and 1930s—a time when food standards were poorly enforced and safety was a constant concern. He traveled across America discovering restaurants and sharing his recommendations in his best-selling compilation Adventures in Good Eating (1936). The success of this work and of his subsequent publications led Hines to manufacture the extremely popular food products that we still enjoy today.
This event was cosponsored by AADL and the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor.
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Historic Ann Arbor Architecture
Authors Susan Wineberg and Patrick McCauley will discuss their new book Historic Ann Arbor: An Architectural Guide. The book describes over 350 buildings in Ann Arbor, including 40 University of Michigan buildings. Style sections describe those of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries including Mid-Century Modern. Superb examples of this style can be found in many parts of Ann Arbor.
Susan Wineberg has served as President of the Washtenaw County Historical Society (1994-1999), on the Historic District Commission (HDC) three times, as Chair of the Awards Committee of the HDC for 20 years, on numerous committees including the Downtown, Landmark, Individual Historic Properties, Lower Town, Old Fourth Ward and Germantown Historic District Study Committees. She has written extensively on Ann Arbor and published Lost Ann Arbor in 2004, in addition to the second edition of Historic Buildings, Ann Arbor in 1992.
Patrick McCauley has volunteered at both the Kempf House Museum and Cobblestone Farm Museum, and served as Chair of the Fourth and Fifth Ave. Historic District Study Committee. He currently serves on the Ann Arbor Historic District Commission, having held the positions of Chair and Vice Chair, and also on the board of the Ann Arbor Historical Foundation. He has also bought and restored three neglected historic homes in Ann Arbor since 2001, winning a Rehabilitation Award from the Ann Arbor Historic District Commission (HDC) in 2009 for his efforts.
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Nerd Nite #13 - Michigan’s Woodstock: The 1970 Goose Lake International Music Festival: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard of
Mark Deming – Michigan’s Woodstock: The 1970 Goose Lake International Music Festival: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard of
In the summer of 1970, over 200,000 rock ‘n’ roll fans made their way to Goose Lake just outside Jackson, Michigan for the biggest rock festival ever held in the Midwest. It featured nearly all the major Michigan acts of the day, including the Stooges, the MC5, SRC, the Up, Brownsville Station, and Mitch Ryder and Detroit, as well as Rod Stewart and the Faces, Joe Cocker, the James Gang, Mountain, Chicago, Jethro Tull, and the Flying Burrito Brothers. The festival made headlines, angered the governor, and had local homeowners up in arms. So how come you’ve never heard of it? Music writer Mark Deming discusses the strange but true story of the biggest weekend in Michigan’s musical history.
About Mark Deming:
Mark Deming is a writer who has been covering music, film, and various aspects of popular culture since the 1980s. He’s been a regular contributor to All Music Guide and All Movie Guide since 1999, and has also written for Ugly Things, Resonance, Detroit Metro Times, Chicago New Times, Phoenix New Times, Ann Arbor Current, American Garage, and many others. His vocal stylings have appeared on recordings by the Clutters, Mark Lansing and his Board of Water and Light, the End Times, and the Seger Liberation Army, and he once met Captain Kangaroo and Leonard Cohen on the same day.
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Nerd Nite #13 - Thomas Paine: How the First World Revolutionary Fell from Fame and Became the Forgotten Founding Father (of both America and France!)
Michael Leonard – Thomas Paine: How the First World Revolutionary Fell from Fame and Became the Forgotten Founding Father (of both America and France!)
At 37, a simple girdle maker and tax collector named Thomas Paine came to the American colonies and became known as Tom Paine. There, instead of making girdles or collecting taxes, he would leave women’s figures alone and instead inspire tax payers to not only stop paying their taxes to the king, but “begin the world over again” with their very own nation – run by them! Rich land owning colonists would welcome his powerful words of inspiration to rouse the rabble to their cause, but then abandon him at their first opportunity, when he proved himself to be a bit too dedicated to democratic participation for all – everywhere – from the country he named “The United States of America” to the other republic he directly helped to found, France’s First Republic… and beyond. Tom Paine may have been a late bloomer, but he sure had a way with words that would make him not only the bestselling author of his day, but would also make him – while seen only as an expendable propagandist to those who would take advantage of him to take power – the most effective world revolutionary of all time… Eat your heart out Che.
About Michael Leonard:
Trained as an applied socio-cultural anthropologist who indeed teaches cultural anthropology by day, Michael has decided to take on an alter ego by night – that of an intrepid historian of an obscure, yet important forgotten person of the past, and the “crimes” he perpetrated to earn his obscurity. In this role, Michael hopes to make people think, even if this also may make them a bit uncomfortable – as thinking often does to people. Thomas Paine is Michael’s target to help rescue from obscurity – in comparison with a far more famous Thomas of his ideological ilk, if not style – who are the subject of a book he’s working on entitled, Doubting Thomases.
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Martin Bandyke Under Covers: Brian Jones
Martin talks to author Paul Trynka about his new book Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones. Former editor of the essential English music magazine Mojo, Trynka has also written critically-acclaimed biographies about David Bowie and Iggy Pop. His latest book focuses on the brilliant but deeply flawed musician Brian Jones, whose deep love of the blues and endless creativity in the studio helped give the Rolling Stones their distinctive sound. The interview was recorded on October 8, 2014.