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.

The Ann Arbor Ozone Homecoming Parade

Mon, 03/11/2024 - 8:39pm

In 1972, the University of Michigan decided to cancel their homecoming parade due to lack of interest and dwindling attendance.  Into that vacuum stepped counterculture artists, musicians, filmmakers, and performers to create the Ozone Parade, a free-for-all that showcased the wild creativity of Ann Arbor in the 1970s.  In The Ann Arbor Ozone Homecoming Parade, filmmaker Terri Sarris takes us through the life of the parade through archival footage and the voices of participants and creators.  

And for more stories about the Ozone Parade, check out the 75-minute director's cut.

The Ann Arbor Ozone Homecoming Parade: The Director's Cut

Mon, 03/11/2024 - 8:39pm

In 1972, the University of Michigan decided to cancel their homecoming parade due to lack of interest and dwindling attendance.  Into that vacuum stepped counterculture artists, musicians, filmmakers, and performers to create the Ozone Parade, a free-for-all that showcased the wild creativity of Ann Arbor in the 1970s.  In The Ann Arbor Ozone Homecoming Parade, filmmaker Terri Sarris takes us through the life of the parade through archival footage and the voices of participants and creators.  

This is the director's cut of Sarris's 24-minute original created for Ann Arbor 200.