September 16, 17, and 18.
The DIY Street Fair is a free 2-day, 3-night event in Ferndale, Michigan where local artists, crafters, businesses, groups and organizations, musicians, restaurants, brewers and others who live and work with a do-it-yourself ethic converge for one big celebration. The event showcases the immense creative energy, independent spirit and innovative talent that can be found throughout the area. FREE and open to the public.
Whoever books the music for this fair has once again put together a great line-up of local music (click picture below to see larger version). Possibly the best chance all year to see this many quality local bands for free. (Suck it, Art Beats and Eats!)
"It helps that we love doing this and love to do whatever it takes to stay on the road," says ELECTRIC SIX frontman Dick Valentine, about how prolific he and his five bandmates are. "I've always said that all we need is for each guy in this band to write two songs a year and we have another new album." The result of this ‘two songs per band member’ ideology, HEARTBEATS AND BRAINWAVES, is due out on October 11, 2011 via Metropolis Records. The band will be hitting the road this weekend on its Hello, Destructor!!!! Tour, starting in its home state of Michigan and wrapping around the US.
Heartbeats and Brainwaves marks a return to synth-heavy dance rock that the band cut its proverbial teeth on (i.e. classic like "Danger (High Voltage)", "Gay Bar", "Down At McDonnelzz") while continuing to push the boundaries of its rock exploration. "We consciously decided to do a synth-heavy album," Dick explains. "When I first started talking to [guitarist] Johnny Na$hinal about going in that direction for this album, he simply said, 'It's time'." The album that Electric Six created is one of their most cohesive and expansive records to date. From the smoky "Bad Seeds-esque" swankiness of the opening track "Psychic Visions" to the big-bottomed R&B of "It Gets Hot" to the big, bright pop of "The Intergalactic Version", this album keeps their funk/dance rock core intact while expanding in textures, rhythm and melody. "The intention of 'The Intergalactic Version' was to make the outro as poppy and triumphant as possible," he says. "We think we did that, but it also ended up sounding like it belonged in a bank commercial. Banks can be triumphant too... though it's been awhile."
"I personally love every track on this album," Dick surmises about how it seems to encompass their whole identity. "I think that the lyrics on 'We Use The Same Products' are some of my best... and the lyrics on 'Free Samples' are some of my dumbest." And while "French Bacon" tends to rate as his favorite ("for the Giorgio Moroder-reason"), he doesn't play favorites. "We definitely like our albums to be all about the album as a whole and not just one particular song," he concludes. "This one holds up in that regard as well as any we've done."
