The Detroit City Art Walk is happening this weekend, August 28th and 29th, 2015, up and down Michigan Ave. in the Historical Corktown district of Detroit.
This two day/night event will feature both local and international artists from Detroit and surrounding cities, states and countries.
The Detroit City Art Walk will happen in various establishments including bars, cafes, clubs and restaurants along Michigan Ave. in Detroit's Corktown district during the businesses normal hours.
Bodies of work will be composed of such mediums as glass and metal sculpturing, fashion, drawing, painting, watercolors, wood, poster art, mixed media, pottery and video installations.
Mac Sabbath's first show on their 2015 East Cheeses Tour kicks off in Detroit on Tuesday, September 1 and MCB has your free ticket in!
The self-appointed founders of "Drive Thru Metal", the band is primarily a
parody of English heavy metal group Black Sabbath, utilizing lyricism and
imagery centered around fast food.
Performing in elaborate costuming, the band's line-up consists of vocalist
Ronald Osbourne, guitarist Slayer MacCheeze, bassist Grimalice and drummer the
Catburglar, alternately known as "Peter Criss Cut Fries". Mac Sabbath's concerts
are described as a "multi-media show with video, theatrics, audience
participation and sing alongs", featuring an array of food-related props which
tie into their overall theme.
The band's repertoire includes such parodies as "Pair-a-Buns" ("Paranoid"),
"Frying Pan" ("Iron Man"), "Sweet Beef" ("Sweet Leaf") and "Never Say Diet"
("Never Say Die"), while the band's T-shirts read "We Sold Our Soul for Cinnamon
Rolls" (parodying the compilation We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll).
And MCB is giving away a three pair of tickets to the show!!!
Just drop a e-mail to ambervillainfilm@aol.com with "Mac Sabbath" as the subject and along with your "full name" and your "favorite fast food place" in the body of the e-mail for your chance to win. Winners will be sent notification on Friday!
This self-produced documentary is a culmination of Aux 88's hard work and commitment to the art of electronic music. Aux 88 are an electro group from Detroit, composed of Tom Tom (Tommy Hamilton) and Keith Tucker (DJ name DJ K1). As pioneers of Detroit Techno, they recognize that, as global leaders of this genre, it is critical to share their history and, in a sense, the history of electronic dance music.
The documentary, and accompanying soundtrack, was completely created and produced by Aux 88, the first group in Detroit Techno to create their very own documentary, with input from other artists around the world.
Australian rock band The Church play the Royal Oak Music Theatre as part of their U.S. Summer tour. The concert is on Saturday, August 22, at 7:30 p.m. on a dual tour with the U.K. band The Psychedelic Furs.
The band started making music in the early '80s and first gained attention in the U.S. for the song "Unguarded Moment" from their debut album. The 1983 album "Seance" had our own Creem magazine singing their praises and hailed the band as "one of the best in the world". The band may be best known here for their late '80s hit songs "Under The Milky Way," or the song "Reptile," both off the 1988 album "Starfish". But The Church is not just on a "retro tour" as the band has continued to produce music over the past decades and this year celebrates their 35th anniversary!
They have just released their 21st studio album "Further/Deeper" in the fall of 2014. They are touring throughout Europe and the U.S. in 2015 to promote the twelve new songs as well as old favorites. They promise to include some "surprising choices from their 35 year catalog" on this tour which will surely please longtime fans of the band.
This is the first time the two post-punk, neo-psychedelic bands have shared a bill after an attempt at a dual tour in 1988 fell thru. But while The Psychedelic Furs have continued to tour playing their hits, they have not released any new material since the 1991 album "The World Outside." Not content to rest on their laurels, The Church have not only produced a current album but a video for the song "Laurel Canyon."
For the first time ever, The Church will be offering VIP tickets to their fans for almost all of their upcoming shows:
All VIP tickets will include:
·One premium reserved or general admission ticket
·Early entry into the venue
·Meet & Greet and photo with The Church
·Pre-Show Soundcheck Event
·Exclusive Tour Shirt, lithograph, laminate and more
For more info on The Church visit their website at www.thechurch.net
Royal Oak Music Theatre is located at 318 West 4th St. in Royal Oak, MI 248-399-2980. 7:30 p.m. doors and all ages are welcome. Tickets are available at royaloakmusictheatre.com
This Saturday is the DIMEBASH: A night of tribute and celebration of Darrell "Dimebag" Abbott (Pantera/Damageplan). Dimebag is no longer with us, but his legend lives on and he is an inspiration for many musicians in the rock genre today.
There will also be a raffle with proceeds going to charities in Dime's name. One raffle item includes this original painting by Defy Doom by Shawn Michelle Scott...
It all goes down at Simons After Dark located at 4936 Allen Road, Allen Park, MI 48101 on Saturday, August 22
The 33rd annual African World Festival will once again bring over 150,000 attendees to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, with performances, poetry, arts and crafts, African drumming and dance, hundreds of vendors, ethnic foods, and events for all ages!
Parking is easy and secure, the layout is great and there is something to do for everyone.
This FREE, 3-day festival for the entire family takes place from 11 AM to 11 PM daily.
The bad boys of Detroit punk-psychobilly make their return to The Motor City to perform at this year's stacked Blackout BBQ Festival. After blowing the minds of audience members, including mine, at The Southgate House in Kentucky, I briefly spoke with bass player and lead swooner, Vic Victor, about plans for a new album, scaling down their rigorous tour schedule, and what exactly will keep the sharply dressed men busy; and in such a short amount of time, Mr. Victor provided me with more than I asked for.
Bills Bills Bills
As we got a little bit older, within the last two years, [we took] the money that we were getting from the band and turned it around into businesses that could keep us at home...not because we wanted to be at home, but because as a band grows you can only play Chicago so many times a year, you can only play L.A. so many times a year, ya' know? We were going through the schedule and we were going through the west coast every six months on rotation. The guarantee stayed the same, it was just expected that we would come back. We needed to do that to keep exposure happening but also to pay our bills. Less time on the road means more time in Detroit, and in order to make up for performing less shows, we're doing screen printing and embroidery (Industrious Dudes Merchandising). We do that to basically make ends meet at the end of the month. We've been really fortunate, but it only goes so far. People not in bands don't understand that it might cost you $200 to get to the next city, it might cost you $6,000 to get to the next city. There's so many factors and we put ourselves so far in debt, but I don't want to be 45 years old and be in the same spot I was in when I was 25 years old and neither does anyone else in this band.
Tour Life
We got to a point where we were like, we needed to tone it back, and in our personal lives things were happening. Like, we needed to be home a little bit more than two months out of the year, so in the last year and a half we scaled back the amount of shows that we've been doing, and instead of 250 shows, we're doing about 100, maybe a little bit less.
Young Bands
I fucking can't stand it when a band goes out on tour, especially a younger band, and all they do is whine, whine, whine. For the first eight years of the band, we were working odd jobs and we were working our asses off to be able to say to our bosses, 'Hey, can we take a month off', 'Hey can we take two months off', and 'Hey we got something coming up, can we take three months off?' Eventually we worked ourselves out of normal job into this job, but I can't fucking stand whining about being on tour. When you're playing to people and people paying your bills, what the fuck is there to complain about? Yeah everyone loses their fucking girlfriend or boyfriend because they're away for two weeks or whatever; or you make stupid decisions, or people assume that you're making stupid decisions, that's the sacrifice that you make when you're in a band. I see so much whiny ass shit it's obnoxious. (Laughs) If you're in a band, you just need to realize that you revoke all ability to whine, and just be grateful you're out there. If you're making a living being in a band, you have no fucking room to complain.
New Shit
I'm working at it at the same pace as the first album. The first album, I wasn't in any hurry, I didn't know I was going to be recording it. I just wrote songs because I was learning how to play music, learning how to play the style of music which would eventually become Koffin Kats, and I'm taking that same approach where the second to the most recent album was always like 'we're going to record on this date, let's have this many songs done', and really I work really well under pressure. We have enough material out where I don't need to put anything out, I'm just kind of waiting for these gems to pop up in my head. I probably got a handful of songs at the moment and I kind of wanted to take things back to the beginning. I'm two sided on this. I can't fucking stand the people that go, 'Wow, that band, they're never as good as their first album', because I don't believe that. A lot of my favorite bands, their albums are cool, but it's about seeing the progression for better or worse. To be in a good band, you have to make these moves and it might be an awesome direction or it might go the other way. I'm not too proud to say that I don't miss how the old sound was...I put whatever effort into that album with the same mentality that I'm putting into this one.
The Detroit Influence
Really the only factor that Detroit has in our sound is our location is ten minutes outside of Detroit. I didn't get into MC5 or Iggy Pop or Ted Nugent...but it's just a place that we're from. The Detroit influence doesn't have any more effect on us, or I should say has the same effect, to any other band from anywhere in the US. In a sense, what MC5 and The Stooges created [or] what Alice Cooper created, we could've been from Idaho and had the same exact influences as what the bands from Detroit would. We've never been a band to say, 'Oh we're from Detroit, that's what made our sound', or 'We're hard-working because we're from Detroit'. No, we're hard working because we didn't want to work the shitty jobs that Detroit had to offer for us. So if there's any influence Detroit ever had upon us, it's the career that we had to look unfortunately forward to.
Koffin Kats will perform at Saturday's Blackout BBQ, and my only suggestion is to leave your whiny ass shit at home or Vic Victor may put you in check.
Email breeehenry@gmail.com to win Koffin Kats's "Our Way & the Highway"
*will mail to any location, contest ends on Friday, August 14, 2015 at 6:00 PM
After rapper Mickey Avalon had his
opening slot with Sublime with Rome at Meadow Brook Music Festival, he stayed in
the area to do a couple headlining dates. Motorcityblog was there to catch them
and report back.
Mickey kicked off his second Michigan date on his 2015 Summer tour on
Sunday, July 26 at The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids, MI. First time at this
venue and I was very impressed. You can't go wrong with beer and 50 pinball machines in a
venue.
Mickey played to a packed house at The Pyramid Scheme, which was very
impressive for a Sunday night. Mickey had a much more stage time than his opening
slot the day before. He easily filled his 70 minute set with material off his
two full length albums, singles, and some new material not yet released. Songs
included Romeo and Juliet, Mickey's Girl, Friends and Lovers, and Fuckin' Em
All. The crowd keep their bodies close to the stage and the energy level
was high for the entire show. A eager fan jumped on stage during the
danceable favorite Jane Fonda to show off her moves and Mickey played
along. By the end of the song, dozens of ladies from the audience were on stage
and stayed for both Stroke Me and My Dick that followed.
Check out this live footage from The Pyramid Scheme show...
Next up for Mickey was a gig on Monday, July 27 at Frankie's Inner City in Toledo, OH. It was a hot Monday
and even hotter inside the bar with no air conditioning running. Mickey
was covered in sweat by the end of his first song of the set, but it didn't stop
him from giving his all during it. Frankie's Inner City is a small and narrow
venue, but the packed crowd was very polite and had a blast singing along and dancing.
During Mickey's song On The Ave. a shower of dollar bills started
getting thrown on stage for Mickey. Mickey's roadie Tuna took a stab at
playing live guitar during Jane Fonda at the previous night's gig and
at this gig he played guitar on not only that track, but also Rock
Bottom and Stroke Me. It was a nice addition that got me thinking
that Mickey with a entire live band would be amazing. Mickey may be a rapper,
but his backing music is very rock infused.
The ladies of the crowd could not
resist the stage once again during Jane Fonda. Booty shaking and even
underwear waving commenced during the song before the ladies were told by the
staff to vacate the stage. Disappointment of not being able to shake it any
longer on stage would soon pass as Mickey invited all the ladies on stage two
songs later for the song My Dick. A crowd pleaser if there ever was
one, the ladies flooded the stage to dance, snap cellphone pics/video, and sing
along.
Check out this live footage from the Frankie's Inner City show...
One thing is certain when it comes to a Mickey Avalon show. The crowd will be lively and have no inhibitions. Due to this, his live shows always make for a fun atmosphere
Mickey comes out after his shows to meet fans, sign autographs, and take
pictures. He greeted dozens of fans each night. Smiles and hugs were a common
sight at the meet and greets and everyone left happy.
MCB also put together this compilation video featuring live footage and hijinx from from the two shows....
Every Monday, Northern Lights Detroit hosts Punk Vs New Wave- the city's hottest rock 'n roll dance party, featuring an all-star cast of local DJs! We keep the kitchen open til 11pm and serve $1.50 PBR/Stroh's and $3 well drink specials all night! 21+, no cover.
After your evening's fun... a very proper after hours party is happening at the new Doug's Body Shop. Doug's is just the right size with great sound, dark corners and even darker rooms to explore.
Topher Horn comes in with a release of Detroit deep house future jazz heat, dropping on Rocksteady Disco in July of 2015. Milky smooth and tracks to start the night, play at peak hour, or finish the party off.
Toph's been a long-kept secret here in Detroit, running a studio frequented by the likes of Jay Daniel, Mike “Agent X” Clark, Craig Huckaby, Seth “Dedikate” Carter, Alan Barnes, and more. He's a secret no-longer thanks to his first proper 12" + delayed WEB release through Rocksteady Disco for both DJ heads and record collectors/listeners alike. This record will be the line in the sand regarding the up-and-coming producers out of Detroit in 2015. Don't sleep, unless it's a disco nap.
Topher Horn moved to New York right after Rocksteady Disco put the order in at Archer Record Pressing a few months back. This is Topher's first gig back in Detroit since April 2015, when he left his residency at Temple Bar along with Peter.
The awesome guys over at ROCKSTEADY DISCO agreed to GIVE AWAY one of the RSD002 12" records BEFORE you can snag it at the party...
Email us with ROCKSTEADY in the subject line to win!
After a highly acclaimed debut album In Colour released in June, Jamie Smith, better known as Jamie xx, made his way through Detroit last night to DJ at the Majestic Theater. The ambiance was upbeat in the Majestic's big room with a small-enough feel and ample sound.
I am big fan of the album, and was excited to hear how choice cuts like the ones featuring xx bandmate Romy Croft on vocals (Loud Places, Seesaw) would fit in or if the more eclectic sample-infused tracks would be included.
Jamie xx is a stellar DJ with years of experience collecting, producing, perfecting and becoming the craft. As soon as his crate of vinyl was set and the colored lights went up, I knew we'd be in for a ride. In an otherwise pre-programmed set, it's always nice to hear a DJ show some improv skills. The production was on point with colored lazers, lights and a giant disco ball. There was enough fog and bodies to get you to feel like you might be in that smaller club, but not take away from what was happening on stage.
Lifting off with Think Twice, a track from The Detroit Experiment set the tone for the evening. It might not have clicked right away, but you can't go wrong with an opener like this. From then on Jamie seemed to effortlessly drive through house, techno, dub and his own work. Kerri Chandler's "Hallelujah" on wax made some of us go bananas and teasers of Loud Places eventually led us where we wanted to go. Jamie really knows his stuff and it showed. A real "DJ's DJ" is harder to come by in the current EDM world, but when someone like Jamie xx rolls through town, you should't miss it.
On the heels of releasing his solo album debut, In Colour, earlier this summer, Jamie xx makes his way to Detroit tonight to DJ at the Majestic Theater. Expect to hear the latest depth and texture filled cuts as well as some xx favorites mixed in.
The last time I got to hear Jamie spin was in a ~150 person sweaty room in Pittsburgh and he shook that place for hours.
Pick up tickets online or at the box office (no fee!) Doors at 8 - all ages Majestic Theater 4120 Woodward Ave Detroit, Michigan48201
Dirt Fest is another must attend festival. Here's you chance to go as a VIP. Share, tag @DIRTFEST, hashtag #DIRTFEST2015 this photo. Winner will be announced Wednesday August 5.
