Recoil, June 2014 by Cliff Frantz

June 2014

NEWS SATIRE YOU CAN TRUST

Recoil

Majority of U.S. Cocaine Supply Contains Traces of Charlie Sheen

Ninety Dollars in Quarters Wasted Trying to Rescue Child Trapped Inside Crane Game Machine ADVICE: Telling Your Children They’re Adopted: How Many Times Per Day Should You Remind Them? Boring Person Pinterested Nation’s Top Russells Gather for RussellMania 2014 Yellowstone Visitors Burst Into joyful Applause As Shower of Confetti Erupts from Old Faithful Area Man Measures Pier Before Taking Long Walk

Corrections & Clarifications

(Above): Tensions mounted outside the game cube after the adjacent change machine was exhausted of resources.

Topeka, Kan. — Approximately 30 before he crawls under the Barney doll!” onlookers and volunteer rescue Passerby Derek Chowden expressed a workers reported having collectively moral duty to involve himself in trying spent more than $90 in quarters trying to rescue the toddler using his loose to rescue four-month-old Aiden Prentice change and self-boasted dexterity. “This from inside a Prize-O-Matic Crane game is such bullshit,” said Chowden Game machine Saturday after his four-quarter afternoon. “Damn it! effort to rescue the child. “Damn it! So close!” “These machines are So close!” exclaimed volunteer fireman David exclaimed volunteer rigged. Nobody’s ever fireman David Craig, 41, kicking the even going to get that Craig, 41, kicking machine as the bemused ninja turtle [doll] out of there, let alone that kid.” infant fell softly back onto the machine. a layer of stuffed animals “Somebody, quick, The unharmed child after having been briefly was finally extracted ask the clerk for suspended upside down from the glass cage more change before after an assistant by the claw’s light grasp on his tiny left foot. he crawls under the manager was finally Barney doll!” “Somebody, quick, ask able to track down the the clerk for more change vending machine keys.

Perry (above) is one of the few working web programmers unable to distinguish between standard C# and his own coding.

Tucson, Ariz. — Crystal Systems Inc. web programmer Brandon Perry, 30, occasionally still writes his back-end scripts in an archaic D# coding language, the sensory-impaired computer expert told sources “Most Friday. Despite being born without the abilprogrammers ity to recognize stark are almost contrasts among multiinstinctually paradigm programming able to code in languages, Perry has C-sharp, but worked full-time as somehow that’s a web programmer since graduating from never just come college in 2001. “Most naturally to me programmers are allike it does to most instinctually able others,” said to code in C-sharp, but Perry. somehow that’s never just come naturally to me like it does to others,” said Perry, explaining that he’s worked long enough at writing simple, object-oriented programming language to have learned how to see Programmer, page 6

Drowning Man Wishes Lifeguard Would Stop Running In Slow Motion

• Last month’s story on local artists listed painter Maria Rubin as 45 years old. You told us you were 34, but you weren’t fooling anybody, Maria – if in fact that’s your real name. • The May article titled “Next Stop: Delaware” referred to that state as America’s foremost exporter of discarded foreskin. In reality, nearly all of Delaware’s discarded foreskin is imported. • It was recently discovered that Recoil’s standard weather map was actually a Denny’s napkin from 2003. We hope you have enjoyed this special bonus.

Tone-Deaf Programmer Still Occasionally Codes In D#

(Above): The lifeguard’s slow motion run was characterized as artistically daring but lacking in effectiveness.

Miami, Fla. — Drowning swimmer Kurt Weingarten told sources today that he wished the lifeguard running toward him from the beach would stop moving in slow motion. “I appreciate the beautiful shine of [the lifeguard’s] oiled skin against the water as he casually whips his hair back and flex his muscles, but could you ask him to get the fuck on with it already? This isn’t Baywatch,” gasped Weingarten, struggling to keep his head above water while being gripped by a powerful undertow. Added Weingarten: “I mean, is he [splutter splutter] serious right [splutter splutter] now? What the [splutter] is his

“I appreciate the beautiful shine of [the lifeguard’s] oiled skin against the water as he casually whips his hair back and flex his muscles, but could you ask him to get the fuck on with it already?” gasped Weingarten. problem?” The lifeguard continued moving in slow motion as awestruck beachgoers marveled as his well-toned calves ripple with each exceedingly sluggish step. Weingarten continued to drown in realtime.

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volume 14 issue 6 june

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BUSINESS

CEO Likes to Think of Company As Big Happy Family of Mostly Dads Above: Bellows (center) poses with his office family. New York, N.Y. — Noting his company’s casual office culture, generous pensions and predominately male staff, Glen Bellows told reporters Friday that the 64-year-old IntelliCorp Communications’ CEO likes to think of his international conglomerate headquarters as one big happy family comprised predominantly of dads. “Sometimes this place feels more like a men’s locker room than an executive office, but I think we all kind of like it that way, don’t we boys?” yelled an inebriated Bellows, explaining how his company’s overwhelmingly male executive staff often

ignore office protocol with regard to the use of foul language and other politically incorrect behavior. “We can say crude shit to each other like it’s nothing because deep down we’re really like a family around here — a big happy family of father figures.” Bellows added: “We’ve tried getting some more women in the workforce — to diversify or whatever — but most broads don’t seem to like it around here for some reason. Gals will doll themselves up and come in and file complaints for a few weeks and then ‘poof’ — they’re just up and gone all of a sudden. Who knows what that’s all about.”

IMMIGRATION

Report: 82 Percent of U.S. Lesbians Immigrated from Lesbiria In Search of Better Life (Above): At least four of these U.S. lesbians were originally born in Lesbiria. Washington, D.C. — More than eight out of 10 American lesbians originally relocated to the United States from Lesbiria in hopes of making better lives for themselves, according to the results of a recent ACLU study. “Lesbirian women are highly successful at integrating into American lesbian culture because they instantly feel at home here,” said Neil Stafford, the study’s lead researcher. “These women are used to being ogled by men despite having no interest in their advances, just like back in Lesbiria.” Stafford noted that Lesbiria’s population continues to dwindle

Lesbiria’s male population continues to dwindle as men of all ages move to any country with women citizen who are actually into dudes. because of low birthrates, women escaping oversees in search of a more suitable life, and men of all ages moving to any country that has women citizen who are actually into dudes.

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TECHNOLOGY

Coworkers Still Don’t Get That IT Guy Just Googles 99 Percent of the Things They Ask (Above): Davidson re-explains to a coworker how Google can be used to access the entire world’s information, including how to stop an iPhone from vibrating. Big Rapids, Mich. — IT Systems Administrator John Davidson expressed frustration late Tuesday at coworkers’ ignorance to his increasingly obvious efforts to make sure they see him mindlessly relay their questions word-for-word into Google, the world-famous search engine which allows immediate free access to the combined intelligence network of the entire human population. “It doesn’t matter how big of a show I make about it every time I have to come down here, because some people are just NEVER GOING TO GET IT that the answer to every reasonable tech question ever dreamed up by human consciousness is one click away, people,”

Davidson loudly recited in front of the entire office staff. “It’s called Google, it’s on your computer, and it can be used for obtaining information in-between Facebook posts of your plates of food,” Davidson said before finally walking away amidst a sea of bemused stares.

“The answer to every reasonable tech question ever dreamed up by human consciousness is one click away, people,” Davidson loudly recited in front of the entire office staff.

ENTERTAINMENT

Nation Demands 30 or 40 New Competitive Cooking Shows (Above): Ted Allen hosts Chopped, just one of what’s hoped to become hundreds of similar cutthroat cooking competitions televised daily. Hollywood, Calif. — Results of a readership poll conducted by Variety magazine indicates that American cable television viewers are demanding the immediate conceptualization and production of at least 30 or 40 new competitive cooking shows of any quality to be included as part of fall’s television broadcast schedules. “Half-hour shows, fullhour shows, weekend marathons, it doesn’t matter — what viewers are demanding immediately are more Survivor-type shows about cooking,” explained media analyst Sandra Basil. “It doesn’t matter if it’s reality-

based or hosted by a hip young personality, the people don’t care — they just want to see people cook food and get scrutinized.” Chopped host Ted Allen explained: “In television, when you’ve got a national craze like [competitive cooking shows] on your hands, you make hay while the sun shines. Like how for a while you couldn’t find a channel that wasn’t broadcasting poker tournaments. Give the people what they want — and what they want are groups of chefs pitted against one another in a variety culinary challenges before a panel of judges.”

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Recoil Publisher

Brian Edwards

brian.h.edwards@gmail.com

Managing Editor Cliff Frantz

recoilmag@gmail.com

Entertainment/Music Editor Eric Mitts

mittse123@yahoo.com

Creative Director Kim Kibby

kim@revuewm.com

Advertising

Lauren Allen, Kelli Belanger, Molly C. Rizor 616.608.6170 / sales@recoilmag.com

Writers

Lauren Allen Suzanne Beveridge Mike Church Sherrie Coke Connie Cunningham Ryan Cunningham Wes Eaton Kimberly Frantz Erica Horoky

Adam Levine Dr. Steve Mikulak Drew Miller Eric Mitts Mark Ritzema Sheila Streeter Andrew Watson David Zann

Design

Editorial: Kim Kibby, Kristi Kortman Ads: Kellie Zaplitny

Digital Editor Jayson Bussa

Distribution

Lindsay Patton-Carson, Randy Hughes, Megan Dooley

Safety Officer Dick Bill

Recoil

65 Monroe Center, Suite 5 Grand Rapids, MI 49503 Ph: 616.608.6170 info@recoilmag.com

MISSION STATEMENT Recoil offers a humorous and provocative reflection of the state of modern society through the use of satire, in an effort to maintain awareness of our culture’s imperfections. PUBLICATION INFORMATION Recoil uses invented names in all its stories, except in cases when public figures are being satirized. Any other use of real names is accidental and coincidental.

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EDITORIAL

This Relationship Isn’t Over Until My Facebook Status Says It’s Over

harlene, honey, we really need to talk, but you won’t return my calls, texts or e-mails since we had that big fight last night, which ended with you kicking me out of your apartment and saying you wanted to break up with me. Now, this morning, I see you’ve gone ahead and changed your facebook profile from reading “In a relationship with Mark Sanborn” to “Single.” So apparently when you said, “I want to break up with you,” I’m worried that you were actually saying, “I am breaking up with you.” Yes, I know I have jealousy issues, Charlene, but I love you more than life itself. I’d rather die than see you with another man. So believe me when I say that our relationship isn’t over until my facebook status says it’s over. Maybe you truly believe our relationship is over, but after everything we’ve been through during the last two years, don’t think for a second that I’m just going to let you throw it all away with a few impulsive mouse clicks. How could you just suddenly announce yourself to the world as being single just because we had a little fight over you e-mailing that old boyfriend of yours? I simply refuse to accept the idea that you’re just all-of-a-sudden flat-out dumping me over this. I, therefore, am at least going to be adult about this and keep my facebook status as “In a relationship with Charlene Barns” until we get a chance to sit down face-to-face and work this thing out. I for one know deep down in my heart that if you really were serious about breaking up with me just because I get insanely jealous whenever you even look at another man, you

Mark Sanborn” and we’ll just put the whole thing behind us. Please do it quickly though, and make sure my name is in there, because if a couple of days go by and then your status reads “In a relationship,” I could misinterpret that to mean you’ve started seeing someone else — and that would devastate me. For me, Charlene, I’d sooner shoot myself than change my facebook status to “Single.” You are the only woman for me, always and forever — thus, my facebook status will remain as “In a relationship with Charlene Barns” until one or both of us are dead. One thing is certain: I will not lose you to someone else. Trust me on this one. You know me better than anyone else on Earth, but even you might not know what I’m By Mark Sanborn capable of and just how far I’ll go to ensure that no one but me can ever have you. Anyway, if you’re phone is broken or probably would have changed your status to something and you’re simply unable to respond “In an open relationship,” because you’d know to my messages, rest assured that I’ll be how enraged and crazy that would make me. refreshing your facebook page about every 10 So, clearly, you still have feelings for me. seconds until I see you’ve changed your status Changing your relationship status on facebook back to “In a relationship with is probably just your way of Mark Sanborn.” That will tell communicating your feelings to me all I need to know. me. I’m sure that if facebook’s Don’t think for a By now I’m sure you can relationship window included a second that I’m just tell how important this is to “Working it out” option, you no me. I promise not to leave this going to let you doubt would have selected that chair, not to stop compulsively instead of “Single.” Either way, throw it all away refreshing your page until Charlene, understand that I’m with a few impulsive your facebook status stops hearing you loud and clear: mouse clicks. indicating “Single.” I actually your love for me transcends just called the office and quit all space and time — we’re just my job today so I can spend all going through a rough patch. day every day watching your relationship status Also, I’m not so blinded by my obsession for as long as is necessary. with you that I can’t recognize that you may Whatever happens, my beloved Charlene, have inadvertently clicked on “Single” when please know this: I will see you at least one final you were actually trying to temporarily change time before either of us move on. Cross my heart your relationship status to “It’s complicated.” and hope to die: my facebook status will read Everybody makes mistakes; you probably just “Widowed” before it ever reads “Single.” You’d clicked “Single” and simply didn’t notice that do well to keep that in mind. Our time together it wasn’t what you meant to click. If so, you will not be over until my facebook status says don’t worry about explaining — just switch your it’s over. This I can guarantee. n profile setting back to “In a relationship with

Programmer, FROM page 1 “fake it” in his limited capacity as a technician. “There are actually some advantages in being code-deaf, such as being able to use some of the great E-flat compatible software.”

The content of this publication is © Copyright 2014 by Revue Holding Company, and may not be reprinted or retransmitted in whole or in part without the expressed written consent of the publishers and a pretty goddamned good reason. Recoil is free to the West Michigan community, but please, one per person. Anyone removing issues in bulk will be promptly executed.

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news satire you can trust

MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscriptions are available for $25 for one year (12 issues). Mail check or money order payable to: Revue Holding Company, 65 Monroe Center, Suite 5, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

volume one

Available now at Barnes & Noble, Schuler Books and Amazon.com SOLUTION TO PAGE 8 CROSSWORD

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MEDICAL

MEDIA MEDICAL

Four-Hour Autopsy Determines ‘Big Harpoon In Brain’ As Probable Cause of Death

Uncreative Conspiracy Theorist Claims U.S. Government Staged 1975 White House Correspondents’ Dinner

(Above): An X-Ray which some are calling an “unnecessary procedure.” Tulsa, Oka. — Officials at Oklahoma State University Medical Center Friday substantiated the necessity for a four-hour autopsy in which the official cause of death was eventually determined to be “sharp force trauma; big harpoon lodged in brain.” “Four-hours may seem like a long time for two licensed doctors to state the obvious here, but you know how it is; these guys get paid by the hour just like everybody else,” said Dr. Felix Moore, Chief Physician at the immensely profitable medical facility. “Still, though, I’m sure there was a good reason why some 26-year-old couldn’t just stamp the book on this stiff and ship it. Meanwhile,

I’ve got the chief of surgery on my ass about expansion, so I’m afraid this is all just going to have to wait,” Moore added sharply. The autopsy for the deceased, whose death investigators said suggests foul play, is estimated to cost the state $8,350.

Moore, Chief Physician: “Four-hours may seem like a long time for two licensed doctors to state the obvious here, but you know how it is; these guys get paid by the hour just like everybody else.”

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Above: A 1975 publicity photo Fishman believes to have been shot and developed by government experts. Washington, D.C. — Thursday, unimaginative conspiracy theorist Jeremy Fishman confirmed his belief that the U.S. government was secretly responsible for fabricating the events surrounding the 1975 White House Correspondents’ Dinner. “Did [the government] honestly expect the American people to believe that Chevy Chase just happened to wander into the White House on a nod and, what, just make up a list of jokes about President Ford on the spot? I think we all can agree that Chevy Chase isn’t that talented,” Fishman said from a downtown street corner to uninterested

“I think we all can agree that Chevy Chase isn’t that talented,” Fishman said from a downtown street corner to uninterested passersby. passersby. “The whole event had to be pre-planned, you see? Orchestrated. Think about it: America’s most powerful politicians gathered together in one room of the same government building on the same day at the exact same time. Do you really believe that was just an accident?”

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TIPS

A page from the Recoil handbook...

Guide to CELEBRATING FATHER’S DAY Here are some creative ways to celebrate the man who hung around the house occasionally as you were growing up: • Verbally resolve to do better and make your father proud, no matter how many times he’s heard it before and then walked away wondering if you even hear yourself sometimes.

• If your oldest son takes you skydiving, make sure you pack your own chute. Just saying: things get complicated whenever there’s an inheritance in play.

• Post a nice sentiment to your father on Facebook, even though he’ll never see it and only started the account to humor you, now has a terrible page which gives the impression that he has no friends, and fails to understand why that’s actually worse than not having a Facebook page at all.

• Sperm donors should already be used to not getting the recognition you deserve.

• Dads love to go fishing on their special day, but resist the urge to re-enact the Fredo Godfather scene with your dad because there’s no realistic way you’ll ever get that fat-ass over the gunwale without capsizing the boat. • First-year dads can expect to be showered with verbal reminders from the missus regarding your ineptness as a father, provider, lover and/or person. So it should feel just about like every other day since this whole baby thing happened. • Record an essay or song about your father. Refer to the work of Sam Kinison for inspiration. • Pull out the family videos. “Do you see how you were, Dad? No, seriously, do you see how you were being an asshole here? I don’t know how you cannot see how you were being an asshole here. And this is just one example, mind you.” • Show your appreciation for everything your dad taught you by refusing to pay his bail “for his own good.”

• Let’s go to those family videos again. “Here’s you being an asshole at Christmas, Dad. Seriously? How do you not remember doing something this shitty in front of the whole family?” • It can be a long car ride up to the penitentiary for a visit, but remember that this is the man who taught you how to do things like shotgun a beer, start a campfire going with a quart of gasoline and find the perfect place to bury dead hookers who’ve been rolling around in the trunk all weekend. It’s a shame they don’t make trunks that big anymore. • Try organizing an afternoon of activities that you dad loves, like, um... sitting? Watching things? Are there any interests that both you and your dad share? That kind of explains a lot, doesn’t it? • There’s no better way to tell your dad you love him than by not actually saying it at all, ever, under any circumstances. • Being a good father means doing a whole bunch of things that your dad probably didn’t do, but I wouldn’t even bring that shit up if I were you. Just try to get through lunch without killing each other.

CROSSWORD

IN THE ROUGH

crossword by kimberly frantz

ACROSS

THE SOLUTION FOR THIS PUZZLE CAN BE FOUND ON PAGE 6

1. Ecstasy (the drug not the emotion) 6. Main character in HBO’s True Detective 10. America’s first motorcycle 12. Metallica’s “To Live __ __ Die” 13. Southernmost peninsular state (abbrev.) 14. Andre Romelle Young aka Dr. ___ 15. Varicose ____ 16. Lie 18. Split 20. “Famous Five” children’s author ____ Blyton 22. ___ King Cole 23. Actress Winger 25. Birds’ abodes 29. Snake 31. ____ canal 32. Deeply thirsty 36. Of the ear 37. Largest bird native to Australia (archaic spelling) 38. Distinct period of time (for example, Mesozoic) 40. One of three parts of the psychic apparatus as defined by Freud

41. Apollo Group’s NASDAQ symbol 42. “The cattle are _____, the Baby awakes, but the little lord Jesus no crying He makes” are words that appear both in a popular Christmas carol and Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5 44. Young Adult science fiction series predicated on a right wing overthrow of the U.S. government, in which the U.S.A. is renamed the ____ 45. Tall and slim with long slender limbs

DOWN

1. Mildly angry 2. Shopping digitally = ordering ______ 3. In science, lethal dose may be abbreviated as __ 4. Top 5. Politicians seeking election (like the wonderful Sarah Howard, check her out on FB at Sarah Howard for State Senate) use ____ signs to promote candidacy 6. Rosie the ______ 7. ____ interface

8. BBC’s Top Gear test driver 9. Dial ____ 11. German “no” 17. Garment worn hanging from neck to prohibit food spillage 19. Mini___ (family vehicle) 21. Vlad the Impaler 24. Bruce Campbell’s character in Evil Dead 26. Nickname for Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., is The ___ 27. Carrying 28. Excessively conventional, hence dull 30. Remove outer layer 32. French for “skin” 33. Nigel Tufnel’s go to 11 (plural) 34. ___ _peedwagon 35. In Minecraft: a block obtainable through crafting and found in NPC Villages and Strongholds 39. Straight Outta Compton: debut studio album by American hip-hop group ___ 43. Out’s opposite

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C O N T E N T S

recoil 6.01-6.30 | VOLUME 14, ISSUE 6 | JUNE 2014

TEGAN & SARA

COLUMNS

Sean Murphy – Local film Suzanne Beveridge – Flesh & Fashion Jen Moshpit – Metal Dr. Steve Mikulak – Life On 11 Wes Eaton – Back to Nature

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS

Page 15 Page 16 Page 16 Page 17 Page 23

Tegan & Sara Cake Wayne Static KONGOS Lyrics Born

LOCAL ACTS

Page 23 Page 25 Page 25

Treading Bleu Willy Wompa Maraj

FEATURES

Page 22

June Festivals

REVIEWS

Page 29 Page 30

CDs Book

ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Event guide

Page 23 Page 27 Page 28 Page 30 Page 31

Sara Quin of the Canadian identical twin duo tells Recoil the story behind the sisters’ 15-year overnight success: “It was a personal and professional decision to write and record as if we were a brand new band without any limitations, aesthetic or otherwise.”

See Tegan & Sara live at Frederick Meijer Gardens Amphitheater June 28.

CAKE Recoil’s exclusive interview with Cake founder/frontman John McCrea reveals the iconic band’s recipe for longterm success in the entertainment industry: finding balance. “I love playing live shows, but as a creative person you need to have that aspect of your life energized as well. So going on tour for two and a half years, which is sometime what we do, it’s not the best thing for your creative life.”

Cake will perform at Frederick Meijer Gardens June 12.

Pages 33-40 The views and opinions expressed by Recoil columnists do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of this publication.

ADVERTISING INDEX Adult Market........................................... 38 Barfly Ventures....................................... 20 Billy’s Lounge......................................... 18 BMW Motorcycles..................................... 5 B.O.B’s Brewery..................................... 21 Cultivation Station.................................... 4 Drop 35................................................... 36 Erica’s..................................................... 38 Founders............................................. 2,35 GR Beer................................................. 31 Green Restaurant..................................... 7

Growco..................................................... 7 Inked By Kendra..................................... 37 Intersection............................................. 13 Lemonjello’s.............................................. 5 Meanwhile.............................................. 19 Monarchs’ Club......................................... 3 Moshpitnation......................................... 25 Mulligan’s................................................ 28 New Holland Brewing Co....................... 32 Orbit Room............................................. 24 Parkway Tropics..................................... 39

Planet Rock.............................................. 9 Pyramid Scheme.....................................11 Quaker Steak & Lube............................. 32 Rocky’s Bar & Grill.................................. 26 Sensations.............................................. 40 Shorts Brewing....................................... 24 Stud’s...................................................... 29 The Network........................................... 14 Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill...................... 39 Wharton Center...................................... 12

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INTERVIEW

interview by eric mitts / photo by chris buck

ike their song from The Lego Movie goes, everything is awesome for Tegan and Sara.

The Canadian identical twins have a smash hit with their song “Closer,” sold-out tours with everyone from Katy Perry to The Killers, and are featured in one of the most popular movies of the year. Just don’t mistake them for some overnight pop sensation. In reality, the Quin sisters have been building their fan base on their own terms, bit by bit, for the last 15 years. Prolifically they’d released six studio albums filled with their signature indie-acoustic, singer-songwriter sound, and chronicled their every anxious idiosyncrasy, or mournful heartache, in bursts of lyrical confession. But that all changed with their synth-centric, ultra-catchy seventh album Heartthrob. “I think we both felt like a big shift was needed,” Sara Quin told Recoil about the making of the album. “Being in a band as long as we have been means sometimes feeling like you’ve tried everything and leaves you wondering what is left to surprise people with. It was a personal and professional decision to write and record as if we were a brand new band without any limitations, aesthetic or otherwise. The pop sensibility of the final result was very in line with where we are at in our lives right now and that came very naturally.” Suddenly Tegan and Sara were just that: a new band at 32 years old, reaching younger, mainstream audiences who had no idea they started out touring with Neil Young and The Pretenders, achieved alt-rock success years ago opening for the likes of Weezer, The Black Keys, and Ryan Adams, or that their previous two albums were produced in collaboration with indieveteran Chris Walla of Death Cab For Cutie. And none of it mattered. “It’s very exciting for us to see a new generation of fans discovering our band,” Sara said. “Knowing that we have this incredible community of loyal fans has

allowed us to experiment and grow without the fear of losing our base. We are very lucky.” Heartthrob debuted at Number 3 on the Billboard charts last year, proving just how much their longtime fans had embraced their daring new sound. More recently they cleaned up at Canada’s Juno Awards, taking home Song of the Year, Pop Album of the Year, and Group of the Year honors. With all the accolades piling up, and more and more people lining up for shows, Tegan and Sara — who are both openly gay — have also embraced their newfound spotlight in mainstream media. “We are more comfortTegan and Sara able with the idea that we are wsg The Courtneys, role models now than ever My Midnight Heart before,” Sara said. “When Frederik Meijer we were younger our goal Gardens Amphitheater, was to be honest and visGrand Rapids ible as queer artists while June 28, 6 p.m. (gates), also maintaining a broad 7 p.m. (show) fan base. There was a natu$41 members, $43 ral shift towards being more public outspoken and focused with Meijergardens.org, our politics over the years (616) 957-1580 when the message of the many causes we cared about started to naturally integrate with what we were doing and what was happening in the mainstream. It’s been a natural process and we’ve been grateful to have the time to grow at our own pace along the way.” The duo has frequently discussed their personal politics and personal experiences onstage, and over the years has worked with a number of LGBTQ organizations and charities in both the U.S. and Canada. “It’s been an important part of our life to help bridge a more liberal and inclusive attitude while also advocating for the legislation that would protect those in the LGBTQ community,” Sara explained. “We’ve been careful to delineate between our music and band and the objectives of our politics, but integrating them wherever possible.” Songwriting has long been a method for the sisters to make sense out of their lives. So even though their latest set flips their

“Being in a band as long as we have been means sometimes feeling like you’ve tried everything and leaves you wondering what is left to surprise people with.” introspective lyrical microscope into something of a universal telescope, they’re still coming from the same place. “They all sort of end up being about you, if only a little bit,” Sara said about the new songs. “I’ve always found that being honest is the surest way to connect yourself to strangers. We don’t know all each other’s backgrounds but so many experiences are part of the human condition and with the right melody and words you can connect even the least likely of people.” With Tegan now living in Vancouver and Sara splitting time between Montreal and New York, the sisters surprisingly connected more with each other on Heartthrob than they ever had in the past, when more of their songs originated as either Tegan songs or Sara songs that they later filled out together. “Mostly we [were] sending demos to each other, but in the case of a few songs, we actually worked on parts in the same room,” Sara said about collaborating closely with her sister. “It was a first and it yielded great results. So I’m sure when we start writing again we’ll continue to keep that process and intimacy open to each other.” The duo plans to tour until Christmas and then take time off to work on their next album. “I think there is a connection, [an] intuitive sense that helps us predict or complete musical ideas,” Sara said about being twin songwriters. “We complement each other very naturally and that adds to the flow of both our music and our storytelling on stage. I think it is fairly unique and does give our band a different spin.” n For more on Tegan and Sara, visit teganandsara.com.

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national ACTS

cake

“Between 2002 and 2011, we’ve lost forty-five percent of working musicians, according to the Department of Labor Statistics,” McCrea explained. “So that’s forty-five percent fewer artists filing taxes as musicians. That’s devastating.” Comparing the life of a musician to that of Cake frontman John McCrea knows that the a small business entrepreneur, McCrea feels richest part of life isn’t the decadent frosting: that web technology has only continued to it’s the satisfying middle. allow big business to get the best of artists, Whether talking about his band’s music, in much the same way they’ve exploited other climate change, or shifting technology in the resources. new millennium, McCrea is all about balance, “I’d be fine with all information being free, and continues to work towards evening the as long as nobody gets paid, right?” he said. layers that separate our society both as an “But if certain people, like if the only people artist and an activist. who aren’t getting paid are the musicians and Recently McCrea helped put together the the authors and the independent filmmakContent Creators Coalition (CCC), an organiers, if we’re the only people zation made up of musicians, not getting paid in the supply artists, authors, journalists, archain, then that’s more of the Cake tisans and others. The group same bullshit.” Frederik Meijer aims to defend the rights of Despite sold-out shows Gardens Amphitheater, those who actually create conall around the country — Grand Rapids tent found online, by making and numerous ubiquitous June 12, 6 p.m. (gates), sure they get their due pay for alt-rock classics like “The 7 p.m. (show) their work. Distance,” “Short Skirt, SOLD OUT “I think that it’s ridiculous Long Jacket,” and “Never Meijergardens.org, that we don’t have any collecThere” — McCrea knows 616.957.1580 tive voice or organized labor,” the challenges posed to most McCrea told Recoil via phone working musicians firsthand, last month. “I mean, what having released Cake’s latest album, 2011’s were we thinking? Do we really think corpoShowroom of Compassion, on their own label, rate America is going to be nice to us because Upbeat Records. we’re artists? No, it’s going to be the opposite. The decision to go entirely independent was So, we need some sort of collective bulwark.” an arduous one, contributing to the sevenAlongside McCrea in the CCC are music year delay between Showroom and their legends like David Byrne, Tom Waits, and previous album, 2004’s Pressure Chief, and Roseanne Cash, among many others. Together it changed Cake’s future forever. they’ve become more visible this year, hosting “A lot of the reason why it took so long was fundraisers and raising awareness about how that we had to extricate ourselves from a to join the fight for creative equality.

WAYNE STATIC

This year, lakeshore native and platinumselling rocker Wayne Static jumpstarted his career by resurrecting Wisconsin Death Trip, the 1999 debut album from his massively successful industrial-metal band Static-X. After suffering a hernia that sidelined him from music for a year — and ongoing legal battles with former Static-X bassist Tony Campos over use of the band’s name — Static took the opportunity to celebrate the album’s 15th Anniversary as a way of reminding fans, both new and old, that he is, and always was, Static-X. Recoil fired a few questions by the epically-coifed frontman via phone last month, remembering his time here in West Michigan, Death Trip’s game-changing impact, and his future solo material.

Wayne Static

Static-X’s Wisconsin Death Trip Carnival of Chaos Morelands Motorcross, Stanton June 12-14 $15 adv/$20 at gate + $5 parking 18+, thecarnivalofchaos.com

Recoil: What was it like for you growing up here in West Michigan, and how do you think that time influenced you as an artist? Wayne Static: It’s a great place to grow up, obviously, especially around the water. We spent all summer sleeping on the beach and that kind of shit. So it’s awesome. Skiing in the wintertime. It’s a great place to grow up. But there’s not much of a music industry there, so as soon as I graduated high school I got the fuck out and started working on my career elsewhere. I went to Chicago and ultimately ended up going to L.A. to get signed. But you know, Michigan’s cool. It’s a cool state to hang out in.

label deal,” McCrea said. “And then we asked ourselves, ‘How are we going to do this? Are we going to release it on our own label? Are we going to find a small indie label to help us? What are we going to do?’” Showroom of Compassion debuted at No. 1 upon its release, although it was the lowestselling No. 1 album of all-time. That sort of ironic juxtaposition suits McCrea just fine, and reflects the melancholic sense of deadpan humor he’s had as a lyricist since starting Cake in the early ‘90s as a contrast to the excesses of rock music. “[Cake’s] music has sort of this less-is-more approach,” McCrea said. “There’s a certain minimalist vibe to what we do. It’s about not taking all your cues from your surrounding environment. I think you have to take your cues from the DNA of the music you’re making.” Only playing a select handful of shows this summer, Cake is in writing and recording

mode right now, spending a lot of time in their solar-powered studio in Sacramento, Calif., with hopes of getting new material out sooner than later. Although McCrea isn’t holding his breath. “It’s all sort of on my shoulders right now, writing songs and getting material together,” he said. “Most songwriters I know can’t write when they’re in a hotel room. So I need to be home in order for that to happen, and increasingly — I love playing live shows, but as a creative person you need to have that aspect of your life energized as well. So going on tour for two and a half years, which is sometimes what we do, it’s not the best thing for your creative life.” —Eric Mitts

R: You did take a piece of West Michigan with you with the various “Otsego”-titled songs you had with Static-X. Why did you want to use that town’s name as something of a reference in your music? WS: I had this fake ID from this dude, his name was Dean something — it’s funny I don’t even remember his last name now — and he was from Otsego. So, I was Dean from Otsego whenever I went out to bars. And that kind of stuck with me. And early in my career when I was writing lyrics, I was really stuck on the ways words sounded. Not what they meant, but the way they sounded and the way they rolled off your tongue. And the word Otsego just sounded really cool to me. Otsego had all my favorite sounds, and I don’t know, it just had a ring to it, so it just always stuck with me.

out, we went from a nobody band to a platinum band within six months. And we only had one album.

“I ended up getting so bad I had to cancel the tour and go home and have surgery. It took me a year to recover fully to the point where I could actually sing again and perform.” R: You’re playing Static-X’s first album, [1999’s] Wisconsin Death Trip, in its entirety as part of its fifteenth anniversary. What’s it been like revisiting that album? WS: It was really funny at first, because I had to pull out my laptop and go to my iTunes,and learn how to play all of those songs again, because I haven’t played half of those songs in 15 years. Like back when that album was

To find out more about Content Creators Coalition, check out contentcreatorscoalition. org. For more, click over to cakemusic.com.

R: You’ve been working on your second solo album. How are things coming along with that right now? WS: Slowly. [Laughs] I’ve just been staying so busy on tour this year that I haven’t had any time this year to work on any solo material because we’ve been pretty much touring nonstop. When [my first solo album] Pighammer came out [in 2011] we started doing tours for that, and then I did like a Static-X thing for a while, and then I developed a hernia on tour. I ended up getting so bad I had to cancel the tour and go home and have surgery. It took me a year to recover fully to the point where I could actually sing again and perform… But we’ve finally got our shit together again, and I’ve got some new players in my band, and I’ve got a new team together behind me. R: Your wife [former porn star] Tera Wray had briefly played in your live band as well as performed onstage. Will she be on the road with you for this tour? WS: Oh yeah, she wasn’t in the band, but she’s always onstage. It’s more of a performance thing. It’s more of a visual thing. We started a rumor that she was going to play bass for me just to piss my former bass player [Tony Campos] because he hates me, and I just wanted to piss him off. So we told everyone Tera was gonna play bass just to get him pissed off. —Eric Mitts To read the full interview, check out recoilmag.com.

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INTERVIEW

kongos interview by eric mitts

t’s taken a few years, but the rest of the world seems to have caught up with the globally-inspired, timespinning music of KONGOS. Made up of four brothers from Phoenix who grew up in London and South Africa (where their father John Kongos had success as a singer-songwriter in the ‘70s) the band has whipped through the rock airwaves like a gust of fresh air with their hit single, “Come With Me Now,” a swirl of Beatlesque songcraft, African rhythms, accordion, and slide guitar. But before the winds of change caught their backs, and they signed a major label deal with Epic Records (who re-released their second self-produced album Lunatic this past January, nearly two years after they recorded it), KONGOS learned to do everything themselves. And it shows, both in the depth of their songwriting and in their inspiring, brotherly bond as a band. Recoil spoke with drummer/vocalist Jesse Kongos via phone last month about the band’s diverse influences, their unique upbringing, and their sudden, surprising success.

Recoil: What was it like growing up with a father who was a musician? Jesse Kongos: From a very young age we were learning music. Our parents wanted us to learn piano. Just like any other subject they thought it was important [that music] be a part of our lives. So we grew up playing piano and having piano lessons, and also [Dad] had a recording studio in our house, so we were kind of around that environment. So there was just music all around. He played us all different types of music growing up, so we had a wide variety of influences. So it was a very musical, joyful upbringing, really. R: What’s the best part about being in a band with your brothers? JK: I think the best part is that it’s much harder to break up, because we’re so close and we know each other’s faults and we know each other’s strengths. So it’s literally a brotherhood feeling. That makes the project very strong, I think, because we’re all committed. It’s not like we’re just four guys who kind of randomly found each other. There’s also blood to tie us together.

R: What’s the hardest part? JK: The hardest part is probably the familiarity. You spend enough time with anybody and they’ll get on your nerves. [Laughs] But we’ve learned to get through that. We still fight, and we still have arguments. The fighting has gotten less physical and more verbal, but we’re pretty quick at moving on from that. That’s something that we’ve worked at over the years, not letting things drag out and just moving on quickly. Everybody fights, every band fights, and I think that’s the hardest part, the familiarity. R: Having spent some of your time growing up living in South Africa, what was it like going back there to tour [last year]? And what did it mean for your music to be so widely accepted there first, before almost anywhere else in the world?

JK: It’s really cool, because I think American audiences are willing to embrace different stuff. Especially if it’s given some mainstream exposure. Americans are the breaking audience. So succeeding here is like a whole different thing. You can crack anywhere in the world, but really cracking America is the thing that counts the most. So that’s a good feeling, to just start making inroads into that, because it’s such a big place, and such a huge market, and as far as rock and pop music goes, it’s the leader of the world. So that’s been exciting.

“You spend enough time with anybody and they’ll get on your nerves. [Laughs] But we’ve learned to get through that. We still fight, and we still have arguments.”

JK: It’s the best feeling. We grew up in South Africa. We only spent eight years there, but they were eight very important years, and we made some of our best friends there, and went to school there and it was a really unique kind of childhood. And then to go back so many years later with our music kind of blowing up on radio, it was kind of an unreal feeling. It was a really good excuse to go back there often, so we’ve been back five times since we kind of hit on radio there, and above and beyond playing big shows and being well-received and all that, it’s just really nice to be in the country and be with our friends and to experience everything that the country has to offer because it’s really an amazing place. R: Back here in the U.S., where “Come With Me Now” is having so much success now, what does it mean to you to be able to introduce some of these sounds that come from South Africa or other places to American audiences?

R: With Lunatic being written and recorded two years ago, are you guys already writing and thinking about recording anything new? Or are you overwhelmed with all the touring and everything that’s coming your way now?

JK: We had a lot of down time after we finished the music and before ‘Come With Me Now’ started to hit. We had quite a lot of downtime. So we did write and demo and came up with quite a lot of material that’s sort of ready to go when we’re ready to record our next album. So we feel pretty good that we’ve gotten ahead of ourselves a bit, because the touring schedZ96.5 FM and ule dominates every part of FusionShows our lives now where we don’t present KONGOS have much time. But we’re wsg/ Brick + Mortar always definitely looking forand Flint Eastwood ward to new material, and we District Square, play new songs occasionally Kalamazoo on the road flesh them out. June 24, 7 p.m. To read the full interview, check out recoilmag.com. For more click over to kongos.com.

$15 adv Districtsquare.co, fusionshows.com, (269) 264-4229

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volume 14 issue 6 june

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volume 14 issue 6 june

EVENTS Embracing the diversity of the LGBTQ community in West Michigan, Pride Fest encourages everyone to “Love Who You Are.” The two-day event, sponsored by Bell’s Brewery, will help raise funds for the Kalamazoo Gay Lesbian Resource Center, and feature local drag competitions and live music. Buttermilk Jamboree June 13-15 Cost: $70 (adult 16+, until June 7), $80 (after June 7), $60 (Sat & Sun only), $30 (Sunday only), $5 children Location: Circles Pines Center, 8650 Mullen Rd., Delton

Electric Forest in Rothbury, Mich. June 26-29

PHOTO: ADAM ZARECZNY

JUNE FESTIVAL GUIDE

You’ve survived yet another unpredictable Michigan winter full of relentless blizzards, and a spring full of potholes and rain. By the time June comes around, our great state usually decides to give us a break. What better way to soak in this weather than at one of many West Michigan festivals? The sun is out, Oberon is on the shelves, and you deserve to make it out to at least one of these events.

Festival Of The Arts June 6-8 Cost: Free Location: Downtown Grand Rapids Festival Of The Arts will be celebrating its 45th anniversary this year, making it one of the longest running festivals in the state. This community celebration of art, music, entertainment, and food will take place all over the streets of downtown Grand Rapids. You’ll find six indoor and outdoor concert stages, art exhibits, and plenty of food. KIA Arts Fair June 6-7 Cost: Free Location: 314 Kalamazoo

Park

St.,

The 2014 Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Fair, held in Bronson Park, will feature over 180 artists and coincide with Bell’s Beer Garden opening. Around 50,000 visitors will turn out for this community tradition to enjoy a variety of art, local bands, and beer. Greek Festival June 5-7 Cost: Free before 4 p.m., $7 between 4-7 p.m., $10 after 7 p.m.

Location: Arcadia Creek Festival Site, 145 E. Water Street, Kalamazoo Reveling in all things Greek: from food and drinks, to music and dancing, the 37th Annual Greek Fest has lots to savor. Country duo LoCash Cowboys will headline the fest Friday night, with ‘90s alt-rockers Sugar Ray headlining Saturday. Local First Street Party June 7 Cost: Free Location: Outside Bistro Bella Vita, 44 Grandville Ave. SW, Grand Rapids Presented by GR’s own Founders Brewing Company, this event showcases all local art, food, music, and beer. GR ska-legends Mustard Plug and electro-pop faves Alexis will top the bill, with an estimated crowd of 12,000 coming out to support local everything. Hatter Days Street Party June 7 Cost: Free Location: New Holland Brewing Co. Pub, 66 E 8th Street, Holland

A celebration of beer and live music, this event will feature tastings and Daredevil Circus performances alongside sets from local bands Stepdad, The Soil and The Sun, The Go Rounds, and The Appleseed Collective.

Now in its fourth year, this camping festival serves as a fundraiser for the nonprofit Circe Pines Center, and focuses on cultivating community sustainability for local arts and music. This year’s lineup includes The Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Dar Williams, Steppin’ In It, and over two dozen local acts. South Haven Harborfest June 19-22 Cost: Free Location: South Haven This free event features live music all weekend, a craft and food fair, beer garden, dragon boat racing, and pancake breakfasts. Island Festival June 19-21 Cost: Free before 4 p.m., $3 between 4-7 p.m., $6 after 7 p.m. Location: Arcadia Creek Festival Site, 145 E. Water Street, Kalamazoo Over 15,000 reggae fans make it out to downtown Kalamazoo for three days and nights of music, food, and beer for this outdoor festival. Michigan’s largest reggae

festival, the lineup ranges from top local talent to national headliners, including Taj Weekes and Adowa, The Meditations, and Luciano. Founders Fest June 21 Cost: $20/$25 Location: 235 Grandville Ave, Grand Rapids This 21+ street-side celebration is everything you’d expect from a Grand Rapids festival: local food and craft beer, live music, and art from local artisans. The all-day event is held right outside the brewery and will feature the bands Lettuce, Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Break Science, The Budos Band, The Giving Tree Band, Fauxgrass, Valentiger, and the FBC All-Stars. Electric Forest June 26-29 Cost: $265 weekend pass Location: Double JJ Resort, Rothbury The Double JJ Resort in Rothbury becomes the Sherwood Forest, home to one of Michigan’s largest electronic music festivals. Thousands of EDM fans pour out to the forest every year to catch headliners such as Zedd, Cut Copy, Flying Lotus, Matt & Kim, and The Glitch Mob. Grand Haven Art Festival June 28-29 Cost: Free Location: Washington Ave., Grand Haven Downtown Grand Haven becomes an outdoor art gallery, featuring over 100 local and national artists, giving the community a unique opportunity to purchase art directly from the artists. —Erica Horoky

Carnival of Chaos June 12-14 (18+ event) Cost: $15 in advance/$20 at gate + $5 parking Location: Morelands Motorcross, 5221 E Pakes Rd., Stanton A weekend full of debauchery, this BYOB camping festival will bring in 70 metal bands and eight electronic acts from around West Michigan and beyond. Also adding to the insanity will be Kat The Midget Stripper, body suspensions by Bradde Hamman, custom glass blowers, lingerie pillow fights, wet T-shirt contests, erotic body-painting and more. Pride Fest June 13-14 Cost: $10, $50 VIP Location: Arcadia Creek Festival Site, 145 E. Water Street, Kalamazoo

Steppin’ In It at Buttermilk Jamboree June 13-15

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HIP HOP

LYRICS BORN Even though he goes way album. “It’s definitely the album back with the legendary hipI needed to make.” Lyrics Born hop scene of California’s Bay In addition to exposing his wsg/ Vox Vidorra fans around the world to the rich Area, Lyrics Born has found The Pyramid Scheme, something of a second musical musical history of New Orleans, Grand Rapids home in New Orleans. Lyrics Born has also teamed June 6, 9 p.m. The rapper/producer has with Oxfam International on an $15 adv / $18 day of, been working on his new upIndiegogo campaign, where a 21+ coming solo album in The Big portion of the money raised from Pyramidschemebar. Easy, and plans to release the the album will go towards their efset sometime this fall. forts to elevate poverty in the city. com, 616.272.3758 Produced by Grammy“It’s not fair to compare any winning producers Ben Ellman place to New Orleans,” Lyrics and Rob Mercurio (of New Orleans’ jazz-funk Born said when asked how it compares to the Bay band Galactic), it will feature guest appearances Area. “There’s music everywhere. You have little from the likes of Trombone Shorty, Preservation kids coming out of elementary school that aspire Hall Jazz Band, members of Rebirth Brass Band, to be trombone players. That just doesn’t happen anywhere else. The whole brass band phenomDavid Shaw of The Revivalists, and Ivan Neville. enon is just not something that exists anywhere in “It’s definitely different for me,” Lyrics Born told Recoil about the brass-band feel of the new America. It’s just a very special place, and I think for whatever reason, the style of music, the history, it just jives with my sensibilities.” As a founding member of independent hiphop collective Quannum Projects in the late-‘90s (along with DJ Shadow, Blackalicious, and others), Lyrics Born has had his music featured in TV shows like HBO’s Entourage, and countless commercials and video games. But he first broke out from the underground with Latyrx (The Album), his collaboration with Lateef The Truth Speaker. The duo released The Second Album last year, marking a return to their work together as Latyrx for the first time in 15 years, and propelling him to work with even more collaborators on his new album.

“I don’t hate pop music: I’m not a pop hater by any means. I love all music, if it’s good. [But] I’ve never seen so much focus and emphasis put on pop music as I have in this era.”

LOCAL ACT

informational or funny.” Overall he said he feels like there’s a real lack of social commentary, not just in hip-hop, but in all of music right now. “Because sales are down, there are a lot of companies that only want to focus on pop artists,” he explained. “And let’s face it, pop music is not synonymous with social commentary. So what that does is it homogenizes the music at times. And that’s all right, I don’t hate pop music: I’m not a pop hater by any means. I love all music, if it’s good. [But] I’ve never seen so much focus and emphasis put on pop music as I have in this era. And culturally in music right now, we don’t seem to be all that interested in coloring outside the lines.” —Eric Mitts For more info, check out lyricsborn.com.

LOCAL FILM

TREADING BLEU Treading Bleu has taken a lot of steps on the way to the release of their full-length debut, Stories Telling Themselves. Forming out of open mic nights at Kalamazoo’s Old Dog Tavern, the rock quartet is made up of West Michigan music veterans Stacy Koviak-Davison (vocals/guitars), Chris Miroslaw (lead guitar), John Cooperider (bass) and Rob Cooperider (drums). They take influence from everything from ‘90s alternative to folk, blues, and jazz, wrapping their years of collective experience playing around KoviakDavison’s immensely personal songwriting. “Sometimes there is a definite story to tell, but what I am most passionate about is capturing a feeling or mood in each song,” Koviak-Davison told Recoil. “I am a strong believer of each listener finding a piece or phrase or a feeling within a song that they can latch onto and associate with... Sometimes that is more powerful than a precisely detailed story laid out within a song. Other times when I write there is a very specific event or person in mind driving that story in the lyrics and in the music.” Treading Bleu recorded Stories Telling Themselves with Mike Roche at Broadside Productions in Kalamazoo over the last two years. The band financed the recording sessions themselves by playing shows, so they wouldn’t feel rushed to complete the album in a short time. “It’s been a fantastic experience,” John Cooperider said. “We had an idea of how things

Continuing to work on his craft every day, Lyrics Born has also turned to Twitter as both a self-promotional and creative tool, earning widespread attention for his observational tweets about his hometown’s unique culture, which he compiled into the e-book Yes, Bay Area! Here’s a taste: “Hiring a taco truck to cater your baby shower? Yes, Bay Area.” “White dude, black chick, Asian baby? Yes, Bay Area.” “Eighties biodiesel Cadillac Seville? Yes, Bay Area.” “There’s a lot of people who pollute the ether with useless, kind of nonsensical banter on Twitter and Facebook, and I don’t want to contribute to that,” he said about his tweets. “For me to tweet it really has to meet four requirements. It either has to be inspirational, aspirational,

were going to sound, but we all wanted to approach it with open minds and make the best-sounding album we could, allowing the songs to evolve in the studio. We each brought in new ideas and Mike was a crucial element to the whole process. We learned a lot and are very happy with the final result.” With Rob Cooperider splitting time between Kalamazoo and Cleveland, where he also drums in another band, Treading Bleu feels their city’s music scene doesn’t get the credit it deserves. “We’ve played at most places around town and Kalamazoo is really lucky to have so many great venues for bands that play original music,” Cooperider said. “Rob has commented that Kalamazoo is a more band-friendly city than Cleveland in some ways. “A lot of people talk about the Kalamazoo music scene of the mid-90s as the glory days, [and] there was a lot of great music in the city in those days. But really, there are just as many great musicians around now as there were then.” In addition to headlining Shakespeare’s for the first time with the Stories Telling Themselves release show June 14, Treading Bleu has also recently finished a music video for the album’s title track, and will play The Hot Spot in Owosso June 13 and Old Dog Tavern June 29. For more, check out treadingbleu.com. —Eric Mitts

New Belgium Brewing is bringing its incredibly popular Clips Beer & Film Tour back to Ah-Nab-Awen Park on June 27. Attendees will be able to enjoy great short films and 20 tastily special brews from New Belgium, as well as games, raffle prizes, and more. Proceeds from raffle tickets and beer sales will go towards the Greater Grand Rapids Bicycle Coalition’s Room to Ride program, which is working to install 100 miles of bike lanes in Grand Rapids. The Community Media Center’s Annual Membership Meeting is June 4 at 6 p.m. at the Wealthy Theatre. This is a great opportunity to meet Tom Clinton, the new executive director, and get more information on what they have planned for the next year. Anyone interested in doing any filming should definitely come check it out. Thriller! Chiller! International Genre Film Festival recently announced that it will be adding an extra day to its already packed schedule, now running Oct. 22 through 25. Now in its ninth year, the festival features approximately 50 genre films from around the globe. Viewers can expect everything from horror to sci-fi to action films to grace the screen. The festival will also work to incorporate other local businesses into the affair, aiming for a more open atmosphere akin to Sundance or SXSW. Genre films have given cinema some of the greatest hits and misses out there, and also some of the corniest. While everyone

hopes they make the next Star Wars or Alien, films like Dead Alive show that starting off ridiculous (reverse-birth into the womb of a giant zombie-rat-monkey) can take a filmmaker to wondrous places (later made The Lord of the Rings trilogy). Waterfront Film Festival has unveiled the poster for this year’s event. Artist Ron English delivered his take on South Haven as a potential art hub with a truly unique design, a large pirate ship with butterfly masts amidst other striking visual oddities. With the festival’s June 12 start date fast approaching, now is a great time to get excited for what other cinematic oddities will be on display along the gold coast of South Haven. —Sean Murphy

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LOCAL ACTS

willy wompa maraj

n unprecedented fusion of hip-hop sound and once we started it was obvious this and psychedelic sounds — with swirls was a natural place for me as a producer.” of electronic, folk, funk, blues, and Whether he’s sampling an old record, soul music — Maraj seemingly appeared out or writing and playing a bunch of instruof thin air when they opened for Breathe Owl ments, Catlin said his style is his style and Breathe at The Pyramid Scheme this spring. its defined by the music of the southwest: The Kalamazoo group will release their mambo, bossa, mariachi, Ennio Morricone, debut, EP1, this month in equally spon- and beyond. taneous fashion, fitting of how the whole “I have a band called Lasso and lived in collaborative project came to life. Arizona for a while, so that influence seeps “I come from a background of rock, coun- into all my music, especially amidst a terrible try, psych, and folk, and straight up I got real Michigan winter,” Catlin said. “It was fun to sick of every concert experience feeling like create a sound that feels warm.” the same thing,” producer/multi-instrumentalNaturally, they’ve coined their own terms ist/vocalist Andy Catlin told Recoil. “People for their indescribably fresh sound, calling it standing there, silently listening to music. No “pine desert soul, cactus hop, and Yucca fire physical connection to the blues” — or more simply: good grooves, good hooks, music. I wanted to at least cool instrumentation with a ask the question, ‘Is this all “Darius had never passion for creation and we got?’” recorded before and Catlin is co-founder self-expression. first thing he laid “Rap music has a lot of the Kalamazoo studown was the mighty of habits, and it was very dio/label Double Phelix natural for us to break these Sound (and member of hook at the end of Kalamazoo band The Go habits while still respecting that cut. It was clear Rounds). For months he and having fun with the it was meant to be.” had been scheming to start form,” Catlin said. a groove-based project, The members of Maraj worked on EP1 a couple and when Detroit rapper MotorCityKam showed up to the Double days a week throughout the long winter, and Phelix Showcase this past winter, he found have already begun work on an even crazier full-length release, while figuring out how to his perfect collaborator. “The first night we all got together we cut best approach their funky live show. vocals for [the song] ‘Swollen Vibes,’” Catlin “We’ve done a show with totally live said. “Kam brought his friend Darius Greer instrumentation and one with almost all elecalong. Darius had never recorded before and tronic,” Catlin said. “[We’re] trying to search first thing he laid down was the mighty hook for a middle ground that does not involve a at the end of that cut. It was clear it was big live band, but also doesn’t fall into guy meant to be.” in front of MacBook syndrome.” —Eric Mitts Along with Catlin, Kam, and Greer, Maraj is made up of producer Ben “BigChina” Lau Listen now at doublephelix.tumblr.com. and vocalist Samantha Cooper. Both longtime members of Double Phelix Sound, Lau and Cooper worked on the new project from Maraj EP Release its very start. wsg/ Mizpah, DJ HardBargain “Who wouldn’t pounce on an opportunity Louie’s Trophy House Grill, Kalamazoo to share, find common ground, and create June 13, 9:30 p.m. something unique and fun?” Catlin said about Free, or $5 entry and EP why they started Maraj. “It’s the age of the louieskzoo.com, (269) 385-9359 pastiche and we’re tossing in our vision. I feel like I’ve spent years circling around this

ith the rise of the EDM scene, the guys in Grand Rapids’ Willy Wompa feel like two kids in a candy

store. “The electronic scene without a doubt has grown immensely in West Michigan, just over the past couple years,” Willy Wompa producer/DJ Mike Lozon told Recoil. “If the sold-out Bassnectar show packed wall-towall at the Deltaplex [last fall] wasn’t proof enough, I don’t know what is.” Churning out nasty beats and sick rhymes from their self-described “filth factory,” Lozon and producer/vocalist Kris Bouchard have come up with that scene, frequently laying down bass drops alongside the likes of local EDM acts: DJ Bradley Butler, Mr. Segrin, The Drill Team, Jonah Hodges, and MC Lil Mak. “There is an EDM-style gig going on almost every night now,” Lozon said. “With Monday Bassbin at Billy’s, Tuesday at Teazers, Wednesday Innerstellar Frequency at Stellas Lounge and Drinkin with Lincoln at Hubbs Inn, [and] Fridays and Saturdays, depending on the week, there is usually a bigger show going on at The Stache or Intersection. And [that] is just in Grand Rapids alone.” Kicking off festival season early, Willy Wompa performed inside the Red Bull truck as part of this year’s Irish on Ionia, and this month they’ll join seven other area EDM acts at the metal-heavy festival Carnival of Chaos, June 12-15 in Stanton. “It’s a highly-appreciated opportunity for us to really showcase our performance to an entirely different crowd of people,” Lozon said about performing at Carnival of Chaos. “And for us to be originally from that heavy metal rock scene, we have a good grasp of what will make these people start to pick up what we’re putting down.” Friends since they were kids — “not that they’ve grown up yet” — Bouchard and Lozon started out playing in a rock band when they were 15. That band, best-known in the local scene as WonderWorld, led to the birth of Willy Wompa when Lozon started “messing around” in Ableton trying to create different synth sounds. “I also started going to deejay parties and it just kind led to Wompa,” he explained. “Once I got Kris to take over with the writing of our material things really started to kick off and we knew we had something entirely different then what most EDM artists have to offer.” The duo doesn’t know how exactly to

“When we heard Korn’s single ‘Get Up,’ instantly we wanted our mixes to start sounding that big. For us it was a game changer.” describe their soon-to-be “undefinable” original sound. For now they call it glitchfunk rap, adding that they like to keep people guessing by throwing out “everything imaginable” from the EDM scene during their live sets. “As much as I know most will hate us for this, we have to give it to Skrillex as without him I don’t know when we would have ever made the switch from the rock world,” Lozon said about their influences. “When we heard Korn’s single ‘Get Up,’ instantly we wanted our mixes to start sounding that big. For us it was a game changer.” Currently Willy Wompa is working on new music, new collaborations with local artists, and a new set design that they hope to have — along with a live guitarist — for their show at Carnival of Chaos. “As well as our visual board has helped us excel, we need to make the next step and do something bigger,” Lozon said. “As far as the music goes… we’re about to turn this scene inside out.” —Eric Mitts To get a free download of Willy Wompa’s music or to buy tickets to Carnival of Chaos, contact them via facebook.com/ willywompamusic.

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volume 14 issue 6 june

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FLESH & FASHION

SAMANTHA BARRETT.. Favorite places: Yesterdog, Founders.. Occupation: Traveling gypsy minstrel.. Plays: Mandolin, guitar, fiddle and..

washboard (bands include: Sam N’ Eye,.. Luna, C. Leather and Feather).. Interests: Hitchhiking, rubber tramp.. (vehicle living), repurposing dead.. animal parts as jewelry, dumpster.. diving and being a positive influence.. to everyone I meet!.. Studies: Herbal medicine, ancient.. languages Music: Tom Waits, Stevie Nicks,.. Horseshoes and Hand Grenades,.. Charlie Parr.. Aspirations: Homesteading with.. sustainability.. Words to live by: “In the absence of.. light, darkness prevails; be the light!”..

By Suzanne Beveridge Photo by Elyse Wild

SEAN BARRETT. Favorite places: Brewery Vivant,.. Founders, Tip Top, Bell’s Eccentric Cafe. Occupation: Professional busker,.. leather craftsman/milliner, guitar and.. vocals for Sam N’ Eye.. Interests: Travelin’ round, meeting.. people of all walks of life... Hangouts: Anne St. Bridge, Jackson.. Island, Busking on Ionia St., the woods.. Hobbies: Homebrewing, writing songs,.. mastering/ editing my music, dancin’,.. building franken-instruments.. Music: Stompin, bluegrass, blues,.. ragtime, Townes Van Zandt, Doc.. Watson Words to live by: “To struggle is to.. really live.”..

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volume 14 issue 6 june

METAL SCENE

The Internet Killed and Other Sob Stories

By Jen Moshpit

Last month I began looking at how the internet changed metal — not killed it — in a comparison of metal before and after the internet. Here are some thoughts about the internet’s role in modern metal, along with input from fellow metalheads.

Easy Access THE GOOD

THE BAD AND THE UGLY

n It is amazingly easy to find new music online, the n The internet has diluted metal and it can be hard to only question is “How much time do you have?” find the good stuff. Jimmy Rains, advertising and n Share-ability allows bands and labels to easily post promotions manager at The Intersection, says: music for listeners to find and share with friends. It “There are so many options that there aren’t supereliminates the need for a label between the band stars anymore. It’s the flavor of the year.” and the listener. n The sharability of music makes n The internet is an awesome gateway to metal. it harder for bands to make “Without the internet, I never would have found money due to pirating, metal. Granted, it started with bands like Linkin but that’s another article. Park and Disturbed, but pretty soon I was stumbling (Pay for music, people!) across all kinds of amazing bands… Now I have n It’s hard to get people’s internet radio show!”- Jessica ‘MetalforLife’ Rogers attention and keep it. “It’s n “You no longer need to rely on radio or TV to find super easy to find bands, new music,” says Richard Bichler, guitar shredder but super easy to forget for The Kalki Incarnation. “Sure there are a lot them,” says metalhead Jason Thompson. more artists out there, but isn’t that preferable to having one or two groups claim it as their own?”

Connecting the Metal Family THE GOOD

THE BAD AND THE UGLY

n Thousands of metalheads are online! Bichler added: “You can network with folks who have similar tastes, and even the bands themselves, from home.” n The live metal scene benefits because it not only increases concert attendance, but forms real-life friendships.

Expanding the Universe of “Heavy” THE GOOD

THE BAD AND THE UGLY

n The internet makes it easy to put music out to the n The internet makes it easy to put music out public. Anyone with basic recording equipment to the public. Anyone with basic recording and a computer can do it. equipment and a computer can do it. (It’s a doublen It’s easy to get inspired. Bands are taking metal edged sword) Some bands are elements and bending them into something new doing amazing things. Others to create a whole new range of heavy. Duncan not so much. Lammas, local guitar shredder, attributes some of this to the fact that “musicians can communicate more easily -- pushing the level of compositional sophistication and reducing the need to be in the same place to play together.”

Exposure for Locals and Giants Alike THE GOOD

THE BAD AND THE UGLY

n For bands, the internet helps level the playing n Musicians hate it because it creates more competifield. Local or national, they all get access to the tion, making it hard to get noticed. same basic tools. n The internet has NOT replaced traditional music n Musicians love it because it lets them get their marketing. Although it’s a great tool, some use it music out to the public easily. as their only one. Amanda Snook of Live Nation n “I most likely would not have heard of a lot of the shared this wisdom, “There are so many sites and badass bands I listen to daily if it wasn’t for the the genre is now very splintered … [Big promoters] internet,” said Adam Besant of Metal Doc Brown. still rely on word-of-mouth and local promos, street He added, “This comes [in part by] the many bands work, etc. to get the word out.” that took the smart route and started self-producing then promoting their hardened little tits off.”

A New Level

With all of that said, things are still changing. That fluidity is part of the beauty of the internet. We can only guess where it may lead… Some kid today will find the music, learn to play and eventually create a masterpiece that blows his predecessors out of the water. Or maybe someone will do something completely different with technology. Ian McKinnon has a fantastic idea, “[Maybe the internet will lead to] walking by a music store and downloading your favorite band’s latest concert tshirt right onto the tshirt you’re wearing. How freaking cool is that?” One thing is for sure. We have only begun to realize our new heavy metal potential thanks to the internet. It may have changed everything, but it is for the better. GO LOSE YOURSELF IN SOME NEW MUSIC!!! n

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CD Reviews

REQUIRED LISTENING Afghan Whigs, Do to the Beast Sub Pop

6.5/10

Like so many other teenage boys, I was drawn to Cincinatti’s Afghan Whigs in the 90s for their blatant, biting and caustically sexually subject material. In other words, Greg Dulli. The guy has definitely earned his icon status: part caricature, part Cassanova, all predator. The Whigs are responsible for a couple great albums and one stone classic (Gentlemen), but it wasn’t like anyone was really gripping for an Afghan Whigs reunion. Do to the Beast is a perfectly fine record, I suppose, and would probably even seem like an accomplishment coming from a bunch of kids. Compared to songs like “What Jail Is Like,” “My Curse” and “Be Sweet,” though, this is shockingly mediocre stuff. These comeback albums are always a great way to call attention to a band’s back catalog though. Gentlemen is a record everyone should know about.—Andrew Watson

Antlers, Familiars ANTI-

8/10

I remember reading somewhere about an Elliott Smith fan who was reluctant to turn his friends on to Smith’s music because he didn’t want to ruin their lives. Certain artists work in such intensely personal and naked spaces that by listening we become intimate with their pain. Such is the case with Antlers. Peter Silberman has suffered in his life, earthlings simply are not capable of faking the sort of raw emotion we hear in his voice. Familiars is a remarkable collection of songs, more drawn-out than earlier records and nearly as devastating. “Palace” is the sort of album opener that leaves you shaken, a gorgeous interplay of brass and piano leading Silberman’s floating falsetto through a boiling calm.—Andrew Watson

The Black Keys, Turn Blue Nonesuch

8.5/10

Rock ‘n’ roll shout-outs don’t get any bigger, or better, than The Black Keys’ mention of Kalamazoo in the chorus to “Gotta Get Away.” A parting shot burst at just over three minutes, the album-closing track is a hook-happy blues-rocker that caps off a set that will be known for its daring deviation. After all, Turn Blue starts on the opposite side of the band’s increasingly swirling, psychedelic spectrum, with the nearly seven-minute “Weight of Love.” Throughout, the duo (and producer, Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton) delve deeper into their favorite classicrock touchstones, unearthing catchy nuggets of pure ear gold (“Fever,” “It’s Up To You Now”) while carving out a place for their own living legacy. West Michigan should feel honored.—Eric Mitts

The Last Vegas, Sweet Salvation ILS Group

7.5/10

Loyal worshippers of rock’s biggest, baddest gods, The Last Vegas’ holy grail of sleaze continues to overflow on the band’s fifth album. The Chicago glam-rock band (featuring vocalist Chad Cherry and bassist Danny Smash, formerly of Grand Rapids’ The Nastys) makes no apologies for still believin’ in rock. Their balls-out sound loosens its leather and spandex hold just enough this time around to let off whiffs of early Jane’s Addiction psychedelics (especially on single “Come With Me”), and it’s no shock why these guys remain beloved by fans of Motley Crue, or others unashamed of music’s best excesses. Don’t miss when the band returns to Grand Rapids for what’s sure to be an outrageous show at The Pyramid Scheme June 20.—Eric Mitts

Todd Terje, It’s Album Time Redeye

8.5/10

It’s been nearly a decade since Norwegian DJ Todd Terje’s 2004 breakthrough EP “Eurodans” — so yes, It’s Album Time. With it’s cheeky title and lounge lizard-esque cover art, It’s Album Time has you smiling even before you hear it. Terje uses the long-player format to lasso his myriad interests into one locale. “Svensk Sas” is a hyper-speed sashay of Nordic salsa. “Alfonso Muskedunder,” is a waltz with insanity drums and a blinding amount of scatting. The show-stopping ballad “Johnny And Mary” features Bryan Ferry on guest vocals and will make the hairs on your arms stand up. Terje opens things up with “Delorean Dynamite” toying with a heartthrob arpeggio before barreling into one Olympian melody after another. This record is a thrill to behold, a clear-eyed portrait of an artist in total command.—Andrew Watson

Wye Oak, Shriek Merge

8.5/10

Once, we subscribed to the notion that rock music needed rock guitars in order to properly deliver the rock. Logically, this theory is sound. We’ve learned lessons in the last several decades that run contrary to it, however — the latest coming from Wye Oak, an ex-blues-guitarrockin’ duo from Baltimore who, buoyed by personal and professional crisis, have turned to synth riffs and pulsing bass for artistic reinvention. “Before” begins the record with purpose, skipping from an introductory keyboard phrase into a low-lying hum as Wasner’s gorgeous alto enters the room carrying lyric and melody, confident and evocative. The visceral punch of early albums like The Knot is absent, but the strength and immediacy of this set is undeniable. This is a 180-degree shift, the kind of calculated risk we rarely see in Pop music.—Andrew Watson

The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger

9/10

Midnight Sun

Chimera Music There are plenty of things that distinguish Sean Lennon from the Jakob Dylans and Carnie Wilsons of the world, chief among them being talent, clearly, but also integrity. The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger is Lennon’s latest musical project, a freewheeling, psychedelic stew that teeters on the fringes of several genres but stays true to none of them. Midnight Sun is brilliant; the first true representation of Lennon’s many musical interests, one second laying on a heady Black Rebel Motorcycle Club-type grind (“Too Deep”), the next melting away into sunny harmonics and cloudbursts of synthesizers (“Animals”). Lennon has always been willing, even eager, I think, to fly opposite of his famous lineage, rather than get by on thin imitations like other celebrity progeny. I remember seeing him in 1995 playing bass guitar for the female hip-hop duo Cibbo Matto to about 75 people in a Division II gymnasium. John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s son: Random Bass Player. That was nearly 20 years ago, and to think that his musical career has already outdistanced his father’s in terms of longevity is pretty startling. It’s fitting that Midnight Sun delivers on so many disparate sounds, and seems to be the product of so many influences. The Beatles had such omnipotence, they touched so many people and impacted so many abstractions of pop music that it seems appropriate and oddly circular for Lennon (Sean) to now be reflecting that back in his own songs. The

EMA

The Future’s Void Matador

sprawling echoes and twisting guitar lines that propel “Last Call,” “Xanadu’s” thrift-shop be-bop, the acoustic, melancholic mythology of “Don’t Look Back, Orpheus” — all of this and none of this can be directly traced backward to the late-60s studio experimentation of George Martin and the Beatles. To Lennon (Sean’s) credit, he has never seemed all that desperate to be seen or heard, a testament to having grown up in the public eye. It’s really hard for me now, however, to look at him or listen to him and not hear his dad. Try listening to “Moth to a Flame” and not hearing John’s Liverpudlian tenor. Skip to “Poor Paul Getty” and pretend he hasn’t totally inherited John’s easy way with a character sketch and a novelty tune. From all accounts, Sean Lennon is one of the more decent people on the planet — the kind of unifying and politically active figure who inspires those around him. Those qualities notwithstanding, Midnight Sun may be the record that establishes him on his own merit, musically. It is a remarkably enjoyable listen.—Andrew Watson

9/10

Erika M. Anderson’s journey began in South Dakota, expanded to Los Angeles, and has since gone interplanetary. As EMA, she creates music that sounds progressive, but is calculatedly retro. In photos, she always has something hiding her face. She likes to photograph herself with words and sometimes other faces projected onto her face. She has a lot of interesting ideas and manages to cram nearly all of them into her latest record, The Future’s Void. If the future is indeed void, then perhaps she’s wise to lean so heavily on the past. EMA has soaked herself in the 1990s, absorbing grunge, industrial, goth and alt-pop in nearly equal quantities. But rather than simply spit it all back out at us, EMA casts these familiar tropes into unsettling and brazenly personal 21st century spaces, using the past to ask questions of our present. “3Jane” begins with a chilly piano vamp and a throbbing two-beat tom. EMA whispers about personal loss, the way we willingly sacrifice pieces of ourselves onto our Twitter feeds or through our Facebook posts. She sings: “Feel like I blew my soul out/ Across the interwebs and streams/ It was a million pieces/ Of silver and I watched them gleam.” Her voice is appealing, the melody warm and calm, but the sentiment is pure regret, almost mournful, and probably hits pretty close to home for many of her listeners. The Future’s Void lacks the charm of 2011’s Past Life Martyred Saints, but that is purely by design. This is a much slicker, more professional, and more demanding record. The endearing emotional sloppiness

of her early work is traded here for a set of colder, more theoretical observations about modern life. The whole album is inspired by a strain of weird, pulpy pop culture — sci-fi crossed with existential goth. The album’s first track, the purposefully noisy “Open the Satellites,” examines a life conflicted by two eras and two different experiences of space — on one hand the paranoid isolation of the cold war and on the other, the terrifying freedom that has come to characterize the digital era. Armed with electric pulses and a wall of hand-claps, she sings, “I remember when the world was divided/ By a wall of concrete and a curtain of iron/ Still they put a man up into space/ And we go there each night alone in the waste/ You’ve got to open the satellites.” I have spent nearly a month with this record and I feel like there is still a lot to digest. I think she wants us to disconnect. Log off for a few minutes. At the very least, to step back from our iPads, close our eyes for a second, and allow what’s real back inside. Perhaps our humanity is at stake.—Andrew Watson

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volume 14 issue 6 june

Life on 11

How about a little acceptance? I was supposed to fly out to decided I was not going let it bother North Carolina for a wedding. me for the rest of the weekend even Unfortunately, I never made it out though I was letting down some dear of Grand Rapids. friends of mine as well as my fiancé, As I was being dropped off at who had made it out a day before the airport, I received a text from me. I refocused my energy on things the airlines that my flight had been that I needed to get done around the delayed — no big deal. When I got house and my work. my bag out of the car, I got another Life often throws us curve text: “flight canceled, please see balls, some good and some less service desk.” When I found out by Dr. Steve good. Though difficult at times, the next flight was in five hours, I Mikulak looking at the world through a posiwasn’t happy but thought I’d at least tive lens helps you to cope with the still make the wedding. Four hours of waiting situations you will inevitably encounter. I think later, my second flight was canceled. I called that is part of the fun of life: the fact it’s so unthree airlines, sat on hold over and over again predictable. It is also constantly changing so that means that nothing is permanent, thereas they tried to help but to no avail. I was angry fore everything is temporary. Seasons always and frustrated and on the phone so much with the airlines that I never got any work done. The change, friends start families, new jobs, somesituation straight-up sucked — until I arrived at times people close to you move away and new the inevitability that my ordeal “is what it is” and opportunities come and go all the time. Sorry there is nothing that I can do about it. There to be the bearer of bad news, but people in was a feeling of helplessness that I was not familiar with and did not like, so I dealt with it in “Of course, there is no the best way I knew how: I took it. I internalized it, learned from it, looked at it in any positive formula for success way I could and I moved on. except, perhaps, By dwelling on things that are out of your control and letting them affect you emotionally an unconditional or spiritually and eventually physically, you inacceptance of life crease your stress levels and your health starts to decline. Don’t do it! and what it brings.” Instead, I called a ride and chewed on my —Arthur Rubinstein piece of humble pie the entire way home. I

your life will die and things will not go your way. People deal with situations in two ways: • Accept it for what it is with a positive mindset and maintain your happiness and inner chill. • Fight it, get angry, be miserable, frustrated, and lose your cool. To clarify, I’m not saying to give up or given in to social norms or the “sheeple” mentality on which most mass mediaeducated people base their decisions. Also, acceptance is not a sign of inferiority or weakness at all. You need to learn when to persevere and keep going forward in the face of adversity and when to accept things for what they are. It is a lesson that each of us must learn on our own. Remember the saying “everything happens for a reason?” It’s true to a point. Next time you’re stuck in a less-than-favorable situation, maybe try listing some of the reasons but focus on the positive and the possibilities versus the “woe is me, nothing good ever happens to me” way of thinking. It’s less important to know why something is happening than it is to accept that it is actually happening. No one knows what the future will hold for any of us. You can try to plan for your future, to push yourself in the direction you want but you absolutely have to accept what is

happening right now. Accept it, learn from it, and allow change to happen as you encounter it. Don’t fight change — embrace it. Life can flow smoothly if you allow it to or; if you constantly resist the things changing or not changing in your current situation, life can be like a Michigan road in the spring-time: very bumpy and pothole-filled. n

BOOK REVIEW

Sharon Tate shines in new book from sister Debra Sharon Tate is famous for her Hollywood stardom in the 1960s with roles in such films The Fearless Vampire Killers and The Valley of the Dolls. But there is so much more to this Hollywood icon that only By Sherrie Coke Tate’s sister Debra knows, (with Chris Franks) and which she writes about in Sharon Tate: Recollection. Recoil was able to speak with Debra Tate the book. Recoil: What was life like growing up with your sister Sharon and what kind of relationship did you have? Debra Tate: Sharon and I grew up as army brats. Our father was a career military man, which required us to move every three years to other countries and military bases across the United States. Sharon and I had an extremely close relationship. Sharon moved out (from the family home) just prior to her eighteenth birthday. We emancipated Sharon so she could move from Italy to the U.S. to start her career. She was ten years older than me; I was the middle child. Patti was the youngest and was five years younger than me. R: What do you hope people will learn from reading your book? DT: I would like my readers to learn who Sharon was from a family perspective and also from her celebrity friends.

Sharon valued all life. I want to establish with the younger generation that you can have it all. Sharon had an amazing body of work in just six years that had long-term impact even today, almost forty-five years later! She is extremely relevant today in several areas: clothing, makeup, hairstyles. She is relevant in her personality/persona and she is someone to aspire to be like and to emulate. Sharon was very soulful and spiritual. She did not use her beauty, it wasn’t just skin deep with Sharon — she was the whole package, a gem.

ballet slippers, which have come back into style. Sharon and I loved visiting boutiques together. A favorite was Betsey Johnson’s boutique on Melrose. Sharon came from a generation where everything was structured: girdles, garter belts, tightened up/tucked in/hemmed up — but Sharon liked free-flowing clothing. We would create new looks at Betsey Johnson’s by combining Kimono and crepe fabric into one outfit. We gave her (Betsey Johnson’s) designs do-overs!

R: Roman Polanski wrote the forward to your book. How would you describe Sharon and Roman’s relationship? DT: Sharon was deeply in love with Roman. The love between them was immense; very rare in Hollywood to have that type of relationship. Tate women do not give up on things. Relationships take work and require sacrifice and growth. R: What were some of Sharon’s favorite things? DT: Sharon loved strawberry ice cream. In our household we made ice cream by hand. Sharon loved clothes and wore minimal makeup. She was very comfortable to go out with a clean-scrubbed face, her hair in a ponytail and some Vaseline on her lips. She loved wearing

“Sharon had an amazing body of work in just six years that had long-term impact even today, almost forty-five years later! She is extremely relevant today in several areas: clothing, makeup, hairstyles.”

R: What surprises can we look forward to in your book? DT: This is the introduction book. I will be working on another book that will be more in-depth and include very rare family photos and lots of surprises. I want my readers to get to know us as a family! Every thirty to forty years fashions come back, etc. and this is Sharon’s time again, Sharon’s time to shine! I want to reintroduce Sharon to the world, put her back up on her feet and make her real. Sharon had a lot to give and still does. I would like my readers to get a warm, cozy feeling from this book — like they just got a great big hug. We were a very huggy family. If Sharon met you she would give you a great big hug. For more information please visit sharontaterecollection.com.

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BACK TO NATURE

Walnuts and Birches: An Untapped Resource The title of this short expose is bortop three states with the highest numrowed from chapter four of Michael ber of untapped trees. Moreover, further Farrell’s 2013 book The Sugarmaker’s analysis revealed that Michigan’s forests Companion, and what I would like to contain the highest percentage of tapdo here is both introduce readers to able maples occurring in stands dense Farrell’s work in general, as well as enough for a viable sugaring operadraw attention to what I feel to be the tion. This is especially so in the Upper Peninsula, where the largest number key take-away from his book on making syrup from tree sap: sugar maples of pure sugar maple stands live. I am are not the only species of trees that planning my summer travels accordingly. by Wes Eaton The book, however, largely focuses sugarmakers can tap! Farrell was a student of forestry in on introducing folks to the essentials general before he tasted his first “maple” (insider’s of sugarmaking, his goal being to encourage a new generation of syrup producers. Like other jargon for maple syrup). As is often the case with the uninitiated, the first taste of true maple syrup Extension service outputs, the book comes off a often comes as a surprise. The flavor, like the syrup, little like an outline for a business plan, but that’s is dense, concentrated, but at the same time altookay for me as this is exactly what I have been gether balanced. There are multiple flavor profiles looking for. The key that Farrell emphasizes and possible for maple syrup, so this is a broad generthat I want to share here, however, is that sugar alization. Nonetheless, a taste of true maple would maples are not the only tap-able tree for sweet be described as “authentic” — even by those who sap. He begins by emphasizing the potential of were raised on Aunt Jemima’s. Farrell detected other varieties of maples, such as silvers, reds, this at once and applied for an academic position blacks, and even Norways. While his FIA data at Cornell, as head of the Sugar Maple Research & analyzed U.S. forestlands, it did not take into acExtension Field Station in Lake Placid, N.Y. I had no count urban forests. Along my street, for instance, idea such a position existed, but this makes sense, and in the park at the end of the road, are numerous maples, including sugars, silvers, reds and considering the history and growing market for maNorways. Each could be tapped. Although sap ple in the “new world.” Sugarmaker’s Companion from the sugar maple contains the highest ratio of is not an academic publication — although it does present some fascinating research from his dissugar to water, sap from these other subspecies sertation where he analyzed U.S. Department of is close, containing perhaps only a half a percent Agriculture Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data less sugar on average. In other words, Farrell tells and identified the potential for the future growth of us tapping sugar maples is key for big producers, sugarmaking across the country. Michigan, inciwhose margins are tight, but this is less important dentally, in comparison with all other more northern for us small producers. states where sugar maples grow, is amongst the Beyond maples, however, Farrell reports on

two other tree species that also produce a sweet sap that can be evaporated down into very desirable syrup. This, folks, is what gets me most excited. Black walnut trees, while perhaps a bit messy, already provide a prized edible food, something that the folks at the food justice group Our Kitchen Table here in Grand Rapids often point out. Farrell argues, however, that the sap from these trees, which can be tapped at the same time and in the same ways as maples, can also be cooked down into a surprisingly delicious syrup, which is similar to that made from maples, if perhaps a bit more fruity or nutty. Farrell reports on research where a blind taste tests revealed nearly equal preference for both maple and walnut amongst the panel of tasters. Moreover, syrup producers can blend both the finished syrup as well as the saps of these trees into a maple-nut flavored syrup, which is already a popular taste. I have several walnuts in mind for tapping next season. Furthermore, beyond maples and walnuts, one can tap birches. These are what I am most excited about for two reasons. First, birch syrup is supposedly more like a molasses than the sweet honey-like experience of maple and walnut tree sap. This would imply usage as an ingredient in cooking — which, incidentally, in what many suggest for black walnut nuts. Second, unlike maple and walnut sap, the flow of which is driven by variations in temperature between freezing and thaw, and which also happens to be the messiest time of the year to try to get into the woods, birch sap only begins to flow (in an amount that is worth collecting) once maples and walnuts have budded out, and their flow has diminished. In other words,

once maple season is over, one can immediately begin again on a different variety of tree! While March 2015 is still a fair distance off, I thought it would be good to report on all of this now, to pique your interests, share the excitement of new potential varieties of trees to tap, and syrup to make, blend, cook with, and share, if for nothing less than to get you through the doldrums of warm summer months. While this winter was rather long, I always knew that the days would soon rise above forty, but then dip back down below twenty at night, prompting the sap to flow and collect in our syrup camp’s buckets. Next year there will be a few more buckets to the north of the cabin where several dozen mature white birches march along the edge of the maple and beech forest. But when the “peepers” begin at night in the swamps and lowlands, and the maples begin to bud out, rather than pack up camp, we’ll begin a new adventure. n

THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING HAPPENING!

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TUESDAYS

OPEN MIC NIGHT ON THE DECK 7-10PM HOSTED BY BRIAN ADAMS JUNE 3 & 17 - HOSTED BY BRUCE COLIN EVANS JUNE 10 & 24 FOOD & DRINK SPECIALS

WEDNESDAYS

free appetizer for anyone who performs!

TEAM TRIVIA NIGHT 8:30PM HOSTED BY SPORCLE TRIVIA WITH A TWIST

THURSDAYS

INDUSTRY SIN 8:30PM $2 DOMESTIC DRAFTS SUMMER BIKE NIGHT RETURNS! EVERY THURSDAY STARTING JUNE 5 @ 5-9PM Sponsored by The All Americans Grand Rapids based Motorcycle Club

FRIDAYS

FULL KONTAKT KARAOKE 9PM-1AM HOSTED BY TRACY EVANS BEST KARAOKE IN TOWN! random prize drawing for anyone who sings karaoke each night

4515 28TH ST., KENTWOOD, MI - 616.285.9464 - THELUBE.COM

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CONTROL with DJ Colin Clive, Rocky’s Uppercut Jetty Rae with The Accidentals, Seven Steps Up Country Night, Shakespeare’s Lower Level Cliff Erickson, The Union Cabaret & Grille

Saturday, JUNE 7

GREENSKY BLUEGRASS

@ BELL’S BEER GARDEN OPENING JUNE 5-7

EVENT GUIDE Sunday, JUNE 1

Revival: 80’s Night, Billy’s Lounge Mike Compton, Pine Lunch, Foundry Hall Santana, Bernar Venet, David Nash, Frederik Meijer Gardens Black Star Riders, The Intersection Pray, 614 Villianz, razonrz edge, Jimi Kanklesk, Lady Dice, Knowledge, S.O.P., 7 p.m., Mac’s Bar Old Crow Medicine Show, Kzoo State Theatre Seventh Son Blues Jam, Old Dog Tavern

Monday, JUNE 2

Bassbin, Billy’s Lounge Open Mic night with Swingtooth, Rockford Brewing Company

Tuesday, JUNE 3

The Great Big Bar Show, Barn Theatre Deep Down, Billy’s Lounge Tom Duffield, Open Mic with Branden Mann, Old Dog Tavern Sam Kenny Open Mic Night, Rocky’s Bar & Grill The Appleseed Collective, Salt of the Earth Red Elvises, Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill Meanwhile Movie: American Psycho, Wealthy Theatre

Wednesday, JUNE 4

The Great Big Bar Show, Barn Theatre Campus Karaoke, Billy’s Lounge The Sanger Brothers Perform, The Curragh Song Swap, Foundry Hall

Unearth, The Intersection The Snails, The Cemetery Circus, Mulligan’s Pub New Holland Beer Run, New Holland Brewing Company Gringo Star, The Harlequins, Heaters, The Pyramid Scheme Jazz Mix Night, The Union Cabaret & Grille

Thursday, JUNE 5

Kalamazoo Greek Festival, Arcadia Creek Festival Site The Great Big Bar Show, Barn Theatre Greensky Bluegrass, Great Lakes Grass, Bell’s Eccentric Café The ’90’s Holla Back!, Billy’s Lounge Comedy Night featuring Mike Moses, Mike Green, Czar’s 505 Hatter Days, Dee Light Grand Haven Godfrey, Dr. Grins Henhouse Prowlers, Founders Brewing Co. Rich Burkholder, Kirby Grill Mike Struwin, The Livery F.A.R.M., LowellArts! Damn Van Cannibals, Pacifier, Persuasion (18+), The Hat Madder, Mulligan’s Pub Big Dudee Roo, Rockford Brewing Company The Trace, Saugatuck Brewing

The Shiznit, Cancun Connection Bar & Grill The Moxie Strings, The Curragh Indika, Czar’s 505 Bill O’Reilly & Dennis Miller ‘Bolder & Fresher Tour’, DeVos Performance Hall Festival of the Arts, Downtown Grand Rapids Godfrey, Dr. Grins Ivan Akansiima, Tunebugs, Foundry Hall Music City Hitmakers, Frauenthal Theatre Three’s a Crowd, Kirby Grill The Saturday Giant, Louie’s Trophy House Invisible Mansion, Mulligan’s Pub The Ms80 Record Release Show, Squirrel Shaped Fish, Tidal, Matching Bricks (allages), Mac’s Bar Decades, McDuff’s Art Hop with Amelia Hanson Real Fantastics, Old Dog Tavern Lyrics Born, The Pyramid Scheme The Moonrays, Rockford Brewing Company

Kalamazoo Greek Festival, Arcadia Creek Festival Site Brewery Acoustic Series featuring Dustin Mason, The Mainstays, The B.O.B The Great Big Bar Show, Barn Theatre Greensky Bluegrass, Steppin’ In It, Bell’s Eccentric Café Battle of the Bands, Billy’s Lounge Local First Street Party, Bistro Bella Vita The Shiznit, Cancun Connection Bar & Grill Aidan O’Toole, The Curragh Megan Rae Band, Czar’s 505 Spazmatics, District Square Summer Series Rodeo, Double JJ Resort Festival of the Arts, Downtown Grand Rapids Godfrey, Dr. Grins ConvoTronics, Founders Brewery Brad Cole, Foundry Hall Music City Hitmakers, Frauenthal Theatre The Mavericks, Little River Casino Resort The Smoking Flowers, The Livery Decades, McDuff’s Hatter Days, New Holland Brewing Company Duffield Caron Project, Big Mont and the Next Generation, Old Dog Tavern Maybe Next Time, The Park Theatre Trust No One, Meccabone, Planet Rock Adventures, Good Day Good Sir, Somos, Runaway Brother, Odd Dates, The Pyramid Scheme Post-Festival Extravaganga featuring The Martyrs, Dead Eye Zack, Joe Rodriguez, Matthew Ray Alois Rempenthal, Rocky’s Bar & Grill The Accidentals, Saugatuck Brewing South County Band, Shakespeare’s Lower Level Cliff Erickson, The Union Cabaret & Grille Jesse Ray & The Carolina Catfish, The Bitters, Dave Vacant and the Troubled Troubadors, Short Hair Domestics, Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill 2014 BelieveDance Benefit Concert, Wealthy Theatre

Sunday, JUNE 8

Kalamazoo Greek Festival, Arcadia Creek Festival Site

Friday, JUNE 6

Kalamazoo Greek Festival, Arcadia Creek Festival Site Brewery Acoustic Series featuring Nate Kalish and The Last Callers, Global Village, The B.O.B The Great Big Bar Show, Barn Theatre Greensky Bluegrass, Seth Bernard, Bell’s Eccentric Café Hannah Rose & the Gravestones, Billy’s Lounge

JARS OF CLAY

@ PARK THEATRE JUNE 18

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Event Guide Stewart Huff, Dr. Grins Tunebugs, Foundry Hall Mega ’80s, The Intersection Union Guns Rockin’ Country & Classic Rock, Kirby Grill The Crane Wives, The Livery Mizpah, Maraj, DJ Hard Bargain, Louie’s Trophy House Flamingo, Nosebleeds, Squints, Murder Party, Mulligan’s Pub Hired Hands CD Release Party, Whistle Stop Revue, Old Dog Tavern First Jason, Planet Rock The Whiskey Charmers, Rockford Brewing Company The Moonrays, 7 p.m. (all-ages), Rocky’s Bar & Grill CONTROL with DJ Colin Clive, Rocky’s Uppercut Honor By August, Seven Steps Up The Freak Quincy, Park Theatre

Saturday, JUNE 14 LOGIC @ THE INTERSECTION JUNE 21 The Great Big Bar Show, Barn Theatre Trivia Night, Bell’s Eccentric Café Revival: ’80’s Night, Billy’s Lounge Anthony Hamilton, DeVos Performance Hall Festival of the Arts, Downtown Grand Rapids Rich Burkholder acoustic, Kirby Grill Indie Rocks Fundraiser Old Time Jam Gator Boys, Old Dog Tavern

Monday, JUNE 9

Square Dance Kalamazoo, Bell’s Eccentric Cafe Bassbin (Electronic Dance), Billy’s Lounge West Michigan Jazz Society presents Jazz at the Zoo, John Ball Park

Tuesday, JUNE 10 Shakespeare in Hollywood, Barn Theatre Deep Down, Billy’s Lounge An Evening with Bob Weir and RatDog, DeVos Performance Hall Music Lessons, Foundry Hall Tom Duffield, Open Mic with Branden Mann, Old Dog Tavern Sam Kenny Open Mic Night, Rocky’s Bar & Grill Fennville Tuesdays in the Park featuring Billy Strings and Don Julin, Salt of the Earth Fish on the Grill, San Chez Bistro MartiniMOTH Live Storytelling, Speak EZ Lounge Meanwhile Movie: American Beauty, Wealthy Theatre

Thursday, JUNE 12

Shakespeare in Hollywood, Barn Theatre Girls with Guitars: Featuring The Accidentals Katie Lee Blake Elliott E Minor Miriam Pico & Olivia Mainville, Bell’s Eccentric Cafe The ’90’s Holla Back!, Billy’s Lounge Karaoke Night, Czar’s 505 American Homebrewer’s Association Conference, DeVos Place Rockford Start of Summer Festival, Downtown Rockford Stewart Huff, Dr. Grins Pistolbrides, Founders Brewing Co. Cake, Bernar Venet, David Nash, Plant Pals, Frederik Meijer Gardens Minus The Bear, The Intersection Travis Atkinson acoustic, Kirby Grill Mike Struwin in the Beer Garden, The Livery Bonnaroo Broo’ers Festival, New Holland Brewing Company Fauxgrass, Old Dog Tavern Spence, Papa Pete’s Modern Baseball, Tiny Moving Parts, The

Hotelier, Sorority Noise, The Pyramid Scheme Roosevelt Diggs, Junior Wheeler, Jason Valentine, Rockford Brewing Company Tall Black Hat Rack, Jake’s Birthday Show, Melissa Dylan, Jake Van-Ravenswaay, Rocky’s Bar & Grill Toby Bresnahan, Saugatuck Brewing Honor By August, Seven Steps Up Waterfront Film Festival, South Haven WMU School of Music (Jazz Mix), The Union Cabaret & Grille

Friday, JUNE 13

Oregon Dreamchild, The B.O.B Shakespeare in Hollywood, Barn Theatre Cereal Festival and the World’s Largest Breakfast Table, Battle Creek Toddzilla, Bell’s Eccentric Cafe Cabildo, Billy’s Lounge Big Cadillac, Cancun Connection Bar & Grill Buttermilk Jamboree, Circle Pines Center Decades, Double Six Lounge Rockford Start of Summer Festival, Downtown Rockford Waterfront Film Festival, Downtown South Haven

Wednesday, JUNE 11

Eccentric Café’s 21st Anniversary, Bell’s Eccentric Café Campus Karaoke, Billy’s Lounge Don’t Dress For Dinner, Circle Theatre Rich Burkholder, The Curragh Jason Isbell with James McMurtry, Bernar Venet, David Nash, Frederik Meijer Gardens My Ticket Home, In Dying Arms, Reformers, Blood of the Martyrs, Know Lyfe, Diversions, Assume Nothing, I Am Eternity, 5 p.m. (all-ages), Mac’s Bar Sentimental Journey, Old Dog Tavern Blitzen Trapper, The Parkington Sisters, Nathan Kalish and The Lastcallers, The Pyramid Scheme Jazz Mix Night, The Union Cabaret & Grille

SKINNY LISTER

@ THE STACHE JUNE 22

Brewery Acoustic Series featuring J Ryan Berends, The B.O.B Johnny Winter, Bell’s Eccentric Café Berlin Raceway Father’s Day Celebration, Berlin Raceway That Beatles Thing, Billy’s Lounge West Michigan Pride Festival, Calder Plaza Big Cadillac, Cancun Connection Bar & Grill The Whistle Stop Revue, Cellar Brewing Company Buttermilk Jamboree, Circle Pines Center Decades, Double Six Lounge Waterfront Film Festival, Downtown South Haven Stewart Huff, Dr. Grins Zoso – The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience, The Intersection Union Guns, Kirby Grill R&B Comedy Explosion II: Featuring Lyfe Jennings, Kzoo State Theatre I Am Band, The Livery Small Parks, Little American Champ, The Fever Haze, Take One Car, Man Mountain (18+), Mac’s Bar Another October Midwest Skies We Say Sunrise, Mulligan’s Pub Americana Folk Festival, Old Dog Tavern The Rock Show: The Ultimate Tribute to Journey, Planet Rock Eyehategod, Ringworn, Enabler, The Pyramid Scheme Sleightly Ridiculous! The Magic Show, The Riviera Theatre

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volume 14 issue 6 june

Event Guide Hannah Rose & The Gravetones and Chordis Bell, Rockford Brewing Company Dan O’Brien & Friends, Picasso Raptor, The Sneed Hawks, Joe Rodriuez, Rocky’s Bar & Grill Brian Fedewa, Saugatuck Brewing Treading Bleu Album Release Show, Shakespeare’s Lower Level Crime Funk, The Union Cabaret & Grille WWE Live, Van Andel Arena What is Philanthropy? Screening, Wealthy Theatre Billy Sloan, Whiskey River Saloon

Sunday, JUNE 15 Shakespeare in Hollywood, Barn Theatre Revival: ’80’s Night, Billy’s Lounge Buttermilk Jamboree, Circle Pines Center Rockford Start of Summer Festival, Downtown Rockford Waterfront Film Festival, Downtown South Haven Stewart Huff, Dr. Grins Rich Burkholder, Kirby Grill Sentimental Journey, Old Dog Tavern Andrew Belle, Seven Steps Up

Monday, JUNE 16 Berlin Fair, Berlin Fairgrounds Bassbin, Billy’s Lounge West Michigan Jazz Society presents Jazz at the Zoo, John Ball Park Open Mic Night with Swingtooth, Rockford Brewing Company

Tuesday, JUNE 17 Shakespeare in Hollywood, Barn Theatre Berlinfest, Berlin Fairgrounds Tom Duffield, Open Mic with Branden Mann, Old Dog Tavern Sam Kenny Open Mic Night, Rocky’s Bar & Grill Neil Jacobs, Salt of the Earth Bruno Mars, Van Andel Arena Meanwhile Movie: American Pie, Wealthy Theatre

Wednesday, JUNE 18

Shakespeare in Hollywood, Barn Theatre Berlinfest, Berlin Fairgrounds Alejandro Escovedo, The Intersection

Jars of Clay, The Park Theatre Neil Hamburger, Alvarius B, The Pyramid Scheme Ari Hest, Seven Steps Up Hobo Newphews of Uncle Frank, Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill Jazz Mix Night, The Union Cabaret & Grille

Thursday, JUNE 19

Kalamazoo Island Festival, Arcadia Creek Festival Site Shakespeare in Hollywood, Barn Theatre Deep Fried Pickle Project, Bell’s Eccentric Café Berlinfest, Berlin Fairgrounds The ’90’s Holla Back!, Billy’s Lounge Michael Malone, Dr. Grins The Ragbirds, Founders Brewing Co. Harbor Fest, Foundry Hall Tedschi Trucks Band, Frederik Meijer Gardens My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, The Intersection Rich Burkholder, Kirby Grill Mike Struwin in the Beer Garden, The Livery Verskotzi, Mulligan’s Pub Ben Daniels Band, Old Dog Tavern Dede and the Dreamers, Rockford Brewing Company Tyler DeCouer, Lake Timber, Sibley, Evasive Backflip, Opposites, Rocky’s Bar & Grill The Weatherheads, Saugatuck Brewing The Features, Shakespeare’s Lower Level Pinata Protest, The Moonrays, Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill Gene Knific Trio, The Union Cabaret & Grille

Friday, JUNE 20

Kalamazoo Island Festival, Arcadia Creek Festival Site Drop 35, The B.O.B Shakespeare in Hollywood, Barn Theatre The Black Diamond Experience ‘Hello Again’, Bell’s Eccentric Cafe Berlinfest, Berlin Fairgrounds Vincent Hayes, Billy’s Lounge Ian Gould Performs, The Curragh Wizard of Oz Festival, Downtown Ionia Michael Malone, Dr. Grins Harbor Fest, Tunebugs, Foundry Hall DeHurricaine, Kirby Grill Verskotzi, Mulligan’s Pub Delilah DeWylde and the Lost Boys, Old

Dog Tavern Scarkasm, Planet Rock Decades, River City Saloon E Minior, Rockford Brewing Company CONTROL with DJ Colin Clive, Rocky’s Uppercut Diarrhea Planet, Shakespeare’s Lower Level The Keith Hall Summer Drum Intensive, The Union Cabaret & Grille Fortune Feimster, Wealthy Theatre Tetrad, Whiskey River Saloon

Saturday, JUNE 21

Kalamazoo Island Festival, Arcadia Creek Festival Site Shakespeare in Hollywood, Barn Theatre The Hexbombs, The Devil’s Cut, Bell’s Eccentric Cafe Berlinfest, Berlin Fairgrounds Hip Pocket, Billy’s Lounge Don’t Dress For Dinner, Circle Theatre Summer Series Rodeo, Double JJ Resort Michael Malone, Dr. Grins Founders Fest 2014, Founders Brewing Co. Harbor Fest, Foundry Hall NEEDTOBREATHE, Bernar Venet, David Nash, Frederik Meijer Gardens Logic with QuESt and Castro, The Intersection Decades, Itty Bitty Bar The Factory, Kirby Grill Grand Funk Radio, Little River Casino Resort Bethesda, The Livery Digital Damnation (21+), Mulligan’s Pub Duffield Caron Project, Marci Linn Band, Old Dog Tavern How to Home Brew Beer, Solo Gallery: Kelli Sweet, Portage District Library The Original Back To The ’90s Party, The Pyramid Scheme Summer Solstice Show, Paucity, Invisible Mansion, Bloodeagle, Evil Deauxerz, Rocky’s Bar & Grill The Big Boss Blues Band, Saugatuck Brewing Holy Wave, Shakespeare’s Lower Level May Erlewine ‘Where We Are’ Release Show, Wealthy Theatre

Sunday, JUNE 22 Shakespeare in Hollywood, Barn Theatre Trivia Night, Bell’s Eccentric Café Revival: ’80’s Night, Billy’s Lounge

Harbor Fest, Foundry Hall Ralphie May, Frauenthal Theatre Skinny Lister, The Intersection Rich Burkholder, Kirby Grill Kalamazoo Record & CD Show, Kzoo Expo Center Crossroads Blues Jam, Old Dog Tavern Reverend Horton Heat, The Creepshow, The Pyramid Scheme

Monday, JUNE 23

O.A.R. & Phillip Phillips, Bernar Venet, David Nash, Camp Kaleidoscope, Frederik Meijer Gardens West Michigan Jazz Society presents Jazz at the Zoo, John Ball Park Bubbleman, Kzoo Public Library

Tuesday, JUNE 24

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Barn Theatre Beer Run, Big E Deep Down, Billy’s Lounge Tom Duffield, Open Mic with Branden Mann, Old Dog Tavern Sam Kenny Open Mic Night, Rocky’s Bar & Grill Fennville Tuesdays in the Park-Under the Sun, Salt of the Earth Nerd Nite, Speak EZ Lounge Meanwhile Movie: American Movie, Wealthy Theatre

Wednesday, JUNE 25

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Barn Theatre The Pros, fka Audio Monarch, The Blue Effect, Jake and Mary, 7:30 p.m. (all ages), Bell’s Eccentric Café Campus Karaoke, Billy’s Lounge Escoffier Day, Brewery Vivant Nate Holley Performs, The Curragh Sentimental Journey, Old Dog Tavern Jazz Mix Night, The Union Cabaret & Grille

Thursday, JUNE 26

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Barn Theatre Northern Throne, Abrupt, Dead Hour Noise, Nocturnal Aviators In Action, 9 p.m.; Archers & Illuminators, To Trust A Liar, 5 p.m., Bell’s Eccentric Café Muteflutes, Ribbons of Song, Celadon New Town Bobcat Goldthwait, Dr. Grins Solas, Fenian’s Irish Pub Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite, Bernar Venet, Camp Kaleidoscope, David Nash, Frederik Meijer Gardens Travis Atkinson, Kirby Grill Alice Cooper, Little River Casino Resort Mike Struwin, The Livery Steve Pesch, Old Dog Tavern Ghost Sector, Zombie Apocalypse NOW!, Bottle Kids, Evil Deauxerz, Papa Pete’s Airborne or Aquatic?, The Go Rounds, Big Dudee, Roo, The Pyramid Scheme Skankadank, Riverwalk Plaza The Weatherheads, Rockford Brewing Company Electric Forest Festival, Rothbury Schrock Trio, Saugatuck Brewing Comedy Open Mic Night, Shakespeare’s Lower Level

Friday, JUNE 27

New Belgium Brewing Clips Beer & Film Tour, 8:30 p.m., Ah-Nab-Awen Park Irish Festival, Arcadia Creek Festival Place Brewery Acoustic Series featuring Melissa

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Event Guide Dylan, Sweet J Band, The B.O.B The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Barn Theatre Star Farm, Bell’s Eccentric Cafe GR Soul Club, Billy’s Lounge Refurbushed, Cancun Connection Bar & Grill Bobcat Goldthwait, Dr. Grins Tunebugs, Foundry Hall Frankie Ballard – Rock The Lot, The Intersection Rock Shop, Kirby Grill Robert Cray & Mavis Staples, Little River Casino Resort Deep Fried Pickle Project, The Livery Holly Hunt, Knife Ritual, Broth, Mulligan’s Pub Spence, Planet Rock Rodrigo Amarante, Monica da Silva, The Pyramid Scheme The Moonrays, 7 p.m. (all-ages), Rocky’s Bar & Grill CONTROL with DJ Colin Clive, Rocky’s Uppercut Electric Forest Festival, Rothbury Mason Street Warehouse presents Steam Heat, Saugatuck Center for the Arts Knives Are Quiet, Shakespeare’s Lower Level The Keith Hall Summer Drum Intensive, The Union Cabaret & Grille Rehearsals for Tanztheater Michigan, Wealthy Theatre Douglas James, Whiskey River Saloon

Saturday, JUNE 28

Gran Fondo, The Rock Show, The B.O.B The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Barn Theatre Airborne or Aquatic, Big Dudee Roo, Bell’s

Tegan & Sara, Bernar Venet, David Nash, Frederik Meijer Gardens Rock Shop, Kirby Grill The Ragbirds, The Livery Summer Comedy Slam, The Park Theatre NAKED RAYGUN + Daggerdown, The Pyramid Scheme Asid Sky, The Rickets Splits, Cole Hansen, Steve Sullivan, Kevin Fein, Eric Raby, Rocky’s Bar & Grill Electric Forest Festival, Rothbury Jack Lewis and John Gist, Saugatuck Brewing Cheryl Wheeler, Seven Steps Up South County Band, Whiskey River Saloon Decades, White House

Sunday, JUNE 29

BOBCAT GOLDTHWAIT @ DR. GRINS JUNE 26-28

Eccentric Cafe Daredevil Circus, Billy’s Lounge Refurbushed, Cancun Connection Bar & Grill Jeff Ward, The Curragh Freedom Rocks Concert, DeltaPlex Arena Summer Series Rodeo, Double JJ Resort Grand Haven Art Festival, Downtown Grand Haven Gran Fondo, Downtown Grand Rapids

Waterfront Wine Festival, Downtown Harbor Springs Bobcat Goldthwait, Dr. Grins Bizzare Bazzar, Eastown Neighborhood Mark Lavengood’s Bluegrass Bonanza, Founders Brewing Co. Red Tail Ring, Foundry Hall ‘A Mother’s Cry Against Violence’, Frauenthal Theatre

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Barn Theatre Trivia Night, Bell’s Eccentric Café Revival: ’80s Night, Billy’s Lounge Grand Haven Art Festival, Downtown Grand Haven Cabaret, Farmers Alley Theatre Josh White Jr., Foundry Hall Rich Burkholder Acoustic, Kirby Grill Fly Paper Tour Kickoff, Old Dog Tavern Electric Forest Festival, Rothbury Fred Eaglesmith, Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill

Monday, JUNE 30

Bassbin, Billy’s Lounge West Michigan Jazz Society Presents Jazz at the Zoo, John Ball Park King Buzzo, The Pyramid Scheme

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volume 14 issue 6 june

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Open Hours

MON-SAT 3PM-2AM SUN 12PM-2AM KITCHEN 5:30PM-11PM

Happy Hour

MON-FRI 3-7PM $2 Domestics, $2 Wells $3 Calls, $1.50 Retros 760 BUTTERWORTH SW GRAND RAPIDS, MI 616.272.3910

Live Music SUNDAY, JUNE 1: Dennis and

OPEN VINYL PARTY MONDAYS, NO COVER, 8PM

COMEDY NIGHT 2ND AND 4TH TUESDAY, NO COVER, 8:30

Danny’s Birthday Bash! 1st Show: Tonia Bug, Dead Eye Zack, Nate Maynard 2nd Show: Murder Party, Bitters, Antilogical 3rd Show: Lectralux, Filthy Injectors, Cosmonaut

TUESDAY, JUNE 3: The Red Elvises

OPEN MIC NIGHT

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4: The Smoking Flowers and Karisa Wilson

WITH SAM KENNY WEDNESDAY, NO COVER 9PM

THURSDAY, JUNE 5: Delilah DeWylde and the Lost Boys FRIDAY, JUNE 6: Benefit for “The Informist” SATURDAY, JUNE 7: Jesse Ray and the Carolina Catfish, The Bitters, Dave Vacant and The Shorthair Domestics THURSDAY, JUNE 12: Gas House

The Hobo Nephews

Gorillas

FRIDAY, JUNE 13: Hellbound Glory, Rebecca Rego and the Trainmen and Dave Vacant WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18: The Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank THURSDAY, JUNE 19: Pinata Protest wsg. The Moonrays

Fred Eaglesmith

FRIDAY, JUNE 20: The Lazy Hands and Otis Blueswell Jr. SATURDAY, JUNE 21: The Juno

Blacklist

FRIDAY, JUNE 27: The Rhythm Aces SUNDAY, JUNE 29: Fred Eaglesmith Traveling Steam Show Pinata Protest

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