Recoil, September 2014 by Cliff Frantz

September 2014

NEWS SATIRE YOU CAN TRUST

Recoil

60 Minutes AutoTunes T-Pain Interview Tallahassee, Fla. — Segments of Sunday’s 60 Minutes interview with Grammy Awardwinning rapper T-Pain were pitch-corrected using Auto-Tune, producers of the show confirmed Monday. “Every noise coming

Health-Conscious Cannibal Only Drinks Skin Milk

Office Manager Still Invigorated By Smell of Middle-Class Desperation In the Morning Study Finds Majority of Americans Now Large Enough to be Found on Map Zuckerberg Introduces Diet Facebook and Diet Facebook With Lime

QUIKstat

“Every noise coming out of T-Pain’s mouth was digitally morphed in editing to better represent the rapper’s artistic style,” explained 60 Minutes producer Robert Anderson.

Supreme Court Decision Grants Corporations Right To Be Placed On Organ Transplant List The nation’s highest federal court recently granted retail chain Hobby Lobby (above) the right to express its religious ideology as if the company were an American citizen. Washington, D.C. — According to Monday’s 5-4 Supreme Court decision, closely held for-profit companies such as Wal-Mart now have the legal right to qualify for organ transplants. “If companies are people, as the Court has soundly ruled (Citizens United, 2012), it follows that all capitalist entities be entitled to the same basic rights afforded to biological American citizens,” Chief Justice John Roberts affirmed in the majority opinion. “Private and publicly held American companies as such are privy to the same privileges as taxpaying Americans – in-

out of T-Pain’s mouth was digitally morphed in editing to better represent the rapper’s artistic style,” explained 60 Minutes producer Robert Anderson. Anderson said that T-Pain was allowed to bend the pitch of his interview voice to the nearest true semitones during post-production. “[T-Pain] also Auto-Tuned Morley Safer’s vocal adlibs to create a more cohesive segment that keeps perfect pitch, time and tune. T-Pain see T-Pain, page 6

“If companies are people, as the Court has soundly ruled, it follows that all capitalist entities be entitled to the same basic rights afforded to biological American citizens,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts. cluding everything from enrolling their employees in grade school to filing with the national medical registry in hopes of receiving a kidney transplant.”

Auto-Tune champion T-Pain (above) was given full artistic control over editing of the 20-minute segment.

Manager Urges Taylor Swift To Stop Writing Songs About Shoplifting From GameStop When are we forced to choose between paper or plastic? Buying food Wearing condom Scheduling breast implants Filling cavities Shopping for engagement ring • Replacing bedsheets • Voting for President • • • • •

Above: Allen with kleptomaniac music sensation Taylor Swift.

Nashville, Tenn. — Moments after “Do you think Johnny hearing demos of his client’s new Cash would approve material, Taylor Swift’s manager Robert of an entire album of Allen advised the country music star songs about stealing to stop writing songs about how often video games?” Allen she shoplifts from GameStop, sources asked an excited Swift close to Allen said Friday. “Song titles during a recent phone like ‘Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop (Stealing conversation. From GameStop)’ might embrace the outlaw spirit of country music, Taylor, but do you think Johnny Cash would approve of an entire album of songs about stealing video games?” Allen asked an excited Swift during a recent phone conversation. Allen refused to comment on rumors (see Swift, page 6)

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LEGAL

FAMILY

Report: Nation’s Starburst Reserve Could Dwindle to Just Yellows and Oranges By 2016 Above: Americans’ reliance on strawberry- and cherry-flavored Starbursts has already led to a surplus of lemon and orange fruit chews. Washington, D.C. — Consumption figures released by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Monday suggest that the United States’ supply of Starburst candies could be limited to only two flavors as early as 2016. “We as a nation are consuming the cherry and strawberry fruit chews in greater amounts and at a faster pace than ever before,” FDA spokesperson Catherine McDermott told reporters at a press conference Monday morning. “If this trend continues there will soon be nothing but yellow and orange Starbursts left. Unless something is done to preserve the red and pink ones — as well as shift consumption toward Starburst’s more exotic flavor lines

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FDA Spokesperson: “Unless something is done to preserve the red and pink ones, we’ll have nothing but the bad flavors to pass on to our children.” such as Tropical, Baja California and Fruity Slushies — we’ll have nothing but the bad flavors to pass on to our children.” News regarding the Starburst crisis follows an August FDA alert that, barring drastic changes in the American diet, the nation’s supply of Hershey Kisses will consist solely of the weird dark chocolate ones by 2021.

Passive-Aggressive Mom Concerned Nobody Will Forget Her Birthday Boswell (above) is worried she’ll be unable to passive-aggressively skew the celebration into a scathing assessment of which people in her life truly care about her. Chicago, Ill. — Passive-aggressive homemaker Kathy Boswell voiced concern Monday that her friends and loved ones will all remember to wish her “Happy Birthday” Friday, thus disarming Boswell of what had annually provided one of the suburban mother’s most manipulative psychological tools. “Last year went great: both my sister and husband forgot to wish me a happy birthday. That was a real boost, having the leverage to gently guilt them both to death throughout the year about them having forgot,” said Boswell, explaining her inner desire to skillfully impress negative

“If everyone remembers [my birthday], I’ll have nobody to act like I’m not mad at all year. Where’s the fun in that?” posed Bowell. emotions in a calm and detached manner. “But this year I finally got on Facebook, so I’m worried that everyone I know is going to post nice messages on my page. If everyone remembers [my birthday], I’ll have nobody to act like I’m not mad at all year. Where’s the fun in that?”

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HEALTH

SPORTS

Woman On 13 Prescriptions Glad She Never Touched That Marijuana Stuff Oscoda, Mich.— Area homemaker Charlene Spalding expressed great pride Tuesday afternoon in telling reporters about her ongoing refusal to try medical marijuana instead of religiously digesting a daily cocktail of 13 pharmaceuticals prescribed by her doctor. “I take Methadone and Oxycontin for my back pain, Adderol to concentrate, Xanax for anxiety and Ambien to sleep, along with my Zoloft, Klonopin and Ativan once or twice a day,” said Spalding, 67, detailing half her everyday intake of chemically manufactured pills designed to mask the symptoms

Charlene Spalding (right) is proud to be taking 13 different synthetic prescriptions to mask her conditions instead of smoking marijuana to aid her health.

“I take Methadone and Oxycontin for my back pain, Adderol to concentrate, Xanax for anxiety and Ambien to sleep, along with my Zoloft, Klonopin and Ativan once or twice a day,” said Spalding. of her conditions. “I’m just glad I’ve never even tried smoking pot,” added Spalding, pausing to rifle through her purse to locate and swallow two Ativan tablets. “Smoking pot is for drug addicts.”

Great, More Talk About LPGA Events Is All Grand Rapids Resident Needs Right Now LPGA players such as Michelle Wie (above) have long recognized West Michigan as a hotbed for women’s profession golf. Grand Rapids, Mich. — MiBiz reporter Country Club. “If you live in West Michigan Clifford Brantz confirmed Thursday that and you don’t know who Michelle Wie more talk about LPGA events is all that is, people think there’s something wrong the West Michigan resident needs as with you. The same goes for Stacy Lewis, Grand Rapids hosts the Inbee Park, Lexi Thompson, Meijer LPGA Classic. “In “Stacy Lewis, Inbee Katherine Kirk, Paula this part of the country, Park, Lexi Thompson, Creamer; in West Michigan, that’s already all anyone these are household ever wants to talk about: Katherine Kirk, Paula names.” Brantz described Creamer; in West women’s professional golf,” the region’s obsession with said Brantz, who admitted Michigan, these are women’s golf as “one of the knowing by heart the world household names,” underlying charms of the ranking of every player area that people miss when said Brantz. in the field at Blythefield they move away.”

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ENTERTAINMENT

Recoil Publisher

Brian Edwards / brian.h.edwards@gmail.com

Associate Publisher

Jayson Bussa / jayson@recoilmag.com

Managing Editor

Cliff Frantz / recoilmag@gmail.com

Music Editor

Eric Mitts / Mittse123@yahoo.com

Creative Director

Kim Kibby / kim@revuewm.com

Advertising

Jayson Bussa, Molly C. Rizor, Kelli Belanger 616.608.6170 / sales@recoilmag.com

Writers

Meg Alexander Cliff Frantz Suzanne Beveridge Kimberly Frantz Jayson Bussa Dwayne Hoover Peter Chhum Adam Levine Mike Church Dr. Steve Mikulak Sherrie Coke Drew Miller Alex Connolly Eric Mitts Connie Cunningham Jen Moshpit Ryan Cunningham Mark Ritzema Wes Eaton Andrew Watson Chris Frantz David Zann Other Contributors Elyse Wild Daren Mcpherson Joe Boomgaard

Design

Kim Kibby, Kristi Kortman; Ads: Kellie Zaplitny

Digital Editor

Ray LaMontagne to Press Charges Against Talkative Meijer Gardens Fans Grand Rapids, Mich. — After making local headlines cursing out fans in front of a sold-out family audience at Frederick Meijer Gardens, national recording artist Ray LaMontagne confirmed his intention to press charges against two front-row fans who were ejected by security after interrupting the professional entertainer’s set July 23. “I don’t care if the couple was excited about me playing the song that they planned to dance their first dance of their wedding to, I can’t concentrate when fans react to my music,” said LaMontagne, threatening to file abuse charges with the Grand Rapids Police Department against fans Shawn Virgo, 30, and his fiancé, for disturbing his performance. “Now I won’t ever be able to play at Meijer Gardens again, so I’m going to seek putative damages for the disruption of income.” LaMontagne confirmed that the couple has been blacklisted from the venues comprising the remainder of his tour in order to neutralize the threat of two fans at future performances.

(Above): LaMontagne continued his set after security removed two of the singer’s biggest fans from the audience. LaMontagne (right) intends to seek putative damages against members of his fan-base that caused him to walk offstage at Frederick Mejier Gardens July 23.

Jayson Bussa

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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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T-Pain, FROM page 1

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.

having full artistic control over the segment may have resulted in Sixty Minutes’ most pioneering work to date.” T-Pain’s AutoTuned segment is scheduled to air Sunday.

Recoil is free to the West Michigan community, but please, one per person. Anyone removing issues in bulk will be promptly executed.

Swift, FROM page 1

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

of a cross-promotion between Swift and GameStop that would use genuine security camera footage as part of the music video for Swift’s upcoming single, “Walking Out The Door With Grand Theft Auto IV.” SOLUTION TO PAGE 8 CROSSWORD

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MEDICAL SPORTS

Study: NASCAR Fans Average 10 Concussions Per Season

YOU’RE ONLY A STRANGER ONCE. Above: The study concludes that NASCAR fans’ significantly increased amount of head injuries helps explain their interest in spending hours watching cars drive around in circles. Bethesda, Md. — According to a study released Friday by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the typical American NASCAR fan can expect to suffer roughly 10 concussions per season because of their attraction to stock car racing. “Either people who hit their head a lot become NASCAR fans, or NASCAR fans hit their head a lot — either way, NASCAR fans suffer an average of ten concussions per year,” explained NIH’s lead researcher Dr. Brent Guiles. “This comes as good news to NASCAR fans who are sick of being labeled as feeble-minded simply because they love watching cars go in circles. It turns out that these folks stare

at the TV like that because they’ve hit their head recently, not because they are stupid.” The study cited alcohol abuse and living in a trailer park as other conditions that cause a person to initially become attracted to NASCAR.

Dr. Brent Guiles: “This comes as good news to NASCAR fans who are sick of being labeled as feeble-minded simply because they love watching cars go in circles.”

MEDICAL ENTERTAINMENT

Pitbull Tranquilized After Escaping Crate, Running Through City Above: Popular rap artist Pitbull. Las Vegas, Nev. — Handlers of the Grammy Award-winning rapper Pitbull admitted having lost control of their client Thursday night when the 150-pound artist escaped his cage and wreaked havoc along the Vegas strip before being shot with a tranquilizing dart and safely returned to his environment. “We followed Pitbull’s movements for nearly two hours in order to make sure we got a clean shot,” Las Vegas Metro police officer Norm Bliss, 54, explained to reporters regarding the safe takedown of the multimedia star inside a well-known casino. “We eventually took the Pitbull down for his own safety as he

The 150-pound artist escaped his cage and wreaked havoc along the Vegas strip before being shot with a tranquilizing dart and safely returned to his environment. was about to hit on a soft eighteen against the dealer’s six with a fifty thousand dollar bet on the line. Fortunately, we were able to knock him out and get him back to his hotel room before anyone got hurt.”

1148 Fulton Street West Grand Rapids, Michigan (616) 774-9129

Operating Hours Monday - Saturday 11am - 2am Sunday 12pm - 2am (open mic night)

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TIPS

A page from the Recoil handbook...

Recoil’s Guide to Enjoying ArtPrize 2014 Three square miles of downtown Grand Rapids, Mich., will host the sixth annual international ArtPrize competition Sept. 24 through Oct. 12. Below are some tips for squeezing the most enjoyment possible out of the meager 19-day judgment on the relevance and worth of human expression by 400,000 unqualified tourists. • Bring an umbrella to enter as a piece of Found Art. • ArtPrize’s crowd-sourcing method of choosing prizewinners has been compared to American Idol. Consider participating anyway. • Every time you hear an artist say, “The raindrops on this print were added to depict the wave of emotion I experienced between conception and completion of the piece,” throw a quarter down the sewer to depict that artist’s career. • Many winners are actually unaware that there’s an ArtPrize award for uploading the most selfies from downtown Grand Rapids. The 2013 Selfie Award went to Alexis FenneMoore, 17, of Lansing, Mich., who posted a record 103,404 Instagram representations.

• Artists crave constant feedback — which probably explains a lot about Jimi Hendrix’ guitar playing. • Charge your smart phone. There is absolutely nothing worse than standing in front of a timeless piece of art and not being able to capture it in time using your camera. • On average, it should take 20 seconds from the time you fall in love with a piece of art until you hate every single thing about it, what it says, and whoever created it. • The City of Grand Rapids allows free parking downtown as long as you run over a homeless person in the process. Doing otherwise would disrupt the delicate ecosystem West Michigan shares with its homeless population.

• Get a map! A map of Grand Rapids, Mich., specifically, would be extra handy. • Effective art evokes emotion. Men, emotion is that awful buzzing you normally suppress by drinking beer and watching television.

• People think Grand Rapidians are just a bunch of Midwest rubes who wouldn’t know Jackson Pollock from Sherman Williams. Do what you can to reinforce this stereotype by acting like yourself.

CROSSWORD

BIG CITY NIGHTS Across

THE SOLUTION FOR THIS PUZZLE CAN BE FOUND ON PAGE 6

1. Sexy Salvatore brother from Vampire Diaries (no, the other one) 6. On top of 10. Ideal society 12. Very big book 13. Abbreviation for “in reference to” in business letters 14. Quick to learn 15. At a great distance 16. Finish 18. Time period while staying in a place as a traveler 20. Registered animal retained for breeding 22. ___ tai 23. Androids might dream of electric ones (Author Philip K. Dick posited the question) 25. Cold __ ___ 29. Directional chart 31. Remove something by cutting 32. Hazelnut spread 36. Brand of hammock

crossword by kimberly frantz

37. Joke start: “A guy walks into _ ___...” 38. Obligation to repay 40. Author __ Max – wrote biography of David Foster Wallace called Every Love Story is a Ghost Story 41. Disney movie Finding ____ 42. Sound made in imitation of giggle or titter 44. By word of mouth; spoken rather than written 45. Damaging insinuations

Down

1. Confessions are sometimes extracted under ______ 2. 1/10 3. Crime novelist __ Hayder 4. Greek interjection 5. Sharp quick bites 6. _ ______ is someone whose philosophical beliefs emphasize living in harmony with the tao: living life kindly and compassionately 7. Bean curd

8. ____ Devone Little – fictional character on HBO drama The Wire 9. Anne McCaffrey series Dragonriders of ____ 11. Basic unit of matter 17. Expected or planned at a certain time 19. Actor Smith-Johnson (portrayed the Mutant Soldier in X-Men: Days of Future Past) 21. Narcotic pain medicine 24. Buddy 26. Anger 27. First in author Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles 28. Displays emotions openly 30. Story line 32. Prefix that means dwarf in Greek 33. New rideshare app 34. Drum brand 35. Amazes 39. Electric marine creature 43. In Sufism, a name for God

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volume 14 issue 9 september

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volume 14 issue 9 september

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C O N T E N T S

recoil 09.01-09.30 | VOLUME 14, ISSUE 9 | SEPTEMBER 2014

NATIONAL SCENE Volbeat Taking Back Sunday Owen Pallett Album reviews

LOCAL MUSIC

Page 26 Page 30

Alexis to release new album Album reviews

COLUMNS

Suzanne Beveridge – Flesh & Fashion Page 19 Jen Moshpit – Metal Page 28

FEATURES

Page 15 Page 16 Page 16 Page 17 Page 22 Page 22 Page 25 Page 28

The People’s Cider Co. One Well Brewing in the works Founders makes mustard Your guide to cigar smoking Banned from ArtPrize West Michigan burlesque Comedy: Mike Birbiglia Satellite Records opens its doors

ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Event guide

Page 23 Page 25 Page 26 Page 29

Page 31-39

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

VOLBEAT: NO RULES, JUST ROCK

HAVE A CIGAR The cigar scene isn’t just for rich, white businessmen. In fact, men and women from all walks of life are lighting up and enjoying this decadent avenue of smoking. We’re offering new cigar smokers some helpful information on the local scene. Check it out on page 17.

Recoil sat down with ex-Anthrax guitarist Rob Caggiano, who is the latest addition to Danish rock band Volbeat. Caggiano and his crew will visit Grand Rapids on Sept. 21 when Volbeat’s co-headlining tour with Five Finger Death Punch visits The DeltaPlex. Read more on page 23.

ADVERTISING INDEX 616 Vaporz................................. 33 Adult Market............................... 40 Barfly Ventures........................... 18 Billy’s Lounge............................... 3 BMW Motorcycles....................... 33 Circle Theatre............................. 12 Drop 35....................................... 30 Founders Brewing...................... 13 Game Changers......................... 37 GR Summer Beer Festival......... 21 Green Restaurant......................... 5 Growco......................................... 7

InKed By Kendra........................ 16 Intersection................................... 2 Lemonjello’s.................................. 5 Live Nation – Social Distortion..... 4 Meanwhile.................................. 11 MindOfFable.com....................... 36 Mister-E Liquid........................... 24 Monarch’s Pub............................ 20 Moshpitnation............................. 14 Mulligan’s Pub............................ 37 New Holland Brewing................. 24 New Horizons Learning Center.. 35

Orbit Room................................. 27 Parkway Tropics......................... 35 Putt Putt’s Bar............................... 7 Pyramid Scheme........................ 32 Quaker Steak & Lube................. 39 Rocky’s Bar & Grill...................... 34 Sensations.................................. 38 Stella’s Lounge............................ .9 Stud’s.......................................... 40 Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill.......... 21 Triumph Music Academy............ 31

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BEER

The People’s Cider Co. doing its part to define identity of hard cider industry Story by Wes Eaton

ason Lummen, cider maker and owner of Grand Rapids-based The People’s Cider Co., started fermenting cider nearly 10 years ago. But, his experience with the fermented fruit beverage goes back much further. When dating his now-wife and business partner Katie, the couple would head to the basement to quaff draft cider from Katie’s father’s kegerator. Lummen’s father-in-law was, along with local cider legend Jeff Carlson, one of the founding members of Primetime Brewers, a Grand Rapids home brew club. He liked to really push the limits, creating a sort of “white lightening” from fresh cider. Years before, Lummen recalls hiding near the oaken barrel of cider his grandmother kept in the cellar. His identification with cider was cemented with a semester spent in the UK, where cider was already a mainstay, whereas its popularity during the colonial period has waned here. Later, drives from the city to his grandmother’s house north of the city took him through what fruit-conscious Michiganders refer to as “The Ridge,” a stretch of orchards with amicable soil between Grand Rapids and Newaygo. The Lummens have managed to bring all of these elements together in creating The People’s Cider Co. But, before branding, barrels and distributors were pressing matters, Lummen was a home brewer who discovered the joys of making hard cider. Unlike many home producers, Lummen made a lot of cider — 50 to 100 gallons at a time. He’d bring this to parties where friends encouraged his then hobby. Lummen’s ciders It’s just as easy to make a lot as a little, Lummen are dry — harkexplained, pointing at the 50-gallon Italian stainless ing back to colofermenter holding a corner spot amongst a modest number of others in his Grand Rapids winery. He nial era and UK used this to home brew before “going pro.” styles — but disLummen’s winery (cider is technically a tinctly American in wine), opened in March 2013, and is lothat they are oak cated at 600 Maryland Drive on the city’s northeast side, next to some small-ish and/or bourbon industrial sites. He’s there every night barrel-aged. and most weekends and will happily fill your growler. His products are currently available in draft form only. There’s a small front room he hopes to turn into a seven-seat taproom in the near future, and a back room full of several of the smaller fermenters, two larger stainless fermenters, and perhaps a dozen-and-a-half bourbon barrels. “I have Jim Hill to thank for my discovery of bourbon barrels,” Lummen explained over the rowdy Irish punk coming through the speakers. Aging cider in oak barrels that formerly held spirits (he does not discriminate) provides, well, magic, transforming what can be a one-dimensional product into a spiral of flavors. Hill of Hill Brothers is a central figure in the apple wine/cider products produced across the state, supplying dozens of wineries with a proprietary blend of acidic and sweet apples. Hill has also supplied home brewers from across the region with, not only fresh cider, but bourbon barrels as well, especially for old-timers that don’t know the category “home brewer” and are, instead, simply doing what their fathers and grand fathers had done in the old country. This process consists of filling a barrel with fresh cider, letting it ferment naturally, and enjoying it off the wooden spigot. Lummen’s line up takes off from this heritage, each product starting in stainless, but finishing in oak. Lummen describes his ciders as “scrumpy” style, an oldfashioned term American colonists used to describe the processes of amending their ciders with regional sugars, molasses and dried fruits. We first shared some of my own cider (also pressed by Hill Brothers), and then moved on to Lummen’s dry draft cider, inspired by Irish products. The magic of barrel aging was immediately apparent. Lummen’s cider was a dark yellow, almost thick in the mouth while dry at the same time.

Mrs. Sally Browns was next, a darker product, and my favorite. We stayed on this for the rest of the night. Lummen poured from a “corny” keg, a five-gallon vessel formerly used by the soda industry before they transitioned to bags to hold their syrupy concentrates. To me, this demonstrates the way he organically transcends the line between home brewer and professional, keeping one foot in both worlds. The key take away from our discussion is that craft cider has yet to be definitively defined. It’s meaning is open, and in some ways, contested. Is cider a lighter alternative to ale? The missing link between wine and beer? Beer enthusiasts and other insiders have their opinions on this, but cider’s booming popularity and visibility in West Michigan — helped immensely by folks like Paul Vander Heide and his Vander Mill Ciders — means others, too, are taking part in constructing craft cider’s identity. Lummen’s products will certainly build this discussion. They are dry — harking back to colonial era and UK styles — but distinctly American in that they are oak and/or bourbon barrel-aged. In the words of Lummen, “If you like a cold alcoholic beverage, you’re going to enjoy this!” The People’s Cider is currently available on draft at a few locations in Grand Rapids: Harmony, Georgio’s Pizza and Aperitivo at the new Downtown Market. Also, every Wednesday night from 4 to 7 p.m., Lummen is at the weekly evening Fulton Street Farmer’s Market, pouring samples, as well as filling both growlers and howlers. n

Jason Lummen and some magic barrels

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BEER

Blood, sweat and beers

GRUB

Local brewers show how to bring home brewing from hobby to livelihood Story by Jayson Bussa

lmost any home brewer would tell you that his or her ultimate goal is to open up their own brewpub, where they can sling their crazy concoctions to thirsty patrons every night. A few beer-savvy individuals in Kalamazoo are proving that, what might seem to be a pipe dream, is actually quite attainable. Meet T.J. Waldofsky and Chris O’Neill, a pair of Kalamazoo 30-somethings that are relying on a little help — and cash — from their friends and family to launch their new brewery, dubbed One Well Brewing. The duo isn’t alone, either. Just last year, Kevin Tibbs and his wife, Cindee, launched Tibbs Brewing Co. in Kalamazoo with the same mentality — a little green, some hard work, and what they considered to be damn good beer. Waldofsky and O’Neill are not there yet, but they are certainly on track after recently signing a lease for their space at 4213 Portage Street in Kalamazoo. Here, they plan to serve up their own beer, while tapping local wine makers to get in on the action. The pair did what most would do in this situation — run to mom and dad and beg for some money. Mom and pop were feeling generous, and Waldofsky and O’Neill have around $80,000 to work with. This might sound like a generous sum, but isn’t exactly the ideal amount to stock a full brewery and brewpub. “We want to grow it organically,” Waldofsky said. “Many of the microbreweries (throughout the country) are able to throw a lot of money at it. We don’t have a lot of money, and that’s why we’re doing many of these things on our own.”

Chris O’Neill (left) and T.J. Waldofsky (right) chat as they look over renovations at One Well Brewing in Kalamazoo. Luckily, they have some generous friends and family, who are willing to do a little heavy lifting. Waldofsky and O’Neill have tapped their support system to do all the renovations that don’t require professional help. Picking through reclaimed wood and metal not only saves money for the duo’s thin bottom line, but also lends what is shaping up to be both a rustic and authentic look to the brew pub. “A lot of places will use reclaimed wood, but they end up paying thousands of dollars for it,” said Waldofsky, who is more than ready to unveil such brews as One Well’s jalapeño blonde ale. “It ends up looking kind of artificial. I might be biased, but I think it’s going really well the way that we are doing it.” One Well is officially slated to open in 2015, but if everything goes smoothly, particularly with the necessary licenses and permits, the duo could be up and brewing late this year already.

In downtown Kalamazoo, at 402 S. Burdick, right next to the State Theatre, Tibbs Brewing Co. is going strong nearly one year into operation. Kevin Tibbs, a home brewer of five years, and his wife dropped just $40,000 into the operation and didn’t take out a single loan. He saves on costs by brewing on a twobarrel system behind the bar when the taproom is not open for business. The results have been so popular that he’s struggling to keep up with demand over the counter. “It just takes a little more work,” Tibbs said. “It can be done.” Also, with big names like Bell’s, Founders and Arcadia in the same region, brewers like Waldofsky, O’Neill and Tibbs have a refreshingly realistic outlook on where they fit in the local microbrewery tapestry. “From the beginning, we knew we would just be happy to be that local bar down the street that you could go to to get a drink,” Tibbs said. n

Founders Brewing incorporates signature flavors into craft mustard One of Grand Rapids’ favorite breweries is also working on a few more, similar products

ave Engbers, co-founder and resident foodie at Founders Brewing, made no promises of Founders ice cream or other crazy food concoctions. However, on the heels of the brewery’s success with its line of mustard, he did say there are some other non-beer projects in the works. Founders created two variations of mustard, which enjoys limited distribution but is also available in the brewery’s store and deli. The mustards carry the brand and flavor of two of the company’s more popular brews — Dirty Bastard Stone Ground Mustard and Centennial IPA Honey Mustard. “Our Centennial IPA and Dirty Bastard have been around for a long time, so they have some brand equity to them,” Engbers said of the recognizable labels that adorn the jars of mustard. “But, it comes down to the fact that those beers would compliment the mustards in the right way. That’s where those came from.” Developing these mustards — great for dipping and on sandwiches and salads — was not a far stretch for the craft beer king of West Michigan. “Food and flavor — it’s what we do,” Engbers said. “We thought ‘Why can’t we do something that incorporates those flavors into mustards and with what our deli guys are doing?’” So, Engbers and his staff connected with a Mustard Master (I made that title up, but it should be a thing) in Traverse City to hash out the recipes for the finished product. Engbers took the politically correct approach when asked about upcoming non-beer ventures, but there certainly are some in the mix. However, he stressed one thing. “This has been a fun little side project, but we can never get away from the fact that we are a brewery first,” he said. “We have to make sure that our top priority is making the best beer we possibly can.” — Jayson Bussa

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SMOKE

CIGARS FOR NEWBIES

Puff, Puff

Strong community surrounds cigar smoking Story by Jayson Bussa

ate comedian George Carlin performed a particularly raunchy bit about cigars, complaining about how only rich, white businessmen smoked them and comparing them to a…eh, well, just YouTube the clip to see for yourself. While cigars might be a suitable cinematic prop for a welldressed, doughy old guy counting his money, it’s a lifestyle shared by men and women of all ages and walks of life. “I get people in here from (age) 18 on up,” said Mark Renzenbrink, owner and proprietor of Tuttle’s Select Cigar and Tobaccos in Grand Rapids. At Tuttle’s, which has held firm at 3835 28th St. SE for the last 20 years, they see plenty of clients in their doors looking for premium smokes to commemorate a special occasion, but its plush, cozy lounge and walk-in humidor stacked tall with high-end smokes also beckons cigar connoisseurs. Renzenbrink, who has owned Tuttle’s for three years, began in the former category and now falls in the latter. Around 18 years ago, Renzenbrink had a friend that lured him into Tuttle’s for a smoke, and he was hooked ever since.

SMOKE UP

Check in with these local cigar retailers and lounges to get your smoke on. Smokes On Burdick

“They start by talking about what they’re smoking and, before you know it, they’re talking about how they have 35 kids, been divorced 15 times and are going through bankruptcy. It’s amazing how that goes.” — Mark Renzenbrink Owner, Tuttle’s One aspect of the lifestyle that especially speaks to Renzenbrink is the strong community built around smoking cigars. “You can go into any cigar lounge in the country, sit down, light up a cigar and strike a conversation,” Renzenbrink said. “There is a commonality. Right off the bat, you’re asking ‘What are you smoking?’ and it goes from there. “I have guys that come in and don’t know each other. They start by talking about what they’re smoking and, before you know it, they’re talking about how they have 35 kids, been divorced 15 times and are going through bankruptcy. It’s amazing how that goes.” As an outsider looking in, it might be a little intimidating to break in this world. However, Renzenbrink assured that it’s no different than trying anything else for the first time. “There is always going to be a learning curve,” he said. “The good thing about the cigar smoking community is that they want other people to enjoy it just as much as they do. They are usually happy to help and discuss information.” The big-name manufacturers also make it easy for newcomers to get a taste for the cigar life by offering products that boast a mild flavor profile and are affordable. “That would be my suggestion, is to try a milder, less expensive, cigar first to see if you really like it,” Renzenbrink said. n

Cirilla’s, but it’s worth the search. The shop’s walk-in humidor covers everyone from rookies to connoisseurs and you can light up and take a load off in a cozy lounge area.

Cigar Ambassador

1222 S. Burdick St., Kalamazoo

280 N River Ave., Holland

With a gritty vibe and humidors packed with premium sticks, Smokes on Burdick is a great location to shoot the shit with real cigar gurus and even hang around to catch a ball game on TV.

Lakeshore smokers, Cigar Ambassador has you covered with savvy behind the counter, a strong selection and a lounge to kick back and relax.

Tuttle’s Select Cigars & Tobaccos

2840 Lake Michigan Dr. NW, Grand Rapids

3835 28th St SE, Grand Rapids

Tuttle’s isn’t the easiest place in the world to find — you’ll have to weave down a hallway past a

Siciliano’s Market

Basically, Siciliano’s is the Promise Land for all delicious indulgences. Known for having one of the city’s widest selections of craft beer, this shop

So, you have decided to class your life up a little bit by firing up a big, fat stogie to enjoy. To get the full experience out of your cigar, it would help to know what the hell you’re doing. We tapped into the minds of local cigar experts to lend a little knowledge to cigar rookies. Wise up before you light up. New cigar smokers don’t have a flavor palate yet. So, go out of your way to try all the different cigars you can and see what you like. This includes the unique, boutique blends.

While some might suggest new smokers start with a mild cigar, you can get away with taking on a medium-bodied cigar. This way, you’re still getting richer flavors without being knocked on your butt.

Save the cigar band. When you find something you like, you can bring it in to your local tobacconist and they can help you find cigars with a similar profile.

When it comes time to light up, you must first cut the cap off the end you inhale from. It’s important not to cut too much off; it could cause the wrapper to unravel.

When you light your cigar, you don’t actually touch the flame to the end of the stick.

And, of course, do not inhale the smoke, even if you are a cigarette smoker. Cigar smoke is too overwhelming and can get you sick. If you are trying cigars out for the first time, and you get sick, it’s your own damn fault.

also delivers in a big way with a fully-stocked walkin humidor.

Red Arrow Cigar Lounge

6980 Stadium Drive, Kalamazoo Nearly half a decade old, Red Arrow is the premier smoking lounge in Kalamazoo. With a balanced range of mild, medium and full-bodied cigars, even the newbies amongst us can kick back in their refined and elegant lounge.

George’s Smoke Shop 31 W. 8th St., Holland

For a friendly, cost-efficient smoking experience, George’s is your hook-up. Located in the heart of Holland, this lounge gives you a chance to unwind and give your new purchase a test drive.

recoilmag.com

volume 14 issue 9 september

HOI2014 HALLOWEEN ON IONIA

volume 14 issue 9 september

FLESH & FASHION

recoilmag.com By Suzanne Beveridge Photo by Elyse Wild

Aja Wong. Occupation: Stylist at Hotel.. Venus.. Favorite block: East Hills.. Cherry St. and Diamond —.. it’s.like Mr. Rogers’ neighbor-.. hood!..Great restaurants and.. everyone.is gleeful... Reads: Non-fiction, cook-.. books, anything on feminism... Eats: No one makes pizza.. better than CULT PIZZA... Clothing store: Have Com-.. pany on South Division. Grey.. crew neck (pictured), two.. great things on a T-shirt: cats.. and encouragement to stay.. home... Tattoo shop: Mos Eisleys..

Mike McFarlane. Main gig: Drummer in a.. garage rock band called The.. Omecs... Interests: Local music scene.. — in both disclosed and non-.. disclosed venues... Restaurants: The Westsider.. Cafe and Huevos Rancheros.. Last purchase: Traded some.. records at Vertigo and got the.. second Swell Maps album.. and Pow! High Tech Boom,.. a synth punk band out of San.. Francisco... Gotta check out: Harmony.. Brewing hosting “Vinyl.. Takeover” every Thursday.. night from 9 p.m. to midnight... This is where someone signs.. up to spin their record.. collection for the restaurant... I did it in July...

recoilmag.com

volume 14 issue 9 september

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volume 14 issue 9 september

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SEPTEMBER 5 - The Madeira wsg Lazy Genius SEPTEMBER 6 - The Monsters (Garage Rock from Switzerland) wsg The JetBeats SEPTEMBER 10 - Mustered Courage (Bluegrass from Australia) SEPTEMBER 11 - Cash’d Out wsg Chuck Whiting and the Tip Rail Ramblers

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SEPTEMBER 13 - Jane Rose and the Deadend Boys wsg Delilah DeWylde and the Lost Boys $ SEPTEMBER 14 - Janiva Magness

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SEPTEMBER 20 - Mike Morgan featuring Hank Mowery and the Hawktones SEPTEMBER 22 - OC45, Jukebox Romantics, Auslander and Murder Party

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Cash’d Out

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volume 14 issue 9 september

ART

ArtPrize Public Enemy No. 1

World record-holding Artist Singh became an adversary of the famed Grand Rapids art competition, and now he’s an outcast. Recoil caught up with the national stunt painter. Story by Mayra Monroy

he autumn season brings more than a change of color to Grand Rapids. It also brings thousands of tourists and starving artists, allowing them to take over city streets in hopes of recognition. Kicking off in 2009, ArtPrize began as a nonprofit organization that sought to share artists’ pieces with the downtown Grand Rapids community. The competition boasts huge prizes, an insane volume of art work strewn around the city and a voting system that lets the general public have a say. ArtPrize describes itself as a “radically open” competition, where anyone age 18 and older can participate, so long as the artist matches up with an ArtPrize venue. Gurmej Singh might have a different take on this description. Singh, known better as Artist Singh, is a Kalamazoobased stunt painter in pursuit of notoriety and world records. Disqualified from two ArtPrize competitions and banned from future events, Singh prides himself on testing the limits to express his passion through art. Singh has broken three world records and his chances at competing in ArtPrize. Despite this, he continues to test his limits. Singh is no newcomer to ArtPrize. Since 2009, he has submitted pieces, including several large ones that were displayed in The B.O.B. parking lot. Controversy stirred when Singh’s 2012 submission, “Captivity,” was torn down by The B.O.B owner, Greg Gilmore. “Captivity” was displayed as a birdcage that was 16 feet in diameter and 25 feet tall.

Gilmore told media at the time that the piece was offensive after seeing a dummy resembling Saddam Hussein hanging from a noose in the cage. “The show was cut off…and was not given any opportunity or second chance to understand the inmost and core philosophy behind it,” Singh told Recoil in a recent interview. “It was a conversational piece to make visitors ask [them]selves what holds them captive.” Controversy would be no stranger to Singh in the next year. In 2013, Singh’s “Transcendental” broke the Guinness World Record for World’s Largest Painting. The painting took Singh 38 days and it was 2.14 miles long. The painting was stretched across Sixth Street Park along the Grand River. It also was disqualified days before ArtPrize opened. “[ArtPrize] said my work was a marketing gimmick even though my cause for the painting was to raise awareness about liberty for women, well-being of women, and the role of women in our society,” said Singh. “[They] kicked me out of ArtPrize because it was a Guinness World Record and a gimmick.” Gimmick or not, the work proved to be all ArtPrize could take from the artist. Contacted by a venue to work with him for ArtPrize 2014, Singh registered. Within hours, an email from ArtPrize Exhibitions Director Kevin Buist arrived in Singh’s inbox, citing that Singh’s “flagrant violations of the rules during ArtPrize 2013” would not allow him to compete in 2014.

D E N

N A B

“They want to show the world it’s an open contest, but they are not receiving the art and artist’s entries as claimed,” Singh complained. Recoil left multiple messages with ArtPrize for comment regarding Singh’s disqualification from 2014’s contest, but received no reply. The competition expects approximately 1,537 entries this year. Despite the roadblock in Grand Rapids, Singh has moved on. Singh is currently traveling to display his new project, called “Project Holy Cow,” which focuses on animal abuse. “My art is composed of several elements, like technical, metaphysical, philosophical, personal, emotional, moralistic, socially relevant, historical.” Singh told us. “As an artist, I have always wanted, and have tried to do, bigger and better because I have high energy, a can-do attitude, which reflects in my art and my viewers know that.” n

SEX

SEXY TIME:

West Michigan burlesque fulfills appetite for classy entertainment to full-on raunch Story by Dwayne Hoover

urlesque as we know it today has a history that dates back a long time. Since the late 19th century, people have flocked to these variety shows to be entertained by song, dance and the ever-present possibility of a nipple slip. Fortunately for us, burlesque is alive and well, even here in West Michigan, with an assortment of acts that range in style from traditional and tasteful to flat-out obscene. On the raunchy side of the scale is the 12-member strong Super Happy Funtime Burlesque, which has been bringing its indecorous shows to the masses for a number of years with all the grace and tact of R. Kelly at a high school prom. “I’m filthy as hell,” said Corey Ruffin, SHFB’s founder and emcee. “There’s tons of naked people and profanities. We make fun of religion, Grand Rapids, anything white people hold dear, we basically skewer.” Sporting a live band that writes their own original music for their performances, the group’s shows have evolved beyond

that of what one would think of traditional burlesque into more of a full-on theatrical production. “We really consider ourselves musical theater at this point,” Ruffin said. “We’re really trying to remove ‘burlesque’ from our name because of the connotations. If you see our promotional stuff, the word ‘burlesque’ gets smaller and smaller. If anything, people who come to see us see musical theater.” Representing more of the classic spirit of burlesque are the Danger Damsels, who embrace the conventional style of the vaudeville performances of the late 1800s. These gals don’t rely on raciness, but instead, just show a little leg and have some fun with it. “We kind of pay homage to where burlesque originated from,” said founder Cassie Truskowski. “You see song and dance and group numbers, which is more of the traditional burlesque bump and grind shows. We have more of a feel-good, happy show. We don’t push boundaries. We’re not looking to raise eyebrows or offend people.” The group also brings in guest performers, like circus acts or drag queens, has

Super Happy Funtime Burlesque game shows and prize giveaways, and an assortment of other fun surprises to encourage audience participation and to ensure everyone has a good time. But make no mistake, it’s still a burlesque performance, so if the question you’re asking is, “Are there still scantily clad women dancing on stage for my viewing pleasure?” the answer is, “You bet your gawking ass there are.” “Yes, it is an 18-and-over show because there’s striptease,” Truskowski said. “But, it’s just that — it’s tease. What burlesque really represents is the tease. Really, you only get a tiny bit at the very end of the performance. That’s what the fun is. What makes our shows different is we have fun

PHOTO: TIM MOTLEY

with that part of it, because that’s truly what burlesque is.” So whether you’re looking to whet your burlesque appetite with something explicit and edgy, retro and tame, or something in between, West Michigan has you covered. You can catch Super Happy Funtime at The Pyramid Scheme for a special performance during ArtPrize’s opening weekend in September, or take in Danger Damsels’ biggest show to date at Wealthy Theatre in October. The Orbit Room will also be hosting the Suicide Girls Blackheart Burlesque tour in October, as well. Just keep your tongue in your mouth if you go. n

volume 14 issue 9 september

recoilmag.com

INTERVIEW

VOLBEAT

hen veteran guitarist and acclaimed producer Rob Caggiano joined Volbeat last year, the news came as much as a surprise to him as it did to many in the metal community. After all, it was just months earlier that he announced he had left legendary thrash metal band Anthrax, which he had worked with since 2001. At that time, the native New Yorker had no idea he’d join the rising Danish rock band, who he initially signed on with as producer for their fifth album, Outlaw Gentlemen and Shady Ladies. Now enjoying what he calls “the best of both worlds,” while touring European festivals in support of that album’s international smash success, Caggiano told Recoil more about why he’s fit right in with Volbeat’s famously freewheeling fusion of rockabilly and metal, why his family’s love for music from the ’50s still influences him to this day and why there’s no formula to what he or Volbeat will do next. Recoil: You’ve toured Europe a number of times before when you were with Anthrax. Have the Volbeat guys exposed you to any different things culturally that you hadn’t encountered before? Rob Caggiano: Umm, there are definitely more chicks in the crowd, man. [Laughs] As far as the cultural stuff goes, we come from two different worlds, me coming from New York City and these guys coming from Denmark, but the bottom line is we connect on a musical level and that’s why we work so well together, I think. Of course, there’s cultural differences, but it’s been great.

R: When you first joined Volbeat last year, you were just two weeks into recording Outlaw Gentlemen and Shady Ladies as the album’s producer. What was it about those recording sessions that made joining the band seem like such a natural decision? RC: Well, back in 2010, Volbeat took The Damned Things [Caggiano’s previous supergroup side-project with Scott Ian of Anthrax and members of Every Time I Die and Fall Out Boy] on tour, and that’s how I met these guys initially. They were very much into the Anthrax stuff that I had done and of course The Damned Things record as well, [2010’s Ironiclast]. But every night on that tour [Volbeat frontman] Michael [Poulsen] would ask me up onstage to jam on a Misfits song with them, “Angelfuck,” and I’d do that pretty much every night on that tour, and it was such a good time, and such a blast. So I already knew what it felt like playing with these guys. So, when they asked me, I had this memory to look back on and say, ‘Right, I know what this feels like, and this could be killer.’ And like I said, I know these guys and I like them as people, we’re good friends, and I absolutely love the music. I think we’re all coming from Volbeat

Co-headlining w/ Five Finger Death Punch, wsg. Hellyeah, Nothing More The Deltaplex Arena, Grand Rapids, Sept. 21, 4:30 p.m. (pre-party), 5:30 p.m. (doors), 6:10 p.m. (show) Reserved Grandstands: $39.75, Gen. Admission Floor: SOLD OUT Deltaplex.com

the same place musically, so it’s been perfect. band since before I joined. So yeah, that’s R: When I had a chance to talk to Michael what it’s all about. Who knows what the next a few years back, we talked about how Volbeat record is going to be? he grew up in a musical household, where his parents had a big impact on R: Coming from a band like Anthrax him, exposing him to the music of Elvis that has such a long history and such Presley and Johnny Cash. Do you feel a signature sound, how liberating was it like your parents had a similar influence creatively to come into Volbeat and just on you? unleash your ideas? RC: My dad is obsessed with music. He’s like RC: It was very liberating. It really was. I a lunatic. That’s all he talks about. He named had a very similar feeling when we did The me after the singer Bobby Darin. So that goes Damned Things and I had a great time makback to that really. My parents ing that record and touring, have always been really supso it was a similar feeling. But “The bottom portive of my music - overly don’t get me wrong, I love line with Volbeat Anthrax and I love everything supportive I’d say. They’ve been amazing over the years. we’ve done together; it just is there are no I grew up in a very musical got to a point where I needed rules. ...There house where there was music to do something else. playing all of the time, whether are all these it was 1950s doo-wop stuff, or R: When you guys redifferent influElvis Presley, or Hall & Oates turn to the U.S. in the fall, ences that are in Volbeat will be co-headlinor whatever. I was constantly exposed to all this different there, but there ing with Five Finger Death stuff and I think that made a Punch. What do you think are no rules.” huge impact on who I am right of that double-bill? now as a musician. RC: We’re all really excited —Rob Caggiano about that tour. I think it’s R: Having that shared mugoing to be great. I think it’s sical vocabulary and appreciation for a great thing for fans of this kind of music, rock music’s history, do you feel like and it seems like something that the fans that’s made it easy for you as a band to have definitely wanted, just from what I’ve create as freely as you have? seen online and just the general feeling RC: Yeah. I mean, the bottom line with Volbeat of excitement around this thing. The Five is there are no rules. That’s the whole thing. Finger guys are really cool and really aweThere are all these different influences that some, and it’s going to be great to be playare in there, but there are no rules. There’s ing on the same bill with those guys. And, no formula. There’s nobody saying you can’t of course, Hellyeah [opening the show]. do this or you can’t do that, because we don’t Vinnie Paul… What can I say, I love the give a fuck. And that’s been the motto of this man. [Laughs] — Eric Mitts.

recoilmag.com

volume 14 issue 9 september

recoilmag.com

NATIONAL MUSIC

TAKING BACK SUNDAY

ven after baring his heart onstage Taking Back Sunday first started in Long — and on record — for more than a Island, N.Y. and quickly earned widespread decade, Taking Back Sunday front- attention with their debut album, 2002’s Tell man Adam Lazzarra still feels naAll Your Friends. The band’s popularity skyked and vulnerable while performing songs rocketed after summer stints on the Vans Warped Tour, earning them a major label off his band’s new album, Happiness Is. “With this record, we just wanted to try to deal with their third album, 2006’s Louder be as direct and to the point as we could,” Now, even amidst serious lineup changes. Lazzarra said about the immensely perTheir smash single “MakeDamnSure” and sonal subject matter that went into the new soundtrack selections for Spider-Man 2 and disc, released earlier this year. “Doing that several Transformers movies took them to in the studio is kind of this safe environment new audiences, and built a following that because it’s just you and grew up with the band’s your friends there, but dynamic, emotive rock. TAKING BACK SUNDAY taking those situations “Our whole career, I co-headlining with The and those feelings and feel like I’ve just been Used, wsg. FrnkIero and The sharing them with a very learning how to sing,” Cellabration large crowd that’s just Lazzarra said, only halfThe Orbit Room, Grand right there is always a jokingly, about his vocal Rapids bit intimidating.” style. “A lot of my favorite Sept. 12, (6 p.m. doors) Still, Lazzarra lives singers and performers, $30 in advance; $35 day of for those moments when they sing with this raw show he hears those personal, emotion and this soul All-ages; Orbitroom.com and often painful, lyrics is coming from a really screamed back at him by deep part of them. So, his band’s thousands of loyal fans. that’s something that I wanted to focus on “To be able to know that people can con[with this record]. Just an honest interpretanect to what you’re singing and what you’ve tion of the feeling behind something, rather been through, and that you’re speaking to than going, ‘Oh I wonder if the people on them on that level, it’s just a great experi‘The Voice’ would like this song.’” Free from the outside pressures the ence,” he said. “It’s just like that feeling of, band had felt since first working with ‘Oh, I’m not alone!’”

record labels early on in its career, the “classic” Taking Back Sunday lineup (of Lazzarra, vocalist/guitarist John Nolan, bassist Shaun Cooper, guitarist Eddie Reyes and drummer Mark O’Connell) worked on Happiness Is for the past two years, following the 10th anniversary tour they did in 2012. “When I was sitting down to revisit some of those songs, it definitely did feel like pulling out your old high school yearbook and going, ‘Oh my god, that’s the haircut I had?!” Lazzarra said. “But the cool thing about it is, with songs like “Cute Without The E” that are still in our set now, it’s crazy

to see how the meaning of those songs has changed for me performing them all these years later.” Writing and demoing in between tours, the band recorded Happiness Is in Long Island with producer Mike Sapone, and in Fenton, Mich., with their longtime friend/ producer Marc Jacob Hudson. “We titled it [Happiness Is] because it really speaks to where everybody is; where the five of us are in the band, and just in our personal lives, too,” Lazzarra said. “We had this overall feeling of, ‘Oh man, this is what we’re supposed to be doing, so let’s just do the best we can.’” — Eric Mitts

INTERVIEW

Mike Birbiglia constantly finding new avenues in which to score laughs

omedian Mike Birbiglia is going to prison. Women’s prison. And while it is a fantasy for the stand-up comedian/writer/director, it’s not that kind of fantasy. Birbiglia will join the cast of “Orange Is The New Black” for the upcoming third season of the hit series on Netflix next year. Last year, he premiered his own comedy special, “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend,” on the online streaming video service. “I decided to premiere the special on Netflix because even more people watch stuff on there than the pay cable networks,” Birbiglia told Recoil during a phone inMike Birbiglia terview, adding that he’s “Thank God For Jokes” more of a cinephile who Kalamazoo State Theatre, digests documentaries Kalamazoo than a binge TV watcher. Sept. 16, 7:30 p.m. “Being able to get it out $45 there to people without Kazoostate.com watching commercials meant everything because the whole way that it was intended to be taken in was as a single story.” A longtime contributor to National Public Radio’s “This American Life,” Birbiglia’s self-deprecating stand-up comedy has evolved into a more storytelling style, employing the sort of larger narrative arcs he’s learned from “This American Life” host Ira Glass.

“When I work with Ira, I feel like I become a better writer,” Birbiglia said about Glass, who has also inspired “Orange Is The New Black” creator Jenji Kohan. “There are times where I’ll look back on material I wrote five or six years ago, before I started working with Ira, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I could write this so much better now,’ through this lens that Ira has taught me to use, which is always to dig deeper and look for the story under the story, and look for the larger meaning for the story, rather than just the literal story itself.” Birbiglia built a cult following for years, working the stand-up circuit and regularly appearing on “This American Life” and “The Bob and Tom Show.” In 2008, he broke through with “Sleepwalk With Me,” his one-man off-Broadway show, recounting a hilariously disastrous sleepwalking accident he had while on tour. Since then he, has adapted “Sleepwalk with Me” into a feature film, which he starred in, wrote and directed. Currently, he’s working on adapting “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend” into his follow-up feature, and has another screenplay in the works. In addition to appearing on “Orange Is The New Black,” Birbiglia also recently appeared in “The Fault In Our Stars,” and has parts in Judd Apatow’s upcoming movie “Trainwreck,” and “Don’t Mess With Texas,” starring Reese Witherspoon. “Personally, it just allows me to have more artistic growth,” Birbiglia said about branching out into acting. “When I work with Judd Apatow, I get to find out how Judd Apatow directs movies, and that’s like a real gift. That’s

something that I would do for free if he just let me follow him around on the set, never mind letting me actually act in a movie and be a part of it. So in that sense, the best case scenario, you’re always learning, and it all contributes to your next work. It’s all baked into what you’re doing next.” For now, Birbiglia is counting his blessings back on tour with his latest show, “Thank God For Jokes,” which goes back to the roots of his first two specials, “Two Drink Mike” and “My Secret Public Journal” by focusing more on nonstop laughs than a larger story. “I do call the show ‘Thank God For Jokes,’ because I do feel like comedy, for me, is like a religious experience,” Birbiglia, who was raised Catholic, said. “You’re in a room with a bunch of strangers and you’re all laughing at this relatable thing that has a certain truth about being alive.” — Eric Mitts

recoilmag.com

volume 14 issue 9 september

NATIONAL MUSIC

OWEN PALLETT

espite massive tours with indie favorites Arcade Fire, and an Oscar nomination for co-writing the score to Spike Jonze’s film Her last year, Owen Pallett is still unsure of himself most of the time. “The funny thing is, when you’re working on a film… [or] a record, you have no idea if it’s good or bad,” the Canadian singer/songwriter/violinist told Recoil about how he takes acclaim with a grain of salt. “You have no idea whether everyone is going to want to read it, listen to it, watch it, and if it’s going to be celebrated… or not. It’s just like the artist was doing the best they could, and that was the result. And that’s definitely how I felt while we were doing the Her score, is we were really just trying to make Spike’s movie Owen Pallett sing. But we had no idea.” wsg. Foxes In Fiction On his latest album, In Calvin College Conflict (released earlier Covenant Fine Arts this year), Pallett confronts Center, Grand Rapids his own inner uncertainties Sept. 3, (8 p.m.) head-on, grappling with the $15 public, $5 with heady concept of liminality, Calvin ID or the idea of being in an inwww.calvin.edu/sao/ termediate state, specifically between life and death. “Being suicidal is a state when one is alive and one is dead,” Pallett explained while discussing the autobiographical songs he wrote for the album. “You haven’t decided whether to live or whether to die, and that is the conflict in the title.” While writing In Conflict (the follow-up to 2010’s Heartland, which was the first album released under his

own name after releasing two discs as Final Fantasy) Pallett found that indecision was often the root of discontent, which in turn served as a catalyst for creation or change. “Usually, when I think about liminality, it’s mostly in dealing with my own gender issues, and my own mental state,” Pallett, who is openly gay, explained. “I started thinking about the relationship between what I affectionately today call ‘my crazy’ and my creative pursuit. I started looking at the way that people talk about crazy and craziness. And I’m thinking that I had songs that if I were me, but not myself, would be useful for me to hear.” While working on the album, Pallett moved from Toronto, where he lived since starting out as a musician, to Montreal, and enlisted the help of new bandmates in bassist Matt Smith and drummer Robbie Gordon. “When you’re making random, queer music, there are no rules, which in a way makes things more difficult,” Pallett said. “If you don’t have a genre, you have to spend time thinking about, ‘What’s the mood? What are we trying to convey?’ So a lot of the working together was just figuring out that kind of vibe, and figuring out that kind of sound.” Live, Pallett said the band works better than he ever expected with the live looping he had long done as a solo artist, both under his own name and as Final Fantasy. “The real heart and soul of what we’re doing is trying to take the violin loop idea, and give it a locomotive quality,” he said, admitting that he wasn’t sure if he could play songs off of In Conflict without his rock trio. “[With this record] I feel like we’re really only using like 50 percent of the band’s actual ability, just because we’re still kind of

figuring shit out. I’m just excited to get some new songs going. In fact, that’s my main focus this fall is to write some stuff for the band.” Pallett has also contributed work to the new album, Ontario Gothic, by fellow Canadian artist Foxes In Fiction, who will open the Sept. 3 show at Calvin ahead of that disc’s release on Sept. 23. “I can’t stress enough that people have to come early to see Foxes In Fiction because you’ll be kicking yourself if you don’t,” Pallett said. “I’m going to be playing with them, too, and I don’t know how that’s going to work, but the record is so beautiful. It’s like five years of working with chill-wave music redeemed by this genius.” — Eric Mitts

IN THE STUDIO

Alexis to unveil Love or Temptation this month

he electropop duo Alexis out of Since then, the guys have been performGrand Rapids has been steadily ing around their day jobs (Forbush is a mail making a name for itself for the carrier, while partner in crime Dan Hurst is past handful of years. Even back a music director for a church), including a in 2011, the pair landed an appearance mini Midwest tour this past spring, and preon WOOD-TV 8, which did well to give the paring for the release of their next album, guys some publicity — just not necessarily Love or Temptation. in the way that they had hoped. “We’ve been working pretty hard on the Apparently, frontman Matt Forbush’s ef- album since last winter,” said Forbush. “We feminate style was a little much for some had some stuff ready to go, but we weren’t of the stuffier viewers, whose insecurities rushing to get it done. We really didn’t want spilled out into Internet comments and to do the Grand Rapids band thing. We’re caught the band off guard. trying to get some recogni“If you’re liberal-minded, tion beyond G.R.” ALEXIS you won’t get it,” Forbush As for the songs themwsg. Tunde Olaniran, said of the criticism. “If I look selves, the band made a Andre Obin, Millie at more conservative [types], concerted effort to stick to and Jam maybe it was somewhat femiwhat they know. Founders Brewing, nine in a David Bowie sort “It’s a really straightGrand Rapids of way. I just think it’s ultraup, 10-song collection of Sept. 20; 9:30 p.m. conservative people looking straight-up pop songs,” $5; Ages 21+ for something to be offended Forbush said. “That’s what about. [...] It was pretty rough, we’re good at. We didn’t do because we were like a newany soundscapes or anybie band and we weren’t expecting that.” thing. [...] We’re not tracking a 10-minute But it wasn’t all bad. song so we can just have this trance-y, “It was a nice springboard to get us to psychedelic moment. We definitely wanted Detroit,” Forbush said. to stick to the classic songwriting formula.”

Photo credit: Elise Mesner Photography

Alexis will be unveiling Love or Temptation at an album release show on Sept. 20, with a hand-picked supporting cast consisting of Tunde Olaniran, Andre Obin and Millie and Jam. “Tunde is a good friend of ours,” Forbush said of the other acts on the bill. “We’ve been doing a number of events with him over the past couple years. He’s blowing up in Detroit. In a world where rock is so masculinity-driven, it’s fun to have an artist that brings more of the feminine side. Andre is more minimalist stuff. It’s a great fit.” And they’re bringing this wonderful electro-party to Founders in Grand Rapids. “Obviously that’s our home,” said

Forbush. “I think Founders is a nice fit for us because we can pack that place. I don’t even work there and I feel like I’m part of the family. They kind of give us freedom to do whatever we want. We’re going to pull out a lot of stops.” After that the guys are hoping to take a little break from church music and mail delivery to head out on tour in support of the new album. “We’re actually working on that now,” Forbush said. “We try to fit things in where we can. Our last tour was a nice exposure, but we want to do something more east coast or west coast, maybe 10 days or two weeks.” — Dwayne Hoover

volume 14 issue 9 september

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volume 14 issue 9 september

AROUND TOWN

METAL SCENE

11 Reasons Heavy Metal IS Art

By Jen Moshpit

As ArtPrize takes over Grand Rapids and scads of wandering people stare at paintings of Jesus and sculptures of pigs, my mind goes to heavy metal music. I think of it as art that’s worthy of ogling. However, a lot of people don’t understand that. So, I consulted with some metal friends to make a list of 11 reasons that heavy metal is indeed art.

Satellite Records of Kalamazoo aims to facilitate the local music community, not just sell records Story by Jayson Bussa

1 2

Metal can be incredibly technical, and in essence, takes classical music to an extreme level. Beethoven would be pleased.

Heavy metal is MADE for heavy metal fans, so producers don’t typically change the artist’s vision as much as they do in popular music. The artists are fans, too, so they know what we want to hear.

9 10

The metal genre is full of independent, interesting, creative people, who pour their souls into making music and don’t make shit for money — starving, dirty, happy artists. Metal stirs emotions more than most forms of art. Extreme, emotional release comes from deep within the metal. Whether it’s artists creating music, or listeners absorbing it, metal strikes a deep chord (or creates a mosh pit). There is no strict limitation to what metal can be. From death metal and grind core to symphonic and folk metal, it spans so many different types of sounds, tempos, instruments and influences.

Speaking of influences, metal can be laced with almost every other genre. From rock and blues, jazz and classical to even rap and electronic music. The inspiration is endless.

6 7

Like an odd sculpture you don’t ‘get,’ metal can be hard to comprehend. You may not understand it, but you can appreciate it.

The mystery behind the meaning of a song’s lyrics is greater with metal since lyrics span a giant spectrum of topics. From death, gore and anger to science and Vikings, metal really does have it all.

The visual aspect of metal is very strong, with amazing original album art, cool band T-shirts, and a band’s presentation on and off stage.

Speaking of the visual aspect, many of the fans themselves are walking collections of art — body art, that is. There is no other group of musical family members that are so interesting to look at. Metal builds emotional connections and somehow stirs up a method of bonding with people. We call it the heavy metal family. Besides, what other type of art has its own hand signal? (horns high for our fallen metal brother Jake Rameau \m/ \m/ ) n

For metal bands with an artsy edge, check out some of these: n Between n Opeth n The

the Buried and Me

Faceless

n Gojira

n Animals n Scale

as Leaders the Summit

et’s face it — if you’re strictly in the business of selling vinyl records, you’re not going to keep your doors open very long. Sure, vinyl might be the hot niche in music, but from a business perspective, record stores need to shake things up in order to stay afloat. “The budget is forever tight,” laughed Sean Hartman, manager of Kalamazoo’s new Satellite Records. “You could ask about almost every record store in the world and they would have the same frustrations and concerns. We run this business because we love it.” Labeling Satellite Records as a “new” store is not all too accurate. Satellite is a reincarnation of Corner Record Shop, which shut its doors on West Main in Kalamazoo and moved down to the more sensible Vine Street neighborhood, next to Fourth Coast Coffee and amongst a demographic that generally digs the art of vinyl. “We’ve been here for about a month and business is already a lot better,” Hartman said. “Walk-in traffic is huge and we’ve seen a lot more records come in. Overall, our stock has improved by leaps and bounds.” Satellite Records is about so much more than selling records, though. The store boasts an in-store concert schedule that rivals just about any music venue in Kalamazoo. These performances feature homegrown talent as well as regional and national acts that are passing through. It makes for an ideal pit stop for bands performing in Detroit, Chicago or Grand Rapids. While each show collects donations for the performers, it’s not a shabby marketing tactic to help Satellite sling some of its stock. “(The shows) are two-fold — it has to be with any business,” Hartman said. “The bottom line is, you have to make a profit to stay alive. “The shows really work out well. We have the register open and people can buy records all night long. We usually make decent money off that. It’s good advertising, too. A band

that is promoting the show might also be inadvertently advertising the store.” Hartman has been entrenched in the tight-knit Kalamazoo scene for nearly a decade, helping establish the “Do It Together Kalamazoo” movement. He works with house show promoters to set up the in-store performances and loves the fact that the store offers a safe place for concertgoers of all ages. “I see it as a good gateway for people to get into house shows,” Hartman said. “Whether they don’t know where house shows are or whether they weren’t sure if they wanted to be surrounded by that environment, this is a safe place to watch a show. We emphasize no alcohol.” Hartman is also a purist when it comes to his personal mode of listening to music. He’s one of the brains behind Already Dead Tapes, a record label that specializes in releasing music on cassette tapes. “With cassettes and vinyl, it’s special because it’s something you have to take care of and it’s a collectible,” Hartman said. “You search around to find it, make sure it’s in good shape and have to store it properly. It makes the music a little more special than downloading it on an iPod with 10,000 other songs. It will forever be a niche, though.” n

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ALBUM Reviews Spoon, They Want My Soul Loma Vista

REQUIRED LISTENING

8.5/10

Spoon breaks my heart. By my count, five outstanding albums and not a dime to show for it. Britt Daniel probably lives OK on royalties earned from commercial placements and movie soundtracks, but as far as recognition and big arena shows, that whole upper echelon thing that Spoon totally deserves? Nada. Go ahead and throw They Want My Soul on top of Kill The Moonlight, Gimme Fiction, Girls Can Tell and all the other ones; just another magnificent rock and roll record from guys who know everything there is to know about interplay, rhythm, and riff space. Ho hum. Seriously? Nobody out-riffs Britt Daniel. Support. This. Band. — Andrew Watson

Jenny Lewis, The Voyager Warner

8/10

It’s been nearly a decade since Rilo Kiley was in its heyday, and Jenny Lewis soldiers forward. Her voice, her wit and unique style were always front and center in that band — it seemed inevitable upon Kiley’s demise that Lewis would go solo. Her first solo record, Rabbit Fur Coat, featured the Watson Twins on harmonies and had a divine and unexpected elegance. Critics applauded. The Voyager goes straight for California Breezy, from the conversational tone to the Fleetwood strum. Lewis has her game face on, cracking wise about hand jobs and liquor stores, mixing just the right amount of nasty into her cocktail to make it all feel personal. — Andrew Watson

Adebisi Shank, This is the Third Album of a Band Called Adebisi Shank

8.5/10

Sargent House

Adebisi Shank are commonly referenced as a math rock band, but don’t let that frighten you off. People always want to know what the new sound is, as if the pop music status quo of retro-regurgitation and hyphenated-punk-genres aren’t enough anymore! I eagerly direct your attention to Adebisi Shank, specifically, their third album. Adebisi Shank make (mostly) instrumental music, the kind that reaches into your skull, grabs a fistful of cerebral cortex and rips it out of your ear holes. Sounds are born and then die in a span of seconds, synths twist into arena guitars and back again, willfully ignorant of tradition or familiarity. Hints of brilliant, mad genius lie within. — Andrew Watson

Godsmack, 1000hp Universal

6.5/10

“Time to rewind,” frontman Sully Erna sings at the start of Godsmack’s sixth album. He then launches into a lyrical chronicle of the hard rock band’s rise from Boston nobodies nearly 20 years ago to the stadiumsized success they’ve enjoyed ever since. It’s a great leadoff to the high-octane set that cranks the throttle and the volume, and never looks back again. The band races through familiar riffs (“FML,” “Locked & Loaded”) and new melodic touches (“Generation Day,” the obviously titled “Something Different”) with attitude to burn. Like the classic dragster on the album’s cover, Godsmack might not be everyone’s speed, but sounding well maintained, and still firing on all cylinders, the band is indisputably impressive at what they do. — Eric Mitts

The Gaslight Anthem, Get Hurt Island

7.5/10

Practically pigeon-holed as the punk-rock successors to Bruce Springsteen, no one can blame The Gaslight Anthem for making it obvious they listen to A LOT of other music. As raw as any of their previous four albums, Get Hurt sounds like their statement record: that they are their own band. The title track is as beautiful and painful a ballad as the band has ever written, and frontman Brian Fallon has really come into his own as a vocalist; his soulful vocals uniting the album’s range of guitar textures and varied tempos. Overall, some of the slower moments drag, but the side-street diversions the band has taken here shouldn’t diminish the honest rock ‘n’ roll flame they have burning in their hearts. — Eric Mitts

Porter Robinson, Worlds Astralwerks

8/10

Although only 22, rising EDM star Porter Robinson sounds mature beyond his years. And honestly, with a wondrous record like his full-length debut Worlds, he might just mature his still-adolescent genre along with him. As much about beauty and brilliance as it is about bass and bounce, the album at times sounds like a raved up take on the likes of Passion Pit (on “Sad Machine,” “Lionhearted” and elsewhere) while it sifts through a surprising emotional range with an even more surprising assortment of sounds, particularly on the symphonic standout “Sea of Voices.” Simultaneously a think-piece and a party-starter, the set proves Robinson has the potential to truly change how the EDM world could spin for years to come. — Eric Mitts

Spider Bags Frozen Letter Merge

9/10

“I fear it’s true / we got problems / And there ain’t too much we can do to stop them.” Rock and roll plays best as controlled chaos. Mick and Keith perfected it in 1972 with Exile on Main Street, and each generation produces a disciple of drunken rhythm and blues, from The Black Crowes to the Replacements to Ty Segall to a million spots between. Spider Bags have (literally) been bouncing around the Chapel Hill area for a decade or so, dropping killer albums like 2012’s Shake My Head on labels that couldn’t do them justice. For their fourth official LP, they’ve jumped to the much more visible and capable Merge Records, and the opportunity has apparently not been lost on them. Frozen Letter is the best thing I’ve heard them do, a 30-minute headspin of garage band clichés, fuzzy guitar riffs and wind tunnel vocal reverb that somehow works as a psyche manifesto?! The group’s casual approach absolutely seals the deal. Lead singer Dan McGee’s Southern drawl and the group’s messy, drifting shag taps directly into the heart of complacent Americans everywhere. Yes, we want to rock, but we don’t necessarily want to always have to think about it so much. Just do it to us. Spider Bags don’t require much in the way of literal interpretation. Horns cut loose out of nowhere just because they

FKA twigs LP1

Young Turks

can on the twin-lead-like-Thin-Lizzy opener “Back With You Again in the World” before shifting straight into head-bobbing jangle-wave (“Japanese Vacation”) and slop-rock sleaze punk (“Chem Trails”). This is all in the first eight minutes! McGee lays a bit lower for “Coffin Car,” yet, even that song’s melancholic bent can’t wipe the grin out of his voice. This stuff is too much fun to take seriously, even when you’re supposed to. Merge main man/Superchunk guitarist Mac McCaughan provides lead guitar for the record’s highpoint, the epic “We Got Problems,” a track that features swirling blasts of electric sound pushing you further and further into your La-ZBoy, into yourself, into the depths of your own expanding subconscious, into real space, until it suddenly stops, and you return to Earth. It’s sort of trippy. The message here seems to be, we’re all fucked anyway, we may as well have some fun while we’re here. Plug it in, turn it up really loud and be happy. — Andrew Watson

8.5/10

Forget flipping the script — FKA twigs throws the old R&B playbook completely out the window. This debut album from British singer/songwriter Tahliah Barnett gives a much-needed breath of fresh air into a genre that had long stagnated with simplistic studio production and overdone diva turns by ignoring all the rules (rhythmic, melodic or otherwise). Barnett is something wholly original — a new voice, who’s undeniably talented to the trained ear, and wildly exciting, especially to those who haven’t given mainstream R&B much of a chance since Timbaland teamed with Aaliyah in the ‘90s. On jams like “Lights On” and “Hours,” she takes the anxious, slow motion energy of electronic artists like Purity Ring, and ups the raw sensuality, both with her breathy vocals and her palpable sense of anticipation. Bringing to mind Bjork more than Lorde, the stark, minimalistic arrangements throb with Barnett’s sense of longing. Yet, for all its cold sterility on the surface, everything still emanates with the ever-present heat of desire burning somewhere deep inside her, especially on breakout single “Two Weeks.” On

“Closer,” she sounds outright haunted by her loneliness, the synth lead chasing her throughout the track’s verses before she finally succumbs in the song’s closing coda, singing: “All those years in isolation…isolation…isolation.” Like any risk-taker, Barnett carefully finds just the right balance between beauty and breakdown, pleasure and pain. And she dangles there, for nearly the entirety of the album, her voice warbling with the digital ebb and flow of her music, attempting to extend that perfect precipice into the infinite. It’s an ostentatious move that some will describe as trying too hard, but why can’t defiant effort regain the sense of crazy, sexy, cool it once had? — Eric Mitts

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volume 14 issue 9 september

local CD Reviews Mat Churchill & the Backyard Town, Self-titled Grand Rapids, Mich.

Mat Churchill has been a man around town for quite a while now: driving the indie rock groove of the now-defunct outfit The Little Village and bellying the beauty of the folk-rock group Chain of Lakes. On his second solo album — the first with new backing band The Backyard Town — he lets his richly deep voice rise to the top on this collection of folk, rock, and country numbers. With a decidedly Midwestern feel in both guitar tone and true grit, the 10-song set finds that perfect place between a firm grip and a warm embrace, where honesty and friendship overlap so effortlessly. Catch the band live and pick up the album when it’s released Sept. 13 at Founders taproom. — Eric Mitts

Jesse Ray & The Carolina Catfish, Gravedigger Grand Rapids, Mich.

This debut album from the duo of vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Jesse Ray and drummer Josh Worsham is a back-to-basics rock ‘n’ roll record that digs deep into the genre’s history. Their sound mixes retro cool with vital energy, bouncing through the doo-wop twist ‘n’ shout of “Chicago” and the rockabilly swing of “Lonesome” with the same sort of manic fervor found on lost LPS from decades ago. Ray has the voice to back up his completely bare-bones approach, belting out standout track “Beer City USA” and closing number “Soul Singer” with a deep bluesy howl, while Worsham can definitely swim with the big fish, churning through the set with a propulsive power worthy of being listed as the rest of the band. — Eric Mitts

Inflatable Best Friend, Ectoplasmic Puke Wizard Kalamazoo, Mich.

With an album name like Ectoplasmic Puke Wizard, and tracks that sport equally as enigmatic titles, you can tell that Inflatable Best Friend doesn’t really want you to understand them — they want to make noise. That they do with this most recent release, which weighs in at 10 tracks and was recorded at Kalamazoo’s Double Phelix Studios. IBF goes nuts with their noise-y brand of punk rock, but sports a decent dose of groove on this album, highlighted in tracks like “Lesbian Death Bed.” It’s certainly not your average fast-paced, acid-dropping punk album. — Jayson Bussa

Vagabonds, Discontent Grand Rapids, Mich.

This five-song body of work from the Grand Rapids-based group wraps up gravelly, punk rock vocals around acoustic strumming and melodic verses and choruses. It’s almost a Jekyll and Hyde feeling; which Jake Nellis (vocalist) are you going to get — the docile, sensitive one on tracks like “Anywhere (But Here)” and “Embers,” or the screaming, screeching one on “7:24”? The whole album drips with emotion and spaces out those heavy moments with some really happy-go-lucky pieces of composition. — Jayson Bussa

American WiFi, Hotspot

Grand Rapids, Mich.

For a fresh-faced quartet like Grand Rapids-based American WiFi, the band emits a surprisingly adult contemporary vibe. Actually, you get a lot of musical flavors on your palate with their release Hotspot. Billed as a fusion of gritty rock with some pop sensibility, the album holds true on the opening track “Little Games.” After that, the final four tracks are pretty ballad-y, yet, maturely composed and executed. This is your pretty straight-laced alternative rock band, and they assume the role well. — Jayson Bussa

The Soil & The Sun, Meridian Audiotree, Grand Rapids, Mich. The Soil & The Sun evade easy classification on their third album, captivating listeners with a mesmerizing set of songs that work together to create a truly massive body of work unparalleled on the local scene. The varied and layered instrumentation, the deep and disparate tones, the dynamic rise and fall of it all: Meridian defies all boundaries and genres with an all-encompassing sense of orchestral wonder. The ensemble’s ever-growing legion of fans should already know the dirge-like darkness of “Samyaza” and the hypnotic harmonies of “Are You?,” but that’s only an inkling of the album’s sprawling musical grandeur. Only the best music can be described as an experience, and Meridian is an epic whirlwind demanding close, and repeated, listening. — Eric Mitts

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EVENT GUIDE Monday, September 1

Bassbin, Billy’s Lounge Lew Russ, Coral Gables One Vinyl Party, Tip Top Deluxe

Tuesday, September 2,

Poker League, The B.O.B Deep Down, Billy’s Lounge Bell’s BREWSday Tuesday, Fieldstone Grill Melissa Dylan, Gun Lake Casino Open Mic Night, Park Theater Sam Kenny Open Mic, Rocky’s Bar & Grill Meanwhile Movie: The Big Lebowski, Wealthy Theatre

Wednesday, September 3

Campus Karaoke, Billy’s Lounge Melissa Dylan, Shared Passion, Gee Daddy’s Big Blues Review, Gun Lake Casino Open Mic Night, Lemonjello’s Sam Kenny Open Mic, Tip Top Deluxe Jazz Mix Night, The Union Cabaret & Grille

Thursday, September 4

The Sharrows, Bell’s Eccentric Cafe ‘90s Holla Back, Billy’s Lounge Reviving The Era, Bobarino’s Carrie the Musical, Circle Theatre Comedy Night featuring Dave Waite and Kate Brindle, Czar’s 505 Quinn Dahle, Dr. Grins The Kickstand Band, The Vonneguts, The Cheetahs, Junk Food Junkies, Founders Brewing Co. Douglas James Band, Gee Daddy’s Big Blues Review, Gun Lake Casino Fire Kitten, Mulligan’s Pub Michelle Chenard, One Trick Pony The Go Rounds, Dena Dena Dena, Care, The Pyramid Scheme

Friday, September 5

Horseshows & Hand Grenades, New Old Calvery, Bell’s Eccentric Cafe Soul Syndicate, Billy’s Lounge GlamHammer, Bobarino’s Greg Poltrock, Coral Gables Carrie the Musical, Circle Theatre Reggae Night feat. the 10 Year Anniversary Celebration - Indika Reggae Band Reunion, Czar’s 505 Quinn Dahle, Dr. Grins DJ Zerry, Flanagan’s Irish Pub Tunebugs, Foundry Hall Libido Funk Circus, Four Winds Casino Douglas James Band, Azz Izz, Gun Lake Casino Drop 35, H.O.M.E. inside The B.O.B. Sun Stereo, The Intersection Decades, The Landing Storm Ross, Invisible Mansion, Soft Act, Mulligan’s Pub Vincent Hayes, New Holland Brewing Company Tony Allen, Chicago Afrobeat Project, Afro Zuma, The Pyramid Scheme John Sanger, River City Saloon CONTROL w/Colin Clive, Rocky’s Uppercut Country Night featuring Kris Hitchcock, Shakespeare’s Lower Level The Madeira, Lazy Genius, Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill JGT, Whiskey River Saloon

Saturday, September 6

Zion Lion; Oktoberfest Celebration, Bell’s Eccentric Cafe Roosevelt Diggs, Cameron Blake, Adrian Krygowski, Meredith, Billy’s Lounge Carrie the Musical, Circle Theatre Greg Poltrock, Coral Gables Aidan O’Toole Performs, The Curragh Union Guns, Czar’s 505 Grand Rapids Veteran Expo, DeltaPlex Arena Real Comedians of Hollywood, DeVos Performance Hall

The Black Keys @ van andel arena sept. 7

Quinn Dahle, Dr. Grins Scott Weiland, FireKeepers Casino Hotel Reviving the Era, Flanagan’s Irish Pub Hank Mowery and The Hawktones, Founders Brewing Co.

Platinum, Four Winds Casino Ear Candy, Gun Lake Casino The Gorilla Music Battle of the Bands featuring Skinjacket, Pink Droyd, The Intersection Thompson Square, Little River Casino Resort Decades, The Landing Midwest Skies, Head North, Maybe Next Time, Mulligan’s Pub JGJ Band, New Holland Brewing Company Delilah DeWylde & the Lost Boys, Old Dog Tavern Great Notion Performs, The Park Theatre Wine & Harvest Festival featuring Drop 35, Paw Paw The Straight Arrows, Rocky’s Bar & Grill Exit 41, Saugatuck Brewing Digeometric, Shakespeare’s Lower Level The Monsters, The JetBeats, Tip Top Deluxe Raven, Whiskey River Saloon

Sunday, September 7

Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra, Founders Brewing Co. Sheryl Crow, Frederik Meijer Gardens GRAM Selects ArtPrize 2013, Grand Rapids Art Museum Ron Devon, Gun Lake Casino Man or Astro-Man? and The Pack A.D., The Pyramid Scheme Shawn Mullins, Seven Steps Up Bikers for Babies, US 131 Motorsports Park The Black Keys, Cage the Elephant, Van Andel Arena

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volume 14 issue 9 september

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Event Guide

Monday, September 8

Square Dance Kalamazoo, Bell’s Eccentric Café Bassbin, Billy’s Lounge Tulipanes, Centennial Park Shelagh Brown, Gun Lake Casino Open Mic Night with Alex Mays, Old Dog Tavern X & Not In The Face, The Pyramid Scheme One Vinyl Party, Tip Top Deluxe The Eagles, Van Andel Arena WYCE: An Evening with Vieux Farka Toure, Wealthy Theatre

Tuesday, September 9

Deep Down, Billy’s Lounge Bell’s BREWSday Tuesday, Fieldstone Grill Music Lessons, Foundry Hall Dueling Pianos, Gun Lake Casino Crown the Empire, The Intersection Dweezil Zappa Masterclass, Zappa Plays Zappa, Kalamazoo State Theatre Open Mic Night, Park Theater Joyce Manor, The Exquisites, The Fever Haze, The Pyramid Scheme Sam Kenny Open Mic, Rocky’s Bar & Grill Comedy Night, Tip Top Deluxe Turn2Blue, Unruly Brewing Meanwhile Movie: Labyrinth, Wealthy Theatre

Wednesday, September 10

Movie In The Beer Garden, Bell’s Eccentric Café Campus Karaoke, Billy’s Lounge Tulipanes, Centennial Park Carrie the Musical, Circle Theatre

GRAND RAPIDS SUMMER BEER FEST @ HEARTSIDE PARK Sept. 13

Tony Reynolds, Gun Lake Casino The Hold Steady & Cheap Girls, The Pyramid Scheme Mustered Courage, Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill Jazz Mix Night, The Union Cabaret & Grille Sam Kenny Open Mic, Tip Top Deluxe

Thursday, September 11

Leftover Salmon, Billy Payne, Bell’s Eccentric Café Fly Paper, Bobarino’s ‘90s Holla Back, Billy’s Lounge Carrie the Musical, Circle Theatre Dr. Grins’ Sweet 16, Dr. Grins Jakubi, Founders Brewing Co. Fairey Fox, Gun Lake Casino Heaters Super Medusa and Pluto Monday, Mulligan’s Pub The Life and Times, Cosmonaut, The Pyramid Scheme WMU School of Music (Jazz Mix), The Union Cabaret & Grille Cash’d Out, Chuck Whiting & the Tip Rail Ramblers, Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill

Friday, September 12

Cash’d Out, Bell’s Eccentric Café Skankadank, Devin & the Dead Frets, Billy’s Lounge Carrie the Musical, Circle Theatre Tommy Orr, Coral Gables

Decades, The Dock Dr. Grins’ Sweet 16, Dr. Grins Travis Atkinson, Flanagan’s Irish Pub Tunebugs, Foundry Hall The Hat Guys, Four Winds Casino The Rock Show, Gun Lake Casino Benefest fundraiser for 20 Liters featuring The Crane Wives, Vox Vidorra, The Accidentals, Channing & Quinn, The Intersection Social Distortion, The Whigs, Johnny Two Bags, Kalamazoo State Theatre Baptized by Blood MMA - Honor, Kellogg Arena Christopher Sloan, Dreaming Trees, New Holland Brewing Co. The Mainstays, The Park Theatre Guided by Voices & Joseph Airport, The Pyramid Scheme Hired Hands, Old Dog Tavern Taking Back Sunday, The Used, The Orbit Room The Moonrays, Rocky’s Bar & Grill CONTROL w/Colin Clive, Rocky’s Uppercut Brendan James, Seven Steps Up

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volume 14 issue 9 september

DAILY SPECIALS MONDAYS FREE BINGO prizes, no charge 21+ 10PM - 1AM $3.95 Chili $1.50 Old Style $3 Stoli’s & Jack’s

TUESDAYS 633 Ottawa NW rockysbarandgrill.com 616.356.2346

SATURDAYS

Live Music, Every Saturday. Door starts at 8:30PM $5.00 for ages 21+ 9:30PM - 2AM

SEPTEMBER 6 The Straight Arrows

SEPTEMBER 13 Blackgate, Room Full Of Elephants, Dustin Mason, Breacher

SEPTEMBER 20 STAY SUBVERSIVE PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS:

Red Legs, Knives Are Quiet, The Love Hate

Mon-Fri 12PM - 2PM Sat 3PM - 2AM Sun 1PM - 2AM Kitchen Open - 1AM

HAPPY HOUR

$3.95

Mon-Sat 2PM - 7PM $3.50 MI craft pints $2 domestics $2.50 well drinks

• bacon or greek rangoons • rosemary garlic cheese dip • cheese biscuits & bacon jam • greek fries • bleu cheese fries • hot fries

OPEN MIC NIGHT w/ Sam Kenny no cover, 18+ 9:30PM - 2AM $6.95/lb. wings $1 off Mich. craft pints

WEDNESDAYS BACONPALOOZA free bacon 9PM - 11PM $2 well drinks $3 fireballs

$4.95 • bacon-wrapped chicken • beer battered portabellas

THE MOONRAYS

SSeptember e 12 & 26, Live Surf Rock No cover, All ages, 7PM

SEPTEMBER 27

FOOTBALL THURSDAYS FRIDAYS CONTROL w/ DJ Colin Clive No cover, 21+ 10PM - 2AM.

FALL FLANNEL FOLK FESTIVAL

Benjamin Riley and Michael Riley, Lukas Wilson Kyle Rasche, Mat Churchill, Nicholas James Thomasma, Stovepipe Stover, Nathan Kalish, Justin Van Haven, Eric Raby, Fein & Smith

CONTROL EVERY FRIDAY w/ DJ Colin Clive No cover, 21+, 10PM - 2AM $2 PBR bottles

SUNDAYS HAPPY HOUR ALL DAY & NIGHT

volume 14 issue 9 september

recoilmag.com

Event Guide

GOV’T MULE

@ KALAMAZOO STATE THEATRE Sept. 13

Saturday, September 13

Monophonics; Eighth Annual Hot Dog Eating Competition, Fifth Annual Bell’s Homebrew Competition Kick-Off & Expo, Bell’s Eccentric Café Jimmy Johnson, The 411 Club Eastown Street Fair featuring Suport, Imperial Sun Crusher, Flex.0, Dean Martian, Jes Kramer, Sext Farm: A Tribute To Spinal Tap, AB!, Bermudas, Billy’s Lounge Hip Hop Dance Workshop with Dena Rizzo, Calvin College Tulipanes, Centennial Park Carrie the Musical, Circle Theatre

Tommy Orr, Coral Gables Cottage Bar’s Chili Cook- Off, Cottage Bar & Restaurant Ian Gould, The Curragh Drop 35, The Dock Dr. Grins’ Sweet 16, Dr. Grins Eastown Street Fair Outdoor Stage featuring Rick Chyme, The Glendanles Brands, King Crabapple, Eastown Jazz Ensemble, PotatoeBabies, Otis Blueswell Jr., Asamu Johnson & the Associates of the Blues, Jesse Ray & the Carolina Catfish, Eastown Rodney Carrington, FireKeepers Casino Hotel Deep Greens and Blues, Flanagan’s Irish Pub

REBOOT YOUR CAREER hic ap r G er b & sign e W De

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Recoil.indd 1

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Grand Rapids (616) 574-7500 nhgreatlakes.com 6/16/2014 11:32:22 AM

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volume 14 issue 9 september

Event Guide

A day to remember

SWITCHFOOT

@ THE deltaplex Sept. 15

Mat Churchill & the Backyard Town, Valentiger, Lambo, Founders Brewing Co. Sushi Roll, Four Winds Casino The Rock Show, Gun Lake Casino Grand Rapids Summer Beer Fest, Heartside Park Michigan Irish Music Festival, Heritage Landing Silverstein, The Intersection Gov’t Mule, Kalamazoo State Theatre Battle Creek Cereal Killers present About Jam Time, Kellogg Arena Flesh for the Beast, Skinjacket, Tru-Burn, Penny’s Ruined, Fallen, Louie’s Bar and Rocket Lounge Rogue Sattelites, Lake Timber, Lazy Genius, Mulligan’s Pub Jane Rose & the Deadend Boys, Delilah DeWylde & the Lost Boys, New Holland Brewing Co. Branden Mann & The Reprimand, Old Dog Tavern Clutch, Lionize, American Sharks, The Orbit Room Olivia Mainville, The Park Theatre Perrin Backyard Beer Bash, Perrin Brewing Company Blackgate, Room Full of Elephants, Dustin Mason, Rocky’s Bar & Grill Trace Duo, Saugatuck Brewing Delilah Dewylde and the Lost Boys, Jane

Rose and the Deadend Boys, Tip Top Deluxe Michatucky, Whiskey River Saloon Decades, White House

Sunday, September 14

West Michigan Jazz Society presents Monday Night Jazz Series, Bobarino’s Tulipanes, Centennial Park Carrie the Musical, Circle Theatre Brandon Ward, Ben Soper, Gun Lake Casino Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School presents R.Crumb feat. Vaz Defranzia, Rezervoir Lounge Janiva Magness, Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill

Monday, September 15

Bassbin, Billy’s Lounge A Day To Remember, Bring Me The Horizon Chiodos, Motionless In White, DeltaPlex Dennie Middleton, Gun Lake Casino GR Beer Tasting Class Week 7: Michigan Cider and Mead, Harmony Brewing Company Iron and Wine, Kalamazoo State Theatre Open Mic Night with Alex Mays, Old Dog Tavern One Vinyl Party, Tip Top Deluxe

432 N Park St NE Grand Rapids, MI 49525 VideoGameChangers.com

@ CALVIN COLLEGE Sept. 20

Tuesday, September 16

Deep Down, Billy’s Lounge Bell’s BREWSday Tuesday, Fieldstone Grill Zane’s Way, Gun Lake Casino Savoy, Bright Lights, The Intersection Mike Birbiglia, Kalamazoo State Theatre Open Mic Night with Branden Mann, Old Dog Tavern Open Mic Night, Park Theater The Black Dahlia Murder, Lorna Shore, Flood the Desert, The Pyramid Scheme Karisa Wilson, Salt of the Earth Sam Kenny Open Mic, Rocky’s Bar & Grill Meanwhile Movie: The Jerk, Wealthy Theatre

Wednesday, September 17

Campus Karaoke, Billy’s Lounge Carrie the Musical, Circle Theatre Traditional Irish Music Session, Fenian’s Irish Pub The New Rule, Gun Lake Casino She Keeps Bees with Shilpa Ray, Mulligan’s Pub Sam Kenny Open Mic, Tip Top Deluxe Jazz Mix Night, The Union Cabaret & Grille

Thursday, September 18

Steve Rivers, The B.O.B. Dani Jamerson, Bobarino’s 90’s Holla Back, Billy’s Lounge Carrie the Musical, Circle Theatre Tim Meadows, Dr. Grins Hymn for Her, Butcher Knives, Founders Brewing Co. St. Pauli’s Day, Griffin Grill and Pub Wingman, Gun Lake Casino Nonpoint, The Intersection Reviving The Era, DeSoto, Mulligan’s Pub Ben Daniels Band Performs, Old Dog Tavern Cymbals Eat Guitars & Palaces, The Pyramid Scheme WMU School of Music (Jazz Mix), The Union Cabaret & Grille

Friday, September 19

Fly Paper, Bell’s Eccentric Café Starfarm, Billy’s Lounge Carrie the Musical, Circle Theatre Nick Ayoub Performs, Coral Gables Decades, Double Six Bar & Grille Tim Meadows, Dr. Grins

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Event Guide Event Guide

inSANE CLOWN POSSE @ THE ORBIT ROOM, Sept. 25

Tunebugs, Foundry Hall One Night Band, Four Winds Casino Stone Thrown, Gun Lake Casino Drop 35, Kirby Grill Live Salsa Dancing, Park Theater Grand Rapids Soul Club & J Rocc, The Pyramid Scheme The Vanlears, New Holland Brewing Co. CONTROL w/Colin Clive, Rocky’s Uppercut Janis Siegel, Saugatuck Center for the Arts

Saturday, September 20

Dead Again, Bell’s Eccentric Café Hip Pocket, Billy’s Lounge Carrie the Musical, Circle Theatre Nick Ayoub, Coral Gables Toby Bresnahan, The Curragh Decades, Double Six Bar & Grille Tim Meadows, Dr. Grins Funkle Jessie’s, Flanagan’s Irish Pub Alexis, Tunde Olaniran, Andre Obin, Millie and Jam, Founders Brewing Co. Shock Roxy, Four Winds Casino Bronk Brothers, Gun Lake Casino Switchfoot, Gungor, Hoogenboom Center Mega ‘80s, The Intersection Drop 35, Kirby Grill Secret Grief, The Fever Haze, Runaway Brother, DXVXD, Faces and Crowds, Lemonjello’s Joel Mabus, Mangia Mangia Bobby Meader, Jesse Ray & The Carolina Catfish, Mulligan’s Pub Jim Shaneberger, New Holland Brewing Co. Shealgh Brown Band, Old Dog Tavern The Trace, One Trick Pony Zion Lion, The Park Theatre Red Legs, Knives Are Quiet, Rocky’s Bar & Grill Last Call Band, Saugatuck Brewing Mike Morgan, Hank Mowery & The Hawktones, Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill Cliff Erickson, The Union Cabaret & Grille Center Stage, Whiskey River Saloon

Sunday, September 21

Five Finger Death Punch, Volbeat, DeltaPlex Arena

Fallasburg Fall Festival for the Arts, Fallasburg Park Dueling Pianos, Gun Lake Casino stART: a benefit for Avenue for the Arts, San Chez Bistro

Monday, September 22

Bassbin, Billy’s Lounge Everett Domeier, Gun Lake Casino GR Beer Tasting Class Week 8: Extreme Beers-High Gravity and Barrel and Bottle Aging, Harmony Brewing Company Open Mic Night with Alex Mays, Old Dog Tavern OC45, Jukebox Romantics, Auslander, Murder Party, Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill

Tuesday, September 23

Deep Down, Billy’s Lounge Bell’s BREWSday Tuesday, Fieldstone Grill Crossroads, Gun Lake Casino Open Mic Night with Branden Mann, Old Dog Tavern Open Mic Night, Park Theater Sam Kenny Open Mic, Rocky’s Bar & Grill Comedy Night, Tip Top Deluxe Meanwhile Movie: The NeverEnding Story, Wealthy Theatre

Wednesday, September 24

Campus Karaoke, Billy’s Lounge Tanya Marie Harris, Gun Lake Casino Gina Sicilia, Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill Jazz Mix Night, The Union Cabaret & Grille

Thursday, September 25

‘90s Holla Back, Billy’s Lounge The JetBeats, Bobarino’s Chris Barnes, Dr. Grins Matuto, Founders Brewing Co. Entourage, Gun Lake Casino Insane Clown Posse, Mushroomhead, Da Mafie 6ix, Jellyroll, The Orbit Room Howie Day, Seven Steps Up

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volume 14 issue 9 september

recoilmag.com

Event Guide Two Houses, Shakespeare’s Lower Level Whitey Morgan and the 78’s, The Dushanes, Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill WMU School of Music (Jazz Mix), The Union Cabaret & Grille

Friday, September 26

Brena, The B.O.B Legal Immigrants, Heavy Glow, Billy’s Lounge Tom Northup, Coral Gables No Outlet’s West Michigan Improv Troupe, Dog Story Theater Hell’s Half Mile Film Music Festival, Downtown Bay City Chris Barnes, Dr. Grins DJ Zerry, Flanagan’s Irish Pub Tunebugs, Foundry Hall Stache!, Four Winds Casino Drop 35, Harley Store Abraham, The Dread Return, Mulligan’s Pub Nobody’s Darlin’, New Holland Brewery Mine Enemies Fall (MEF), Papa Pete’s Kari Lynch Brand, The Park Theatre 2014 Harvest Beer Tent, Rockford Brewing Company The Moonrays, Rocky’s Bar & Grill CONTROL w/Colin Clive, Rocky’s Uppercut Amy Speace, Seven Steps Up Fried Egg Nebula, Shakespeare’s Lower Level

Saturday, September 27

THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING HAPPENING!

Funkadesi, Bell’s Eccentric Café Friends With Benefits: A Tribute to The Scene, Billy’s Lounge Fiddle Face, Cellar Brewing Company Tom Northup, Coral Gables The Lash, The Curragh

TUESDAYS

Electric Purge Music Festival featuring Datsik, Grizzly, DeltaPlex Arena No Outlet’s West Michigan Improv Troupe, Dog Story Theater Chris Barnes, Dr. Grins The Cheap Dates, Flanagan’s Irish Pub Afro Zuma, Founders Brewing Co. Smash Kings, Four Winds Casino BBI, Gun Lake Casino Skinjacket presents Girls Night Out, Louie’s Bar and Rocket Lounge Roustabout, New Holland Brewing Co. The Truckstop Cobras, Nunica Bar Genetics, Park Theater Super Happy Funtime Burlesque, The Pyramid Scheme 2014 Harvest Beer Tent, Rockford Brewing Company Fall Flannel Folk Festival featuring Benjamin Riley and Michael Riley, Lukas Wilson, Kyle Rasche, Mat Churchill, Nik James, Stovepipe Stover, Nathan Kalish, Justin Van Haven, Rocky’s Bar & Grill Big Boss Blues Trio, Saugatuck Brewing The Soul Syndicate, Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill Bittercreek, Whiskey River Saloon

HOWIE DAY

@ SEVEN STEPS UP Sept. 25

Sunday, September 28

No Outlet’s West Michigan Improv Troupe, Dog Story Theater Jessica Lea Mayfield, Founders Brewing Co. Great Scott, Gun Lake Casino

Monday, September 29

Bassbin, Billy’s Lounge Dennie Middleton, Gun Lake Casino GR Beer Tasting Class Week 9: Infection

ALL YOU CAN EAT WINGS NIGHT! OPEN MIC NIGHT ON THE DECK 6-9PM HOSTED BY BRIAN ADAMS TUESDAY SEPT. 9 & 23 HOSTED BY BRUCE COLIN EVANS TUESDAY SEPT. 2, 16, 30 FOOD & DRINK SPECIALS

WEDNESDAYS

free appetizer for anyone who performs!

Mutations and Off Flavors, Harmony Brewing Company Open Mic Night with Alex Mays, Old Dog Tavern One Vinyl Party, Tip Top Deluxe

Tuesday, September 30 Deep Down, Billy’s Lounge

Bell’s BREWSday Tuesday, Fieldstone Grill Sweet J Band, Gun Lake Casino Open Mic Night with Branden Mann, Old Dog Tavern Open Mic Night, Park Theater Code Orange, Twitching Tongues, Discourse, Detain, The Pyramid Scheme Sam Kenny Open Mic, Rocky’s Bar & Grill Meanwhile Movie: Dirty Dancing, Wealthy Theatre

BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR 3RD ANNUAL

FALL INTO WINTER

KARAOKE CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT COMING SOON.

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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volume 14 issue 9 september