Say You Were A Fan First

Crosscut Kings Say You Were a Fan First

NoMi artists to watch

By Craig Manning

Who are the next big bright stars on the Michigan musical landscape? Who’s the next band to become a local favorite — or, maybe even more than that, a true national or international act? We can’t claim to have a crystal ball, but we do think these three artists have a certain X-factor about them. From glam rock to modern pop to the hardestworking duo we know, here are our picks for the Michigan musicians to watch.

Distant Stars

It’s not every day you see someone performing in a local venue who seems like they could — and probably should — be a legitimate rock star. But such is the case with Jakey Thomas, the extraordinarily charismatic frontman of Northern Michigan quartet Distant Stars. Thin, wiry, sporting long curly brown hair, and often dressed in flamboyant women’s outfits, Thomas exudes the kind of star power that is rare to see on the stage in an arena — let along a local bar, brewery, or where we first saw him mesmerizing a crowd: inside an audience pressed between a taco truck and the Mountain Express chair lift at the foot of Boyne Mountain. The rest of the band (which includes guitarist and bassist Tai Drury and drummer/keyboardist Al Riesenbeck, both members of the Harbor Springs-based The Marsupials, as well as multi-instrumentalist Andy Fettig) more than keeps pace, delivering a vibrant and tight sound that balances funk, glam, punk, and classic rock ‘n’ roll with aplomb.

Not just any band can pull off Rolling Stones and David Bowie covers without resorting to pale impressions of Mick Jagger and the Thin White Duke. But Distant Stars have the talent, the showmanship, and the chutzpah to do justice to these legendary music history paragons. (On their Facebook page, they’re even bold enough to proclaim that they sound “like that one time David Bowie and Mick Jagger were found in bed together.”)

Distant Stars have also got a broad array of musical influences that they’re willing to put into play, which only makes things more exciting. From their aforementioned glam and rock roots to elements of hip-hop (see their recent single “Taylor,” a spooky rap-rock hybrid that recalls trendy 2000s band Gorillaz), all the way to slick mainstream pop (their cover of the iconic Britney Spears hit “Toxic”). In an era where being a rock star often means pushing the envelope, melding genres, and emphasizing image and stage presence above all else (The 1975, one of the biggest rock bands in the world, have ridden this equation to global adoration), Distant Stars might just be the next Northern Michigan musicians on their way to superstardom. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

i.am.james i.am.james relocated to Nashville in 2017 to chase her music career aspirations, but the pop songwriter’s roots are still firmly planted in Northern Michigan. She grew up in the region, attended Interlochen Arts Academy for high school, and regularly finds her way back to the area for performances at local venues like Taproot Cider House, Mari Vineyard, and Two K Winery.

After high school, i.am.james headed off Boston to hone her craft at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, and even spent time studying at Berklee’s campus in Valencia, Spain. All these places and experiences inform the i.am.james sonic brand — a worldly concoction of sounds that incorporates everything from very modern pop and R&B touches to more traditional singer-songwriter textures, all the way to far-from-home flourishes like African drum rhythms. Her wispy voice recalls indie-pop wunderkinds like Maggie Rogers and Ellie Goulding, while her production skills – another talent she picked up in her time at Interlochen and Berklee — position her and her chameleonic musical approach closer to pop superstars like Drake, Ed Sheeren, and Lorde.

An i.am.james full-length album has yet to materialize, but the artist has released two fully-produced singles since taking her talents to Nashville. The first one, 2017’s “Good Distraction,” is a rhythmicallydriven number that shows off i.am.james’ hip-hop and R&B influences. The second, last year’s “Headstrong,” has a more restrained approach that puts the spotlight on her vocal skills and melody writing. The songs are richly produced and radio-ready, each with plenty of potential to sit on a playlist alongside some of today’s biggest mainstream pop stars. In other words, don’t be surprised if you start hearing this northern Michigan girl everywhere at some point in the next few years. Crosscut Kings Andy Bast convened a group of fellow folk

In last fall’s Live Music issue, the Northern musicians to record a batch of songs. Those Express dubbed Crosscut Kings as the “Rookies origins sound like just about any “putting the of the Year” for the northern Michigan music band together” tale that’s ever been told, but scene. It was a fitting designation for the the twist was in the songs themselves. Rather Petoskey-hailing duo (consisting of guitarist than recording a collection of originals, Bast Jim Bonney and harmonica player Charlie and company were inspired to remake a batch Witthoeft) whose musical journey had been of old and very much forgotten Michigan something of a whirlwind up to that point. folk songs. The resulting album sounds like a After meeting for the first time in early 2018, transmission from another era. Bonney and Witthoeft had quickly formed a The story behind Michigan-I-O actually band, created a hallmark sound, and racked begins more than 80 years ago, when up a ton of local bookings. While the duo still historian, folklorist, and ethnomusicologist haven’t made a record together — or even put spent a decade traveling the country and up a single song for streaming on Spotify — collecting interviews and field recordings of they have only further cemented themselves folk songs for the Library of Congress. That as one of northern Michigan’s most promising collection of recordings, which includes musical exports. thousands of folk songs captured on tape

Part of what makes Crosscut Kings so from different parts of the United States, is endearing as a band — beyond their instantly the backbone for the Library of Congress’s appealing mix of swampy Mississippi delta Archive of Folk Culture (previously known blues and rugged backwoods country music as the Archive of American Folk Song). — is their clear love for what they do. When From Michigan alone, Lomax collected bands have been together for years, you can more than 250 discs and eight reels of film, see the comfort, trust, and camaraderie the all documenting folk songs that captured members have for one another when you snapshots of Michigan life. The Michiganwatch them make music together. With I-O album includes 10 of those songs, reBonney and Witthoeft, those elements are recorded and reimagined with modern already there, but they also still play with the studio technology, but still carrying the palpable sense of excitement and discovery atmosphere of a time when Michigan was all that comes in the very early stages of a about sailors, iron ore, and lumber. musical project. The opening track on Michigan-I-O

Perhaps that’s why the pandemic hasn’t is titled “Traverse City,” but it paints a been able to keep Crosscut Kings down, decidedly different picture of the town even though they’ve cut their teeth primarily than the one that northerners know today as a live music outfit so far. Rather than – one dotted with more blacksmith shops be discouraged or forced into dormancy than hotels. But the more things change, by bar closures and gig cancelations, the the more they stay the same: the title track, Kings seemed only to amp up their efforts, for instance, is about a long, cold, grueling delivering full live-streamed gigs, Zoom winter and the workers suffering through it collaborations with other musicians, and at Michigan lumber camps. “We’ll go home living room rambles all over social media. to our wives and sweethearts/Tell others not We particularly adore their bluesy, slowedto go to that godforsaken country/called down take on Bruce Springsteen’s iconic hit Michigan-I-O.” Tough look for Michigan, “Dancing in the Dark,” recorded with local but who here hasn’t felt similarly after a singer Sarah Dominic Sheaffer on vocals. blizzard dropped a foot of lake-effect snow

Michigan-I-O [Kyra: I asked him to on their street? replace this one with something of the same It’s educational and interesting just to length by tomorrow noon. I had given him a hear these old folk songs presented in a list to select from but told him he could select new way. Even without the cool context, any of his own. He didn’t know I already had a though, Michigan-I-O is an engaging listen, feature on these guys in there/] with pleasing vocals, rich harmonies, and

The musicians behind Michigan-I-O may traditionally-minded instrumentation that hail from Holland, but everything else about will appeal to any fan of folk music. We’re the project screams “northern Michigan.” Last eagerly awaiting volume II, which Bast has year, Holland singer, guitarist, and banjo player said is coming sooner rather than later. Northern Express Weekly • aug 10, 2020 • 17