iSPY Magazine // October 2012

MAGAZINE October 2012 // ispymagazine.co

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October

Table of

Contents

2012

14

24

August

The Buzz 06 07 08

Zedd and Porter Robinson, Joss Stone, Crystal Castles Regina Spektor, The Werks, Silversun Pickups Cat Power, Mason Jennings

12 13

The Dish: Riki Tiki Pies Adventures in Local Food #22

Foodie Scene

20 15

09 10 11 15 19 23

Nervous But Excited Recreation, EMU Fashion Week Ypsifest #8 Style // Fall Fashion // Dear Golden Vintage Style // Fall Fashion // Underground Printing Style // Fall Fashion // Maple

Around You

16 October Events Calendar

Features

Join Our Online Community!

14 20 24 26

www.ispymagazine.co

Greensky Bluegrass Wolfgang Gartner Yelawolf La Sera’s Katy Goodman

Review Art

Designers Tim Adkins

Publisher Editorial Editor in Chief Writers

Tim Adkins Amanda Trent

Amanda Trent, Tim Adkins, Stefanie Stauffer, Richard Retyi, Paul Kitti, Marissa Mcnees, Aimee Mandle, Mary Simkins, David Nassar, Jeff Milo, Treasure Groh, Jasmine Zweifler

Photographers

Bruno Postigo, Kristin Slater, Doug Coombe

Sales

[print + online] Tim Adkins / tim@pakmode.com

[business development] Bilal Saeed / bilal@pakmode.com

The Washtenaw County Events and Entertainment Guide 124 Pearl St. Suite 407, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 Phcne: 734.531.8939 Email: ispy@pakmode.com

28 29 30 31 32 33 30

Rate it! // Sounds Special Edition

Cat Power The Avett Brothers, The XX Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Hana Malhas Animal Collective, David Byrne and St. Vincent Jetty Rae, Yeasayer Bob Dylan, Mumford and Sons Snap Shot // September

Be sure to tune into Tree Town Sound hosted by Mathew Altruda on Ann Arbor’s 107one every Sunday at 6 p.m..

Cover by

MAGDA WOSINSKA

© 2012, iSPY Magazine. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part granted only by written permission of Pakmode Media + Marketing in accordance with our legal statement. iSPY is free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. For additional copies you must be granted written permission, with a possible associated cost.

THE BUZZ //

Crystal Castles // Royal Oak Music Theatre / Oct. 9

Zedd and Porter Robinson // Necto / Oct. 3

Joss Stone // Royal Oak Music Theatre / Oct. 6

BY ISPY STAFF

BY MARY SIMKINS

Russian-born German-raised EDM producer/ DJ/songwriter, Zedd, is set to release his fulllength debut album, Clarity, on October 9 via Interscope Records. The album was recorded over an eight month period from January through August 2012, and features collaborations with Ellie Goulding, Ryan Tedder and Foxes.

Having already toured with Lady Gaga on her “Born This Way Ball” tour, Skrillex and Deadmau5 among others, Zedd will join fellow artist and friend, Porter Robinson for their Poseidon Tour which rolls through Ann Arbor’s Necto on Wednesday, Octboer 3. The Poseidon Tour features both Zedd and Porter playing back-toback tracks, alternating throughout the night.

Says Zedd, “I am psyched to be playing the back-to-back shows with Porter on the Poseidon Tour. By playing with a great artist and friend, it allows us to bounce off of each other, creating this morphed set with crazy energy and highlighting both our styles.”

As a Rolling Stone “Artist to Watch” for 2012 as well as a Billboard 2012 Fall Preview “10 to watch”, Zedd is poised to become one of the biggest names in the music world. He has separated himself in a crowded field by drawing from a diverse musical training and background spanning from classical to post-hardcore/metal to electro house in order to make meticulously detailed and carefully produced compositions.

For more information on this rager and others hitting Necto in October, visit www.necto.com.

Jocelyn Stoker (better known by her stage name, Joss Stone) released her multi-platinum debut album in 2003, marking the first of many successful ventures for the 25-year-old Brit. With 13 million record sales, a performance for the royal family of the UK and a huge fan base under her belt, Joss Stone hasn’t lost that same passion for her music that first caught our attention. The young soul sensation is bringing her latest album, “The Soul Sessions Volume 2,” to Michigan in October. The album features Stone’s covers of several somewhat obscure 70s and 80s songs, lending her own style to some unearthed gems.

Almost a decade since she first burst onto the scene, Stone is bringing her gravelly voice and barefoot performing to the Royal Oak Music Theatre on Saturday, October 6. The show starts at 8 p.m., with doors at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $27.50 and $49.50. For information about the venue and to purchase tickets, visit royaloakmusictheatre.com.

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i SPY OCTOBER 2012

WIN THIS CAR

BY PAUL KITTI

The “screw it, who cares” attitude that bands of yesteryear wore on their sleeves with unmistaken sincerity has gone mostly out of style, but don’t tell that to Crystal Castles. Alice Glass and Ethan Kath have built a reputation for being bratty electronic music masterminds. They once trashed a stage because the sound production wasn’t good enough, cancelled another show for the same reason, punched a security guard and, for a period of time, owned their image through a stolen drawing of Madonna with a black, oozing eye. It’s almost a little refreshing to see a band back up their aggressive music with actual aggressive behavior. Dark but not despairing, melodic but not poppy, their sound inhabits the mysterious area between dance and experimental electronica. Two elements tend to play into their live show: ferocity and strobe lights.

Tickets are $30.00 and can be purchased by visiting royaloakmusictheatre.com.

EVERY EMU FOOTBALL AND/OR BASKETBALL TICKET PURCHASED FROM EMUTIX.COM USING PROMO CODE “WINCAR” IS AN ENTRY TO WIN! TICKETS ONLY $5!

TOGETHER WE WIN. facebook.com/ispymagazine // www.ispymagazine.co

// THE BUZZ

Regina Spektor // The Fillmore / Oct. 13

BY TREASURE GROH Delightfully coy songbird Regina Spektor will be paying Detroit Rock City a visit, toting a new album featuring her trademark vocals and quirky melodies.

“What We Saw From The Cheap Seats” is Russian-born Spektor’s sixth album and features a bonus track, “Call Them Brothers,” which she collaboration on with tour openers Only Son. Spektor’s style stems from the anti-folk movement out of Brooklyn, NY that started in the mid-80s. Her classical, baroquemeets-pop tunes come off as enchanting, drawing the listener in with her smooth, bubbly vocals. Spektor is oftentimes

compared to Ani DiFranco and Fiona Apple, though her style tends toward the classical end of the spectrum. Spreading her wings a bit, she’s collaborated with power pop superman Ben Folds on his latest album, “Way To Normal,” on the song “You Don’t Know Me.” Spektor can be seen in all her glory at the Fillmore Detroit on October 13. Doors are at 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at livenation.com and Ticketmaster for $25 to $49.50.

The Werks // Blind Pig / Oct. 17

BY MARY SIMKINS The Werks are bringing their energetic performance style to Ann Arbor on Wednesday, October 17. The experimental jam band has chosen Ann Arbor’s Blind Pig as the venue for their CD release party to coincide with their “Funemployment Tour.”

Hailing from Dayton, Ohio, The Werks are known for both their improvisation and their seamless sampling of an array of musical genres. The band, founded in 2007, experienced a meteoric catapult onto the jam band scene and is a favorite www.ispymagazine.co // @ispymagazine

of online jam magazine jambase.com.

After a summer of festival performances, including Wakarusa, Summer Camp and All Good festival, the band hosted the third annual Werk Out Festival on September 20 – 23 at Legend Valley.

Their album release show will take place at 9 p.m. at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor.

Tickets are $12. Ages 18 and up. For more information, visit blindpigmusic.com.

Silversun Pickups // Royal Oak Music Theatre / Oct. 23

BY ISPY STAFF From the moment most listeners heard the opening riffs of Silversun Pickups singles like “Panic Switch” and “Lazy Eye,” they were hooked. Their catchy tunes inhabit a uniquely dark, almost eerie yet upbeat space in the indie realm that we didn’t even know existed until they came around.

The Silversun Pickups (singer/ guitarist/songwriter Brian Aubert, bassist Nikki Monninger, keyboardist Joe Lester and drummer Christopher Guanlao) first emerged with 2005’s “Pikul” EP and soon caught the attention of the wider world with the following year’s “Carnavas.”

The collection (featuring the breakthrough single, “Lazy Eye”)

only barely prepared the way for the band’s blockbuster second album, 2009’s “Swoon.” Tracks such as “Panic Switch” and “The Royal We” established Silversun Pickups as a potent force in 21st Century Rock, further confirmed by an 18-month tour that included innumerable headline dates, festival sets and a 2009 Grammy Award nod for “Best New Artist.”

Come see the Silversun Pickups perform live at 7:30 p.m. on October 23 the Royal Oak Music Theatre. With special guests Cloud Nothings and Atlas Genius, it’s a show you won’t want to miss. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased at royaloakmusictheatre.com.

OCTOBER 2012

i SPY

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THE BUZZ //

Mason Jennings // The Ark / Oct. 27

BY DAVID NASSAR Although his latest album, “Minnesota,” was released more than a year ago, folk singer/songwriter Mason Jennings is hitting the road for a tour of the Midwest that lands him at everyone’s favorite local folk venue, The Ark. While Jennings was able to create a loyal cult following early in his career, his star really started to shine after recording two Dylan covers for the 2007 soundtrack for “I’m Not There,” and signing with Jack Johnson’s label, Brushfire Records, in early 2008. Since then, Jennings has continued to tour extensively and record his own style of folk-pop that leans heavily on poetic

reflections and first-person narratives.

Always a diverse and dynamic performer, Jennings draws on wide range of influences in his songwriting.

At times his work is as intimate and stripped-down as a Woody Guthrie song, while other times he lets it all hang out incorporating his love of jazz and American roots music. Regardless, he always delivers with the excitement and passion of a true rock star. Mason Jennings will play The Ark in Ann Arbor Saturday, October 27. Tickets are $30 and the show starts at 8:00 p.m. For tickets and information, visit theark.org.

Cat Power // Royal Oak Music Theatre / Oct. 27

Come see iSPY Magazine at:

BY JEFF MILO

Singer/multi-instrumentalist Chan Marshall set loose a pair of striking singles this month to bolster “Sun,” her first original album in six years, showing no signs of her dark dynamism diluting. Her wispy wintry vocals, an eerie blend of sultry and stark, seemed to get a bit more sanguine this time around, with reviewers/rock-crits reverberating remarks upon her fragile/fractured persona appearing to have girded over the years into a new, fierce resolve (bad break-ups can do that, I guess). It’s a refresh, a wake-up call, a

8

get-back out there and, hey, pick-upsome-synthesizers-while-you’re-out.

We, for one, are glad to see Marshall return – but we don’t seem to be the only ones, as “Sun” has already been widely praised in the indie circuit. To read the rest of our review, turn to page 28. And don’t miss the opportunity to witness a live Cat Power performance at 8 p.m. on October 27 at the Royal Oak Music Theatre. Tickets are $29.50 to $49.50 and can be purchased at royaloakmusictheatre.com.

i SPY OCTOBER 2012

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// SCENE

Farewell to Folk Nervous But Excited’s Last Hurrah (For Now)

BY TREASURE GROH PHOTO BY SUSIE GIANG To say that the name Nervous But Excited is an extension of the musicians themselves would be a misnomer, as duo Sarah Cleaver and Kate Peterson appear to pretty much anything but nervous. And as for the “But Excited” part? It’s safe to say that these gals are always excited to perform. Their “pleasantly aggressive folk” music – a genre they coined themselves –“found them,” as Cleaver would put it. “We’ve tried playing punk music,” Cleaver says with a laugh. “It’s been made very clear that we are where we should be.”

The two met while playing solo shows, and eventually started playing together as Kate and Sarah until the time came to put their money where their mouths were and actually have a unifying name – a name that they sometimes laugh about now. It’s clear that the ladies are very comfortable with each other, oftentimes finishing each other’s sentences. Their laughter permeates the conversation, and one can get a sense for how a live performance might go. Their style allows them to perform at festivals numbering in the thousands as well as your grandma’s living room.

“I think people really understand that when we come in there to play that they’re there to have some sort of connection to us, and we try to facilitate that in any way possible,” says Cleaver of their aforementioned versatility. “We also have the ability to make ourselves into a duo and into a

www.ispymagazine.co // @ispymagazine

band and back into a duo, so we’re pretty fluid in that way.”

But, sadly, all good things must come to an end (sort of), as Peterson and Cleaver hit the grand stage of The Ark for one final showdown before entering a hiatus of an undetermined length of time. With Cleaver moving to the east coast for school in the winter, the pair won’t be able to book such shows, and working on music will prove challenging as well. “We don’t know what’s going to happen yet,” says Peterson.

“We started talking about this last winter and have slowly been letting people know about it. We toured an intense amount in the spring and early summer and went to the places we really loved over the years. This summer we played our favorite festivals and saved The Ark for the finale.”

As for playing out separately, Peterson and Cleaver don’t quite relish that idea either. “[Playing solo] just feels weird when that happens,” says Peterson, “I guess when we’re traveling ourselves and just playing music for fun there’s always some element missing.” It’s not surprising for the two, who have been friends for close to 10 years – and playing music together for much of that time.

Though NBE include a backing band sometimes, their last show at The Ark will only include Cleaver and Peterson and their instruments, of which the two use plenty of to keep things “lively, keep it

different and keep people’s ears perked up,” as Peterson says. And while they stick tight to their folk roots, they also like to do renditions of R&B and hip-hop songs, as seen on their 2010 covers album, “Just the Two of Us.” Peterson and Cleaver have been working on some new music in the meantime as well as revamping some older material – decided on by their fans via the band’s Facebook. “We’ve been getting many requests from back in the day, so we’re attempting to refine those songs,” says Cleaver. As for their creative style, Peterson says they “have different writing styles,” which Cleaver echoes when saying that one person will come up with the structure of the song, while the other adds their flair after. “So one of us builds the skeletal system, if you will, and the other one adds the cartilage and maybe some blood,” says Cleaver.

But, with Cleaver moving hundreds of miles away, there’s no telling when fans will get to hear new tunes from their favorite ladies of folk. So get your fill of them when they play The Ark on October 4 with special guest Andrea Gibson, a spoken word artist from Colorado who the ladies will join on stage to perform, “Class,” a collaboration from Gibson latest album “Flower Boy.” Tickets are $15 and may be purchased online at theark.org. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., with the show beginning at 8 p.m.

OCTOBER 2012

i SPY

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SCENE //

BY JASMINE ZWEIFLER

“We basically wanted to have something completely inclusive, nonjudgmental, super-fun and where we get to play the Spice Girls whenever we want,” says Justin Anderson (J Clark the Groovemaster to partygoers) when asked to distill the essence of the weekly dance party he hosts along with Ayinde Zuri (Ayinde Audio to you, when their forces are joined known as “The Glitz) and Christopher Shawn Smith (so called “Recreation”). If that description doesn’t hook you, then I don’t really know what will.

The “Red Room” at Necto nightclub in downtown Ann Arbor has always played second fiddle to the main room upstairs, often just functioning as an overflow hangout spot. But for a little while now every Wednesday night “The Glitz” has been doing their part to flip that script. Recreation started like so many good things do, in a basement. Zuri and Anderson starting popping up at random basement parties in the Ann Arbor/ Ypsilanti area and found that like chocolate and peanut butter, they were two great tastes that tasted great together. Zuri broke it down like this: “J Clark has a special place in his heart for house music while I have a love of rare groove, funk/soul and rock and roll while M.C. Yoda (Smith) brings the heavy bass and hip hop influence.”

Eventually they found a permanent home at Necto, but that is pretty much the only guarantee when you

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come out to Recreation. Every single week it is anyone’s guess as to what manner of foolishness and mischief the boys will be getting up to. Guest DJs are not at all unusual, with each one lugging their favorite records with them. Some Wednesdays are themed – one night they may be honoring Nirvana, the next there may be a fierce Madonna vs. Whitney Houston battle raging. You may show up to find everyone in their pajamas or a hula hoop contest going on – or it could just turn into a big pizza party (none of this is hypothetical, by the way).

One thing that makes Recreation truly unique is the total unselfconsciousness of all of the DJs involved. They will play anything (and I mean ANYTHING) if they think it’ll get booties shakin’. Zuri has his favorites, of course – some surefire ways to get people moving include Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back,” “California Love” by Tupac and Dr. Dre, and “Mickey” by Toni Basil, he says. Guilty pleasures like “Mmmbop”

by Hanson are sure to creep into the mix during any given Recreation as well.

The DJs cultivate a basement party atmosphere every week – it’s like your favorite mixtape and a party for everyone. Admission is just a buck before 11 p.m. and only three dollars after that. The party kicks off at 9 p.m. every Wednesday. If you aren’t there, where the heck are you?

i SPY OCTOBER 2012

Come check out the excitement during Eastern Michigan University’s 2012 fashion week while helping to raise money for a good cause!

Fashion Week at EMU is run by EMU students that aspire to pursue a future career in Apparel Textile Merchandise, Marketing, Public and Media Relations, Communications and Fashion Design. These students have made history as the first student organization to fully sponsor, host and produce a fashion week at a division I-A institution.

This year EMU’s fashion week is celebrating its fifth anniversary, operating under the mantra bigger, better and bolder with plans to make this fashion production the best yet in the state of Michigan. Sponsored by iSPY, 2012 Fashion Week at EMU will take place between October 8 and October 11 with the headlining “V” runway fashion show taking place on Thursday, October 11 from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. in the Student Center Grand Ballroom.

Half of ticket sale proceeds will support the Lupus Foundation of America, Michigan and Northwest Ohio Chapter (lupus.org) and will help fund their mission of educating and supporting those affected by lupus in the Michigan and Northwest Ohio areas and working towards a cure.

Events include the Miss Fashionality Pageant on Monday, October 8, the Designer showcase on Tuesday, October 9th, the Masquerade Celebration on Wednesday, October 10 and the “V” Runway Show on Thursday, October 11.

During the Miss Fashionlity Pageant, four women will compete for the coveted Miss Fashionality crown. The Designer Showcase will expose local designers and boutiques to the EMU student and business communities. The Masquerade Celebration is a semi formal masquerade styled social event that doubles as a birthday celebration for Fashionality, the non-profit behind Fashion Week at EMU. Guests are encouraged to wear masks and to even submit their own creations into a mask-making contest for a prize. Finally, the “V” Runway Show will reinvent Fashion Week at EMU’s past four themes and incorporate them into this show with a very special fifth theme. Local designers, models and other artists will come together to create an unforgettable show.

The week will be a fashion experience like no other, so be sure to check out one or more of these exciting events.

BY ISPY STAFF

Fashion Week 2012 at EMU Steppin’ In It

Ryan Racine & Gas For Less

facebook.com/ispymagazine // www.ispymagazine.co

// SCENE

YpsiFest # 8 Aiming to Grow the Scene

BY JEFF MILO PHOTO OF PASSALACQUA BY DOUG COOMBE

YpsiFest isn’t out to be self-congratulatory – no, it’s out to be a summit, a meeting of distanced musical minds, a bridge!

This will be three days of live (loud) music, Michigan music, in Depot Town, meant not so much to investigate all the usual musical suspects, but spotlight the scene of the song(s) – to invite disparate bands from all Michigan lands to humble old Ypsi in the hopes of charming them, instilling incentive to return.

“It was never the point for it to be all-Ypsi bands,” said Anthony Gentile, festival co-founder and 10-year-curator. “The intent of YpsiFest was to grow the music scene.”

Gentile: bearded, bear-hug-happy, scenesparkplug and bare-boned punk-rock-reconstructionist, is excitedly flourishing his latest project this year, a tuff-n-gnarly indie-rock trio called Disinformants. But he’s genuinely extra-geeked just to see/hear his heavy-hitting headliners: Passalacqua and the High Strung as well as Child Bite, Bars of Gold, Mike Hard and more.

“There’s a wealth of talent in Ypsi and Ann Arbor, and it’s a shame I only know a thumbnail’s worth,” said emcee Mister, (a.k.a. Bryan Lackner of post-funk-hip-hop duo Passalacqua). “It seems so strange to me that, despite being only – what, about 40 minutes apart? – the Ann Arbor community and Detroit community seem somewhat isolated from one another, like two different worlds almost, when it really shouldn’t feel that way.”

And that, said Mister, is where YpsiFest comes in. “Anthony’s done a great job finding talent from both ‘worlds,’ bringing them together for a sonically www.ispymagazine.co // @ispymagazine

wondrous weekend.”

YpsiFest started back in 2003, by then-newlyYpsi-transplanted Gentile, an ardent rockperformer/musician having grown up in Kalamazoo on a healthy diet of underground indie-punk and noise-dominant metal-dabblers. Aided by former Elbow Room talent-booker Leighton Mann, they tried shaking up a live-scene then-besotted with mostly country music or cover bands, bringing in edgier acts like Bear vs. Shark, Heads Will Roll and more from the west side and Chicago.

The Elbow Room then was similar to Woodruff’s now, said Gentile, as the contemporary energetic nucleus of local music. If consensus has it that Ypsi’s live scene has blossomed as of late, then Gentile credits his contemporaries, including former Woodruff’s “ambassador” Andy Garris and current operator Hasan Mahar, but also Brandon Zwaggerman’s Mittenfest and Patrick Elkin’s Totally Awesome Fest.

Then, of course, there is also YpsiFest # 8: the Washtenaw-set’s prime chance to sample a wide range of Detroit’s newest sounds.

The imperial-experimentalists of spacey, propulsive, indie-rock adventurism, The High Strung, are an YpsiFest success story – a Detroit foursome hot off their most potent album to date who’ve since sustained sporadic happy returns to the area these past 18 months.

Strung lead singer/songwriter Josh Malerman is inflamed with inspiration, spurred by his bandmates as well as his recent confirmed multi-book-deal.

A signed novelist now, with his debut “Bird Box” (coming January 2014), he considers the Ypsi/Arbor bands/artists “all so colorful and heroic. It’s all so

thrilling, all of this.”

Malerman’s already penned seven songs for their next album, tentatively: “Hope Explodes.” His mates (drummer Derek Berk, bassist Chad Stocker and guitarist Stephen Palmer) are equally bubbling up towards a neo-rock theatricality of sorts, but Malerman speaks for himself – suspecting he’s likely headed for a glorious artistic-overdose.

Mister (Lackner), meanwhile, grinds three different coffee blends simultaneously so as not to grow any tolerance to any one, as he’s likely the busiest dude I can think of and needs every ounce of energy for multitudinous forthcoming fulfillments: an EP with Brit-beatmaker Que-C, a Passalacqua collaborative album with Detroit-glam-grime/funk-punk trio The Ashleys and yet another Passalacqua album with Detroit electro-pop/trance-hop duo Flint Eastwood.

Also three music videos: one for Passalacqua, one as Mister and one rapping with YpsiFest coperformers Duende – all this while completely “destroying and rebuilding” Passalacqua’s engaging live set. “Keep it fresh,” says Mister. “If we’re not excited, why should anyone else be?”

YpsiFest / EveryoneFest …either way, said Gentile, “I promise it will be a blast every night.”

YpsiFest # 8 will take place on October 11 – 13, featuring Blue Snaggletooth, Lawless Carver, Ferdy Mayne and many more and is sponsored

by Southern Tier Brewing Company and hosted at Woodruff’s Bar in Depot Town. For the full line-up, visit woodruffsbar.com/calendar. Admission is $7 per night or $15 for weekend passes (available at the door starting October 11).

OCTOBER 2012

i SPY

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FOODIE // THE DISH

Riki Tiki Pies

BY STEFANIE T. STAUFFER

You may not yet be aware, but during the last few months a fledgling pastry empire has been taking shape in Ypsilanti. Under the watchful eye of head pie maker Theresa Rickloff, Riki Tiki Pies hit the local food scene hard with scrumptious hand pies made with locally-sourced ingredients. If you have been lucky enough to grab some at Beezy’s Cafe in Downtown Ypsi or at Comet Coffee in Ann Arbor, you already know about the other-worldly deliciousness, but, for those who don’t, now is your chance!

Rickloff, a foodster at Beezy’s for the last three years, started hatching her plan for local pie domination a few years back in conversations with Beezy’s owner Bee Roll. Roll loves to encourage her staff to pursue their personal food passions, and, in Rickloff’s case, this meant giving her the flexibility to experiment with pies during her lunch break. As Rickloff ‘s pastry passion grew, she transitioned to making her pies after hours in the Beezy’s kitchen, and now they are available once a week there (usually Fridays) from the pastry case.

Roll is also now harnessing Rickloff ‘s pie making prowess in the growing Beezy’s catering operation – so keep that in mind when planning your next event!

But before Roll gave Rickloff the tools to make her pie dreams a reality, Rickloff ‘s grandmother inspired her to start making pies. Her grandmother’s pies were legendary in their family

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i SPY OCTOBER 2012

– so much so that it was not until she passed away that Rickloff felt it was time to begin baking them herself. And to this day, her grandmother’s influence is still there in her pie-making – whether it be in how she conceptualizes pie as a simple, American way to showcase ingredients, as a means to connect with people or as a vessel for a hearty meal. All in all, her grandmother taught her to make pies from the heart (and for the good guys!).

One of the best things about Riki Tiki Pies is Rickloff ‘s creative use of locally-grown ingredients.

Yes, she can make an amazing deep fried Michigan blueberry pie (my favorite), but she can also take Ypsi-Grown heirloom tomatoes from Nightshade Army Industries and turn them into a Bacon, Tomato and Cheddar hand pie that is so good you need to buy five (yes, I actually did buy five!). To give another example, one day at the Downtown Ypsi Farmer’s Market, I introduced Rickloff to ground cherries, and the next thing I knew she bought three pounds from my friends at Bridgewater Barns and turned them into amazing (and beautiful) little tarts.

She has also made jalapeño popper hand pies from a friend’s backyard grown jalapeños and peach pies from Michigan peaches a coworker gave her to experiment with. For the fall, Theresa said that we can probably expect to see some hand pies made with root vegetables like rutabaga,

turnips, parsnips and potatoes – reminiscent of a UP pastie! As you can see, Riki Tiki Pies are incredibly versatile, and Rickloff wants to keep us pie lovers on our toes with the right blend of classic recipes and constant innovation – all in a flaky crust.

Aside from the locally-sourced ingredients, the other star of Riki Tiki hand pies is that flaky crust!

In fact, she takes her crusts very seriously and even held a pie crust tasting workshop at the Ugly Mug Cafe & Roastery last fall to showcase the differences between butter, lard or butter and lard in combination. Actually, that tasting made such an impact on the participants that that’s where she first met the owner of Comet Coffee, who asked her on the spot to start sourcing her pies there.

With all this ingredient-driven pastry wizardry, I just had to ask Rickloff about her dream pie, thinking it was going to be some amazing combination I had never heard of before, but the answer surprised me. In another nod to class recipes and her pie roots, Rickloff ‘s favorite pie is deliciously tart, the first pie she ever made and a tribute to her grandmother all rolled into one: double-crust rhubarb!

For more information on which pies are available where and when or how to place a special order, visit facebook.com/RikiTikiPies.

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// FOODIE

Adventures in Local Food #22 In It To Win It

ARTICLE AND PHOTO BY STEFANIE T. STAUFFER By now you’ve probably heard about growing food in the city and maybe even about raising urban chickens and bees, but what about tilapia, crawfish, meat chickens and goats? How about worm composting (vermiculture), edible mushrooms and unheated hoophouses that can remain over 100 degrees even in the dead of a Wisconsin winter? All of these things (and more) are happening in and around the city of Milwaukee and also in Chicago, thanks to the work of Growing Power.

In the beginning of September, I had the privilege of going to Milwaukee to attend Growing Power’s second annual national and international small and urban farms conference. This three day event brought together urban growers, activists, educators, entrepreneurs, health professionals and other local food enthusiasts from Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, California, British Columbia and many other places in between. In particular, it was great to see that a lot of people were there from Detroit to strengthen partnerships with Growing Power, with a large contingent from Earthworks Urban Farm and the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network’s D-Town Farm.

For those of you unaware of Growing Power, they have been around since 1993 and are arguably www.ispymagazine.co // @ispymagazine

the most famous urban agriculture organization in America. They have trained and/or shared their knowledge with many of the top people and organizations in the local food movement through their Regional Operations Training Center (ROTC), partnered with first lady Michelle Obama on her ‘Let’s Move!’ campaign, and their Executive Director, Will Allen, just won a $500,000 MacArthur Genius Grant! But you would never know about all that high profile success if you talked to Will, his daughter Erika (who runs Growing Power Chicago) or any other one of his 150 paid staff members.

There is no ego there with anyone, nor are there any barriers to accessing their incredible agricultural wisdom. Even with all his success, Will is still the farmer at Growing Power, keeping the seeds in his truck, making all the planting decisions for their many many sites and even personally seeding a lot of the plants himself! In addition, those who obtained a scholarship to the conference had to describe how they would share the information they learned with their community when they returned home. As you can probably gather, everyone at Growing Power is incredibly open and willing to share their knowledge – and all for free.

It is an understatement to say that it was incredibly refreshing and inspiring. I even got to trade pepper seeds with a few of the Growing

Power growers! The entire organization is clearly in it to win it for all of us, and their genuine commitment to a better food system as well as more equitable and sustainable cities restored my hope in the capacity for social change that is locally-grown and produced food! This is especially significant since often the rampant green-washing of industrial food and the way in which many entrepreneurs and non-profits look to at urban agriculture, sustainability and local food as trendy buzzwords upon which they can make money or build a name for themselves can often be demoralizing for us growers.

At the end of the day, Growing Power is amazing because they show us what the local food movement should (and does) look like: an incredibly diverse group of people unified by the celebration of their differences who want to make local, organically-grown food accessible not just to the wealthy or to the environmentally-conscious but to all of us. So, thank you, Growing Power, for all you do to inspire the rest of us to be in it to win it and to remember that we can’t stop and won’t stop until we are all living the dream of local food!

Want to get even more inspired? Visit growingpower.org or take a trip to Milwaukee and attend one of their training workshops offered once a month January through June.

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FEATURE //

Greensky Bluegrass

BY MARY SIMKINS PHOTO BY MICHAEL WEINTROB

Kalamazoo-based bluegrass sensation Greensky Bluegrass has had a busy summer, gaining steam with festivals and sold-out shows and playing with some of the biggest names in music. And now they will be making a stop at the Blind Pig this October.

Dave Bruzza (guitar, vocals), Paul Hoffman (mandolin, lead vocals), Anders Beck (dobro, lap steel) and Michael Arlen Bont (banjo, vocals) make music that is different from the bluegrass you’re used to. Greensky Bluegrass has a sound that includes, “poignant rural ballads about real people […] and grit and attitude from a whiskey-soaked card game.” Recently, iSPY had the opportunity to speak with guitarist and vocalist Dave Bruzza, during which he spoke about the guys’ whirlwind summer and some of their favorite onstage guests.

A few of you guys met in Kalamazoo. Did you all know right away that you wanted to play bluegrass, and who were some big influences for you?

It was definitely an evolution – when the band first got together, the whole goal was to learn how to play our instruments, to play bluegrass. Funny as it sounds, Jerry Garcia was a huge influence, along with Skaggs and Scruggs, Bill Monroe, John Hartford…

What would you tell people who have never heard your music about your new album?

For one thing, of all the records I’ve made, this is easily my favorite that I’ve ever made with anybody.

As a group, we’re incredibly proud of this album as a whole, and we went about recording it in a very

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different way. We recorded it on tape instead of doing it all digitally.

You guys have played a ton of festivals this summer and are known for your high-energy live performances. How would you compare the studio recording experience to being up on stage?

The studio has endless possibilities. When you’re live, you’re in the moment and you’re creating with everyone to make something as a performance.

Making a record is a performance, but you have the ability to change something – and there are endless possibilities with what you can do.

Greensky Bluegrass has had some pretty fantastic guests join you up on stage. How does collaborating with other musicians change the experience, and have you had any favorite guests over the years?

Oh, man. We’ve worked with a lot of people over the years. We’ve had Tim Carbon from Railroad Earth who helped us with a couple of records and has joined us onstage numerous times. Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann from the Grateful Dead were amazing. It’s great to have someone who people haven’t heard of – Cris Jacobs, for example – that guy is electric. We played Baltimore Friday night and that show was just explosive and good with a really fun vibe. Bob Hendenjer, a saxophonist, joined us onstage. Most people don’t associate sax with bluegrass but he’s just such a zen performer.

Guests are very special and definitely fun because it can change what’s familiar to us and our fans and

becomes something that’s really new and fun at the same time.

After such an exciting summer, is there one experience that stands out as the best?

There have been so many, and this year has been great. We had the opportunity to go to Hawaii and Alaska all in the same year – a fun experience. Seeing the crowds grow everywhere all over the country has been really exciting. It’s hard to pinpoint just one great moment.

It sounds like your live shows are something that shouldn’t be missed. Is there a way for people who can’t make your show to watch your past performances?

Actually, archive.org has lots of free downloads of live shows from all over the country. You just type in a name to find live shows to download.

And last, but not least, are you looking forward to your upcoming show at Ann Arbor’s Blind Pig? Yeah, we’re looking forward to it! It’s been a while since we’ve played near Detroit, and we’re excited to get back. I actually played one of my first gigs at the Blind Pig with my brother in 1999.

Greensky Bluegrass will perform at the Blind Pig along with Joshua Davis on Saturday, October 13. Tickets are $15. For more information, visit blindpigmusic.com. To learn more about the band and to listen to the first half of their latest record for free, visit greenskybluegrass.com.

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STYLE // SCENE

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Fall Fashion DEAR GOLDEN VINTAGE

BY JASMINE ZWEIFLER Lauren Naimola is just the kind of person you want to be running your local vintage shop: she’s zany, driven, adorable and has an impeccable eye for quality when it to comes threads that might be older than your grandparents. She is basically a secondhand superhero. And like any good superhero, she has a great backstory. While some kids grew up scouting the mall for the “hottest” fashions, she had to make due with things she found at the Salvation Army and garage sales of her youth. It was then that her skills were forged – skills which she later parlayed into a hot online resale business and most recently into a storefront in downtown Ypsilanti.

At 108 Pearl, down past Déjà Vu, past the bus stop and the fried chicken joint, you’ll find it. The huge doors are big enough to drive a car into (the space used to be an auto shop), and they have the slightly whimsical phrase “Dear Golden” inscribed on them. Upon entering the store, I felt my eyes get wide and visions of the most epic game of dress up imaginable danced in my head. It was like entering a treasure chest. Guests are surrounded on all sides by exquisite PHOTOS BY BRUNO POSTIGO garments in sumptuous fabrics. Offerings include dresses in silks and taffetas, details fashioned from such delicate lace and miniscule glass beads that you can’t help but be amazed. Naimola is the woman behind it all. She runs herself ragged scouring estate sales and thrift stores for hidden treasures. She wakes up early and drives far and wide to battle it out with crazy old ladies to bring her finds back to us here in good ol’ Ypsi.

After crazy competition is bested, seams sewn and dresses pressed, it’s show time. Dear Golden Vintage is open by appointment only, but before you go thinking that sounds like a no-no for customer service, you must understand You can call 734-323-7179 the motivation. Naimola makes the point that she insists on personal customer to make your appointment service and is a practitioner of safe shopping. She helps every guest pick just or you can cruise on over to the right thing, and she is not afraid to tell you if you look horrible in something. deargolden.com, but be She’ll pull something special from the back for you if she thinks it’ll look great advised – your computer may on you, and you always get the benefit of her years of experience with advice on malfunction if you drool on it. care for fabrics that you don’t see every day.

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CALENDAR // AROUND YOU

October //

BY AMANDA TRENT

ENT

ENTERTAINM

10/1: • The Growlers featuring Denney and the Jets, 6 p.m., Magic Stick, Detroit • Ben Taylor & Grace Weber, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor 10/2: • Ben Folds Five, 6:30 p.m., The Fillmore, Detroit • Gossip, 7 p.m., Majestic Theatre, Detroit • Earth Tones benefit featuring Dragon Wagon, Match by Match and more, 7:30 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Brother Ali, 9 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor 10/3: • Dark Funeral, 6 p.m., Blondies,

Detroit • The Long Live A$AP Tour, 8 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • Bell X1, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Decades, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s,

Ypsilanti • Langhorne Slim & The Law, 9 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Dragon Wagon, 10:30 p.m., Circus, Ann Arbor • Porter Robinson & Zedd, 9 p.m., Necto, Ann Arbor 10/4: • Eric Church, 7:30 p.m., Joe Louis Arena, Detroit • Nervous But Excited, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Dusty McFly, 9 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Basiani, 7:30 p.m., St. Francis of Assisi, Ann Arbor 10/5: • Abandon All Ships, 6 p.m., Pike

Room, Pontiac

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• The Sheepdogs, 7 p.m., Shelter, Detroit • Flashclash, 8 p.m., Magic Bag, Ferndale • Chris Smither, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Dragon Wagon, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti • Ann Arbor Soul Club, 9:30 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Datsik, 8 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak 10/6: • Jerry Seinfeld, 7 p.m., Fox Theatre, Detroit • Mike Mains and the Branches, 7 p.m., Pike Room, Pontiac • Timeflies, 7 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • Anjelah Johnson & Jo Koy, 8 p.m., The Fillmore, Detroit • The Mike Stern Band, 8 p.m. & 10 p.m., Jazz Café at Music Hall, Detroit • Joss Stone, 8 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theare, Royal Oak • Masnema Album Release Party, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti • Smoke Dza, 8 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, Brahms, 8 p.m., Michigan Theatre, Ann Arbor • Killer Flamingos, 9 p.m., Cavern Club, Ann Arbor • Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, 8 p.m., Power Center, Ann Arbor 10/7: • Owl City, 6:30 p.m., The Crofoot, Pontiac • Taking Back Sunday, 6:30 p.m., The Fillmore, Detroit • Hunter Valentine, 7 p.m., Pike Room, Pontiac • Matt Wertz, 7:30 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Boylesque, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s,

Ypsilanti

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• Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, 2 p.m., Power Center, Ann Arbor 10/8: • Accept, 6 p.m., Blondies, Detroit • Shovels & Rope, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor 10/9: • Nick Waterhouse, 8 p.m., Magic Stick Lounge, Detroit • Veterans for Peace: John Lennon’s Birthday Concert, 7:30 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Easy Star All-Stars, 8 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Crystal Castles, 7:30 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak • Wolfgang Gartner, 9 p.m., Necto, Ann Arbor 10/10: • 3oh!3, 6 p.m., The Crofoot Ballroom, Pontiac • Neil Halstead & Jim Hanft, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers, 9 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Company of Strangers, 10:30 p.m., Circus, Ann Arbor • Jerusalem String Quartet, 7:30 p.m., Rackham Auditorium, Ann Arbor 10/11: • Adam Ant, 8 p.m., The Crofoot,

Pontiac • JD McPherson, 9 p.m., Magic Bag, Ferndale • Switchfoot, 8 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • King Tuff, 9 p.m., PJ’s Lager House, Detroit • Shemekia Copeland, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Ypsifest Day 1, 6 p.m., Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti • The Green, 9 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Heavy Industries, 5:10, Michigan Theatre, Ann Arbor

• Theatre de la Ville: Ionesco’s

Rhinoceros, 7:30 p.m., Power Center, Ann Arbor 10/12: • Hatebreed, 5 p.m., Harpo’s, Detroit • The King’s men, 7:30 p.m., Fox

Theatre, Detroit • Core Effect & Citizen Zero, 8 p.m., Magic Bag, Ferndale • Local H, 8 p.m., Pike Room, Pontiac • Rza, 8 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • The Octopus Project, 9 p.m., PJ’s Lager House, Detroit • The Chenille Sisters, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Ypsifest Day 2, 6 p.m., Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti • Mustard Plug, 9 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Blue October, 7:30 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak • Theatre de la Ville: Ionesco’s

Rhinoceros, 8 p.m., Power Center, Ann Arbor 10/13: • Conspirator, 8 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • Greensky Bluegrass, 9 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Regina Spektor, 8 p.m., The Fillmore, Detroit • Ron White, 8 p.m., Fox Theatre, Detroit • The Boxcars, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Ypsifest Day 3, 6 p.m., Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti • Theatre de la Ville: Ionesco’s

Rhinoceros, 8 p.m., Power Center, Ann Arbor 10/14: • The Acacia Strain, 7 p.m., Magic Stick, Detroit • Three Days Grace, 7 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • The Go Gos, 7:30 p.m., Sound Board

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AROUND YOU // CALENDAR at MotorCity Casino Hotel, Detroit • The Dave LaFave Variety Hour, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti • Sharpe Note Singing, 2 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Paula Cole, 7:30 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Ben Sollee, 9 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • The Wizard: Jeff Mills, 9 p.m., Necto, Ann Arbor 10/15: • ALESANA, 6:30 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • Cadence Weapon, 8 p.m., Magic Stick Lounge, Detroit • Flying Lotus, 8 p.m., Majestic

Theatre, Detroit • Lake Doucet, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • The Jezabels, 9 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor 10/16: • Converge, 8 p.m., Magic Stick,

Detroit • Wild Swan Theater Benefit, 7:30 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Ash Reiter, 9 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Social Distortion, 7 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak • The Moth: Haunted, 6 p.m., Circus, Ann Arbor 10/17: • All Time Low, 5 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • Red Wanting Blue, 7 p.m., Hard Rock Café, Detroit • Barrington Levy, 8 p.m., Magic Stick, Detroit • The Battlefield Band, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Lonesome County, 10:30 p.m.,

Circus, Ann Arbor • The Werks, 9 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • The Psychedelic Furs & The

Lemonheads, 7:30 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak 10/18: • Trey Anastasio Band, 6:30 p.m., The

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Fillmore, Detroit • Jovanotti, 7 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • Arnez J, 8 p.m., Sound Board at MotorCity Casino Hotel, Detroit • Carbon Leaf, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Joseph Vincent, 8 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Jake Owen, 6:30 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak 10/19: • Aisha Tyler, 7 p.m. & 10 p.m.,

Magic Bag, Ferndale • Brandi Carlile, 7 p.m., The Fillmore, Detroit • Keller Williams, 9 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, 8 p.m., Magic Stick, Detroit • Kem, 8 p.m., Dow Event Center, Saginaw • Paper Diamond, 8 p.m., The

Crofoot Ballroom, Pontiac • Public Image Limited, 8 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak • Waka Flocka Flame, 10:30 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • Carbon Leaf, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • October Babies, 9 p.m.,

Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti • Public Image LTD, 8 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak 10/20: • Shadows Fall, 5 p.m., Harpo’s,

Detroit • Seether, 6 p.m., The Fillmore,

Detroit • Robert Glasper, 6:30 p.m., Shelter, Detroit • Murray Perahia (piano), 8 p.m., Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor • Jackson Browne, 7:30 p.m., Music Hall Center, Detroit • George Lopez, 8 p.m., Fox Theatre, Detroit • moe., 8 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit • The English Beat, 10/20, Hard

Arbor Rock Café, Detroit • Deftones, 7:30 p.m., Royal Oak

• The Verve Pipe, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Music Theatre, Royal Oak Arbor • Lonesome County, 10:30 p.m.,

• El Ten Eleven, 9 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Circus, Ann Arbor Arbor 10/25: • Gungor, 6 p.m., Royal Oak Music • Craig Owens, 6 p.m., Pike Room, Theatre, Royal Oak Pontiac • Back Forty, 9 p.m., Cavern Club, • The Toasters, 8 p.m., Magic Stick Ann Arbor Lounge, Detroit 10/21: • Bob Malone, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann • Circa Survive, 6:30 p.m., The Crofoot Arbor Ballroom, Pontiac • Old Crow Medicine Show, 8 p.m., • Gym Class Heroes, 7 p.m., Magic Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak Stick, Detroit • Oliver Stone, 5:10, Michigan Theatre, • Wolf Gang with the Royal Concept, 8 Ann Arbor p.m., Magic Bag, Ferndale • Entre-SLAM, 7 p.m., Live, Ann Arbor • Music-Con 2012, Noon, The Ark, 10/26: Ann Arbor • Mushroomhead Halloween Show, 6 • Christine Lavin, 7:30 p.m., The Ark, p.m., Harpo’s, Detroit Ann Arbor • Off!, 7 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, • Imperative Reaction, 9 p.m., Necto, Detroit Ann Arbor • Craig Owens, 8 p.m., Hard Rock 10/22: Café, Detroit • Cris Cab, 7 p.m., Pike Room,

• Creepy Cheapy Halloween

Pontiac Treat V, 7 p.m., The Crofoot, Pontiac • Runa, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Morrissey, 9 p.m., James H Whiting 10/23: Auditorium, Flint • Drive-by Truckerrs, 7 p.m., Saint • Peter Mulvey, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Andrew’s Hall, Detroit Arbor • Smashing Pumpkins, 7:30 p.m., The • 4th Annual Zombie Ball, 8 p.m.,

Palace, Auburn Hills Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti • Heartless Bastards, 8 p.m., Magic • Tickled Fancy Burlesque Collective, Stick, Detroit 9:30 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Silversun Pickups, 7:30 p.m., Royal 10/27: Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak • Rakim & Friends, 7 p.m., Masonic • Garrett Borns, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Temple, Detroit Arbor • Bill Maher, 8 p.m., Fox Theatre,

• The Infamous Stringdusters, 8 p.m., Detroit Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Donavon Frankenreiter, 8 p.m.,

• Richard Dawkins, 4 p.m., Michigan Magic Bag, Detroit Theatre, Ann Arbor • Starling Electric, 9 p.m., Woodruff’s, 10/24: Ypsilanti • Eric Hutchinson, 7 p.m., The Crofoot • Mangattans, 8 p.m., Andiamo

Ballroom, Pontiac Celebrity Showroom, Warren • Primus 3D, 7 p.m., The Fillmore, • Mimosa, 8 p.m., Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit Detroit • The Afghan Whigs, 7 p.m., Saint • Third Annual Freaks Come Out at Andrew’s Hall, Detroit Nite Costume Bash, 9 p.m., • Nneka, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor The Fillmore, Detroit • Versati, 9:30 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann • Mason Jennings, 8 p.m., The Ark,

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CALENDAR // AROUND YOU Ann Arbor • Cat Power, 8 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak • The Bang!, 9:30 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Yelawolf, 7 p.m., Pease Auditorium, Ypsilanti • Killer Flamingos, 9 p.m., Cavern Club, Ann Arbor • Mariinsky Orchestra of St. Petersburg, 8 p.m., Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor 10/28: • Corey Holcomb, 7 p.m., Masonic Temple, Detroit • Brian Regan, 8 p.m., Wharton Center, East Lansing • Father John Misty with La Sera, 8 p.m., Magic Stick, Detroit • Glen Phillips and Grant Lee Phillips, 8 p.m., Magic Bag, Ferndale • Phil Ochs Song Night, 7:30 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • National Theatre Live: The Last of the Haussmans, 7 p.m., Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor 10/29: • Arlo Guthrie, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Menopause the Musical, 8 p.m., Michigan Theatre, Ann Arbor 10/30: • Arlo Guthrie, 8 p.m., The Ark, Ann Arbor • Menopause the Musical, 8 p.m., Michigan Theatre, Ann Arbor 10/31: • Funtcase, 8 p.m., The Crofoot Ballroom, Pontiac • Halloween and Devilock (Misfits), 9 p.m., Woodruff’s, Ypsilanti • 4th Annual Halloween Band Masquerade, 9:30 p.m., Blind Pig, Ann Arbor • Insane Clown Posse, 7 p.m., Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak • Company of Strangers, 10:30 p.m., Circus, Ann Arbor

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COmmunity

Week of 10/8: Eastern Michigan University Fashion Week 10/20: • Amazing FLYing Circus, 7 p.m., the Corner Brewery, Ypsilanti 10/21: • Filling Empty Bowls Fundraiser, 4 p.m. – 7 p.m., Earhardt Manor at Concordia University, Ann Arbor 10/23: • Pumpkin Carving at the Corner Brewery, Ypsilanti 10/27: • Halloween at the Corner Brewery, Ypsilanti

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STYLE // SCENE

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Fall Fashion

UNDERGROUND PRINTING

BY ISPY STAFF Whether it be one of their five locations in Ann Arbor or one of their t-shirts you’ve seen somewhere around town, you know Underground Printing.

Underground has everything a Wolverine fan can want and more, but that’s not all. While they’ve been able to produce athletic apparel that you’d never think about wearing in the gym, they also have a great line of local and vintage tees. Looking to show some Michigan [state] pride? Look no further as they’ve got a bunch to choose from. Are you a fan of the ABA, USFL, AFL or CBA or another dufunked league that no longer exists? Check out www.ugpclassics.com for a plethora of classic sports tees like the Detroit Fury (AFL), Detroit Express (NASL), Michigan Panthers (USFL), Michigan Stags (WHA) and many more.

Underground doesn’t only produce their own unique and cool designs, they also offer one of the best custom apparel services in the country. If you’re looking to order some custom tees, this is the place. You’ll get a quality, good looking prodcut with great customer service to boot. Considering they’ve got locations all over town, including their huge, brand new space off of S. Main street (formerly Blockbuster), you should have no problem finding the right solution for you, your band or your organization.

Starting out of a their dorm room while undergrads at UofM, now alumni Rishi Nurayan and Ryan Gregg have built a collegiate empire covering 14 college campuses throughout the Big Ten and then some. They’ve been featured in Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing companies for four years in a row (2008-20011), printed merchandise for three Super Bowls, the NHL and NBA finals, the 2006 World Series and 2009 Final Four. EMU Eagle and Huron fans keep a look out for www.shopemueagles.com which is coming soon. The site should be launched within the next couple weeks.

For more information on Underground Printing, to buy some swag or to create your own masterpiece, visit www.undergroundshirts.com.

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PHOTOS BY BRUNO POSTIGO

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FEATURE // Joey Youngman probably never seemed like the DJ type.

A born introvert growing up in a small town in California, he spent his time practicing piano and hiding out in record stores until he was exposed to the dance bug. Now he’s one of the hardest-working and most highly-demanded DJs in the world. He’s had a pivotal role in the evolution of electro-house over the past few years, spreading hysteria on Beatport with eight no. one tracks and making Wolfgang Gartner a name to remember at Coachella and Electric Daisy Carnival.

He’s been on the radar for about four years, with only one studio album under his name (along with a recentlyreleased collection of earlier songs). That makes it all the more stunning that a Grammy nomination, four Dance Music Award nominations, and a no. seven ranking in the America’s Best DJ poll are among his achievements. He’s constantly on the move – the dude is known for rarely taking a day off – but he took time for a phone interview a month in advance of his October 9 return to Necto.

Wolfgang Gartner Meet the quiet busy-body behind some of the world’s biggest dance parties

BY PAUL KITTI PHOTO BY CHELSEA LAUREN

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// FEATURE Have you performed at Necto before?

I played Necto one time before on the tour I did last year. The weird thing was, it was a bus tour with a lot of production, like the lighting and equipment all in a trailer behind the bus and the size and layout of the club was too small to fit the production. So it was one of the only shows on the tour where I didn’t get to use my production, but it was also one of the best shows on the entire tour. And I really wasn’t expecting that. Especially with it being a little out of the way in a place I don’t consider a major city. It was amazing. The crowd was nuts.

How do you feel about playing in smaller club venues as opposed to some of the larger festival stages?

It’s a completely different experience, and I like them mutually. I can’t say I like one more than the other. With the festival experience you get the rush of looking out and seeing ten or fifteen thousand people, and it’s this incredible feeling. But to play an event of that size, it’s a massive stage and you’re at least 50 feet from the crowd and you don’t really get to vibe off them. You can’t get the visuals, it’s just a mass of people. In a smaller club, it’s a completely different environment. You’re with the crowd and interacting with them, and it’s easier to read them and adjust the set accordingly.

They’re totally different, but I like each one the same.”.

What was it like growing up in San Luis Obispo, and when did you get into music?

I lived there until I was about nineteen. San Luis Obispo was and still is a pretty small city.

The population is 45,000 I think, and it’s halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. When I was just starting to get into music it was like 1993.

I think I was thirteen years old, and, at that time, dance music was just starting to explode in the United States – the music and the culture. I started getting into the music by going to the record store every day, just listening to and collecting dance music and within a year or so I started going to warehouse raves. I was fourteen, so my mom would drive me there then pick me up like around 11p.m. or something. Even though it was such a small city, there was so much going on. With the record store and dance style clothing and gear and records and everything, basically the mid and late 90s was like a boom – sort of like what we’re having now, but on a different scale – and it was great. It would have been a lot more exciting living in a bigger city like Los Angeles, but I still had plenty of stuff to do.

How big were the raves?

They weren’t massive, some were one or two thousand person venues, some two or three hundred people, some were out in the mountains

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and some were hidden – like, you had to go to 7/11 and get directions from this guy, and he would give you directions to another guy who would give you directions to this venue somewhere out in the woods, you know …that type of stuff. Around 1997 or 1998 I started driving out to LA where there were forty to fifty thousand people. Massive. It was a pretty incredible experience.

How did you become involved in producing dance music?

I was always into writing music. I played classical piano for a long time, and that kind of turned into electronic production because my uncle had a little home studio and a lot of gear and stuff. I started making whatever, like pop stuff, and I would sing and make experimental electronic stuff, just messing around, and when I discovered dance music I started just making that stuff for the most part.

Do you remember your first gig?

I used to play at friends’ parties in junior high and high school with these tape decks that had controls on them, and I would use those to DJ parties. But my first real gig was at a club in San Luis Obispo. I think I was sixteen, and my mom drove me there, and I opened and was playing just whatever I knew back then and I was absolutely horrible …I was destroying every mix, but the club was pretty much empty, so luckily no one heard it.

But I remember that I was absolutely horrendous.

Not ready for primetime at all.

I guess an empty club is a good place to get the nerves out or troubleshoot.

Exactly.

How do you go about constructing your original songs? Does it start with a melody or a particular sound or mood you want explore?

It’s different every time. It depends a lot on what types of shows I’ve been playing. So if I just played a festival tour or a bunch of big, ten thousand person shows, then I’ll have a sound in my head – something that would have gone over well at that type of show, and I’ll go in thinking I want to make something that sounds like that. Sometimes I’ll be listening back to my older stuff and I’ll think, “I have something special going on here, I wanna take this to the next level and play on this thing but take it to a new place.” It never starts with the melody. It always starts with drums because I need drums to groove out to and actually write music to because I play everything on keyboard – my bass lines and chord progressions, my melodies and everything. So I basically write those over drums and sit there and loop it over and over and blast it. When I hit something, I’ll start recording and go from there, but it all starts with the drums.

You seem to be constantly searching for innovative directions in which to take your

music. How do you determine what direction to go?

Well, I don’t really know, that’s really a big part of the challenge of making new music and progressing as an artist. How do you outdo yourself and not continually be making the same song over and over again, but maintain a signature sound and maintain a sound that people continue to support and like to listen to …but just take it to the next level and keep evolving as an artist. That’s a really hard thing to do, and there are few artists able to do that – but I think that’s probably every artist’s dilemma. It’s a constant battle, something that I’m always cautious about. I’m cautious, thinking, “I don’t want to repeat myself and I don’t want to make the same thing over again, but I want to maintain my signature, whatever that is, maintain it and do something new with it.” And it’s very challenging to do that.

How much time passed between creating the alias Wolfgang Gartner and revealing that you were the one behind the music?

I think it was probably six months or something.

Less than a year.

Was there any significance behind the timing?

I’m trying to think back – that was like four years ago. There wasn’t much strategery going on in my brain back then. I didn’t have a manager, you know, my career was on so much of a smaller scale than it is now and I don’t know how much thought went into that whole thing. The picture that I took on Beatport with me in like a gray wig and mustache and a smoking pipe and everything, I think I was just kind of fucking around to be honest. I don’t think there was much thought into it.

I’ve read that you’re a big fan of hip-hop – how does that affect your own music?

Hip-hop is pretty much all I listen to. It’s – as far as a consumer and a listener of music, not as a producer – hip-hop and dance music are equal to me. When I’m in my car or when I’m just listening to music at home or wherever, I don’t listen to dance music because I’m surrounded by it so much already. So I listen to hip-hop. I was listening to rap since I was probably like fourteen years old.

It’s just what I like, it makes me feel good. As far as how it affects my music, I don’t really know how much it does. I’m sure it does subconsciously, but I don’t necessarily grab ideas from hip-hop and apply it to dance music. If there’s any effect it has on my music at all, it’s more of an urban street attitude that’s sort of engrained in me and my being, and that sort of wears off into my music. But I don’t get inspired by individual elements in hiphop tracks.

INTERVIEW CONTINUTED ON PG. 22 --->

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Your new album Back Story was released today, correct?

Yeah, I had unfortunately called it an album when really it should be called an anthology type of thing, cause it’s kind of a greatest hits sort of thing. It’s all stuff that was released on my label Kindergarten before I signed with Ultra. There were about 20 songs to choose from, and I just picked 13 of the 20 and put them into album form, so it’s kind of just a convenient way for people to get their hands on some of that old stuff.

I rarely play any of that stuff anymore. The only ones that I play are “Fire Power” and very, very rarely I’ll bring in some form of “Wolfgang’s 5th Symphony,” but mostly I’ll do a mash-up of it because, to me personally, all that stuff sounds dated and represents where I was at in 2008, 2009, 2010 as a producer. But to other people it might sound great and they like it more than my new stuff, and for some people it sounds old.

Given the packed schedules and wild atmospheres of the shows, I’d think most successful DJs would be naturally energetic and kind of thrive in that environment. Do you feel that’s true for you?

Umm, no, it’s actually the opposite. I’m as

introverted as it possibly gets, and there are people like that who take on jobs where they’re forced to become a little bit more extroverted. A perfect example is a friend of mine who’s a teacher and she’s a complete introvert, but she has to stand up in front of her class for eight hours a day and teach. She’s great at it, but at her core, she’s an introvert. And I’ve always been the in-thestudio, sitting-in-the-background, lock-myselfin-a-room-for-right-hours kind of guy. I’ve never been the front man, on stage, center-of-attention guy, so it’s taken me a long time to build my stage presence and comfort level to the point it’s at now because it was not my natural role. My dad was in bands when he was younger, and he would say there’s a front man and side man, like the lead singer and the bass player, and he always said to me, “I was a side man, and you’re the same as me – you’re a side man too.” And it’s true, at my core I probably am, but I’ve developed these skills and done it so much to the point where I’m comfortable in those shoes of being the front man now. And, to be honest, I never thought it would happen, but it’s taken a lot of time and a lot of banging my head against the wall and a lot of experience.

”

FEATURE //

I was always into writing music. I played classical piano for a long time, and that kind of turned into electronic production…”

In your opinion, what makes a perfect DJ set?

It’s different for everybody, that’s a really hard question to answer. It takes a lot of planning and knowing the music. The more experience you have, and the more you know your music and different types of crowds and different territories and markets you’ve played in, the better you’re gonna be. It all comes down to experience and knowing your music and having quality music.

Be sure to check out Wolfgang Gartner’s performance during his October 9 show at Necto in Ann Arbor. For more information, visit necto. com.

Young Professional Spotlight What has been your career highlight?

Converge Ad

Can I say the past two years? Working with people who are dedicated to the future of journalism, being asked to innovate all the time, I feel like I’m making a difference. I love going to work every single day.

Jen Eyer

Statewide Community Engagement Director MLive Media Group

BY AMANDA TRENT PHOTO BY LAURE VINCENT BOULEAU

What keeps you in the area?

I have young children, and those lists aren’t lying. Ann Arbor is a great place to raise a family.

Also, the social life in my neighborhood rivals college with regard to how easy it is to meet

BA, Journalism, Michigan State Universityi SPY OCTOBER 2012

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people, make friends and get together.

Why are you involved with A2Y Converge?

I’m in that in-between stage: Just past the “young professional,” but still too young to feel at home at standard Chamber events. I see A2Y Converge as a way to bridge the gap, and I love the idea of helping to connect young professionals with older, more established mentors. Everyone who has serious career goals needs a mentor.

Upcoming A2Y Converge Events Entre-Slam Presented by A2Y Converge Thursday, October 25 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at LIVE Ann Arbor 102 S. 1st St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Connect with A2Y Converge

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STYLE // SCENE

F

Fall Fashion

MAPLE

BY ISPY STAFF Finally, there’s some new life for men in the Ann Arbor style scene. The recently opened Maple offers a variety of fresh, new looks for fall. Carrying unique brands like The West is Dead, Penfield, BWGH, Quality Peoples and Swims among others, Maple offers a curated selection of men’s products.

When you walk into the boutique space located at 406 E. Liberty, you get the idea that Maple isn’t just a clothing store, but it’s more of a lifestyle. From the brands they carry to the layout and design of the store, you can tell this is a way of life, not just another spot to grab some mustard chinos. It seems like a perfect mix of skate and surf urban-Michigan. In one stop you can grab a longboard, pick up some water sport shoes, some headphones, a new backpack and an outfit to wear after the adventure. The only thing missing is the fixed gear.

While the Ann Arbor location is new, Maple’s original space is located in Birmingham. The Ann Arbor locale is techinically a “pop up retail” store, meaning they only have a three month lease. Whether it be for one of their monthly events, to grab the latest looks or just to support a local retailer on the rise, make sure to swing by and check Maple out. For more info, you can visit their website at www.thatsmaple.com or “like” them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thatsmaple.

PHOTOS BY TIM ADKINS

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OCTOBER 2012

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FEATURE //

The Redneck Poet from Gadsden, Alabama

BY PAUL KITTI

Drive about two hours northeast of the beautiful University of Alabama campus and you’ll reach Gadsden.

It’s the kind of place where shotguns are toted as loosely as iPods, where you’re more likely to see a cockfight than a football game, a meth lab than a pharmacy, a junk yard than a recycling bin. Understanding this environment is key to understanding Michael Atha, the lanky, tattoo-covered MC known as Yelawolf.

His Shady Records debut, last year’s “Radioactive,” is soaked in the culture of his hometown. Through the slippery and sneering voice of a Southern rebel with a snappy tongue, Yelawolf colors his songs with sly humor and lurid imagery (“Pick up a two-liter but I only need the plastic/ know how to make bombs out of aluminum and acid”). He’s got a novelist’s attention to detail, but what’s immediately striking is his vocal dexterity. Check the album opener, where he spouts quick verses – one on top of the other – each with their own attitude and flow, showcasing a multi-dimensional style that’s hard to come by. To many, it was a perfect introduction. But Yelawolf has been around for a while.

Now 32, the once-homeless Yelawolf took a bizarre route to rap stardom. He was raised in a trailer park by a single, bartending mother. He ditched school at 15 and took to the road with his skateboard. After some prolonged statehopping, he made it to California where he set his mind to living out his skating dreams. Derailed by injuries, he spent some time working on an Alaskan fishing boat before returning to “the gutter.” It was back in the trailer park that Yelawolf connected his roots with his ability to rap.

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”

My childhood programmed me for [touring]. I’ve always been on the move.”

2005’s “Creek Water” landed with a thud in the underground scene, eventually taking him to the offices of Columbia. His stay turned sour when, shortly after his arrival, Rick Rubin moved in and cleaned house. But Yelawolf proved he had his best hiding up his sleeve. He released “Trunk Music” in 2010, which started “the best white rapper since Eminem” whispers. The two would cross paths soon after, when Yelawolf landed a deal at Interscope and was signed to Em’s own Shady Records.

“Radioactive” was recorded mostly in Vegas over just a few weeks, and Yelawolf has yet to tap the brakes. He played 250 shows in 2011 alone in support of the album. Over the past year, he’s been breathing some fresh air into mainstream rap: he teamed up with unlikely collaborators Ed Sheeran and Travis Barker to produce a handful of singles, and also recorded a conceptual mixtape with three Alabama natives taking production credits. Expect an EP from the Yela/Barker team this November.

“We met over a year ago and just clicked, man,” Yelawolf says of their friendship. “We started making records the first night, and we’ve been going back and forth since.”

Recovered from a ruptured spleen that forced him to cancel a few dates back in March, Yelawolf is already a few shows into his Slumerican Tour, which he says “has been crazy so far,” with “mosh pits everywhere and bodies flying all over the place.” It’s another demanding ride with back-to-back shows scattered all throughout the schedule. On the phone, however, preparing for a show in Arizona, he’s relaxed and reflective. “My childhood programmed me for it,” he says of touring. “I’ve always been on the move.”

Most of that moving still involves a board. “I carry a skateboard pretty much anywhere I go,” he says, before listing all the people on tour with him who also pack their boards. “When I’m the only one who skates, it sucks.” He also carries the illustrated story of his life wherever he goes, in the form of some thirty tattoos spread out across his body. Among the mix of creek creatures, song titles and symbols of his Native American heritage, most apparent is the word “RED” running down the right side of his neck in crimson letters. Like the words in his songs, it’s a bold embrace of his culture, packing humor and pride in equal measure.

Though he wouldn’t get into specifics, Yelawolf says a new album with the title “Love Story” is in the works. “It’s in my head and it’s in my heart, so in a way it’s already finished,” he says. “I know what I want it to sound like. Now it’s just a matter of getting me in the studio with my people.”

Yelawolf will be performing at the EMU Pease Auditorium on October 27 with Rittz and DJ Vajra.

FEATURING

SAM LLANAS

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS AND PROGRAMS

FORMERLY OF THE BODEANS

MARTIN BANDYKE of ann arbor’s 107one

JEREMY BALDWIN of THE ROOTS

MUSIC PROJECT

OCTOBER 3–6

HOME RECORDING with Paul Tyson SONGWRITING FOR TEENS One-on-One

Songwriting Sessions

WITH DAN FLORIDA AND SEAN ROGERS

SALUTE TO THE SONGS OF

LOCATIONS:

YDL-WHITTAKER ROAD AND THE CORNER BREWERY FOR MORE INFORMATION: (734) 482-4110 YPSILIBRARY.ORG/YSF

Motown

TWITTER: @YPSISONGFEST

AFTER HOURS IN THE GARAGE WITH

FACEBOOK: YPSILANTIDISTRICTLIBRARY

OUR BROTHER THE NATIVE AND KNOWN MOONS SPECIAL THANKS TO WORM FARM RECORDINGS

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OCTOBER 2012

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FEATURE //

Katy Goodman Explains It All

From Pussy Riot and gaming to relationships and animal rescue – nothing is off limits with La Sera’s Katy Goodman

BY AMANDA TRENT

PHOTO BY MAGDA WOSINSKA

Katy Goodman is every woman. She is the girl next door. She is the sexy rockstar on stage.

She is a gamer who won’t let the boys push her around when it comes to Call of Duty. She is your Twitter-loving best friend who has no qualms with making her life public for all of her followers to see. She is also full of delightful contradictions – like how she claims not to give much thought to what she wears yet so often has amazing fashion sense. Or how she doesn’t really believe in lifelong monogamous relationships, yet still gets teary eyed while watching the Pixar film “Up.” Even her potential career paths paint a sharp contrast – high school physics teacher vs. revered indie rock sweetheart. And, in her career as a musician, she is both an active band member (Vivian Girls) and solo artist (La Sera) at once. But these are

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some of the reasons that we love Goodman. She’s refreshingly approachable, genuine, thoughtful and introspective – but for the most part just wants to have a good time, enjoy life and not take everything so seriously (since, after all, we only live once).

When we spoke with Goodman prior to the start of her tour with Josh Tillman (Father John Misty), she had just finished eating pho at a Vietnamese restaurant. By the time our conversation was over, she told us that she had never talked so thoroughly about animals, relationships and her political beliefs before, adding, “It must be the pho.” And, truth be told, our time together felt a lot less like interviewing a rock star and more like having a long talk with one of our best girlfriends.

What made you start making music as La Sera?

I had never just sat down just with a guitar and wrote a song by myself before. And I did a couple of years ago for the first time. It was really fun and I wrote a whole album in two weeks and was like “Oh, that’s not so bad. That’s fun. I like doing that.”

And now I’ve just been doing it ever since.

Your most recent album seems to be largely a breakup album. Can you tell us anything about the story behind that?

The album is based on a few different relationships I’ve been in but it’s about getting to that point where you realize you’re just not happy anymore, so it’s not traumatic cheating breakups.

It’s more like, “We’ve been together for a while and it just kind of fizzled out. Sorry – that sucks.” That’s

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// FEATURE

probably because those are usually the kind of breakups I go through – the kind where it’s getting to the point where maybe we just shouldn’t be doing this routine anymore.

Is it hard to maintain relationships when you’re on the road?

I think relationships are hard for everyone. It’s really easy to be like, “I travel a lot, and that’s my excuse,” but I have friends that don’t travel, and they have trouble, too. I just think relationships in general are just difficult and take a lot of work – which is why they don’t work out most of the time.

I’m very pessimistic about traditional, monogamous relationships.

And why is that?

I think that people get bored, and people like excitement. Unless you really go out of your way to make your relationship super exciting, I feel like most of them kind of fall into these routines that eventually make you less happy. I think you only live once. I’m totally cool with the idea of having several or many long term relationships throughout life. If you get married, and 20 years later you get divorced, it’s like, “That was fun – I spent 20 years of the only life I have. I don’t regret it, but time to move on.” I feel like that’s okay, and I don’t hate that idea at all.

You seem like the kind of person who doesn’t live life with regrets and really seizes the moment. Would you say that’s true?

I feel like you’re only getting older all the time.

You never know what’s going to happen, so you shouldn’t be unhappy. Sometimes you need to make drastic changes – or even not drastic ones.

Sometimes things that seem small on the grand scale of things can have a huge impact in your life and make you a lot happier.

Is there any glimmer of hope that you have that a relationship might work out and turn into something more long term and lasting?

I feel like the term “work out” is really weird.

Because what does it mean if something works out? You stay together for 40 years, and then someone dies and you’re like, “Well that worked out.” Dan Savage always talks about how you never really know something is going to work out until it does, and then you’re 80 and still together and are like “Well I guess that worked out.” But until that day happens, something working out could be as little as having a happy year together.

“We were together for a year. It was awesome. You only get that year once.” I’m still friends with a lot of

my boyfriends for that reason. You don’t have to be together for your entire lives for it to have worked out. That’s a very old-fashioned way of looking at it. Although I will admit, every time I watch “Up,” I cry. So I’m not totally heartless. There’s something to be said for sharing your whole life together and ending up old. That’s beautiful, too. I just feel like it’s not the only way to reach happiness or to feel like you succeeded in romance.

Did you always know you wanted to make music?

No, not really. I only started making music when I was about 20. I played music in high school band when I was growing up. I played saxophone, but it’s not like I ever wrote songs with it or played in a ska band with my saxophone or anything. I didn’t get involved in a band until I was like 20 and my friends asked, “Do you want to sing in this band?” And I was like “I guess so.” And it was super fun, and I’ve never looked back since that. So it’s never too late to start. I didn’t even play an instrument. I played bass for the first time essentially when Vivian Girls started, so it’s never too late to start.

What was your vision for your life before that?

I was going to teach high school physics. I have my degree in physics and my master’s in education and physics. I was seriously applying for jobs, and that summer when Vivian Girls got signed to the label, it wasn’t at all what I thought was going to happen whatsoever.

I heard that you did some video game writing for some tech blogs?

I wrote a couple of things for Fader. I have a column in Noisey.

Are you excited to tour with Josh Tillman? Are you friends outside of your musical endeavors?

I’m really excited to be doing the tour. I love his music so much. I always run into him at our local juice bar. We’re friends. We see each other at shows and stuff. I found out that they were looking for someone to open the tour, so I submitted myself and that was it.

You have a big Twitter presence. What’s it like having fans know so much more about you than the average musician that they might follow?

I think it’s funny. There’s a lot to be said for remaining somewhat mysterious, and I know a lot of musicians who will never join Twitter, and they like having that separation, but I just happen to be a very open person. I like making jokes. I like being social through having Twitter friends. I like that stuff. My Twitter personality is me, whereas my

music is a separate thing that I take very seriously.

That’s why the Twitter name is not La Sera. It’s Katy Goodman. Because by my music, you might just think I sit around in coffee shops sobbing. I’m more of a carefree, optimistic person than I think my music might say about me. I generally only write songs when I’m upset.

Would you say you have a different persona for Vivian Girls than you do for La Sera?

My persona for Vivian Girls is how I am in real life.

I smile and laugh a lot and tell jokes on stage and stuff. La Sera is more my sadder side.

I know that you recently performed during Fashion’s Night Out in New York. Tell me about that experience.

It was really fun. I’ve never been to fall fashion week, and it’s really hectic. The sidewalks are completely full of people. It took 10 minutes to walk one block. It was kind of like mardi gras, which I was not expecting. It was really crazy.

I heard that you got to wear some awesome clothes.

Yeah – I got a gown and a blazer.

You do have a good sense of style. Do you look at yourself as someone who loves fashion?

Honestly, not really. I recently have started to think about clothes. My style has formed very organically. At no point have I ever sat down and thought, “What should I be wearing?” I just kind of buy clothes – which is not great, because you should kind of be thinking about your outfits, but I never planned it out. I used to go thrift shopping in high school, but I’m way to ADD for it now. I don’t have patience to go through racks of clothes. I wish I did. I just go to the mall. I just bought a lot of clothes the other day because I decided I wanted to wear more white after Labor Day because that’s the rule that you’re not supposed to do that. So I was like, “Fuck that. I’m going to buy as many white dresses as I can find.” So I bought six white dresses. And I bought white shoes and shorts – tons of white clothes. I think on the Father John Misty tour, I’ll probably be wearing white every day – which is a terrible color for your tour color because the clothes get so dirty typically, and I won’t be able to wash them. But I’m just a major risk taker.

I also saw you were Tweeting a lot about the situation with Pussy Riot, which you seem to feel strongly about. Can you tell me a little more about that?

INTERVIEW CONTINUTED ON PG. 28 --->

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OCTOBER 2012

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REVIEW // SOUNDS

PHOTO BY MAGDA WOSINSKA

The moment I heard about it in the spring until this moment right now, I still can’t believe that that’s a thing that happened and that they’re still in jail. Vivian Girls played a benefit show for them and their legal defense.

It was awesome to play a part. Fans all made “Free Pussy Riot” shirts. It was really awesome to come together for a good cause. I feel like there are a million causes in the world. Sometimes you wish you could do more for a lot of causes, but there is something very specific about the Pussy Riot cause that we attached ourselves to. We’re girls and we take for granted that we can just get up on stage and sing about anything that we want all the time. Yes, Pussy Riot is more of a protest group than just a band, but they’ve tied together their politics and music in such a creative way, and it attracts a lot of attention. They understand that having their video go viral can be the most successful way of staging a protest in this day and age.

Vivian Girls seem to have sort of a feminist vibe through their music. Is that accurate to say?

I think that the lyrics aren’t political for Vivian Girls, but the act of three girls starting a band and getting our own gear and going on tours is a feminist thing that could only really have happened after the Riot Grrrl movement. We definitely are feminist in the way that we think, which was completely opened up to us through Riot Grrrl and through feminism – and the fact that we can get up and sing about anything we want and it’s not weird. Getting to that point has required a lot of action.

What’s next on the horizon for you after you’re done with the tour?

I don’t know. I’m thinking about getting a dog. I want a giant dog – a great dane or something. I’m going to rescue it. Another cause that I feel very strongly about is animal rescue, so of course I can dream about great danes and mountain dogs or whatever, but I’m sure the dog I get, I’ll just go to the animal shelter and adopt a dog. I would never buy a dog. That’s something I feel really strongly about. There’s so many dogs of all different breeds that always need adopting, and I don’t think there’s any room in our society for buying pets for several thousands of dollars – that’s crazy to me.

La Sera will open for Father John Misty at 8 p.m. on October 28 at the Magic Stick in Detroit.

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rate it+++ Singer/multi-instrumentalist Chan Marshall set loose a pair of striking singles this month to bolster “Sun,” her first original album in six years, showing no signs of her dark dynamism diluting. Her wispy wintry vocals, an eerie blend of sultry and stark, seemed to get a bit more sanguine this time around, with reviewers/rock-crits reverberating remarks upon her fragile/fractured persona appearing to have girded over the years into a new, fierce resolve (bad break-ups can do that, I guess). It’s a refresh, a wake-up call, a get-back out there and, hey, pick-up-some-synthesizers-whileyou’re-out – we’ve got a new, weird, sublime, beat-percolating little album to make here.

Have you dug deep enough into this, by now? I’ve been respinning the inevitable elephantin-the-album’s-room, the swaying

11-minute anthem “Nothing But Time,” with it’s tranquil-ish rockbeat and marching pianos, synths breezing by past your sides as Marshall’s encouraging, soaringlullaby vocals seem to coax an iridescent new sunrise over the song’s horizon. This is the new Cat Power everyone’s talking about – a new turn for the edgy, erratic introvert, this singed violet finding a new bloom in the throaty refrain “You wanna LIVE,” as harmonized in the quavering cameo-croon of Ypsi’s own Iggy Pop. That’s one way to close an album: a spurring songthat-almost-never-ends-and-yetyou-still-listen-to-the-whole-thing.

It’s not something you’d put on any ol’ time, and eventually it’ll probably ring as cheesy/schmaltzy – but damn it if it’s not, initially, a pickerupper. How’s that for a twist in a Cat Power record?

ARTIST: Cat Power ALBUM: Sun 3.5/5 TOWERS BY JEFF MILO

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SOUNDS // REVIEW

rate it+++ I’m not knocking the Avett Brothers for appearing in a GAP ad, I’m just saying it seems like they’re enjoying the comfortable position between their rickety North Carolina porch swing and America’s rock ‘n roll spotlight.

Their seventh album (second on a major label) is a product of that comfort, another ballad-heavy, Rick Rubin-produced string-pickin’ session that feels warm and familiar. Storyladen lyrics sway from sweet and honest to lazily contrived (“ready to

surrender, and remember we’re all in this together”), but even the most eyeroll-inducing lines are redeemed by the charm of the Avetts’ vocals and the beauty of the song arrangements.

There’s more rocking out this time around, a few electric guitar riffs and some energized gang vocals, but “The Carpenter” sounds a whole lot like “I and Love Part Two.”

ARTIST: The Avett Brothers ALBUM: The Carpenter 3/5 TOWERS BY PAUL KITTI

It’s a sophomore album that I almost hoped would never get made. The xx’s selftitled debut was a wholly original oddity, an intimate and deeply personal experience that still hasn’t aged a day. If the xx are known for any one thing, it would be their minimalism, and it seemed the two options for them going into this album were to dial up their sound or keep things safe and similar.

With “Coexist,” they inch deeper towards their minimal roots, trying to make an even bigger puzzle with fewer pieces. And it mostly works. As a whole, it feels tight, sleek and mysterious. Slowly dripping bass lines and drum machines used to a soft, echoing effect. Keyboards and pensive electric guitar melodies, often used in

isolation. Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim again share vocals in what plays like an exchange of cautious bedroom whispers amidst a full moon backdrop. Lyrics still focus on singular feelings or moments, the sensation of love or loss or guilt revealed in chopped-up confessionals.

It’s hard to imagine this music any more stripped down, and I can’t help but hope that they begin tapping into other techniques for their next goaround. But “Coexist” stands alongside their debut as something dark, sensual and cool, a confirmation of the identity

ARTIST: The XX ALBUM: Coexist 4/5 TOWERS BY PAUL KITTI

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REVIEW // SOUNDS

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ARTIST: Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti ALBUM: Mature Themes 4/5 TOWERS BY TREASURE GROH

When listening to “Mature Themes,” one can’t help (or at least this reviewer can’t help) but conjure up memories of “The Monster Mash,” as this album tends toward a sound that definitely captures the “freak pop” genre that the band likens itself to. Take one part oogy-boogy, two parts crude uncle and a dash of noise rock and you’ll get Ariel Pink in a nutshell. Does that make you scared to listen? Perhaps it should … in a good way, of course.

From the opening track, “Kinski Assassin,” Ariel Pink’s low, avant garde voice looms below the higher pitch of the very video game like plinks and spires of the music. While the lo-fi video game-esque sound carries through much of the album, tunes like “Mature Themes” and

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“Only In My Dreams” sound more like synthed-up KC and the Sunshine band, carrying an airy quality that allows the listener to get lost in reverie. Some tracks, like “Schnitzel Boogie,” are just silly and showcase the other side of the Ariel Pink coin: entertainment for the sake of entertaining. One surprising track is “Baby,” which presents itself as a slow jam rather than a fuzzy pop tune.

The great thing about Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti is that nothing is ever taken too seriously. The music is fun, it’s about sex, it’s funny, it’s reminiscent of those weird ‘70s TV shows, video games and, well, music, while still remaining very much so in the present.

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Hana Malhas is a transplant.

Her hometown is Amman, Jordan, where she currently resides, but she spent a while here in the mitten.

And her recently released EP “Hana Malhas and the Overthinkers” is definitely infused with the particular listlessness and longing that homesickness can bring.

But just because she isn’t a native doesn’t mean she doesn’t have any friends stateside – oh no.

The Overthinkers (Malhas’ backing group) fluctuates from one other person to a full band that performs with her live but are not so much in evidence on the EP. Another partner in crime that she’s met on this side of the pond is Michelle Chamuel of My Dear Disco and Ella Riot fame. Chamuel co- produced “Overthinkers” and lends her distinctive vocal touch to a few tracks on the album.

While she isn’t alone, the visual when listening to this album is a solitary Malhas beneath a spotlight on an otherwise darkened stage.

In her words, Malhas related that she felt the album is “full of subtle drama. To me, it’s about your

subconscious love, your inner superhero or your darkest quiet place.” Those kinds of themes are best related in hushed tones in dim places, and that is how the EP feels. Her voice remains largely unadorned, a mix of Carly Simon and Dido (remember her?! She wasn’t that bad…).

Malhas’ voice echoes as though through an empty ponderous space on the album. The percussive element on “Overthinkers” is often limited to hand claps (a favorite of Chamuel) and instrumentally mainly breathy pianos and tinkling xylophones hold sway. This bare audio quality makes those moments when a harmony or fuller instrumentation sweeps in that much more breathtaking.

With not much for her lyrics to hide behind, we can thank our lucky stars that such a capable songwriter as Malhas is steering the ship. Lyrics like “let’s settle for destruction, at the end of the day I’ll quietly resign” give you a glimpse into her dense, tangled psyche and clue you in to why her band is “the Overthinkers.”

ARTIST: Hana Malhas and the Overthinkers ALBUM: Hana Malhas and the Overthinkers 3/5 TOWERS BY JASMINE ZWEIFLER

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SOUNDS // REVIEW Animal Collective has been caged by expectations. Hip-blogger courts christened the Brooklyn-bards of experimental computer pop-operas as the bar-setters for staggeringly meticulous, invigoratingly synthspruced compositions, molding them into mystical levels – wizardly winders of incredibly evocative, multifaceted, timeless / genre-less / home-planetless arias that are warm, weird together, jagged and danceable all at once.

But there’s what I call the “King of Limbs”-effect (referencing comparable leftfield rock-gods Radiohead’s most recent release and the underwhelming response stoked by the majority of their listener base). Anticipation risks exceeding even AC’s own uncannily packed arrangements, thus that you’ve dreamed-up impossible heights for them, and the inevitable reaction/ review resonates somewhere near to: “It’s good but…” But you wanted more?

I’ll just direct you to the prevailing track on “Centipede Hz,” the rhythmic stampede and synth-

squalled whirl of “Monkey Rich.”

This seven minute blur of elemental crossfire, amped-up oscillations whirring over a garrison of myriad percussion, is altogether tribal, kinetic, meandering, powerful even – but is it panicking? What can we try next? Will this be weird enough to suit everyone’s liking? “Why doesn’t everybody always dance?” sings Avey Tare (/Dave Portner), “Makes me wonder how I even wrote this song…”

In a recent interview with online music-mag Stereogum, Deakin (/ Josh Dibb) slipped a telling phrase: “motivating pressure.” The key, though, is to assure that your main source of therapy, your music, doesn’t in itself become an extension, an inflammatory experience, of said “pressure.” Release the pressure we weird-pop-lovers have placed on you by just doing your thing. And if you’ve done that (and I believe this thing to at least be a notably more interesting record than the blithe buoyancy of “Merriweather Post Pavilion”) and most still find it “eh, s’okay…” Well, then maybe that’s okay. For now.

ARTIST: Animal Collective ALBUM: Centipede Hz 3/5 TOWERS BY JEFF MILO

ARTIST: David Byrne and St. Vincent ALBUM: Love This Giant 5/5 TOWERS BY MARY SIMKINS Being a fan of David Byrne (Talking Heads), I was pretty confident that I wouldn’t hate his new collaboration with St. Vincent, “Love this Giant.”

What I did not anticipate was how difficult it would be for me to move past the first track, “Who.” A catchy yet unpredictable melody pairs with fragmented and introspected lyrics for one of the most exciting things in music today – a unique sound. However, after listening to “Who” a good four or five times (and committing some of the video choreography to memory) I was comfortable listening to the rest of the album.

“Love This Giant” was my introduction to St. Vincent, Oklahoma-born Annie www.ispymagazine.co // @ispymagazine

Clark who started out as a member of the Polyphonic Spree then spent some time touring with Sufjan Stevens. With her own cult following among indie rock fans, St. Vincent brings airy vocals and ethereal style to David Byrne’s strong musical presence.

On “Love This Giant,” expect big brass instruments mixed with funk mixed with experimentation and existentialism. Expect a smart album with substance, combining the tremendous talent of two weirdos who know how to complement each other.

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REVIEW // SOUNDS

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ARTIST: Jetty Rae ALBUM: Drowning in Grain 4/5 TOWERS BY JASMINE ZWEIFLER I am of the opinion that a killer name is about 75% of success in the music biz today (maybe because I’m not a member of the music biz whatsoever – but that is neither here nor there). Using my criterion, folk songstress Jetty Rae is well on her way to industry domination. Ann Arbor native Jetty Rae (if that is her real name) recently released the album “Drowning in Grain,” and it’s getting all kinds of buzz. She has already won accolades from sources as varied as MTV and Sarah McLachlan – two artistic outlets without much overlap nowadays.

Rae has a voice that is clear and pure. She sings with every syllable gently and carefully annunciated.

But just because her voice is pure, that doesn’t mean it lacks character – quite the opposite. Her vocals can remind you at turns of Lauren Hill, Norah Jones or Amy Winehouse.

When she really comes into her own, though, is on a song like “In Love,” where she lets a folksy country twang and swagger slip in. She can change the shade of her voice subtly for each song, so slyly that you may not notice it at first. But the end result

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is that it makes “Drowning in Grain” undeniably cohesive but with enough variety that you really can put the album on repeat and discover a new favorite on each spin.

And just as her voice respects each lyric, so does the musical accompaniment. She keeps it simple – often just featuring a tinkling piano or a straightforward upstrokedownstroke style guitar playing and limited percussion. The one standout is “Movies,” a song with its jazzy horns that swing like a pendulum.

Belying this aforementioned simplicity are her nuanced and often downright idiosyncratic lyrics. The ambitiously titled “Favorite Song” is particularly loopy enumerating all of the imperfect things that she and her lover will have to tolerate about each other (his mother, her spending).

Hardly your typical love song, but it is the kind of offbeat honesty that characterizes Jetty Rae and it’s what makes “Drowning in Grain” an understated pleasure.

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Yeasayer is a band awash in contradiction. Their name is undeniably positive (say YEA!) as is the title of their most recent album “Fragrant World” (mmmm). But things start to get weird when you examine the track list – songs with names like “Regan’s Skeleton,” “Demon Road” and “Devil and the Deed” clue you in to that maybe it isn’t all coming up roses in Yeasayer’s world.

Yeasayer seems to be in the mold of many other bands – floating at the periphery at the moment. Hailing from Brooklyn, electro-pop hipster three piece yadda yadda – we know the story …or perhaps we don’t.

Their sound is so full and lush, so skittery and frenetic that you can’t pretend to have heard it before.

The band has gone above and beyond the call of duty with “Fragrant World,” employing new technologies to get sounds that you can never quite place.

Some crazy software that can give any instrument the harmonic

characteristics of another called Omnisphere was used to great effect. Hopefully that gives you some idea of the sonic contortions Yeasayer goes through on this album.

The opening track “Fingers Never Bleed” has a distinct Indian flavor with Bhangra beats and fluttery instrumentation. It sets the tone for an album that makes much of airy, layered vocals and beats that start serene and then just seem to stumble into danceable. Classical and exotic sounds collide as cellos and violins flex and bend together with marimbas and thumb keys.

The vocal quality is reminiscent of the band Fun. And the instrumental quality of “Fragrant World” reminds one of Rick James. It’s that kind of record.

The album seems to hurdle forward with a momentum derived from dark squeals and blips – like your radar is leading you closer to something you may or may not want to find.

ARTIST: Yeasayer ALBUM: Fragrant World 3/5 TOWERS BY JASMINE ZWEIFLER

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SOUNDS // REVIEW

rate it+++ There are very few people who have lived through as much as Bob Dylan. From a middle-of-nowhere kid in Minnesota to a vagabond New York folkie, simultaneously adored as the voice of a generation and despised as a sell-out, trouble-making Judas. He nearly died in a motorcycle accident, was reborn as an evangelist and rereborn as a… well, not an evangelist.

He spent his time on the cover of every major magazine in America and spent decades hiding from the public eye. His entire life has been a perfect storm and, in many ways, it seems to culminate in what may well go down as one of Dylan’s late-career classics.

“Tempest,” Dylan’s 35th studio album, is a relatively blues-heavy

collection of songs like the gritty, Cab Calloway-ish “Tin Angel” and the classic, mannish-boy shuffle of “Early Roman Kings.” Dylan balances these more upbeat cuts with a handful of narrative, soul-folk ballads like the title track, a retelling of the sinking of the Titanic, and the mournful, bittersweet closing entitled “Roll-On John,” – perhaps a nod to his dear and departed friend, John Lennon.

While none of the songs are delivered with the intensity and ruckus of Highway 61-era Dylan, they don’t lack the passion as he reminds us in that 71-year-old gravel pit of a voice, “I ain’t dead yet. My bell still rings.” I, for one, am very grateful for that, Bob.

ARTIST: Bob Dylan ALBUM: Tempest 4/5 TOWERS BY DAVID NASSAR

Grammy nominees Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall and Ted Dwayne have been gaining fame as the band Mumford and Sons since the widespread success of their previous album, “Sigh No More.” If I had to describe the latest project from the London-based quartet in one word, it would be “heavy.”

These guys don’t mess around – from their first (and title) track “Babel” onward, it’s all meaning-rife lyrics paired with some serious strumming. I’m a fan of songs with lyrics that make you think married to music that cheers you up – that rare state of being seems to have become Mumford and Sons’ specialty.

Songs like “I Will Wait” showcase the band’s impressive command of their various vocal talents, with harmonization

as much a part of the track’s success as the fast-paced strings and meandering poetics.

Then there are tracks like “Holland Road” that start out quiet and unassuming, only to crescendo into an energetic plea for redemption. That isn’t to say that the guys are rocking out the whole time. “Ghosts That We Knew” slows things down into a somber-yet-uplifting vibe. Each individual track on the album has its strengths – but I think my favorites are “Lover of the Light” and “Not With Haste.”

Fans of “Sigh No More” needn’t worry that the new album won’t measure up – in fact, I’m going to go ahead and say it exceeds expectations on every count. If you’re looking for a new soundtrack to this chilly and gray fall, you’re all set.

ARTIST: Mumford and Sons ALBUM: Babel 5/5 TOWERS BY MARY SIMKINS www.ispymagazine.co // @ispymagazine

OCTOBER 2012

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REVIEW // SNAP SHOT

THE WOMBATS - THE CROFOOT

ICON OF COIL - NECTO

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IN PROGRESS

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EDWARD SHARPE AND THE MAGNETIC ZEROS - ROYAL OAK MUSIC THEATRE

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REVIEW //

Filling Empty Bowls Sunday October 21, 2012 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

A Lifeline for Homeless Families

Join us for our annual Filling Empty Bowls Fundraiser.

Enjoy drinks, music, appetizers and a silent auction of unique bowls at the historic Earhart Manor, located at Concordia University.

Event Co-Chairs: Debbie & Norman Herbert

To purchase tickets, call (734) 485-8730 or visit www.soscs.org.

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