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The Year in Music By Scott Baker Additional Reporting by Robert Martin
The year in music in 2009 around the Tri-Cities was refreshingly different, yet noticeably still. While many bands continued to find a niche around the state filling performance dates that normally would have been two night local gigs; there was no stopping any of the music friendly local venues that still exist and flourish. Unfortunately the majority of band schedules are now filled outside of the Great Lakes Bay Area, as half the number of live music venues now exist as opposed to when the decade started. That can also be a bittersweet trade-off – its great to see groups and artists find fresh prospective on their music, however the flip side of traveling can occasionally alter some musical institutions. Some musicians have to play close to home or don’t have an interest in venturing out.
And they weren’t alone. Looking around the area locally, kicking off early 2009, Sprout set sail this year offering up another brilliant reinterpretation, covering The Beatles White Album in its entirety at Pit & Balcony as part of a 40th anniversary celebration of the release. The show followed up their successful coverage of The Band’s Last Waltz the previous year, and brought in a slew of guest musicians and a complete brass section for a rousing rendition of All You Need Is Love as a finale. Sprout then forged a west-coast tour for the better part of their summer, returning in the fall and parting ways with bassist Matt Nyquist, who hooked up with The Thunderchickens at the end of the year. Budding local musician John Vasquez released Life & Liberations in January before jumping town to Chicago. He made it home to open for his father-in-law, John Krogman during Krogman’s record release party in October.
Brandon Calhoon, Beaverton native and Rock Star INXS alumni, released his debut EP, Detroit City. The artist has been performing mainly around Detroit for most of the past three years. The New Reformation Jazz Band kicked off their 40th Anniversary tour with a performance at the Saginaw On Stage Music Festival in April. With 26 bands over five stages, the Festival was the talk of the town, wrapping up the first quarter of the year. The Review Music Awards was the perfect spring showcase in May, featuring a unique blend of musicians including The Abbey Road Project, The KMJ Band, Estilo, Matt Besey and Friends, The Burdons, Soul Xpress, and Water 4 The Pool, who reunited with all the members of their longtime line-ups. Held at The Golden Glow Ballroom, the Awards also marked the last big musical blowout at the legendary venue, which burned down in a fire in September. Also in May, Stewart Francke was given a 20th Anniversary Lifetime Achievement Award by the Saginaw Arts & Enrichment Commission. Bringing the Detroiter home for the presentation led to his return in October, performing with John Krogman and producing Krogman’s Sling This Mud - hands down one of the best original CD releases of the year, showcasing Krogman’s sharp penchant for songwriting. Metzger’s Field released their debut CD, Close To You And No One Cares in May. Former One Trick Pony guitarist Ted Hoogland was joined by Bay City vocalist/guitarist Neil Harrelson and Ann Arbor bassist Neil Heidrich. Another former One Trick Pony member, vocalist/guitarist Jeff Yantz returned to the scene for the first time in many years, joining Scott Baker and the Universal Expressions in July on guitar/harp/vocals. The band is preparing to go into the studio in late December to cut their sophomore release, with both Yantz and Baker behind the board. Rothbury was the toast of the state and the hands-down coolest musicial event of the year, coming into the July 4th weekend. The jam-packed music and entertainment event ran from July 2-5, and featured many state wide bands this year, including The Macpodz, The Ragbirds, and Steppin’ In It. Not bad company with the many national acts that ranged from a reunited String Cheese Incident, The Dead, Willie Nelson, and Bob Dylan. Matt Besey paid tribute to the music of Jimi Hendrix in October, following the success of their Allman Brother’s Tribute show in 2008. That Pit and Balcony show was one of many great musical moments between 2008 and 2009 that the venue has been hosting, and Besey literally channeled the quintessence of the legendary songwriter/guitarist, leaving his own distinct sting on each note. Mandi Layne and The Lost Highway released Drunk In Love in October. The brilliant sounding release came thanks to their involvement with Andy Reed who co-produced the CD with guitarist Greg Kevorkian. Layne even made it down to Memphis to cut a few tracks at the infamous Sun Studios and the band walked away with many significant honors at the Review Music Awards Ceremony in May. The Hells Half Mile Film and Music Fest fired up another year of brilliant Indy movies and music. Three headliners of the music portion included Oh My God, Baby Teeth, and Champions of Breakfast. In November, Modus Rock, a new duo featuring Andrew Kitzman and Tony Cottington, brought their sound to the Junction in Saginaw for a weekly Thursday night showcase. The duo brings both original and cover material to the table, with vocal harmonies that shimmer. The Verve Pipe released A Family Album, a CD of children’s songs and kicked off their fall tour at the State Theatre in Bay City. Former Saginaw drummer Donny Brown produced the excellent sounding effort and the CD also includes outside musicians from around the area such as Scott Van Dell and Andy Reed. The Meltones broke new ground as a ‘supergroup’ in November, with a line-up that includes guitarist Chris Mohn, drummer 12welve, bassist Mark Miller and vocalist Mel Curry. Look for them to be performing and hitting new levels well into 2010. December is bringing in The Avery Set, returning from their new home in Nashville. The group is releasing “Returning To Steam” on Dec. 21, with a show at Pit and Balcony in Saginaw. The album was recorded in Nashville and sounds incredible. Vocalist Chris Zehnder has changed the face of The Avery Set slightly and the band has twelve new songs that kick the band out of the country/rock framework they laid down in 2006, as they branch more towards straight roots-rock. Three other Michigan based artists released new works late this year. Ted Nugent, now of Texas, released the double CD/DVD/Blu Ray Motor City Mayhem (Eagle Rock) this fall. Bob Seger jumped back into the studio in early October to clean up some work from the early part of his career. The result is Early Seger Vol. 1 (Hideout Records), a release that currently can be found in most Michigan Meijer’s stores. Seger has released the disc returning to his early Michigan based record label, Hideout. Dick Wagner, now of Arizona, released Full Meltdown in November. An upcoming feature on both Seger and Wagner and their releases will be appearing after the New Year in the Review. Here’s to Sights and Sounds of local music, for 2010! Lift a glass of champagne and toast hitting new musical heights in a spanking new year.
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That
certainly wasn’t the case for the ever-expanding Thunderchickens,
who traveled East, South West, North and all misplaced destinations
in-between as part of a collective effort to brand their spirited sound
in the national consciousness.
The
Tosspints