Broken-hearted brutally honest solo indie artist Paul Baribeau hails from south central michigan, so this Sunday he will be making a quick stop at No Fun House with Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good To Me, His Name Is Alive), Jason Anderson, and Gitis Baggs. All heart-wrenching, all angst, all supporting. I hope you are doing well with your break-up…

Paul Baribeau – http://paulbaribeau.bandcamp.com/
Fred Thomas – http://www.myspace.com/fredthomassongs
Jason Anderson – http://jasonanderson.bandcamp.com/
Gitis Baggs – http://gitisbaggs.bandcamp.com/

Saturday Looks Good To Me is a group formed in late 2000 by singer-songwriter Fred Thomas (former member of the 4AD band His Name Is Alive). The songs that the Ann Arbor based indie pop group creates can be thought of as a unique blend of the Beach Boys, Guided By Voices and 60’s era Detroit soul. The group has released 7 albums, the most well known being “All Your Summer Songs” which Pitchfork listed as one of the top 50 albums of 2003.

Their live act varies from city to city. Here is a description from Polyvinyl Records: “It wasn’t uncommon for SLGTM to show up in a town for the first time as a gentle chamber pop ensemble and come back a year later doing the same songs in a garage rock style with all new band members.”

The band will perform on Friday, September 21st at Louie’s Trophy House Grill as part of the Already Dead Family Reunion Festival. The show begins at 6pm.

Tickets are available for $7 in advance, or $10 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased here: http://alreadydeadtapes.bigcartel.com/category/tickets

A documentary on local music that was shot in Michigan last year was selected to be screened at the Jaxon Film Fest on Saturday, September 29th at the Carnegie Branch Library in Jackson, MI. Documentaries screened at this location are FREE! More information about the festival can be found here:

http://www.facebook.com/events/463828700316820/?ref=ts

I was told that Weekend Warriors II will be screened around 2 pm.

Synopsis:

The music scenes that are scattered across Michigan seem to be lacking the attention they once had. Several people will tell you that the ‘scene is dead’. This, however, is clearly not the case as you will see by this look into several of the music scenes you can find locally in Michigan and Northern Indiana.

The Weekend Warriors local music documentary series is set out to showcase the amazing music that is being made locally, show insight into what it’s like to be in these bands, show the differences in music scenes from different genres and cities, and to get the attention of people, showing them that there is good music being made locally and the only way for it to survive is for you to go to the shows and support the bands and venues. Most of these shows are cheap, ranging from free to $10, with anywhere from 3 to 20 bands on any given show. There are shows being hosted on a weekly basis in several cities performing any genre you can think of.

Weekend Warriors II focuses on genres such as hardcore, punk, metal, screamo, post-rock, pop-punk, indie, noise-rock, and more, spanning from cities like Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Muskegon, Lansing, South Bend, and beyond. This look into the local music scene not only provides you with a long list of bands that are continually playing in your area, but it gives you insights into the scene from the musicians themselves.

Band members explain how they became involved with music, what their (rather realistic) goals are for their bands, what it’s like to be a part of an ever-changing music scene, and how to deal with venues opening and closing. The bands also discuss topics such as whether they would like to stay local or become nationally touring bands and what their thoughts are on all ages vs. age restricted shows.

Some of the bands in this documentary are recently formed, while others have been together for several years. There was a first ever show (Chin Up!) and a [possibly] last show (William Bonney) filmed. The bands have proven that they are willing to play with bands that might not be the same genre, age group, or with the same number of fans; they just want to play their music and enjoy other bands as well.

The bands, music fans, venues, bookers, promoters, and local music zines are working hard to rebuild a music scene that has lost a lot of attention over the years due to the economy, lack of support, genres shifting, and other circumstances. This documentary provides a view into local music that should encourage the spectator to go out and see it in person and help be a part of the process of the rebuilding of live local music.

Music from:
Ackley Kid, analecta, Bars of Gold, Brothers, Chin Up!, Discerned, Dr. Device, Forget The Times, From The Ropes, Ghosts of the Great Lakes, Infinite Design, Jowls, La Dispute, Outrun the Sunlight, The Penguin Collector, Please Promise, The Reptilian, Sleepeater, Tall Tales, Their Teeth Will Be Of Lions, Three Mile Island, TimeLapse, Traitor, William Bonney

Interviews with:
Ackley Kid, analecta, The Ant Hill (Kalamazoo house venue), Bars of Gold, Brothers, Chin Up!, Discerned, Ghosts of the Great Lakes, Infinite Design, Jowls, No Fun House (Kalamazoo house venue), Outrun The Sunlight, Please Promise, The Reptilian,
Sleepeater, Their Teeth Will Be Of Lions, Traitor

*Festival version is 67 minutes. More bands are included in the 88 minute DVD version.

Credits:
Producer/camera/editing/audio mixing: Lisa Bridenstine (The Penguin Collector)

Narration written by: Ken Miller (Three Mile Island) and Zach Elmblad (Three Mile Island)

Narration read by: Ken Miller (TMI), Zach Elmblad (TMI), and Ben Boggs (Sleepeater)

Design and layout by: Joshua Davis (Discerned)

Additional cameras by: Ben Boggs (Sleepeater), Jared Koons (The Penguin Collector), Kasey Chaos, Steven Smeltzer

Live show audio: Jared Koons (TPC) and Lisa Bridenstine (TPC)

More information and links to the bands’ facebook pages are at facebook.com/weekendwarriorsdocumentaries

One of many artists performing the opening evening of the AD Family Reunion tomorrow is rural Pennsylvania’s own About A Million.  The band currently consists of two permanent members, Anthony and Jess (who just announced their engagement to marry this week, so don’t forget to congratulate them!), but live sets close to home also consist of other family members and friends, as seen in the video below.

AAM began as Anthony’s songwriting project when he started recording his own music as a teenager.  The project is very versatile in sound.  Releases over the years have had seamless transitions between twee, hip hop, indie rock, math rock, and folk sounds.  Currently, About A Million is a little more grounded to the indie and folk elements of their sound, as evident on their two most recently recorded releases, Things We Don’t Think About and Me + You.

About A Million is playing the AD Family Reunion tomorrow night (Thursday).  Night one is at the No Fun House and starts at six.  The suggested donation (for this night only) is $4, or you can get a pass for the whole weekend here.  More information about the Already Dead Family Reunion is available on the Facebook event.

The Snake Hole is located in The Bronco Club community. Be aware to not park in the neighborhood or you will be towed.

Straight to the point, here’s what’s going down.

Tall Tales
“Slut City, Michigan”
Kalamazoo Post-Hardcore/Rock
facebook page

Cultural Examination
“Hardcore from Ft. Wayne, Indiana”
facebook page

Serpents Tongue
Straight from Warsaw, IN
facebook page
bandcamp page

Mad Dog!
“Mad Dog is Mad Dog, and Mad Dog is music.”
facebook page

Timelapse
Rock & Roll from Battle Creek
facebook page

Fossil Eyes
Post-Hardcore/Progressive/Indie
-New project from The Penguin Collector vocalist Jared Koons
facebook page

Check Out the Event Page!
Snake Hole KZoo on Facebook

$6
Doors @ 5
Bands @ 5:30
All Ages
BYOB – 21+Drink w/ID

-Respect the Bands, Respect the House, Respect Yourself-

Saturday night, it’s getting creepy.

The aptly named Creepy Band from Chicago will be coming to Kalamazoo to play some coffin rock for you. It’s like Danzig meets Castlevania. They’ll be performing in support of their upcoming full length album, set to be released on Halloween day naturally.

The brand new Kalamazoo band, Statia, will be performing as well. Featuring members of hometown heroes Pan and Ackley Kid, I had the pleasure of witnessing their first show just the other night. Expect heavy doses of taut, well-orchestrated riffage over busy drums with tasteful keyboard accompaniment as well as a dual screaming vocal assault. It’s probably the best thing to happen to Kalamazoo in a while.

The show is going down at Shakespeare’s lower level Saturday night, doors @ 9PM. And it is totally free.

TONIGHT, your friendly neighborhood punks will taking over Papa Pete’s once more.

The lineup for the night is:

Lost in Translation
One of my favorites in town right now.  Technical, laid back, and somewhat of an atmospheric feels to it.  Their guitarist is ridiculous also.  Here is my favorite jam by them.

That’s Blood
For fans of Fall of Troy and Fear Before.  Strange brand of metal and punk.

Everyone and Their Empty Cups
Wasted and grungy.

Inflatable Best Friend
Lighting Bolt meets Nirvana. Speed up the Nirvana, slow down the Lightning Bolt.

9 pm. 5 bucks. 18+ Go eat some bomb ass pizza and listen to punk rock.

Chances are, you’ve heard some of the buzz going around for the big music festival coming up this month, The Already Dead Family Reunion 2. In case yr unaware of the details or aren’t sure about attending, I shall attempt to illuminate and entice.

The Reunion is the second annual music festival put on by local label Already Dead Tapes & Records. The label has been around since 2009 and is run by myself and Joshua Tabbia of Problems That Fix Themselves. Our goal is to use the Reunion to bring together bands from near and far that are members, friends and associates of the label. Both the label and festival strive for diversity. We take in bands from all over the genre map. Folk, Noise, Indie, Rock, Jazz, Punk, Electronica, Pop and more! There are 28 bands playing in total over the course of three days.

This festival is very special to me. I’m excited to see every single performer over the weekend. These are bands that could literally change your life if you let them. On top of that, there are some truly great and inspiring people that will be hanging out. I want to see folks come together and share the experience. This will be a time to remember.

Discount weekend passes are available right now for only $12! Don’t wait, as prices will go up once the first 25 and 50 tickets have sold. They can only be purchased via Already Dead Tapes: http://alreadydeadtapes.bigcartel.com/category/tickets. There are no additional fees and buyers will be added to a will call list. 100% of the money made will go to the travelling bands and production cost. 17 of the bands playing are travelling here (some from very far away) and I’d like to make sure they are supported. There will also be plenty of amazing merch available from Already Dead and the individual performers.

The first show is being held at No Fun House on Thursday, September 20th. 6pm-12am. Single day tickets are $5 door and $4 pre sale.

The mood for this day will be low key as most of the artists are folk and acoustic based. Here’s the lineup:

6/6:45 – Alex Quinlan
6:45/7:30 – Peter Damien Cook
7:30/8:15 – Tim Tapper
8:15/9 – Eskimeaux (Philadelphia, PA)
9/9:45 – Lovestranger MD (Minneapolis, MN)
9:45/10:30 – About A Million (Honey Brook, PA)
10:30/11:15 – Fiona Dickinson
11:15/12 – Spectral Being

Here’s a videos of About A Million and Peter Cook playing at last year’s Reunion.

Day 2 is being held on Friday, September 21st at Louie’s Trophy House Grill. 6pm-12am. Single day tickets will be $10 door and are available right now for $7 pre sale.

Everyone on Friday will have a full band setup. There is a wide variety of styles while all featuring a sort of ‘noisy pop’ theme. Here’s what’s in store:

6/6:45 – Morseville Bridge (Flint, MI)
6:45/7:30 – Ou Oú (St. Louis, MO)
7:30/8:15 – The Binary Marketing Show (Little Rock, AR)
8:15/9 – Brown Company
9/9:45 – Problems That Fix Themselves (Chicago, IL)
9:45/10:30 – Hermit Thrushes (Philadelphia, PA)
10:30/11:15 – Daniel Francis Doyle (Houston, TX)
11:15/12 – Saturday Looks Good To Me (Ann Arbor, MI)

Morseville Bridge and Problems That Fix Themselves are both returning after playing last year’s Reunion. Brown Company are local long time avant-garde masters playing their first show since changing their name from ‘Unitard’. Rumor has it they might even be adding some members! The celebrated Daniel Francis Doyle will be making his third appearance in Kalamazoo and bringing back his solo set! A 12″ split on AD is in the works with Dan and Hermit Thrushes who will be playing back to back. Saturday Looks Good To Me are headlining the night and making their first Kalamazoo appearance in years! SLGTM’s singer, Fred Thomas did an AD tape split with Radiator Hospital earlier this year.

Here’s a few videos to check out:

The final day of the Reunion will be on Saturday, September 22 and is a two part show. The first part is at Louie’s Trophy House Grill, 6pm-12am. This will be immoderately followed by an after party house show at Wayne Manor. Single day tickets are also available for only $10 door and $7 pre sale.

Saturday will be the loudest of the weekend. Many of the bands have a more ‘punk rock’ influence with a few notable exceptions. Here’s what’s on the slab:

LOUIE’S –

6/6:45 – Jeremy Ruggles & The Echo Chamber Family Band
6:45/7:30 – The Reptilian
7:30/8:15 – The New Diet (Chicago, IL)
8:15/9 – Br’er (Philadelphia, PA)
9/9:45 – Spelling Bee (St. Louis, MO)
9:45/10:30 – Hypocrite In A Hippy Crypt (Bloomington, IN)
10:30/11:15 – Emperor X (CA)
11:15/12 – Forget The Times Infinite Family Arkestra

AFTER PARTY –

1/1:30 – WearWolf
1:30/2 – Braining (St. Louis, MO)
2/2:30 – Anybody But The Cops
2:30/3 – The Grow Fangs (Minneapolis, MN)

The New Diet are driving out from Chicago to share their heartfelt brand of post punk. AD released a 7″ split with them and The Binary Marketing Show a few weeks ago. I’m super excited to see Br’er again after touring with them for two weeks back in May. Spelling Bee is one of the greatest math punk bands I’ve ever seen. Without question. AD is pressing their new full length on vinyl right now. May even be available at the Reunion. Hypocrite In A Hippy Crypt is making his first ever live appearance! Emperor X is one of my all time favorite pop song writers. His live performances are not to be missed! I will personally be closing out the Louie’s portion of the night with a one off performance with The Forget The Times Infinite Family Arkestra. We’re assembling a 12 piece band exclusively for this show. Full horn section, extra synthesizers, and a drumline. Prepare yrself!
As everyone knows, after the party it’s the afterparty. We’ll be taking you into the wee hours of the morning. At 2:30am, the legendary Grow Fangs will be wrapping up the whole festival. GF were a local favorite good natured thrash punk super group. They’ve since all moved away. This is the first full reunion in quite some time. Heads will explode.

To hear more of the bands, go to: http://alreadydeadtapes.com/adt/?page_id=795

If you feel like being super helpful, hop on over to facebook and spread the event around: http://www.facebook.com/events/424137840941510/

Thanks for reading! I’ll leave you with these videos: