Hip in Detroit's Picks for the Weekend: October 8-10

Friday, October 8th - Monolith Opening @ Red Bull House of Art: After a decade, Red Bull House of Art will host its last art exhibition opening on Friday night. The show is Monolith, featuring the work of Jex Blackmore, Jova Lynne, Maggie Nguyen, and Lauren Williams. It features "a series of site-specific installations created by Detroit-based women and queer artists and practitioners." The reception is from 5-9 p.m. The show will be on display until November 5th. Although Red Bull is closing up shop, they still plan to have a presence in Detroit's art community in other ways. Learn more here. 

Friday, October 8th & Saturday, October 9th - Echo Fest @ Outer Limits Lounge: Echo Fest takes over Outer Limits this weekend for two nights of psych, experimental, and stoner rock. The fest is organized by Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor and its been a minute since one has happened. This time around, Echo Fest will feature all local bands, including The Muggs, Super Birthday, Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor, Wiccans, Tart, Duende, Jemmi Hazeman & The Honey Riders, Toeheads, Characteristics, Vulgars, and Just Guys Being Dudes. Music starts at 8 p.m. both nights and cover is $10 each night. For more details and to learn more about each of the bands that are performing, head to Facebook.com/EchofestDetroit.

Friday, October 8th - Neil Hamburger @ Small's: Funny man Neil Hamburger takes the stage at Small's Friday night! He will be joined by Major Entertainer and Brett Mercer. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance here. If you're not familiar with Neil, head over and check him out at AmericasFunnyman.com. (Make sure you get some Apple Pie Whiskey while you're at the show!)

Saturday, October 9th - Scream 25th Anniversary @ the Senate Theater: "Do you like scary movies?" If so, don't miss the 25th Anniversary Screening of Scream this Saturday night at the Senate Theater. It's hard to believe that it has already been 25 years since this movie came out, but we're sure it will still hold up. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the movie starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are only $6 and can be purchased in advance here. 

Saturday, October 9th - Captains of the Head @ Stache International: If Captains of the Head are playing, it's sure to be a fun show. Don't miss them this Saturday playing outdoors at Stache International in Eastern Market. They will be playing two sets, one at 7:30 p.m. and one at 9 p.m.

Saturday, October 9th & Sunday, October 10th - Detroit Harvestfest & Food Truck Rally: Enjoy fall, food, and fun on the Dequindre Cut this weekend! The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy presents Detroit Harvestfest. The event will feature over 50 food trucks, live music, entertainment for kids, trick or treating, a pumpkin patch, and even beer & wine at the Dequindre Cut Freight Yard. The festival runs the length of the Dequindre Cut and it will be $5 to enter the Cut on these days. Harvestfest runs from 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. both days.

Saturday, October 9th & Sunday, October 10th - Detroit Spook Show Halloween Sale: Get ready for Halloween at the Detroit Spook Show at the Sanctuary this Sunday! Vendors will be on site selling everything from horror films to Halloween decorations. If it's spooky, you'll be able to find it at this show! The show is free to attend and open to all ages. Doors open at 11 a.m. and the sale goes until 5 p.m.

~C

Echo Fest 2016 Takes Over the Magic Stick this Weekend

This Saturday night Echo Fest will once again bring together some of the best psych rock, experimental and stoner rock bands around. This time around the fest put on by Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor will be bigger and better than before. They're moving venues, making the newly re-opened Magic Stick their new home, and they have packed the lineup with some amazing acts. This year the bill includes Nik Turner's Hawkwind, Timmy's Organism, 3FT, Mountains and Rainbows, Outrageous Cherry, Holy Wave, Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor, Hedersleben, The Deadly Vipers, Rogue Satellites, UUBBUURRUU, Heaven's Gateway Drugs, Nest Egg and Wolf Eyes. If that's not a stacked enough lineup for you, you can head out on Friday night for the pre-party at the Garden Bowl which will feature Dead Leaf Echo, Warhorses and Diagonal. 

Before the big show this weekend, we wanted to catch up with the guys in Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor. Check out what they had to say in this interview below and get the inside scoop on this year's Echo Fest. 

HID- How did you guys come up with Echo Fest? Why did you decide to start putting on this annual event?
Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor- "The original idea around the first Echo Fest was to bring together a handful of like-minded bands in the city. There were not that many "like-minded" bands around at that time and we werent really collaborating with each other. Echo Fest was a great excuse to get all those bands together in one room. As Sisters started touring more we saw strong scenes with Austin sort of being the gathering point of psychedelic rock movement which all sort of started around Austin Psych Fest. We imagined Echo Fest to a be a gathering point for the beginning of a more organized scene in the Midwest. It has taken seven years but now we have bands traveling from as far as Germany, France, Montreal, Austin, and all over the Midwest to play Echo fest. Echo Fest isn't just a place to see great music it is also a place for bands to meet each other and setup future gigs."

HID- Tell us about the bands. How did you choose who was going to be on this year's lineup?SYSV- "Every year has been great but this is our strongest lineup to date. Got word that Nik Turner's Hawkwind was going to be touring so we sent him an offer and sort of built the festival lineup from there. The rest of this year's lineup is a mixture of Echo Fest Veterans and first timers. We really wanted to keep everything fresh while also reminding people what bands have stuck with us to make Echo Fest fun every year."

HID- Who are you looking forward to seeing the most at this year's fest?
SYSV- "Obviously, Nik Turner's Hawkwind, Wolfeyes, and Timmy's Organism are going to be great. I think people will be blown away by Nest Egg from Ashville NC. We toured together at the beginning of the year and they slayed every night. Plus they have never played in Detroit before so everyone is in for a treat."

HID- This year you guys are putting this show on at The Magic Stick. Why did you decide to move there from The Loving Touch?
SYSV- "Got word of the Magic Stick re-opening and the timing was perfect. The loving touch has been great but we were looking to expand and the Magic Stick presented us with the perfect opportunity. We were really struggling with how to grow the festival while keeping it at the Loving Touch considering we were already pushing their available capacity. We just wouldn't have been able to keep the festival cheap if we kept it at the Loving Touch. The Magic Stick has been awesome to work with and have bent over backward to ensure that it will be a fantastic night."

HID- You mentioned that this show will feature fuzzed out guitars and "so much delay that time travel might just be possible". Do you think time travel actually is possible? Have you ever traveled through time?
SYSV- "Time travel is possible, even in the science fiction sense of the word. This is of course ignoring the rather pedantic discussion of aging that is the common snark given for such a question. It is very possible to speed up and slow down the forward movement of time with the manipulation of gravity. This concept is refereed to as Gravitational time dilation, which was originally predicted in Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.

Can we create so much sonic delay that we actually hinder or boost gravitational waves?"

HID- Last year you had a crazy 3D show that added to the whole experience. Will there be anything like that this year? Will attendees get any sort of souvenir this time around since they got 3D glasses last year?
SYSV- "Back to rock n roll. Wayne Woodward will be performing live projections and curating lighting for the evening. Armageddon Beach Party will setting up shop to sell their tripped out artwork along with live painting. It's going to be a really fun night, but our main goal was to put the focus on how damn good all these bands are."

HID- Alright, so here's your last chance to convince people. Give us 3 reasons everyone should head to Echo Fest this weekend!

15 incredible bands for 20 bucks
Nik Turner's Hawkwind
Fuck the government.

HID- Anything else you would like our readers to know?
SYSV- "Sisters have been working on a new record which we will start recording at the end of 2016. We will debuting a few new songs at Echo Fest this year. We are really excited and we honestly believe that this some of the best stuff we have ever written."


Tickets for Echo Fest are $20 in advance and can be purchased here. You can also pick tickets up in person at UHF in Royal Oak or at The Garden Bowl. Why not go to the FREE Pre-Party Friday night and pick your tickets up while you're there? Doors for Echo Fest are set to open at 5 p.m. on Saturday with bands starting at 6 p.m. For more info on this event and to stay in the loop the day of the show, make sure you give Echo Fest a like on Facebook here.

~C  

VLOG #10 - Sisters Of Your Sunshine Vapor Talk ECHO Fest

Get the details on this year's ECHO Fest from two of the guys behind the event, Eric & Sean from Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor joined by Electric Retro Spectrum from Paris!

For more details on ECHO Fest, click here. Make sure you also head over and check out Electric Retro Spectrum on Faebook and find out where you can see them live while they are in the US.

Echo Fest VI Takes Over The Loving Touch this Weekend!

Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor are bringing together 14 great acts this Saturday for the sixth installment of Echo Fest. This annual night of music brings together musicians and fans for a night of "3D visuals, fuzzed out guitars, and of course so much delay that time travel may become possible". They will be spreading the bands across 2 stages at The Loving Touch for a night of non stop music. Check out the lineup and set times below:

Red Stage
12 am - Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor
11 pm - Heaven's Gateway Drugs
10 pm - Electric Retro Spectrum
9 pm - Killer Moon
8 pm - 800beloved
7 pm - Isles of ESP
6 pm - Sienna Rise

Blue Stage
12:45 am - Mexican Knives
11:30 pm - Heaters
10:30 pm - Moonwalks
9:30 pm - OBLISK
8:30 pm - Friends Of Dennis Wilson
7:30 pm - Detroit's DUENDE!
6:30 pm - The Red Plastic Buddha

This is a chance to see some of the best bands Detroit has to offer along side some great touring acts. Plus, there will be 3D visuals and 3D posters available! It's going to be a pretty amazing night to say the least.

Admission to ECHO Fest VI is $15 at the door or you can get in for $12 if you RSVP to the Facebook event here. Doors are set to open at 5:30 and the music starts at 6 p.m. Get a preview of what you can expect in the trailer below. 

~C

Details on Echo Fest V Right from the Source - Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor

Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor are a psychedelic trio that has been in the Detroit Music scene for about a decade now. They started out as SikSik Nation and then changed names and their style a bit about five years ago. Coincidentally, the band also started hosting an annual fest about five years ago too. The fest is called Echo Fest and it features, "swirling lights, fuzzed out guitars, and of course so much delay that time travel may become possible."

The fifth installment of Echo Fest is coming up this Saturday at The Loving Touch in Ferndale. Echo Fest V will feature twelve bands spread across two stages for one night. The lineup includes, Elephant Stone (Montreal), King Buffalo (Rochester, NY), Dead Leaf Echo (Brooklyn), Siamese Detroit, Buffalo Coven Party (Ann Arbor), The Witches, Heaven's Gateway Drugs (Ft. Wayne), MOSS FOLK (Milwaukee), Plastic Crimewave Syndicate (Chicago), Rogue Satellites, Matthew Smith of Outrageous Cherry and Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor. So this is a great chance for you to check out some touring bands, with a few Detroit favorites mixed in there.

We caught up with Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor's drummer Rick Sawoscinski to find out more about the band and Echo Fest. Check out what he had to say below.

HID- Describe your band in three words or less.
Rick- "Psychedelic Spectral Vortex"

HID- Who or what would you say are your biggest musical influences?
Rick- "We of course love bands like Pink Floyd, The Doors and The Velvet Underground. We also like to think that we are very eclectic in our individual influences. Rick: The Pixies and Primal Scream. Eric: Primus and MC5 Sean: Sid Barret and Miles Davis"

HID- Your live show is more of an experience than just a band playing on stage. How do you come up with the projections you show during the show? Why don't you go up and just play your songs and maybe say a witty line or two here and there like many bands do?
Rick- "That's a great question. As a band we have always wanted our shows to be an experience that the crowd could feel like they were a part of. To that end, we used to bring an overhead projector and put it on the side of the stage. We would then encourage the crowd to use the projector and to do the visuals for us. It turns out most people were not excited about getting food coloring all over their hands and clothes. Fortunately for us Wayne Woodward was not hindered by the prospect of having purple hands. Wayne was already a friend of the band and when we introduced the projector element he started showing up to our shows early to help us set it up. Before we knew it Wayne started adding his own elements. It's been years now and Wayne is now an official member of the band and is responsible for all the visuals. Plus, maybe we just aren't that witty?"

HID- You recently played CBGB Fest. That had to be pretty awesome, right?
Rick- "Yeah we were really honored to be asked to play that festival. We did two nights with our friends Dead Leaf Echo and both nights were a lot of fun."

HID- It has been a couple of years since you released your last album. Do you have anything in the works right now?
Rick- "As I type up this response we are adding overdubs and finishing up the final details on our new album which will be released early next year on Mongolic Records (http://www.mongolic-records.es/). The new Album is a little bit of a divergence from Spectra Spirit in the sense that we are trying to tell more of a concise story with our music. We knew that the scale of what we are trying to create would be impossible to finish with all of the distractions surrounding us in our usual studio space. So we drove four hours north this summer and recorded most of the tracks in a secluded cabin. We honestly believe we have created some of the best pieces of music we have ever written. Hopefully, this is exciting to people since we will be playing half of the new stuff at Echo Fest this year."

HID- So now that we know more about your band, let's talk about Echo Fest. What is it? How did you guys come up with the name and idea? When and why did you start putting this event on?
Rick- "Echo Fest was originally Sean's ideas that he came up with after one of his weird taco fueled vision quest. When we started as a band we really struggled to find people to play with. Echo Fest is our attempt to help bring those musicians together and to create a community around what we do. This is the 5th annual Echo Fest and it just keeps getting bigger and better every year. We were obviously inspired by Austin Pysch Fest but we shied away from calling this a "psych rock festival" we wanted Echo Fest to be just a little more inclusive than that. Honestly, we just wanted to throw party."

HID- What can you tell us about the other bands playing?
Rick- "So there was an article posted today on Midwest Action (http://midwestaxn.com/music/psychedelic-sunday-echo-fest-v-at-the-loving-touch-detroit-1115/) I am just going to paste what they said because I honestly don't think we could do a better job.

Matthew Smith (of Outrageous Cherry) | Side Stage 7:30pmThe Detroit locals were formed back in the early ’90s as a solo project of Matthew Smith but soon expanded into a 4-piece psych pop powerhouse. They’ve put out 12 albums since then and are just as relevant now as they were two decades ago. Their latest album The Digital Age as well as a retrospective cassette called 1993-2010 are out now via Burger Records.

Rogue Satellites | Side Stage 8:30pmA little bit indie-pop, a little bit shoegaze, but all-in-all a very catchy Detroit act. Their layered guitar tracks fit right into the mold of MBV, Ride, and the rest but are merely a sonic background for their catchy vocals and synthesizers.

Dead Leaf Echo | Main Stage 9:00pmThis Brooklyn based dream-pop group is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. Their latest 4-track EPtrue.deep.sleeper is an incredibly lush wall of sound that hits you like a tidal wave. They’ve been called one of the best live acts in NYC, don’t miss your chance to catch them in the Midwest!

Plastic Crimewave Syndicate | Side Stage 9:30pmPurely classic psychedelic rock from Chicago. The infamous Steven Krakow fronts this incredible trio that create driving, reverb-drenched treats for your ears and mind.

MOSS FOLK | Side Stage 10:30pmThe ambient drone project of Milwaukee Psych Fest founder Andrew James Shelp will surely offer a transcendental experience mid-way through this incredible bill.

Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor | Main Stage 11:00pmThe founders and curators of this incredible festival, Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor are themselves an incredible force of dark psychedelic power. Their latest LP Spectra Spirit is a heavy mix of garage rock and psychedelia that begs to be heard.

Elephant Stone | Main Stage 12:15amWith the release of their 3rd full-length LP The Three Poisons in August, Montreal’s Elephant Stone have proven that they can do everything from heavy psychedelic rock, indie pop, and even dance music. Fronted by immensely talented bassist/vocalist/sitar player Rishi Dhir, their live show is something that no recording could do justice.
It’s psych-pop infused with a broad range of musical influences that in turn make for an incredibly diverse and exciting sound. This will their only US tour date until next year, stay up late and stick around for these guys."

HID- So these Echo Fest glasses sound pretty awesome. What are they all about? And where did you get them? Do your own secret scientist that has been working on them in a lab???
Rick- "The glasses were Eric's idea. Last year we did record bags so he wanted to do something completely different this time. We used the cosmic omnipotent Google to find a company that would sell them to us in bulk then Eric added his design to all the glasses with our screen printing equipment. They are just another attempt to make Echo Fest not only a musical experience but a visual one too."

HID- Why should people come out to Echo Fest V?
Rick- "The bands. I honestly believe this is the best Echo Fest lineup yet! Plus beer."

HID- Anything else you would like our readers to know?
Rick- "It's not too late to RSVP for the event and save a $3 at the door. ($12 instead of $15)"

As Rick mentioned, entry to Echo Fest V is $15 or if you RSVP to the Facebook event here, you will get 3 bucks off at the door. Doors will open at 6 p.m. with music starting promptly at 7 p.m. and going all the way 'til about 2 a.m. Buffalo Coven Party is opening and The Witches will close things out, so we suggest you get there early and definitely stay late! Plus, the band said it themselves, this is the best Echo Fest lineup yet! So why would you want to miss any of it? For more details on Echo Fest, be sure to "like" it on Facebook here. Be sure to head over to sistersofyoursunshinevapor.com too for details on the event and to download some of SOYSV's music for free!

~C