The cold weather is here, but that's no excuse to stay inside and under the covers! Here are just a few of the super fun things happening this weekend!
Saturday, November 9th - Bruised Fruit Film Screening and Release Party @ Ant Hall: Christopher Jarvis and company have been hard at work creating a new film and this Saturday is your first chance to see it. Bruised Fruit is written and directed by Jarvis, and produced by Abigail Grace, Zachariah Jarvis, Matthew Beyer, Alex Suzanne Meitz, and Adam James. The film stars Alex Suzanne Meitz and Sam Meier. In addition to the film screening, there will also be comedy performances and live music by Ancient Language, Cosmic Light Shapes, and Craig Garwood. Cover for all of this is only $5 in advance or $7 at the door. Doors for this event open at 7 p.m.
The hip duo the Rogue Satellites are gearing up to release their third album. It's been around four years since they out out some new tunes so it's exciting that the time has finally come. Their new album is going to be called Black Wings and it will officially be released on Friday, July 13th, but they let us have a track to preview to our readers before the big drop. The new track is called "Know You Well" and was our personal favorite when the duo sent over the album. The entire 11 track album has a hauntingly dark feel, but this track really spoke to our personal tastes and they were cool enough to let us preview it for all of you!
You can check out another track from their album here and pre-order the record here. You also need to mark your calendar for their album release party on August 4th at a new bar called Deluxx Fluxx downtown on Library Street. Sisters Of Your Sunshine Vapor and Minihorse will be opening the show. We also had a chance to chat with the duo, so make sure you click play and give our interview a read!
HID-Where did you record your new album "Black Wings"?
Jaye Thomas- "Black Wings was recorded at Space Camp Studios, mostly. But, Eric, who recorded and mixed the album, had to leave to tour with his band in Europe, so Lisa and I finished tracking the album at the House of Satellites."
HID-Whats your favorite track off the new album and why?
Jaye Thomas- "It's always changing but currently, it's "We are Apparitions". I like the strange, drawn-out intro and Lisa's Beatles-flavored bass riff. Lyrically, it's representative of an understated theme on the album: Not taking anymore shit from people who treat us badly. That idea resonates with me right now."
Lisa Poszywak- "They're all our babies, so it's hard to choose a favorite. I think each song represents something different for me. But right now, I'm enjoying "Cancel Our Lives". It's super fun to sing because it was a departure for me. I get to try to be a little more aggressive than normal- but in a fun, pop way."
HID- Where did your band name come from?
Jaye Thomas- "The name was conjured as a metaphor for hipsters. I saw us as a bunch of hip, rebel communicators on parade: floating around like satellites."
HID- Do you write together or do you write alone and bring your ideas to each other?
Lisa Poszywak- "Most of time, Jaye writes and brings the ideas to me. We work on them together after that point. Mostly, I try to edit out the bad ones. Although, I do contribute my own writing on occasion."
HID- When and where will the album release show be?
Lisa Poszywak- "The album release party will be at Deluxx Fluxx, on August 4th. We'll be joined by our friends, Sisters of your Sunshine Vapor and Minihorse. Deluxx Fluxx is a new venue in town and we're super excited to play there."
HID- Do you plan to tour after the release?
Jaye Thomas- "We're planning a short Midwestern run, scheduled between the record release and the release party. We'll be hitting up Dayton, Columbus, Fort Wayne, Chicago, and Grand Rapids...possibly a couple more cities."
HID- What are you listening to right now?
Jaye Thomas- "I've been listening to God Break Down the Door a lot, I think it's the freshest and most inspired output from NIN in awhile."
Lisa Poszywak- "Mostly just our album."
HID- Is there anything else you would like us to know?
Jaye Thomas- "I think it's noteworthy that the record is actually dropping on Friday the 13th, lucky you."
If you're a fan of Refused or The (International) Noise Conspiracy, you're probably familiar with the name Dennis Lyxzen. He's the amazing front man for both of those projects, and also for a band called INVSN. The five piece from Sweden also includes Sara Almgren of The (International) Noise Conspiracy, and members from another one of Lyxzen's projects, The Lost Patrol Band. INVSN's sound is somewhere between T(I)NC and Refused's latest album, with a bit of an eerie '80s vibe mixed in there. Check out the band's latest EP The Beautiful Stories to hear them for yourself.
INVSN is currently on tour and they're making their way to Detroit this week. They will be playing at El Club this Thursday night, September 14th. Joining them for the evening is Detroit's own Rogue Satellites. We're sure this will be an amazing show that you won't want to miss! Lyxzen is one of the most entertaining live performers we've ever seen. So, although we haven't seen INVSN yet, we're sure it will be one hell of a show! Tickets are only $15 and can be purchased in advance here.
Thanks to our friends at Party Store Productions and El Club, we are giving away a pair of tickets to this show! To enter to win, send your name to hipindetroit@gmail.com with #INVSN in the subject line. We will draw one lucky winner on Thursday morning and will send them details on how to claim their prize.
Doors are set to open at 8 p.m. Thursday night and all ages are welcome.
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.
Over the past few years, two piece acts have become more and more common. Maybe the idea started with The White Stripes and then became even more popular after bands like The Black Keys came out. Whatever the reason, time and time again two piece bands have proven that you don't have to have 4 or 5 people on stage to make awesome music!
Detroit is lucky enough to have some amazing duos, one of those is The Messenger Birds. Made up of Parker Bengry and Chris Williams, this band classifies themselves as a fuzz rock band. They're getting ready to release a new EP, The Good Years. The album will be released this Saturday, August 13th, but in the meantime you can check out their past releases here.
The first chance that you'll have to pick up this new album is at The Loving Touch during a fest that The Messenger Birds are putting on. They also caught on to the fact that there are some amazing duos in the Detroit music scene. In fact, there are so many of them that they are putting on a fest featuring only two pieces. Detroit Duo Fest will feature 9 duos on two stages. The lineup includes The Kickstand Band, The Boy Wonders, The Messenger Birds, Tart, YUM, Rogue Satellites, JUNGLEFOWL, Boogie Knights and The Sugar Bombs. These are all great bands that you've probably seen quite a bit and never really thought about the fact that they're making rockin' tunes with just two people.
We caught up with Parker and Chris to find out more about the fest and the new album. Check out what they had to say below.
Admission to Detroit Duo Fest is only $10 and tickets can be purchased in advance here. Doors are set to open at 7 p.m. and once the music starts, it won't stop until the end of the night. This is going to be an awesome fest that you won't want to miss! To get you even more pumped, check out The Messenger Birds' first song off their new EP below, then get your butt to The Loving Touch Saturday night!
Head out to El Club in Detroit tonight to check out Remnose along with Rogue Satellites, and Turtle Island and Moira from Ohio. Remnose is a four piece from Detroit featuring Marlon Morton, Carson Morton, Vince Bashi, Alex Wildner. They infuse indie rock with sort of a dreamy folk feel to create a sound that the band describes on their Facebook page as "Sand-swallowing grumble tunes". You can check out their sound for yourself on their latest album Yond the Hill that the band recorded last year with Jimmy Dixon at Homestead Studios in Detroit. The album features 10 tracks that you'll definitely want to add to your summer playlists. Hear it for yourself below and download a copy through Remnose's bandcamp.
Admission to tonight's show is only $10 and you can pick up tickets in advance here. This great lineup is being brought to you by Party Store Productions, so you know it will be solid from start to finish! Doors are set to open at 9 p.m. and 18+ are welcome. For more info on this show, click here. To find out when Remnose will be playing next, make sure you head over and give them a "like" on Facebook here.
Admission for this show is $10 in advance, you can pick tickets up here. The night of the show the price will go up to $12. Doors are set to open at 8 p.m. and the music will start at 9. Once the music starts, it won't stop until the night is over. For more info on this microfest and to hear some tunes from the bands playing, head over to the Facebook event page here.
On Friday, July 10th the Warhorses and VSTRS are teaming for a dual release show. VSTRS will be releasing their first full length record and Warhorses will be releasing their first vinyl. They will be playing alongside a solid lineup of acts, including Pewter Cub, Rogue Satellites, Night of the Night Bees and Pthalo Sky. The Warhorses are also premiering their latest music video for "Burning Desire" which was shot by Gold House Media (they have done a lot of other great video's, including Tunde Olaniran's amazing video for "Critical").
This is a pretty solid lineup of local talent and the bands were nice enough to reach out to hipindetroit.com to offer up a pair of tickets and a fresh new copy of Warhorses' first vinyl release to be given away to one luck reader. To enter to win, please email your full name to hipindetroit@gmail.com with the subject line #Warhorses. We will draw a winner the day before the show and will send them information on how to claim their tickets and their record at the show!
The fun starts at 8:30 p.m. this Friday. It's only $5 to get in the door and The Lager House is located at 1254 Michigan Ave. in Detroit.
It's Friday the 13th and it's the day before Valentine's Day. Kind of an odd mix... love is in the air, but Jason might be hiding around the corner. Well, oddly enough, there is a show at The Old Miami that has equal parts of eerie and lovey.
Head to The Old Miami tonight for The Philter's album release party for their new album Just Love. We've been fans of this Detroit duo for a while now, so we are anxious to hear their newest creation. They leaked a preview of the album on bandcamp, and so far we like what we hear. Check out the title track for yourself below.
Joining The Philter for the evening are their good friends in Rogue Satellites and Real Ghosts. Admission is only $5 and the new record will be "cheap". The Old Miami is located at 3930 Cass Ave. in Detroit. For more info on this show, click here.
Local musician At Willoughby is starting a cool new monthly event at The Berkley Front called Last Stop Acoustic Sundays. Each month this event will bring your favorite Detroit musicians to the stage to do acoustic sets. This will be a new way to see some of your favorite local acts in a new light. The idea is to have bands that you have seen in the past doing something different. It's only going to be $4 to get in and these shows will happen once a month.
The first show takes place January 25th and the lineup will be Alan from At Willoughby, Jaye from Rogue Satellites' side project Poor Bastard, Adam from Futurebabes, and Jeff from Detroit's DUENDE!. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the first set starts at 6:30.
If you're interested in playing a future show contact Mr. Willoughby. We think this is a really cool idea and we look forward to seeing these musicians in a different light.
Friday, November 8th - Handgrenades and Hala @ The Loving Touch: This is going to be a great show! Handgrenades still remain one of our favorite Detroit bands after all of these years. They will be playing along with Hala and Mac Saturn, making for a great night of music. Cover is $12 at the door, all ages are welcome, and doors open at 8 p.m.
Saturday, November 9th - Bruised Fruit Film Screening and Release Party @ Ant Hall: Christopher Jarvis and company have been hard at work creating a new film and this Saturday is your first chance to see it. Bruised Fruit is written and directed by Jarvis, and produced by Abigail Grace, Zachariah Jarvis, Matthew Beyer, Alex Suzanne Meitz, and Adam James. The film stars Alex Suzanne Meitz and Sam Meier. In addition to the film screening, there will also be comedy performances and live music by Ancient Language, Cosmic Light Shapes, and Craig Garwood. Cover for all of this is only $5 in advance or $7 at the door. Doors for this event open at 7 p.m.
Saturday, November 9th - Rogue Satellites Release Party @ Outer Limits Lounge: Rogue Satellites are celebrating the release of their new EP this Saturday night at Outer Limits. Baby I'm Jeff will feature five new songs from the duo. Get a sneak peek of the new EP here. Rogue Satellites will be joined by Vstrs and Huddy Bolly for this show and cover is $5. Doors open at 8 p.m.
Saturday, November 9th - The Roadhouse: A Twin Peaks Party + Fundraiser for The Senate: The Senate Theater has been hosting more and more awesome events over the past year, from live entertainment to classic movie screenings. But, to keep up this great programming, they need some help from the public. If you're a fan of the Senate, show your support by heading to PJ's Lager House this Saturday night for a Twin Peaks themed fundraiser. Costumes are encouraged and there will be a costume contest. There will also be live music from Run From the Future, Sax and Violence, Ex American, and John Salvage. Tickets are only $8 and can be purchased in advance here. 21+ are welcome and doors open at 8 p.m.
