Hip in Detroit's Picks for the Weekend: February 21-23

Friday, February 21st - 2020 Detroit City FC Season Kick Off Party: DCFC's 2020 Season is almost here and the team is kicking things off with a party at the Detroit City Fieldhouse this Friday night! For those that don't know, the Fieldhouse is DCFC's multi-sport indoor facility, and home to the Detroit City Clubhouse, a soccer bar and restaurant. The kickoff party goes from 6-9 p.m. It's free to attend and all ages are welcome. The event will feature "a special testimonial match for two of City's longtime legends Seb Harris and Dave Edwardson at 7 p.m. on the east field, commemorated by the release of velvet paintings of the alumni at Detroit City Clubhouse." DCFC's first game of the season is on March 21st. You can buy your tickets to the game here.

Friday, February 21st - Sean Forbes @ Third Man Records: Sean Forbes is celebrating the release of his new album Little Victories this Friday at Third Man Records! The album drops Friday on all streaming platforms and Sean and his band will be performing it live that night. Sean is an amazing musician that puts on a great show, and he also happens to be deaf. If you haven't seen him perform live yet, you are really missing out! Friday's show will also have appearances by Tino Gross & Johnny Bee Badanjek along with poets Zilka Joseph and Carmaig De Forest, and Sean's long time friend deaf poet Mark Levin will also perform. The performances will be interpreted and the whole night will be filmed and recorded. So come be a part of this amazing night of music and poetry and maybe you'll even make it into the video! Admission is free, all ages are welcome, and there will be a cash bar. Things will kick off at 7 p.m.

Saturday, February 22nd - The Detroit Cobras @ El Club: Local legends, The Detroit Cobras will be hitting the stage at El Club this Saturday night. Joining them for the night is Easy Action, along with DJ Adam Hunter. Tickets for this show are going fast, so buy yours online here! Tickets are $16 in advance or $20 at the door, if it doesn't sell out. All ages are welcome to attend this one and doors open at 8 p.m.

Saturday, February 22nd - The Dewtons @ Stache International: Stache International has been hosting some awesome shows lately and this Saturday they will do it again! The Dewtons will be playing at the Eastern Market bar along with Flamingo Nosebleed, The Black List, and Lily Livers. Cover to see these 4 great bands is only $7 and 21+ are welcome. Doors are set to open at 8 p.m. for this one.

Sunday, February 23rd - Fleatroit Fabulous February Flea @ Outer Limits Lounge: Spring is just around the corner! Spruce up your wardrobe with some new to you threads this weekend with help from your friends at Fleatroit Junk City! They will be hosting their February Flea from noon 'til 6 p.m. at Outer Limits in Hamtramck. There will be racks upon racks of clothes along with other treasures for you to discover. There will also be drinks, food, and DJs! Entry is free!

Check Out Sean Forbes & Deaf and Loud TONIGHT at The Loving Touch!

We have told you about Detroit hip-hop artist Sean Forbes and Deaf and Loud quite a few times now. To say that this group of guys has made us think about music in a different way would be putting it mildly. They are amazing musicians that also happen to not hear quite as well as you and me. The only difference in their music from any other band you would see though is that they make sure the deaf community will be able to enjoy their tunes just as much as the hearing world.

If you haven't seen Sean Forbes and Deaf & Loud yet, here is a chance that you are not going to want to miss! The event is being called MI Deaf Night Out it is happening tonight at The Loving Touch. Admission is FREE and the party starts at 7 p.m. Check out a video below of Sean Forbes performing at St. Andrew's Hall last year to get a preview of what you can expect tonight!

This is going to be a night of awesome music and we guarantee it will be a hell of a party! For more details on the event, click here. The Loving Touch is located at 22634 Woodward Ave. in Ferndale.

~C

Deaf and Loud

Photo Credit: Adrean Mangiardi

Last year we met a hip hop artist names Sean Forbes and fell in love with him and his music. He has a great live show that gets your body and your hands moving. These days Sean is touring the world with his band which includes Jake Bass, Mark Levin, and DJ Butteh Fingiz. Since meeting Sean and his band of bad ass musicians I have learned a lot about what it is like to be a musician/music fan and also be Deaf.

The Deaf and Loud Crew also works with D-PAN a non-profit organization that encourages Deaf kids to enter the arts. D-Pan's mission is to, "promote professional development and access to the entertainment, visual and media arts fields for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing." They literally meet with kids and encourage them to follow their hearts and do what they want with their lives, not what others tell them that they can do. There are a lot of people who might discourage a Deaf person from going into music, and D-Pan makes music more accessible than ever.
 

 Photo Credit: Adrean Mangiardi

Meeting the Deaf and Loud Crew changed my life and opened my eyes, these guys have taught me that it is just as important to feel music as it is to hear it. They have redefined the word Deaf and each time we hang out they find a new way to inspire me. I have been especially inspired by a few conversations that I have had with Sean's guitarist and tour manager, Mark Levin. He is not scared to open up and talk about anything, and he's a really well spoken dude. In fact, he has been writing a lot of thought provoking articles about being Deaf. I asked him to answer a few question to promote an event that D-Pan is hosting this week, but it sold out before we could even get an article up. There is a growing movement around the world to change the way that people see being Deaf and it seems like it is catching on. So, instead of promoting the event, I wanted to share my interview with Mark with all of you to turn you on to D-Pan, Deaf and Loud, and to make you think. He has a unique perspective on music and the world, and we can all learn a lot from what he has to say.

HID- Were you born deaf? If not when did you begin to lose your hearing?
Mark- "My parents noticed issues with my hearing around 2/3 years old. We're not quite sure of the reason, but I'm starting to think that genetics may possibly play a factor. My grandfather had a hearing loss, as well as some of my immediate family members are starting to notice latened hearing losses. I've started noticing a trend that my hearing seems to drop about 10 dB (decibels) every 10 years or so."

HID- Meeting the Deaf and Loud crew made me realize that members of the deaf community tend to view deafness as a difference in human experience rather than a disability, can you explain this to our readers?
Mark- "Think of it like this - many people wear glasses but don't consider themselves blind, although the eye doctors may say they have pretty bad vision. There's various degree's of Deafness and hearing loss... the only thing we can't do is hear. Some folks out there may say that "Deaf people can't talk"...maybe some can't communicate verbally, but there's sign language... there's a large misconception about what we can or cannot do. It's crazy how much people actually rely on their hearing without realizing it's not just their hearing, but a combination of the senses. We have one less sense, so we're more in tune with how things feel, look, smell or even taste.

You may have noticed that every time I've used the word 'Deaf', I have capitalized it, that's because it's not just a degree of hearing loss, it's a culture. There's different languages, social beliefs, art, traditions, generations of family members who have hearing loss, etc..., you can't say the same for many other "disabilities". Simply put - it is other people who put restrictions on us, and many times, its unknowingly and with innocent intent. We just need to keep educating."

HID- What is the biggest misconception about being Deaf?
Mark- "I answered this a bit in the previous question, but I'll expand a bit. A huge misconception... Deafness entails a multitude degrees of hearing loss. Someone who may identify as Deaf may not hear total silence, but can hear some low end noises, or high pitch noises, and then of course theres many who can't hear anything at all. Another misconception is jobs... I've met professionals in nearly every field... even Deaf firefighters. Office jobs that rely on answering the phone - we have Video Relay Services (VRS) with sign language interpreters on the other end that can voice for us as we sign, or respond to a hearing caller. Sean Forbes and I... we're musicians. Our Director of Film, Adrean Mangiardi, he's a wiz at making music videos. As accessibility continues to grow, and we continue to experience life and the situations we experience, we learn to adapt, and how to make things work for us that allow us to succeed in our fields of profession or study."

HID- I find that a lot of people are pleasantly surprised by deaf musicians. What made you decide that you were going to play music? Do you think it was harder for you? If so, how and why?
Mark- "It's funny to be honest, it just kinda happened. My brother and friends were all learning and playing various instruments, and me being eager, excited, and wanting to fit in and keep up with them I just started watching, imitating and playing along, and they would teach me stuff. My mom got me my first guitar when I was 12 and I started taking lessons right away. I had awesome Guitar teachers who were patient with me and didn't let my hearing loss take them aback. My freshman year of high school I took class lessons and had 2 other Deaf friends join me, and we had an interpreter in class. I was lucky to have that. It definitely was harder to learn. I had to learn how to separate sounds, identify noises I wasn't familiar with, levels, tuning, it was a long process that just came from constant practice, playing and getting to know the instrument. Earlier I mention "relying on hearing"... music is vibration, you feel vibrations, vibrations become a part of you, and you soak in these rhythms. Good music not only sounds good, but it feels good too."

HID- What areas of daily life do you still find stressful to deal with being Deaf? Are there any situations in which you wish that people could be a little more patient or understanding?
Mark- "Communicating with hearing peers, especially in noisy environments is always a lot of work. I speak well and with hearing aids I am able to hear conversations in quiet environments. Friends sometimes tend to forget that my hearing isn't so great, so I have to remind them that although I can hear noise, I can't understand whats being said. Hearing and understanding are two different things - I can hear you... but I can't necessarily understand you. Friends are always eager to learn signs too which is quite helpful."

HID- Is there anything that we can do in our own lives to help make this place a little bit more Deaf friendly?
Mark- "Being patient and conscious of communicating clearly is a big help. I think many hearing individuals tend to get flustered because all the sudden they realize verbal communication isn't going to work, now they really have to think about how they're going to get the message across. Whether it be fingerspelling, signing, writing with pen and paper, or using the notepad or text on the phone, theres many ways you can communicate."

HID- Do your hands ever get tired from signing?
Mark- "Haha, not necessarily signing, but a combination of playing guitar, bass, drumming, using the computer, signing, tends to wear on 'em though."

HID- When new worlds pop up in language who gets to decide how they are signed? Is there such thing as sign language slang words?
Mark- "There's a lot of regional signs of American Sign Language (ASL). Some signs for certain words are different in the northern, midwest or southern states. It's not like back in the day we were able to call our Deaf companions in the south and say hey "this is the sign for this". Now with technology boom we're experiencing with cameras on our cell phones and computers, signs spread faster and are picked up, discussed and utilized. Recently there were a lot of videos going around on Facebook discussing the sign for the app 'Glide'.

There are definitely slang words, just like in any language. Slang signs are some of my favorite ones, they're fun signs."

HID- Is closed captioning always on when you're watching TV?
Mark- "Yup. As we've moved long on from silent films, TV and movies just aren't as animated as they once were, so if theres no captions, it's hard to understand whats being said. I don't watch that much TV to be honest. It's frustrating that it's 2014 and theres still a lack of captioning and accessibility when it comes to captioning TV shows and movies, not just online but at movie theaters too. It's slowly getting better but we're still lacking full accessibility."

HID- When did you get involved with D-Pan and why?
Mark- "I went to high school with Sean's wife out in the Chicago burbs, she knew I played guitar and wanted to introduce me to him when they first started dating because he was a drummer. There's not many Deaf musicians out there... Sean and I clicked immediately. At the time, I was going to Columbia College Chicago for music business, production, and management. Sean and I talked about working together, and D-PAN: Deaf Professional Arts Network was just a concept at the time. As soon as he launched D-PAN and started making music videos, he kept hitting me up and asking me to come work with him here in Detroit. I promised him I would move to Detroit after I graduated, and I did. I loved the concept of it - bridging the gap between the Deaf and hearing communities by utilizing music...the universal language. D-PAN had just made its first DVD with ASL music videos for songs by John Mayer, Christina Aguilera, Eminem, and I just graduated, so it was the perfect time to join in. We started touring in promotion of the DVD and many amazing opportunities continued to spring up. To be a Deaf, and obtaining a degree geared towards the music field, I wasn't sure how that was going to really work out for me. Getting involved with D-PAN allowed me to take pride in my identity and work in the industry of my passion simultaneously."

HID- Anything else that you would like our readers to know?
Mark- "We see you staring at us in the bar while we wildly sign, don't be a creep, come say hi, we're usually pretty nice."

For more information about Mark, check out his website at www.findingparadiseroad.com.

~S

Pig and Whiskey 2014

Last week thousands of people from all different walks of life descended onto Ferndale, Michigan for the 2014 Pig and Whiskey festival. This was a three day affair that featured live music, cold beer, strong whiskey, and all the BBQ a person could ask for.

The sun was shining throughout the weekend, which drew a bigger crowd than previous years. Apparently, after the longest winter in recent history it was time for everyone to get outside and have a good time.  Earlier in the day there were a lot of families and late at night the kids filled the streets.

This year's musical lineup was one of the most solid local festival lineups of all time, there wasn't a bad act from start to finish.  The weekend was filled with memorable performances, including The Beggars, Blaire Alise and the Bombshells, The HandGrenades, Pony Show, Seven Birds one Stone, The ILL Itches, Sean Forbes, and many more.

 

I discovered a few new bands that I am looking forward to seeing again in the future. This included The Electric Lion Sound Wave Experiment, they played a killer set on Saturday. I was dancing the entire time they preformed.

This year I didn't attend the festival as a patron, instead I worked the drink ticket booth right next to the beer tent. This helped me see the event from a whole new perspective. It truly is a weekend for locals to kick back, let there hair down, and have some fun.  It is amazing that music, food, and alcohol can bring so many different people to one place.  There is not an average age, and no typical patron at this festival. In fact, there were a lot of people who told me that it was their first time in Ferndale while they were buying their tickets. They came out and tried something new. A lot of people had so much fun on Friday that we saw them again on Saturday. It was a great opportunity for local bands to win over some new fans.

The Detroit Derby Girls worked extra hard to serve up as many beers as possible.  They brought a ton of positive energy to the event by yelling, screaming, ringing bells, and making sure that everyone had a great time. I hope that everyone remembered to tip these ladies so they can keep serving up more fun for years to come.

I think we all owe a hung thank you to the organizers and sponsors of this festival. It was amazing to see how smoothly things ran throughout the weekend.  There are so many moving pieces that have to come together to make this event happen. We are lucky to live in a place where there is enough good music, good food, good alcohol, and good people to make something of this magnitude possible.  I hope that this festival continues to grow and prosper over the years because it truly is one of the best events of the summer.  In the words of Nine Inch Nails "The pigs have won tonight. Now, they can all sleep soundly, and everything is all right."  

~S

Recap of The Hard Lessons Post Christmas Bash!!!!

Friday night we had the honor of being part of The Hard Lessons' 8th Annual Post-Christmas Bash at St. Andrew's in Detroit. We got to play dress up and pretend that we were elves while introducing the bands and playing hostesses for the night. Two things stand out about the night. First of all, everyone that performed was excellent. Secondly, The Hard Lessons have some pretty die hard fans that are willing to come early and stay late to check out all of the bands, which is really, really cool.

Blaire Alise & The Bombshells opened the night and looked and sounded great. As I watched Blaire perform, all I could think was I wish that I was this amazing when I was 17. In fact, I wish I was that amazing now. I do not know how she gets up and sings and plays her little heart out so well, but this band is sounding better and better every time I see them play.

Next up on the small stage was goLab. They were a two piece act that was loud as can be. Christie from Hip In Detroit loved this act and raved about them for the rest of the night. We found out that they are from Toledo, Ohio and were visiting Michigan for the night to play the show. They are definitely worth a listen.

Up next on the big stage was Sugar Baron. Self described as electronic dance rock, they had a great full sound and got me dancing and having a good time. I especially loved the vocals. I will be checking these guys out again soon, they were a refreshing dose of new for me.

Fourth on the lineup was Silent Lions on the smaller stage. By this point the room was full and everyone was watching them play. Christie and I are already fans, but we wanted to compliment the boys on there best set yet, you guys sounded great and we enjoyed it.

Then, Sean Forbes hit the stage and I admit that I was very excited to finally see Sean and his band perform live. I interviewed Sean about his project D-Pan a few months ago and learned a lot about the deaf music community, but I have never seen a deaf performer, especially a deaf hip hop artist. To put it mildly, I was blown away by the performance. To see him sign while he performed was simply awesome. The fact that he made jokes and talked to the crowd was icing on the cake. You must check him out, he is not only talented but also inspiring.

Finally, it was The Hard Lessons' turn to end the night and celebrate. This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the band and they just released their latest album called Start What You Finished. They played a great set and then unplugged got down on the floor and played even more right there with their fans. They never disappoint and make sure that the crowd has a good time. Right after the show they released their newest music video called “Sit and Argue” which you can check out here. It features The Heidelberg Project before the recent rash of fires that has claimed a lot of the houses.

We got you videos and pictures so you can check out what you missed and make sure to not miss out on any of these acts the next time they come around. Thanks again for letting Hip be part of the fun!

~S

Win Tickets to The Hard Lessons' 8th Annual Post-Christmas Blowout at St. Andrew's!

This time of year is all about spending time with the ones you love. That's why we are so excited that after 2 days of time with our families, we get to spend the evening with all of you! The day after Christmas, Thursday, December 26th, we will be hosting The Hard Lessons' 8th Annual Post-Christmas Blowout at St. Andrew's Hall! We are absolutely thrilled and think this night is going to be a blast!

St. Andrew's will have 2 stages for this show, that will be graced by the presence of Blaire Alise & The Bombshells, Sugar Baron, goLab, Silent Lions, Sean Forbes, and, of course, The Hard Lessons. This is also the release party for The Hard Lessons' new album and the first time it will be available in Detroit (on vinyl or CD).

Tickets for this great show are only $12.50 and can be purchased in advance here. We want to see everyone we know at this show though, so we are excited to announce that we are giving away FIVE pairs of tickets to this show! All you have to do to enter is email us at hipindetroit@gmail.com with The Hard Lessons in the subject line and your first and last name in the email. If you'd like to double your chances, just share this post on some form of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and make sure you tag Hip In Detroit in it! We will draw all of our winners on Monday afternoon! So get those entries in now! Good luck and Merry Christmas!!!

~C

Meet Sean Forbes and Find Out More About D-PAN

We have all made corny statements about music being the universal language. We say things like, "it has the power to bring people together and transcends petty differences", but I never realized how true that statement was until recently. My dad and I may not be able to agree about politics, but we can agree that Pink Floyd rules, we can bond over a mutual love of Billy Joel, and we can rock out to an oldies station when we need to find a middle ground. Music is the one thing that me and my father can have a conversation about without arguing. But, music is so much more than that, it is a way to express how we feel and to interpret how we feel. Watching a great band perform and singing along is literally one of the best experiences I have ever had. What I didn't realize until now is that just because you can't hear the music doesn't mean you can't feel it.

It never occurred to me that the person standing next to me at a show may not be able to hear what I hear, but they are able to feel what I feel. Let me explain, I have never had a friend who was deaf or hearing impaired, so I had never thought about what music would mean to someone who couldn't hear. What could music mean or be to someone who has never heard, someone who was born deaf or maybe became deaf at a young age? I truly could not answer that question, but I just met someone who can. Sean Forbes is a local artist who is deaf. He has started a charity call D-PAN and has put out music for the deaf and hearing impaired.

Sean became deaf shortly after birth and was still able to teach himself how to play drums and guitar. He opened up my eyes and made me realize that music also connects the hearing to those that can't hear, because even if we don't hear the same thing music can make us feel the same thing. Please take a minute to read my interview with Sean and learn a little bit more about him and his foundation. Once you do I promise you will be blown away by how amazing and truly talented he is. He will be debuting D-PAN's latest release this Friday at the Rust Belt Market in Ferndale, and I guarantee you will want to support what he is doing. The benefit starts at 7 p.m. and all ages are welcome to attend. Tickets will be $20 in advance and $25 at the door. You can purchase tickets at dpandetroit.eventbrite.com. Sean will be preforming live along with other artists, and word has it there may be some bands featuring horns (I love horns!). Halloween costumes are encouraged and ASL music videos will be played for all to enjoy.

Hip In Detroit- Were you born hearing impaired or did you become hearing impaired?
Sean- "Hearing impaired is not the right terminology, I preferred to be called deaf whereas the community as a whole likes to be represented as the "Deaf and Hard Of Hearing Community". For a more in depth analysis of this please read an article by my guitarist Mark Levin: http://limpingchicken.com/2013/09/23/mark-levin-lets-eradicate-the-term-hearing-impaired/ "
I was born hearing and became deaf at a year old as the result of a high fever."

Hip In Detroit- How do you communicate with others? Do you read lips or use sign language?
Sean- "I am lingual meaning that I communicate both in American Sign Language and I speak for myself as well. Depending on the mode of communication of any specific person I communicate with I chose that mode, sometimes I communicate solely through sign language or sometimes I solely speak..... when I perform I do both and this is not an "accepted" form of communication as sign language is not a spoken language, but I look at my performances as "works of art" and it amazes people that I'm able to speak and sign at the same time, it's like using both sides of my brain.... like walking and chewing gum."

Hip In Detroit- How old were you when you started playing music?
Sean- "I got my first drumset when I was five and it's been love ever since then. I started playing guitar and writing songs when I was 10. It wasn't until I was in my 20's that I realized that if I wanted to do something with music I was going to have to think outside the box and do something drastically different."

Hip In Detroit- I read you play drums and guitar. I guess I can understand drums, but how does one learn an instrument like guitar when you can't hear what your playing? How do you tune a guitar?
Sean- "Playing guitar is all about feeling, the way a song moves, the way you want the groove to go, or the melody in a song.... anyone can play guitar, but how you can move someone with a guitar is what makes listening or feeling it great. I can see how someone is playing, having played guitar extremely loud for many years gave me a sense of what I'm feeling when I watch someone play guitar. I can't tune a guitar on my ears, but I do own a tuner and can tell when I play a guitar when it's out of tune, usually I'll look at a hearing person and shoot then a weird face and they'll respond, 'yeah, it's really out of tune.'"

Hip In Detroit- When did you start D-PAN and why?
Sean- "I started D-PAN back in 2005 because growing up in a musical family, I felt really lucky to be involved with something that my family was so passionate about. When I was in high school I didn't have a lot of other deaf and hard of hearing friends who enjoyed music. It wasn't until I was a college student at RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) where NTID (National Technical Institute for the Deaf) is located that I started to realize that there were many others who appreciated and enjoyed music. I would often sign songs to my friends so that they could be involved in music and it was those moments that inspired me to want to setup D-PAN."

Hip In Detroit- D-PAN's page talks about "feeling music" the same way I hear it, can you explain that to me?
Sean- "Music is all about feeling, the way you feel it in your soul, but also how you feel it physically. Many of us like to turn up the music extremely loud and bump along to it, just like anyone else. Any musician who writes a great song wants you to "FEEL" it not just "listen" to it..... if you don't feel it then it's probably not a great song."

Hip In Detroit- Are there certain instruments or types of music that you "feel"more?
Sean-"Drums and bass are the most prominent."

Hip In Detroit- Tell us about the DVD you are releasing, It's Everybody's Music Volume 2.
Sean- "This new DVD continues in the tradition of D-PAN making music accessible for the deaf community. On this DVD we have 6 new music videos "Fireflies" by Owl City, "We're Going To Be Friends" by the White Stripes, "You Brought The Sunshine" by the Clark Sisters, "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen along with an original song and video called "Watch These Hands" which I wrote and another song by a deaf and hearing couple called "Parents, Nothing More". I'm excited about this DVD and can't wait to show more of what D-PAN is doing. We host camps for deaf and hard of hearing kids to get involved in music and creating music videos with sign language. I never dreamed in a million years we would be doing this and I love this part of my job."

Hip In Detroit- What are some of your favorite acts around Detroit and what do you love about them?
Sean- "My access to music is very limited, in order for me to follow along I have to know the lyrics. I'm good friends with people like Tino Gross from the Howling Diablos, Johnny "Bee" Badnajek from Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, Vinnie Dombrowski from "Sponge" and many more..... I've known these guys pretty much my entire life and they've been a part of this journey. I also like those guys from Wilson, they put on a pretty bad ass show."

~S