Detroit's Grande Ballroom: It done kicked 'em out!

Location, Location, Location.
Unlike San Francisco's Fillmore, which successfully parlayed it's late-sixties, hippie-dippy pedigree into a multi-million dollar franchise under the crafty tutelage of Bill Graham, Detroit's Grande Ballroom was virtually abandoned and left to rot, not unlike Detroit itself.

With the official release of the widely bootlegged Future/Now films documentary, MC5- A True Testimonial still(!) in limbo, it's of particular importance that Louder than Love, the Story of the Grande Ballroom, get completed and released in a timely manner, lest the rest of the world continue under the false impression that California and New York held exclusives on all of the music, revolution, and counter-culture mayhem that went down in the 60's.

The Grande's legacy may have been resurrected in the mid-80's by a new generation of fans hungry for the pure, pre-corporate, high-energy rock music that the venue fostered during its short influential reign, but the building itself has not fared nearly as well; numerous online sources offer photographic evidence of the building's structural decline, and practitioners of the urban exploration movement have produced several video accounts of exposing the decay behind the Grande's exterior walls.

Fun Fact: The debut performance of The Who's Tommy took place at the Grande.
Sour Grapes: Machine Gun Thompson of the MC5 apparently has a bone to pick with Iggy and/or the Stooges.

Even a partial listing of Grande Ballroom Alumni reveals the sonically diverse zeitgeist of the Grande's brief tenure:

The Amboy Dukes, The Animals, Jeff Beck Group, Chuck Berry, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Blood Sweat and Tears, Blue Oyster Cult, Bonzo Dog Band, Brownsville Station, Butterfield Blues Band, Canned Heat, Cream, Detroit w/Mitch Ryder, Bo Diddley, Fleetwood Mac, The Frost, Frut, Genesis, Sir Graves Ghastly, Alan Ginsburg, Golden Earring, Buddy Guy, Abbie Hoffman, John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, J Geils-who recorded their breakthrough live album Full House at Detroit's Cinderella Ballroom, The James Gang, Elton John, King Crimson, The Kinks, Led Zeppelin, MC5, NRBQ, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, Shakey Jake, John Sinclair, Sky with future Knack leader Doug Fieger, Sly and the Family Stone, The Stooges, Third Power, T-Rex w/Marc Bolan, Turtles, The Troggs, The Who, Johnny Winter, The Yardbirds.

Kick out the jams indeed.

-toke!

Free-Range Art of the Toledo Region #1

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We haven't a clue regarding the identity of the resident artist (artist resident?) who transformed so much junkyard detritus and industrial-sized scrap iron into this clever display of garden fauna, but we do know that it represents one of the purest forms of Free-Range Art we've seen.

Our feet never left public soil during our short visit, ninety-nine percent out of respect to the homeowner, and one percent because you gotta' figure anyone this talented with a welder is equally as handy with the old shootin' iron when sufficiently agitated. We happily settled for the long-distance photos you see here. If and when a proper introduction is arranged, we'll gladly shoot some close-ups and elaborate on the artist and their work if they are so inclined.

Numerous additional sculptures dot the yard, and like most free-range exhibits, finding them is half the fun. Here's a hint that should make your search an easy one: It's situated east of Oak Openings Preserve, on a road beginning with the letter "R."

It seems the purest examples of free-range art are the result of a direct conduit between the creator's mind and their hands, a passion undiluted by rational thought and outside influence.

If you do visit, please practice common courtesy.

Digital TV Transition: Is that us?

I haven't heard a thing. You?

Sure, it's Funny Now.

Words to govern by.
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Gary Louris-This Week In Toledo, Ohio, 1973:

Jayhawks guitarist Gary Louris graduates from Toledo’s St. Johns High School. In a bold career strategy that can only be described as genius, Louris doesn’t even own an electric guitar until after receiving his college diploma, potentially saving thousands of music admirers and witless bystanders from the shrill cacophony of yet another drooling adolescent tunelessly fumbling with his six-string penis in public.

The prolific songwriter’s decision to hone his craft in semi-obscurity was a wise one, evidenced not only by his vast catalog of passionate and melodic country/rock rock/country tinged-tunes, but also by the sheer number of A-list performers (Dixie Chicks, Kelly Willis, Nickel Creek-among others) that have come calling in recent years, all in hopes that at least some of the secret ingredients comprising G. Louris’ special sauce will stick to their fingers.

In addition to Louris's recently released and critically acclaimed solo work, "Vagabonds," the highly anticipated "Music from the North Country: The Jayhawks Anthology,"is slated for a July 7th release.

-toke!

The dirty low-lowdown

Freak Not, My Friends! You can still find a video of the The Oak Ridge Boys performing The White Stripes, "Seven Nation Army" by clicking here.
Not bad, but I prefer The Gaither Vocal Band's note-for-note rendition of "Dehumanized" by Void.

Shrine on, you crazy diamond(s)

Rarely performed outside the protective cover of temple walls, the "Raised-rear, throttle-plate tickle" is arguably the most provocative of all Shriner secret handshakes.

T-4 days till Shriner Car Day, AKA Memorial Day.