Tag: the Ark

Preview: Music-Con: The Comic-Con of Michigan Music

watsonsauce

Music-Con is an event sponsored by The Center for Campus Involvement, The Ark and the University of Michigan’s own, student-run, musical performance organization: New Beat Happening.
Sunday, October 21st, 12:00pm-4:00pm (FREEEEEE!!!!)

This event is for students who are interested in learning more about the music world through workshops on Demo Listening, Talent Buyer and Agent Forum, How to Get and Promote Gigs, a Song Writing Workshop, Street Marketing and Social Media as well as a Panel of local arts talking on “Being the Artist.”
Active members of the Michigan music scene lead all of the workshops. The keynote speaker for this event is Eric Morgeson; founder, producer and engineer at Studio A (http://www.studioarecording.com/).
Other workshop leaders hail from The Blind Pig (http://www.blindpigmusic.com/), The Ark (http://theark.org/), Radio hosts, iSPY magazine (http://mispymag.com/), and others.

This event takes place on Sunday October 21st 2012 from 12-4pm in the Michigan Union.

Registration is open to all students until Tuesday October 16th.

Register at: http://campusinvolvement.umich.edu/content/music-con-2012-registration

(if it is after Tuesday the 16th and you are still interested in registering go to: http://campusinvolvement.umich.edu/article/music-con-2012 to find updates on registration)

Please come and absorb the wisdom of these incredible human beings for the furthering of your musical and personal success!

EVENT BREAK DOWN:
11:30am-12:00pm Registration Check In – Michigan Union, 2nd Floor

12:00pm-12:45pm Keynote Speech: Eric Morgeson, Founder, Producer and
Engineer at Studio A
Eric tells us how he got to where he is today owning and operating a recording studio, and the lessons he learned along the way.

1:00pm-1:45pm How to Get and Promote Gigs: Get insider tips on forging through
the local scene to book successful gigs. These experts have worked
in many areas of the industry and offer up-to-date advice.
w. Susie Giang, Vice President and Agent at Fleming Artists and Joe Choma, Owner and Talent Buyer for Grand Circus Media

Talent Buyer and Agent Forum: Have questions about the talent buyer vs. agent relationship? Want to know more about this as a career? This panel discussion will give you the chance to ask questions.
w. Mike Green, Agent for TG2Artists, Adam Bauer, President and Agent at Fleming Artists, Anya Siglin, Programing Director at The Ark, and Jason Berry, Talent Buyer for The Blind Pig

Demo Listening: Demos submitted at the session are listened to, and then our experts provide a to-the-point discussion on what they are hearing and what music execs listen for in a demo.
w. David Siglin, Former Director of The Ark, and Rob Reinhart, radio host at WDET and Acoustic Café

2:00pm-2:45pm Street Marketing and Social Media: From flyering to Facebook,
this meeting explores the trends in marketing and social media.
w. Tim Adkins, Bro-Founder of Pakmode Media + Marketing, and Publisher of iSPY, and Matthew Altruda, Radio Host for Ann Arbor’s 107.1FM Treetown Sound and Marketing Event Coordinator for Sonic Lunch

Songwriting Workshop: Get creative and start writing some songs. This workshop provides guidance in getting your music on paper.
(speaker TBA)

Being the Artist: A discussion with local artists about making a name for yourself, creating albums, being a role model and more.
w. Dante LaSalle, Hip Hop Musician and Deejay
(other artists TBA)

2:45pm-4:00pm Trade Show: Featuring live music, a raffle for Ark tickets and local
vendors offering information about their music related products
and services.

All sessions will be located in the Michigan Union.

Here’s how to have your best conference experience:
· – Make sure you arrive to register between 11:30am-12:00pm so you don’t miss any of the keynote speech by Eric Morgeson!
· – You can choose 1 session to attend from 1:00pm-1:45pm and 1 session to attend from 2:00pm-2:45pm.
· – There will be a 15 minute break between each session to go to the rest room, check your cell phone, grab a snack or ask the speaker a one on one question.
· – The sessions will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. So go to your desired session first, and if it is at capacity, we will ask you to choose another session.
· – Planning to attend the demo listening workshop? Bring your personal demo in on CD for the chance to have your demo critiqued by the experts.
· – Planning to attend the songwriting workshop? Bring a pen and paper.
· – This conference is for you to build your knowledge about the music industry, so make sure you ask questions of the speakers during the Q&A portions of the sessions.
· – Don’t miss out on the trade show at the end of the conference. There’ll be more time to mingle with the speakers, check out local vendors who offer music related products and services, live music and a raffle for a chance to win tickets to The Ark!

REVIEW: The Steel Wheels

nina.j

The Steel Wheels at The Ark

On Thursday night, I did two things that every dignified, rising adult Ann Arbor-ite should do: have a tasteful glass of wine with an Italian dinner at a restaurant on Main Street and see a show at The Ark. The glass of wine being because I recently turned 21 and a friend’s uncle was in town and treated us to a fancy meal, hadn’t had a drink at a swanky restaurant yet. The show at The Ark because, its my third year at U of M and I’ve never set foot in the famous concert house. Following dessert, we crossed the street and entered into an evening of blues and bluegrass that was absolute entertainment. As part of their album release tour. The Steel Wheels were in Ann Arbor, all the way from Appalachia, bringing sounds and songs of the mountains. Think “O Brother Where Art Thou?” with a modern twist;  a younger Old Crow Medicine Show, though no less soulful.

The Steel Wheels have produced six albums in their seven year run together. Band members include Trent Wagler, Jay Lapp, Brian Dickel, and Eric Brubaker.  Of the four, the only locally sourced musician was Jay Lapp, who, half way through the show gave an adorable shout out to his wife and baby daughter who were in the audience. Their instruments ranged from bass, guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, a stomping stick, and a stomping block. But best of all, in my opinion, were the a Capella renditions. One of the charming things about the performance was that all four musicians shared one centrally-hung microphone, so when they sang in unison they had to lean together and be close. Their harmonies were pitch perfect! The band mates shared a heart felt energy for one another that was evident throughout the entire show. And hose musicians were workin’! Sweating profusely through their neatly buttoned up oxfords, suspenders, and cowboy boots they entertained the entire crowd of folks for ours on end.

To get a taste of what I experienced- minus the wine and fancy Italian dinner- check out The Steel Wheels! Either listen to a taste of their newest album, Lay Down Lay Low, on their Soundcloud. My favorite songs are Endure, Rain in the Valley, and the one that shares the name of album title. Fun facts about the song  Halfway to Heaven and Nola’s First Dance: they named after The Steel Wheel’s specialty coffee blend and Jay Lapp’s daughter respectively. How precious.

Do all that and enjoy, or, just cut to the chase and watch their most famous song, Red Wing.

The main act was prefaced by an equally talented group called Honey Honey. Another band absolutely worth clicking on. Another bluesy-bluegrass group, Honey Honey made a great appetizer for the harmonies that were to follow. Suzanne Santo and Ben Jaffe, who appear to be a duo in more than just a musical way, performed perfectly, accompanied by a bassist and drummer in their traveling band. Funny thing about their gig, the lady singer sprained her ankle and had to sit throughout the very danceable performance. Somehow though, she still looked stunning and absolutely captured the audiences hearts, mine included. Last year I saw Alice Glass of Crystal Castles rock out with a crutch on stage and it was awesome. Turns out the crutch is the most underestimated prop.

Check out Ohio, my favorite from their repertoire of the evening.

Preview: Bill Harley is coming to town

krithika

Ok, so who is Bill Harley and what’s so special about him?

Bill Harley is a two-time Grammy Award winning storyteller and musician. This Massachusetts-based performer is famed for his use of song and story to describe the joys of growing up and family life. He is especially known for his wit and wisdom and is a prolific author. He has won a lot of other awards too- for his books, novels and concert DVDs.

He will give a free family performance at the Ark (The Ark, 316 South Main St, Ann Arbor, MI) on Sunday, November 22 at 1.00 pm.This performance is sponsored by the Ann Arbor District Library.

Later that night, there will be a show exclusively for teenagers and adults at 7.30 pm. Tickets cost $15 for this performance.

More ticket information is available on the Ark web page.

I still dig the good ol’ “Dennis the menace” and “Calvin and hobbes” comics. It is said that Bill Harvey’s show appeal to both the young and the old.

So, if you are in the mood for  some clean laugh-all-you-can good humor, this is for you. I am going to go as I think the kid in me never died.

Yours truly, Krithika, [art]seen reviewer