Tuesday, May 22, 2012
The local indie-rock quartet are set to release a split 7" single with Hospital Garden at the Berkley Front.
There's something supernatural about Destroy This Place. Everything seemed to fall together for this foursome and, pretty much from the get-go; nothing was spoken, no specific styles were schemed for; they plugged in, clicked and crackled out their unforced sound of signature forcefulness. "It's pretty telepathic," said guitarist/singer Ryan Allen, "we've gotten to the point where we've developed sort of a kinetic energy between the four of us." The other three, of said-four, is guitarist/singer John Nelson, bassist Monday Busque and drummer Sean Sommer. Born between two Detroit pop/rock groups of the late 00's (the scrappier sugar-punk of New Grenada and the 90's indie shred skater shake-ups of Friendly Foes) the Ferndalian/Royal-Oak …
Friday, May 18, 2012
I Love Lightning Bugs joins Motor City Comic Con this weekend with a new album and original comic book of the band's a rock n’ roll adventures.
Royal Oak's I Love Lightning Bugs will be releasing a new album titled Kensington along with a video and the band's first comic book, which chronicles crazy tales from the road, at Motorcity Comic Con 2012. Band members Angie Kaiser, Reid McLellan and Rob Shelby will be among the more than 250 comic book creators, writers and artists from across the country on site at the comic convention, as well as more than 40 actors from the TV and sci-fi movie industry. "Comic Con is my favorite event of the year," said Shelby, who plays bass for the band. "No one is ever judged. You can just be yourself." A self-described geek, Shelby said you don't have to wear tight pants and big glasses to be cool at Comic Con. Guests of the convention are more …
42.48709
-83.50362
46100 Grand River Ave, Novi, MI
/articles/royal-oak-band-among-the-roster-confirmed-for-comic-con
/locations/7049502
Thursday, May 17, 2012
The former 'Saturday Night Live' comedian takes the stage Friday.
Tracy Morgan, who plays the unpredictable Tracy Jordan on the Emmy award-winning TV show 30 Rock, comes to the Royal Oak Music Theatre on Friday. Morgan was also a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1996-2003 and hosted the third season of Scare Tactics on the Sci Fi Channel. Where: Royal Oak Music Theatre When: 8 p.m. Friday Cost: Reserved $39.50-$59.50 (18 and over)
42.487215
-83.14681
Royal Oak Music Theatre
318 W 4th St, Royal Oak, MI
/articles/30-rock-star-tracy-morgan-comes-to-royal-oak-music-theatre
1638783
/locations/7045206
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Venus Bronze Works has been inspecting and maintaining Marshall Fredericks' sculpture for more than a decade.
Royal Oak’s most famous couple were inspected, cleaned and waxed by Venus Bronze Works over the weekend. The Detroit-based sculptural restoration firm has been inspecting and maintaining the bronze Star Dream Fountain near City Hall at a cost of of $9,250 annually since 1999. The funding comes from the Downtown Development Authority. The Star Dream Fountain, the work of the late Marshall Fredericks, was dedicated in 1997. Fredericks, who had a studio in Royal Oak at 4113 N. Woodward Ave., also sculpted the Leaping Gazelle to the right of the main gate of the Detroit Zoo and the famed Spirit of Detroit in front the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit. Royal Oak resident Gene Gray can appreciate the work done on the sculpture, but …
42.488146
-83.142775
City of Royal Oak City Hall
221 E 3rd St, Royal Oak, MI
/articles/star-dream-fountain-has-polished-new-look
709775
/locations/7011695
42.531911
-83.199919
4113 N Woodward Ave, Royal Oak, MI
former site of Marshall Fredericks studio
/articles/star-dream-fountain-has-polished-new-look
/locations/7011696
A 4-foot-tall metal sculpture that was the pride of a Royal Oak art gallery has been sold.
There is something missing on Royal Oak's Main Street. After months of working with the city to find a resolution to her cat problem, art consultant and Ariana Gallery owner Ann Kuffler has lost her favorite feline. Kuffler hoped her gallery could be the forever home for a 4-foot-tall metal lion that has been crouching in front of her shop since October, but the sculpture’s creator has sold the work of art to a private art collector. “I am going to miss him,” Kuffler said. “He made people notice my building. People loved coming here to take photos and climb on him.” Lion, the work of sculptor Keith Coleman of Taylor, was installed in front of Ariana Gallery in October as part of the Chalk & Chocolate event. The sculpture is made from metal…
42.489649
-83.144285
Ariana Gallery
119 S Main St, Royal Oak, MI
/articles/main-street-lion-finds-a-new-habitat
709470
/locations/7011106
Friday, May 11, 2012
The Detroit Children’s Touring Choir will join local musician at the Royal Oak Music Theatre on Saturday.
Local singer and songwriter Jill Jack brings her soul-filled, sultry music to the Royal Oak Music Theatre this Saturday night to celebrate the release of her much anticipated CD, Sunflower Girl. New songs "Ghost," "Breathe" and "Sunflower Girl" have strong lyrics and soul reaching words that are sure to leave listeners with a true sense of who Jack is and where she is going. The idea for the title track began when Jack's husband, Roger, walked in their Ferndale home one afternoon with a big, “Hey sunflower girl." Jack had an inspiration and began writing down a few lines. During the same conversation he commented, “Honey, you can’t fix crazy." Hours later she had the song ready to go. Jack's family has been a grounding force in her …
42.487215
-83.14681
Royal Oak Music Theatre
318 W 4th St, Royal Oak, MI
/articles/homegrown-girl-jill-jack-cd-release-at-royal-oak-music-theatre
1638783
/locations/6989657
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Works of art in all media are on display in the Royal Oak High School media center through May 18.
Drawings, paintings, oil pastels, clay pots, mixed media, and basketry fill the Royal Oak High School media center in preparation for the open reception of the Spring Art Show from 3:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. today. The show represents the work of all student levels in a variety of media," said Martha Shrode, an art teacher at the high school. "There will be refreshments and music at the reception," said Shrode, "So it will be like a traditional art gallery opening." Terry Powers, who teaches arts and crafts, calls the work "the cream of the crop." Students were in the media center this morning getting a sneak preview of the show. Senior Joshua Lincoln has a self-portrait in the exhibit. Lincoln has four years of art classes under his belt and …
42.5216
-83.16463
Royal Oak High School
1500 Lexington Blvd, Royal Oak, MI
/articles/rohs-student-art-show-opens-today
709868
/locations/6983480
Student singers invite the community to its annual pop/rock concert tonight and Friday.
Students in the Royal Oak High School choirs program have been putting in some long hours in preparation for their annual ROX concert, which they will perform Thursday and Friday evenings at the school. Led by choir director Deborah Buffa, accompanist Jennifer Semivan and student director Anna Marck, members of the Concert Choir, A Capella Choir, Royal Oak Chamber Singers and Women's Ensemble will sing, dance and play a wide variety of popular music in the school's auditorium. Students perform as a choir and audition for spots in the program as solo and group acts, backed by student musicians. "There will be live music from the '70s, '80s, '90s and today," said Marck, a senior who helped choreograph the show. "There's beat-boxing from …
42.5216
-83.16463
Royal Oak High School
1500 Lexington Blvd, Royal Oak, MI
/articles/royal-oak-high-school-choirs-ready-to-rox
709868
/locations/6981174
Grouters joined Royal Oak artist Laurie Eisenhardt at the library to work on mosaic panels.
More than a dozen volunteers gathered in the basement of the Royal Oak Public Library Wednesday ready to get their hands a little dirty for the sake of art. Volunteers grouted and cleaned two mosaic panels created at last year's Clay, Glass & Metal Show in downtown Royal Oak under the direction of ceramic artist Laurie Eisenhardt. Eisenhardt and Marcia Hovland started the Community Mosaic Project in 2010 using scrap materials donated by artists exhibiting in the festival. "One of the artists would drop a pot at the show and bring over all the pieces and say, 'Here you can have this,'" said Diana Barrer, Eisenhardt's assistant. Using the donated shards, the mosaic panels are assembled by fair attendees of all ages over the two-day event. …
42.489857
-83.142768
Royal Oak Public Library
222 E 11 Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI
/articles/volunteers-get-hands-dirty-for-community-mosaic-project
708870
/locations/6979936
Thursday, May 3, 2012
See how interior designers get clever with books galore in various rooms at the Junior League of Detroit Grosse Pointe Shores' home tour, which opens Saturday.
Books seem to be everywhere. Not only are they in homes and on bookshelves, but paperbacks and hardcovers aplenty are also adorning window displays at apparel shops and boutiques and in fashion designer and home-furnishings ad campaigns. There's even book-page wallpaper. Books are wearable, too. Kate Spade, in fact, introduced clutches that replicate classic tomes, from Romeo and Juliet to Emma to The Importance of Being Earnest. Is this our way of holding on to physical books in our Nook-ish, Kindle-ized world of “E?” Perhaps, and that may be why many of the designers at the Junior League of Detroit's (JLD) 2012 Show House used books in a variety of displays. They cherish books not only for design inspiration but also as intriguing …
42.424423
-82.881799
22 Webber Pl, Grosse Pointe Shores, MI
Designers' Showhouse
/articles/get-bookin-to-the-designers-show-house
/locations/6927228
Jennifer M. Cline
4:07 pm on Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Aw, I'm gonna miss the lion! I can't wait to see what they bring in next, though! more ›