"The guitar-shaped bulge in Morgan Conatser's clothing tipped off a music store owner that there might be a crime in progress. Clifton Lovell, owner of Guitars and Cadillacs on U.S. Highway 71 in De Queen, was talking with a customer last week when he saw Conatser, 29, walking out of the store.
'I saw him walking out to his pickup truck and the bulges in his leather jacket. I said, 'Hey what have you got there,'' Clifton Lovell said.
He said Conatser, 29, replied, 'Nothing.'
Lovell pointed toward the unnatural shapes in Conatser's jacket and pants and said, 'You've got something.'
Conatser then removed a solid body electric guitar from his pants leg and from underneath his jacket."
Here's a snip from a great page I found recently. If you want to keep track of Detroit sports, be sure to check out The Wayne Fontes Experience. Good stuff.
The Wayne Fontes Experience MVP awards, fr the most part, go to position players, and Guillen was the Tigers best everyday player. You could easily make a case for Kenny Rogers, and if he had won, I would have had no problem with it. Not that Guillen doesn't deserve the Player of the Year honor. Save for his occasional fielding miscues, Guillen did everything well. It's a shame that Guillen doesn't get the national acclaim he richly deserves. Guillen is just as much the player, if not better than, the media darling that is Derek Jeter. Hopefully the Tigers long playoff run will help to correct that slight, and Guillen will get credit as one of the elite shortstops in MLB.
This repost is from my Tales of Dead Dog Express and first appeared on August 21, 2004.
Our First Day of Recording. We arrived at the Goodsite Studios around 9:30 on a cold Sunday morning. Our cars were packed full with our instruments and various accessories. Our entourage consisted of a 3 car motorcade, Todd drove his van loaded with his drum equipment, I drove my car with my gear, and a third car with our "roadies" to provide moral support and provide security in the event of overzealous autograph seekers. OK, then.
We quickly set up our equipment in the cramped sound room. As I stated earlier, the studio owner left some major pieces of equipment in the room which made our set-up a little difficult. There was a full drum set enclosed by a baffle system, 2 small amplifiers, a suitcase piano, as well as a grand piano with more baffles.
Once the initial set was finished, Bob Goodsite, studio owner, began the process of microphone placement and conducting recording levels check. By noon, we were ready to start cutting tracks. Bob gave us a brief explanation of the process we would follow to record as the studio used only 4-track equipment. We reviewed the songs we intended to record with Bob and soon set about the recording process.
Our goal for today was to record all instrument tracks with overdubs for bass guitar and lead guitar parts. We had to wrap up the day's work by 4:00 pm that day so we burned through the initial recording phases. At the time, we were not really aware of how much we were conceding in terms of performance quality. There were many mistakes, some minor and some major, that we allowed to remain on tape in favor of our recording schedule.
The centerpiece of this day's session has to be while recording "Stand Up". We decided to incorporate a drum solo in the middle of the song. We added the drum solo a few days prior to this session so most the timing of this song we still "sight cues". We had a few of the guys in the sound room while cutting these tracks adding vocal encouragement for the drummer. Studio owner Bob added some special tape effects while recording the drum solo, reverb and echo effects, that really added character to the recording.
We barely completed our band tracks in time that day. Bob made a rough mix tape from our session for us to take with us. We set the next record date to be one week later and planned to finish the songs with any edits for the music and start recording of the vocals. This next session was NOT so much fun for me. More about that next time.
We just returned home from a quick trip to spend Thanksgiving with the family in Michigan. My parents live in Canton and we made the sojourn from Indianapolis on Wednesday night.
Most of the family was able to get together for the traditional holiday meal on Thursday. I was able to watch some of the traditional Lions loss as well. Fortunately, this did not affect my appetite.
Friday morning, I was able to capture some of the fog in the early morning. Here's a shot from my parent's backyard.
We had to cut our visit short and return home today. Always too little time to spend with the family.
"Ohio State vs. Michigan lived up to the hype and a rematch in the national-championship game suddenly seems possible.
Works for me.
Ohio State's 42-39 win over Michigan on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, proved these teams are separated by a relative thread. Credit the Buckeyes' three-point edge to their home-field advantage. In the minds of those who bleed maize-and-blue, this game was close enough to warrant a rematch. I agree. Let's take it to a neutral site and settle it.
The rematch scenario moved closer on Sunday. Ohio State remained No.1 and Michigan No.2 in the latest Bowl Championship Series rankings. The top two teams advance to the national title game Jan. 8 in Tempe, Ariz. Neither team has any regular-season games left."
I think most bloggers wish for more comments on their posts. I also believe that most readers that will leave a comment, more than likely author their own blog and are looking for linking opportunities. I, for one, don't mind when a reader leaves a comment and a tagline for their page. As long as their comments have some relevance to the post, they can pimp anything they wish as long as it's legal, moral, and doesn't cost me any money.
I will draw the line and remove comments that appear with nothing more than a link to a page. This is particularly true when they go to the extent of leaving the same tag on every open post. (I haven't checked archives yet.)
I many be more tolerant of a new blogger that engages in comment spam (maybe) but when I see some jag-off that operates multiple "clone" sites using this trick for traffic, that is a much different story. Color them gone, baby.
Update: No sooner had I removed the first wave of comment spam but there were a replacement set. I have set comments to moderator temporarily. I hope I can return the comments back to normal soon.
Michigan's Musical Connection is a weekly review of musicians and composers with roots to the Great Lake State. Some artists may be well known while others may be our little secret. From one end of the musical spectrum to the other, you never know what will show up next.
This week's artist profile is blues guitarist, Eddie Burns.
Eddie Burns has carried the torch of African-American blues in Detroit since 1948. His presentation of the early country blues styles in a contemporary band setting is unique in Michigan. Although he has taken his blues singing, guitar playing, and harmonica playing to Washington, D.C. and on European tours, Eddie is one of the few pure blues musicians to live and perform continuously in Michigan. He was honored with a Michigan Heritage Award in 1994.
Eddie grew up in the small Mississippi Delta towns of Wells and Dublin, where he heard country blues recordings in his grandfather's juke joint and listened to his father play blues on harmonica, guitar, and piano. His greatest influences from country blues recordings came from Tommy McClennan, Memphis Minnie, and Big Bill Broonzy on guitar and from John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson on harmonica. The harmonica was Eddie's first instrument as a boy. Playing "one string guitar" on the side of the house led Eddie to playing the six-string guitar.
An intensely proud man, this energetic 74-year-old is testimony to the longevity you can maintain when you’re focused and doing the music you love. He is still vital and intense, yet relaxed.
Snake Eyes’ version of “Your Cash Ain’t Nothing But Trash” says it all. “It ain’t the money,” he says. “It’s about that feeling you get when everybody’s having a good time.”
Hastings Street is long gone, but with Burns’ Snake Eyes, you be right back there at Henry’s Swing Club waitin’ for John Lee to walk in and announce, “Yeah people, we’s really havin’ a ball.” Sho nuff!
Another combined repost from my "Tales From Dead Dog Express" page. First published on August 8, 2004.
All Roads Lead To Dead Dog Express Our journey to DDE began while fellow band member, Todd Katke, the drummer, and I were working at a local resturant/night club in 1976. We worked in the kitchen as dishwashers. We met a waitress whose brother was an active recording/performing musician in the area named Bob Goodsite. She told us that Bob had a small recording studio in the basement of their house and occassionally rented it out for demo work. Bob had recorded several songs, some of which found their way onto an album sponsored by a local radio station that highlighted local talent in the Detroit area called "W4 - Home Grown". (FYI: W4 or WWWW were the call letters of the radio station. This was the station that Howard Stern worked at early in his career before he became syndicated.)
We had been working on several of our own songs and decided to contact Bob about using his studio to record a short demo. We continued our rehearsals to sharpen and refine our material. After spending about 3 months in the rehearsal/writing phase, we set our session dates. We entered the studio in January 1977 to record 4 songs for our first demo.
The songs titles were:
Cruisin' Down The Road I Need Your Love Misdemeanor Stand Up
At the time of this session, we were minus 1 bass guitarist so I performed all bass parts as overdubs. Todd was to sing lead on 1 song (Cruisin' Down The Road) and I would sing lead on 2 songs (I Need Your Love, Stand Up). We had a small entourage in attendance while all the initial band tracks were cut. These were guys that had become our stage crew and helped us drink beer whenever it was available. We had a lot of fun during the 1st session. Plenty of clowning around. I had such an adrenalin rush from the excitement of our first recording session and hearing our songs taking shape. We even had some of the guys in the sound room while we recorded Stand Up and you can hear them yelling during the drum solo section of the song. (yeah, I know, cheesy.)
Here are a couple of photos from the first day of recording..
Day One: This is a picture of Todd Katke during microphone level check. The studio owner left all his equipment set up in the room so we had to wedge our equipment anywhere we could find the space. Todd played such a large drum kit, finding room was challenging to say the least. I think the cramped quarters actually added to the enthusiasm we were experiencing that day.
Day One: Here I am getting ready to start recording band tracks. It was a cold day outside and we just had a big snow the night before as you can see out the window behind me. I was 17 years old at the time.
There is almost something eerie about Bo's passing the day before the big game at OSU. There is no question that coach Schembechler intensified the rivalry between University of Michigan and Ohio State University. The images in my memory of the sparing between Bo and Woody are vivid to this day.
"One of the greatest hearts in the history of collegiate football ceased beating Friday.
Legendary University of Michigan coach Bo Schembechler is dead at the age of 77.
Schembechler fell ill while preparing for the taping of a television show at Channel 7. Station officials said police and fire officials responded immediately, and escorted SchembechlerÂs ambulance to Providence Hospital at 9:25 a.m."
This is a repost from one of my other pages called "Tales from Dead Dog Express". This page began in June 2004 but never really took hold as a stand alone blog. To tell the truth, they may not take hold as an occassional post series either but I'll take the chance, if you will.
What the hell is Dead Dog Express? I played guitar in a band for many years. In the late 80's we were renting an outbuilding on a remote piece of property just northwest of Detroit. We were converting this building to function as a rehearsal studio and later a recording studio. We spent about a month remodeling and securing the building prior to beginning to actual rehearse. The building was set back about 250 feet from the main access road and was sort of tucked behind a small cinderblock building. Well, one night, we were working on the place and decided to take a break and walk around the property. Our exploration led us to the frontage along the driveway. We almost tripped over the remains of a dog that had been struck by a car. I admit now that it may have been gruesome, but we decided to name our rehearsal facility after that unfortunate animal. Thus, The Dead Dog Express. I will attempt to upload pictures if possible of the buildings and the surrounding property.
Just a quick announcement or perhaps a word of warning about some changes on this page in the very near future -
Over the past couple of years, I have started many, many various blog projects. Some were principally to promote my business enterprises while others were solely personal expressions of my varied interests. Lately, I have taken to evaluating the amount of time I am dedicating to blogging and whether my pages are serving the enjoyment of my readers and myself.
What I have discovered is that I am trying to cover too much ground with too many specialized pages. In the process, I believe that I am not contributing enough value to the reader, by my standards, and as a result, I have been frustrated in trying to keep all the plates spinning.
I have decided to phase out several of my other pages. In my evaluation of where I found the most enjoyment, I realized that some of the focus of many blogs could actually be included here and may make reading this page a bit more interesting or entertaining. Or maybe not. Whichever the case, I am sure some readers will let me know in some form or fashion.
For those that stop by to check out this page, thanks for your visits. I hope you will find enough of interest to continue reading.
"Most voters had never considered the idea of term limits for anyone other than the constitutionally term-limited president until 1994, when crusading Republicans made the issue a cornerstone of their so-called Contract With America. The idea was always more flash than substance; recall that they were most vigorously pushed by Newt Gingrich, who was at the time running for his ninth-yes-ninth term in Congress. And now, 12 years later, many of the congressmen and women who were elected that year remain in office and don’t want to discuss term limits anymore. The congressman I left behind in Indiana, Mark Souder, has one excuse after another for why the pledge he made so fervently in 1994 is no longer binding, and considering he’s a heavy favorite for re-election, the voters don’t care much either.
But recall what else was abroad in the land in 1994 — fury. Voters were angry at what they perceived as a corrupt, do-nothing Congress, feathering its own nest with a bank that let members kite checks, pay raises that appeared like manna from heaven and other perks average Americans saw as undeserved, the work of a group more concerned with cementing its own power than serving the public."
Welcome to the "post-midterm election" edition of Michigan's Musical Connection. As is the case with politics, the direction this weekly feature will take is just as unpredictable. And is also the case as with politics, if you don't get a result that you expected, just "tune" in next time.
This week I am casting the spotlight on James Tocco.
Italian-American virtuoso James Tocco enjoys international renown as a recitalist, orchestral soloist, chamber musician and pedagogue. Beyond his vast repertoire of virtually the entire standard piano literature, he is widely regarded as among the foremost interpreters of American masterworks, including Bernstein's Age of Anxiety, which he recently recorded with Leonard Slatkin and the BBC London Symphony and performed with Marin Alsop and the New World Symphony; and the Corigliano Piano Concerto, of which he is acknowledged the definitive interpreter by the Pulitzer-Prize-winning composer. He has performed this spectacular work to great acclaim with the Atlanta, San Diego, Kansas City and Phoenix Symphonies and Louisville Orchestra, the latter including an acclaimed recording, and in the 2003-2004 season he reprises it with Andrew Litton and the Cincinnati Symphony, among other orchestras. The pianist's recent seasons included his Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra debut, performing the MacDowell Concerto and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, both conducted by Leonard Slatkin. An especially accomplished recitalist, Mr. Tocco has been widely praised for his interpretations of Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt, as well as 20th-century composers, and he among the very few pianists to regularly program the keyboard works of Handel.
Born of Italian parents in Detroit, Mr. Tocco's love of music--especially opera--began in early childhood. At six he started studying piano and at twelve he made his orchestral debut, performing Beethoven's Second Concerto. Among the countless awards that followed were a scholarship to the Salzburg Mozarteum and a French government grant to study with Magda Tagliaferro in Paris. His musical education was completed with Claudio Arrau in New York. International prominence came with his First Prize victory in the International ARD Competition in Munich, followed by a major triumph as a last-minute replacement for Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli as guest soloist for the Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto at the Vienna Festival. In the years since then he has performed literally around the world: throughout North and South America, Europe, the Soviet Untion, Japan, Australia, South Africa and the Middle East. His orchestral engagements include the Cleveland and Minnesota Orchestras; Berlin, London, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Munich Philharmonics; London, Houston, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Detroit, Chicago, New World, National, and NHK (Japan) Symphonies. Conductors with whom he has collaborated include Marin Alsop, David Atherton, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Andrew Litton, Yoav Talmi, Robert Shaw, Yoel Levi, Zdenek Macal, Gerard Schwarz, Raymond Leppard, David Zinman, Lukas Foss, Georges Prtre, Neeme J°hrvi, James DePreist, Hugh Wolff, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Leonard Slatkin, John Nelson, Christoph Eschenbach and Christoph von Dohnnyi. Festival invitations include Salzburg, Vienna, Lockenhaus, Holland, Schleswig-Holstein, Dubrovnik, Wolf Trap, the Hollywood Bowl, Blossom, Ravinia, New York's "Mostly Mozart," Spoleto (USA) and Santa Fe.
"Some upscale Oakland County communities that are more used to top-dollar properties than condemnations are demolishing houses, and that has homeowners seeing red. In the last week, houses have been demolished in Bloomfield and West Bloomfield townships - areas that normally are filled with some of the highest-priced homes and condominiums in the area.
'This was my wife's dream home,' said Bill Gray of their house at 3148 Devon Brook Road in Bloomfi eld Township. 'It was a lovely house.' Gray and his wife, Crysteen Moelter-Gray, said they had hopes of building their dream home, but the project was delayed after a number of hospitalizations. In the past 10 years, Gray said, Bloomfield Township municipal attorneys secured court orders against him, delaying completion of the home even more."
"Metro Detroit led the nation in the number of foreclosures over the third quarter, as the state's sluggish economy continues to be a drag on southeast Michigan's real estate market.
One out of every 80 homes in southeast Michigan, or four times the national average, was in foreclosure during the three-month period ended Sept. 30, according to a report by Realty Trac Inc., an Irvine, Calif., firm that tracks foreclosures.
The number of households in foreclosure during the period was 10,316, an increase of 42% from the second quarter."
"The governorship of Michigan! Incumbent Gov. Jennifer Granholm won reelection last night over her opponent Dick DeVos. Congratulations to Granholm, Stabenow and the numerous other Democrats who won. (The final tally isn't in yet, but it looks like Granholm won by about 14% over DeVos who spent $35 million of his own money on the election.)
I stayed up very late last night watching election returns so I'm on automatic pilot this morning, but I wanted to make a couple of comments about the election. First, DeVos based most of his campaign on Michigan's dismal economy, blaming it entirely on Granholm and insisting we were in a single state recession. Voters didn't buy that argument and could see for themselves what was happening across the nation. In fact, CNN reported that the economy nearly tied Iraq as the reason voters across the country came out to vote."
"OK, if Michigan can accomplish anything in the immediate aftermath of this election, here’s one suggestion:
Have the Michigan Republican Party take a clear position on absentee ballot rules.
Republicans should endorse a liberalization of those rules, to what is called “no-reason” absentee balloting.
That’s not the current GOP position. At least, we don’t think it is.
You see, legislation has swirled around for years to alter Michigan’s absentee ballot rules, which limit such ballots to senior citizens and folks with specific reasons they can’t make the polls on Election Day.
“No-reason” absentee ballots are just that - if you want an absentee ballot, for any reason, you get to use one."
"I've had conversations with people more than twice in my life about the fluoridation of water supplies. One side of the argument states that putting fluoride in our water can help keep our teeth in better shape. Oh yeah? Then why do I have so many cavities from long ago? And I've brushed my teeth at least one to two times per day all of my life. And flossed them as well.
The other camp states that fluoridation will simply kill you in due time. I tend to agree with camp number two here. Do you know where fluoride comes from? If not, I'll bet good money that you'll be grossed out when you find out. This website says that water fluoridation is a beautiful thing, and that these compounds won't hurt you. Not until they kill you anyway."
"The Lions are beginning to develop a consistently potent offense that forces it’s opponents to take notice. The chief engineeer behind that offense, Mike Martz, already has been recognized throughout the league as one of it’s more innovative minds. This season’s performance by the Lions offense should be considered the crowning achievement of Martz’s exemplary career, when you consider how bad the Lions offense has been in the past.
With Martz’s leaguewide high esteem in mind, the Lions improved offensive performance does not come without unfortunate consequences. Martz’s name will likely move to the top of several team’s wish lists as a future head coaching candidate. Martz’s previously stated desire to return to the position only increases the likelihood that his potential candidacies will gain some steam as the season progresses."
"For the first time in memory, all 15 Wayne County commissioners and Executive Robert Ficano have been hit with fines for campaign finance violations, a total of almost $60,000.
Few are challenging the offenses that date back years, but several question the timing of the sanctions from Clerk Cathy M. Garrett. They were doled out this fall, just days after Garrett's $22 million budget was slashed 5 percent and her office lost 16 positions.
Some commissioners received the notices last week and claim the sanctions smack of payback.
'I've never received scrutiny such as this ever,' said Jewel Ware, D-Detroit, chairwoman of the commission for four years. 'Of course, everybody thinks it's because of the budget.'"
"The Detroit Red Wings placed forward Jason Williams on injured reserve Thursday, a day after he suffered a first-degree concussion and a facial laceration in a game against the Edmonton Oilers.
Williams was taken off the ice on a stretcher after Oilers' Raffi Torres leveled him with a hard shoulder check to the face while he tried to put in a wraparound attempt midway through the second period .
Williams was taken to Detroit Medical Center, where precautionary tests came back negative. He was released from the hospital Thursday."
"Gov. Jennifer Granholm said this morning her re-election was voters’ validation of her economic plan for Michigan.
She also said Democratic victories are a strong message to President George W. Bush that his policies are wrong for the nation. “His plan is not the plan of the citizens of this country, and he needs to change direction,” she told reporters at a Detroit restaurant, 11 hours after she triumphantly declared victory Tuesday night.
Appearing rested and with her family joining her for breakfast, Granholm said she can better move forward her plans with a Democratic House. "
"Voters by a 4-1 margin approved a measure to prohibit governments from claiming eminent domain to seize private property for certain private economic development projects. With its passage, Proposal 4 enacts a 2004 Michigan Supreme Court decision into the state constitution.
Also seeing wide approval was Proposal 1, which provides 13 conservation and recreation funds with constitutional protection against other uses. It also passed by a 4-1 margin."
"If your response to today's get-out-the-vote effort is, 'Make me,' then I'm thinking maybe we should.
Perhaps it's time for the United States to consider mandatory voting. That may seem anathema to the idea of liberty, but I think a Michigan election where less than half of the registered voters are expected to show up does even more violence to democratic ideals.
Dock the nonvoter
You may be shocked to learn that more than 30 countries have instituted compulsory voting, including Brazil, Luxembourg, Singapore and Belgium. The idea is even being debated in Canada, where voter participation has slipped from 75% of registered voters in 1988 to 60.9% in 2004."
I'll agree with this as soon as those that we elect actually "do" all the things they promise during the campaign.
"Detroit Red Wings vice president and former captain Steve Yzerman was one of five people to receive the Lester Patrick Award from the NHL on Monday at Joe Louis Arena.
The award recognizes outstanding service to hockey in the United States and is named after NHL pioneer Lester Patrick, who was a player, coach, manager, owner and NHL governor. Patrick was the general manager of the New York Rangers in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.
Hall of Fame player Marcel Dionne, Michigan coach Red Berenson, former NHL defenseman Reed Larson and former coach Glen Sonmor also received the award."
A few weeks ago I was talking with one of my close friends, catching up on all that has been happening to each of us this summer. As we talked, I mentioned this page and the MMC (Michigan's Musical Connection) that I have been assembling. He liked the idea and mentioned that it should be easy to find subject to spotlight. I explained that I was seeking more obscure or remote artists to profile at first. My rule has been only this so far - "No softballs".
He laughed at the prospect of people like Eminem, Kid Rock, Nugent, Stevie Wonder, or Seger being considered "softballs". When I explained that those artists are so easily recognized as being associated with Michigan, it would hardly add enough meat to the series in the early going. (Notice I said in the early going - I fully intended to dedicate a post these ambassadors of Michigan Music.)
I turned the tables on my friend a little though.
I suggested he write a piece about Bob Seger as he is a huge fan. At first, he declined outright but the more we talked about it, he began to give way. I told him that, though I enjoyed most of Seger's material, I don't really consider myself as much a fan as I know he is and I wanted to get a unique view. I suggested he write from the perspective of why Bob Seger has such fan appeal, both local and worldwide. He finally agreed and he has given me permission to post it here.
Always a Fan by Jim Peters
His rock 'n roll soul runs so deep and true to his music and his audience, how could I not stay true to such a classic rock 'n roll icon as Bob Seger. The 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, and this far into the new millennium...he'll never just "roll away"! The gibberish of him becoming more "Nashville" than "Detroit", because of a couple crossover selections from his latest release, "Face the Promise", only proves his versatility over the years, and is testament to his continued success.
Be it fantasy or fact, I do have this memory of Bob playing at one of my "teen club" dances (late 60's, early 70's - eastside of Detroit), and it wouldn't surprise me to learn that most of his fans share the same thoughts. The experience of his music is so embedded in our lives. Whatever roads I've taken, there's always been a Seger tune to smooth the rough rides and keep me on the straight and narrow ones! I've always been able to recognize his music. Although I'm not passionate about it, I think it's that you can recognize his passion in it... the rockin' guitar, the rhythmic drums, some screaming sax, the sweetness of those seemingly ever-present back-up singers, whatever other instruments of Seger genius, and then let Bob loose with the mic, and that's a sound that is unmatched and unmistakebly classic rock 'n roll!
Is it no surprise, the terms progressive, improved, both harder and softer, have all been applied to this release? Also no surprise, from "Hourly Detroit" to the "Detroit Free Press", the "Metro Times", then to Jay Leno and David Letterman... his rock 'n roll music, this album, the first in 11 years, the widespread interest, the anticipation, all the media hype, it's as though it's the debut of not only a new album, but a new artist! With a tour close to being a reality, perhaps we'll see a "new" Bob Seger, refreshed, but not re-invented, leaving us all quite "satisfied"!
Thanks Jim! I really appreciate you taking the time to capture your thoughts and allow me to share with other Bob Seger fans. We're working on the 6 billion, brother.
"The Detroit Lions made Michael Vick look ordinary, while Roy Williams was sensational in a 30-14 victory Sunday over the Atlanta Falcons.
Detroit turned Vick's two first-half turnovers into touchdowns and Williams had a 60-yard TD early in the fourth quarter, lifting the Lions.
Atlanta's electric quarterback threw for seven TDs and averaged 262 yards passing in the previous two games, both victories, but was quickly brought back down to earth. He fumbled on the Falcons' first drive, an unforced error as he held the ball like a loaf of bread, and threw an interception from deep in his end in the second quarter. Both led to Kevin Jones' TD runs.
Vick completed 17 of 32 passes for 163 yards - numbers that would've been better had teammates not dropped several balls - with a TD and two interceptions, and he ran for 80 yards. He made a picture-perfect 19-yard pass to Alge Crumpler between two defenders in the end zone."
Finally ...at last, it is Saturday and I am able to bring the overdue return of Michigan's Musical Connection. Sorry for the short break from this feature everyone. I have selected jazz icon, Sonny Stitt, as the featured artist for this installment. Let's get crackin'.
Edward "Sonny" Stitt (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist. He was a quintessential saxophonist of the bebop idiom. He was also one of the most prolific saxophonists, recording over 100 records in his lifetime. He was nicknamed the "Lone Wolf" by jazz critic Dan Morgenstern, due to his relentless touring and his devotion to jazz.
Stitt was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Saginaw, Michigan. Stitt had a musical background; his father taught music, his brother was a classically trained pianist, and his mother was a piano teacher. His earliest recordings were from 1945, with Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie. He had also experienced playing in some swing bands, though he mainly played in bop bands. Stitt featured in Tiny Bradshaw's big band in the early forties.
Stitt played alto saxophone in Billy Eckstine's big band alongside future bop pioneers Dexter Gordon and Gene Ammons from 1945 until 1949, when he started to play tenor saxophone more frequently. Later on, he notably played with Gene Ammons and Bud Powell. Stitt spent time in a Lexington prison between 1948-49 on account of selling narcotics.
Here's some additional insight from a review page at JazzSpot
I feel that Sonny Stitt is currently the most underrated saxophonist of his generation. He is currently being penalized for not having recorded extensively for Blue Note or Verve, because we all know what a great job those labels are doing with dead artists. He also suffers from not having blown his own horn (autobiographically) during his life. How could he know that just weeks after subbing for the late Art Pepper at the Kool festival that he'd be joining him in the heavenly Bebop sax section?
However, his peers respected his ability (just check out how many name musicians played with him in the '50s and '60s). He also has a list of near misses that might surprise you. For instance, he was nominated for two Grammy awards (back when that really meant something) and there was no media darling like Wynton Marsalis to tell people what to think.
He also missed getting into the Down Beat hall of fame posthumously in 1982 because he had the misfortune to die in the same year (albeit weeks later) as Art Pepper. He actually subbed for Pepper just weeks prior to his own death.
Charlie Parker has had many admirers and his influence can be detected in numerous styles, but few have been as avid a disciple as Sonny Sitt. There was almost note-for-note imitation in several early Stitt solos, and the closeness remained until Stitt began de-emphasizing the alto in favor of the tenor, on which he artfully combined the influences of Parker and Lester Young. Stitt gradually developed his own sound and style, though he was never far from Parker on any alto solo. A wonderful blues and ballad player whose approach influenced John Coltrane, Stitt could rip through an up-tempo bebop stanza, then turn around and play a shivering, captivating ballad.
"In 2003, his first season as Michigan State football coach, John L. Smith turned a 4-8 team into an 8-5 team. He installed an exciting spread offense. He won a Big Ten coach of the year award. He played Nebraska in the Alamo Bowl.
Everything has gone downhill since. No more bowls. Three straight losing records. Players in trouble with the law.
And Wednesday, with three games left in this season and two years left on his six-year, $1.5 million annual contract, Smith was fired by MSU.
He will stay to coach the final three games of the season."
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Dave Stone
Born and raised in Michigan, specifically Detroit and the surrounding area. Though I have lived away for several years from my childhood home, I enjoy the opportunity to return for frequent visits. No matter where I live, I will always be a "Michigander".
This page is to share all things Michigan and, in so doing, I may be able to remedy a little of my homesickness. This is My Michigan Connection.
Michigan's Musical Connection is a weekly review of musicians and composers with roots to the Great Lake State. Some artists may be well known while others may be our little secret. From one end of the musical spectrum to the other, you never know what will show up next.
Eddie grew up in the small Mississippi Delta towns of Wells and Dublin, where he heard country blues recordings in his grandfather's juke joint and listened to his father play blues on harmonica, guitar, and piano. His greatest influences from country blues recordings came from Tommy McClennan, Memphis Minnie, and Big Bill Broonzy on guitar and from John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson on harmonica. The harmonica was Eddie's first instrument as a boy. Playing "one string guitar" on the side of the house led Eddie to playing the six-string guitar.
