Farewell, David West

Posted on by farlane

Flint Eastwood

Flint Eastwood, photo by Joel Williams

The Lansing State Journal reports that Flint native & amp builder David West has passed away:

In the late 1960s, three Flint musicians were on a mission to emulate the power-trio sound of Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. They found a piece of it in David West’s 200-watt Fillmore amplifiers.

“Not only did they sound great, but they looked great,” said Don Brewer, the drummer for that Flint band, which eventually took the name Grand Funk Railroad.

West, a longtime resident of the Lansing area and architect of West Amps, died Nov. 10 at age 71. A Flint native, West last operated West Laboratories in Okemos, but started the business in Flint and operated in downtown Lansing for several years.

…”He was like a mad scientist in the shop. He’d get these fender amps and rip them all apart see how they were made and beat them up,” said Rob Grange, who built cabinets for West’s amplifiers. “He should have been a multi-millionaire. He was way ahead of his time.”

Read on for more, including news that West had intended to relaunch West Amps, which his son Aaron intends to continue. They don’t appear to have a website, but there is a Facebook page where more news might be shared.

View Joel’s photo bigger and see more of his concert photos right here.

In a wild coincidence that may be cool only to me, the band Flint Eastwood has a role in the post I’m hoping to feature tomorrow. So it goes…

More music on Michigan in Pictures.

 

Waltz Hour at the Earthwork Harvest Gathering

Posted on by farlane

Earthwork Harvest Gathering Waltz Hour

The Waltz Strings, photo by Myrna Jacobs

Next weekend I will be on my way to the annual Earthwork Harvest Gathering at Bob Bernard’s Earthwork Farm near Lake City to help the incredible crew of people who put together this uniquely Michigan festival.

It’s a weekend packed full of tremendous musicians on 4 stages, engaging workshops and a wide range of activities for all ages. As Myrna writes, the Waltz Hour held in the farm’s cozy and acoustically amazing barn is definitely one of the highlights:

This whole thing was so absolutely wonderful. The floor was full of people waltzing. I felt like I was in a dream.

View Myrna’s photo bigger on Facebook and definitely check out her #EarthworkHG album.

a language we all understand

Posted on by farlane

a language we all understand

a language we all understand, photo by mlephotos

About this photo she shot a few years ago at the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, Meghan writes:

Detroit has produced some of music’s most highly regarded and historically important figures. Home to the Queen of Soul, Motown, the birth of techno, numerous top 40 hits and one-hit wonders, Detroit’s musical influence can be heard around the world in every genre of music. Detroit artists and musicians have won countless awards, topped the Billboard charts, sold millions of records, and many have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Legendary and iconic artists Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Madonna, Eminem, Kid Rock, Iggy and the Stooges, MC5, Ted Nugent, Bob Seger, The White Stripes, Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Parliament featuring George Clinton, and The Romantics all emerged from the area. Rock on, Detroit!

With a heritage like that, it’s no surprise that music is a $1 billion a year industry in Motown. Click the link for the story from Crain’s Detroit Business.

Check her photo out bigger and see more in Meghan’s i like {my fave 30} slideshow.

Michigan’s Woodstock: The Goose Lake Festival

Posted on by farlane

Goose Lake International Music Festival

Goose Lake International Music Festival, 1970, photo by Michigan State Police (courtesy Archives of Michigan)

The massive Goose Lake International Music Festival took place August 7-9, 1970 near Jackson. Seeking Michigan’s feature Michigan’s Woodstock relates:

Performers included Rod Stewart and Faces, Jethro Tull, Chicago, Ten Years After, Mountain, the Flying Burrito Brothers and prominent Michigan acts such as Bob Seeger, Mitch Ryder, the Stooges, and the MC5. Approximately two hundred thousand people attended.

It began with a man named Richard Songer. In 1970, Songer was thirty-five and the owner of Portland Construction Company, a successful business in Southfield, Michigan. He purchased 350 acres near Goose Lake, located outside Jackson.

Songer intended to turn his Goose Lake property into a permanent park and live music venue. He hired people to pave parking lots and build large concrete rest rooms. A permanent revolving stage was built. As a band performed on one side of the stage, another band would be behind them, preparing to go on. When the first band finished, the stage would turn, and the second band would immediately appear.

You can read on for more and here’s several more links:

Photo caption: A crowded parking area at the Goose Lake International Music Festival, 1970. Photo from State Police records, RG 90-240, housed in the Archives of Michigan

There’s music on the Spring Wind

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

music

music, photo by yodraws.

Love calls like the wild birds, it’s another day.
A Spring wind blew my list of things to do … away.
~Greg Brown, Spring Wind

In celebration of the first day of spring and the vernal equinox, I went looking for a photo of “spring” in the Absolute Michigan pool. With almost 2000 photos, it’s practically a synaesthesia inducing experience. It also shows the riotous glory that is Michigan in springtime: flowers, flowing water, new shoots covered with snow and people who don’t care that the water is too cold for sensible folk to wade in.

Be sure to check this photo out bigger and in Yolanda’s Nature sideshow.

Check out one of my very favorite songs, Spring Wind by Greg Brown on YouTube and enjoy the return of spring.

More spring wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures