Sunday Sip - Behind the Scenes at GIG: Everything You Never Wanted to Know and More
The Secret Joys of Event Management
Welcome to the Sunday Sip! It’s all happening! The monkeys at my circus have run amok! Ahhhh!! No, seriously, we are finally putting on GIG - The Art of Michigan Music.
Over A Year in the Making
After over a year of planning, GIG - The Art of Michigan Music 2024 is here. If you are a GIG—The Art of Michigan Music newsletter subscriber, you’ll be hearing this story twice. Don’t worry; I will sprinkle in some changes.
I think back to my life before June 6th of 2023. I was a carefree writer and photographer without a worry in the world. Then I had to go and interview my friends Steve Girbach, John Mooneyham, and Jason Heinrich for Fans With Bands. Little did I know this would kick-start my career in event planning and management 🙂. That phrase “Little did I know” is the catalyst of legendary stories. (FIND THAT STRANGER THAN FICTION CLIP)
I give my friends a hard time for instigating the return of GIG - The Art of Michigan Music, but I know deep inside I was just waiting for an opportunity to bring it back to life. I feel strongly that taking the time to appreciate art and music is vitally important. My passion is for visual art in music. Being able to create an event that celebrates visual art and its creators is out of this world. Despite all the stress and anxiety, I’m proud of this event. I’m more proud (prouder? ) of my friends (Steve, John, Jason, Berkeley, Lori, Annie, Nik, Jena, and Jennifer) and my best friend and wife, Brenda. They didn’t have to spend so much time (and, in some cases, hard-earned cash) helping make this thing a reality. There is no way in hell I could do this without them.
It is Showtime!
We booked a week at the ArtBnb, which is literally across the street from one of my favorite breweries (and a GIG sponsor!), Ogma Brewing. We probably could have done a few days leading up to GIG instead of a full week. However, I’m pretty conservative in my planning and figured we may not want to drive home each night. Plus, the ArtBnb (which is owned and operated by Steve-o from Art 634) is a nice little one-bedroom in the heart of downtown Jackson. It is a great spot for local restaurants, checking out the incredible Bright Walls murals in Jackson, and working on setting up GIG!
The weeks before starting the actual setup for GIG have been a roller coaster of emotion for me. I’ve been freaking out about the lack of press, the lack of ticket sales, and the cost overruns. Brenda has gently guided me through my meltdowns. I just wanted to get the damn thing going so I could answer the endless dialog of “What about this?” that strangely found a way of gathering like a storm inside my head around 2 am. Couldn’t these thoughts hold their horses until, say, 6 am?
The art drop-off was on Monday. Just being in the event space at Art 634 and getting reacquainted with it was a huge relief. Steve-o, Jason, and Andrea from Art 634 were there to welcome us. They have been so supportive of GIG, and now they were ready to do whatever it took to make this event rock. I started to think of them as my GIG family. As we began to work, the “What Ifs” were replaced with “Let’s Roll.”
When the artists arrived to drop off their creations, my spirits soared. Seeing their fantastic art floored me. The posters, album covers, and photographs were sublime. Spending time with these pieces of art, I could see and feel not only the artist’s style but their passion. The cherry on top is that all these visual artists are super people to spend time with.
With some tunes rolling in the event space, which I will now call GIG Hall, Brenda and I set up the art gallery. Art 634 has these industrial-looking chain-link fence walls that Steve-o and Jason placed inside GIG Hall.
We’ve arranged them into a long gallery with all the art hanging on each side. At each end, a couple of lounge areas were set up. One was dubbed Manchester Underground Music and Art VIP lounge in honor of our friends Steve, John, and Berkeley, as it is a cozy nook filled with poster art) from their shows (created by JK Doyle).
John Mooneyham stopped by on Tuesday and helped clear out GIG Hall (as they had a wedding the previous weekend). We also set up the Michigan Music Alliance cash bar. Nik from the Michigan Music Alliance has a nice menu of beverages available for purchase, including some excellent Ogma beers.
Wednesday was an errand day for Brenda and me. I also needed to work on this Sunday Sip for all of you. At GIG Hall, Jason and Stevo were hauling in the music stage and setting up the Saturday session rooms. Andrea was busy printing up signage and labels for the artwork.
The Final Countdown
On Thursday, I found myself in the passenger seat of Harold (our Subaru Outback) writing this story to share with you. Brenda at the helm of Harold dodging roadway fuckery as we made our way to Eastpointe to pick up our GIG t-shirts and Life In Michigan hoodies from KO Prints (Thanks Karen!). Then we’ll buzz over to Rocket Printing, where Tony had our beautiful GIG programs (Thanks, Tony, for being an awesome sponsor of GIG!!) A HUGE HUGE, ginormous thank you to our friend Annie Capps. She created print ads and designed our program. She is a superstar!
As we made our way to pick up the goods, John, Steve Girbach, and Berkeley Tistle loaded in the sound and lights. Berkeley is a sound magician dialing in the tones to perfection. Later on Thursday, we stopped in at Ogma for a pre-party, which was not as well attended as I’d hoped, which led to a bit of anxiety of what was to come.
Friday started the GIG weekend, and it was fantastic. My prior fears vanished. Everything and everyone arrived on time. We had awesome food trucks, fabulous art, excellent music, and, above all, a celebration. We all celebrated the visual art of music with a gathering of community. I honestly felt like all the struggle was worth it to see everyone enjoying their time together.
Right now, it is Saturday morning, and I’m trying like hell to wrap up my Sunday Sip story for you. I have to tell you that I’m blessed. Brenda is my best friend and the love of my life. She kept me going when I couldn’t see the light. I’m humbled and beyond grateful to my friends Steve (Estaban) and Tracie Wieczorek, Angie Day, Jeff Deeds, Lori and Brian Stratton, and Annie Capps for helping us make GIG run smoothly. Then there are the dynamite volunteers Shayla, Michelle, Chris, Kelsey, Jessica, Libbye, Scott, and Kevin. Thank you all so much for giving me your time to work on my crazy idea.
Upcoming Events You Won't Want to Miss
There is so much to share every week. If you have events that we missed, please be sure to post a note on Substack.
Music
Kate Hinote Trio at the Ferndale Library on Nov 10th - Enjoy an afternoon of fantastic music that defies the boundaries of traditional folk.
Chris Bathgate and Misty Lyn at Ziggy’s in Ypsilanti on Nov 10 - A singer-songwriter paradise in Ypsi!
Mortal Disguise, Exploding Zombies, The Black Temple, Furnace Winds, Feast of Carrion, Misery Bay, at Sanctuary in Hamtramck on Nov 15 - A Michigan metal meltdown of epic proportions
Anne Erlewine and The Whisky Charmers at The Rumpus Room in Chelsea on Nov 15 - Americana is the name of the game (with a dash of alt-country).
One with the Riverbed, Dominarian, Fine Red Mist, Mean of Entry, Satsuma at SugarBowl Bar & Grille in Kalamazoo on Nov 16 - One with the Riverbed celebrates the release of their epic “Succumb” album with metal friends.
The Muggs with Wings of Neptune at the Cadieux Cafe in Detroit on Nov 16 - Hard rocking with the blues
The Amino Acids Record Release at Weirdsville Records in Mount Clemens on Nov 17—This is the official release show for Amino Acids' second release, "Destroy The Warming Sun," on Weirdsville Records!
Drink Their Blood, Lucius Fox, Dead Hour Noise, Slugchild, and Lower Automation at The Runoff in Kalamazoo on Nov 17 - A Sunday Funday filled with eclectic heaviness at tremendous volume
Chris DuPont and Spencer LaJoye at The Ark in Ann Arbor on Nov 21 - Enjoy an evening of superb alt-folk and singer-songwriter music in the legendary Ark.
Illusion of Fate, Nethergate, Syphoned, Tormentous at The Sanctuary in Hamtramck on Nov 24 - Mega-heavy metal rules the evening.
Beers
Bourbonrest at Urbanrest Brewery in Ferndale on Nov 8-9 - a celebration of barrel-aged beers with special beers all weekend.
IPA Challenge at Little Fleet in Traverse City on Nov 14 - There are 12 breweries, but only 1 IPA can win, and you get to decide!
International Wine, Beer, and Food Festival in Grand Rapids on Nov 22 - 23 - Experience wine, beer, spirits along with fabulous food. We’ll be there on Saturday, so come say hey.
Various Intrigues
GIG - The Art of Michigan Music 2024 at Art 634 in Jackson on Nov 10 - A celebration of Michigan visual artists in the music community. Featuring an art gallery of 22 Michigan visual artists, live music, educational sessions, a live podcast recording, a media mixer, and a music market.
Gimme Gimme Gimme Record Show at The Sanctuary in Hamtramck on Nov 10 - In case the GIG Sunday Music Market in Jackson is too far a drive, head out to Hamtramck for stacks of wax and other goodies.
Ogma Art Series: Super Natural Opening Reception on Nov 21 - The 6th Ogma Artist Series exhibition featuring new artwork by Benjamin Pollock (Milwaukee, WI). The opening reception, titled 'Super Natural,' will include an artwork reveal and a brief artist talk.
In Other News
We’ve got the scoop (or should it be slice?) on Zingerman’s Cheese and Beer Pairing event, which featured our Life In Michigan collaboration with Barrel + Beam. Brenda’s keyboard was on fire as she also cranked out a great story on the historic Carnegie Library presentation at Ishpeming Public Library by our friend and history writer Dianna Stampfler.
We had a press bonanza on GIG (Side note: did you just hear the theme music to the TV show Bonanza when you read the word “Bonanza” hoss? :) ) Hip In Detroit shared a nice preview. Rylee Barnsdale interviewed me for a fantastic story on Concentrate. At the Stratton Setlist, Lori talked with me about GIG and shared our conversation.
Last week, Local Spins ran a rocking preview of GIG. At 517Rocks.com, I had the pleasure of talking with Jerry on their Saturday Conversation program.
Last but definitely not least, I was on Sonic Coast on Friday afternoon, talking with Brian about all things GIG! Speaking of Sonic Coast, if you dig Michigan music, you should download their free app and tune in!
Substack Restack Attack
Substack is where it’s at. Check out these other superb publications:
So what so what so what's the scenario? By
- Warning: this one is political in nature, but I think it is a great essay on the recent election.5AM StoryTalk Coffee Reading: Issue 19 by
- You should subscribe to Cole as his essays are stellar. However, here, Cole shares a treasure trove of other stories and writing to check out.
Adventures Yet To Print
With GIG consuming every waking moment, future stories are piling up. We still have our adventures in Germany, including a first-timer's experience at Oktoberfest (which will go out on MiBrew Trail). We will also do a recap of GIG including thoughts on the music performances as well as impressions of the art gallery and market. I still have a Detroit vinyl and beer story to share which needs to get done.
What Are You Reading?
I love the way Liane Moriarty writes. She reveals the stories within stories of rich characters as they live their lives while responding to an overall thematic conflict or event. In this book, an older woman on a plane provides a “psychic reading” foretelling who each passenger will die (“You will die in a car accident”) and when (“at the age of 21”). This event on the plane then leads to stories of the passengers and how they respond. It’s a wonderful read that sets your mind wondering what will happen while bringing up the bigger thoughts, such as whether there is free will, dealing with loss, dealing with uncertainty, and living your life the best you can. I found I was pulled deeply into this book, and it reaffirmed my belief that you can’t waste a moment of our precious time in this world.
What Are You Spinning?
Not much, but I had the pleasure of listening to the new song called “Solo Mundo” by a new band called Splitfuse. This is next-level awesome. The music is melodically and harmonically rich. There is an overall ambiance that is supremely satisfying, particularly if you are a fan of bands like Porcupine Tree and Deftones. Check out the video.
Splitfuse - Solo Mundo (Official Music Video)
That’s A Wrap
Thank you for reading. I hope your week is awesome! Don’t forget to kick out the jams!
Greta work on the event Chuck! Thanks for including us!