Phog Walks Detroit

I have put out a Facebook invite for an incredible walk taking place in Detroit.
Bob Goldsmith of Detroit Tour Connections is hosting the two-hour tour.
The tour will be in the area of Cass Corridor…a richly interesting space, which will lead us to the Dally in the Alley festival.

Here’s the details of the walk, according to Bob:
“I think we should meet at the main branch of theDetroit Public Library. The address is 5201 Woodward. Let’s meet at the rear (west) entrance, which is on Cass. People can park on Cass, or on Kirby. “Midtown” is a pretty large area of Detroit that includes the Cass Corridor, Brush Park, the Detroit Medical Center, the large campus of WSU, and the Cultural Center area.

We’re mostly going to tour the Cultural Center area. Our two hour tour will include: Hecker mansion and other homes from the late 1800s; the DPL, DIA, Park-Shelton and Maccabees Bldgs from the 1920s; the Historical Museum; the Detroit Science Center; the Charles H. Wright Museum; the Scarab Club; the College for Creative Studies; and a few of the buildings on WSU’s campus.

The Dally has a website — http://www.dallyinthealley.com. It includes a map and directions … but the best bet is probably to mapquest 5201 Woodward if we are going to meet at the main branch of the Detroit Public Library. People can take I-75 north to Warren, and then take Warren west to Woodward or to Cass,
or they can just take Woodward from downtown Detroit to the Cultural Center area.”

We will meet initially at Phog Lounge at 9:45am. We will leave by 10am on our way to the Detroit Public Library. If you want to come, you must e-mail me at phoglounge@gmail.com or message me on Facebook (Tom Lucier). If you can drive…good…if you can’t, we still have room in some cars heading over. And you need your Passport to attend.

THIS SATURDAY!!! We already have over 20 people coming, so there will be tons of opportunities to make friends from Windsor along with the endless opportunities to meet your American reflections during the walk. I think it’s going to be an important first step in creating a very important community that is almost non-existent…the cross-border cultural community.

Personally, I feel that this is a KEY and CRUCIAL event for community leaders to be a part of, in order to initialize, strengthen, and solidify our relationships and understanding of our American brethren.
If you find yourself to be a leader here in Windsor, I really think it’s a good time to start thinking about sharing your strengths with people across the way, who know little or nothing about this community of artists, musicians, and doers.

MOVING to tomlucier.com – Change your bookmarks please (assuming you have one for me)

My blog is moving to tomlucier.com
It’s there now, but it is going to look funny for a bit.
The content will look fine, but the decorating will come slowly.
So please, join me over there, won’t you?
I will not be posting to this site any longer.

Find me at
tomlucier.com

Awesome NIMBY this week…Dennis K. Smith

Who’s Dennis K. Smith?
You might know already, but I didn’t have a clue.

Dennis is a painter, teacher, and quite simply…one of the most fantastic people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.

Not In My Backyard required another interview this week. February being Black History Month finds the city alive with events and shows highlighting the local black community and their history. With these events prevalent and in the greater-public eye, I stumbled across this event called Threads Through Time, presented by The Artists of Colour.

It takes place at Mackenzie Hall and The Common Ground Galler (same building) from February 6th until the 17th. Friday the 6th is the date of the opening party. I am, without a doubt, going to this, and I’m bringing my father, his wife Eileen, and possibly some other family member.

This exhibit will be hosting WORLD-CLASS artifacts from the underground railroad. To be more specific, they are quilts that were used to signal to the holder of the quilt details about the underground railroad…ensuring safe passage to Canada.

Apart from these quilts, there will be several works of art from Dennis K. Smith, his daughter Nicole Talbot, and several other professional and amateur artists of colour. And having been into Dennis K. Smith’s studio, I can tell you the quality of work he is producing is phenomenal.

Trained in fine art, Smith’s painting are all about stories. His affinity for history, personal and otherwise, is infectious and unavoidable when experiencing his work. A certain piece that he’s done, which was unfinished at the time of our interview is a mural of famous local and Canadian people of colour. The first black doctor, lawyer, The Real McCoy, and his own father are all featured prominently in this piece. It’s gorgeous. A who’s who of pioneering black Windsorites and Canadians is a patchwork of pride unmatched in any other painting I’ve seen.

Sitting with Dennis in his studio (gorgeous teaching space, by the way), drinking a fresh cup of coffee that he brewed up for us, we made an instant connection and spoke about the black community, the Artists of Colour community, and the importance of these showcases.

Here’s a HUGE video of the conversation I had with Smith, in his studio. TO see some of his unfinished works, and studio space, skip to the last two minutes of the video.

In the meantime, have a listen to our show from yesterday by CLICKING THIS LINK.
Our show is, as usual, 30 minutes long.
Did I mention that Adam’s interview was stellar as well?
Enjoy.

Rare Crossover: CBC Radio 3’s Contest – Best Live Music Venue in Canada

Just click the above panel to go VOTE!

When I asked this group to go forth and let the country know how you feel about Phog Lounge…tell CBC Radio 3 and Searchlight that you love this place…you did, emphatically!

And we’re very thankful.
Here’s the tricky part.
That was just to get us nominated.

NOW, they have the voting taking place.
It’s been running (so we’re behind) and it will continue for a few weeks. Each person can vote every 24 hours.
You know how it is. I don’t quite agree with this method, but that’s how it is being tallied. It calls for great attention from voters. From you.

But I will ask anyway.
Please vote for us on the cbcradio3.com website.
There’s a an ad panel (usually on the bottom left) that says, “Vote Now For Your Favourite Music Venue” with a Searchlight logo on it too. It’s black with yellow lettering. Click on that, find Phog Lounge in the list, and simply click our name and click the vote button at the bottom.

The more you do this, the more realistic the chances are of us winning.
WE’RE VERY FAR BEHIND. Here’s the timeline:
Wednesday, January 28: Searchlight long list announced and voting begins at http://www.cbcradio3.com
Tuesday, February 3: Top 50 will be announced
Wednesday, February 11: Top 20 will be announced
Wednesday, February 18: Top 10 will be announced
Wednesday, February 25: Final winner will be announced

You see, when you made your voices heard earlier, you shocked the CBC Radio 3 people. Shocked them. And now they’re telling me to tell you, THIS is what counts. You want to see Phog win this thing from the cliche behemoths that are always mentioned in live music? Vote now. Vote often.
Maybe I’ll try reminding you without being annoying.

Thanks again.

Winners get to SAY they are the best live music venue in Canada, which is pretty outstanding , a live concert will be presented by CBC Radio 3 in the winning venue, a Sirius satellite radio plus subscription gets installed, CBC Radio 3 clothing, etc for staff along with the hardware – a winning plaque and trophy – are delivered.
Please make this happen.

You can’t do that.

I just read something nice.
It simply proved something I thought true, but that I was told is impossible.
You see, being at Phog, it’s not uncommon to wax futuristic and wonder what the world might hold for us (or vice versa).
When the topic got to cars, and how we’re making vehicles in Windsor that few consumers want anymore, even the artists (lefties) at the bar were nagging, “Well, what the hell can they do to them? Huh? Nothing!”
“Well guys, what if Windsor was a city that decided they didn’t like the status quo. What if people ditched their cookie-cutter cars for older cars, the ones they used to make with steel…and had them retro-fit with eco-friendly parts, making them not only road-safe, but more environmental than ever…maybe even making them electrical? Imagine what the streets would LOOK like! You wouldn’t look out of a window and see what EVERY North American sees. You’d see something unique! And it would all be in part to the engineering and manufacturing prowess in this city!”
Bucky, a local enviro-guy, brilliant guy, was the actual person who hatched this idea some weeks and weeks earlier. I loved his idea. Preserving the past, but doing one better and making something new and refreshing to the eye while blowing a kiss to Mother Nature at the same time.
The people at the bar, most times I reintroduce Bucky’s idea for the sake of dreaming, almost always get out of sorts and try to think of all the ways this idea can’t work.
As a matter of habit, this is how my community OFTEN approaches new ideas and concepts about absolutely anything. They think of all the ways it can’t work before they think of all the ways it can. I can’t be sure, but I wonder if they are just talking themselves out of participating if it ever DOES happen.
This frustration has guided me to some new groups of folks who foster and develop new ideas. Thanks to you, you know who you are…

But back to this article I read at the beginning of this post.
HERE’S THE LINK TO IT.
Apparently, there is a company in the US who is way ahead of us, and WAY ahead of the naysayers I lock eyes and wits with almost every shift.

They take gas guzzlers, and make them more acceptable vehicles. Old, new, whatever.
The working class in Windsor could do this in their sleep. I wish the creative spirit drove someone to these lengths. I don’t feel it’s my obligation to “find” the right people and get them fired up to start a company doing this, because SO MANY people in this city could do this work. It would be wonderful if they’d just emerge on their own, and shock this motor city under their own volition, like the company currently doing so in the United States.

I really never listen to anyone who tells me, “You can’t do that,” anymore.

I’ll Buy That For A Dollar!

I remember that quote from the horny, disgusting man in the TV commercials in the RoboCop movie.

However, the things selling for a dollar in Detroit (where RoboCop was set, ironically) are HOMES! WTF?!

Our friends at Broken City Lab have the video proof on their site, and you NEED to watch it if you don’t believe.
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO!
Un-f-ing-believable.

What do YOU think the land (houses) could be used for besides a neighbourhood?
Love to hear some constructive concepts here.
It’s an amazing opportunity to re-vision what a city COULD be. Detroit could be ground zero for the re-imagining of the basic idea of a city.
How amazing is that?! What an opportunity!!

Local food, local business, and how you can get mad.

It was a breath of fresh air to read Rino’s recent post about local support, and how frustrating it can be when it’s being used as a buzzword instead of a genuine way of doing business.

He also started a new blog for his business, Black Kettle Bistro, which he’s using as a soapbox for all things related to the business, and community in general. You should be checking it out anyway.

It’s tough a a business to do truly local business without some sort of infrastructure of locality being fostered by other business owners. Yes, there’s a paradox. Chicken or the egg.

Rino sounds like he’s more than willing to investigate where we can spend our money, as business owners, in the local economy, keeping our money here, avoiding the chains, rewarding our neighbours’ efforts to keep money within the community. We need more of this.

I encourage you to click on the link in the first sentence of this post to read Rino’s rant about local food, and the hypocrisy of myopic “buy local cars” sentiments by people who couldn’t find a local business in a phone book.

I know that the point is to be positive and move forward…but often, from the ground-level (the business-owner point of view) the awakening often begins from a spark of anger, feeling disrespected and forgotten. The concentration of that vitriol toward education of others, and varied business practice is the best we can do for now, without a strong, convenient local-business (food particularly) infrastructure.

Andromeda Strain

To say I was sick is like saying the sun is hot. Understated.
Flu bugs massacred me for the past three days, and I worked two of them thanks to an overloading on flu-meds.

Really, I had no choice but to be present on Tuesday night for the Tech Event at Phog. I wanted it to be everything it could be, and I wanted it to succeed. I had to be there.
It succeeded.

Darren, from photo404.com was there to capture the event in pictures, and to learn a little thing here and there about social media and blogs. Although, he knows a HELL of a lot more than the average bear (me included).

from photo404.com

Me, trying to contact my brother Todd for video conferencing.

from photo404.com

I’m set up here, getting ready to begin the night. The drugs are working, and I can’t wait to see people taking notes.

from photo404.com

My brother Todd, via video chat on Google Talk, from South River, Ontario (near Algonquin Park). He runs an eco-tourism business up north, and is a key figure in tourism. He teaches tour operators how to get more out of their business by using the web. CHECK IT OUT HERE! He was incredible, sharing info about WordPress blogs, social media in general, and doing so with humour and clear discussion.

from photo404.com

Paul Synnott is seen here, braving the Mac (he’s a PC guy, politically and technologically) to give amazing insight on a few things including RSS feeds.

It was great to see the turnout, which was commented on by other attendees. However, as I feel like a perfectionist at times, I was a little let down by the lack of musicians and artists. You know, I wonder whether they just doubted that this night could offer them anything valuable, or worse, if I was able to deliver something worthwhile. David Dubois (The Locusts Have No King) was there, photographers were there, teachers were there, crafters were there, and small-business owners were there. I am grateful for their presence, not only to make the night possible, but because I feel this might enrich their experiences as musicians, photographers, teachers, crafter, and small business owners. How could a musician not come to Phog on a Tuesday night at 7:30pm to get information that usually costs $50 or $100 when the same info comes from the mouths of paid “professionals”.

Yes, I got a litany of e-mails with apologies and legit excuses, but I was there, with a fever, for them (you). You see, being a part of this web, this community of the creative class, we have to help each other out. And not because there’s money being paid for it, but because it strengthens that community, adds vitality, and brings the “creatives” closer together. Did Phog make money? Yes. Did it make what it could have? No. I was planted in the stool on the other side of the bar for most of the time, making sure that this night flowed and stayed problem-free. That was my objective for the night. If it was a simple bartending night, I would’ve begged Frank to work for me. There is a direct and indirect benefit to hosting something like this in our place, no doubt. We sell some drinks. But to see the names of attendees popping up on Twitter, the new blogs being registered and designed, and the local community coming together bit by bit (after 3 days, mind you) the indirect benefit is something we will all reap.

Rino, from Black Kettle Bistro messaged me with a question about WordPress blogs. The moment I read it, I heard a ringing from my computer. It was Rino (having installed Google Talk on his gmail account [free]) wanting to discuss his issues with a video teleconference. Still feeling sick, I answered without thinking how mangled I looked, or the fact that I had woken up 30 minutes prior (2pm). We chatted about the event, and about his blog (ironing out some of his issues), and discussing the unfortunate disability of the Windsor arts community to seize this opportunity. Here’s Rino’s blog, which is less than one day old, set to promote his business and whatever else he chooses to put out there. You should check it out. His eagerness, along with that of all the other participants and extremely amazing speakers is intoxicating, and I think it’s something that we can afford to have more of…

…May I suggest, that the next time something like this happens, and you are a musician or artist in the city of Windsor…make sure you are present. Just be there. Sometimes the best things ARE free.

If you aren’t sold, maybe someone who was there can sell you on it. I mean, they actually applauded after each presenter!

To recap what you missed:
Todd Lucier taught about WordPress blogs and the power of the web, and Web 3.0…where it’s heading. Wow.
Rodd Lucier prepared a ScreenFlow production about Creative Commons, which was so informative, I had no idea of 90% of the content.
Dan Misener also prepared a ScreenFlow production (very funny and honest) about Twitter. It worked. People are JOINING!
Lama Alsafi did a live presentation about Youtube, and how to use it more effectively. Including how to understand more about your viewers, and how to get more views on your videos. A lot of heads were turned during this presentation.
Michael Johnson got a lot of blood flowing to the brain when he discussed Google Maps, and how ANYONE in the creative class can make them interesting and relevant in promoting/sharing their work/ideas.
And last but certainly not least was Paul Synnott who taught about uber tech talk…RSS feeds and how they can be used to maintain a blog AND a Twitter feed without even typing a word. He also taught about some nifty blogger.com tricks! Awesome!

I’d like to thank all those who came.
I’m indebted to all those who decided to help me teach this information, including my brother Todd Lucier, another brother Rodd Lucier, one of my best friends Dan Misener, and friends of the creative class – Michael Johnson, Lama Alsafi, and Paul Synnott.
See you next time.

Musicians Scoring Famous Talks and Speeches (MSFTS)

Holy geez.
This night was more than special.
Tuesday, January 20th Phog Lounge held a group of musicians willing to put themselves on the line.
They knew they’d be playing to some famous speeches, but they didn’t know which ones.

I thought I knew what I was doing.
I had twelve speeches ready, loaded, prepared to go.
I wish I had done more research into the length of the speeches. I was telling the musicians that the speeches were 8 minutes long, unless they were longer, like, 18 minutes.
Well, the first speech was 25 minutes or longer, and the second was almost 40 minutes long!
The bands were expecting one thing, and then being forced to persevere and give it all they had to last the length of an entire set on one song!

The musicians were:
Martin Schiller and Kyle Marchand of What Seas, What Shores.
Adam Rideout of Yellow Wood
Stephen Hargreaves of Not_Digital
Stefan C. formerly of Oh Vanya
Chad Howson of Another Saturday Knight

The speeches aren’t perfectly represented here…recorded from the bar, there are some interruptions…technical and otherwise, but minor at worst. These speeches are MORE than worth listening to, and I am extremely grateful for the musicians who volunteered themselves to come out an perform in this way…exposed…brutally exposed.

Speaking with some of the people in attendance, it was the icing on the cake for their day, as it was held on the same day as Barack Obama’s inauguration as President of the United States. Others said that, at first listen, Obama’s speech was ordinary and uninspiring. But on the second listen, with a military drum beat and an emotional synthesized landscape of transitions, the speech came to life and was worthy of the praise being given it on the news.

It will happen again. It must.
I just hope the talented musicians (veterans now) come and participate in the next one.

Here’s the first speech of the night:

Ronald Reagan- Tear Down This Wall – June 12, 1987 in West Berlin, Germany
performed by Stephen Hargreaves, Chad Howson, and Stefan C.

VIDEO FROM SAMANTHA COOPER!!! JUST ADDED! Thanks Samantha! Jump to 3:00 to get past my mumbo-jumbo…

Phog Speech – Ronald Reagan in Berlin from samantha maryann on Vimeo.

Second speech:

Richard Nixon – Resignation Speech – August 8, 1974 in Washington, DC
performed by Martin Schiller and Kyle Marchand

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Save File: nixons__resignation_speech.m4a

Third speech:

This one has a little gap, where my batteries died, without warning. I stitched it together as best I could.
Martin Luther King Jr. – I’ve Been To The Mountaintop – April 3, 1968 (the day before his assassination) in Memphis, Tennessee
performed by Adam Rideout and Stefan (electronic)

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Save File: ive_been_to_the_mountaintop.m4a

Fourth and final speech:

2009 Inaugural Celebration. Washington D.C. National Mall thanks to Geoeye.com

Again, there was an issue with this speech that the performers played through. The streaming video of the speech was slow, and choppy.
So, there was some overlapping, and I again, did my best to stitch it together.
Barack Obama – Presidential Inauguration Speech – January 20, 2009 in Washington, DC
performed by Stephen Hargreaves and Stefan C.

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Save File: obamas_inaugural_presidential_speech.m4a

Windsor Star reject

Okay, this is something I wrote for the Star.
I wrote it last week in the hopes that it would bring to light the group FedUp! They’re Windsor’s Community Gardening Network.
They had a WICKED veggie chili cook-off at the Windsor Workers Action Centre this Thursday that went by. The chili was so dynamic and different! Espresso veggie chili, raw (uncooked) veggie chili, blonde-with-mangoes veggie chili, and other wonderful tasting chili was showcased.
AND Jhoan won a raffle prize! Here’s a picture of her victory sticker! So awesome! These things, as posters, are selling for $500 right now.

Here’s the story that was late for the Monday paper. I just didn’t think to write it early enough, but I wanted to share it nonetheless.

FedUp!
By Tom Lucier

I have almost no idea where my food comes from. If I said that 75 years ago, people would think I was insane. Today, most people are clueless of not only what they put in their mouths, but where it was grown.

FedUp! Windsor’s Community Gardening Network is on the opposite end of this knowledge spectrum. They are part of a locavore movement, bringing together local food growers, gardeners, and those concerned about food-health.

According to co-creator of FedUp!, Maya Ruggles, the group has four mandates, “To strengthen the local food system…to start gardens collectively and democratically…to reclaim the urban landscape (to start gardens)…and to re-skill people in all the things going into local food production and consumption.”

This enormous uphill project is remarkably appealing because it looks to remind Windsor-folk of just how verdant this area’s land can be. I was scratching my head as to why I have to buy a tomato from California (4800 kilometers away) when Heinz, located in the tomato capital of Canada (Leamington) is exactly 48 kilometers away from my front door.

FedUp! seeks to ratify these incongruent arrangements in several ways. But the group is young, and small. “Right now it’s totally volunteer run,” said Ruggles. FedUp! is two and a half years old, operating on a very small budget while donations, especially from OPIRG (Windsor’s Ontario Public Interest Research Group) have been instrumental in keeping the group afloat.

FedUp! is most concerned about getting members, who can sit on committees. Volunteers are needed on an event-to-event basis, which will have a higher demand in this new year as they begin hosting more and more events

Currently, the group hosts movie nights, potlucks, creates gardens for places including the Citizens Environment Alliance, Ecohouse, and Iris House, and hosts workshops on composting, urban foraging, and cook-off competitions.

Currently, there’s a mapping project on the horizon which aims to, “map out un-harvested sources of food…fruit trees that aren’t harvested, or edible bushes,” said Ruggles. They hope to map un-harvested edibles on public and private land.
Ruggles added, “The next step would be to coordinate people…to actually do the harvesting and distribute the food, or use it in some way.”

The mapping project, which would be immense, could also help network gardeners and locavores. Another positive spin-off, according to Ruggles, would be, “connecting people that garden who don’t have land with people who do have land that don’t garden it.”

Judging by my gardening woes, my wife and I will both be paying more attention to this group’s happenings. We’re similarly fed up with getting food from places we’ve never visited when we’re sitting on underused, underappreciated, concrete-covered land when the food that could sustain us is waiting to be grown in our own backyards.