Lots of good music coming up for the summer, June 8th, the new Spike Drivers will present a huge three-ring circus type show at Community Arts Auditorium, WSU, featuring the MC-5, the Passing Clouds, the Magic Veil Light Company, classical guitar, poetry by this correspondent, a karate exhibition, psychedelic ping-pong by Billy Reid, mantra chanting with musical accompaniment, and a story line by Larry Cruse and Sid Brown to tie it all together. Tickets at $1.50. Sponsored by Trans-Love and the WSU Artists’ Society.
Saturday, June 10, in Upper DeRoy Auditorium at WSU, for the first time in Detroit, the Astro-Infinity Music of SUN RA and his Myth-Science Arkestra!! Sun Ra will be featured in concert with the dangerous MC-5 and lights by Jerry Younkins and the Magic Veil. Tickets at $2.00 single, $3.00 per couple, to pay transportation costs for SUN RA and his 10-piece band from New York to Detroit and back. A Trans-Love production.
BIG News: the JEFFERSON AIRPLANE will also make their first Detroit appearance June 30th at Ford Auditorium, in concert with the MC-5, the Rationals, and the Apostles. With the Airplane’s single “Somebody to Love,” now number 3 on Detroit charts, there should be a worthwhile crowd. Uncle Russ, who is bringing the Airplane in for the concert, told the Coatpuller that he wants to keep ticket prices down as far as possible, hopefully to $2.50 – $3.00, but costs are such that whatever price is settled on will be justified. The Airplane’s price is $3,500.00, the auditorium costs over $1,000, plus publicity and all, so go from there. WKNR radio got into the act by arranging almost free advertising on their station in return for sponsorship, but Russ Gibb did the work.
BIG NEWS: Trans-Love Energies Unlimited is in the process of opening a coffeehouse-emporium-place-to-go in the neighborhood. The place will be backed and will get off the ground and will have the best music, lights and other goodies to be had in the Detroit area, starting with the MC-5, Billy C. and the Sunshine, the Seventh Seal, Charles Moore’s Detroit Contemporary 5, the Magic Veil, underground films, poetry readings, and whatever else is happening. The place, The Mystical Knights of the SEE Lodge Hall (THE SEE for short), will be operated entirely by Trans-Love people and will provide a means of livelihood (Money) for a number of people in the community, including its artists. Opening will be in June sometime—we’ll let you know, that’s for sure. The place can’t be made public right now, but you’ll know that too. Meanwhile—get ready!
Starting Sunday, June 3rd, there will be picnics -music—fun in the park at the corner of Forest and the John Lodge expressway. The neighborhood park, which has a whole block of space, has long been overlooked by people in the area but will be overlooked no more. According to the Parks and Recreation Department, people don’t need a permit for informal gatherings nor for unamplified music, so let’s do it. Meet us there with food and music and colors starting at 2 in the afternoon. Every Sunday.
In Ann Arbor, the Trans-Love people started park concerts on Saturday afternoons at West Park, with music by the Seventh Seal and other bands, including the Roscoe Mitchell and Charles Moore jazz units. Organized by Chuck Keen and the Seventh Seal, the free music happenings will go on through the summer and hopefully will spread to more days of the week. West Park is off Huron Street on the west side of Ann Arbor and has a lovely bandshell.
We’ve been talking about “hippie radio” for some time and some of the people have come up with a beginning program. DJ Joe Doll and producers Dave Pearce and Bob Burch have put together a three-hour music show for which they are now trying to find advertisers so they can sell it to a Detroit FM station. The pilot tape has album cuts and singles, including music by the BLUES PROJECT, the SOUTHBOUND FREEWAY, the LEFT BANKE, BEATLES, JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, GRATEFUL DEAD, and others, with intelligent commentary and news presented by Doll. When it gets on the air it will be an immediate hit, so people who want to buy advertising time should do it now by contacting Trans-Love Energies, 831-6840, or the Leprechaun Marmalde, 832-1145, for appointments.
The Psychedelic Rangers baseball team began its first season by playing a team of IBM computer people at Stony Creek park Sunday the 28th. The team, captained by Bryan Collins and including many local luminaries, calls its approach to softball “acid sock!” More games are scheduled for the near future. Girls—sign up for the cheerleading squad!
Be-Ins were held recently in Flint and Toledo. Your correspondent attended the Flint affair, held at Byram Lake park outside Linden, Michigan, and had a great time. Three hundred or so people, including many motorcyclists, roasted a hog and had a lovely picnic, chanting and dancing and playing until dusk. In Toledo, the Love-In was to protest a Military Day bombing and napalming of a mock Viet Cong village staged by the US Army, Navy and Air Force. 11 people were arrested and the village was bombed anyway. What a drag.