Rick Coates

Features Rick Coates Ask any musician and they will likely tell you there was that one make-or-break audition that forever changed their career. That was the case for bassist and former Traverse City resident Chuck Jacobs 33 years ago this month, when an impromptu audition for country music superstar Kenny Rogers took place.

Features Rick Coates Larry Poulin is an American hero, but based on his living conditions one would not know it. Now 90, the WWII veteran and former POW has an array of medals including a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star, which was presented to him by President Harry S. Truman.

Features Rick Coates Carly Lewis was two weeks shy of her 17th birthday when she was killed. She would have been a senior at Traverse City High School this year. Her violent murder sent shock waves around Northern Michigan and her family, friends and the Traverse City community continue to mourn her loss as the murder trial of the suspect is expected to wrap up this week.

Features Rick Coates This past year Bob Seger announced in so many words that it is time for him to hang it up and pass the touring torch on to fellow Michiganders Kid Rock and Eminem. Speculation was that this past spring would be Seger’s last tour.

We have heard before of “The Farewell Tour.” In fact some musicians have had more than one ‘we-are-alldone-touring’ tours. But more often than not, these tours turn out to be marketing ploys.

Features Rick Coates “Considering we host more than 1,000 events a year, most people might not even realize we are having a special celebration going on,” said Amy Reynolds, who coowns the store with her husband, Vic Herman. “The balloons might tip them off and we will have more events going on than we typically do in a given day.

Dining Rick Coates In past Epicurean Classic events many visitors looked for an opportunity to explore the region, but classes, dinners and parties filled up the day. This year, however, a Sunday, Sept. 11 bike tour and BBQ will make that exploration possible.
When Mark Dressler started envisioning how the Epicurean Classic would look seven-plus years ago, part of that vision was to incorporate the terroir (tare-wah) of the Grand Traverse Region into the dining event.
In its simplest translation, terroir is French for “land,” but it has come to mean a region the encompasses a specific wine or cuisine.
For the first five years, time prevented an organized tour of the region during the three-day Epicurean Classic. When the Classic’s major sponsor asked that the event be moved to their headquarters in southern Michigan three years ago, the reality of showcasing Northern Michigan’s beauty and bounty went with it.

Dining Rick Coates After a three-year hiatus the Epicurean Classic returns home to Traverse City this weekend, September 8-11. The four-day food affair left Traverse City in 2008 when title sponsor, Whirlpool, requested the event take place near its corporate headquarters in Benton Harbor.
“I am excited to see the event return to Traverse City,” said Mark Dressler, founder and organizer. “We ran out of space at the Great Lakes Culinary Institute and Whirlpool offered their facilities. Their location was close to Chicago so we gave it a try, but this event belongs in Traverse City.”

Features Rick Coates Sarah Armstrong hurries home after work and grabs her camera bag and heads
out the door for her next shoot. A media consultant by day and
photographer by night, Armstrong is on a mission to photograph 231 women
from Northern Michigan for a new book and social media project.
Armstrong is not looking for societal supermodels for her project, just
women who who want to express their beauty regardless of size, shape or
age.

Features Rick Coates It was just seven years ago that Derek Bailey started work on a Ph.D
program at Central Michigan University when he felt that he could best
serve the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians by serving on
the Tribal Council.
Bailey left school and successfully won a seat on the board. It wasn’t
long before he was elected the youngest tribal chairman of the Grand
Traverse Band (GTB) since its reorganization in 1980.

Books Rick Coates Mode’s Bum Steer Rack of Lamb
As I was reviewing my notes from my dining experiences over the past five years for an upcoming “State of the Northern Michigan Restaurant Industry” article, I constantly found Mode’s Bum Steer with positive reviews in my notes. In fact, in the 50-plus times I have dined at Mode’s over the past five years, I described each experience as exceptional.
Recently I met with Epicurean Classic founder Mark Dressler who is returning the event to Traverse City (September 8-11). Dressler pointed out that one deciding factor to return the event to the region was “the quality and commitment of the culinary scene in the area.”
With so many new offerings in the region, sometimes there might be a tendency to overlook the “classic” places like Mode’s, Hermann’s and the Rowe Inn.
Anita and her husband Bob opened Mode’s Bum Steer 36 years ago. Bob passed away four years ago this past July, but Anita and their daughter Skylar have kept the tradition going. In fact the whole team has kept that tradition of exceptional service and quality menu offerings going.
I stopped in last week to enjoy my favorite, their Rack of Lamb with a classic wedge and bleu cheese, and I overheard Anita talking about the fact that most of the staff has been with them for 20 to 30 years and the “newbies” take quickly to the Mode’s way of doing things.

Music Rick Coates The festival season is winding down and and putting an exclamation mark on
a stellar summer of events is the Third Annual Traverse City Microbrew &
Music Festival.
The brainchild of Sam Porter and Porterhouse Productions, the festival
will take place this weekend, August 26 & 27, at the Village at Grand
Traverse Commons. The Microbrew & Music Festival will feature over 50
craft breweries, wineries, cider and mead makers along with 10 local
eateries.

Music Rick Coates B.J. Thomas:Still Hooked on a Feeling
By Rick Coates
B.J. Thomas has one of the most distinctive voices in popular music
history. His vocal talents have helped him reach the top of the pop,
country and Christian charts over his 45-year recording career. It has
been 25 years since his last Top 10 hit but Thomas’s popularity has not
waned with his fans as he continues to tour the country performing to
sold-out venues.

Dining Rick Coates Saveur Thyme at the Hearth & Vine
After two weeks of highlighting Chef Mario Batali’s love affair with Northern Michigan in Tastemakers and Bottoms Up, we find the chef still on his self-imposed PR campaign for the region.
Last week Batali appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America program after GMA viewers selected the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes region as the “Most Beautiful Place In America.” A camera crew followed Batali around earlier this summer as he highlighted some of his favorite places. When the results of the balloting were announced, Batali Skyped the show, answering questions from the host about Northern Michigan. In addition he had his New York culinary team prepare some of his favorite Northern Michigan dishes for the show hosts to sample.
One of the places Batali raved about was the Saveur Thyme at the Hearth & Vine, located on the grounds of the Black Star Farms Winery. Owned by Chef Paul Carlson and his wife Susan, Hearth & Vine is a cozy cafe and wine bar featuring gourmet wood-fired pizzas, delicious soups, salads, sandwiches, and more. Batali told viewers that Hearth & Vine is one of “his go to places” when he and his family visit Northern Michigan. He let viewers also know that he “spends his entire summer in paradise.”

Features Rick Coates Chairman Derek Bailey of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB) recently postponed a family getaway to the Upper Peninsula to speak at a memorial service. These constant schedule changes and being accessible 24/7 as the Tribal Chairman have become the lifestyle Bailey and his family have adopted since his election three years ago.
“We were looking forward to our trip, but I was asked to speak at a memorial service for Helen Hornbeck Tanner. I considered it not only an honor but my obligation to be there,” said Bailey. “Tanner, while not Native American, played several crucial roles in the recent history for Indian tribes of the Great Lakes region. She is not the only reason but she certainly is a key reason why we (the GTB) are where we are at today. It was important that I let her family and friends know how much we appreciate what she did for us and equally important that our tribal communities know of her importance.”

Music Rick Coates There is no “mailing it in” with Mickey Hart, the percussion guru of the
Grateful Dead, who could easily cash in year after year touring and
playing the hits of his former band.
“What’s the point of always doing the same thing? I don’t eat my favorite
meal everyday; I explore different foods in search of my new favorite
meal, and that is my approach to music,” said Hart. “My whole life I have
constantly been exploring different types of music, even during my
Grateful Dead days.