Kristi Kates

Music Kristi Kates By Kristi Kates

Singer-songwriter Meredith Fierke grew up in the small town of Northfield, Minnesota, and has been writing and singing songs for “as long as I can remember.” 
“I learned to love music by listening to it obsessively as a kid,” she explains, “I loved the radio; I would tape my favorite songs by holding my radio speakers up next to the tape recorder. What would come back was a crackling ‘far away’ version of the songs that I would sing along with over and over again. But it wasn’t until I decided to write and record my first album (The Procession, 2008) that I really started learning the art of recording and collaborating with other musicians.”
Today, Fierke is a busily ambitious musician, collaborating with a father-son team who make up her trio. She’ll be performing in Petoskey at the Crooked Tree Arts Center this Thursday.

Art Kristi Kates WE is a big word when we discuss the 2nd Annual SoBo Arts Festival,”
explains festival co-coordinator Robin Lee Berry, “each of us have had big
and important jobs that are essential in making the festival happen.”
The idea for the Arts Fest began last year, when the community decided to
work together to “put a face,” as Berry puts it, on the collective pool of
local artist talent; Freshwater Studio’s Tony Williams and
Berry worked with Jerry Dennis, CindiFranco’s CoolStuff, and Lake Street
Market to create a committee that put together the first festival.

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Newly revived new wavers Blondie will be releasing their latest album, dubbed Panic of Girls, this upcoming fall, complete with two cover tracks and surrealistic cover art (by Dutch artist Chris Berens.) The set was recorded in New York’s Woodstock region, and includes a number of experimental elements, from vocals in Spanish and French to those aforementioned cover tunes - Beirut’s “A Sunday Smile” (from their Flying Club Cup album) and an old ‘80s reggae track. The new set will hit stores in September…
‘90s alt-rockers Cracker will be making an unexpected appearance in Northern Michigan at Legs Inn in Cross Village on June 24, performing a special unplugged set that’s sure to highlight several of Cracker’s fan favorite songs

Music Kristi Kates Gomez - Whatever’s On Your Mind - ATO/Red
Although they’re probably best known as a British band, Gomez’ bandmates are actually scattered across a couple of countries, with its members now living in the UK, L.A., and NY. Fortunately for them, they had a common production ground in producer Sam Farrar, who helped them bring together this, their latest album. Recorded primarily in a remote studio locale in Virginia, this is both a smoother and more experimental set than previous efforts, with new in-band approaches taken to horns and guitars (“Options”), synth/strings (“Our Goodbye”), and electronica (“Song in my Heart.”) It’s fresh, eclectic, and interesting.

Music Kristi Kates Soul Patch brings maximum grooves to Northern Express Minifest
By Kristi Kates
“Soul Patch has been a long and interesting journey,” begins Soul Patch singer Christopher “Wink” Winkelmann. The band, a Traverse City hometown favorite, began as a two-piece acoustic act made up of Winkelmann and Michael “Mando” Peck (on guitar and mandolin), and evolved into a two-piece with a whole lot of guest musicians sitting in.
“We are still in TC and probably always will be. This is our home and we love ‘Da Mitten!’” Winkelmann says.

Music Kristi Kates 2010 said bye-bye to Rothbury - but fortunately for Michigan music fans, a replacement fest has sprung up in its place, even in the same locale (see “Electric Forest Festival” below) for 2011. Other events celebrated their longevity in 2010 (happy 30th birthday, Blissfest) and are still going strong this year. Stack ‘em all together, and you’ve got another great selection of 2011 Michigan music fests to choose from, whether you choose to stay Up North or venture downstate in search of an even wider variety of tunes and venues.

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Get Well Soon Everybody is the working title for Wilco’s upcoming eighth studio album, which will serve as the follow-up to the band’s 2009 set, Wilco (the album.) They’ve reportedly tracked a couple dozen songs already for the set, which is being recorded at the band’s own studio in Chicago, with an eye on a fall release date. The latest tunes are said to be a blend of experimental indie-rock plus Americana plus a few tribal influences, and will be released on Wilco’s recently-formed record label, dBpm Records; a nearly 15-minute long jam-track may also be included on the set, all ten verses of it…

Dining Kristi Kates With its many open spaces, parks, waterfront destinations, and nature trails, it’s no wonder that “Up North” is thought to be the perfect spot for both al fresco restaurant dining and picnicking. Scott Herceg, executive director of the Harbor Springs Chamber of Commerce, perhaps says it best:
“We’re so fortunate to live here, you can be ‘on vacation’ five minutes away from your house.”
We asked Herceg and several other local experts from north of Traverse City which places they’d choose “Up North” to take a blanket and a picnic basket - and these were their picks. 

Music Kristi Kates The five members of the band that would become the MacPodz - Brennan
Andes, Nick Ayers, Jesse Clayton, Ross Huff, and Griffin Bastian - spent
much of the latter half of 2005 backing up various singer-songwriters and
other performers around Ann Arbor, including poet/social activist John
Sinclair.
“We all really enjoyed each other’s musical stylings and late-night
antics,” explains percussionist Ayers, “and we just started palling around
more often.”

Music Kristi Kates The Go-Go’s- Beauty and the Beat: 30th Anniversary Edition - Capitol
It’s the 30th anniversary of this landmark Go-Go’s album - so what better
way to celebrate than with a remastered disc plus a bonus concert disc
from one of the band’s early ’80s live shows? Belinda Carlisle and her
bandmates really set the bar for their own brand of candy-pop, perfectly
frosted with surf-worthy guitar riffs, solid beats, and Carlisle’s
distinctive trill on studio tracks like the bright “We Got the Beat” and
“This Town”; the live disc adds another catchy, sugary layer with
now-classic Go-Go’s songs like “Vacation,” “Cool Jerk,” and “Let’s Have a
Party” arriving time-capsule-style from one of their peppy ’80s-era Boston
shows.

Modern Rock Kristi Kates Moby’s 2010 tour, at least for the musician himself, consisted of even more than Moby music. The ambitious musician decided to write new songs while on the road, and also equipped himself with a camera to keep track of happenings on tour. The result? Two results, actually - one an album and one a photo book, both dubbed Destroyed. Full of airports, backstage areas, stage lights, and cold daylight (the songs and the pics both), the companion works are a great peek at Moby’s traveling-musician life. And the album includes guest spots by fellow musicians Inyang Bassey and Anna Maria Friman, among others; preview the set (out now) via a short digital EP titled Be the One that’s available at www.moby.com…

Music Kristi Kates Formed six years ago in the Muskegon area, the reggae powerhouse known as
Mystic Dub - comprised of Raya True (vocals/keyboards), William Jeannot
(guitar), Kosta Karis (bass), and Juan Carlos (vocals/drums) began their
musical journey by playing regional venues.

Music Kristi Kates Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi - Rome - Capitol
Italian film music and spaghetti westerns were the influences behind this collaboration between Brian Burton (Danger Mouse) and Italian talent Luppi. Actually recorded in Rome (on top of the other inspirations), the pair worked with an eye toward copying the recording practices of the late ‘60s, recording live to tape and using mostly vintage gear. Another component of the album were the vocals, contributed by Jack White (“Two Against One,” “The World”) and Norah Jones (“Season’s Trees,” “Problem Queen”), as well as soprano Edda Dell’Orso, making for a pop (yes, pop!) record full of depth and complexity.

Modern Rock Kristi Kates The Black Eyed Peas are utilizing their charity, the Peapod Foundation, to open a music school in New York City to teach youth music and video production. They’ve teamed up with the Adobe Foundation to make their school plans happen, with the New York academy set to begin offering classes this July. The Peas, Peapod, and Adobe have already opened up several of their “Youth Voices” academies in California…

Music Kristi Kates Why leave home to see a concert when you can have one at your own place?  That’s the spirit of the Rhubarbary Guest Concert series in Harbor Springs.
“In 2006, we put a timber frame addition on our house, which was quite a project,” Harbor Springs musician Dale Scott says with a laugh, “when we got done - we wondered why we had done it.”
Plenty of regional and national folk and jazz musicians know why. Because that addition would become one of Northern Michigan’s most unusual and intimate concert venues.
“We decided it would be the perfect spot for house concerts,” Scott says.
Scott and his wife, Maureen Scott, are well known around the region as the Peacemeal String Band, so who better to host those very concerts in the Scotts’ own house - and a concert series was born.