This Week at Lamocu Productions

Well it has been an eventful week here at Lamocu and InSights to say the least! We got a lot to cover so let's get started. First, our friends the Partly Brothers are playing in Ann Arbor tomorrow night at the Crazy Wisdom Tea Room from 8:30 to 10:30. For those of you not familiar with Ann Arbor, the Crazy Wisdom Tea Room is located on Main St. right in downtown. There is no charge for this performance and seating is limited so be sure and get there early for a good seat.

On Saturday, here at InSights, A Hero Falls will be making their debut on our stage. This concert has been a long time in the making due to the band's hectic schedule. Now this is not an Open Mic Night night...this is a true performance by A Hero Falls and we're very excited about having them here. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children and students with ID.

Two great nights of local musical being performed...well locally and economically. With entertainment costs what they are today you can't afford not to take in at least one of these great acts---if not both. If you do, I'll see you there!

Now as for the Lead Singers of our Fantasy Bands, it was pointed out to me that in my earlier posting I had forgotten Janis Joplin and Heart. I was ashamed of course, I mean how could I talk of female rock and rollers and NOT mention Janis? Well I think the correct scientific term is Brain Fart. And it is why I always try to mention that I "may" omit someone by accident and it is not due to any editorial bias on my part. Space and time constraints usually effect such things. But Heart...my friends really gave me a hard time on that omission because I tried to turn all of my friends onto the Wilson sisters after I saw them for the first time. One said "Smith don't you remember how you ranted and raved about them for a week?" And I did. Heart had warmed up for Seger at the Homecoming concert my first year at State and to this day it was a very special night on many levels. So there you have it, my apologies to Janis and the Wilson sisters, I love all three of you.

Now that we are well into this post, you probably have wondered why Linda Ronstadt is pictured here, well you can guess it, she is "our" Female Lead Singer for our Fantasy Band! And again I want to remind everyone that the FM rock stations played her material for a few years. It seems the classic rock genre wants to ignore it's soft rock era but I refuse to bend here. 101 FM WRIF in Detroit has been the "home of rock and roll" for over 30 years and is still a leader---not a "classic rock" station at all and I bet they would freak out to know that I have a newspaper ad showing them presenting Seals & Croft in concert! So if you want to know the rock era of Linda check out the following: Prisoner in Disguise, Heart Like A Wheel, Hasten Down The Wind, Simple Dreams and Living In The USA... from 1974 to 1977. Linda did go onto other projects but believe me, for a few years she was a major contributor to rock and roll; in fact her warm up band used to be this little known called (wait for it)...The Eagles.

Got to roll, but here is our band so far, Male Lead Singer coming tomorrow. Until then thanks for reading along and stay tuned.

Lamocu Productions Fantasy Band

Female Lead Singer...Linda Ronstadt

Bass Player...Joe Bouchard of Blue Oyster Cult

Drummer...Neil Peart of Rush

Keyboards...Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Instrumentalist...Alto Reed of The Silver Bullet Band

Lead Guitarists...Gary Richrath of R.E.O. Speedwagon AND Pete Townsend of The Who

Catching up!

Whew, what a show! The second Variety Show was a huge success and we're still recovering from it. We can already feel the steam building up for next months which will be on May 16.

Southern Drive kicked things off Saturday night and we never looked back! Found new talent in Brandi Nicole and Jetty Rae, both from Ann Arbor as well as learned that the Springsteen family is just full of talent---not just Will! This Saturday will be our first "all comedy Open Mic Night" and we're gearing up for that right now.

As for our Fantasy Bands, we are heading into the home stretch this week with the category of Lead Singer(s). Now before we end up in hours of debate, we're going to do something similar to what we did with Lead Guitarists---allow you to have TWO; one female and one male. Now if you're set on your Lead Singer and don't have to cross genders, cool. But for some of us, myself included, we can't pick one sex over the other, so why bother? Like I said if you already have one you're in love with, stick with it and you don't have to consider the other gender at all.

Now where the debate really comes in is with female rock singers, WHEN did they first appear? Who was the first? Well, some of us are old enough to remember Motown and if you accept that as a part of the early days of rock and roll, then there is an assortment of female singers such as Diana Ross and Martha Reeves to choose inspiration from. Martha, was immortalized in the John Mellencamp anthem "Rockin' in the USA" for instance. The ladies have been here almost from the beginning, just sometimes not getting the exposure or airplay as their male counterparts, but here nonetheless.

Nowadays maybe Gwen Stefani comes to mind or you still might know who Stevie Nicks is. But I'm here to tell you rock and roll has gone through many changes over the years and the ladies we're part of it. In the seventies rock and roll had a mellow side to go along with the hard rock and singers like Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Carly Simon and even Linda Ronstadt were heard on the FM AOR (Album Oriented Rock) stations throughout America. Oh yes, there are people that deny it, but it happened. These are the same people who deny that America, James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot and Seals & Croft were ever heard on rock stations---but they were so tell them to get over it!

But soft rock gave way to punk and then alternative so there are some who say female rock singing started with Deborah Harry of Blondie, Annie Lennox of The Eurythmics and Pat Benatar. Fair enough. Fleetwood Mac made international stars of Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks at about the same time so there was variety depending on what you're tastes were. The first all female rock band came about named The Runaways and gave us future hard rockers Lita Ford and Joan Jett. Then came Vixen and...well let's just say there is a lot of ground to cover so don't limit yourselves. So there you have it, pick up to two Lead Singers, one male and one female and tell us WHY.

There will be more postings this week concerning the Comedy Open Mic Night and A Hero Falls on May 2. Until then, stay tuned.

A Hero Falls, May 2nd!

Lamocu Productions is pleased to present - A Hero Falls on May 2nd at InSights! This will be the bands first appearance on our stage and it's been a long time in the making. A Hero Falls has no problems getting gigs on their own so they have been booked almost solid for the last two months. I'm giving you all fair warning, mark this date on your calender, May 2nd. More on this great show later, make a point of not missing this one!

And don't forget we have our 2nd Variety Show tomorrow night at InSights. Tickets for all shows are $10 for adults and $5 for children or students w/ ID.

Later today there will be a posting on the last phase of our Fantasy Rock and Roll Band...the singers. Until then, stay tuned.

2nd Variety Show Saturday!

On tap for this Saturday night is our second Variety Show. With the success of the first show, this one promises to be even better. Over 20 performers providing 3 solid hours of entertainment!

If you have been a follower of our Open Mic Nights you know they occur on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month; well the Variety Show evolved from that and now has it's own home of the 3rd Saturday of every month. Several acts that have participated in Open Mic Nights will be lending their talents to this Saturday's show including fan favorites Lauren Alm, J.J. Krause, Susie2295, Charlene Berry and Will Springsteen. So bring the entire family, it's a night out everyone can afford. Certainly you could spend more and get less entertainment anywhere on a Saturday night, but at InSights you'll always get your money's worth and more. Doors open at 7pm, tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children and students w/ ID.

Weekend Recap!

Well Will Springsteen was excellent, as expected. For those of you who missed Will, he will be performing this Saturday at the Variety Show at InSights. Doors open at 7, show will begin promptly at 8pm.

Will performed a number of originals as well as cover tunes ranging from Gordon Lightfoot to Bob Dylan. And Emily Springsteen...what a find she was. Overall the best entertainment value for all of mid-Michigan was here at InSights this past Saturday night. People may have spent more, but they got a LOT less.

Now let's move on to our Fantasy Band. We're heading into the home stretch so lets not waste anymore time here. For our "extra" musician, we thought we would get some horn sections mentioned, you know, Tower of Power, Muscle Shoals something like that. Or maybe Jean Luc Ponty on electric violin or Magic Dick on harmonica, but the interest wasn't there, EVEN by the people who suggested the category! Got to be honest, the feedback on this category was the lowest of any band member, so let's move on.

Lamocu's extra musician has been no brainer all along...we played the sax and we love the sax. Long before I knew of Clarence in the E Street Band I had discovered Tom Scott doing solo on Carole King's "Jazzman" and that really caught my eye/ear on what a horn could do for rock and roll. Also, I'll be honest, I was a late bloomer with Chicago---love them, just wasn't there in the beginning with them. Then there's the mention of sax in Steely Dan's haunting "Deacon Blues". All of this comes to a climax with a local connection for us...Bob Seger. Yes our local hero (along with Ted and Alice) so that brings us to our choice for extra musician, it can be no other than Alto Reed!

LAMOCU PRODUCTIONS FANTASY BAND

Bass Player- Joe Bouchard, Blue Oyster Cult

Keyboardist- Keith Emerson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Drummer- Neil Peart, Rush

Lead Guitarists- Gary Richrath, REO Speedwagon & Pete Townsend, The Who

Extra Musician- Alto Reed, Bob Seger

Tomorrow Night at InSights!

Remember tomorrow night, the debut of Will Springsteen here at InSights. Everyone here at Lamocu feels this young man is primed for success. It is our pleasure to announce his coming out party for this Saturday. It actually will be a "double shot" of Springsteen tomorrow night, Emily Springsteen, Will's talented cousin will be warming up for him. "Excellent!" said Wayne.

Tickets are $10 adults, $5 children or students w/ ID. Doors open at 7pm, show begins at 8pm.

Please come check out the Springsteen Show! You won't be sorry that you did and you'll know other times you spent more...and got less entertainment---guaranteed!

More announcements over the weekend, Happy Easter, enjoy life and stay tuned...

Will Springsteen @ InSights!

Will Springsteen, no no relation in case you were wondering, will be making his debut on our stage this weekend. For those of you who saw Will at our first Variety Show back on Feb. 28th you know what a talent he is. For those of you who missed that show, don't miss this one.

Will plays an awesome guitar and has gutty, thought provoking lyrics for his songs. I guarantee you will like everything about Will Springsteen and years from now you'll be able to say "I saw Will when he was just starting out, performing at InSights". Of course you'll only be able to say that in the future if you DO come see him this Saturday.

An update on the Fantasy Band...there has been no feedback on that "extra" position we added to accommodate harmonica players, saxophonists etc. Not even from the people that suggested that category. lol So ours will be easy a real no brainer that we'll disclose tomorrow. In the meantime, spread the word about Will. Until then, stay tuned.

Lauren Alm Headlines InSights!

On April 11th at the InSights, Lauren Alm will be headlining her first show! Those of you who have followed Lauren's career thus far knew this date wouldn't be far off. Lauren's special guest that night will be Will Springsteen.

Doors open at 7, show begins at 8. Tickets are $10 adults, $5 children or students with valid ID's.

Come join us for a magical moment in history. Lauren and Will are going to be stars, there is no doubt about it---at least in our very bias minds! So come help us celebrate this big night for InSights, Lamocu, Will and of course, Lauren!

More to come later and remember to be thinking of your "specialist" band member like Clarence from E Street or Magic Dick from J. Geils. See you later and stay tuned.

Aftermath!

Well, the show Saturday was EXCELLENT! You will notice that I didn't use the term awesome, possibly the most over-used word in the past decade, but the show was definitely excellent.

If you still haven't checked out the Partly Brothers or Lauren Alm, you've been doing yourself a disservice. At least twenty people left asking if and when these two acts were going to be back, they were going to tell their friends. So when it's scheduled the announcement will be loud and clear. As the representative of Lamocu Productions & The Guild of InSightful Sound I cannot thank Luti, Brian and Lauren enough. As I stated in an earlier post, after months of growing pains, we had reached Nirvana with this show!

This weekend coming up will be an off night for us at the InSights, but April 11th Lauren Alm will be headlining our show with special guest Will Springsteen and April 18th will be our second Variety Night show. April 25th is still coming together for an all comedy night, but nothing is set in stone yet so I will keep you all posted.

On the subject of our Rock and Roll Fantasy Bands, we had a suggestion to add the "special" musician for each band. What is a "special" musician? The harmonica player, the sax player or any other musician not typically associated with rock and roll music. They give that distinction to the band and some cases the band itself develops a distinction of it's own---can anyone say Chicago?

Well got to go for now, use your imagination and have fun with this. But definitely, positively, absolutely...check out the Partly Brothers and Lauren at their My Space sites. You will be a better person by the end of the day---guaranteed! Take care and stay tuned!