Showing posts with label Ann Arbor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ann Arbor. Show all posts

4.29.2019

GUITARIST/SONGWRITER /AUTHOR ALAN GWYLLT HAS DIED


Los Angeles, CA — Alan George Gwyllt (Justin Alan Kase), 64, born  January 6, 1955, died Wednesday, April 24, 2019, at the home of a close friend in Los Angeles.

He leaves daughter Alisha Ellison (Brian) and son, Justin Kase, grandchildren Vincent Joseph age 15, and Hudson Robert age 3, sister Karen (Gwyllt) Heddle, and many friends and fans.

Alan with Alisha

Alan grew up in Ypsilanti, Michigan the son of Hazel and Les Heddle Sr. who supported his musical dreams throughout their lives.

Alan's home on Sheridan St. in Ypsilanti was the hub of all the local teenage musicians (and fans) with his rehearsal (garage) in the back yard of the neighbor's house. The Garage was the coolest place to hang out as a young teen. Everyone I know has a favorite story of being in the garage watching Air rehearse.

 Alan, Scott, Rich, and manager Jim Vanheck

He had a magical gift for playing just about any instrument he picked up.
In his early years, Alan’s parents had given him some very quality instruments.

He had a Guild semi hollow-body 6-string guitar, an Ampeg amplifier with a 15” speaker, a Wurlitzer electric piano, a Farfesia organ and a Shure microphone. He even owned a Sitar! He continued to collect rare instruments throughout his life. Rich Nisbet


The first popular band that formed in the "Garage" was named Blue Air. Rich Nisbet (bass/vocals), Dave Haushalter (guitar), Scott Carter (drums/vocals), and Alan on guitar and various other instruments... Haushalter left the band and it became a 3 piece known as Air.


In 1998, Alan, Scott, and Rich did a one-night reunion of “Air” at TC's Speakeasy in Ypsilanti. They performed “I Wanna Be Free” and “Words of Love”, just like they had done at a talent show 31 years earlier in Junior High.

In 1972 Air went into a studio in Detroit to record 2 originals; “Jump Back” and “Twelve O’Clock Satanial”. They were released on 45 rpm.



In 2018, Kanye West sampled Twelve O’Clock Satanial on an album called “Daytona” that he was producing for Pusha T. The song "If You Know You Know" was written by Terrence Thornton Kanye West Alan Gwyllt and Richard Nisbet.  Pusha T performed it on the Jimmy Kimmel show that year and the album was nominated for a Grammy®.



Masquerade


L-R Alan, Bill Jones, Jim King, Ken Gilbert, and Rich Nisbet

Alan and Rich had a jam session with Jim King (keyboards) and Bill Jones (drums), and by adding fantastic lead singer Ken Gilbert they formed the second version of Ann Arbor the band “Masquerade”.

The band played clubs and colleges in Michigan, Indiana and the famous underground bar in Chicago, “Mothers”. But “Second Chance” in Ann Arbor would become their “home” performance venue.

Masquerade with new drummer Neil Buchanan and Mgr Jim Goldberg 

After Masquerade went their separate ways, Alan began pursuing a country music career. He wrote many country songs that he sent to Nashville. He won a Charlie Daniel's band songwriting competition twice. He later relocated to Tennessee and changed his name to Justin Alan Kase to pursue his new dream in country music.

Alan had a passion for so many things, not just music, the list is quite vast, here are some of the ones we remember.

He loved rescuing animals and we all thought he might become a Veterinarian some day. He at various times had a Tarantula, Scorpion, many Raccoons and a Kinkajou!  Rich remembered his saltwater aquarium. He raised many baby raccoons/possums and took in many stray animals over his lifetime.

Alan's day job over the years was as an upholsterer.  He had a pretty good clientele going before his move to Tennessee.

He loved Karate (a black belt), writing, songwriting/arranging/recording, poetry, video games, and was a huge Science Fiction fan.

In 2007, Alan moved to West Florida to be with his parents. He began writing his books there. After his parents passed, He relocated briefly to New Orleans and then on to Los Angeles.

In 2011, as Al G Gwyllt, he became a published author of 6 Sci-Fi books. Here are but 3 of them. Amazon has them all.


Jan. 2018 he moved in with his good friend Doug Brandon and after many years of struggling with end-stage Cirrhosis of the Liver, he passed away in his room April 24, 2019, at 11:55 pm PST.

At this time there are no plans for a funeral/memorial. We will post that info as it comes in. His loving daughter Alisha has asked that if anyone would like to make a contribution to Michigan Rehabilitation Center Home of New Vision in Alan's name. Rock on old friend...xoK

Many thanks to Rich Nisbet and Alisha Ellison for assisting with this story.

If you have photos, videos or a story about Alan please feel free to leave a comment on this post.

3.23.2015

GO WEST: BONEHAWK & BLUE SNAGGLETOOTH

BoneHawk

Saturday night I drove out to Kalamazoo to check out the BoneHawk show, featuring Ann Arbor Rockers Blue Snaggletooth.  They played an incredible show at Bell's Eccentric CafĂ©!

Evil Deauxerz
I won’t lie, I made the drive for BoneHawk, and left a fan of the female fronted Evil Deauxerz.
I was not expecting to see a hard-edged melodic punk band open for a these fuzzy fellas, but the Evil Deauxerz more than held their own.  

Singer/bassist Janel Evil has a deep, sexy voice steeped in the tradition of Nina Simone. No big surprise to learn that her influences include L7, Seven Year Bitch, Mike Hard, just to name a few.  The band kicked through their set pretty quickly, I loved their song "Runnin'" best.  I hope to see them out in SE Michigan more; they’d be a great fit with Detroit’s Circus Boy.

Blue Snaggletooth

Next up was Blue Snaggletooth from Ann Arbor.  These guys always put on a great show.  They have stacks of gear and a solid, linear wall of sound.  Singer/guitarist Chris Taylor has a great vocal range from the melodic “Sleeping Mountain” to the wild ride “Transmutation.”  

Taylor and lead guitarist Casey O’Ryan have superb chemistry and keep the show alive with flying guitars and down-on-your-knees grooves. They ended the set with two songs from their first album Dimension Thule, “Star Flight” and “Fireball Island.”  It was nice to see the crowd sing along with the rock anthem “Star Flight,” as these guys are out of town and a lot of the kids knew that tune word for word.

BoneHawk

By the time BoneHawk hit the stage, the cafe seemed to be at capacity. I have been listening to their record for some time and checking out their videos online (Tonight We Ride), but this was my first time seeing BoneHawk live. Too many times bands put out a great record but just can't seem to deliver live. 

Not in this case, these fellas are absolute SLAYERS on stage. Guitarist Chad Houts and Singer/Guitarist Matt Helt are tight dueling guitarists, throwing down simple heavy riffs with great hooks.  It comes as no surprise that they've been playing together for well over two decades. Bassist Chris Voss offers a deep tone and has great stage presence while Jay Rylander holds it all down like a sacred anchor in the storm.  He is an excellent drummer, and kicks down some wicked backing vocals.  

BoneHawk
The crowd was way into these guys. It was an absolute thrill to see the ladies rule the first few rows in the front, as there was little to no sign of the XL dudes that generally saturate the genre.  I was trying to get a decent photo of Hout's impressive pedal board, but the hyper territorial cutie pies would not let me near him.

I had to slide a bit on stage in front of Helt in order to get a shot of Chad working his magic. At one point, I leaned over to touch one of his pedals (what can I say, I've got a thing for pedal boards) and Houts as my witness, I thought I was going to get torn limb from limb by the insatiable mob of Maenads at his feet - and hey man, that's alright! These ladies were fucking MAD for BoneHawk! Check out their Official Video “Hot Mary.”
BoneHawk

BoneHawk and Blue Snaggletooth were recently picked up by west coast Stoner Rock label Ripple Music, and plan to put out a split LP later this year. Thanks to the Internet, the world is flat. Both bands have quite a global reach, sending records to nearly every continent. Snaggletooth alone has been keeping a steady pace in Europe, with vinyl going out on a weekly basis. It's going to be really cool to watch both bands over the next 12 months. They complement one another in terms of sound and songwriting.

Author: Theresa Kiefer

11.27.2014

BUDDY GUY COMING TO ANN ARBOR!!


Grammy Award Winner Buddy Guy to perform at the Michigan Theater in March

Tickets go on sale now
ANN ARBOR, Michigan - The Ark presents blues legend Buddy Guy March 18 at 7:30pm at the Michigan Theater.

Buddy Guy's impressive resume includes: 5 Grammy Awards, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, more Blues Music Awards (formerly known as W.C. Handy Awards) than any other blues artist in history, and Rolling Stone magazine ranked him among the"100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and his song "Stone Crazy" as one of the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time."

Guy began his career in Chicago in the 1960's as a studio session musician at the legendary Chess Records label where he backed dozen of blues musicians, including, Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters. He grew to the forefront of the stage where his cutting electric guitar style and passionate vocals captured the attention of a growing number of rock musicians. Eric Clapton calls Buddy Guy "by far and without a doubt the best guitar player alive." He is now considered a major guitar influence among blues and rock icons alike.

Come see this masterful guitarist with a captivating stage presence at the Michigan Theater. Reserved seats are $49.50 and $39.50 (limited Gold Circle also available) and go on sale at ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster outlets on Friday, November 21 at 10:00 am. Charge by phone at 800-745-3000. Media sponsorship provided by Metro Times.

About the Michigan Theater: Now celebrating its 87th year, the Michigan Theater is Ann Arbor's award-winning non-profit historic center for fine film and performing arts. The Michigan Theater welcomes more than 250,000 visitors each year to its art house films, concerts, lectures, live theater, and special programs such as Sundance Film Festival USA and Cinetopia International Film Festival. The Michigan Theater is located in downtown Ann Arbor at 603 East Liberty Street. Visit michtheater.org or call the 24-hour information line at (734) 668-TIME for schedule and ticket information.

About The Ark: The Ark is a non-profit organization dedicated to the enrichment of the human spirit through the presentation, preservation and encouragement of folk, roots and ethnic music and related arts. The Ark provides a welcoming atmosphere for all people to listen to, learn about, perform and share music. The Ark is located at 316 South Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor. Visit www.theark.org for further information.
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