1 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:10,840 Speaker 1: October fifth, nineteen sixty six. The temptations in the Supremes 2 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: are heating up the airwaves and on other channels, alarm 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,720 Speaker 1: bells are ringing. Just thirty miles outside of Detroit, the 4 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:22,640 Speaker 1: Enrico Fermi nuclear generating station is getting hot, too hot. 5 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: It's the early years of humanity's dance. 6 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 2: With nuclear energy. 7 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: The government is working over time to show that the 8 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 1: splitting of an atom can go a different kind of way, 9 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: That maybe the unfathomable energy and heat that could level 10 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 1: a city could also be used to power one. That 11 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:43,280 Speaker 1: Oppenheimer's creation could be used in the service of and 12 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:47,440 Speaker 1: not the destruction of mankind. And that's all well and 13 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: good until it's not. There are hazards in hubris and 14 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: handling the unruly and wild building blocks of the universe. 15 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 1: The process can run away. The reactor is growing hotter 16 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 1: and hotterer in its not cooled down fast enough. Well 17 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: have you been to the movies lately? Luckily Fate looked 18 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,200 Speaker 1: down upon the Motor City with mercy. That day, the 19 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:12,920 Speaker 1: partial meltdown was contained and no radiation escaped, but the 20 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:18,559 Speaker 1: long shadow of what if remained. As always, we must 21 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: count on the poets and musicians to tell it straight. 22 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:25,760 Speaker 1: Gil Scott Heron saying, in his enlightened weariness, we almost 23 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:29,960 Speaker 1: lost Detroit. Just thirty miles from Detroit, there stands a 24 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 1: giant power station. It ticks each night as the city sleeps, 25 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:35,720 Speaker 1: seconds from annihilation. 26 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:38,720 Speaker 2: But no one stopped to. 27 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:41,679 Speaker 1: Think about the people or how they would survive. 28 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:46,280 Speaker 3: And we almost lost Detroit this time. How could we 29 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 3: ever get over losing our minds? Gil Scott hero We 30 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 3: almost lost Detroit? 31 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:00,400 Speaker 1: Has there ever been a city more precarious sleep toois 32 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: at the edge of either disaster or glory. This city 33 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: has been called many names, some good, some awful. The 34 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:12,800 Speaker 1: arsenal of democracy, the automotive capital of the world, MotorCity, Motown, 35 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:16,680 Speaker 1: murder City, ghost town, the Paris of the Midwest, the 36 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 1: d It has lived as many lives as, if not more, 37 00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:21,920 Speaker 1: and is once again in the middle of rewriting its 38 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:25,959 Speaker 1: own story, with hopefully all its grit and glamour intact. 39 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:30,040 Speaker 1: The first time I pulled into Detroit, I was walking 40 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: through the dtw and saw a slogan scrawled on Purple 41 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: gift store sweatshirts. They read Detroit Versus Everyone, And I 42 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:40,840 Speaker 1: know this might be a recycled saying heard millions of 43 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 1: times if you're from there, but. 44 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 2: It moved me. 45 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: This is a city defined by the resilience and strength 46 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: of its people. When it was a national joke in 47 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:52,240 Speaker 1: the eighties to say, will the last person in Detroit 48 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:53,520 Speaker 1: please turn off the lights? 49 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 2: Lights, the lights, the lights. 50 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: There is an entire city still there, circling its own 51 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:03,239 Speaker 1: and flipping the bird to everyone. A place that was 52 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 1: once the richest city in America that plunged into a 53 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: vision of urban dystopian apocalypse. But never turn the lights out. 54 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:13,640 Speaker 1: They dimmed, the factories emptied. But as we know from 55 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: previous episodes like Providence, Rheland, abandoned warehouses and empty spaces 56 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 1: are the fairy godmother to the artist, to culture. There 57 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:23,560 Speaker 1: is a freedom when everyone has written you off, you 58 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:26,520 Speaker 1: take risks, the rent is affordable. 59 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 2: You make things. 60 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: You have space and time to absorb different sounds and 61 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: few styles and time signatures, and misuse instruments or use 62 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: them correctly for the first time, and create entire new 63 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: genres that can change the world. Motown techno, true grit, 64 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 1: rock and roll, the beating, jagged heart of the Midwest. 65 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: Detroit has always been a place of human friction. The 66 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 1: most ancient of heat, founded in seventeen oh one by 67 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 1: a French trader named Cadillac. 68 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:56,080 Speaker 2: Of course his name is Cadillac. 69 00:03:57,040 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: It was a fur trading outposts where the French and 70 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: the Brits and the Natives mixed. Civil War era is 71 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 1: the last run on the underground railroad for those on 72 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: a desperate run to the Canadian border. Nineteen hundreds is 73 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 1: where Henry Ford had the bright idea to automate an 74 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:15,000 Speaker 1: assembly line and give the world its wheels that define 75 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:19,600 Speaker 1: America in its sound, both in song and noise pollution, 76 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:22,799 Speaker 1: where thousands of immigrants from across the world and Black 77 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:26,640 Speaker 1: Americans leaving the Jim Crow South migrated inwards for jobs 78 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:31,159 Speaker 1: and a chance, bringing their music and food and their 79 00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:34,720 Speaker 1: culture and their hopes and their dreams, all mixing together. 80 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:38,160 Speaker 2: Right off Lake Erie. It's Detroit verse. 81 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:43,040 Speaker 1: Everyone and everyone should know the artist that Detroit has 82 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:51,159 Speaker 1: given us. Alice Coltrane, Madonna, Milk Jackson, Parliament and Funkadel Lizzo, 83 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:57,240 Speaker 1: Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, the White Stripes, Smokey Robinson, the Wine. 84 00:04:57,279 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 1: It's for Diana Rock, Anny Morell, Eminem Hook Wilson Brede, 85 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:06,920 Speaker 1: Van Fleebig, Sean Anita Baker, Suphie and Stevens, Glenn Fry, Rodriganz, Jackie, 86 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:10,719 Speaker 1: will Sobs, Alo j Dillon, Martha and the Van Dells, 87 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: Wading Alice Cooper, Iggy pop. 88 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 2: Elmore. 89 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:19,479 Speaker 1: Leonard once wrote, there are cities that get by on 90 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:23,800 Speaker 1: their good looks, offer climate and scenery, views of mountains 91 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: or oceans rock bound with palm trees, and there are 92 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:30,880 Speaker 1: cities like Detroit that have to work for a living. 93 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:35,280 Speaker 1: In the nineteen forties, Detroit was the fourth largest. 94 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:35,920 Speaker 2: City in the US. 95 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:40,280 Speaker 1: Assembly lines for Ford, GM and Chrysler plants were hungry 96 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 1: for people, and folks came running for the chance. The 97 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:46,800 Speaker 1: so ongoing promise of work started bringing Detroit some of 98 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:49,720 Speaker 1: its own icons, like a future blues legend by the 99 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: name of John Lee Hooker, or a twenty nine year 100 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 1: old music obsessed Korean Warvett fresh off of failed record 101 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:58,839 Speaker 1: store venture, who was working at the Ford Lincoln Mercury 102 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:04,039 Speaker 1: plant assembly line, Berry Gordy Junior. But in some horrible 103 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:08,040 Speaker 1: demonstration of Newton's third law, each action in nature has 104 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,520 Speaker 1: an equal and opposite reaction. The boom that made Detroit 105 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,640 Speaker 1: the Paris of the Midwest would soon be followed by 106 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:17,720 Speaker 1: its nosedive into the definition of urban decay. In the 107 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:22,719 Speaker 1: nineteen fifties, the car industry decentralized, factories closed, the warehouses empties. 108 00:06:22,839 --> 00:06:24,000 Speaker 2: Jobs evaporated. 109 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:27,040 Speaker 1: So did the people, and a year after we almost 110 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:30,839 Speaker 1: lost Detroit to a nuclear meltdown, a human meltdown nearly 111 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:34,120 Speaker 1: finished the job. The Riots of nineteen sixty seven exposed 112 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:38,279 Speaker 1: deep racial tensions, the same ones echoing all over the US, 113 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:43,039 Speaker 1: were concentrated like nitroglycerin in the diverse, yet segregated Detroit. 114 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:45,760 Speaker 1: The riots would leave the city smoldering in the next 115 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:48,920 Speaker 1: ten years would be full of chaos and destabilization as 116 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: the city tried to right itself. The soul called white 117 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:56,039 Speaker 1: flight saw the suburbs empty out, and with that some 118 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:59,560 Speaker 1: of the money and institutions the wealthy funded. The population 119 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: dropped from nearly two million in nineteen fifty to six 120 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:06,600 Speaker 1: hundred and seventy seven and twenty fifteen. It wrecked the 121 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 1: city's tax base and played a major part in the 122 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 1: mess that ended up with Detroit in an eighteen billion 123 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:17,640 Speaker 1: dollar hole, going bankrupt, becoming America's poorest big city. The 124 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: barbed wire and the bricks went up. Desolate streets and 125 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:25,120 Speaker 1: abandoned houses became synonymous with the city. For those who 126 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:28,240 Speaker 1: stayed believe in the promise of an uncertain future. If 127 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: they didn't, they would have split a long time ago. 128 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: It is a spirit that defines folks here and the 129 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:36,840 Speaker 1: artists and the work that they make. There is an 130 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:39,400 Speaker 1: originality here that exists nowhere else. 131 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:41,680 Speaker 2: To remain in a. 132 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: Forsaken city means to build your own world, your own universe, 133 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: to give a distinctly Detroit sound to your town. The 134 00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:00,360 Speaker 1: Sound of Our Town is a podcast about our cities 135 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 1: and our live music culture. It's there for you wherever 136 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:06,920 Speaker 1: you're touching down, wherever you live, wherever you're moving to, 137 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:10,440 Speaker 1: wherever you dream of going. It is a tricky world 138 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:13,800 Speaker 1: out there, but it has existed for a very long 139 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:16,600 Speaker 1: time and will exist for a long time after this. 140 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: One thing that has always been true is that we 141 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:24,160 Speaker 1: have had music with us the whole time. Not on 142 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:28,960 Speaker 1: streaming platforms, not on YouTube, not even on recording formats. 143 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:32,040 Speaker 1: But it's been with us when we are with each other. 144 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:37,520 Speaker 1: So here we are, Episode five, Season two of Sound 145 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:40,520 Speaker 1: of Our Town. I am your host, Will Daily and 146 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:51,959 Speaker 1: In this episode, we're visiting Detroit, Michigan. The first morning 147 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,320 Speaker 1: I ever woke up in Detroit, bleary eyed in some 148 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: chain hotel, I pulled back the curtains to see Stevie 149 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:02,960 Speaker 1: Wonder and this giant smiling face painted four stories high 150 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,160 Speaker 1: on an adjacent building, A moment to set the tone 151 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:10,080 Speaker 1: for one time in MotorCity or Motown. In fact, we 152 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 1: have Motown to thank for bringing us the wonder of 153 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:15,640 Speaker 1: Stevie Wonder. They signed him to his first record deal 154 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:18,960 Speaker 1: at the tender age of eleven years young. But the 155 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 1: influence of Motown on the American musical landscape is so vast, 156 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:27,160 Speaker 1: so oversized, it could even make this eight thousand square 157 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 1: foot mural that can be seen by an airplane feel 158 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:33,199 Speaker 1: tiny in comparison. I would bet it's nearly impossible to 159 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:35,719 Speaker 1: find a human in the USA whose life's soundtrack has 160 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:38,479 Speaker 1: not been lit up at some point by the timeless 161 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:41,960 Speaker 1: hope enjoy that artists from Motown have injected into our 162 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 1: collective psyche. I could easily make this whole entire episode 163 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:49,559 Speaker 1: of Motown Pilgrimage, as there are still many places and 164 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:52,680 Speaker 1: spaces in this town to immerse yourself that musically honor 165 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:56,560 Speaker 1: this sound and vibe. But before Motown came bumping and 166 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:59,959 Speaker 1: grooving into the night, it grew strong by eating veget 167 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:04,960 Speaker 1: and listening to jazz. The word Detroit is practically synonymous 168 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:08,720 Speaker 1: with the verb jazz, and no place honors that legacy 169 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:13,960 Speaker 1: in its most original essence better than Baker's Keyboard Lounge. 170 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:15,000 Speaker 2: A perfect first stop. 171 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:19,560 Speaker 1: Mister Clarence Baker opened this joint in nineteen thirty nine, 172 00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:22,160 Speaker 1: and it is said to be the longest running jazz 173 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 1: nightclub in the world. His mission was to seek out 174 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:27,319 Speaker 1: and find the best and brightest jazz stars and get 175 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:30,000 Speaker 1: them to his joint, and that's exactly what he did. 176 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:32,680 Speaker 1: The list of who's played at Baker's reads like a 177 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:36,079 Speaker 1: Wikipedia entry into the history of the genre. And while 178 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:41,800 Speaker 1: Bakers hosted famous singers and musicians of all instruments, Billie Holiday, Alfzgerald, 179 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:45,240 Speaker 1: Pat Meffeini. It is called the Keyboard Lounge after all, 180 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 1: and all roads begin and end at Baker's. By pulling 181 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:50,640 Speaker 1: up to the eighty eight, you were given a few 182 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 1: clues to the orientation of this venue, which from the 183 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:57,400 Speaker 1: outside looks like a giant keyboard. From the keys emblazoned 184 00:10:57,400 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 1: on the stage floor to the original iconic keyboard bar 185 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:02,920 Speaker 1: are built in nineteen fifty It winds its way through 186 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 1: the wavy, sonic soul of the place. The house piano 187 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:09,480 Speaker 1: seven foot Steinway from nineteen fifty seven was picked out 188 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:11,920 Speaker 1: by none other than Art Tatum and played through the 189 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,839 Speaker 1: years by the likes of Charlie Parker, Gingkrupa, Oscar Peterson, 190 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:21,400 Speaker 1: John Coltrane, Wes Montgomery, Art Blakey, Horace Silver Monk, and. 191 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:22,760 Speaker 2: Dave Brubek, to name a few. 192 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:25,480 Speaker 1: These days you'll find the place filled with up and 193 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:28,920 Speaker 1: coming local jazz talent, as well as contemporary blues and 194 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:32,600 Speaker 1: jazz stars, all kept warm by the sonic fires soaking 195 00:11:32,679 --> 00:11:35,880 Speaker 1: up the history and minor sevens and flat nines that 196 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:44,160 Speaker 1: this space is absorbed for nearly eighty years. The Willis 197 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:48,240 Speaker 1: Show Bar sits in the historic cast corridor. A neon 198 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:51,320 Speaker 1: sign hanging above the industrial door invites you in to 199 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:54,720 Speaker 1: what is not immediately obvious, but if you sold drawn 200 00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:57,439 Speaker 1: and passed through the velvety curtains that separate the entrance 201 00:11:57,440 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 1: from the rest of the lounge, it is to step 202 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:03,040 Speaker 1: back in time. You lay your eyes, adjust to the warm, 203 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:06,640 Speaker 1: dim lighting and flickering candles. The original Willis opened in 204 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:09,120 Speaker 1: nineteen forty nine and for thirty years was a music 205 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:12,400 Speaker 1: spot in burlesque Joint. It closed, like so many other 206 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:12,920 Speaker 1: venues in. 207 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:14,600 Speaker 2: The late nineteen seventies. Well. 208 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:17,679 Speaker 1: This closure was due to rumors of prostitution running out 209 00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:20,480 Speaker 1: of the back, though in the early eighties the owners 210 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:23,200 Speaker 1: of a floral shop named Blossoms and Detroit bought it 211 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:26,800 Speaker 1: and kept it from demolition until twenty fifteen, when Sean Patrick, 212 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:31,200 Speaker 1: an entrepreneur visiting from La fell in Love. A full 213 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:33,640 Speaker 1: set of renovations were done, staying true to its original 214 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:37,320 Speaker 1: glamour and vibe, guided in loving obsessive detail by old 215 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:40,800 Speaker 1: photographs of the original Willis. There are no windows to 216 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:43,679 Speaker 1: interrupt the sound in the mood, leather seating and a 217 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 1: dark sleek wood all pointing you towards the bar, which 218 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:50,720 Speaker 1: is good because the stage is behind the bar. In 219 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:55,079 Speaker 1: true throwback style, you'll find DJs, Detroit's finest jazz, R 220 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:58,679 Speaker 1: and B soul, in motown bands and burlesque dancers on 221 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:01,599 Speaker 1: any given night of the week. It is a fantastic 222 00:13:01,679 --> 00:13:05,200 Speaker 1: listening room. The present owner spared no expense, took great 223 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 1: pains to have a venue with impeccable sound for the 224 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:11,080 Speaker 1: audience and the performer. And if you were lonely, there 225 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:13,520 Speaker 1: are people here. They are dressed up and they are 226 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:18,040 Speaker 1: quietly enjoying classic craft cocktails in the low lit intimacy 227 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:21,440 Speaker 1: of the room. In a city that loves music, you 228 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:25,520 Speaker 1: can catch touring acts and excellent local musicians. But it's busy, 229 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:28,280 Speaker 1: so call ahead to reserve a table and make sure 230 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 1: you look sharp. You don't want people knowing you from 231 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:42,560 Speaker 1: out of town. Detroit is massive, one hundred and thirty 232 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:45,400 Speaker 1: nine square miles the size of Manhattan, Boston and San 233 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:49,079 Speaker 1: Francisco combined, So you need a car. And because also 234 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:52,600 Speaker 1: it's MotorCity, people love to drive. Standing on these wide 235 00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:54,560 Speaker 1: streets at any point in the day, you are likely 236 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:58,720 Speaker 1: to see the stuff of motorhead dreams, souped up vintage Cadillacs, 237 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:03,439 Speaker 1: pristine Mustang's condition, linking continentals. It will only further your 238 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:06,800 Speaker 1: temporal disorientation. You can feel the flow of times past 239 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:09,960 Speaker 1: when folks end mass will cruise down to Heart Plaza 240 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:13,679 Speaker 1: to our no cover spot. An event actually a story 241 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:17,560 Speaker 1: about how a town can save its sound. This is 242 00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 1: Detroit Jazz Fest now usually for a no cover spot, 243 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:25,880 Speaker 1: it's a small room that doesn't bother with charging you five, ten, fifteen, 244 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:26,640 Speaker 1: twenty dollars. 245 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:28,440 Speaker 2: But this is something else. 246 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:32,400 Speaker 1: Jazz Fest is four NonStop days of the best jazz, 247 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:35,920 Speaker 1: blues and soul music on Labor Day weekend. It is 248 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:38,400 Speaker 1: in fact the largest free jazz festival in the world 249 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:42,480 Speaker 1: and resolutely, unabashedly jazz, making it the best no cover 250 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:46,000 Speaker 1: spot in Detroit. You won't catch the algorithm's favorite pop 251 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,000 Speaker 1: star of the week trying to sneak in here by 252 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:52,040 Speaker 1: covering something of Frank Sinatra. It is a celebration of 253 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:55,360 Speaker 1: the current practitioners of the art and attracts three hundred 254 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:59,520 Speaker 1: and fifty thousand of the truest jazz enthusiasts. 255 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:01,080 Speaker 2: From around the world every year. 256 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:06,360 Speaker 1: The festus both provincial and international, celebrating Motor City based 257 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:11,120 Speaker 1: artisans that continually expand Detroit jazz style, who also happened 258 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:14,880 Speaker 1: to be international heroes like Lewis Haynes, Regina Carter, and 259 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:17,520 Speaker 1: Kenny Garrett. In its forty year run, it was once 260 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:20,760 Speaker 1: the Montro Detroit Jazz Festival. It was left for dead 261 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:23,160 Speaker 1: with the rest of Detroit when the economic free fall 262 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:29,400 Speaker 1: of the early aughts happened in steps Gretchen Vlad, jazz angel, philanthropist, 263 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: the heiress to the Cardhart Empire, fittingly a company known 264 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:37,000 Speaker 1: for making the trusted gear of the working people. She 265 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:40,560 Speaker 1: took over, underwrote most of it, brought the sponsors back, 266 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:43,760 Speaker 1: and was adamant it should be free, because she understood 267 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:46,320 Speaker 1: that there was something to lose the way we almost 268 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:50,800 Speaker 1: lost Detroit. If we as a nation lose jazz, the 269 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:55,440 Speaker 1: light of this genre, this great American gift to the world, 270 00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:59,240 Speaker 1: Wayne's without the oxygen of attention. So give people easy 271 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:10,960 Speaker 1: access to it and make the vessel no cover. Detroit 272 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:15,320 Speaker 1: born musician Alice Cooper once described it as such, if 273 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:17,840 Speaker 1: you go to Los Angeles, if people are going to 274 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:20,040 Speaker 1: see the Stooges or Alice Cooper, they go to work, 275 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:23,320 Speaker 1: they go home, they put on their black leather jackets, 276 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:25,760 Speaker 1: grease their hair, wet their torn Levi's, and go to 277 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:29,280 Speaker 1: the show. In Detroit, they just come from work and 278 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:31,880 Speaker 1: they're already in their black leather jackets and everything else. 279 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:36,000 Speaker 1: Iggy Pop, MC five, Alice Cooper, Rare, Earth, Bob Seeger 280 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:39,840 Speaker 1: All Detroit. The iconic Cream magazine started here as well. 281 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:43,440 Speaker 1: Covering this scene, Lester Bangs, one of the world's best 282 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:47,520 Speaker 1: rock and roll music writers, was profiling the wild, outrageousness 283 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:52,040 Speaker 1: of the characters, electrifying Detroit rock, giving these local stars 284 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: a national name. The city was rough and ready, and 285 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:59,480 Speaker 1: it had a soundtrack to match. Garage rock followed suit 286 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:02,440 Speaker 1: launch the careers of hometown heroes like the White Stripes, 287 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:05,920 Speaker 1: the Gorris and Sponge. The list goes on and on. 288 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:09,240 Speaker 1: Detroit Rock City. It's not just a nickname. It's a 289 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:13,639 Speaker 1: town built around melting faces for generations. Now now there 290 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:16,159 Speaker 1: are multiple ways to immerse yourself in the sonic lineage 291 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:18,840 Speaker 1: and get your face melted while you're in Detroit. Cliff 292 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:21,280 Speaker 1: notes version I could send you to the ornate and 293 00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:25,040 Speaker 1: gorgeously restored Fillmore Theater to see big acts like Lil Wayne, 294 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:28,280 Speaker 1: seven Dust or the Flaming Lips. I could also direct 295 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:31,000 Speaker 1: you to the gothic rock haven of the Masonic Temple, 296 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:34,440 Speaker 1: where the Stones and Grace, Jones and Rodriguez rocked out. 297 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:37,919 Speaker 1: But we have yet another shining example of how people 298 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:41,720 Speaker 1: from Detroit love Detroit and passionately spend their time and 299 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:45,320 Speaker 1: money helping to bring it back from the brink. Detroit 300 00:17:45,359 --> 00:17:47,920 Speaker 1: local mister Jack White of the White Stripes is one 301 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:51,119 Speaker 1: such individual. He created third Man Records in two thousand 302 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:54,320 Speaker 1: and one as a passion project. He was just trying 303 00:17:54,359 --> 00:17:57,879 Speaker 1: to release White Stripe records on vinyl. This action evolved 304 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:00,320 Speaker 1: into a small empire, a retail records store in the 305 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:03,639 Speaker 1: front and a vinyl pressing plant in the back. Inspired 306 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:06,399 Speaker 1: by the car factories he grew up around. It is 307 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:09,680 Speaker 1: a candy land for the music junkie. Third Man specializes 308 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:13,000 Speaker 1: in bringing back new releases of classic Detroit records and more, 309 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:16,760 Speaker 1: while also pressing records for today's budding and established artists. 310 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:19,600 Speaker 1: Live shows that third Man take place in the Blue 311 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:22,760 Speaker 1: Room in their intimate, hard hitting shows where sets are 312 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:26,399 Speaker 1: recorded straight to vinyl. There's no place like it. It 313 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:29,080 Speaker 1: is the ultimate stop in rock city to get your 314 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:33,240 Speaker 1: face melted. And third Man just announced a partnership with 315 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:36,280 Speaker 1: Blue Note Records to release the three thirteen series, a 316 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:39,120 Speaker 1: collection of music either Blue Note artists from Detroit made 317 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,640 Speaker 1: or recorded here, handpicked by Blue Note President and Detroit 318 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:46,760 Speaker 1: native Dawn was in an age where music and feel 319 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:50,080 Speaker 1: like an invisible commodity. There is something so right about 320 00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:53,560 Speaker 1: holding in your hand the sweet analog joy of waves 321 00:18:53,640 --> 00:19:11,600 Speaker 1: encased in wax. There are nights when you might find 322 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:14,600 Speaker 1: yourself in an underground club in Berlin at two am. 323 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:18,120 Speaker 1: The walls, the very air itself, vibrating and pulsating from 324 00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:22,359 Speaker 1: enormous speakers wedged into the seams of concrete. Thumping music 325 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:25,280 Speaker 1: sucks you into seismic trance with the sea of other humans, 326 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:29,360 Speaker 1: all thanks to the hypnotic power of techno. Now, if 327 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:31,400 Speaker 1: you say the word techno to most folks, you may 328 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:35,920 Speaker 1: automatically associated with Europe and house music, and well, you're right, 329 00:19:36,119 --> 00:19:39,679 Speaker 1: but you're also wrong. Techno, as we know it was 330 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:43,479 Speaker 1: a name and a sound born in you guessed it, 331 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:52,440 Speaker 1: the warehouses and underground music scene of Detroit. The Cork Synthesizer, 332 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:55,400 Speaker 1: the Mini mook in the tr nine oh nine all 333 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:59,200 Speaker 1: entered electronic dance music chat in Detroit in the early 334 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:02,560 Speaker 1: to mid nighteteen teen eighties thanks to the Belleville III. 335 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:07,680 Speaker 1: Dwan Atkins, Derek May, and Kevin Saunderson were bored by 336 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:10,840 Speaker 1: motown and rock and needed a new sound for their town, 337 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:15,520 Speaker 1: for their time and their experience. They began experimenting with 338 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:20,480 Speaker 1: electronic and synthetic soundscapes, making something edgier, more cool, and 339 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:25,160 Speaker 1: detached that happened to be utterly danceable. As Derek May 340 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:29,600 Speaker 1: famously described this, hepnotic dance blend of styles. As George 341 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:32,480 Speaker 1: Clinton in Kraftwork got stuck in an elevator with a 342 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:37,199 Speaker 1: synthesizer for the late nineteen eighties, it had escaped via tape, 343 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:41,000 Speaker 1: the warehouse incubators to Detroit had been unleashed on the 344 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:44,760 Speaker 1: global rave and dance scene. The whole world of electronic 345 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:48,919 Speaker 1: music would be looking to Detroit. You can do the 346 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:52,000 Speaker 1: same by getting your booty to Movement Fest. It's an 347 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,800 Speaker 1: annual festival, a Memorial Day weekend that's been running since 348 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:57,720 Speaker 1: two thousand and six. The whole city turns out for 349 00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:01,280 Speaker 1: this distinctly Detroit event, making it perfect event to build 350 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:04,760 Speaker 1: your calendar around. It is a dance party, and it 351 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:08,040 Speaker 1: is all love. It is a celebration of techno in 352 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:12,800 Speaker 1: Techno's hometown, in the deep utopian sci fi afro futuristic 353 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:16,280 Speaker 1: ideals that imbue the music. There are six stages, each 354 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:18,760 Speaker 1: with their own flavor and character. And while there is 355 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:22,760 Speaker 1: the ticket experience, there are also the after parties, the 356 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:26,119 Speaker 1: house parties, and the warehouse parties. That keep going until 357 00:21:26,119 --> 00:21:37,720 Speaker 1: the sun comes up. Sometime in twenty eighteen, my TV 358 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:41,639 Speaker 1: finally bloomed into life the most beautiful shot and carefully 359 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:46,119 Speaker 1: framed face of Aretha Franklin standing at the podium of 360 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:50,600 Speaker 1: the New Missionary Baptist Church in Watts It filled my screen, 361 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:55,000 Speaker 1: It filled the living room amazing grace. Aretha's best and 362 00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:58,560 Speaker 1: biggest selling live gospel album of all time had been 363 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:00,720 Speaker 1: shot on film over the course of two days by 364 00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:03,439 Speaker 1: the now feigned but at the time and up and 365 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:08,080 Speaker 1: coming director Sidney Pollock, and somehow it was only just 366 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:11,320 Speaker 1: now seeing the light of day. The heat of the 367 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:13,840 Speaker 1: room in the church is palpable. The shot of her 368 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:17,159 Speaker 1: face beautiful, glistening with sweat, poised as if at the 369 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:21,440 Speaker 1: start of a race, slightly shy, giving her this otherworldly 370 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:22,680 Speaker 1: glow against. 371 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:23,240 Speaker 2: The white back trot. 372 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:26,639 Speaker 1: And then she opens her mouth, and what happens next 373 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:28,040 Speaker 1: is hard to say. 374 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:29,320 Speaker 2: Time stopped. 375 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:33,440 Speaker 1: I was transported from my couch into the pews next 376 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:37,160 Speaker 1: to Mick Jagger, our mouths open in disbelief with everyone else, 377 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:41,359 Speaker 1: as her staggering, soul quaking voice rose to sing, what 378 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:45,040 Speaker 1: a friend we have in Jesus. The film is ninety 379 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:47,840 Speaker 1: minutes that will absolutely rock you. It will make you 380 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:51,159 Speaker 1: shiver and weep. It will make you happy that somehow 381 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:54,280 Speaker 1: your atoms made their way to planet Earth and coalesced 382 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:58,919 Speaker 1: into a sentient being with ears to imbibe this amazing grace. 383 00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:02,560 Speaker 2: Indeed, and that is. 384 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:05,359 Speaker 1: Why I would propose that for the first time, the 385 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:08,760 Speaker 1: Vatican of a city is a person, and that person 386 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:11,480 Speaker 1: is Detroit's own daughter and music icon. 387 00:23:11,359 --> 00:23:12,280 Speaker 2: Of Wretha Franklin. 388 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:16,199 Speaker 1: And as luck would have it, a venue named in 389 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:18,840 Speaker 1: her honor is actually ranked as one of the one 390 00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:22,520 Speaker 1: hundred best outdoor venues in the world, and that is 391 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:26,600 Speaker 1: Zaretha Franklin Amphitheater on the banks of the Detroit River. 392 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:31,399 Speaker 1: You can wave at Canada in this six thousand person 393 00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:37,600 Speaker 1: open air, recently renovated waterfront venue. This premier summer concert 394 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:40,119 Speaker 1: venue has been in business since nineteen eighty four and 395 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:43,200 Speaker 1: is brought in over one hundred and fifty thousand visitors 396 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:45,760 Speaker 1: a year. But that's not counting all the folks who, 397 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:49,000 Speaker 1: in long tradition set up lawn chairs outside the venue 398 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:51,240 Speaker 1: and get their grill and drink on with an earshot, 399 00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:54,879 Speaker 1: or the boats that pull up for some water based tailgating. 400 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:58,080 Speaker 1: The performers have their backs to the water as the 401 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:01,800 Speaker 1: night descends. It is a whole scene in so very Detroit. 402 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:04,680 Speaker 1: The list of past performers will make your eyes water, 403 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:09,320 Speaker 1: and it hosts a wildly diverse and welcoming selection of genres, 404 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:14,000 Speaker 1: including a listers like Aretha herself, Eric Abadou, Diana Ross, 405 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:18,680 Speaker 1: the Temptations, Michael McDonald, George Clinton, Stevie Wonder. I could 406 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:21,280 Speaker 1: go on, but instead I'll just tell you to go 407 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:33,960 Speaker 1: on Graham Boulevard past GM's new electric vehicle factory. There 408 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:37,560 Speaker 1: is an unassuming red brick box of a building. There's 409 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:40,400 Speaker 1: no sign. You would only go there if you knew 410 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:42,800 Speaker 1: what you were looking for. This gem is so hidden, 411 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:45,040 Speaker 1: I'm hoping I'm not going to piss anyone off by 412 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:48,080 Speaker 1: mentioning it. But there is a secret museum hidden there 413 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:51,520 Speaker 1: that is a mecca for the true devotees of techno. 414 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,399 Speaker 1: Exhibit three thousand is located on the first floor of 415 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:59,160 Speaker 1: the headquarters of Record Label and collective Underground Resistance. Exhibit 416 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:01,760 Speaker 1: three thousand is a a small gallery that documents the 417 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:05,159 Speaker 1: birth and rise of techno in Detroit in careful and 418 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 1: loving detail. There is darkness deepness and soulfulness woven into 419 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:14,639 Speaker 1: the computer generated beats that was distinctly of Detroit's musical 420 00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:18,479 Speaker 1: DNA in the nineteen eighties. Electronic music fans are genre 421 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:24,040 Speaker 1: obsessive impride themselves on tracing the lineage of each subgenre. However, 422 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:27,920 Speaker 1: the recently open Museum of Modern Electronic Music in Frankfurt, 423 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:31,680 Speaker 1: Germany called itself the first techno museum in the world, 424 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:34,640 Speaker 1: which is surprising as Exhibit three thousand has been opened 425 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:38,520 Speaker 1: since two thousand and two. The minimization of Detroit's role 426 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:41,480 Speaker 1: and lack of credit given to the city's musical pioneers 427 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:46,560 Speaker 1: sent an outcry throughout the international electronic music community. A 428 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:48,639 Speaker 1: lot of people had no idea that the founders of 429 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:51,239 Speaker 1: this genre are black, and it goes back to the 430 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:53,760 Speaker 1: reason you are creating the exhibit in the first place, 431 00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:56,960 Speaker 1: to make sure that this rich musical history is not 432 00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:01,399 Speaker 1: erased but celebrated accurately, and to make sure Detroit in 433 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:05,080 Speaker 1: the truth wasn't once again written off and out of 434 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:18,239 Speaker 1: history when Motown was exploding into pop culture imagination. The 435 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:20,760 Speaker 1: importance of the business of this record label and the 436 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:24,560 Speaker 1: artists it represented, the Black Americans, is hard to quantify. 437 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:29,520 Speaker 1: It meant something. In a time when segregation divided daily life, 438 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:32,800 Speaker 1: a black man, Barry Gordy, started a black owned music 439 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:37,399 Speaker 1: label that featured predominantly black artists, rocketing a style of 440 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:40,000 Speaker 1: music drenched in blackness to the top of the charts. 441 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:45,240 Speaker 1: It was indescribably important. The music of Motown reflected hope 442 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:48,840 Speaker 1: in the darkness of times, and that vibe resonated and 443 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:52,280 Speaker 1: transcended racial and social boundaries that had felt all but 444 00:26:52,359 --> 00:26:56,280 Speaker 1: written in stone. It is and was a gift to America. 445 00:26:57,280 --> 00:26:59,879 Speaker 1: So this time to prep for your trip, I'm not 446 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:02,600 Speaker 1: going to give you content to consume or a book 447 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:05,080 Speaker 1: to read. I'm telling you to get to Detroit and 448 00:27:05,119 --> 00:27:08,840 Speaker 1: before or after that first stop, head to Hitsville, USA 449 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:13,360 Speaker 1: itself also known as the Motown Museum. It just underwent 450 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:16,400 Speaker 1: the multimillion dollar expansion. And when you visit, you are 451 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:20,360 Speaker 1: going to the original headquarters of Motown, into the original studio, 452 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:24,479 Speaker 1: a where the songwriters, producers, musicians, and vocalists piled in 453 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:28,320 Speaker 1: together to work on a dream of being a hit machine. 454 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:31,040 Speaker 1: It's important to know that dreams do come true. And 455 00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:34,639 Speaker 1: Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, the Temptations, and Marvin Gay are 456 00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:38,040 Speaker 1: a few legacies to attest to that you never know 457 00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:40,080 Speaker 1: some of that good energy might. 458 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:40,840 Speaker 2: Just rub off on you. 459 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,119 Speaker 1: In exhibit three thousand, there is a painting on the 460 00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:55,560 Speaker 1: wall named Detroit Babylon by local artist ron Zacren. 461 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:58,120 Speaker 2: It looks as if it were a relic. 462 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:01,200 Speaker 1: Pulled from the wreckage of some ancient, un known technocracy. 463 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:05,119 Speaker 1: A gray hued human cyborg stands in the foreground. In 464 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:07,879 Speaker 1: the distance, a vast cities stretches out in the shadows 465 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:11,639 Speaker 1: of two nuclear reactors. Only this time, the nuclear reactors 466 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:14,600 Speaker 1: are powered by a pair of rollin eto eights, an 467 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:18,480 Speaker 1: homage to the partial meltdown where we almost lost Detroit. However, 468 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:21,679 Speaker 1: in this version, the music is in control. It is 469 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:24,760 Speaker 1: the music that keeps the lights on and sends electricity 470 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:27,360 Speaker 1: and heat to the core, one that does not destroy 471 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:31,359 Speaker 1: or creates. The Detroit of today is bruised, but not broken. 472 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,960 Speaker 1: It has problems. It has been nearly redlined into oblivion, 473 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:38,160 Speaker 1: and rampant discrimination in the real estate and banking industries 474 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:40,680 Speaker 1: has made it literally impossible for local people to get 475 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:43,120 Speaker 1: loans to buy houses and open businesses. 476 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:44,600 Speaker 2: But there are people like. 477 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:47,560 Speaker 1: The Greening of Detroit who are turning abandoned housing lots 478 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:50,400 Speaker 1: into gardens. There are good people fighting to change with 479 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:52,680 Speaker 1: the culture of housing and lending so that all the 480 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:54,800 Speaker 1: local people can be a part of the future of 481 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:58,280 Speaker 1: this city. Though the population declined, people are here and 482 00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:01,320 Speaker 1: more are coming. There are our better housing options for 483 00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:04,320 Speaker 1: cheaper Here. You can own a home. There's a stable 484 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:06,479 Speaker 1: mayor who is trying to address the problems. You can 485 00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:09,720 Speaker 1: take a risk, you can hustle harder. Detroit is a 486 00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:12,440 Speaker 1: city of creators, and to top it off, Detroit is 487 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:16,000 Speaker 1: as fun as hell. The nightlife and the music is amazing. 488 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:20,520 Speaker 1: In this post pandemic era, we are seeing venues vanished 489 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:22,760 Speaker 1: like meteorites in the sky. Where the arts are so 490 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:25,720 Speaker 1: anemically supported by our own government, we stand to lose 491 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:29,040 Speaker 1: so much. The essence of music is the rawness of 492 00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:32,560 Speaker 1: humanity rubbing against itself, the joy of the pain and 493 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:36,680 Speaker 1: struggle expressed in the most ancient of ways. Music venues 494 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:40,960 Speaker 1: are the grounding locations of this friction. They are historical 495 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:44,360 Speaker 1: and cultural sites whose value goes way beyond the simplicity 496 00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:48,560 Speaker 1: of commerce. When these venues fold and are paved for 497 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:52,120 Speaker 1: atm chiosks and high rise buildings, no one can afford 498 00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:57,960 Speaker 1: to live in We anesthetize our experience. We almost lose Detroit, 499 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:07,080 Speaker 1: We almost lose our soulf. Else and one more thing. 500 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:10,040 Speaker 1: It's a little funny how the past can talk to 501 00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:15,160 Speaker 1: the future. Let me try my Latin here speramus meliora 502 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:21,560 Speaker 1: resurgent snibus. It translates into we hope for better things. 503 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:25,800 Speaker 1: It shall arise from the ashes. That's not a quote 504 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:28,920 Speaker 1: I stole from a Starbucks cup. This is the Latin 505 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:34,040 Speaker 1: motto for Detroit, written in eighteen o five. After a 506 00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:37,560 Speaker 1: fire swept through and decimated the city that year, a 507 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,680 Speaker 1: bucket brigade of six hundred residents valiantly tried to save 508 00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:44,080 Speaker 1: their own town, but failed. Every building was leveled to 509 00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:47,320 Speaker 1: smoldering ash, and the city is now once again rising 510 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:50,400 Speaker 1: from the ashes, and those that remain sustained the culture 511 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:52,680 Speaker 1: in a way only a lifetime in the trenches can do. 512 00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:55,720 Speaker 1: There's a little grocery store and cafe run by a 513 00:30:55,720 --> 00:31:00,160 Speaker 1: long time Detroit native DJ and storyteller and DeLisi. There's 514 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:02,200 Speaker 1: one of the many who recently took over the Sprout House, 515 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:04,640 Speaker 1: a natural food market and cafe in Detroit that's been 516 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:08,240 Speaker 1: running for forty years. Selling food in Detroit is practically 517 00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:12,680 Speaker 1: punk rock activism. Detroit is a food desert, sorry, a 518 00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:15,960 Speaker 1: food apartheid, as I was recently corrected. A desert would 519 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:19,120 Speaker 1: imply that this is a naturally occurring phenomena. But this 520 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:22,640 Speaker 1: issue is entirely man made. Because the banks and insurers 521 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:25,360 Speaker 1: won't lend in Detroit. There are hardly any grocery stores 522 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:28,520 Speaker 1: in a city of seven hundred thousand. An entire generation 523 00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:31,280 Speaker 1: of kids think you can buy dinner at the gas station. 524 00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:35,400 Speaker 1: It's yet another way we've almost lost Detroit and been 525 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:39,240 Speaker 1: doing so ourselves. Rising from the Ashes is not just 526 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:42,080 Speaker 1: about the music. It's about the people keeping the shelves 527 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:45,120 Speaker 1: stalked in hot plates, waiting. And if we're waiting for 528 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:47,440 Speaker 1: the last person in Detroit to turn out the lights, 529 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:50,479 Speaker 1: I bet against every odd that we'll be waiting for 530 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:51,280 Speaker 1: a long time. 531 00:31:57,800 --> 00:31:58,560 Speaker 2: Well we did it. 532 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:03,000 Speaker 1: Episode five, Season two, Detroit, Michigan. Thank you to everyone 533 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:05,320 Speaker 1: who has followed this show, and an extra special thanks 534 00:32:05,320 --> 00:32:08,080 Speaker 1: to those that have reviewed it. The algorithm gods are 535 00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:11,600 Speaker 1: watching this little show about big sounds, and every follow 536 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:14,920 Speaker 1: and review gets us to another town. Dm me if 537 00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:17,760 Speaker 1: you have any questions or further suggestions. 538 00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:19,800 Speaker 2: Let me know how we're doing. What you want to hear. 539 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:21,800 Speaker 1: You can hit me up on Instagram at Will Daily 540 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:25,000 Speaker 1: Official or just search Will Daily, d Ai, l e 541 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:28,880 Speaker 1: Y anywhere on your favorite platforms. Sound of Our Town 542 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:31,720 Speaker 1: is a production of Double Elvis and iHeartRadio. You can 543 00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:33,640 Speaker 1: also hit us up on ig at Double Elvis and 544 00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:37,920 Speaker 1: Twitter at Double Elvis FM. The show is executively produced 545 00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:41,120 Speaker 1: by Jake Brennan and Brady Sadler for Double Elvis Production 546 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:44,240 Speaker 1: assistants by Matt Bowden. The show is created, written, hosted, 547 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:47,800 Speaker 1: and scored by me Will Daily. This episode's head writer 548 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:52,280 Speaker 1: is Samantha Ferrell. Remember that name and a special thank 549 00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:55,920 Speaker 1: you to and Delasi catch your longtime show on wdet 550 00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:59,480 Speaker 1: and Detroit on the weekends from eleven to two and 551 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:04,840 Speaker 1: Alan Penemin City Planner, Urbanist, and Man about Town. Music 552 00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:07,480 Speaker 1: for this episode was composed and performed by me Will Daily. 553 00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:10,280 Speaker 1: You can check out my music on Spotify, Apple Bandcamp, 554 00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:14,000 Speaker 1: or wherever you get sonics. You can also go to 555 00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:15,240 Speaker 1: Will Daily dot com. 556 00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:17,040 Speaker 2: We're not even halfway through this season. 557 00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:21,000 Speaker 1: We're off to the next Town episode six in two weeks. 558 00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:24,560 Speaker 1: I'll see you out there and thank you for your ears,