Doing anything on September 12? Try Nerd Nite, a TEDx for the bar set. Growing in popularity nationwide, the event mixes presentations on topics like knifemaking and the origin of writing with your favorite drinks. Concentrate gets the skinny on this blend of brains and fun.
When it comes to thinking on your feet, it's hard to top Spontaneous Art, the Ann Arbor performance trio getting national recognition for streetside antics. Catch the show clip and an interview with Ypsi blogger Mark Maynard here. And check out Concentrate's interview with the group here.
From June 6-9, Ann Arbor venues will be showing over 40 feature-length films culled from the world's major film festivals, many of which are making their North American or Michigan debut. Catch them at Michigan Theater, State Theater, University of Michigan's Angell Hall, and, for the first time, at the Detroit Film Theatre. Click here for more info.
There are vocations and there are avocations. For Joseph Zettelmaier it's clear which is which. By day the Milan, Mich. resident works in data entry. But on stage he's an award-winning playwright with 30 plays to his name. Concentrate's Tanya Muzumdar puts the spotlight on this theatrical wordsmith.
Omar Hashwi has always thought public performance and music platforms like Youtube were difficult to use and unfriendly to small bands and DJs looking to break out. That's when the University of Michigan student decided to build a better music platform, Stamp.fm. "We want to make sure every artist can be heard," says Omar Hashwi, founder & president of Stamp.fm. Hashwi is also a local DJ and vice president of the student body at the University of Michigan. "We want this to be a well-known platform where people go to discover new music and artists go to kickstart their careers." The 5-month-old start-up provides a platform for what it calls online music tournaments. Every couple of weeks, Stamp.fm asks artists to audition in places with dynamic music scenes, like Ann Arbor and Detroit. The auditioning acts then square off in a battle-of-the-bands-like contest where a champion of that city's music scene is announced. The Ann Arbor-based start-up and its team of a few dozen contributors has already held one of these competitions in Ann Arbor and is looking to expand into other nearby markets, such as Detroit and Chicago. Source: Omar Hashwi, founder & president of Stamp.fm Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
A new option for entertainment and relaxation is coming to S. Main with the Hail Hookah Lounge. Under development by hookah enthusiasts Bernard Arabo, John Saroki and Marius Essak, the 4,000 square foot lounge is slated to open in the former Firefly Club location in about six weeks. "When we would to go to the games during football season, we'd walk by it every day," Arabo says of the building. "We decided being between the stadium and campus, it was a good location." The partners are now working to renovate the space from floor to ceiling. Arabo says the lounge will be the only one of its kind in the area with up to 16 seating area and a television for each. "It's cozy and home-like," says Arabo. "You can just relax and hang out with your friends." Arabo, who also owns Wireless Toyz in Downtown Ann Arbor, hopes Hail Hookah will attract a diverse crowd, including students, business people, cigar smokers and more. The lounge will offer coffee and espresso, and employ between eight and ten workers. Source: Bernard Arabo, Hail Hookah Writer: Natalie Burg
Last month, A2 Ethics held their third annual Big Ethical Question Slam. Concentrate's Tanya Muzumdar talks with the winners about the community's questions, the team's answers and what strategies are involved when a competition asks you to tackle the weightiest of issues.
After 48 years of music history in Ann Arbor, The Ark acoustic music club has settled on a permanent abode. At the end of 2012, the non-profit purchased its 8,000 sq. ft. space at 316 S. Main St. The $2.05 million transaction was completed as a condominium purchase from building owner Dr. Reza Rahmani, according to Marianne James, The Ark's executive director. "Sixteen years ago, when we had a new lease with terms totaling 20 years, that seemed like a long time. But with only four years left on that, we really needed to focus on locking in the next phase of The Ark's future," James says. "And if we could do that in a permanent location, we felt that was the best option we could secure for The Ark." The Ark is embarking on a capital campaign with the intention of paying off its mortgage in the next 5-7 years. James says funds raised will also be put towards capital improvements such as updating the concessions area, and "we're looking at redesigning the bar at some point, probably redesigning and perhaps expanding the box office, and there will be a whole series of things we'll keep a wish list on." The venue has seven full-time and five part-time employees. Anywhere from 51-54,000 people attend over 300 folk and roots music performances hosted there each year. That attendance figure does not include concerts The Ark hosts elsewhere, such as the Ann Arbor Folk Festival in Hill Auditorium or those at the Michigan Theater and other places, says James. "I think we're also part of the downtown identity, and the fact that we get to be part of that into the future is not only great for The Ark, it's great for downtown Ann Arbor." Source: Marianne James, executive director of The Ark Writer: Tanya Muzumdar
The name kind of says it all. Then again, maybe it doesn't. Spontaneous Art is a trio of guerilla (and sometimes gorilla) performance artists who have dedicated themselves to making life in the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti region a little funkier, a little sillier, and. most importantly, a little less predictable.
There is little doubt that Davy Rothbart is an Ann Arbor original. As the founder of FOUND magazine, he has turned the written remnants of others into a springboard of creative opportunity. Books, movies, road tours, radio, and even an Off-Broadway musical are all part of the mix that is the FOUND empire. And now Rothbart is celebrating the magazine's 10th anniversary here in Ann Arbor.
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