As one who grew up on the percussion-heavy and horn-infused musical acts from the 1980s, I have become a recent fan of Rubblebucket - a nine-piece polyrhythmic dance/rock band led by trumpeter Alex Toth and fronted by the seductively rich vocals of Kalmia Traver. Their sound reminds me of this wonderful period of music history where anything goes.

While some have said Rubblebucket is like Brooklyn and New Orleans’ musical love child, critics and fans are comparing them to the cool school ready sounds of the Talking Heads, Fela Kuti, Bjork and James Brown.

Rubblebucket will be performing at the amazing Park Theatre, which has come along way in its century-long history to once again solidify its reputation as the creative epicenter for the city of Holland. This region of the country, which gave birth to Mustard Plug’s horn heavy sound, has already proved they are a fan of a little sass with their brass.

If you want further proof to make the drive to Holland, Rubblebucket was recently named "Best New Band of 2008" by Seven Days Vermont. The title had previously been awarded to Grace Potter & The Nocturnals (2005, 2006) and Phish (2003, 2004).  Phish, people, PHISH! What are you waiting for?  Get to this show!



Admission: $6

Christmas is  more than seven weeks away, but the holiday markets are already beginning to pop up all over town.  Just last week, Eastown’s Gallery 154 celebrated 33 years of business with a holiday gallery gift show, and now one of the area's largest annual holiday markets takes place on Saturday.

The 14th annual Holiday Gift Show at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, one of the nation’s most significant sculpture and botanic experiences, is a great place to purchase one of a kind gift items at this one-day only event.

The gift show will bring more than 40 regional artisans including two featured vendors Inge-Glas of Germany (but now based in Minneapolis) and Pewabic Pottery, founded in Detroit.

Famous for its authentic heirloom glass ornaments, Inge-Glas was founded in 1597 by the Muller-Blech family. This clan of artisan glass blowers create mouth-blown and hand painted glassware Christmas ornaments that become treasured heirlooms.

Pewabic Pottery, founded in Detroit in 1903, will be showcasing its signature "Classic Collection" of wheel-thrown, stunning, one-of-a-kind pieces. Many are historic replicas based on the designs of founder Mary Chase Perry Stratton, while others are fresh new designs.


Members of the Gardens will receive a 10% discount on all items. All attendees will be entered to win an Inge-Glas ornament and a piece of Pewabic Pottery.



Admission: Free

For those to have been introduced to the local arts scene through ArtPrize, it may come as a surprise that this town loves a good Art Battle.  

If you want to be a part of a truly fun night where a walk on the wild side may result in some memorable experiences, this Art Battle is your event.

An art battle is a chance for a group of artists to compete for a cash prize while creating their artwork in front of a live audience.  Unlike UICA’s Live Coverage event, typically the artists who are competing are given a common theme or material to work with.

In the case of this event, they will be provided with a 4’x4’ sheet of fine grain plywood and a workspace. From there the fun begins as each artist will unlock within his or her creative mind the potentially winning combination to seize the top spot….and $500 cash.

The battle begins at 10 PM on November 7th and will continue until 1 AM. At 1:15 AM, paper votes will be collected from the audience and the winner will be announced at 1:45 AM.  The best part for the artist is that this battle is strictly limited to only 25 artists, making the competition truly fierce.

I would have been derelict in my duties if I didn't mention that visiting this area of town at night can still be an issue for some people. But for those who have eased down Godfrey Avenue SW for the great indie music scene at The Whiskey or fantastic art events of Destination 1111, they've learned that there really isn't anything to worry about.

Admission: $8 cover

It seems you cannot go anywhere these days without seeing a pink ribbon on a coffee mug to a Lacoste polo shirt -- the ubiquitous symbol of breast cancer awareness. And a typically dressed-in-black indie crowd in GR is looking to spotlight pink as it relates to raising some funds to Save 2nd Base.

This “pink with a wink” fundraiser will benefit the Kelly Rooney Foundation’s Save 2nd Base.  The foundation started the lighthearted awareness campaign after Rooney, mother of five children, was diagnosed with breast cancer. While Rooney lost her battle with cancer in 2006, her battle lives on through the support of creative individuals like Mea Leech of Billy’s Lounge, Jammie Award winner Karisa Wilson and Juliet Bennett Rylah, who will be performing her solo act of tunes on the piano.

At press time, a final list of performers had not been released, but this is a neighborhood watering hole doing something good this Sunday. So come on down for drink specials, free appetizers and great auction items from area restaurants where your contribution goes to a great cause.

Admission: $5 suggested donation

It is hard to imagine a more prolific incubator to foster white-hot talent in our state than Northern Michigan’s Interlochen Center for the Arts.  But you need only look at the roster of contemporary singer/songwriters like Norah Jones, Rufus Wainwright, and Josh Grobin to know that this place is fertile ground for nurturing some of the best new talent in the music world.

OK Go’s lead singer, Damian Kulash, met bassist Tim Nordwind at ICA over a game of pingpong and ended up naming their band after a popular phrase used by their art teacher: “OK….go!”

Since the release of their first major label studio album, they have enjoyed a level of street cred reserved for major creative bands like R.E.M. and Depeche Mode.  

It also didn't hurt that the wildly popular NPR show "The American Life" brought them on tour in 2002.  Ira Glass authored OK Go’s first bio saying that the band is like "living catnip," further adding that their sound is "part indie rock, part stadium rock, part straight up pop with the occasional whiff of Weezer or The Cars or Elliott Smith."

Their two most popular videos give a nod to the fun 1980s when music videos had a bit of a DIY and almost always featured a healthy dose of dancing. "A Million Ways" and the treadmill dance “Here We Go Again” have become international sensations. Here We Go Again won a  Grammy Award for Best Short Form Video and has been viewed by more than 48 million people, making it one of the most viewed videos of all time on YouTube’s Top Fifty.


The third studio album will not be released until January 2010, but lucky concert goers may be treated to a preview of these tracks as the band preps to reveal their "danciest, most anthemic, most heartbroken, and honest songs” with a heavy influences from Prince on the 2010 release.


Admission:  $10 / Ages 16+ Welcome

Membership has never been more crucial for a number of organizations than right now, but at the same time, members may be seeing their best value ever from their participation. .

Rapid Growth is proud to be a part of a unique collaboration that brings members from several organizations together to get the creative juices flowing.  If you are a member of the AIGA, AIA, Community Media Center, Design West Michigan, IDSA, and UICA, you will receive a special price for admission because of your support.

If the experts are correct, we are due for some great advances within our region whenever a diverse creative class made up of artists, architects, designers and media makers comes together. And this third installment of Nosh Night offers just the right venue for this cross-pollination.

This time the event will be held at Wealthy Theatre and will feature the West Michigan premier of Objectified – the second part of a three-part film “design trilogy” created by Gary Hustwit.  Hustwit’s first film was the award-winning look at the history of the font Helvetica.

Objectified will be of keen interest to our region because our relationship to design’s modern history. The film examines the complex relationship with our manufactured objects and explores these connections through interviews with the people who designed them. If you have bought any product within the last 60 years, you will want to see this film.

 


Admission: Members $7 (AIGA, AIA, Community Media Center, Design West Michigan, IDSA, and UICA)
Non-members $10