National Ghost will celebrate the release of their self-titled debut at The Berkley Front at 3087 W. 12 Mile in Berkeley, MI.  Formed in 2006, this amalgamation of local talent  features the familiar vocals of Graham Strachan (Robb Roy).  Multi-instrumentalist Jamie Church, bassist Stew Preston, guitarist John Mabilia and percussionist Randy Nelson equally contribute to what Metro Times called, "...a stew that features exquisite harmonies and excellent songwriting as core ingredients. It's obvious after but one listen that the sum here is greater than the individual parts."

Additional performances of unusual boogie-piano rock by Sliver Spine.  Also apearing, Zach Roberts of Birdgang.  Finally, the whole party will be hosted by Emcee Rambo The Funny.

Click "read more" below for all pertinent links.

"The Christmas Gift" is the tenth anual Michigan Artists holiday party.  This year we want to help families in need and dedicate the gifts in the name of those who are no longer with us to help keep their memory alive.  With the economy in the state it's in, there will be many families in need of help over the holidays so we all need to reach out and help people survive the winter in Michigan.  We hope you will join us at the Token Lounge in Westland on December 20th at 9pm with special guest The Muggs, Hamonica Shah, Scott Austin and Mike Smith.  We will be giving gifts to artists too. The Hot Elf's will be present to cheer the audience and give gifts. Please come out and help us raise money for those in need.

Click the image to the left for details or click "read more" below for links.

Strap on your dancing shoes for the Sixth Annual Jingle Bell Jam, December 6^th, at the Manistee Eagles Aerie 1675, 55 Division St. in Manistee. Doors open at 6 and the live entertainment starts at 7:00. Four local acts will rock the halls in coordination with the Holiday Hope Team, FiveCap, WMTE, and others. All proceeds from the concert will benefit the Toys for Tots / Gifts for Teens program in Manistee County. Admission to the concert is one new, unwrapped toy or cash donation. All ages are welcome. The Eagles are providing food, snacks, and a cash bar for the over-21 guests. 

Click "read more" below for the comple line-up.

You know that kid who keeps to himself, wears dark sunglasses and a trenchcoat and walks laps around your neighborhood with his head down and his headphones up?  You know, the kid who didn't make any friends in high school because he was ostracized for, I don't know, his strange sense of humor or his funny-shaped ears?  He's the same kid the coach/history teacher often used as the butt of his jokes so he could show off in front of the cheerleaders to fulfill some sad, mid-life crisis that will ultimately end in divorce or jail time. Yeah, well that kid and some other lost souls in Hazel Park got together to form a band called INTROVERT and added their link to our Original Artists / Hardcore & Metal category.  You see, all that teasing, derision and dismissiveness resulted in a profound need to express themselves - mostly at your expense.  So while you're busy planning your best impersonation of life on t.v.,  know that some unassuming introvert out there seriously wants to fuck that up for you.  Introvert's EP, The Leptotene Stage is now available on MySpace.  Click "read more" for the links. 

If you've been living in a cave lately, at least as far as the virtual local music scene is concerned (a cave in itself for sure - one I've been meaning to escape for over a decade), you may have missed one of, if not THE the most active local music review websites happening out there. I'm speaking, of course, of DR2 or Detroit Rock Review. Mark & Don have been churning out CD reviews, live reviews and local music news items over the past year. There's ta on of pictures of live shows too.  If you have any interest in local music and have a MySpace account or a DetroitCity.com account, chances are you've already read at least one of their reviews. So go check 'em out if you haven't already and give 'em their props.  www.detroitrockreview.com

On his official website, David Nefesh says he's been compared to James Taylor and Michael Stipe - and for good reason; his voice is nearly the perfect mixture of those two distinctive timbres (ed: why is timbre pronounced tamber?), ripe with emotion and sensitivity.  But he's written over 100 of his own songs, released two CD's, the last of which, 2006's "Pureheart", was nominated for a Detroit Music Award, and he has another due to be released in 2009.  He's performed around the midwest and Canada and his music has been heard on the radio from North America to Eastern Europe.  So David Nefesh is well-seasoned and ready to deliver songs of love, loss, joy and transformation - that is, if you're ready to admit that's what you really need. 

Oh, and he's also our latest submission to the Original Artists / Singer-Songwriter category.   Welcome, David.

Click "read more" for the links.

Royal  Oak: Beloved local bass player Bill Koggenhop passed away last June after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. 

Bill packed an enormous amount of music into his 55 years, and touched an extraordinary number of lives. Many of Bill’s friends across multiple musical genres are gathering on Tuesday November 11, 7:00 pm, at Memphis Smoke. 100 S. Main in Royal Oak, to honor his legacy with what promises to be one huge and juicy evening of Reggae, Blues, Latin and Jazz, topped off by a whale of a jam session with some of the region’s finest players. Bands and soloists thus far include Immunity, Bugs Beddow Band, Lynn LaPlante Latin Jazz Band, GEQ, Mikhal Caldwell, Kerry Lundquist and Chery Strubel.

Click "read more" below.

Detroit, MI: The world has gone mad, most agree. The burning question is…where are the musical voices of protest today? Where are the songs like those that have unified past generations and inspired people to create meaningful change? Behold one such notable new effort, Workin’ for the Man, from Nadir’s Distorted Soul.  All on its own, this fiery funk record just may launch a new musical genre---political outrage you can totally dance to! Don’t miss the fun and funky Workin’ for the Man CD Release Party, 9:00 pm Saturday, November 15 at the Jazz Café, inside the historic Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, 350 Madison Ave. in Detroit.  $10 cover includes a copy of Workin’ for the Man.  Click "read more" below for more information.