Marc Winter - solo/acoustic show at My Dad's Place Bar (and Grill)

My friend Marc has been featured on the blog before, along with his band Landstalker. Last week I went to another show of his, but this time it was just him, acoustic. I didn't know exactly what to expect, since I only knew him as a bass player -- and it turns out that's what he did. I've never seen an acoustic bass as the only instrument in a show, but along with his pedal and a jerry-rigged mic, he rocked the bar for 45 minutes. Here are some of the shots:

On the second to last song, he broke a string, so the set had to be completed with a borrowed bass from one of the touring bands. I laughed because that is basically the bass he used in high school when we first met. 

Anyway, I did this without a speedlite, which was a terrible idea. I don't like to use a flash at all, but I need to learn that it is the best thing sometimes, since I need to capture movement. I'll work on that. Comments are always appreciated.

APBA Post Two -- Non-Unlimited Boats

Contrary to yesterday's work, these photos are all taken before the final race that was featured. With categories like "vintage," "light," and other words I can't remember, these photos feature the smaller boats, as well as one of a turbine since I did have a cold-pit pass.

This guy welcomed me right off the bat. 

This is what powers the unlimited powerboats.

They sure are!

Got a guy in a helicopter taking a picture of me. Or, more likely, the boat I was next to.

That concludes my adventure to the APBA Gold Cup Race. It was a great time, but it was also swelteringly hot, so maybe no more grandstands during a heat wave for a while.

APBA Gold Cup - Detroit

When I was growing up, we called it Thunderfest. Apparently in the twenty years or so since I last attended, the turbines got quiet and the race took on a more appropriate name. None the less, the weekend before last was an amazing display of powerboating along the Detroit River. The pictures are divided into two categories and posts -- this one features the "unlimited" powerboats, powered by turbines and racing for the cup. A second post coming tomorrow will have the smaller "vintage" style of boats, which also made for some great photos. Anyway, here we go:

I had a great view of this tight second turn, known as "the Roostertail" since it is right in front of the restaurant. My father watched from there with his wife, while I was in the grandstands with my father-in-law.

Behind these two is the Detroit Yacht Club on Belle Isle. They are a huge sponsor of the race, and you can see their logo on every racer.

Here you can see the damage that the Graham boat took early on.

Oh Boy Oberto was predicted to win, but a lane violation gave a one lap penalty, and since it is only a five lap race, making that up is nearly impossible.

Landstalker

On Monday the 20th, I had an opportunity to head to a little bar next to the remains of Old Tiger Stadium called The Corktown Tavern. A friend of mine from high school, Marc, told me it would be more than acceptable if I brought my camera. So, in the unbearable heat of the second floor, I captured some pictures. Here's some shots of his band, Landstalker.

Drummers are a difficult capture when the stage is this small.

I had a great time! If you want more info on the band, please check them out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LandstalkerMusic. I am always making an effort to get out to more shows, but this is the first one I was able to bring my camera to since Dragon Wagon. I'll keep using the tag and bring along more soon.

-Frank

Las Vegas!

On a recent weekend, my wife and I headed to Las Vegas with a few other couples. Everyone on the trip had been before, aside from myself, and I was astounded at the sheer volume of invented places -- made to be pleasing to the eye and inspire the further spending of money. I'd never experienced such luxury, and it took me a little time to stop asking why such things existed and just accept that they did. So, I took some pictures.

Waterfalls! They're everywhere! It gave me a lot of chances to practice blurring/sharpening the flow based on timing, but I'll just leave this here so that we don't have a post full of waterfalls.

One more won't hurt.

The Mirage! This is where we stayed. I had a beautiful view of the back of that weird dome.

The strip at night, taken from the dinner table.

First experience with Fried Chicken and Waffles at Hash House A Go-Go. Not the last.

Gondolas! Right in the middle of the mall shops within the Venetian! That's where I'll stay next time.

Anyway, we had a great time, and despite being a short weekend I was thoroughly introduced to the many things Vegas has to offer -- like not sleeping, and cover bands that are way too friendly. Fun!

-Frank

Embrace your generation, I guess.

No photos of my own in this post -- just a capture from Google Maps.

So, I was reading the most recent issue of Time, and the cover story is all about The Me Generation; those terrible Millennials and their narcissism. I realize that I was born in 85, but I just seethe with anger at the younger end of my generation -- so far from Gen X and so unaware of a world without advanced internet. Students posting selfies all day ruin my mood. Why? If it happened during your class, you'd be upset too. But, anyway, to my point -- I was reading about the attitude of the generation, and I noticed something interesting: they have the technology, but they don't use it to broaden their horizions. I definitely do... don't I?

Oh goodness, I've only ever looked at my own houses on Google Maps, or the layout of a mini-mall to figure out which one was the chinese place I was heading. Satellites all over the place, and I can't take the time to explore? To figure out which country is where? I mean, I know a lot, but there are just things that I don't know and have to search more to find out. I'm a lifelong learner, so naturally I finally went and searched the globe for something I'd never seen before. This is what I found.

(image courtesy of Google Maps)

Kotelny Island, part of New Siberia. This island is on the northern coast of Russia! It has everything on it! Go find something cool, guys.

I'll post some photos soon. We went somewhere and I'll tell you all about it.

All in the name of the family

I'm a third generation Frank, and the first of my line to not start a business with a storefront. Though he works in consulting now, my father owned an appliance store for 20 years in my hometown of Eastpointe, opening it when it was still called East Detroit, and rebuilding it from the ground up when the building burnt down following a lightning strike. Nowadays it is owned by a Physical Therapy company, but the building still stands, albeit redone in their style. I delivered appliances out of the back room of this storefront from the time I was 13 until I was in college.

My father is Jr. and I'm Frank III, but Frank Sr. has owned a variety of businesses in the City of Detroit. Among his first forays into business was dry cleaning. Here, on the east side at Hayes and Saratoga, stands the actual plant where cleaning was taken from a variety of drop-off centers throughout the Detroit area. 

My grandfather is 82 and decided to retire about six months ago -- to get him to that point, he had to become extremely ill. I know that he isn't missing the drive, but he loved the people. That's why he kept going at the Video Store, together with my grandmother, for as long as they could manage it. I spent a few summers working with him there while his wife underwent knee replacement surgery, and watched him interact with his remaining customers, knowing them all by name. I know it doesn't seem feasible that a couple in their late seventies would continue to work at an independent video store at Gratiot and Outer Drive, but they did until they couldn't.

The storefront you see here is actually a set of buildings, one of which was my father's first appliance store, and all of which once belonged to my Great-Grandfather Milo. Yes, he didn't have Frank for a name, but he started it all, and I can appreciate that. Milo dabbled in a lot of businesses in Detroit, being the first generation born out of Italy, but I recently found out about his first business of his own -- at the corner of Mack and Dubois, which I used to pass everyday on my way home.

It doesn't look like much, but this service station was once owned and operated by my Great Grandfather. You can miss it easily, but thanks to looking into everything I can learn about the family history inside the city limits, I'll never miss it again. As a matter of fact, I will go out of my way to pass by. 

I'm a schoolteacher, and I don't have much ambition to own a business or keep up a storefront. These buildings, though, are a part of my family history, and I will always remember them as being a part of me, and the reason that the generations led to me.