DETROIT ROCKS FILM UPDATE WITH RON PERRY!

Ron Perry in Ann Arbor (my photo)

Guess who came out to Ann Arbor last week to show me his completed footage for his DETROIT ROCKS documentary...that's right... my pal Ron Perry! Everybody but everybody is in this film!

What dedication Ron Perry has to devote so much time and energy to bring this Detroit Rock history to the world! I have seen many other rock docs about Detroit but this one is light years better and more in depth!

Ron brought 2 hours of edited film for me to see featuring  early Doo Wop groups, Detroit's first rock star Jack Scott, Nolan Strong (Mind Over Matter), the Larados, then gets rocking with Mitch Ryder/Detroit Wheels. Next up was The Rationals, some excellent history of the Grande Ballroom that the fans will love. He has a tight section on The MC5. I just loved it... I am in it a couple of times talking about Scott Morgan's fainting fans and my only trip at age 15 to the Grande in 1971!

Ron's film has  FABULOUS new footage and images which I had never seen of MITCH RYDER AND THE DETROIT WHEELS. It was so GREAT!. That band was my very first musical obsession and I adore them to this day...

The Rationals got the star treatment they have always deserved in this movie too! Can't wait for their fans to see this!!

The MC5 section focuses on their MUSIC and has great images...MC5's monster drummer, Dennis Thompson will love this and he is one of the film's narrators...

Dennis Thompson's Interview 

I loved what I have seen so far and the fans will not be disappointed with this Detroit Rocks Documentary! Great work Ron and Nick!! All of our favorite Detroit Rock friends are in this!

*NEW* INSIDE THE GRANDE BALLROOM: ROBERT MONAGHAN VIDEO 2015

Yes! Just received this new video shot by Rob Monaghan the fabulous Detroit Architecture Photographer. Rob went inside the abandoned Grande ballroom to film it's current state of disrepair...

My close friend MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson was interviewed inside the Grande for the MC5 movie which has never been release. Our pal Big Rich Dorris filmed the interview and you can see it HERE

I heard a church group owned it and as they are tax exempt..the building has sat vacant for decades. The Grande Ballroom had a long history...Here is a bit about it from Wikipedia..

The Grande Ballroom is a historic live music venue located at 8952 Grand River Avenue in the Petosky-Otsego neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan.

The building was designed by Detroit engineer and architect Charles N. Agree in 1928 and originally served as a multi-purpose building, hosting retail business on the first floor and a large dance hall upstairs. During this period the Grande was renowned for its outstanding hardwood dance floor which took up most of the second floor. Read More Here

HERE IS THE SHOW LIST FROM THE MOTOR CITY MUSIC ARCHIVES

HERE IS ROB'S NEW VIDEO:

KOTJMF GRANDE BALLROOM
DETROIT, MICHIGAN

POSTED APRIL 9, 2015

THE GRANDE BALLROOM WITH STEVE FINLY PART ONE

PHOTO: ROBERT MONAGHAN

The first time I saw the Grande (before Russ painted it), it was being used as a storage place (I think a mattress company was renting it). There were crates and pallets stacked around it. The basement was full of wooden barrels and boxes of roller-skates Sometime in the late 50s one of the Grande reincarnations had been a roller-skating rink.

 PHOTO: ROBERT MONAGHAN

They'd built a bunch of shoe bins/wells in the coat check area to hold the skates... I remember quite a few "after hour" stoner/skating parties with several different bands and party people (including the Who and throngs of groupies)-  They'd all roller skate and get whacked out til dawn.

 PHOTO: ROBERT MONAGHAN

And an attic over the stage was filled with old props and music stands from the big band days. Under the stage were hundreds of old lobby cards and posters about the bands and special dinners and balls -- all of which disappeared over the years.

Wish I would have saved them. Worse, the coat-check room still had hundreds of those brass GRANDE check tags on most of the hooks (and shoe wells for the sakes). Heard those are worth some $$$$ now.

 ATDETROIT

Oh well. Someone else told me that saw one of the gargoyles (on the grande walls) for sale on Ebay. I'd love one of them.

STEVE FINLY AND ?

 2nd pix. (two guys by door)  That's me at about age 16-17 (with red hair).   Not sure who's with me.

STEVE FINLY

4th. pix.  (one guy in white shirt on stage).   Pretty sure that's Steve Winwood of Traffic.  He always used a Martin Guitar like that.

Grande concession...   Guy in black t-shirt is John Moffet, (who quit the Grande to become a Hare Krishna).   Not sure who the other person is.

Band on stage with vox and apex amps Not sure, but I remember the red-haired bass player with the dotted shirt.  Pretty sure it was a local band.  Drummer had a great voice (but only if he was singing, otherwise he had a bad stutter.  He once told me he could sing because he already knew the words... but stuttered when he was talking because he didn't know what he was going to say. Sort of interesting....).

Band with striped jackets.  Not sure.  But doubt that any band from Detroit had jackets like that.

SEE A LOT MORE SNAPS FROM 1968 HERE

MOTOWN BURNING NEW BOOK BY JOHN JEFFIRE

Author John Jeffire

"Motown Burning," which has just been released in e-book format on Amazon for Kindle owners. You can purchase the first chapter for only 99 cents to get a feel for it, or throw caution (and sanity) to the wind and purchase the whole thing for only $9.99! For those of you unfamiliar with the book, here is the synopsis: Detroit, late July of 1967, and the city boils over.
 

For Aram Pehlivanian, aka Motown, the Grande Ballroom and the music of the MC5 and Iggy Pop and The Temptations no longer provide a haven as destruction engulfs his city. However, escaping death in the streets during the '67 Detroit Riots only leads him to the jungles of Vietnam and away from Katie, the girl who might be his salvation.

Beaten on the streets of Detroit, hunted in the jungles of Vietnam, and fueled to survive by the music of the Motor City, Aram burns with one goal...to see Katie again. Winner of the 2005 Mount Arrowsmith Novel Competition and the 2007 Independent Publishing Awards Gold Medal for Regional Fiction. READ AN EXCERPT HERE

58 PHOTOS FROM THE GRANDE BALLROOM 1968

DIGITAL PROPERTY RETROKIMMER.COM 

1. Linda Haney at the concession stand

2. Linda Haney

3. Two girls -- one in red pants outfit.   Barb Smith and ??

4. Jimi Hendrix -- probably at Olympia. (he never played the Grande)

5. Linda Haney

6. The Cream at the Grande first gig there. Clapton's playing the famous Gibson SB "Fool" guitar, with the painted images of a face and psychedelic swirls on it.  (He broke the neck on it right before the next gig at the grande... I begged him to sell it to me, even offered to trade him a similar Gibson SG... but he'd already given it to George Harrison.  Oh well.  That same guitar sold for over $700,000G last year and wasn't even playable anymore.

7. Linda Haney in gray knit dress.

8. Unknown guy that looks like Jack Black.

The unknown guy who looks like Jack Black in picture #8 is Ron Levine who was part of the MC5's family and road crew at that time. thanks Emil!

9. Gary Rasmussen

10. MC 5

11. MC 5

12. Townsend from the WHO playing a nice Gibson SG. - first gig at Grande

13.Buffalo Springfield

 love the "ice cream" swirl on the drum head.

14. Wayne Kramer-MC5

15. MC5  Mike Davis and Wayne Kramer

16. Barb Smith(?) and pretty girl.  Someone's house.

17. Rob Tyner  MC5

18. MC5

19. Robin Trower

20. Russ Gibb

21. The Rationals

22. That's me (Steven Finly) and ???

23.Steve Winwood with a nice 66 Gibson reverse Firebird (my brother hand a guitar just like that).

24.  The guy is name Doug -- he was the guitar play in my band, the Ball. Linda Haney

25. MC5

26. My band the BALL playing at a BMF dance.  Tom Jerome Youngman on drums.

27. Cream  (first gig).

28. Cream  (first gig).

29. Cream - first gig at Grande, first night.  Clapton wore that CHAPS outfit on the plane from Chicago.... He was wearing them when I picked them up at the airport with my mom's station wagon.

31.Who. -- first Grande gig.

32. Who

34. Who

35. Who

36. Who

38. don't know... nice Gibson EB2 base though...

39.  Not sure... but it's the Masonic Temple.

40. Traffic - Steve Winwood and drummer

41.The Rationals

42. Steve Winwood

43. John Moffet (dark hair) with...  Bill Robbins  Grande concession stand.

44. Robin Trower

45. Cream. First gig at Grande. first night.

46. The Thyme... a local group, I think.

47. Linda Haney and date with Barb Smith and Dennis Thompson in pink

48.Dennis Thompson MC5

49. mystery band??

50. Looks like Robin Trower again... same Gibson Les Paul guitar.  The July 1970 should help id it for sure.

51.MC5

52. Dave Miller

53. ??

54. Who

55. MC5

56. Rationals

57. Dave Miller Emcee

58. The Apostles -- a local group.

READ MORE ABOUT THE GRANDE BALLROOM

PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY LINDA HANEY AND BARB SMITH 

CAPTIONS BY STEVE FINLY....