Thanksgiving Eve: Desmond Jones at Elevation, The Legal Immigrants & more at Temple Lounge - Local Spins (2024)

The always-busy night before Thanksgiving rolls out as an action-packed night, from Grand Rapids to the lakeshore. Here are features on two special events: Desmond Jones’ album-release at The Intersection’s Elevation and Temple Lounge’s kickoff to a regular concert series at the former Seven Steps Up in Spring Lake with The Legal Immigrants, Kyle Brown & The Human Condition and comedian Benji the Light Lion.

DESMOND JONES GETS THEATRICAL & EXPLORATORY WITH ‘SQUIDS’

It’s the stuff of science fiction and suspenseful, big-screen Hollywood spectacles.

Giant alien squids from outer space crash land in the oceans, eventually battling humans for the Earth’s supremacy before returning to their home planet.

The fantastical odyssey isn’t the script for an upcoming blockbuster movie but rather the story behind the latest studio album from popular Grand Rapids jam band Desmond Jones — a wild tale hatched a decade ago when band members were still students at Michigan State University.

“It’s been a long-running concept for Desmond Jones,” said guitarist and singer Isaac Berkowitz, who was inspired to create the album theme after viewing a PBS documentary about squids.

“We kind of worked through this whole idea and we thought it was pretty fun, and from there, we thought the story was big enough that we could add to it. … Everyone in the band put in their little bit of the story and (it) was able to grow into this kind of universe of squids that we’ve been able to bounce off of.”

“Fun” has long been the operative word for the oft-flamboyant, 12-year-old Desmond Jones, which also features drummer John Nowak, guitarist Chris Bota, saxophonist George Falk and bassist Taylor Watson.

So the upcoming release party for “Squids” at The Intersection’s Elevation in Grand Rapids on Thanksgiving Eve (Nov. 27) shapes up as an elaborate, costume- and jam-filled evening, with Ficus and Hannah Laine opening the show. Tickets, $15 in advance, for the 17-and-older 8 p.m. show are available online here.

“Fans can expect one helluva show,” Nowak said of the performance that will have Desmond Jones playing the new album in its entirety, enhanced by “added theatrics.”

Added Berkowitz: “We have some fun things planned, some fun little extra bells and whistles and stage antics to really bring the story together. We’re excited to kind of make it a full performance and show ‘Squids’ at its biggest that it’s been, at its most full.”

ENERGY IN THE STUDIO AND REVELING IN ‘ARTISTIC FREEDOM’

The band first started tracking the album – featuring three exceptionally long tracks, an intro and an interlude – in July 2022 with Kevin McKay at InMuSo Studios in Webberville and wrapped it up this past summer. Special guests included violinist Ashley Hansen and celloist Maddy Peter, with Kalamazoo’s Collin Pompey of Black Ops Audio mastering the project.

The lengthy tracks (“We’re big Frank Zappa fans,” Berkowitz quipped) took several takes in a row to perfect, recorded live as a band.

“It’s a lot of energy,” Nowak said. “Being all together in the room at the same time playing on the tracks has been the way we’ve done our last three albums. No click track, no tempos or anything like that. And it’s just the best way that we get our organic Desmond Jones sound.”

The band used the opportunity to revel in “artistic freedom” and “explore the sonic themes and addition of auxiliary percussion, string arrangements and improvisation in the studio setting.”

It’s the latest milestone for a band that’s created its own sound from wide-ranging influences – Frank Zappa, Grateful Dead, The Beatles, Mingus, Phish, The Band, Led Zeppelin – to cultivate a growing audience across the state and the country.

“One of the biggest changes I think, personally, is getting new fans around the country through streaming services like Spotify and specifically Nugs.net where we upload our live shows to. And they have their own dedicated following of live music fans, specifically a lot of jam band fans,” Nowak noted.

“And since we’ve been on that, we’ve seen a lot of new people showing up to our shows, which is really exciting for us. When we first started … I could probably name 90 percent of the crowd’s first and last names because they were all our friends and our family and we’re so lucky to have the support from all of them.

“Now when we play, I look at the crowd and I don’t recognize that many people. And that’s really exciting because that means we’re still reaching new people, new fans and new listeners even so far into our career. And it kind of gives you that fresh feeling …”

Berkowitz said the band has one more big show planned for 2024 – opening for Dopapod’s final Michigan show at Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Café in Kalamazoo on Dec. 28 – and is working with a new agent to book tours for 2025.

The band also already has one new song, “Park It,” completed, with plans for releasing more studio tracks and live singles in the coming year.

“We have some fun plans, hopefully back to the East Coast and kind of the Southeast area is where we like to hit. So we’ll probably be making the usual rounds and trying to just make more music as we go.”

Remarked Nowak: “We have just as much fun now as we did when we first started.”

For this week’s edition of Local Spins on WYCE, Desmond Jones debuted part of the track, “Squids,” as well as “So Deep,” from the new recording. Check out the full interview below.

Local Spins on WYCE — which showcases Michigan music at 11 a.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Sunday on WYCE (88.1 FM) and online at wyce.org — also featured fresh tracks from The Incantations, Dante Cope, Ficus, Cameron Blake, Cosmic Knot, Mark Farner, Mustard Plug and The JR Band. Listen to the radio show podcast here.

PODCAST: Local Spins on WYCE (11/15/24)

TEMPLE LOUNGE CONTINUES SEVEN STEPS UP LEGACY WITH UPCOMING CONCERTS

SCROLL DOWN FOR UPCOMING CONCERT SCHEDULE, SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

When West Michigan’s The Legal Immigrants and Kyle Brown & The Human Condition take the stage to rock Spring Lake’s Temple Lounge next week, it will usher in a new era for the historic building once known as the Seven Steps Up listening room.

“We knew music had to be a part because of the history with Seven Steps Up, but I’m also a huge live music fan,” said Chris Kettler, who purchased the century-old Masonic Temple building from Gary and Michelle Hanks in 2022.

“Our hope for these shows is to bring a variety of music and entertainment to the space – to bring the best musicians and entertainment a 100- to 125-seat venue can support.

“We want to be known as the venue that pays our entertainers well because we feel they are underpaid and its just a tough way to make a living. … As fans of the venue, you are supporting local and national entertainers trying to make an honest living doing something they love.”

After an 11-year run, Seven Steps Up hosted its final concert in December 2022, a bittersweet finale that took place two months after Gary Hanks passed away unexpectedly.

But the legacy of the concert hall – which hosted an impressive array of national touring acts and regional stars over the years, from Billy Strings and May Erlewine to John Waite and Shawn Mullins – will continue, with Temple Lounge aiming to book regular ticketed concerts as well as free or low-cost weekend entertainment as a lounge and “meeting place.”

Kettler tested the return of live music with a singer-songwriter show in June, followed by a fundraiser for the Grand Haven Free Fridays concert series.

But the upcoming slate of three concerts in November and December represents the first regular run of live, ticketed performances featuring an impressive slate of popular and diverse regional acts:

• Wednesday (Nov. 27) – Benji the Light Lion (Los Angeles-based comedian), The Legal Immigrants, Kyle Brown & The Human Condition, $35 (tickets online here)

• Dec. 6 – Patty PerShayla, The Elijah Russ Collective, $35 (tickets here)

• Dec. 7 – Roosevelt Diggs, Nathan Walton, $25 (tickets here)

(Scroll down for a Spotify playlist of tracks by the artists performing at Temple Lounge.)

“The talent that will be in this room in a 10-day period gives me chills thinking about it,” Kettler said of the upcoming lineup, which includes childhood friend and comedian Ben Evans (Benji the Light Lion), who raises money for a nonprofit that promotes inclusion and mental health awareness.

“We want to show our community we’re committed to a variety of live music and entertainment. And to the fans of Seven Steps Up, I say, ‘Don’t worry, your favorite acts will be back in the near future.’ ”

‘GOOD DRINKS, GOOD PEOPLE,’ CONCERTS & POSSIBLE LIVE RECORDINGS

Joe Bockheim of rock’s The Legal Immigrants said he “can’t wait” to help christen the return of live music to the Spring Lake venue. “We’re finally going to do a couple of songs off (the band’s 2023 album) ‘Late Night Menu’ that we haven’t played in four years,” he noted.

Kettler said Temple Lounge aims to host one or two ticketed events monthly in 2025, with “potential for a January show that will not disappoint” and an all-female performers concert in March to commemorate International Women’s Day.

Kettler – a real estate broker and developer – also sees the future of Temple Lounge as “a place for the people in Spring Lake to gather” with “good drinks, good people, live music and a food option.”

“Ultimately, we would love to get to a place we can live-record audio and video as a benefit to the artists who play our venue,” he added, noting that he also hopes to make comedy shows a regular feature of Temple Lounge as well as open-mic nights.

Temple Lounge also is available for special event rentals, with an upstairs apartment that doubles as a green room and lodging for performers. The lower level currently serves as an office.

“We’ve spent significant money on improvements,” Kettler said, noting the addition of new sound equipment, furniture, sound-dampening panels and other upgrades, with more changes in the works.

Because it’s his first venture into operating a music venue, Kettler credited the assistance of his staff, the non-profit Ric Van Weelden Music Fund and area music lovers for helping Temple Lounge move forward.

Kettler, a big fan of Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty, Foo Fighters, Sublime, punk bands, various country and EDM artists as well as a host of Michigan favorites, stressed that Seven Steps Up set the stage for Temple Lounge.

“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Seven Steps and Gary and Michelle (Hanks),” he said. “They put this venue on the map and I’m living in their shadow.”

Get more information online at templeloungesl.com.

TEMPLE LOUNGE: A Local Spins Playlist on Spotify

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