Story by Jeff Milo | Band photo courtesy of The Blueflowers

The Blueflowers make country-rock in the same way David Lynch once made a soap opera. The configurations and certain thematic elements are familiar, but there’s something supernatural just below its surface, something bewitching pulling you into their sublimely-shifted world of Americana-twang. These could just as easily be ghost stories as torch ballads.

The Ferndale-area sextet recently rocked a local label showcase (Gangplank Records) at The Loving Touch as a way to cap off a very busy year that started at the end of 2014, when they released their most captivating album to date, At The Edge of Disaster. Though the band is planning on taking the winter off from performing, its lead singer and co-founder Kate Hinote is planning a special acoustic showcase at the Rustbelt Market this February.

More about the Blueflowers, though; besides the twinge of Western twang, there’s also piquant portions that invoke surf-rock (like something from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack) and a keen retcon of dream-pop (as if Mazzy Star’s eloquence was cannonballed into the glammed whimsy of The Sundays or Echo & The Bunnymen.) Even then, it’s a bit more eclectic than all that. You could call it “folk-noir” or “western-gothic.”

The band includes Hinote on lead vocals, her husband, Tony Hamera on electric guitar, Erica Stephens on bass, David Johnson on acoustic guitar, Jim Faulkner on drums and Erin Williams on organ and backing vocals. They morphed out of a previous project between married songwriting duo Hamera & Hinote (called Ether Aura.) They put out their first album as The Blueflowers in 2009 and the current lineup solidified by the end of 2011.

Listen at: www.theblueflowers.com

Milo: Last year’s Edge of Disaster was one hell of an album. A full on production; cinematic-sounding, crisply rendered, evocatively spooky and swooning. Tell us more of the story behind the recording.

Hinote: I think we knew right away that (Edge) was going to be darker than previous albums, and that we wanted to press it to vinyl. (Hamera) and I were not even remotely prepared for parenthood and the insane sleep-debt and chaos it would bring, nor for the emotional challenges and rewards that come along with it. We did, however, know we had more music to make and I had so many feelings right at the surface that I absolutely needed an outlet for at that time.

Milo: I was going to ask about that, about what it’s like to have a creative partnership with one’s
husband, but I have to imagine new parenthood, by itself, would influence these songs’ creation.

Hinote: Anyone that knows me would say I can be intense, but being a mom and being responsible for keeping another human, besides myself, alive, amplified that intensity by 100. I ended up being drawn to older ideas that Tony had written that had a darker feel to them and I intentionally leaned towards gloomier themes and more dramatic vocal lines and delivery. I remember vetoing ideas that I thought were “too pretty,” though some pretty things still made their way onto the album. We realized each song wound up with its own sort of character and that the delivery of the vocals was going to be a bigger part of the final production.

With (Hamera) and I, that songwriting relationship grows and changes over time. We wrote two albums together as Ether Aura, and now four as Blueflowers. As I gained more experience writing, he would challenge me more with the music demos he would give me and I think, ultimately, Disaster ended up being so intense for us because it really was the most collaborative that we’ve been writing an album. Being in the middle of a creative process like this adds intensity to the day- to-day when you both feel passionately about the work and you’re going to wake up next to that person the next morning. I have never worked harder on anything in my life and Tony feels the same.

Milo: Talk about the chemistry between the band, as well as how (Ferndale’s) Tempermill studios is sort of your home recording base.

Hinote: (Hamera)’s been working out of Tempermill longer than I’ve known him, which is 19 years, and (Dave) Feeny has been a wonderful and generous resource to have on our side. (Feeny heads Gangplank Records.) There is definitely a family- like dynamic to our band. We have moments where things aren’t all puppies-and-rainbows, just like any family. I mean, you’ve got three women and three men and in that you have two married couples, so in that there are all kinds of chemistry and dynamics and hormones flying about our practice space. As far as song creation, (Hamera)’s the ringleader and he knows what he wants from everybody but each still contributes their own parts and helps shape the dynamics of each song. It has to be made with family. No room for egos in our process, and we’re fortunate that that’s not ever been a problem.

Milo: Tell us about your acoustic showcase!

Hinote: I wanted a showcase with friends at a venue where people could sit and listen and hear every note, yet not have the pressure worrying about drawing an audience, so that it could be a fun gig. The Rustbelt Market wound up being perfect for this. We’re planning half-hour sets from “The Half Bloofs” (Williamss, Johnson and Hinote,) Ryan Dillaha, Anthony Retka, Thirty Men (with Emily Rose,) Escaping Pavement, Mike Galbraith and more. Meanwhile, the Bloofs will be coming back in April and we’re thinking about releasing a digital single.

Check it out on February 7 at the Rustbelt Market: Winter Acoustic Showcase: Blueflowers Acoustic Trio, Anthony Retka, Ryan Dillaha, Escaping Pavement, Mike Galbraith, Thirty Men, and more. 1:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. / Free. Rust Belt Market is at 22801 Woodward Avenue.

If some happened with our health, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a preparation. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotency and other states coupled to erectile malfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What folk talk about “viagra stories“? The most vital aspect you have to look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile disfunction can be the symptom a strong heartiness problem such as heart trouble. Causes of sexual malfunction turn on injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a condition called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual dysfunction. Even though this physic is not for use in women, it is not known whether this curing passes into breast milk.

Story by Sherrad Glosson | Photos by Bernie Laframboise

It was a Tuesday night when I walked in a church in Ferndale down in the basement and witnessed about forty to fifty men sitting in chairs. A woman sat at the piano and a man stood in front of them, behind a podium, reading a booklet. As I walked in, he looked up and waved me to come in. I grabbed a seat in the back. I pulled out my phone to check the time and suddenly I heard the sweetest harmony I’ve ever experienced from a group of men…the sound of the Detroit Together Men’s Chorus ringing off the walls of the basement.

It took me so much by surprise that I pulled out my cell phone to make a post on Facebook to tell people how great they sounded. These men must be gearing up for something, I thought, sure enough they were getting ready for their holiday concert just a few weeks away.

I caught up with Brian Londro, the Minister of Music at the Metro Community Church and the artistic director for the Men’s chorus, a few days prior to their practice. We talked a little bit about these miraculous men I’ve heard so much about. The Detroit

Together Men’s Chorus has been in action since 1982 and is among the top three longest-running gay men’s choruses across the country. Although started as an exclusively gay men’s chorus, lately they have been getting straight men to join them as well. “We are trying to be diverse and always looking for new people” said Brian. They do two major concerts a year. One is in December for the holidays and one is in the spring, called “The Pride of Disney,” which he said is going to be a good one.

I asked Brian about the overall goal of the Men’s chorus. “Our mission is to be an example through music and bring people close together through it. Our vision is to make a difference in people’s lives through our concerts in a positive way.”

“Our focus is to continue to produce quality music, create different concerts, and build the diversity of our style,” said Brian, after mentioning their award for being the winner of the vote for the 2015 Best Choir award from Channel 4. He explained that because things are changing in Detroit and people are coming back, things are getting better, especially with the gay community. Most had left because of the lack of support, but now that Michigan is more receptive they are coming back home.

Music is not all the DTMC does. They also do a lot of fundraising and community work around the city. They help support the Pig and Whisky event in Ferndale, the DIY Festival, and they have a newly-minted social group with the chorus members, helping them stay a tightly-knit group. At the moment, they are in the planning stages of a benefit concert for the Judge Greg Mathis Community Center. “I love Judge Mathis. He’s one of my heroes,” said Brian. The men of the DTMC are clearly on a mission; not just to sing, but also to give back to the community.

If you ask me, I’ll be the first to tell you; if they continue to sing like they were singing when I stormed into their rehearsal, they are going to be the talk of the town after their next concert on Saturday, December 12 at 7:30 P.M. at Lamphere High School in Madison Heights. For more information you can check out Detroit Together Men’s Chorus on www.dtmc.org

If something happened with our health, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a medicament. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotency and other states coupled to erectile dysfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What people talk about “viagra stories“? The most vital aspect you must look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile disfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as heart trouble. Causes of sexual disfunction turn on injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a condition called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual disfunction. Even though this medicine is not for use in women, it is not known whether this treatment passes into breast milk.