Category Archives: History

Danny Fields… the man who signed the Stooges, discovered the Ramones, and changed the world

By Mark | January 26, 2015

Almost a year ago now, I received an email from a reader of this site by the name of Bob Nolan, who, knowing of my love for the Ramones and Stooges, suggested that I talk with a friend of his named Brendan Toller. Brendan, he told me, had been working on a film about Danny […]

Also posted in Ann Arbor, Art and Culture, Detroit | Tagged 16 Magazine, A Day In The Life, acid, Andy Warhol, animation, archives, bible belt, Bob Nolan, Bob Rudnick, Boswell, Brendan Toller, Brian Epstein, Brooks Brothers, butts, CBGB, Christmas cards, crowdfunding, Danny Fields, Danny Says, Datebook, David Bowie, Dennis Frawley, documentary film, Dolly Parton, Edie Sedgwick, Elektra, Exploding Plastic Inevitable, Fred Sonic Smith, Funhouse, Harvard, Harvard Law, Hedwig, I Need That Record, Iggy and the Stooges, Iggy Pop, Jesus, Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Judy Collins, Kickstarter, LBJ, Lenny Bruce, Linda Stein, Lou Reed, Mark's big ideas, Max's Kansas City, Mayor of the Sunset Strip, MC5, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, New York City, Nico, Paul McCartney, public relations, punk rock, Ramones, Rock and Roll, Rodney Bingenheimer, San Remo, Search and Destroy, Seymour Stein, slacks, Stooges, The Beatles, The Doors, the music business, The Stooges, Timothy Leary, Tommy Goodwin, Velvet Underground, WFMU, Yale, Yale University, Younger Jewish Set | 41 Comments

The Saturday Six Pack with Mark Maynard: episode two

By Mark | January 25, 2015

The second episode of the Saturday Six Pack on AM 1700 was, by all accounts, a success. I was kind of dreading it going in, as I didn’t have much planned for the 7:00 hour, but, as is usually the case when you open yourself up to serendipity, everything just kind of unfolded in a […]

Also posted in Mark's Life, Special Projects, The Saturday Six Pack, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged 1700 AM, beer, Brian Robb, Colin Moorhouse, corporate fascism, Dave Miller, fascism, Fat Tire, Flaming Groovies, Harry Bennett, Harry Bennett's Castle, Henry Ford, historic places, HP Jacobs, John Edwards, Matt Siegfried, Monkey Power Trio, Native Americans, Peter Smith, Red Rock, Red Rock Downtown Barbeque, Rob Rowe, The Saturday Six Pack, University of Michigan, Ypsi Underground | 24 Comments

“It would be like the nuclear arms race, but with cock-like structures.”

By Mark | January 25, 2015

I uttered this sentence last night, and I thought that it should be recorded for posterity… Every year or two since 2003, when Cabinet magazine named Ypsilanti’s historic water tower the winner of it’s World’s Most Phallic Building contest, a website somewhere decides to post a story about the our beloved “brick dick.” Most recently, […]

Also posted in Ideas, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged 1889, 1890, Appeal to Reason, bad ideas, brick dick, Cabinet, cocks, Kansas, limestone, Mark's art ideas, Mark's big ideas, Matt Siegfried, Most Phallic Building contest, phallic structures, phallic things, privatization, public utilities, Roadtrippers, water, water towers, William R. Coats, Ypsilanti water tower | 5 Comments

Ann Arbor’s proposed “Ambassador” program, while laughably stupid, is the best thing to happen in Ann Arbor in a long, long time

By Mark | January 25, 2015

I realize that the Ann Arbor DDA’s uniformly mocked “Ambassador” program is likely going to die on the vine, given the overwhelming backlash that we saw last week, but I refuse to just let it go. This is the first spark of life I’ve seen in Ann Arbor in a long, long time, and I’m […]

Also posted in Ann Arbor, Ideas, Local Business, Locally Owned Business, Uncategorized | Tagged Ann Arbor DDA, authenticity, Block by Block, Edward Vielmetti, John Sinclair, mall cops, mallification, Psychedelic Rangers, sense of place, SMS Holdings | 26 Comments

Exploring Ypsilanti’s place on the Underground Railroad: part two

By Mark | January 7, 2015

This past November, I posted a lengthy interview with local historian Matt Siegfried about slavery, the fight for emancipation, and the role played by Ypsilantians in that struggle. We covered an incredible amount of ground, but, as I still had a lot of unanswered questions, I asked him back. Following, as Paul Harvey would say, […]