Tag Archives: oral history

The Oral History of the Monkey Power Trio… “1996: The Sound of No Hands Clapping”

For the past several years, I’ve been posting my detailed notes here about the annual meetings of my incredibly magical one-day-a-year band, the Monkey Power Trio. I’m not sure why I started to do this, but it’s become yet another thing for me to obsess about. I invariably find myself sitting alone in an airport […]

Posted in Art and Culture, Mark's Life, Monkey Power Trio | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Talking about Highland Cemetery’s Starkweather Chapel, and the history of Ypsilanti’s death industry

The Starkweather Chapel in Ypsilanti’s Highland Cemetery, for those of you who may not have noticed, has been undergoing some much needed renovation work this past year. Here, with more on the history of the building, and the preservation work that’s been done thus far, is a conversation I just had with lifelong Ypsilanti resident […]

Posted in History, Ypsilanti | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

This History of the Monkey Power Trio… “1995: The First Hour”

For the past several years, I’ve been posting my detailed notes here about the annual meetings of my one-day-a-year pseudo-band, the Monkey Power Trio. I’m not sure why I started to do this, but it’s become yet another thing for me to obsess about. I sit alone in an airport every year, before heading home […]

Posted in Art and Culture, Mark's Life, Monkey Power Trio, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Reminiscing about cleaning the glory holes and peep shows of the old Michigan Avenue porn shop

Back when I used to have the radio show, I would occasionally get messages from a listener in Colorado. For the purposes of this post, we’ll call him Jeff… Well, Jeff, in one of our conversations, let it be known that he’d not only spent a good part of the ‘70s in Ypsilanti, but that […]

Posted in History, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

Document Ypsi 2017 …next weekend

A few days ago, while walking aimlessly through downtown Ypsilanti, I found myself trying to remember what Pears, the men’s clothing store that used to be 100 West Michigan Avenue, in the space now occupied by Dalat, used to sell. All I can picture is a rack of very old, wide-collared “Playboy” brand pajamas, all […]

Posted in History, Photographs, Ypsilanti | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 31 Comments

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