“I like pumpkin pie… it’s unique because pumpkins are a food you don’t typically eat by itself. It’s also misleading because you could easily mistake it for a sweet potato pie… I’ll probably bring a pumpkin pie to the show and eat it while I play,” said Philip Boos, the lead guitarist for the band Algernon, who is much like pumpkin pie; a little bit unique and fun.
Boos is organizing an event called “Stills and Sounds – A Southeast Michigan Art & Music Show” at 8 p.m. at Woodruff’s on 36 East Cross Street in Ypsilanti. For $5, art and music fans can come and see artists from the Detroit, Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti areas.
And while on the subject of pie, Boos welcomes one and all to bring some pie to share, since it will be March 14, also known as pi(e) day (3.14).
Boos describes the upcoming event as “an art showcase, but we’ll have some live bands as well.”
“I thought of the concept last year when I was living in Detroit, because I knew a few photographers who had come out to help my shows and people who could write scripts and cartoons and stuff. They’re always helping with my concerts and stuff, so I wanted to help them. So, let’s put on an event for them.”
One of these artists is Daniel Cicchelli, a painter and sculptor who said, “Most of my inspiration comes from the mystery of dreams… of the surreal.”
Another is Mike Chenoweth, a cartoon artist who said, “If you need something to compare my style to, I would call it a mix between ‘Dragonball Z’ and ‘South Park.’”
Christina Munson is a photographer from Eastern Michigan University, who will also be displaying her work at “Stills and Sounds.”
“It’s just a showcase. It’ll be fun, networking, look at some art. About an hour of looking at art and then, of course, everything will be up during the band’s performances,” Boos said.
The three bands that will be performing are Algernon, InkFlo and Walk Your Bike.
Alongside Boos, doing lead vocals for Algernon will be Lee Renaud.
“I remember, I guess it was two years ago now, he auditions for us…We’d known him forever. Actually Lee and Ted [our former drummer] had gone to elementary school together and we just had no idea that he had those pipes,” Boos said. “We were like, ‘When did this happen?’ ‘I don’t know,’ ‘You want the gig?’ ‘I’ll think about it.’… He was always a great singer… but we had to go through a front man training with him a little bit, though it was very funny, because he was very shy. He had a great voice, but he would just stand there.”
Roy Jackson will be playing bass. Boos describes Jackson as, “a phenomenal bass player… does a lot of the slap and pop and a lot of just crazy runs. He’s got these really big hands too, so that really helps him.”
The band’s drummer will be Ryan Jurado. Unfortunately, the band endured the tragic loss of their beloved drummer and friend, Ted Weinors.
“It was awkward at first, because we had [potential drummers] audition on [Ted’s] kit, because none of us had a kit… I think it was in late October early November that we got our new drummer Ryan,” he said. “He’s been a wonderful asset. Great drummer, very intelligent, funny and fun to hang out with.”
Putting together an event like “Stills and Sounds” is easy for a guy like Boos, who is used to being a part of very casual events where people had fun just playing music and hanging out.
“I know there were always fun times that weren’t professional venue. A friend of mine has a farm and he’d have little festivals over the summer,” he said. “His band would play and once we had a guy [who did acrobats with fire]. So that was a lot of fun. A couple hundred people there, you know, just passing instruments to each other, just jamming.”
Ultimately “just jamming” is what Boos is going for with “Stills and Sounds.” He invites everyone to come see the artwork, listen to some music and maybe even share some pie.
