End of the Decade Brings New Beginnings and New
Identities
Story by LCC Radio Staff Reporter Katie Gleason
Whether it’s simply a local mitten musician releasing a brand-new album, or a
small-town Michigan band growing and evolving their sound and brand, we here at
LCC Radio are always proud to boast the successes of former M897 Artist
Spotlights! With such a repertoire of big names like Greta Van Fleet and The
Verve Pipe’s Donny Brown, it’s always fun to check in with our spotlights every
now and then and see what they might have in store. Especially this year, with a
new decade facing us, let’s see what’s been happening (and what could happen...)
with some of our past M897 artist spotlight musicians and bands since the last
time we spoke to them.
Flint
Eastwood - June
2015 M897 Artist
Jax Anderson, Lead Singer
of
“Detroit Spaghetti Western” band, Flint Eastwood dropped the title in July 2019,
apologizing playfully on her instagram to anyone who may have gotten a Flint
Eastwood tattoo. She now goes by her real name Jax Anderson. Jax’s music and her
name isn’t the only thing she’s changed, however. She has been wonderfully open
about her sexuality, her gender expression, and her new identity all on her new
EP Heal,
which she released in November 2019. Jax explains in the music video of the
title song that she is much happier now, that she feels more like who she’s
supposed to be, and that seems to be reflected in her music. The punk-rock
western style has been replaced with an introspective bouncy-indie sound, which
fits her new identity wonderfully. Jax is going on tour across the US in 2020,
and you can catch her in her hometown of Detroit on February 8th at the El Club.
If
Walls Could Talk -
September 2018 M897
Artist
The theatrical style of If Walls Could Talk captivated audiences with their
energetic live shows, complete with complex choreography, special effects, and
heavy crowd involvement. When we interviewed them in September of 2018, the band
admitted to being AWOL for most of the year, promising: “We have a lot of
exciting things coming up within the next year, and we can’t wait to share it
with everyone.” Well, their exciting things sure came, and we loved it!
Because it’s Love, the band’s second studio release, debuted in June of
2019, along with a brand-new twist on the band’s signature fashion style. Their
fitted black vests and ties were replaced with maroon pants, bowties and
stark-white jackets to match the new album art! A step in the right direction
for a band known for their theatrics. If you would like to witness their new
love-themed theatrics for yourself, you can see them the day after Valentines
Day (February 15th) playing Mac’s Bar in Lansing. They’re undoubtedly planning
to give you a Valentine’s themed show.
Joe
Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers -
June 2013
M897 Artist
We here at LCC Radio hold a special place in our hearts for this quirky band
from right here in Lansing. As our third EVER M897 Spotlight artist we have
watched Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers grow as a band for almost seven years
now. Since we last checked in with the band in the 2017 January update, they
have released two more incredible and colorful albums and have only been growing
bigger and brighter. They ended 2019 with an incredible 3.7 million streams on
Spotify, likely thanks to their upbeat yacht-rock 2019 release, Paper Castle.
Speaking of yachts, as of the writing of this article the band are performing on
a cruise that departed from Miami on January 7th! But if you’re a bit of a
landlubber, don’t fret, Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers are going on tour
across the midwest (and also Florida) this year! With a stop in Lansing at The
Loft on January 31st, performing with another former M897 Artist,
Conspicuous Bystanders!
Evix
- December
2018 M897 Artist EDM artist, Kevin Learst, known by his stage name Evix, was making
himself known in a scene that didn’t really have a huge backing in Michigan. He
rounded off 2018 by playing a show at the Royal Oak Music Theater, an
experience, he told us, he’d never forget. He also told us that at the end of
2018, he’d be leaving the Evix name, and completely rebranding for 2019, and he
did just that. On December 31st, just before the clock turned to midnight, he
posted his new Instagram handle its_withlove. Kevin now goes by the stage name
With Løve, and his popularity is only growing. 2019 was an amazing year for
Kevin, and he expects 2020 to be even better. While he hasn’t announced anything
publicly yet, you can expect big things from Michigan’s EDM breakout star.
Michigander
-
July 2017 M897 Artist 2019 was a huge year for Midland native Jason Singer. He released his
second EP, went on tour across the entire United States and Canada, and he met
Bryan Cranston at a music festival. And you can only expect bigger and better
things from him in 2020. For the first year ever, he’s scheduled to play
(officially) at SXSW in March, and then in June he’s scheduled to play the
Electric Forest Festival in Rothbury alongside big names like Major Lazer and
Lindsey Stirling. Jason is an incredibly talented individual, and while he
doesn’t have much to say for what the new year holds for him in terms of new
music, he is touring a lot. His first EP Midland, titled after his
hometown (and mine!), was released just under a year after LCC Radio interviewed
him for the Artist Spotlight. Midland was written mostly on the road, and it
blew up. If you haven’t gotten the chance to see Jason perform live yet, I
highly suggest it. He makes the rounds every now and then and it’s always a
treat. He’ll be at The Intersection in Grand Rapids on Valentine’s Day.
The
Go Rounds -
November 2016 M897 Artist
While researching to find which bands to do an update on, I visited The Go
Rounds official website. There, right in the center of the page in big bold
white text are the words “New Music Coming in 2020”. I had barely begun my
research and the visual on the website sent excitement coursing through my
veins. The psychedelic-folk-rock Kalamazoo based band started out 2019 with a
bang, releasing a brand new album, brand new visuals for the band’s look, and
touring all over the midwest. However, by the end of the year, things had
quieted down, mostly due to the band touring around Mexico. They have only one
show announced for January, at The Magic Stick with Breathe Owl Breathe on the
25th. While that sounds like not much in the way of new content, you can for
sure expect huge things coming from them at any moment. I’m sure they’re Going
to work Round the clock to bring new music.
Donny
Brown -
February 2015 M897 Artist A lot of this year’s updates include artists who’ve rebranded
themselves and changed their sound. When we interviewed Donny Brown formerly of
the Verve Pipe, he had already gone through that once. However, that was five
years ago, and Donny has continued to grow and change with his career. From The
Van Dell Tones, to the Legal Matters, to now just Donny Brown once more. Donny
does some amazing things with his time, albeit more in the background now
compared to his Verve Pipe days. In 2018, Donny along with business partner and
former touring member of The Verve Pipe, Andy Reed, started a non-profit
organization focused on bringing music to special needs school children. The
program is called All
Music Is Power or AMP for short. Donny and Andy also do many other projects
together, Donny co-produces and plays instruments for Andy’s Bay City based
recording company Reed Recording Company. The company not only boasts over 150
(and counting!) recording credits, but has been voted the best recording studio
by Review magazine for the past six years. While we don’t know if Donny is going
to be playing live any time soon, you can catch him on a Tom Petty Tribute album
coming out in the next couple months from Reed Recording Company!