North Kent Mall fashion show!

God bless Susan Evangelista for posting this incredible video!  An awesome glimpse at 80s fashions and we get to take a trip back to North Kent Mall as well!  Wish I could step into this video right now, though I would probably sneak away from the fashion show and go blow quarters at Aladdin's Castle instead!

Some GR Retro-ness in this music video!

I'm glad to finally be able to present this music video I've been working on (on and off) for the last 4 months.  It's for the Grand Rapids synth-pop band Alexis for their song "Feel 4 U."

The video is an homage to something near and dear to me, the 90s public-access TV experience.  In particular, this is a semi-real/fictitious look at GRTV's closest thing to a superstar, The Great Daryl Nathan.  I was involved pretty heavily with public access through most of the 90s and often worked on Daryl's show. 

I really wanted the video to be both entertaining but have a heart. Daryl always seemed to me both a comic and tragic character. 

I was and still am a bit surprised this project ended up coming together!  Especially Joshua Burge wanting to play Daryl, with him pretty much on his way to Hollywood now. But he and everyone else getting into this and wanting to make it happen made it feel like I had a good idea worthy of everyone's time.  I'm happy with how it turned out and hope you enjoy....

Dick's Fine Foods

I have no idea. This abandoned place on Division near 32nd was long gone before I lived here but the sign was super-charming so I Photoshopped it back to life because that's the sort of thing I do sometimes.
Does anyone remember this place at all? Air conditioning! After this I'm going to go check into a motel with color TV!

Reggae Sunsplash '89

I randomly heard some reggae music while on a road trip this summer and it took my mind back to an event I went to back in 1989 called Reggae Sunsplash. It took place in Johnson park in Wyoming. I ended up there because a guy who went by the name Rastaman Nane' had come to the local public access TV station GRTV looking for somebody to shoot video of the event.  At that point I was very active down there and agreed to do it because it sounded like fun. 

Anyway, it occurred to me that I must still have the tape someplace and sure enough, I did.  Here is a short I edited together to put online from about 2 hours worth of footage. Hope some people enjoy this time-portal to a summer long ago!

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What was Witmark?

This building has sat abandoned down on North Plainfield forever, next to Kmart (of course) What was Witmark anyway? My only memory of it was me and a friend walking into one in the early 90s, looking around a minute then walking out. Anyway, I like taking pictures of abandoned buildings for some reason.

What does wikipedia have to say?

Witmark was a catalog showroom and jewelry/electronics chain that operated in West Michigan from 1969 to 1997. The chain was founded by Paul Leven.Over its nearly 30-year history, Witmark dominated the jewelry market with an average of a 34% market share. The organization made it a point to develop and keep close ties with the communities the stores served.

By the early 1990s, Witmark's earnings began to decrease due to continued involvement in unprofitable categories outside of jewelry. Big box stores such as Best Buy, Circuit City, Toys "R" Us, Dick's Sporting Goods, and MC Sports captured the electronics, toy, and sports markets respectively and more effectively than Witmark could. 

In 1996, Witmark experienced its fourth consecutive year of declining sales and earnings, and the company announced changes to its operating strategy. Unfortunately, vast barriers—such as long-term leases on real estate—limited the company's ability to adapt to the changing business climate. The following year, Witmark liquidated its assets and laid off its 700+ employees. Like the larger national chains of catalog showrooms (such as Best Products), the retail concept collapsed in the late 1990s due to overwhelming competition from big box stores and Internet shopping.

DJs Lounge

So I've only ever been to this place one time last year when I was trying to tour obscure dive bars. There were literally only 2 other people in there the whole time along with Jim, the owner. It has a cool look from another era. It was featured in the movie "30 Seconds Or Less" as a strip club (they added "Gentleman's" to the sign, above the "Lounge."

Driving past yesterday, I saw that it was finally closed and for sale.

I think the sign is an amazing piece of Americana. I wish there was a way to preserve it but I guess the best I can do is make this cool animated gif of what it might have looked like when it was working!

Anyone know the history of this old place?

A Very Sveden House Christmas

While combing through thrift store vinyl, I was surprised to find this little gem in excellent condition....

I guess it used to be a thing for businesses to put out Christmas albums. I also own a "True Value Hardware" Christmas album (not to brag or anything) and I've seen a KFC Christmas album. They're out there.

My childhood memories of Sveden House are pretty foggy. I remember liking the way it looked inside. I was totally clueless about Scandinavian culture but it made me think of "medieval times" or something.  The concept of "All you can eat" just seemed so incredible and you can believe that the handful of times I got to go there I ate way too much.

So there isn't a year on this album anywhere but Sveden House was around since the 60s and this seems from that era. Now please enjoy some cheery holiday sounds of the Sveden House Chorale singing "There's Always Another Potato" !   Happy Holidays!