March 4th-Rock-n-Roll Mardi Gras at the Roche Bar in Port Huron

It's party time with Wheels On Fire (from Athens, Ohio), blues stomper Dale Beavers and local trouble makers the Riverside Shakes.

For all the details check out the link at BlueWaterBeat.org

HUE BLANC'S JOYLESS ONES "LIVE" at the Roche Bar in Port Huron Tuesday Oct 26th

Twisted and gnarled sound blasts of two guitars and two drummers from Algoma, Wisconsin (population 3,357).

Check this interview with them
http://smashintransistors.homestead.com/midwest_gentlemen.html

Read a review of their album from a couple years back on Victim Of Time
http://www.victimoftime.com/articles/breaking-sounds-hue-blancs-joyless-ones-arriere-ga/

Listen to some of their music here
http://www.myspace.com/hueblancsjoylessones

(((SUNDAY SONANCE)))
FIRST Sunday of every month
6P-9P (sometimes longer)

NEXT NIGHT SUNDAY OCTOBER 3

Dale & Franck on the turntables spinning soul, funk, reggae, dub, downtempo, minimal, ambient, indie, psych, noise, fuzz and other groovy treats, obscure sounds and twanged-up rarities.......

@ the Raven Cafe
932 Military Street
Downtown Port Huron
810-984-4330
www.ravencafeph.com

Thursday July 29th-The Sugar Stems LIVE at the Roche bar in Port Huron

The Sugar Stems feature Drew of the LegHounds/Jetty Boys fame, Betsy and Stephanie of the Flips and JonE from bands such as the Catholic Boys, Teenage Rejects, Tuff Bananas etc. Check out more about them at their Myspace page.

Sort of a last minute show announcement here but it'll be a good one. Many thanks to Johnny and Suzie of the Roche Bar for always providing a place where band's doing their own music can play in this otherwise podunk town called Port Huron.

Some LIVE Rock-n-Roll Fun at the Roche Bar in July

Gorevette: Featuring the legendary Nikki Corvette and Amy of the Gore Gore Girls
http://www.myspace.com/gorevette

From sunny California The Pleasure Kills play New Wave/Power Pop. Good times and dancing will happen!
http://www.myspace.com/thepleasurekills

Also on the bill-the Blue Water Area's best at "1!2!3!4! Fun Punk" The McFlys.
http://www.myspace.com/themcflys

Making a Film on a Budget

Local Film Crew Debuts Web Series
Donald Lierman
Contributing Writer

Many think making a film is easy: just turn on some lights, point the camera and yell, “Action!”

But making a good quality product is a lot more difficult than one might think. It takes a lot of pre-production planning, countless takes and hours in post. Yes, making a film is definitely a lot of work. Not to mention expensive.

A group of local filmmakers are taking on the task to create a coming of age comedy Web series, called “Part Timers,” about locals saddled with temporary employment. The series is proof that a small budget does not preclude a professional product.

What does it take to bring that cinematic dream to the screen?

“The script is where it all begins,” series producer Ryan Falcheck said. “Without a good script to begin with, the production is doomed from the start.”

Next, comes the assembly of the production team.

“The producer guides the projects from beginning to end: from pre-production to post-production,” Falcheck said. “They (also) secure the funding for the film.”

Equipment has always been a big deterrent to novice filmmakers, but the cost of good quality cameras has dropped in the past few years. With the right network of resources, a filmmaker may be able to borrow other invaluable filming items.

“We used a Cannon 7D to film “Part Timers,” he said. “In a previous film I worked on, the cost of the camera was about $10,000. The Cannon 7D allowed us to shoot a quality film for much less. The Cannon provides a simple lens set that allows us to shoot the full spectrum: close up, medium shot and long shot.

“The only problem with the Cannon is that you can only shoot on 4GB flash cards, that only allow 12 minutes of taping at a time.”

Other fundamental pieces of equipment include microphones and an audio recording device to capture sound.

Lastly, a proper light kit is a preferred, yet not essential for filming Falcheck says.

“The light kit will help you shoot in low light,” he said. “The Cannon 7D shoots well without bright light, but going in without a light kit reduces the daily shooting schedule.”

It’s important to have a good crew too. Crew members are the ones behind the scenes, typically not seen in the movie, unless, as in “Part Timers,” cast members double as crew.

“I’ve never been lucky enough to work with a full crew,” said Falcheck, who has worked on several films. “But if I had my wish list, I would have at least two grips (crew handymen), two production assistants, an assistant cameraman, at least one sound operator (who runs the sound mic through a sound board) and a script supervisor (who watches for continuity).”

Continuity is the flow of the movie from scene to scene, to ensure movements flow and props stay in the same place.

“What I would like to have, which I’ve always had to do without, is a first assistant director,” Falcheck said. “He is the person who holds every together on the set.

There’s also the director of photography. “He comes up with the visual vision for the film and the shot list. Finally, the Director keeps the vision of the film on track.”

When completed the film goes into post production.

“An editing program is essential,” Falcheck said. “I prefer Final Cut, although if the budget is especially constrained Movie Magix 16 is an option.”

When it’s all is completed, the final step is to get the movie noticed – via press releases, newspapers, internet and film festivals.

To see the Falcheck and his crew’s final product, log onto the series' Facebook page.

What Would You Do With $100?

Group to Give $100 to 100 People in 100 Days

Twana Pinskey
Contributing Writer

Times are tough and sometimes finding a job can prove to be even more difficult. Especially in St. Clair County.

According to the United States Department of Labor, the unemployment rate in Michigan during April was 14 percent. Many believe that rate to be as high as 25 percent St. Clair County.

Unfortunately, the Blue Water Area is not immune to the sluggish economy, but there are a few bright spots out there.

Project 100 Blue Water Area is one such bright spot, giving hope and inspiring goodwill around the area. The idea behind the project is to help people by encouraging them to give back to their community, by giving to each other.

The project encourages people to “pay-forward” random acts of kindness to other Blue Water Area residents.

Jenny Bulgrien of Port Huron is a member of the Blue Water Project 100 team and said team members are encouraging residents to focus on random acts of giving.

“A lot of people are shocked,” when someone else offers to pay for their items Bulgrien said. “I was in Tim Horton’s and paid for the people in front of me.”

Bulgrien said the project is now in its second phase, where team members are randomly giving away $100 to 100 people in 100 days, with the intention for those people to also pay it forward.

“We want to focus on how people in the community can give back,” Bulgrien said.

The project hit the streets June 7, passing out $100 bills across the Blue Water Area.

Recipients of the $100 are asked to think of ways they could give back to their communities, including donating time and helping neighbors in need. Recipients of the money are also encouraged to share their personal stories on the Project 100 Web site – project100bluewater.com.

Mark Berry of Lexington, who shared his story on the Web site, said he was in line at the Dairy Queen in Fort Gratiot, when a man handed him a business card and offered to buy his ice cream.

“I thought he was kidding,” Berry said.

If you are one of the 100 Blue Water residents handed a $100 bill, lets us know and we'll share your story.

Colonial Festival Hits 30-Year Mark

Annual Feast of the St. Claire Takes Over Pine Grove Park This Weekend
Donald Lierman
Contributing Writer

From authentic costumes and colonial dances to bean soups and rock candies, the 30th-annual Feast of the Ste. Claire is sure to offer a little something to suit everyone’s tastes.

More than 650 French, British, and American Indian re-enactors will portray life in the Blue Water area as it was in colonial times. Cannons will be fired. Battles will be re-enacted. And demonstrations of Celtic dance, craft, cooking and much more will re-create how life was in the region between 1750 and 1840. Each day of the two-day festival will also offer 18 historically-accurate presentations.

“This is really a wonderful event,” said Volunteer, Programs and Grant Manager for the Port Huron Museum, Holly Modock. “The feast allows both young and old a chance to experience the sights and sounds of early Michigan history.”

The two-day celebration kicks-off this weekend, May 29-30 (Memorial Day weekend), at Pine Grove Park just north of downtown Port Huron. Gates open at 10 a.m. both days and close at 10 p.m. on Saturday and 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. Admission to the feast is $8 for adults and $6 for seniors and students. Military personal (with proper ID) and children under 5 get in to event free.

Harry and Rose Burgess, who chair the annual event, have been involved with the festival since its inception in 1980.

“The festival was to first celebrate the 300th anniversary of Fort St. Joseph,” Rose Burgess said. “The idea grew to celebrate the Feast of the Ste. Claire. The lake and river were named after that feast day on which a Father Henniten ‘discovered’ those bodies of water.”

A wide variety of daily events and presentations are scheduled during the festival’s 30th anniversary celebration.

“There will be three special speakers,” Rose Burgess said. “Philip Sincully will discuss the ship, The Welcome, which was a local trading vessel. Ron Pinson will talk about local Native Americans of that period. And Gary Werner will demonstrate a colonial surgery, as well as speak on early medicines.

“Finally, a ladies high tea will be presented, which will include a commemorative cup and saucer. In addition, there will be a couple night-time firings of cannon, which will leave spectators breathless. They’ll learn why you don’t stand in front of one, even if it’s only a re-enactment.”

Also highlighting the festival will be candlelight tours, a Catholic mass and a colonial ball Saturday evening, with colonial contra dance lessons before the ball at 4:45 p.m.

Modock said volunteers are still needed for the event. Those interested should contact her at 810-982-0891, ext. 118.

Free parking will be available in the St. Clair County Community College parking lot, located by the M-TEC building, with free trolley rides to the park.

Museum members pay only $2 for admission and family passes to the festival are available for $20. Admission is good for both days of the feast.

“The event is like your own personal time machine to our ancestors’ days,” Harry Burgess said. “Even if it is not of the hot tub variety.”

Café Takes Fresh Approach to Dining

Patrons Travel Miles to Enjoy Speakeasy
Twana Pinskey
Contributing Writer

When it comes to the restaurant business, Ryan Senk is in good company -- his family. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde, New York, he returned to the area to become executive chef at the Black River Café and Speakeasy in downtown Port Huron.

Located at 213 Huron Avenue, the café offers unique dishes not found in other area restaurants, such as perch tacos and pan-fried frogs legs. Owner Bill Senk, of Algonac, said his customers come from as far south as Rochester and Mt. Clemens, and as far north as Lexington and Port Sanilac to dine on the his son’s culinary creations and enjoy a drink in the basement prohibition-inspired speakeasy.

The father- son-duo is adamant about serving the freshest food possible.

“Everything is fresh and cooked to order,” the elder Senk said. “We don’t have a deep fryer, microwave or a freezer here.”

The Senks try to order their ingredients from local farmers and suppliers, including Maple Creek Farm, which grows a variety of organic vegetables across 80-acres in Yale, as much as possible.

Chef Senk said in the current Michigan economy, it’s important to support local businesses whenever possible. That sentiment is echoed by Maple Creek owner, Michelle Lutz.

“It is a rarity to have a chef willing to change their menu based on what is available,” she said.

Lutz said Chef Senk is so particular about what goes into each plate, that he travels to the farm to hand pick the best veggies for the restaurant. She said he’s extremely dedicated and committed to picking only the freshest items.

“I just knew this was going to be a good working relationship,” Lutz said.

But Senk doesn’t just serve fresh produce, he also seeks out the freshest cuts of meat for the café. He says there is a stark difference between frozen, farm-raised and wild seafood products. That difference can be tasted in two of the café’s most popular entrees: pretzel-encrusted walleye and wild-caught Scottish salmon.

Ellen Frazer, of St. Clair, who recently dined on the pretzel-encrusted walleye, had nothing but good things to say about Senk’s skills behind the stove.

She was quite happy with the wait staff’s willingness to accommodate her special request, which included ordering the walleye’s cracked-mustard cream sauce on the side, in case she thought it would be too spicy.

“The cracked-mustard sauce was wonderful,” she said, adding that it complimented the walleye quite well. “I appreciate the sauce being artfully presented, separately with arrangement of fresh raw vegetables as an accompaniment,” she said.

She also enjoyed a side of wild mushroom hash with her meal.

Customer satisfaction is the main goal of both Senks, which can be seen not only in the food, but in their work-ethic and attention to detail.

“With the economy being as tight as it is, when people are able to go out for dinner, they want a true dining experience,” Bill Senk said. “We believe we offer them that.”

He believes their attention to even the smallest of details, such as the restoration of the building from its original décor, has made a huge difference in the café’s patronage and return business.

“There are 15,166 bricks in this room; I hand washed everyone of them,” Senk said jokingly.

Rock-n-Roll Show at the Roche this weekend

Saturday October 10th go check out Drum Kit (Lafayette, Ind) and Mellows (Ann Arbor)
at the Roche Bar in Downtown Port Huron, Michigan

Dale "Polecat" Beavers LIVE on WSGR 91.3fm

Wednesday September 16th from 8-10pm Dale "Polecat" Beavers will be live in the WSGR 91.3fm studios. He's bringing in his guitar to do some playing and singing as well as telling us stories about playing with legends like Junior Kimbrough and Nathaniel Mayer as well as bass on the Compulsive Gamblers album "Crystal Gazing Luck Amazing" album. Check out Dale's music at his Myspace page.

Join us for an evening of music and good times in downtown Port Huron. Burn off some of those calories the night before you get a heavy dose of tryptophan, sweets and spirits. More info go to bluewaterbeat.org

WSGR 91.3fm Status Update

New tower installed and transmitter back up to full power. New equipment installed in the actual studio over the next week or so. The station will be back on the air asap. Can't say exactly when but soon (hopefully sometime in the next two weeks if not before). Sit tight and get ready.

wanna comment?

Band from Italy and more this weekend in the Port Huron area

Also, On Saturday the 16th Miss Chain and the Broken Heels are playing the Painted Lady in Hamtramck with the Smith Westerns

...and...



Live music starts around 4pm.

http://www.myspace.com/misschainandthebrokenheels
http://www.myspace.com/smithwesterns
http://www.myspace.com/themcflys
http://www.myspace.com/subourbonson

Please repost and spread the word.

August 16th in Port Huron: Green Gathering 2008

Cultivating a Responsible Community
Pine Grove Park
Noon-7pm

Gather to celebrate our Earth and find ways to live in better balance with it.

By educating ourselves and engaging in civil discussion of real issues, we gain the tools necessary to affect positive change. There will be vendors, informational displays, educational speakers and live entertainment. This is an organic event. That is to say, a handful of concerned individuals and organizations come together to plant a seed, and we need you to make it grow. If you would like to register to have a display or to volunteer to help send a message to green@bluewaterbeat.org

Click here for more info

From this past Saturday

The Readies and the Magic Shop played the Roche bar in Port Huron this past Saturday. It was pretty bad ass. The Readies are Dan Kroha (the Gories, Demolition Dollrods) new rock-n-roll trio and the Magic Shop are a loud bit of jangle that includes Steve Nawara of Rocket 455 and Detroit Cobras fame on guitar and vocals. Bunch of pics Dale Merrill took and commentary over at Smashin' Transistors. Go check it out! And yes...these were all shot on actual film.

The Readies and Magic Shop get the Roche a-shakin' this Saturday!

The Readies (feat. Detroit garage-punk legend Danny Kroha of the Gories/Demolition Dollrods fame) and Magic Shop (who include "local dude" Jake & one time Detroit Cobras/Electric Six Steve) @ the Roche Bar in Port Huron this Saturday Night August 9th.

The Readies got a biker soul/T. Rex on rocket fuel thing
http://www.myspace.com/thereadiesdetroit


Magic Shop got a bit of a jangly stoned cowboy vibe.
http://www.myspace.com/magicshop313

click here for more info

Catch 22. We're gonna miss you.

Some of us our meeting tonight down in the pub to pay our last respects to one of our favorite local establishments. It's been rough going in the area and Catch 22 is another victim of the times. Us here at Blue Water Beat are going to miss the place. Meet us there if you'd like.
If you would like to send well wishes to Catch 22 and it's staff you can do it here.

BLUEWATERBEAT Selectors @ the Quay St. Brewing Co. on Saturday, August 2

WELCOME IN THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER WITH US!
Saturday, August 2 @ The Quay St. Brewing Co.

more info

Miss Chain & the Broken Heels, the McFlys and Subourbon Son 8/15 at the Roche.

for more info click here