Michigan Music History Podcast -- MMHP989 · Scott Baker, Gary Johnson, Fred Reif, Mike Beattie

Michigan Music History Podcast--SPECIAL HELLS HALF MILE EDITION 2025

·40 min·2 clips

Hot Joy are going into the studio this October to record their first full-length.

1. MMHP989’s special Hell’s Half Mile edition focuses on the 2025 Hell’s Half Mile Film and Music Festival in Bay City, Michigan. 2. Host Scott Baker talks with Don Hessel and Spencer Beery, who handle the music side and explain why their lineup choices matter. 3. The episode asks what music and film combinations the festival is putting together for September 25–28 and why those pairings fit each venue. 4. Thursday’s opening-night plan starts with the film Under the Lights by director Miles Levin at the State Theater. 5. The after-party moves to Old City Hall, where Bandu is set to play in the side room instead of the restaurant area. 6. Don and Spencer describe Bandu as quirky, modular, and stylistically mixed, with New Wave, jazz, and disco elements. 7. They mention a Detroit TV performance, two older dancers onstage, and the band’s lineup built around Chad Thompson and drummer Christophe. 8. Spencer says Bandu’s album Spirit Triggers has a pop sensibility and reminds him of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. 9. Friday’s live music returns to the Masonic Temple’s Blue Room with Minneapolis band Yam House after a filmmaker reception. 10. They say Yam House has toured nationally, built a following, and moved from an earlier R&B-pop direction toward rock. 11. Saturday night shifts to the Jefferson, a room both hosts describe as loud, hard to clean, and visually distinct. 12. The Courts from Chicago open the Jefferson bill, and Spencer calls them psychedelic tin shoegaze with jangly guitars and quiet-loud dynamics. 13. Hot Joy from St. Louis follows, with Spencer comparing them to Pavement and The Breeders and stressing their dual-vocal sound. 14. Spencer says Hot Joy’s Austin and Nicole blend well together, and he notes the band is heading into the studio in October for its first full-length. 15. La Rosa Noire closes the night, and the hosts highlight post-punk, surf-rock guitar, Latin beats, trumpet, and a female lead singer. 16. Don says La Rosa Noire came from Chicago’s Latino music scene and that their song “Chicano Stomp” turns into a party track with haunting vocals and trumpet. 17. The tone stays conversational, with Scott Baker, Don Hessel, and Spencer Beery swapping memories, venue details, and band descriptions. 18. The format mixes local-festival promotion with specific music recommendations and occasional film crossovers, including references to Michigan shorts and documentary titles. 19. Listeners who like Bay City music scenes and indie festival lineups would likely enjoy this. 20. Listeners wanting only film reviews or broader music history may skip it.

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