8/2/2019 Cuppa Joe by Bob Conradi (MCCPA Honorable Mention

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WCC studentstake Autoramaby storm again

MARCH 14, 2011The Washtenaw Voice, Section B

LAWRENCE DONNELLYContributor

Its not hard to miss. From the out-side, Frenchies Bar looks like an an-nex of Sidetrack Bar and Grill, and toa great degree, thats true. Frenchiesis, after all, owned by Linda French,Sidetracks well-known proprietor.But what makes Frenchies different is

partially the different things that go onin there, and if you walk through thedoor marked Antiques on a Tuesdaynight, you might be lucky enough tohear music by Opera on Tap.

On the first Tuesday of everymonth, General Manager Divo KoKaiden and a revolving cast of per-

formers sing and play for whats usu-ally a full house.

Larry OSullivan has been comingfor more than a year.

Opera was made for audience par-ticipation, he said. Its a great way tocome out and hear great music.

The sound in here, with the hard-wood floors, and the brick walls, its

just incredible, said Paul Northway,OSullivans friend. When you havesomeone like Ko singing, you reallyunderstand what people mean whenthey say ring the rafters. Ko reallyrings the rafters.

Doris Waldon recently attendedOOT for the first time. She comparedthe evenings performance, titledLove is All You Need to a walkthrough the British countryside. Thereare usually a lot of familiar faces, butOSullivan points out, theres always

someone new, like Waldon.Kaiden has been a musician foryears. After moving from Japan toBrooklyn, he found it hard to find

places to perform as an oboist, and be-gan taking voice lessons. After sometime, he encountered OOT, and wasable to begin singing.

A lot of vocalists struggle to findplaces to perform after they gradu-

A cuppa joe, with Motowns Dennis Coffey

Tapping into opera

BENJAMIN MICHAEL SOLISStaff Writer

Dennis Coffey is one of the greatunsung heroes of Motown Records.But even legends need backup plans.Luckily for Coffey, he had two.

Unable to land a new record deal in1985, Coffey went to work on the as-sembly lines of General Motors. Mov-ing up the ladder in the auto industryand graduating from Wayne StateUniversity with a masters degree inintstructional technology, Coffey be-

came a consultant for both GM andFord Motor Company.

But when the auto industry took aturn for the worse, Coffey returned tohis first love of music and ran with itfor the second time.

Sitting over a cup of coffee in theheart of Detroits theater district, the70-year-old guitarist and native De-troiter said it was all about survival.

I had to do what I had to do to feedmy family, Coffey said, about an hour

before he was to take the stage before apacked house at the Majestic Theatre.

If you stay in music for too long andit isnt making you money anymore, it

becomes really hard to do.I figured I can ride the horse until

its dead, or I can get off. And thatswhat I did.

Now, after a 22-year recording hia-tus and a break from touring, the ses-sion guitarist and Funk Brothers alumis again in full swing. Supported byMotor City Funk Night house bandWill Sessions for four North Americandates, Coffey is back on the road andis set to release a brand-new, self-titled

album on April 25.Brought together through their

management teams, Sessions founderand band leader Sam Beaubien said itwas all a matter of chance.

I was hired to arrange horn partsfor his new album, and his manage-ment heard all our music and likedwhat we did, said the 28-year-oldtrumpeter.

The result is a dream gig.Its amazing, Tim Shellabarger,

bass player and co-founder of Ses-sions, said before their first gig on Feb.

21. The guy was in the Funk Broth-ers, one of the all-time greatest backup

bands in music and now were back-ing him.

This is nothing new for the eight-piece band, which has backed under-ground hip-hop heavyweights likeGuilty Simpson, Black Milk, Phat Katand Slum Village in both the studioand live settings.

Described by their fans as thegrimy, groovy love-child of James

SEEMOTOWNPAGE B2

Dennis Coffey has some quiet time alone before his gig at Motor City Funk Night at the Majestic Theater, Friday, Feb. 25.

ROBERT CONRADITHE WASHTENAW VOICE

LEAH RURKAStaff Writer

Washtenaw Community CollegesCustom Cars and Concepts program

once again out-muscled the competi-tion at the recent Autorama at DetroitsCobo Center, winning eight awards,including four firsts.

Autorama is arguably one of thetoughest custom car shows in thecountry, according to Gary Sobbry,who has been department chair of theCustom Cars and Concepts programfor 10 years. And this year, other col-leges were involved in the show, heldFeb. 25-28.

We did really well, said Sobbry.We are really proud of all the ladiesand gentlemen that built those vehi-cles. It was another good year.

Vehicles at Autorama were judgedby three teams of two individuals whoexamine several aspects of the vehi-cle, including interior, paint and body

work, under hood modifications andunder body modifications.

The Ford 500 GT-R, the pride ofWashtenaws Custom Cars and Con-

cepts program, was entered in theRadical Hard Top class and did notdisappoint.

The car really shouldnt have beenput in that class, but the judging staff

did it. It really destroyed the studentsbecause they thought there was zerochance of winning anything, saidSobbry. A long story short, we tookfirst in that class.

The GT-R is a prime example of thegrit and determination of WCCs auto-motive technologies program. Whendesigning the car, Ford Motor Co. en-gineers told Sobbry that it couldnt be

built. He was told it was impossible.Less than a year later, with Ford

writing the check, we completed thecar and it ran at 200 mph, said Sobbry.

Scott Malnar, instructor in theCustom Cars & Concepts program,expressed his pride in WCCs staff andstudents at the show.

They were there the whole time,working the booth, said Malnar. I

think Washtenaw had a great presenceat Autorama.

Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti managing divo Ko Kaiden poses with a mug of beer before the show at Frenchies Bar in Ypsilanti.

KO KAIDEN COURTESY PHOTO

SEE AUTO PAGE B5 SEE OPERA PAGE B3

WCC Custom Cars and Concepts students entered a customized 2005 Ford FiveHundred GT-R in Autorama at Cobo Center.

ADAM WOODWARD COURTESY PHOTO

Soprano Karin White and baritoneKo Kaiden at Frenchies in Ypsilantising La ci darem la mano from DonGiovanni by Mozart.

KO KAIDEN COURTESY PHOTO