MI Local: Tears of a Martian premieres new music + Pinkeye returns!

You’ll often get quiet a zesty sonic stew when you tune in to MI Local! Part of that is due to how creative and adventurous many of the artists in our local scene are, but it’s also due to just how much music is released across the state, week-in and week-out, that inevitably a noisy indie-rock song by Jasper Dean transitioning into an EDM-driven electronica ballad by Gwendolyn Dot.

But it also means that you’ll get guests like Pinkeye, aka The Pinkeye Orchestra. This is a free-jazz inspired ensemble of 12 local musicians that formed a little more than 18 years ago, around what was then a burgeoning post-garage-rock scene of the mid-late 00’s.

Several of them started out by covering John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme,” with distorted guitars, frenetic drums, saxophones and more. Initially known only as Pinkeye, the band started to add more members, circling unconventional venues like The Bohemian National Home and the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit.

At the center of the Pinkeye band were three musicians who also had a knack for organizing, event-planning, or call-it-what-you-will, that was Mike Ross, Jeff Howitt, and Ray Thompson. They joined me in-studio to talk about the band’s upcoming performance at the Annex Gallery, part of 333 Midland in Highland Park, this Friday at 7 p.m., their first performance in 16 years.

During our interview, the trio talk about forming the band, and eventually crossing paths with the late John Sinclair, former manager of the MC5 and celebrated poet, musician and jazz-enthusiast. He began performing with Pinkeye in 2009-2010, and rechristened them The Pinkeye Orchestra. Catch ’em live, this Friday, playing two sets at the Annex.

My second guest was Arriana Bardoni, the singer-songwriter and guitarist who started Tears of a Martian. This has been Bardoni’s songwriting project that has attracted a revolving cast of band members over the years, but she’s also just performed live under the moniker as well, blending elements of indie-rock, R&B, and soul.

During our interview, Bardoni revealed the origin of the name, and talked developing the project and aligning with fellow talented local artists and songwriters like Carmel Liburdi and Shannon Barnes. Bardoni also treated WDET listeners to an exclusive sneak preview of her new single, “Spotless Mind,” which is officially out this Friday.

Next, Bardoni performed a live acoustic version of another new single, “Real,” which, like “Spotless Mind,” are both featured on her new release, her first full length, “light II dark,” which is out on May 8.

You can see Tears Of A Martian live this Friday night at the Outer Limits Lounge, for a release party, where you can get copies of the album on CD.

A few other notable tracks this week: new hook-heavy instrumental noise-rock from Callie Simon, a hard-driving, hard-rocking ballad from The Hourlies, and slick surf rock from Ann Arbor’s The Vicissitones.

Listen to the full episode using the media player above for up to two weeks after it airs.