Magic Johnson is no stranger to Michigan. In addition to growing up in Lansing (our state capitol), he started his meteoric rise to the top of the basketball world at Michigan State University. He’s also been a force in the Detroit business community, opening theaters and coffee shops around the city and its suburbs. Today he took that one step further. Via TechCrunch:
“NBA legend Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson this morning announced that he is joining and investing in Detroit Venture Partners, a VC firm that invests in seed and early-stage technology companies primarily located in the heart of downtown Detroit, as its fourth general partner.
The Hall of Fame basketball star will be working with the founders of the firm, namely Quicken Loans founder (and Cleveland Cavaliers owner) Dan Gilbert, ePrize founder Josh Linkner and investor Brian Hermelin, and invest ‘millions of dollars’ in the fund, according to the PR.”
With the recent shift in the public perception of Detroit – from vast wasteland to land of boundless possibilities – we’re fast becoming the center for new growth in the post-recession world. Buy your skyscraper now before they’re all spoken for!
“36 Hours in Detroit” is a tiny travelogue in the May 5th issue of the New York Times. Even with the mildly condescending tone (“struggling city”, “the recovery that Detroit is now attempting“, etc.) they did a pretty decent job of pointing out some of Detroit’s finest hot spots… especially Slows. Seriously… if you live within 300 miles of Detroit, stop what you’re doing, get in your car and drive to Slows. You won’t be sorry.
Despite their best efforts to cover some of the high points of a trip to Detroit, though, the NYT left out a few not-to-be-missed spots. Don’t forget Avalon Bread for the absolute BEST organic baked goods this side of heaven. Right next door, you’ll find Goodwell’s Natural Foods where you can get a mind-blowing Kale salad made by Zen Buddhist monks in Hamtramck (Detroit’s own Polish/German district). Then grab your delicious grub and head out to Belle Isle, the largest island city park in America and occasional home to the Detroit Grand Prix.
With all the out-of-town haters out there, it may be difficult to believe that Detroit is quickly becoming an arts mecca. Large, affordable spaces are drawing artists from all over the globe faster than the promise of free boxed wine and cheese cubes.
In much the same way that Detroit has always been a musical incubator – from Motown to Techno to Kid Rock – we are fast becoming the place for young talent (now that it costs upwards of $100k a month to live in a likely rat-infested closet in SOHO).
Art X Detroit is a celebration of the wide spectrum of art and artists that now make their home in the D Some are lifelong residents. Others were drawn here from all over the globe. Art X, sponsored by the Kresge Foundation, showcases the recipients of their recent fellowships in disciplines that cover everything from the written word to visual and performance art (and every combination thereof). It’s a multi-venue, days-long tribute to the work created here at the hard, leathery core of The Great Recession.
The image above is from a video of Chido Johnson’s “Wire Car Cruise” performed in front off the Detroit Institute of Arts. It combines the traditions of the artist’s native Zimbabwe and the local tradition of cruising up and down Woodward in your best rolling hunk of Detroit Steel.
Art X Detroit began on the 6th and runs through the weekend in venues all over Detroit.
According to this link on Yahoo Traveler, Travel & Leisure magazine has named Detroit as being among the most underrated cities on earth! As a matter of fact, it’s number one on the list, meaning that it suffers the worst reputation or that it’s the awesomest – we choose to believe it’s a combination of the two.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: we love Detroit and if you don’t, you’re just a big stupid dumbhead… and now we have outside corroboration.
Okay… so this isn’t the second best Super Bowl ad ever, but, it does (like our other recent Super Bowl ad post) feature everybody’s favorite Detroiter, Eminem… and in the closing shot you see Brisk Iced Tea’s Artists’ Series of can designs. Among them (just left of center) is a design by famous graffiti artist and former Detroiter, Tristan Eaton – a man who still holds the banner high for the D.
It seems like Super Bowl week is hometown pride week for Detroit.
Today, metromode, an e-publication focused on business in Southeast Michigan, featured a story on Brand Labs.
That’s right. As part of their ongoing series of Q & As with local, successful CEOs and founders, metromode spent some time with Kevin Harman and Dane Downer (our founders) in an effort to expose the secrets of our success. (Spoiler alert: We possess the Sorcerer’s Stone and that tiki necklace from the Hawaiian episodes of The Brady Bunch.)
Anyhoo, we’re grateful to metromode and Jon Zemke for the article and we suggest that you go read it right away to find out if the tiki necklace makes us lose the big surfing contest.
As we’ve been yapping about for the last week or so, we held our super-elegant, star-studded premiere event for the Audiosonic Identiglyph at the Steak Hut in Downtown Detroit. Here, you see Constantine “Gus” Kanakis. He’s the King of the Steak hut and we thank him profusely for his hospitality yesterday. He (and his fantastic staff) put up with a 4-piece indie-pop band, a DJ and a couple hundred local revelers to help us pull off our incredibly grand plan (which effectively involved listening to awesome music and eating free breakfast).
Our thanks go out to the dozens and dozens of local music fans, Brand Labs staff (and loved ones) and more than a few Steak Hut regulars, who all came together to give us one hell of a great Sunday. Hit the jump to see a few more pics from the event…
We’ll be there all day (from 8am to 2pm) but the real action starts around 11am when FAWN (shown here) takes the stage for three sets of Sunday morning, wake-you-up rock and roll. We’re buying breakfast and handing out FREE copies of the single and the Audiosonic Identiglyph (on vinyl)! There is literally no reason not to attend… unless you hate being cool.
Magic Johnson is no stranger to Michigan. In addition to growing up in Lansing (our state capitol), he started his meteoric rise to the top of the basketball world at Michigan State University. He’s also been a force in the Detroit business community, opening theaters and coffee shops around the city and its suburbs. Today he took that one step further. Via TechCrunch:
With all the out-of-town haters out there, it may be difficult to believe that Detroit is quickly becoming an arts mecca. Large, affordable spaces are drawing artists from all over the globe faster than the promise of free boxed wine and cheese cubes.
According to 
