I

Arts & Entertainment

RECONNECTING

ON THs= COVER

Was

Don Was comes home for Concert of
Colors and Oak Park High 40th reunion.

Arab Community Center for Economic
and Social Services (ACCESS) and the
Detroit Institute of Arts. Among the mem-
bers of the New Detroit 2010 Cultural
on Was, musically and socially,
Exchange Network are the American
doesn't leave the past behind.
Jewish Committee of Metropolitan Detroit
The musician-producer, who
and the Anti-Defamation League.
grew up in Oak Park and changed his
"There will be a different chemistry
surname from Fagenson, seeks ways to
expand his successes into new dimensions in this year's revue Was explains about
not only nationally and internationally but the lineup of performers. There are some
extremely well-known artists and some
also in his home state.
that many have not seen.
Was, who early on drew attention with
"Among the Motown greats are Kim
fellow Oak Parker David Weiss (David Was)
Weston,
who did duets with Marvin Gaye,
as part of the musical group Was (Not
and
Dennis
Coffey, who is recognized for
Was), returns this summer to headline the
his
legendary
guitar style.
Concert of Colors and jam with longtime
"I
can
go
to
MySpace and pretty much
friends at his high-school reunion.
figure
out
the
local
music scene. I've had
At this year's Concert of Colors, at 8:30
the
help
of
Ismael
Ahmed,
ACCESS co-
p.m. Saturday, July 17, at Orchestra Hall
founder,
who
has
been
putting
on the
in Detroit, the Don Was Detroit All-Star
event
for
many
years,
and
he
has
turned
Revue will feature 15 classic and con-
me on to a number of new bands:'
temporary Motown music acts. Then, on
Was, whose music and views can be
Saturday evening, July 31, at the Glen Oaks
heard on his Sirius satellite radio pro-
Country Club in Farmington Hills, Was
gram Motor City Hayride, airing at 10
and band members from his teen years
p.m. Saturdays and Mondays and 8 p.m.
will perform at their 40th reunion.
Sundays, has produced recordings for many
stars, including Bob Dylan, Randy Newman
Concert Of Colors
and Elton John. A recent project has
"The Concert of Colors is a wonderful
involved producing a remake of the Rolling
event and the highlight of my year:' says
Stones recording Exile on Main Street.
Was, 57, who is based in California and
"I've produced all of the Rolling Stones
returns for the annual event that cel-
records since 1993," Was says. "It's one of
ebrates diversity in the tri-county area.
the great joys of my life to be involved
"It's a great example of the whole being
with them.
greater than its parts. All these different
"We could have reissued the original
people getting in one room and perform-
ing together transports everyone to anoth- Main Street recording, but we added some
songs and included bonus tracks. They
er level. There's a magical vibe'
sent me hundreds of hours of unreleased,
The free event, in its 18th year, runs
multi-track tapes from the studio, and I
Friday-Sunday, July 16-18, in and around
went through it all and ended up picking
the Max M. Fisher Music Center. The
out 10 songs.
public is invited to view programs by the
"I think that part of the genius of the
Detroit Symphony Orchestra, global music
Rolling Stones is that they write songs
artists and the Detroit Institute of Arts,
that allow room for interpretation. That's
where the central exhibit is "Through
African Eyes: The European in African Art, what makes the songs last. `Satisfaction
will mean something different to everyone
1500 to Present:'
New to this year's Concert of Colors will who hears it because everyone has a way
of not getting satisfaction:'
be a series of educational music activities,
Was looks forward to getting a lot of
a traveling farmers market and a food
drive to benefit Gleaners Community Food satisfaction while playing bass in the
Concert of Colors house band for any
Bank. Local vendors will continue to offer
group that asks. He will be joined by
multicultural food and merchandise.
Luis Resto on keyboard, Terry "Thunder"
The Concert of Colors is presented by
Hughley on drums and Brian "Roscoe"
the Arab American National Museum,
New Detroit, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, White on guitar.

Suzanne Chessler

Special to the Jewish News

D

Don Was is counting on a night of rehearsal with the members of his old bands

before playing at the OPHS reunion.

OPHS Reunion
Was also will be on bass for the Oak Park
High School reunion, where he will appear
with a group of friends who launched
their talents on the bar mitzvah circuit.
Some of the players go back to the years at
Clinton Junior High School in Oak Park.
Michael Loceff, who divides his time
between teaching computer software
engineering and writing and produc-
ing for television, beat the drums for the
Intruders and the Opalescent Hobnails.
Although he has not returned to Michigan
in 20 years, he has kept in touch with Was.
"I'm looking forward to just being at the
reunion:' says Loceff, who has worked in
television at the urging of his cousin for-
mer Oak Parker Joel Surnow, creator of the
TV series La Femme Nikita and 24.
"Playing the drums for Don and the

group will be fantastic. I haven't played
since college, other than from time to time
in one of my music rooms, where I don't
let anybody hear me because I feel a little
embarrassed:'
Loceff, who lives near Seattle, worked on
the series La Femme Nikita and 24.
"Since this is my first reunion, I feel
a sense of hopefulness that I'm going to
reconnect more and keep the connections
alive," he says.
Mitchell Jacobs, who lives in West
Bloomfield and played guitar for the
Saturns, writes, directs and produces for
TV, films and videos. He recently was
recognized for his work as the producer
of the legal program Due Process, a public
television series hosted by local attorney

Was Up? on page 40

The Opalescent Hobnails, playing at a ninth-grade dance at Clinton Jr. High School

in Oak Park, 1966. Left to right: Ricky Fishman on guitar, Mike Loceff on drums,

Don (Fagenson) Was on guitar and Arthur Hirschfield on bass.

July 15 • 2010

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