The demise and rise
The Michigan Daily -Thursday, September 29, 1983- Page7
Parker is no ordinary word
of the Fle
M AY 18, 1983. The Fleetwood
Diner, queen of the Ann
Arbor greasies, declares bankrup-
tcy in a Detroit courtroom. Gover-
nment agents bar the doors at 300 S.
Ashley, provoking wails of protest
throughout the city from regular and
fashionable patrons alike.
Two weeks later, the Fleetwood
reopens, a tenuous grip on existence
afforded by Chapter 11 bankruptcy
laws. The court gives owner Kay
Dumsick six months to come up with
an acceptable repayment plan; the
diner owes several thousand dollars
in both state and federal back taxes.
Ann Arborites of all walks and limps
rally around their beleagured
eatery; 250 signatures grace a save-
the-Fleetwood petition and
background support is strong.
Today, personable employees con-
tinue to serve the famed Fleetwood
'etwood
french fries, chili (available with
Clancy's hot sauce), burgers and
coffee to a varied and hungry clien-
tele. But the fate of the 36-year old
diner remains unresoved.
January, 1979. Rich Alford,
Fleetwood owner of seven
years,completes sale of the property
to Dumsick, whose first move is to
install new Gingham curtains and
stained glass. Sensitive customers
are outrages. If you want to sell an-
tiques, Dumsick is informed, open
an antique shop.
It is only one of the many errors of
judgement made by Dumsick, then a
novice restauranteur. Divorced "
with three kids, and still recovering
from major surgery, she names her
personal friend, Dennis Cencich, as
Fleetwood manager. The grills
remain greased and business
proceeds, although the new owner,
softens the red-hot chili recipe, in
consideration of more delicate
palates.
July 1979. Manager Cencich is
jailed for fraudulent actions in
another small business. Dumsick
becomes suspicious. "There were
times when I asked, 'Shouldn't we be
paying some kind of taxes?' she
remembers.
Cencich refuses to let Dumsick see'
the diner's financial records.
Burgers are flipped, eggs are
scrambled.
April, 1980. Dumsick discovers
the Fleetwood owes "a large
amount" to the Internal Revenue
Service. A series of accountants fail
to make sense of the Fleetwood
books. And federal agents begin
what Dumsick calls "three years of
harrassment."
"All that time I was the naive
American-like you've got to pay
your taxes," Dumsick says. "I
thought Big Brother is watching,
and I've found out that Big Brother
iswatching."
December, 1980. A major grease
fire devastates one entire end of the
building. The Fleetwood is closed
for a week of expensive repairs.
Two more fires, in June and July of
1981, are successfully doused before
a new, effective fire system is in-
stalled. There have been no sub-
sequent incendiary problems.
Meanwhile, the tax people remain
on the diner's stooped back. The
government levies a 36 percent
penalty on all unpaid dues. In the
end, federal officials outline an
arrangement whereby the Fleet-
wood pays $2000 monthly over and
above regular taxes, until the debt is
cleared. All told, Dumsick pays
over $20,000 in back taxes and
penalties from 1980 to 1983.
And then there are the regular ex-
penses of any small business:
utilities, workman's compensation.
'Social Security, food supplies,
payroll, insurance, theft
replacement....
With the federal monthly payment
arrangement, the Fleetwood
manages to remain solvent...until
the state forces move in. Demands
for back state taxes eventually force
the decision of May 18. The IRS
removes all money in Fleetwood
bank accounts and forces Dumsick
to sell a quarter of the diner inven-
tory to cover "bankruptcy court
fees."
All Fleetwood checks are now
marked "debtor in possession"-a
friendly warning to suppliers.
Creditors become frightened.
"They think, 'This business is get-
ting out, so we're getting what we
can,"' says Dumsick. "It's
humiliating it's embarrassing."
And so October 6, knelling date for
the repayment plan, approaches.
The August benefit dinner didn't
yield much, except a morale boost.
There are sketchy plans for further
fund-raisers, possibly at Joe's Star
Lounge, but nothing in time for the
court's perusal.
Unaware of the financial chaos
surrounding it, the egg salad lands
on another slice of wheat bread;
another round of potoatoes mutate
into crispy, thick fries. The college
professor sits alongside the street-
person, and they share a newspaper.
The value of the Fleetwood Diner
goes beyond a tax statement. It goes
beyond the frenzied efforts of the
moneymakers and the moneytakers.
It doesn't go beyond the futile daily
twitches of you and me. But it
comes pretty close.
By Bill Hanson
B ACK WHEN Paul McCartney and
- -Wings were writing silly love songs,
Peter Frampton was mucking up min-
dless music, and the airwaves were
filled with schmaltzy drivel, Graham
Parker was busy recording catchy,
memorable rock 'n roll that would later
be classified by critics as "pub-rock"
and "new wave".
It was the mid '70s and pop music was
in a sorry state. Rock radio consisted of
heavy metal head banging stations and
mellow-with-a-capital-M fluff stations.
Rising up through the rubble was a
handful of British bands playing a sim-
pler brand of music - pub-rock, as it
was dubbed. Bands such as Brinsley
Schwarz, Chilli Willi, and Ace made
some great records, but very little
money.
Shortly thereafter, Parker sprang on
the scene from Deepcut, a small suburb
of London, and joined up with the newly
formed band the Rumor (Brinsley
Schwarz, Martin Belmont, Andrew
Bodnar, Stephen Goulding, and Bob
Andrews).
Howlin' Wind, the band's first album,
hit like a hurricane and gave new hope
to those who considered rock to be dead
when Freddie Mercury and Queen's
"We are the Champions" reached
number one on the charts. Producer
Nick Lowe rounded up Dave Edmunds,
Noel Brown, and a five-piece horn sec-
tion that gave Howlin' Wind a tough,
danceable sound reminiscent of
Motown and the British invasion of the
early '60s.
In that same year Parker and the
Rumour released their second album,
Heat Treatment, produced by Robert
John Lange. It too was a rock gem and
established Graham Parker and the
Rumour as a force that couldn't be
ignored. Critics, having had not too
much to get excited about during that
era, sat up and took notice of the kid
from Deepcut. By the end of 1976,
Graham Parker and the Rumour had
won notice as the year's best new band
from Rolling Stone, and their two
albums placed number two and four in
theVillage Voice critics poll.
Often times, critics have a way of
laying on the praise a bit too thick,
especially when the artist being written
about is going to be "the next big
thing." In Parker's case, however, the
rave reviews were appropriate. His
music has influenced the likes of Elvis
Costello, Bruce Springsteen, and coun-
tless new wave and punk bands. Some
have even labeled Parker the godfather
of punk - and although the point is well
taken, it is stretching it just a bit.
Unlike the punks, Parker's anger is
directed at specific targers: England's
class structure, lethargic people, and
organizations, to name a few. The
topics Parker vents his anger on are not
necessarily unique to his songs, but the
passion and knife-like directness in
them are.
Parker's anger reached a head in
1979 with the release of the powerful
Squeezing out Sparks - voted the best
album for that year in the Village Voice
poll. Produced by Jack Nitzche,
Squeezing Out Sparks was a guitar-
dominated album that contained three
of Parker's most passionate and best
songs: "Local Girls," "You Can't be
too Strong," and "Passion is No Or-
dinary Word."
Unfortunately, Parker and the
Rumour parted ways a couple years
ago ending what many considered a"
musical marriage made in heaven.
Although the split - which Parker
says was amicable - left him without
one of rock's tightest backup bands, it
allowed Parker to call all the shots and
arrange his music the way he thought it
should be.
Another Grey Area, produced by
Jack Douglas, was Parker's first effort
without the Rumour. It contained some
memorable tunes but lacked the power
and urgency of his earlier work. His
latest album The Real Macaw, regains
some of the lost intensity, thanks in part
to the new band Parker and producer
David Kershenbaum have assembled:
Ex-Squeeze drummer Gilson Lavis,
bassist Kevin Jenkins, keyboardist
George Small, and ex-Rumour guitarist
Brinsley Schwarz.
The Real Macaw contains several
melodic, energetic songs that are of the
high quality we have come to expect
from Parker. Interestingly, this album
as well as Another Grea Area flesh out
a new side of Parker: happiness and
even optimism. Marital life it seems
has taken off Parker's rough edges -
he is happy, but not content. Certainly
he'll never be mellow or mushy like,
many lovesick songwriters. Further-
more, when Graham Parker sings
songs like "Anniversary" (The Real
Macaw)
F.NLARGE
ENLARGE
ki n1I ii copI~ies~'~
.. .I need you to live with me/So
darling can 't you see/How much I
love you/On our anniversary.
you believe the guy is really in love.
As for Parker's newfound optimism,
consider the following lines from "Life
Gets Better" (The Real Macaw):
I used to think that it all stopped
happening/by the time you reached
21/They said there's nothing like
the first love you get, boy/They!
were wrong, oh so wrong... but I
know life gets better when/ever I'm
in her arms.
The Real Macaw is a solid effort from
Parker and provides him and his new
band with great new material for con-
certs:Parker fans are no doubt gearing.
up for tomorrow's concert in Detroit. If
you're not familiar with Parker's music
it would still be well worthwhile to
make the trip to the Motor City for the
show. After all, Bruce Springsteen once
remarked that Graham Parker is the
only person he'd pay money to see in
concert...Parker is no ordinary word!
ENLARGE
540 E. Liberty St. 761-4539
Corner of Maynard & Liberty
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Free Medium Size Soft Drink
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expires 10-7-83
.f
Parker
.. . squeezes out parts
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U Enjoy Ann Arbor's #1 Ribs with
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ISrI
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in the heart of downtown Ann Arbor
Special good thru October 31.
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