A band hailing from Detroit, Michigan, visited Bowling Green this past weekend, playing two live shows at the local coffee shop Grounds
for Thought.
They are The Infatuations, a rock band that combines acoustic, punk, soul and Motown sounds into their music. According to their official band website, their newest album “Detroit Block Party” is like their live performances, “diverse, fun, soulful, gritty and always positive.”
The band members include guitarist Christian Draheim, a bass guitarist nicknamed “Wolf,” guitarist Nick Behnan, drummer Robert Meyers and new lead vocalist Kendrick Hardaway. For this performance, backup vocalist Liz Girard, a singer/song-writer from Detroit who is a part of a Detroit-based band called Shotgun Soul, joined them.
The Infatuations had played at Black Swamp Arts Festival in 2013, where they headlined on the main stage and also performed at Grounds for Thought.
Community member T.J. Sterns was confused about the new lead vocalist.
“I was disappointed to see that they had switched the front singer out. I was nervous,” Sterns said. “But after hearing [Kendrick] sing … Oh, he’s got some pipes.”
With upbeat power songs like “Dancin’ On My Knees” to sweet love songs like “Back Again,” The Infatuations kept the community of Bowling Green moving and sent an electric shock through the crowd.
“They felt comfortable here,” Kelly Wicks, owner of Grounds for Thought, said about the members of the band. “They spent the day here [in town], we walked around campus, ate lunch at The Oaks and got ready for the shows,” he said.
Wicks also spoke to the kind of crowd that gathered during
the weekend.
“They feed off this great energy that we have here,” he said.
Other than providing entertainment for the community, The Infatuations were also here to take on a new project: to record a vinyl set under the Grounds for Thought label.
“We have our own equipment here. They’ve done every set of songs twice each night, so we will pull what sounds the best,” Wicks said.
The recording process under the Grounds for Thought label starts with the live performer or band performing a series of nights at the coffee shop while being recorded. After the live shows, Grounds for Thought and the artist sit down to review and listen to the live recordings, then deciding which parts of which songs had the
best take.
After the best tracks are selected, the vinyl is sent off to Gotta Groove records [located in Cleveland], where the music tracks are laid and the actual vinyl is pressed.
The Infatuations’ vinyl will be ready to purchase during the 2015 Black Swamp Arts Festival.
More information about Gotta Groove Records can be found at gottagrooverecords.com.
You can visit The Infatuations at theinfatuations.com to learn more about the band or purchase their album, “Detroit Block Party.”
