Dangerous Minds, Wicked Clowns, and Holiday Shopping!

Been a minute since I've had a chance to update you on the latest.

In good company at Pages Bookshop in North Rosedale Park, Detroit

To start, thank you to everyone who has had made it out to the book events. It's been great meeting you, chatting with fans & old friends about the book and the magazines that inspired it. The most fun I can have as the author of this book is seeking the excitement and smiles on your face as you pick up your copy. It's been great - THANK YOU!

Tricky Thinking! 

Over the past few weeks there have been some great developments happening. The great website Dangerous Minds wrote about the book. This is a great honor because they do great things, and I've always been a big fan of Disinformation - the original publication/site that Richard Metzger started before he went on to do Dangerous Minds.

If you haven't had a chance to read it, check out the write up here -> Remembering Detroit's Legendary Cult Zine - Orbit

Pass the Faygo, Ninja! 

Halloween this year including a stop at Hallowicked - the annual Insane Clown Posse event in Detroit. Violent J was kind enough to interview with me for the book. So, I wanted to hand deliver copies to the clowns. Thanks to their PR department over at Psychopathic Records, I had the chance to check out Hallowicked at the State Theater (I still can't call it that other name) and then the after party at St. Andrew's Hall where the meeting - and this photo - took place.

Shaggy 2 Dope & Violent J meet your humble author at Hallowicked!

As Violent J said best in the interview, "Everybody cool read Orbit first. They were the funny, cool, young, crazy place to be." 

It's Your History - Let's Archive It!

BIG NEWS!

A major historical institution is interested in collecting all aspects of the Orbit story from the people who were there. I can't tell you what archive, right now, but soon the world will know soon and it's going to be amazing!

Do you have materials? Please fill out the form.

Do you know someone who has materials? Pass this page on to them and ask them to fill out the form.

Thanks again for your help!

Rob St. Mary

Images, Laughs, and Stories from the Book Signings

The book signings started on Thursday September 10th, and I think I accomplished what I set out to do - give people a different experience at each location while introducing them to some of my favorite people & places.

Your humble author (Photo by Rob St. Mary)

Not only did people share great stories of what they loved or remembered about the magazines, but we even made history when the head of Orby was reunited with Jerry Vile.

I also have to say the kindness of members of the magazine staffs have been nothing short of amazing. Many have had kind things to say about the book, One staffer even gave me some one of a kind memorabilia with Orby head pins and an ultra-special unworn, limited edition Orbit t-shirt (turquoise on black).

It's just been an honor to share the book with everyone. Thank you, if you came out.

Here's a look at the events:

Book Events are GO!

Tonight starts the first in a series of book events - signings, print releases, film screenings - for you to enjoy.

Green Brain in Dearborn - Spreading the Word!

I hope you can make it out, share a few laughs, and celebrate Orby's 25th birthday with the release of "The Orbit Magazine Anthology."

Here's the list for the next ten days - all Metro Detroit area places:

Busy Day for the Orbit Book Team

Heading into Labor Day, there was no rest for the wicked on the Orbit book team.

L to R: Deena Centofanti with your humble author & Jerry Vile 

The day started at 9am at Fox 2 Detroit for an interview with Jerry Vile on "The Nine".

At 1pm, WDET's Culture City had a solo interview with yours truly.

By 5pm, the Detroit Free Press released an "Exclusive Excerpt" of the book.

Four Years to Today - THE BOOK IS HERE!

"Re-Entry" has landed!

Today is the day - September 1st, 2015 - the release date for "The Orbit Magazine Anthology".

Thank you for interviewing with me, for giving me leads, for giving me your hard earned money during the Patronicity fundraiser, for being supportive of the project, friends, and family, because you all have made this day possible. It's been a great honor to tell this story, one that's been in my mind for many years and took four years to complete. Thank you for making my first book possible.

"Thank You": Round 1

Orby goes swizzle stick. (Photo - Erin Carr)

Last night, Thursday August 27th, I had a special pre-release book pickup at Union Street.

The construction because of the light rail on Woodward, or as I have heard it called "People Mover 2: Electric Boogaloo", is a real pain. But, a lot of super cool friends, supporters, and people who were there doing the run of White Noise, Fun, and Orbit came to pick up their copies of the book.

Union Street was gracious enough to offer their Michigan Room to me for the event. Plus, I had one of the best Mac & Cheese dinners since I got back to Detroit. You know how you know it was good? I was eating it cold, because I was so busy, and it was still great!

Getting Close and a Big Discount

It's getting exciting now, it feels like I say that all the time, but this time I MEAN IT!

The Orbit Magazine Anthology comes to finer bookstores Tuesday September 1st - just over a week away.

But, I wanted to let you know that right now you can get it a a big discount - 40% off the publisher's price at the Wayne State University Press website.

Orby Rises From the Grave (Kind of)!

About a year ago a good friend, and man who helped to make the book possible by connecting me to Jerry Vile and other threads, Rick Manore started talking to me about the idea of an "Orbit Takeover" of the Metro Times.

I have to say, I loved the idea.

Here was a chance for Jerry and his crazy cast of creatives to run wild in the house of their competitor who pretty much had no love for Orby's family members when the original owners ran the joint. So, it kind of felt like not only do you want to do this... YOU HAVE TO DO THIS for the sake of history.

Kid Rock's "First Kiss" at DTE

I've told the story so many times people are probably sick of hearing it. The story is how Kid Rock donated to my book campaign, received my original Niagara "Hot Box #1" painting as a gift, and decided to make it the cover art for his "First Kiss" album. If you want all the details, just click here and you can read how it all came to be.

Last night, my cousin Pete & his wife Angela picked me up and we headed out to Pine Knob, I still can't say DTE Energy Music Theatre, to check out show number two of the 10 nights of Kid Rock's record breaking home stand.

Pete, Angela & Your Humble Author

Pete & Angela are big Kid Rock fans. They have seen him many times over the years. My cousin says he remembers seeing Bob the first time in the transition days when Kid Rock was starting to put more rock into the shows back at Lipsticks, this low rent place on the east side on Groesbeck near 16 Mile. So, it was good to go along with folks who were in the spirit and having fun. But, even they were amazed at the amount of people that had a few too many at the show. For example, one guy sitting on the lawn near us was resting on a blanket when he just turned his head and, well, I think you get the rest. His friends looked on in horror. I told them they should check on him because "you know, John Bonham died like that." Too much fun for that guy... and that was before Bob even hit the stage.

Face-to-Face with His Story

Today, August 7th, was the day Jerry Vile had the chance to come face-to-face with himself through the pages of the book.

Before now, Jerry had read the text of the book with some descriptions of what might be on the pages in terms of reprints, images, and other materials. But, he had not seen any of the design layouts or concepts before I placed the 3lb piece in his hands around noon.

The subject meets himself through "The Orbit Magazine Anthology" 

As Jerry went page-by-page, and he took his time, he would often remark "Wow!", and laugh a bit while he re-read some of the pieces by himself and other magazine staffers.

SHAMELESS PLUG - Listen to "Detours" from the Detroit Free Press!

I've been home just about 2 months today from Colorado, and with that mini-milestone comes a big announcement - a new arts/culture show with the Detroit Free Press hosted by yours truly.

Orby's Along for the Ride (Photo by Eric Seals - Detroit Free Press)

The show is called "Detours". The episodes will drop on iTunes, and the Freep website, every Thursday morning. The show is an interview podcast with great artists - local and national - doing things in Detroit. You'll also get a rundown of what's happening for your weekend.

IT'S HERE! Kind of...

Four years of work has comes to this - holding the book in my hands for the first time today.

Around noon I went to WSU Press and thumbed through the full proof copy of "The Orbit Magazine Anthology". This is the copy the designers at the Press used to grade the colors, look, and other factors before they told the printer to make the first run of the book.

"That New Book Smell!"

A few observations: 

1.) It's bigger than I thought it would be - 12 inches by 10 inches. So, consider, almost the size of an LP record sleeve, shave a few inches off the side.

2.) It's heavier than I thought it would be - roughly 3 pounds of goodness.

Feel Free - Judge this Book by it's Cover!

It's been here, there, and a few places - but, I didn't realize I hadn't officially released the cover of the book to you, dear reader.

Well, here you go! Click the image to make it bigger!

It's a beauty from the great Glenn Barr. He is answering his original cover, "Blast Off" (you see it on the lefthand side).

Remember, the book comes out September 1st. Haven't had a chance to pre-order it, yet? Don't worry - click here and get it done!

More events and crazy fun coming soon!

This is the End of the Beginning!

Cover Page

When you work on something long enough it starts to feel like a part of you – like a limb or a growth (don’t worry, it’s benign). It’s been 4 years since I started to the ORBIT book project and, now, it’s “done.” I put "done" in quotes because it doesn’t quite feel like I’m finished. Not that I’m not happy with it, or there’s something missing, but, like I said when you live with a project this long it feels like more than just words and images on a page.

On Friday I sent back the files with the final notes to my editor and designer at Wayne State University Press. Barring any problems, I don’t expect any that will be it for me – the final corrections before it goes to press and delivered to the warehouse later this summer for the September 1^st release date.

But, before I put it to bed, I thought I’d share a few images with you from the book. These are just a few photos I took of the black and white proof pages. The actual book will be in full color and larger. I figured you might find them interesting to look at, giving you a sense of the various sections, ideas, on a small scale. 

First Day for “First Kiss”

As I talked about before, it’s been a great honor and just amazing to see a painting that used to hang on my wall is now the cover of Kid Rock’s new album. “First Kiss” was released today and Bob has been making the rounds. He was on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last night and The Today Show this morning. Check out the performances & interview.

The reason why the cover features Niagara’s iconic “Hot Box #1” is because Bob was kind enough to help put the book fundraiser over the top with his generous gift. I sent him the painting, with a mix of tears and smiles. Then, he asked Niagara about licensing the image. Not only is it on the cover, but it’s on the CD as well. So, I guess he likes it!  

Dirty Show, Pre-Order and Final Review!

I know I’ve said it before, but it’s getting exciting now.

First, the 16^th annual edition of The Dirty Show is on as I write this. Last night kicked off with legendary indie filmmaker, artist, and raconteur John Waters. Jerry Vile was very excited to land John for the show because he’s been a big fan and influenced by John’s work. Here’s a cool picture of the two at the show on Thursday night.

John Waters & Jerry Vile at the Dirty Show (February 12th, 2015) - Photo by Gretchen Gonzales Davidson

If you haven’t gotten your tickets for the Dirty Show, yet… do so! It’s always the best time in Detroit in the cold, dark of February.

Here IT is - the cover art for “Re-Entry”!

After we reached the goal in the fundraiser, I showed the sketch Glenn Barr had created for the cover. Well, here's the real deal - the cover! That's what WSU Press has planned for the book.

Looks great, doesn't it?!?