The Palace

Outside of The Palace in 2015

### Inhabitants

Connor Ireland, Aaron "Black Bear" Sherman, Stephen Locker, Captn Marco, Trevor James, Orion McMullen, Brotha Luke, Matt McNamara, Miles Winchester, Randie Strouse, Dylan Salisbury, Emily Noel

***The Palace*** (AKA: ***The SAC***) is a loft located in downtown Owosso. The building has been known to be the epicenter of many shows and events between the years of 2013 and 2015.

## History

### Before known as "The Palace" (2000s-2013)

In years before the building became infamously known as The Palace, many young, irresponsible tenants had come and gone, living in a manner where the building had built a reputation as a party house. One of the last renters had built a stage and catwalk in the attic and named it "Studio 113". This unique design allowed the tenant to practice with his band without disturbing surrounding businesses. The remains of the attic formed the basis of the future of the building. Old tenants also used to hire DJs to come host in the attic, attributing to some of the most infamous parties from the mid 2000s to 2014.

#### Known as "The SAC" (2012-2013)

In 2012, Connor Ireland, Aaron Sherman and Stephen Locker became the renters of the building. They were not the ones to name the building as it's known today, but they did begin the process of forming the building into the venue that it is known as today. The first major local show occurred at The Palace in mid-summer of 2013, where Owosso based pop-punk band Gun Shot Amy recorded their music video for their first single "Down with the Luck" off the album *Not Soon Enough*.

The show had roughly 60 attendees, including later major contributors to The Palace such as Miles Winchester and Matt McNamara. McNamara's band Formerly Lucky (now known as Pleasant Accidents) opened for Gun Shot Amy during the show/video shoot. The show received unprecedented feedback at the time since there was a drought of locally financed house shows available previously. Soon after this led to the ending of Sherman and Locker renting out the loft, once again opening the void of places for house shows within the county.

The alleyway that led to the building perked the interest of Miles Winchester, as he then only a few weeks later used the building as a backdrop for his music video for the song "Classic Night" off of the Great Lakes Feather Company album, *Pluto*. One of the rappers in the song, White Chocolate (AKA Trevor James) became heavily interested in the building after filming the music video, and decided to rent it out with Owosso local rapper Captn Marco (AKA Marcus Perez) and poet Orion McMullen.

### First era (September 2013-August 2014)

#### Under Perez, Loux, and McMullen

Perez, Loux, and McMullen for the majority of their stay at the palace did not focus heavily on organizing shows or recording until much later in their stay. Initially the atmosphere in the building reverted back to its days as a party house with massive excursions taking place without any real cause or creative drive. The name for the building was created by Perez after a summer of drinking cheap vodka known as "Crystal Palace". The events that took place during this period provided inspiration for many of the songs eventually written by Brotha Luke and Captn Marco on their own future releases. Perez, Loux, Winchester, and Rainey (Brotha Luke) would often discuss ideas and concepts revolving around what would eventually become their future releases. Many recordings during this era became scrapped including instrumentals Winchester made that were to be on Odin, songs for *Atlantis* that featured Captn Marco and Young Linners, and the full length album *Ink and Bone* by Trevor James. Eventually with the help of Brotha Luke and Miles Winchester, both Captn Marco and Trevor James became much more motivated to record their respective projects, *Odin* (2015) and *Ink* (2014).

#### Under Loux and McNamara (Summer At The Palace 2014)

By May 2014, both Perez and McMullen had moved out and McNamara decided to move in with Loux. During this time Winchester lived unofficially in the closet and helped Loux record *Ink*. During this period Winchester also finished his first EP with Great Lakes Feather Company entitled *Atlantis* which he released on July 30, 2014. Winchester also began work on his third full length record which would come to be known in the future as *Photography**.* Near the end of July, Loux decided that another grandiose show should be hosted in the attic much like the one he had heard of that took place with Gun Shot Amy the year before. He enlisted Winchester, McNamara and friend Marcus Westerlund to help organize, promote, and host the show. This came to be known as *Summer at the Palace 2014*.

    Five acts performed at *Summer at the Palace 2014* including Formerly Lucky, James and the Solo Projects, Trevor James, The A.M Crew, and The Mud Suns. Over 200 people came, making the show a record breaking event in the line of events at The Palace. This event, much like the one the previous year, the tenants both Loux and McNamara were evicted from the building, leaving it empty once again for a number of months. Notably, Randie Strouse attended the event in order to officially meet Winchester after months of conversing about music online. Dylan Salisbury came with Strouse and after talking to Winchester, decided to rent out the building for another year.

### Second era and end of The Palace (October 2014-November 2015)

#### Recording process

Strouse, Salisbury, and Winchester eventually decided they wanted a fourth roommate and found longtime friend of Winchester's Emily Noel to move in. All four members of the house began writing, recording, and creating - making The Palace a hub of creativity and musical diversity.

Salisbury began releasing a variety of material on his YouTube channel which ranges from heavy metal to country music. Winchester and Salisbury collaborated to make a music video entitled "Hate Potatoes", which was released in July 2015.

    Winchester also recorded his music video for the Great Lakes Feather Company song "Glitter Bomb" in his room at The Palace. During this period Winchester also formed a project with Noel entitled "Blue Man Love" and released a cover of Noel Gallagher's "Alone On The Rope". The duo also played shows as a backing band for Owosso based singer-songwriter Ellie Kenealy. Winchester had only his three roommates as guests on his third full length release, *Photography.*

Strouse wrote and completed his full length debut entitled, *Comorbidity*. The contents of the album detailed Strouse's experience living at The Palace, and the challenges he faced adapting to the unusual situations the occurred in the loft. He also released a music video in August in various locations of the building for his first and only single, "I've Got This Feeling".

#### Strouse's departure, Summer at the Palace 2015 and the Odin Release Show

Shortly after the release of *Comorbidity*, Strouse left Owosso in order to live with old friends in Lansing. Winchester decided he wanted to create another summer show as he had helped with/attended the last two years. During this time Brotha Luke filmed his music video in the alleyway outside The Palace for his song "Wake Up". He accomplished this with the help of various other members in the collaborative medium "9eight9".

On August 27, 2015 Noel and Winchester hosted and organized the third major summer Palace show. This was the first one to not be hosted in the attic, however two stages were created in order for fans to jump right from one band or act to another with no major setup time. The lineup included Owosso native rapper Young Linners, Ovid native artist Randie Strouse, Owosso native rappers Captn Marco and Brotha Luke, Owosso based singer-songwriter Ellie Kenealy with Winchester and Noel's very own Blue Man Love, St Johns metalcore band The Dresden Diaries, and special guest Trevor James. James Schramm of James and the Solo Projects volunteered to help run live sound during the show.

Roughly 100-120 people attended the show, with most excited and hopeful for more in the future. This led to Perez and Winchester making a deal to create the largest show The Palace had ever had for the release of his album, *Odin*. The Odin Release show premiered October 10, 2015.

This was made to be the biggest, and indefinite final show for The Palace since its ownership would soon fall to Salisbury, who has no intentions of ever hosting a live show at The Palace from then on. Young Linners, and Randie Strouse returned to perform along with other acts Great Lakes Feather Company and Hailey Wojcik to open for Captn Marco and Brotha Luke. With much anticipation over the release of *Odin*, the show resulted in an enormous turnout, having well over 180-200 people attending.

### Legacy and future (November 2015-present)

Dylan Salisbury now is the sole person renting the loft. Currently it is known he has no interest in hosting live shows, bringing the era of The Palace to a formal end.

## Rooms

### Laundry Room

After first stepping into the flights of stairs in The Palace, there is a small room off shooting from the main stairway. This is the laundry room of the house where both McMullen and Salisbury lived during their periods at The Palace. This is also the major part of the house where Ink was recorded with Loux and Winchester often utilizing the smallness of the room to their benefit.

### Kitchen

The kitchen was the room least utilized by any of the tenants for music purposes. It is only featured in Salisbury's music video "Hate Potatoes". Throughout the video Winchester, Salisbury, McMullen, and Noel all perform various acts with potatoes in different areas of the kitchen. The song features a bass solo performed by Winchester himself.

### Middle Room

The room linking the kitchen to the living room was most often refereed to as the "middle room" of The Palace. During the *Summer at the Palace 2015* show, two different stages were set for ease of transition between varying acts. Different acts that have played in this set up are Randie Strouse, Ellie Kenealy, Blue Man Love, and Trevor James. Both Winchester and Noel lived in this room at various points of time in the duration of living there, notably Winchester lived specifically in the closet when Loux and McNamara were renting out the space.

### Living Room

The second most frequently used area for concerts was the living room. Being the main stage for both of the major shows in 2015, many artists have been able to play a set in this room. The size capacity potential was enormous and had much more accessible reach to the rest of the building, unlike in the attic where it often got overheated. Artists that have played this area include Trevor James/White Chocolate, Captn Marco, Brotha Luke, Hailey Wojcik, Great Lakes Feather Company, Randie Strouse, Young Linners, and the Dresden Diaries. The living room was also heavily featured in the music videos for Great Lakes Feather Company's "Love Song 9" and Randie Strouse's "I've Got This Feeling". Brotha Luke happened to unofficially live in this room for a small while when Perez lived at The Palace.

### First bedroom

The first bedroom is where Perez, McNamara, and Winchester all lived at various points during their time at The Palace. During Winchester's stay he recorded two music videos centeralizing around the room, "Glitter Bomb" and "Love Song 9". The majority of *Photography* was also recorded in this room as well.

### Second bedroom

In this room, both Loux and Strouse have lived there at various points in time. While Loux most notably used the area as a jam space and only invited people in for jam sessions or when briefly forming a rock/rap group with Winchester and Perez entitled Falcon Punch. Strouse recorded the majority of *Comorbidity* in this room as well as his album with Nathan Elliot to create Dobis and the PRs. This is the final room of the main floor of the house and overlooks Washington St in Owosso. While no shows were officially held in this room it was often used to hold improvisational shows in 2014.

### Attic

The Attic of The Palace may be its single most defining feature due to the fact that one of the tenants long ago designed a stage and catwalk for himself and his band. The majority of the most major shows at The Palace were held in the attic and, while often was barricaded by the landlord, was often broken into in order to produce large scale, underground, and often for those involved - life changing shows that both the performers and fans would remember for the rest of their lives. Although every show had up in this area had gotten the tenants evicted, most of them would gladly do it again just to have the experience behind them. Notable performers include Trevor James, Gun Shot Amy, Formerly Lucky, The Mud Suns, The A.M Crew, and James and the Solo Projects.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Palace/728852883797616?fref=ts
2. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/events/157280651126594/
3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXhKA9j4\_x0
4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHGgomaQhls
5. ↑ https://captnmarco.bandcamp.com/
6. ↑ https://trevorjamesblues.bandcamp.com/
7. ↑ https://greatlakesfeathercompany.bandcamp.com/album/atlantis
8. ↑ https://greatlakesfeathercompany.bandcamp.com/album/photography
9. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/events/257709587760809/
10. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB5noO1IOFZzAeDEqEpZTtA/videos?shelf\_id=0&view=0&sort=dd
11. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUIR2ISEMTM
12. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuZqiiaQo-w
13. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDnwRepaDDs
14. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqyLYKFegjA
15. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd1QxhsW\_7c
16. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqGnot2CFBM
17. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/events/921248737948891/
18. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/events/1496460033998323/
19. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUIR2ISEMTM
20. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh3cOf5yZhI
21. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh3cOf5yZhI
22. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuZqiiaQo-w
23. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh3cOf5yZhI