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Weekly concert at The Loft highlights artists creating

October 9, 2011

Jerome White wants to hold more than the typical concert.

With Over the Edge Saturdays, a weekly alternative artistic event held at The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing, White allows guests to see musicians and artists create right before their eyes.

“The idea was to come up with a concept that combines live music, DJ music that you can’t find any place else and then live art as well,” said White, who is a managing partner of The Loft.

Over the Edge Saturdays, presented by The Loft and WVIC (94.1-FM), or The Edge, each week, consists of a live, all-ages show from 7-11 p.m. Then from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m., disc jockeys play remixes of songs by alternative rock acts, such as Franz Ferdinand, the Killers and MGMT, for the crowd.

While the featured bands are playing, guests also can watch two local artists create work in the venue. This combination of creativity makes the event unique, said Span, who is an afternoon host on The Edge.

“We want people to come through for the fully embodied artistic experience,” Span said.

Over the Edge Saturdays began on Oct. 1, with rock headliner All Get Out, and continued on Saturday with a performance by post-hardcore band Versus the Ocean. The events will feature a variety of sounds — upcoming acts scheduled for the series include Lansing piano-rock act Alco, metal group Know Lyfe and folk band Frontier Ruckus.

“The music that we play …doesn’t necessarily have to be alternative rock, just alternative to the mainstream,” White said.

Kimberly Lavon, a Lansing artist who was making monotype prints at Saturday’s Versus the Ocean show, said she is influenced by the variety of bands that play Over the Edge Saturdays each week.

“I get a different vibe (from each of them), and I get to make work that I normally wouldn’t make,” Lavon said. “I get inspired by the music and just make something that comes out.”

Justin Franks, an MSU alumnus and singer and piano player for Alco, who is scheduled to play Over the Edge Saturdays on Oct. 15, said he is glad to see The Edge working with The Loft — a space that can accommodate larger crowds — to bring more people and create bigger local shows.

“The bigger the stage, the better it sounds,” he said.

Geoph Espen, bassist of rock band Charlatan, which opened for Versus the Ocean on Saturday, said the art Over the Edge Saturdays is inspiring in Lansing is exciting.

“There’s a certain natural, real grittiness that Lansing has that you don’t really find anywhere else, so I love to have a weekly event to showcase that,” Espen said. “I think there is amazing talent in Lansing.”

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