TC’s Speakeasy, one of my favorite bars in the world, is closing this week. I spent many , many hours inside this dive-joint when I lived in Michigan. Many of my friends will be performing on stage one last time… Apparantly the owners hadn’t paid their taxes for years. I know lots of great people who will be aimlessly walking the streets of Ann Arbor-Ypsi looking for a new home.

Alley no. 74 - TC’s Speakeasy (2005, Ypsilanti, MI)

Here is the TC story…

My regular watering hole in 2005 is TC’s Speakeasy in Ypsilanti, MI. It’s a classic dive with a large cast of regular characters, and I love the place. I’ve been going every Monday to their open mike for a year.  At 3am, I stagger out with my friend Eric, aka Satchel Jones, a very talented Monday night folk singer. We’re on the hunt for alleys as we walk around this crusty old town. We lug my heavy equipment around for an hour, walking down alleys, up fire escapes, and over garbage.

I spot an intriguing awning and stare at it for a few minutes. “Nah, lets keep going,” I say to Eric and we keep walking. Then I say “just a sec,” and I go back for a second look; the awning is stirring something inside me. “Let’s set up,” I say. The exposure is long (in fact, star streaks are visible in the sky), and I add the blue light under the awning with my lighting.

“Hey X,” says Eric, “this is fucking TC’s – it’s the back door!”

“What? You’re kidding!”

I get a warm feeling inside; what a fitting tribute.