Man, Hawk & Son is such a good band! Go buy their album.

This EP is going to be so ridiculously good. I’m so impressed with this band. They deserve your support. Go “like” them on Facebook right now and come out to see them this Saturday.

The video also features various people of interest from the Flint music scene. Including Jonathan Diener of the Swellers, John from Hawk & Son, and current/past 432 managers Danny and Tyler. It’s full of beautiful music, beautiful people, and it was filmed in the Capitol Theater in Downtown Flint. You should watch this and share it.

Oh, and while you’re at it, come celebrate the release of Empty Orchestra’s new LP “One More Time, All Together Now” on September 29th, with Cheap Girls, the Fencemen (ex. Small Brown Bike, Biddy Biddy Biddy, etc.), One Blown Speaker, and the Tom Toms. More info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/360537274025534/

To stay up up to date on our upcoming shows, subscribe to our calendar or bookmark it here: http://flintlocal432.com/events/calendar.html

Friday, August 24, Doors at 7:00pm - $6 
-Call In The Cavalry
-Brother Apollo
-Two Cities
-As A Lark
-Aaron Schmidt
-Brown Sugar

Saturday, August 25, Doors at 7:00pm - $5 
-Garrett Burgett (of Making Friends)
-John Vournakis (Atlanta, GA)
-Katie Stanley
-In the Wake
-The Bicker Brothers

GRAND BLANC, MI – Seven weeks of play with the five-team Punk Rock Softball League culminated in a 12-11 win for the Buckham Alley Bruisers Sunday afternoon at Creasey Bicentennial Park in Grand Blanc.

Tattoos and friendly trash talking created the collective atmosphere.

The Bruisers went undefeated throughout their season, 10-0, and faced Friends Making Friends and Friends, who held a 6-4 record, in the championship game.

The other teams included the Grand Blanc Pissants, the Clam Dandies and the Flint Riverdogs.

“It grew from 20 people to 120 people in about three days,” said Maggie Warren, 19, of Flint, with Friends Making Friends and Friends.

This is the league’s first year, but organizers hope to continue and grow the league next year.

Originally, a group of friends bound through musical endeavors began tossing a softball around one night. Then the idea of a league sprang up and the group ran with it, coordinating games through a Facebook page.

“Basically, most of us haven’t spent this much time outdoors in five years,” joked Jack Schmier, 27, of Flint, with Making Friends and Friends.

Most players at the championship game said they heard about the league through word of mouth, and that the people on their team are the people they hang out with.

“It’s kind of a tightknit group,” said Bruiser Jared DeVries, 26, of Flint. “It’s just some friendly competition between friends. If you don’t have your friends and high fives, then what have you got?”

Bruiser Eleah Tucker, 26, of Flint, said she used to play as a kid and then on church leagues after high school, but that Punk Rock Softball was a lot more fun.

“I’m fine with (losing),” said third baseman Nick Mayberry, 29, of Flint, who was supported by his wife Emma and three-year-old son, Maddox. “It was a great time.”

After the game, the Bruisers sprayed each other with champagne and members of Making Friends with Friends ran through their homemade paper banner.

The teams were awarded mismatched trophies purchased from Salvation Army and took group pictures together.

As per tradition on Sundays, the game was followed by a trip to White Horse Tavern in Flint for pizza.

Nearly everyone knows each other either directly or indirectly through the Local. This is the kind of community we’ve built and established in Flint. I can’t think of any other music venue in the world that has the same effect in regard to building such a large group of people dedicated to building lasting ties in a community. When people asked me why I would want to move back to Flint, I would cite examples such as this. Punk Rock Softball was the best way to spend Sundays this summer. Congrats to the Bruisers for their well-played season (though some of us question the stacking of their lineup) and championship game!

Can’t wait for next season!

-Danny

This is going to be a killer show.

RSVP here.

Thanks to everyone who came out this weekend. We’re so excited to see so much enthusiasm among so many new faces. We’re making the positive steps to make the Local a better place each and every night, improving it just a little bit more and more. We’re getting back into the swing of this again, and we’re gaining momentum.

Thanks to everyone who played, donated their time to help make this happen, helped with the show, or paid $5.00 to get inside. We wouldn’t get anywhere without you. You make this possible. 

We have a fantastic schedule shaping up for early summer. We’re going to highlight local talent, bring in some fantastic bands from around Michigan and the nation, we’ll be a stop at every ArtWalk in Downtown Flint, and we have extensive programming planned for No Child Left Online program.

Stay tuned, more to come soon.