Carnal Kitchen

Carnal Kitchen. Hmmm, I thought. Sometimes you get a collection and something catches your eye. This was the case with me when Mike Van Houten donated a number of materials including rock bands and social and political issues important to 1970s CMU students. He donated a dittoed copy of a hand drawn flier for a community concert held in Mount Pleasant on September 26. I added the 1971 after doing some research. According to an article in CMLife of Sept 22, 1971, this was the first free community concert in a planned series, created by the Free Community Concert Committee, as a means to bring together all members of the community. The concert was held at Island Park. I'm sure there were other free public concerts in the past, especially around national holidays, but I'm guessing the committee was not composed of history majors. There are three bands listed as appearing at this first concert: Love's Alchemy, Carnal Kitchen and Mobius. It was Carnal Kitchen that caught my eye. Carnal Kitchen? What does that mean? What kind of sound did that band produce? So, I did some more research.  According to the CMLife article, LA and CK were Ann Arbor bands, while Mobius was from Mount Pleasant. 

An article from the AA Sun 2/18/1972 cites Carnal Kitchen's "killer sax player" Steve McKay that the band's equipment had been stolen. I wonder if they ever retrieved their equipment and if they performed after February 1972?  I also found some photos of the band playing in 1968, which you can see at the AA District Library site https://aadl.org/taxonomy/term/5138  Steve McKay is identified while performing. The band consisted of two saxophone and two guitar players and a drummer. 

Love's Alchemy was composed of UM frat brothers. They produced an album in Saginaw. You can read about them and see a few photos here https://garagehangover.com/loves-alchemy/ 

I could not find further information about Mobius. 

I wonder if these band members, if they are still alive, have any idea that they are documented in an archives? Do they realize the impact they had on their audience?  Mike told me that he still remembers going to the concerts held at CMU and in Mount Pleasant.