"Hi Sean! Do you want to get in on this? It'll be a mix-up, Mudpuddle style."
It was a text from Michael McNevin. Mike is a fellow Fremontian, and if all the Charlie Chaplin statues in Fremont's Niles district got together to elect an official songwriter-in-residence, Mike would win. He's one of those performing artists that makes you wonder, "why isn't this guy super famous already?"
The "Mudpuddle" in his text was Mike's roost for the last twenty years or so: a little wooden pharmacy building from the 1880s, converted to a barbershop in the 1920s.
You could get a haircut there for almost a century until the early aughts, when Mike moved in. Originally set up as an office for the docent of the local steam trains (a role Mike himself took on for a while), the Mudpuddle shop became the gravitational center of Niles' music community, hosting innumerable jams, concerts, and get-togethers. Above old theatre seats and rocking chairs, Mike had strung a series of wicker baskets from the ceiling using fishing line; with a single pull, the baskets would descend from the rafters to exactly the right height to accept a five-dollar bill.
But in May of 2025 the Mudpuddle passed to the next generation. Mike, not unhappy about the transition, held a series of farewell concerts before the old building began its new life as a beauty shop.
Nature, however, abhors a vacuum. The Mudpuddle had hardly closed when Denny Lynn opened Art Freak down the street, across from the Flying A vintage car garage. In typical Niles fashion, the story isn't exactly straightforward:
"I run a crane company," Denny explained to me. Puzzled, I asked how a crane operator came to be running a concert venue.
"Well, it was Bruce," he began, referring to Bruce Cates, another outsized Niles personality. "His band needed a place to rehearse. I bought the place as an art gallery, but then it sounded so good in here" — he gestured up at the black sound baffles he'd hung from the ceiling — "well, those really helped." Denny looked around at the colorful canvas prints on the walls and the folks gathered for the evening's show, and smiled. "Who knows how long I'll keep it going? Maybe when I retire I'll just hand it off to someone else." It wasn't my impression the place will be slowing down its calendar anytime soon.
As for me, it was my first time at Art Freak. Slipping through the doors a bit before things kicked off, I set my bodhrán and guitar among the instruments onstage, then left to move my car away from the shopfront. A vintage car gathering was happening across the street at the Flying A Garage, and immaculate, rumbling machines built during Detroit's golden era were gently maneuvering into available parking slots — let's just say I felt it best to relocate my lesser ride. On my way back, someone shouted from behind: "Hey, buddy!" It was McNevin, also on his way to the show.
Inside the shop, Mike and I were perplexed by a wall of cables: all XLR to TRS, every one, and none of which would function as a mic or guitar cable. With a little guidance from Denny to locate some adapters, I got the bodhrán plugged in and ready to play. As the seats in the audience filled in, bassist Danno, drummer Joe Kozocas, and harmonica player Chuck joined us onstage, and Mike led us through a bit of rock 'n' roll to kick the evening off.
In the Mudpuddle days, "Michael McNevin and Los Horribles" was code for Mike's acoustic jam sessions, similar in structure to an Irish session: musicians sat in an inner circle with the audience on the outside, and the figurative baton for leading a song moved from musician to musician like the hands of a clock, with everyone joining in — or not — as each song demanded.
At Art Freak, the McNevin show is onstage and thus more of a showcase. Most of the artists performing would lean on Danno and Joe to back them; some would go it alone. Mike generally stayed onstage to provide lead guitar and sometimes harmony, and Chuck's harmonica followed a similar pattern.
The Lineup
It's hardly a Niles music event without Bruce Cates, and he did not disappoint. Joe Peters from Martinez, a friend of Mike's from songwriting camp, brought a great pair of originals to his first Niles performance. He and Mike have some co-billed shows in the works.
Sara Glaser, another local songwriter, followed Joe with her own excellent songs. Up next was one of the most clever and elusive songwriters around: Robert D. Parker. I've heard Robert's gut-splittingly funny songs many times over the years, but when I asked if I could find his material online he looked pensive and said, "Well, I have one song: "Why Wyoming" on Bandcamp." Robert: please record more songs. I will help. Give me a call. :)
Caryn Sinkler, who runs a jam at the Flo on Wednesdays and fronts local rock cover band Hit and Run, stepped up to belt out some classic rock favorites. Juliet McDonald followed Caryn, captivating the crowd with her melodious singing and original songs.
Local master-of-all-trades Matt Hayden was next, playing one of his own pieces followed by an old standard. Gary O got up, and the crowd sang along.
Then it was my turn. Trying to make good use of Danno and Joe, I trotted out "College Town" and then "Empty Circus" — the latter of which the two backing players did an admirable job following, no mean trick, that.
Sheryl Keller, one half of The Keller Sisters, debuted "Gypsy," the band's recently released single — inspired, she explained, by a dream in which her mother was speaking fluent Spanish. (For the record: her mother does not speak Spanish.)
The evening ran right up to 7pm with folks being called back for encores. In between and throughout, there were more great songs from Mike, Joe, and Danno — "The Spokes." As usual at these things, at some point there was pizza from Broncho Billy's for the group.
After the show, a cluster of songwriters went a few doors down to Joe's Corner, where we had a thorough discussion about the impact of AI on songwriting over some excellent cocktails prepared by actual humans.
Many years ago I used to run a weekly open mic in Niles at the now-defunct Essanay Cafe. Last night at Art Freak got me thinking about those times. I miss spending time in Niles and among all the talented folks who pass through there. Who knows — maybe there's a chance to get another open mic going in the neighborhood sometime soon.
Click on any photo to see the full, uncropped version.
