April 15, 2026
Spring just keeps on springing! March and April have been fun with recording, rehearsing, and gigging with both Starfish and the Magic Poetry Band (MaPoBa). Thanks to all who came out for our April 3rd happy hour performance at the North Star Lounge -- a fantastic group that packed the room and vibed with us! 💗 We'll be back at the North Star again for happy hour on Friday, September 11th, 5:30pm - 6:30pm.
In other news, things are heating up with MaPoBa. With the recent publication of ML Liebler's memoir, Hound Dog, our continued preparation for our new album, The Coltrane Code, and the vinyl re-release celebrating the 25th anniversary of Paper Ghost Rain Dance, we've been getting ready for a slew of gigs to support these projects:
- April 12th (Sunday, 2pm) -- Rochester Hills Public Library -- This event featured a poetry & music performance followed by an open mic, inviting anyone in the audience to come up and read a poem. What I really enjoyed about this was that the open mic folks could choose to have music played spontaneously behind their poems (which we created based on the mood/content right on the spot!). A truly fun time!
- April 21st (Tuesday, 6pm) -- "Hound Dog Under the Stars" at the Wayne State Planetarium -- C'mon thru and feed your soul with an evening of memoir (ML Liebler), music (MaPoBa) and poetry (Diane DeCillis).
- April 23rd (Thursday, 7pm) -- Hound Dog Book Release Party at Aretha's Jazz Cafe -- Performances by ML Liebler and the Magic Poetry Band, Jackamo and the Plushies. Free admission.
- May 16th (Saturday, 2pm) -- Memoir, Music & Poetry at the Detroit Public Library -- Join us at the gorgeous Main Branch (Woodward) of the Detroit Public Library for an afternoon that will lift your spirit. Performances by ML Liebler and the Magic Poetry Band, Sunfrog, and Bill Blank.
April 2, 2026
Following on the heels of two solid performances at Water Tower Distilling in Ypsilanti and The Ark in Ann Arbor, Starfish will be playing a free happy hour event at the North Star Lounge in Ann Arbor tomorrow, Friday, April 3rd, from 5:30pm-6:30pm. Join us for some uplifting music and awesome vegan food and beverages!
In other good news, a great group of folks joined us in the B-Hive to record vocals for a soon-to-be-released protest song, „Under Attack,“ written by Billy Mack and Randy Tessier. It should be making its first LIVE appearance on Saturday, April 25th — 6pm - 9pm — at a fundraiser for the Southern Poverty Law Center and Food Gatherers of Washtenaw County that will feature music by Saints of Soul, as well as a newly formed supergroup, Bleeding Hearts, whose personnel includes Billy Mack, Randy Tessier, Chris Casello, Rich Dishman, and Patrick Little. It will be a fun night!
March 11. 2026
Almost-spring greetings! I‘ve been working on recording songs I wrote in the mid to late 1980s when I was bored with high school and trying to be creative and make some music. Back in the day, it was rare to find many girls actively writing and playing. I was always the lone representative of my gender in ALL of the groups I played in — with the exception of the first, when I was 15.So, I‘ve been finding old lyrics and listening to the „me“ of 40 years ago, with the goal of recording the tunes the way I hear them. There are no old recordings, so this is the 2026 Me reimagining the 1980s Me through distant memories, a couple of photos, and some lyric sheets. My goal is not audio perfection — these tunes are far from it — but I do want to create the feeling of that 1980s teenage girl who was trying to have a voice by writing, singing, and playing her own songs.
The first of these, „Running,“ is the initial release of these tunes on Plaid Butterfly Music via Distrokid. It‘s rough and it‘s all me — guitars, bass, drum programming, harmonica, tambourine, and vocals. „Running“ is a song about a girl who‘s gone through a bunch of shit and decides to advocate for herself, jumping on to a Greyhound bus looking for paradise.
During the pandemic, I hunkered down and spent a lot of time doing various artistic projects. One of these was a mixed media piece with the outline of a female figure — no head, no arms, no feet — with textured outlines and collaged words. This has become the „cover“ for this single, „Running,“ as it represents that protagonist‘s headspace. Look for it on your favorite streaming site.
January 20, 2026
A weather-related update: Our ML Liebler & the Magic Poetry Band gig at the Stray Cat Lounge was postponed to next Monday, when, hopefully, the weather will be more agreeable. Fingers crossed.
Monday, January 26th @ 7pm with ML Liebler & the Magic Poetry Band at the Stray Cat Lounge in Clinton Twp, MI
Since the weather is so ridiculously frigid, I‘ve been working through some old Mini DV‘s from the late 1990s - early Aughts. Finding lots of nostalgia and tape of gigs with both MaPoBa and AcoustAkimbo, a group led by the intrepid singer-songwriter Jere Stormer. As I process these and edit into individual songs, I‘ll be posting them on my Youtube channel @Fluidi-B. So far, I‘ve uploaded two MaPoBa gigs from 2001 — a coffee house gig (Aubrey Loves Coffee in St. Clair Shores) with Philadelphia poet Jabiyah Dragonsun on percussion, as well as a September 14, 2001 gig at Detroit‘s Scarab Club, where legendary Griot Galaxy saxophonist and longtime ML Liebler collaborator Faruq Z Bey joined us for the performance. The vibe of the time is palpable. Really cool.
Stay warm.
January 16, 2026
Playing and recording a ton in an attempt to swing my mood in a more positive direction, focusing on my locus of control. Fleshing out some nice bass lines for our new pieces in the Magic Poetry Band. Since the spring of 2024, we‘ve been slowly writing material and are up to 12 new pieces now — getting ready to head into the studio to start laying tracks for our next album.
Just started writing a new song with Randy Tessier last night, creating some nice chromatic harmonica melody. We worked out some nice parts and will continue on solidifying that and adding lyrics. Really happy with this.
Just added this to the calendar:
- Sunday, March 22nd @ 7pm with Randy Tessier at The Ark in Ann Arbor, MI for a special show honoring the music of local legend Dick Siegel.
December 31, 2025
We‘re on the precipice of a new year, and I can‘t wait for all the wonderful things on the horizon.
jazz, country-rock, and funk. It‘s always a fun adventure!
Also, lots of fun happening with the Randy Tessier consort, Starfish, with upcoming gigs in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, as well as some appearances in the north country of Michigan‘s upper peninsula in Big Bay and Marquette. Can‘t wait to play more chromatic harmonica with this ensemble of awesome musicians.
