Miller & Miner

What was this place? I drove by yesterday and it looked like a mass eviction was taking place. I saw two AAPD cruisers, and what looked like more people and “stuff” than I could have imagined fitting in to a house of that size: about 20 displaced residents and a commensurate amount of personal property filling the yard.

A couple years ago, some “punks” lived there, and named it Raw Haus. They would have bands play in the living room, and charge a buck or two to cover rent and such.

This was all in response to the lack of a place for local (mostly young) punk bands to play shows in Ann Arbor. When I was in high school in Ann Arbor in the 80s, there were similar places where our bands would play. The Neutral Zone does a good job giving youth bands a place to play and record, but it serves only one slice of the youth pie.

From what I hear, within the past year, the owner of the house got foreclosed on. The tenants who originally lived there moved out, and the place became a house for squatters. Somehow the power and cable were left on, so it made for a decent, free place to live. Things ended up getting pretty disgusting in there though, and it was only a matter of time before the place got boarded up.

It was kinda nice that the police waited until after Punk Week to evict everyone.

The house has been there for over a decade not just serving local and abroad artists but giving a warm place to stay and food for traveling kids. We never charged at the door to pay or rent, that was for the artists and musicians or in some cases to help cover noise tickets. It was a safe haven for people who do not belong to the social norm. It was a place to share ideas and educate about social and political issues. It was a house of creation and love.

All I’m saying is unless you’ve lived there “Trevor Staples” or hung out there you can’t say much. It wasn’t until this spring that rent went away and we still had to pay utilities. No money charged for shows went in our pockets or for rent. Also, there was cable or a short period of time but that was taken care of in the back yard with a sledge hammer. No cable in any sorta punk house that’s an oxymoron. Yes, it did become less productive, however any sort of commune that tries taking a stand against capitalistic society is productive. I wouldn’t call it disgusting, maybe dirty, but don’t hate on someones living space just because they got lower standards.
It’s all a bunch o nonsense. It was a sad day. there was a bunch a kids there that lived there and watched it grow for years. This house has got a bunch a history. whatever. go work a nine to five job, drive by an eviction, and call it an eventful day. Banks suck.

I live by the house and always enjoyed the diverse, free-spirited nature of the young people there. I simply hope there is an alternative place for them and all the younger visitors that make Ann Arbor so enjoyable. I have a photo of some of them in my (twitpic misolaa2) from Friday night when some of them were dressed like Day of the Dead. I’ll be happy to make it available (free of charge) to any that want it, maybe even one poster size to commemorate them.

i,m w/ lalalalala,

Thanks for clearing that up, Lala. I was just posting what I knew about it, which was obviously little. Didn’t think I was offending anyone.

I wasn’t hating on anyone. I didn’t know much about it, but up until recently, I thought it was a cool thing for bands, and people who wanted to see them. It wasn’t for me, but I know it gave a lot of people a place to see bands that might not have been able to play at the bars in town.

I grew up punk in the ’80s in Kalamazoo and some of my friends lived in a place much like the RAW haus (which property I have lived in the neighborhood somewhat nearby for the last 10 years, and so have gone past many times, but have never been inside of).

Anyway, this whole story reminds me of the good times I had in the “maxi pad” – as we called it in our youthful humor. It is a shame when a few people take advantage of an otherwise very nice situation and cause problems that spoil the whole deal. That place in K’zoo ended up condemned too.

I think this is just the way the wheel turns, and I hope the interested folks can start the cycle up again in a new location.

Good luck to you if you do!