Detroit native Diane Faith Spodarek presents a raw account
of her accelerated life in the decades of Motown, punk and new wave,
years spent as a poet,
lead singer of the Dangerous Diane Band,
censored video performance artist, counterculture writer, mother, and drinker.

Her monologues and video reveal a life
inextricably tied to alcohol and music--
with Spodarek recalling stories
featuring the likes of Patti Smith, Iggy Pop,
and some of the most fascinating lowlifes you've never heard of.

Excerpts to be shown from Spodareks Video Work:

"Tools and Lingerie"
winner of the 1987
Ann Arbor Film Festival
Larry Kasdan Award

"Crosstalk"
a split screen shows crossdressers
confront gender cliches in private and public

One night when I was taking a bath,
my husband came home with a guitar
and sat on the toilet seat and told me

I was going to have my own band,
he knew music was my real love so

Dangerous Diane and the Dinettes was born
that day in the bathroom.

excerpt from Patti Smith

I met Patti Smith in The New Miami Bar before she moved to Detroit.

Hey Patti,
remember when The New Miami Bar threw you out after you tore down the bathroom door?
My band rocked the house in that same bar, the same stage that Patti and Mitch and everyone else who lived there, came there and performed there, got up on that stage and kicked ass and played rock and roll

I don't know what happened.
I just said "I quit", walked off the stage, got a beer at the bar, and watched my band play without me.
After a while, they stopped playing and quit too. It was that simple.
We remained infamous.
There were at least two bars in Detroit that had drinks named after me.
The Dangerous Diane Cup of Coffee (black coffee and a shot of Canadian Club) was one of them.

excerpt from Patti Smith

I was driving along
with both hands on the steering wheel,
and my head forward just a bit,
to be sure I wouldn't miss anything,
and I had one eye closed
so I wouldn't see double.
I was being very careful.

I know seeing double sounds like I was really drunk
but I wasn't.
I see double all the time
and if you close one eye,
it's fine.

Besides, when you're from Detroit, like I am,
a car is just an extension
of your arms and legs.

excerpts from Drinking & Driving Dead Drunk