Published: 9/29/2010
It wouldn't be inaccurate, nor unkind, to call Mayaeni (pronounced mah-YAY-knee) a journeywoman. The 24-year-old singer-songwriter, born and raised in Detroit to a West African mother and a Jewish father (the latter formerly a guitar player with Jimmy Ruffin and others), found herself dancing to hip...[MORE]
Published: 9/22/2010
For 15 years, the Concert of Colors has celebrated much of the musical diversity that the Detroit area can offer, and it has become a highlight of the city's summer schedule. In recent years, the climax of the event has been the Don Was Detroit All-Star Revue, which sees the Was (Not Was) man assemb...[MORE]
Published: 9/22/2010
Each year in March, the Metro Times Blowout Festival is the perfect opportunity to check out bands who've been on the "buzz radar" for a while and to see old faves, but it's also often the case that some of the best sets seen will be happy accidents — bands that you've never heard of...[MORE]
Published: 9/8/2010
The great Detroit music, the stuff that has put this city atop of the rubble, has always found the perfect balance between grit and hope, the broken glass and the banana pudding, the melody and the noise. Look at Jehovah's Witness Protection Program. This Ypsilanti-based two-piece absolutely adores...[MORE]
Published: 7/14/2010
This rock 'n' roll thing isn't easy, and it certainly ain't glamorous. Take Sylvain Sylvain and Cheetah Chrome. Both have had their time with two bands, the New York Dolls and the Dead Boys, respectively, and both have made their mark, to varying degrees, on rock 'n' roll and punk rock. They've both...[MORE]
Published: 6/9/2010
Types: Cover Story
It's Dec. 10, 2006, in the secluded English coastal resort town of Minehead. Normally, the Butlins vacation complex would be closed down for winter; but on this particular weekend, fans of punk and alternative rock have invaded Minehead, because this week the town plays host to the All Tomorrow's Pa...[MORE]
Published: 6/2/2010
For most young and budding musicians, starting a band means getting away from the parents and indulging in sordid and unhealthy activities while exercising a personal artistic vision. Not so for Derek and Hillary Woodman. For that bro-and-sis team, being in a band means spending more time with their...[MORE]
Published: 4/21/2010
Types: Music, Local Music
There was a moment at this year's Detroit Music Awards last Friday, April 16, when all of the stars aligned and cosmic synchronicity — nay, beauty — was achieved, at least from this writer's perspective, through the delivery of a heartfelt speech. It wasn't a nonsensical Oscars-like disp...[MORE]
Published: 3/31/2010
The history of rock 'n' roll is littered with eccentrics — those characters who generate interest apart from their music and sometimes make headlines, depending on their level of fame, because they appear to be completely apart from what conventional wisdom deems normal. And Detroit has certai...[MORE]
Published: 3/17/2010
On paper, it's a tired concept. Get four or five musicians or rock 'n' roll stars who've been gigging under various names with various bands for decades and throw them in a bar band together. Have them play songs from their combined pasts ... and claim that they're not, in fact, a bar band at all. ...[MORE]
Published: 3/3/2010
Wrong Numbers guitarist Matt Thibodeau is gleefully reliving the time when members of his band were robbed at gunpoint in front of his house. "We had a gig at Northern Lights and, afterward, we had a little party," recalls Thibodeau, before adding a surprising laugh. "There were some ...[MORE]
Published: 2/24/2010
The nature of the working relationship between the four members of Luder became apparent when this interview was being arranged. A simple request for a day, time and location was met with a barrage of contrasting e-mails containing all manner of snipes and digs — some amusing and some, frankly...[MORE]
Published: 2/3/2010
The word "duende," often used by flamenco musicians, describes that soulful time when, after hours of jamming, the music becomes less together — more instinctive and loose. It's the joy to be found in formlessness. A duende is also a Latin-American goblin or elf. When considering the...[MORE]
Published: 12/9/2009
Types: Cover Story
Back in May of this year, former Television guitarist Richard Lloyd performed at the Corktown Tavern. The event was memorable for two reasons: 1) Lloyd was terrible; drunk to the point of on-stage puke-burps, obnoxious; 2) Colonel Galaxy, longtime husband and manager of artist and one-time punk-rock...[MORE]
Published: 12/9/2009
Rock 'n' roll singer Vivian George may have native Canadian blood running through her veins — she was born in Toronto — but the singer-songwriter has Detroit securely in her heart. When she first visited the city as a youngster, George immediately felt a kinship, a sense of belonging and...[MORE]
Published: 11/4/2009
It's been, appropriately enough, six years since Detroit's Electric 6 released their Fire album, capturing worldwide attention with their combination of disco, garage rock and tongue-in-cheek comedy. (The disc was especially well received in this writer's native U.K., where the band's camp theatrics...[MORE]
Published: 10/21/2009
Types: Music, Local Music
With their garage rock energy and Marshall Crenshaw-esque affection for what some would call the lost art of "the song," the Singles should've been ready-made for some serious local success followed by some national (and international) indie renown. But after 10 years of what lead singer a...[MORE]
Published: 9/30/2009
Ask 50 Detroit rock musicians to name their favorite local band and Javelins will most likely come up time and again. Exactly why isn't always clear. "We do get a lot of people who are in other bands that become fans of our band," vocalist-drummer Matt Rickle says. "I almost prefer ...[MORE]
Published: 8/26/2009
If there's one main reason why Detroit has consistently produced excellent, challenging and often off-the-wall music throughout the decades — especially when it's noted that other cities shine brightly for a short time before burning out (think: New York in the '70s, L.A. in the '80s, Seattle ...[MORE]
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