Detroit Rock City Panel Discussion 7/17/13

[mangry]

Wednesday July 17th Third Man Records will present a panel discussion focused on Detroit and the rock music that's come from the city from the past five decades. The first event of its kind at Third Man, it centers on the new book by Steve Miller titled Detroit Rock City an exhaustive oral history of the past fifty years of rock and roll in the Motor City. Panelists include...

— STEVE MILLER - noted true crime journalist and editor of the recent Touch and Go: The Complete Hardcore Punk ZIne '79-'83 and lead singer of early hardcore exemplars the Fix

— SCOTT RICHARDSON - lead singer and namesake of legendary Detroit band SRC

— JERRY VILE - lead singer of cartoon punk band the Boners and editor of a slew of Detroit-area 'zines and proper publications like White Noise, Fun, and Orbit

— BEN BLACKWELL - drummer for the Dirtbombs, head vinyl guy at Third Man Records, official White Stripes archivist

In addition to the discussion, there will also be a Q&A session as well as the sharing of impossibly-rare and previously unknown audio recordings and film footage from some of the most-loved and well-known bands discussed in the book. While we can't divulge exactly what we'll be sharing, we will have the strictest enforcement of our no photos/videos/recording policy to date.

Tickets ($5) are available at the door beginning at 6pm the night of the discussion, or online in advance HERE.

[mangry]

Really considering going even though it is quite a busy day for me.

[chaptertwentyone]

Jett, you must be pysched on this.
I've been trying to delve deeper into the Detroit scene myself.

[Jettkoral]

Jett, you must be pysched on this.
I've been trying to delve deeper into the Detroit scene myself.

I'm not. I got through the 1970's, and got to the 1990's. a lot of info is inaccurate and it seems like a tabloid book. Sorry I recommended earlier. Avoid like the plague.

[Jettkoral]

Maybe I'm bitter because once again Jack White uses the Detroit foil in Nashville.
Great guy, he saved the Temple, but I hate how some people who love Jack are being taken advantage of. How many problem here bought the Great Gatsby? How many people actually cared about it? Not a lot, I bet...

[Jettkoral]

Music may be worth it. May show the public what kind of stuff they're hoarding from the public.

[chaptertwentyone]

Whoops: swing and a miss! Hahaha
At any rate I'm sure this will be a great informative experience for you locals!
Perhaps there will be a vault feed or something of the sort.

[mangry]

Music may be worth it. May show the public what kind of stuff they're hoarding from the public.

I think you forgot this:

[Kali Durga]

I would think the panel will be more musically informative than the book. At least I would hope so. I just finished reading the book this afternoon and it really is more a bunch of drug reminiscences than a history of the music. I think Jack, Blackwell, and Ted Nugent are the only people featured in it whose only mention of drugs is to say that they don't do them. And a large portion of the part about the Stripes focuses on the Jason Stollsteimer incident. There is interesting information in there, but you've got to dig through the soap opera stuff to get at it.

I'm very interested in hearing about how the panel goes. I hope some folks from Swirl do attend and can fill the rest of us in.

[shaneoftheroad]

Whoever goes to this will undoubtedly walk away with a Stripes recording in their heads that we don't have in ours. I'm considering going just to potentially hear something like that.

[Jettkoral]

They used Jason (great guy by the way! Very nice and a great singer!) to get some information on the Jim Diamond suit and the bar fight. Hardly any Von Bondies. So dumb. Wow. This is writing?

[Jamie]

This is the day after I go there. Damn.

[subpopfan1]

Jett, you must be pysched on this.
I've been trying to delve deeper into the Detroit scene myself.

I'm not. I got through the 1970's, and got to the 1990's. a lot of info is inaccurate and it seems like a tabloid book. Sorry I recommended earlier. Avoid like the plague.

i think our teenage Jett who's spent maybe a quarter of his life investigating this world doesn't really get it. for those who don't know, this book is an oral history. there is no editorializing or context provided by the author other than folks speaking in their own words. this has become the preferred format for many popular books about music scenes (see also: Please Kill Me, We Got the Neutron Bomb, Everybody Loves Our Town)

the idea that there's misinformation here is kind of the point. you're relying upon people's memories. what they choose to share. it's never once presented as 100% verifiable fact. if two folks have differing memories of an event...well, why don't we let the reader decide what they believe to be "truth"?

now granted, I've spent a lot much more time engrossed in the world of Detroit rock and roll than Jett and having been a participant my view and opinion would clearly be different from that of anyone else. but in my opinion, this book is the best representation i've seen of how things really were. the story told is solid. it is engaging. the fact that all the quotes from Jack are from an exclusive interview, things he'd previously never mentioned in interviews before, should reveal that. if you're at all interested in getting a legitimate telling of how things like the mc5 and the grande ballroom eventually led to the white stripes and the gold dollar...this is it. no one will ever do a BETTER job at this.

in terms of folks complaints that a lot of the talk stems towards drug abuse...well, i hate to break it to you but a lot of musicians really like drugs. and if they choose to talk about it (as you can see so many of them do, at length) then it's clearly part of the story. i've noticed in a lot of these oral histories, the talk only sometimes veers towards the actual music. the fact of the matter is, talking about being in the studio recording or writing a song...it's hardly ever something compelling. the SONG tells the story of the music. the book, the interview, should tell you the context of the music.

so in my humble opinion, i 100% recommend this book to anyone with a passing interest in the past 50 years of Detroit rock and roll. the insight into the white stripes is key and i'd say coupled with Everett True's is the most in-depth and accurate reading you'll get about the band in book form. if anyone has any more specific questions, i'll be more than happy to answer them.

[woodisgood]

Having just finished reading this a couple days ago, I concur 100 percent with Ben's assessment. This is a kick-ass, fun, informative book, and chock-full of personality and verve. I dare anyone to recommend a more thorough, through-line history of the Detroit rock scene.

[Jettkoral]

I do have an actual question: Jason had a quote in the book about a version of 'Watcha Doin' where Jack had 'so many guitar solos it sounded like a White Stripes album'

Have you ever heard this particular version? I am a big fan of the go, and I would like to know if this is noticeably different than the release Sub Pop version.

While saying this, I do admit I enjoyed the 60's portions, and I felt the MC5 were portrayed better than that Callwood biography a few years ago. I just didn't really care for the 1990's/2000's, as they were jumbled up and unorganized.
The Callwood book is extremely one sided, was talking to Leni S. about that the other day. I know she wanted to get in contact with you, please PM/Email me, Ben.

Thanks