"Detroit Rock City"

I'm currently reading this great oral history of rock music in Detroit from the mid-'60s until the first decade of the aughts. If you're at all interested in the MC5, The Stooges, Bob Seger, Mitch Ryder, Alice Cooper, Ted [renowned asshole] Nugent (et al.), then definitely do yourself a favor and check out this fine book. The full title is Detroit Rock City: the Uncensored History of Five Decades of Rock 'n' Roll in America's Loudest City, by Steve Miller. (No, not the "Take the money and run" Steve Miller. This is Michigan journalist Steve Miller who was also in the Lansing punk band The Fix).

Right now, I'm a little beyond the early seventies and the flame out of the MC5 and The Stooges, and am reading about lesser-known bands such as Destroy All Monsters (Ron Asheton played with them) and Fred "Sonic" Smith's post-MC5 band, Sonic's Rendezvous Band. Reading about these groups has inspired me to check out some clips on YouTube and they are both great, particularly Sonic's Rendezvous Band. I'm coming to the conclusion that Fred "Sonic" Smith is one of the true unsung heroes of rock music.

The book also covers later Detroit bands, and keepers of the Detroit rock flame, such as The Gories, Laughing Hyenas, Dirtbombs, Bantam Rooster, and The White Stripes. (I haven't gotten that far yet).

Gotta run now, but I hope to add to this post later, and maybe post selected music, etc.