Detroit PUNK City? - Bilge

I ikitnrev Tiki Socialite D.C. / Virginia Joined: Jul 27, 2002 Posts: 1325	I ikitnrev Posted posted on Mon, Aug 22, 2005 4:03 PM It helps if you can make direct lineages between the various bands. It is one thing to be influenced by hearing band Gippity (fake name) on the radio and wanting to sound like them, it is another to have the lead guitarist of Gippity later produce your own punk LP. There is a well documented thread of connectivity between the Stooges and the MC5 and the early New York punk scene, that doesn't exist for the other bands. Some example: John Cale of the Velvet Underground produced both the Stooges and Patti Smith's first LP, and both of those groups were signed by Clive Davis. Danny Fields, who managed both the Stooges and the Ramones. Wayne Kramer of the MC5 later formed the band 'Gang War' with former New York Dolls guitarist Johnny Thunders. Perhaps the best example is Patti Smith being married to MC5 guitarist Fred 'Sonic' Smith. She probably could have married an earlier boyfriend, Alan Lanier of the Blue Oyster Cult, but if she had done that she might be known today as the poet of cowbell rather than a punk poet. There are other linkages that involve other famous musicians who are not necessarily thought of as punk, i.e. David Bowie mixing the Stooges 'Raw Power' and also producing Lou Reed's 'Transformer.' You see this type of intermingling between the Detroit bands and the New York scene. Those other bands were still great bands, who made great music, and who may have inspired others to pick up and learn to play a guitar, but in the whole picture, they remain somewhat in isolation - at least when compared to the Detroit/New York linkages. For a great book that outlines the connections between the Detroit scene and New York punk, I highly recommend the book 'Please Kill Me - the Uncensored Oral History of Punk' by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain. Vern

It helps if you can make direct lineages between the various bands. It is one thing to be influenced by hearing band Gippity (fake name) on the radio and wanting to sound like them, it is another to have the lead guitarist of Gippity later produce your own punk LP.

There is a well documented thread of connectivity between the Stooges and the MC5 and the early New York punk scene, that doesn't exist for the other bands.

Some example:

John Cale of the Velvet Underground produced both the Stooges and Patti Smith's first LP, and both of those groups were signed by Clive Davis.
Danny Fields, who managed both the Stooges and the Ramones.
Wayne Kramer of the MC5 later formed the band 'Gang War' with former New York Dolls guitarist Johnny Thunders.

Perhaps the best example is Patti Smith being married to MC5 guitarist Fred 'Sonic' Smith. She probably could have married an earlier boyfriend, Alan Lanier of the Blue Oyster Cult, but if she had done that she might be known today as the poet of cowbell rather than a punk poet.

There are other linkages that involve other famous musicians who are not necessarily thought of as punk, i.e. David Bowie mixing the Stooges 'Raw Power' and also producing Lou Reed's 'Transformer.'

You see this type of intermingling between the Detroit bands and the New York scene. Those other bands were still great bands, who made great music, and who may have inspired others to pick up and learn to play a guitar, but in the whole picture, they remain somewhat in isolation - at least when compared to the Detroit/New York linkages.

For a great book that outlines the connections between the Detroit scene and New York punk, I highly recommend the book 'Please Kill Me - the Uncensored Oral History of Punk' by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain.

Vern

Post #181214 by ikitnrev on Mon, Aug 22, 2005 4:03 PM