Bob Harris
Bob && Benny Benny Bob By Benny Jet & Bob Harris
HEY YOU! That is my friendly hook to get you to actually read this column. Because it has some interesting stuff about Detroit rock and roll bands. Yes, yours truly, Benny from Benny and the Jets Band says:
Eddie Leighton, recently voted “Best Detroit Guitarist” formerly of Curtis Hyflash band and the Eddie Leighton Project. You can Google or YouTube his new video “Brick by Brick.” And Sykofish, a Detroit rock and roll band!
I often ask people about Detroit bands. Who they have heard of? Who are the good ones? Names You would think with the invention of like Sykofish, Send More Cops, Pistol Day Parade, computers and Google and Facebook and iPhone, Blackberry Brandy, Remedy, and 50 Amp Fuse often things would be so much easier. Easier to know area comes up. It DOES surprise me how few band names bands, name recognition, who they are, and where are known to the general public. they play. Do you know what Sykofish is? Or Shitzen Giggles or JAM Heads? Or who Eddie Leighton is? How about Miranda Cosgrove, Gunner Ross or Bob Harris?
www.bennyandthejets.com
Well nowadays you can Google just about any question in the world and find the answer. Except my partner Bob Harris who doesn’t have a computer, so that slows things down a lot! So, Bob Harris is my partner, who wrote the Motor City Rock and Roll book, promotes concerts, etc., and may be the only guy who has never used Google! Gunner Ross is a pretty big time drummer. He’s played in a lot of Detroit bands back in the day, I think it was the Almighty Strut and that Ted Nugent guy? He was on the cover of last month’s Detroit Live Magazine with a new band called Send More Cops. In that FIVE degrees of separation game, the guitar player in Send More Cops, Joey Gados who used to play in the bands Muggsy, Weapons, and the Points with Cub Koda. Joey also has a guitar playing son Joey Jr. who was featured in the Jack Black movie “School of Rock.” He was the kid who stole the show wearing the cool top hat. Also in that movie was a young lady named Miranda Cosgrove who was also featured in last month’s Detroit Live Magazine. Some may know Miranda as TV star iCarly. Man that is a lot of info. You may have to reread that paragraph. Or even Google it! The iCarly TV show is about two girls who have a very popular web TV show, something Bob Harris would love to do! So that brings us to JAM Heads, a Detroit Live advertiser, who makes banners, drum heads, T-shirts, posters, and all kinds of band stuff. Shitzen Giggles, a music emporium, who buy, sell and trade music stuff, located inside the Taylor Trade Center.
14 Detroit Live Magazine - Get into it!
I talked to DJ Mad Man Mike about the Detroit band scene. Google his name, he has a HUGE band link page. Mike had just seen Ron Buzzie’s band “Fall Out” and mention Killer Flamingo’s, Christina Chriss, and Ray Street Park. Mansfield Park, Jane Doe, 3 Whisker Betty. Mike and Ron had just been talking about some of the old bands, Salem Witchcraft, MC5, Steve King and the Dittles, Bobby Lewis and the Cracker Jack band, even BENNY AND THE JETS BAND! Hey that is my band! Well I guess better to be talked about than NOT? I told them check out Howling Diablo’s, Illegal, Chain Reaction, Howard Glazer, Critical Bill, Sweet Crystal, Buggs Beddow and Ty Stone and the Truth. (Ty was on a past cover of DLM and opened for KID ROCK for his Ford Field B-day Party) When you look back at “the old days” before computers, bands like Bob Seger, Mitch Ryder, Ted Nugent, even before national fame, they seemed like they had local recognition. It just seems harder and harder for bands to gain that name recognition now. Bands and musicians still need newspaper, magazine, radio, TV and our support. So, go see a band. Tell them you saw their name here. Tell us if you liked them. Show this to your friends or forward it to your friends, your Twitters, Facebooks, etc. Yes, we know YouTube and Facebook rule the world. Support LIVE music, Support Detroit Live Magazine www.detroitlivemagazine.com. The MC5 band once said if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem! Google it! To contact Bob Harris call 313-399-8285 To contact Benny or Benny and the Jets Band call 313-7301627 and visit the web site www.myspace.com/ bennyandthejets. Photo M.G. Nader