| From RealDetroitWeekly.com Four Track
by Origix When you look around the Detroit streets you can still see and still the effects of the riots in 1967. Many people these days may not even notice how the actions of others have caused this city a great deal of hurt. B.L.A.K.E. Eerie and Hugh Whitaker do, that’s why they have put together The Lateef EP, a musical storyline documenting these troubled times by expressing the struggles and hardship of post-riot Detroit. The album is a dedication to Dr. Yusef Lateef and his album Yusef Lateef’s Detroit. Each track has been inspired by the original tracks of the 1969 album. B.L.A.K.E. went into his fourth album looking for a new direction, and with Hugh Whitaker doing the production they came with a soundtrack to educate listeners. B.L.A.K.E. explains, “Some of the youth do not understand or recognize the aftermath of the riots, some of them are direct contributors to the constant destruction of the structure of their own communities.” Living in the city of Detroit, we are financially strapped and at times racially segregated, this can really stress anybody’s morale. That’s what makes hip-hop in this city so special; all walks of life can come together and get their message out with beats and rhymes. Visit butter-made.com. | RDW The Zone Radio with Origix & DC airs Saturdays 8pm-12am 89.3 Fm, stream at www.whfr.fm, Visit www.myspace.com/thezoneradio & 2Raw4Fm.com
by Max McKenna Playing the Magic Bag with The Satin Peaches on November 28 is a band equally as peachy: The Muggs! Despite being so (self-professedly) ugly, these guys are great — too good for a quick mention in The Peaches’ column last week. I had the chance to check them out when the NCAA Final Four came to Detroit and … they … were … fan-tas-tic! Danny Methric went on an extended, bluesy, rock solo that must have lasted a half an hour … and the audience’s attention span didn’t fade. I particularly remember one guy in the crowd shaking his head in astonishment. The Muggs make no apologies for their classic rock-influenced style and people seem to dig it. In 2007, the band competed in Fox’s The Next Great American Rock Band. After that, they received a hero’s welcome, winning WRIF2’s “Band of the Year” award. In 2008, they won “Best Rock/Pop Group” and Danny Methric won “Best Rock/Pop Instrumentalist” in recognition of his six-string style. Later that year, they released their LP, On With the Show, and it was well-received in numerous publications, as well as by fans here at home. Check out The Muggs at the Magic Bag, 11/28, and take a listen to their LP! | RDW
by Jeff Milo Early November is a strange time, it seems like there might not be too much going on — the pagan party of Halloween is past, the gluttony gulp of Thanksgiving is still a ways down the road and most of us aren’t even thinking about what we’re getting our girlfriends, however imaginary, for Christmas. But, as the clichéd refrain goes for many of these weekly columns — that doesn’t mean there aren’t great live shows to catch. As the trees lose their leaves and the skies become a carousel, introduce yourself, if you haven’t yet, to the formidable electro pop of Computer Perfection, a blend of synth/orchestral baroque-pop twisted and fuzzed by the meditative daze of shoegaze and space-rock. To celebrate the release of this Ferndale-based quintet’s debut LP (We Wish You Well On Your Way To Hell), they’ve invited a similar space-rock-set, indie-rock group, Javelins (pictured), who blend some disarmingly beautiful melodies into hard-driving, post-punk rhythms, (myspace.com/javelins); rounding out that bill are the wunderkinds from Prussia, who forge their love of Motown, reggae, West African folk and experimental art-rock into a dizzying, rhythm-heavy display. Later on, closer to T.Giving, see what all the blog-buzz and DMA-recognition is all about, when the Jesus Chainsaw Massacre (myspace.com/thejesuschainsawmassacre) perform at Friday night’s Phonotropic (at the Crofoot in Pontiac), on 11/20. | RDW © Copyright by RealDetroitWeekly.com |
