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Ganging Up For Detroit
The A-Gang are a rare group of guys who are actually proud to be from (and would fight for) Detroit. According to vocalist Ben Wixson, they’re not going to be a casualty of the creative flight. They recently self-released an eponymous EP of pure punk aggression that rips like only a Detroit band can — better yet, the group already has new material in the works.
Live, the A-Gang commands the stage like an explosion in a glass bottle. It’s easy to compare them to the MC5 in terms of flair and frenetic energy that embodies the feeling of The D at its finest: loud, fast and fully committed. They recently opened for Anti-Flag on the first date of their The Economy Sucks, Let’s Party! tour. As the tour’s title suggests — yes, the times suck, but according to this gang, that’s not going to stop Detroit from rocking your face off.
“I’ve been going to shows since I was like 10, so I grew up listening to local bands in general. Before I got into bands like the MC5, Negative Approach and the Suicide Machines, I was listening to friends’ bands in high school. Detroit’s got a really good underground rock ‘n’ roll and punk scene. It’s dominated my life,” says Wixson.
Drummer Nick Gigler, a Chicago transplant, agrees. “The Chicago scene’s full of cover bands. There’s a lot of everything, but I’ve never seen so many cover bands. But Detroit’s unique. So we’re super excited to grow in the Detroit scene.”
But the economy has definitely had an impact on music — in the Motor City and elsewhere. Not only have things like desk jobs gotten in the way of practice time, but rising gas prices have also affected touring bands. But Ben chooses to see the silver lining in that cloud. “When the gas prices spiked, it kept the shitty high school and weekend warrior bands off the road, ‘cause they weren’t committed enough to spend the money. I think that in a weird way it impacted it positively; it kept all of the un-serious bands home, and made it a little easier for the bands that really believed in it. You weren’t fighting 50 weekend bands for the same spot.”
But, on the other hand: “People are definitely more hesitant to drop 10 or 12 dollars to see a local band. The Detroit scene’s bridged off into its own little cliques because of it.”
Still, Wixson remains confident that things are going to look up. “At least in my circle, people are positive about it. Detroit will turn itself around. There’s been a mass exodus of people in their 20s, like my friends and kids I went to high school with. Everybody moves to Chicago or L.A. thinking it’ll make their life better, but it sucks everywhere else, too. They think Detroit’s so bad, but it’s not the city that’s bad. You go other places — everything sucks there, too. You have to worry about the same things! And nowhere’s got as much character as southeast Michigan. People are better here. It’s not the prettiest place on earth, but the people are good.
“As long as the culture lives, the city’ll still exist. The industry’s gone but the soul’s still in the city and the people that live here.” | RDW
The A-Gang, Dave Hause and Matt Ratza • 2/10, 8 p.m. • Small's, 10339 Conant, Hamtramck; 313.873.1117 • smallsbardetroit.com • $8
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