STILL IN TOLEDO BUT NOT SURE WHY?
Everyone loves an underdog, particularly if it involves a Levi's Gremlin—Real Reldnew, 1984.
Hatched in the fertile mind of English-Aussie film veteran Brian-"subtlety is probably not my middle name"-Trenchard-Smith, Stunt Rock delivers every single drop of testosterone-driven excitement the poster and trailer promise. In short, things blow up, cars crash, and mystical satanic-tinged rock is performed with all the artistic nuance of a stack of concrete blocks falling from a scaffold.
"Australian stuntman Grant Page accepts a job on an American television series and travels to Los Angeles, where he reunites with his cousin, Sorcery band member Curtis Hyde. Hyde performs with a heavy metal band called Sorcery, playing the part of The Prince of Darkness who is locked in cosmic combat with the King of the Wizards."
"Eventually Page's reckless behavior attracts the attention of newspaper reporter Lois, who is writing an article about his career-obsessed co-star Monique van de Ven, both gravitating towards the stunt-man's professional fearlessness. Later the trio attend Sorcery concerts, enjoy Hollywood parties with the band, and explore the nature of extreme living."But for all of Stunt Rock's hubris and reckless abandon, the single most impressive aspect of the film is that it managed to get made. I'll let the film's auteur, Brian Trenchard-Smith, give you the lowdown on how a momentary, throw-away idea navigated the typical Hollywood pitfalls that have felled countless projects and managed to make it to the silver screen.
Hey kids, remember the rock group KISS?
No, not the current pair of flaccid yentas and day-hire imposters trading under the name—I'm talking about the group born from the fertile New York streets of the 1970s. The one that unwittingly managed to blend the rust-belt bombast of Grand Funk Railroad with the street smarts of the New York Dolls and wrap the whole thing up in kabuki-themed Evel Knievel production with just the slightest touch of Alice, Iggy and Ziggy mixed in to satisfy the elitists.
Well, that KISS only lasted for about three years, starting in 1974 with the eponymous debut album and blowing the doors off the finish line with 1977's Love Gun, their sixth long-player in under 48 months. Sure, they put out music for decades after that, but like most underdogs who actually get what they want, success forever changed them.
That of course necessitated the firing of Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, two modern-day Bowery Boys straight out of central casting whose careers would've hit a brick wall at the Lincoln Tunnel without the drive and organization of Paul and Gene. Unfortunately, the pair took 75% of the personality and all of the humor and street credibility out the door with them.
But back in '75, they were still cocky, aggressive, and white hot. And like other bands of the era, they knew if they could take Detroit, the undisputed ground-zero for high-energy rock and roll, they could succeed anywhere. So the band and manager doubled down and decided to record a live album at Cobo Hall.
Now, nearly fifty years later, a video artifact of that landmark gig in May of 1975 surfaces without explanation.
There's some missed cues, the tempos sway, the guitars are slightly out of tune and are plugged directly into the amps, and I think you can hear Peter's kick pedal occasionally. In other words a perfect scenario for teen nirvana.
It's pretty great.
1:04 Let Me Go, Rock & Roll
3:24 C'mon & Love Me
6:57 Firehouse
12:40 Deuce
18:59 Rock & Roll All Nite
24:42 Quick glimpse of the banner from the back cover of Alive!
25:49 Black Diamond
Not sure if I'm a bit naive or just feeling nostalgic, but I really, really, really, need to see this as soon as possible. At his best, Carlin could meld the gross absurdity of life with the frailty of the human condition and mine it for laughs like few others.
Still hungry for more Detroit ruin porn? Follow along as Bob, aka Detroit Unseen, takes you on a journey documenting the spectacular ruins of Detroit and his personal recovery from drug addiction.
There's no shortage of web sites and short films documenting the rise and fall and current revival of Detroit, but the city's legacy is vast and star-crossed enough to support yet another take on the subject. It could benefit from some tighter edits, but there's a pandemic on and it's not exactly like most of us are pressed for time.
From the filmmaker:
With Detroit you take the good with the bad, recognize the good as it comes and preserve the good that has come before. Many that enter the City of Detroit can sense the urgency of change and the spirit of reinvention. We certainly understand this, and the photos represent what we have seen along the way. The Flag of Detroit contains the two Latin slogans “Speramus Meliora” and “Resurget Cineribus” meaning “We hope for better things” and “It will rise from the ashes.” The prophetic phrases originally created in reference to the great fire of 1805, ring true more now than ever. We take these slogans to heart everyday as we go out and explore our great city.
"Art Tatum’s dilapidated childhood home sits on City Park Avenue along the Dorr Street Corridor just on the outer edge of downtown, a total wreck, abandoned for decades. Out front, a gleaming bronze historical marker notes the sad relevance of the gaping hole in the foundation, the overgrown lot, the paint long-past chipping. The only splash of color offered on the drab scene is a few muraled boards guarding the long-open windows painted by teens from a nearby junior high school a few years ago. This is the perfect metaphor for Toledo music. We can’t talk about what is without talking about what was."Take the deep dive here:
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| Times Square, New York City, June 14, 1970. |
Quarantine got you down? Why not check out Peter Makowski's condensed account of when three working-class yobs from Flint, Michigan, tapped into the national zeitgeist and briefly ruled the world?
Excerpted from Grand Funk Railroad: The Forgotten Story of a True American Band
"But the fact that the media played absolutely no part in Grand Funk’s success turned out to be a major selling point to their audience. Critic/documentary maker, native of Detroit and bona fide Funk fan Michael Moore once said: 'People loved this band because some record company didn’t concoct it; image consultants didn’t choreograph it. This was a people’s band that just wanted to rock. A hard-driving, industrial rock’n’roll band that related to the average hard-working American.'Indeed. There was a huge, ignored and uncatered-for audience in the U.S. Midwest who worked nine to five, paid their taxes and every weekend partied their brains out on a mixture of ripple wine, grass and barbiturates. While the middle classes had the privilege to protest about Vietnam, these poor bastards were actually being shipped out there to fight. This was a pissed-off generation who simply wanted to rock’n’roll. Grand Funk came to the rescue." –Peter Makowski, Classic Rock / Louder
Now surf on over and read the complete story on LOUDER
