Many of you may have heard about the lo-fi Detroit Rock Movie where it documents a string of Detroit rock bands back in 1999. Probably at that time, no one knew that Jack and Meg would actually take on the world, bringing other acts like Brendan Benson, Soledad Brothers and more along with them. Directed/produced/edited by Benjamin Hernandez, the Detroit Rock Movie is definitely “one of those docu-movies that is quintessential in the archival of a generation’s and geographic area’s music and culture,” as commented by a friend of mine.
And if you haven’t seen the movie, you should! With the consent of Benjamin who currently works as a club promotor for Detroit Art Space (check out his photo album here), here are the clips of The White Stripes, The Go, 2 Star Tabernacle and Brendan Benson’s appearances in the movie. The videos hosted here are all in Real Media format (right click and “save target
as…”).
Video Clips | History | Credits | How To Get A Copy
The White Stripes
The White Stripes footage starts at around 40 minutes into The Detroit Rock Movie. Part 1 sees Jack playing “Stop Breaking Down” and explaining what The White Stripes are about in one of the rooms in his house. Also, there’s a short footage of Jack and Meg performing “Sugar Never Tasted So Good” at WDET Radio.
In Part 2, Jack talk jovially about how a guy who works at Ford got pissed off at “The Big Three Killed My Baby” and told him about a new car that’s “all glued together.” There’s also short clip of Jack doing a cover of “Trick Bag” originally by Earl King. Apparently, as told by Ben Blackwell, The Gories covered it on their third album “Outta Here” and Jack has played it at Stripes’ shows before. Of course, there’s a little guitar jam session with Johnny Walker the rock ‘n’ roller on the Soledad Brothers song “St. Ides Of March” (you can find this song on the first album of the Soledad Brothers) as you see in the picture above.
Both clips feature short performances from the Paycheck’s in Hamtramck, MI, 1999.
The Go
The Go are all about fun! Catch Jack performing with The Go with a cool interview footage back to back!
2 Star Tabernacle
Part 1 sees Jack performing an early version of “Who’s To Say” with Dan Miller and gang a.k.a the 2 Star Tabernacle while Part 2 features an early version of “The Union Forever.”
Brendan Benson
Highlights (”Good To Me,” “Metarie”) from one of Brendan’s gigs, and a cool interview done at Brendan’s house, which he talk passionately about his music. Brendan also plays a Jack White song “You’ve Got Her In The Pocket” in Part 2 of the clip!
PS: The other person you see in part two is actually not Ben Hernandez himself!
Explained Ben, “The pretty young man in the clip with Brendan is Mark Craven of They Come in Three’s. He introduced me to Brendan when he first moved to town (Brendan moved here from Cali, shortly before the movie was made). They Come in Three’s have a record out on Fall of Rome that is great.”
HISTORYOF THE DETROIT ROCK MOVIE
By Benjamin Hernandez
In the mid 90’s, I started showing films and videos along with a local Detroit psychedelic noise metal group named Gravitar. Through them I met a bunch of people involved with and playing in bands. That was the pre-garage era Detroit when there were all sorts of different indie/noise/punk/space rock/ (and yes) some garage acts (namely the Snitches, the Hentchmen, the Detroit Cobras and the Demolition Dollrods).
There were very few venues for full on Bar Rock. Most of the action centered around Zoot’s (an old home converted into a tiny coffeehouse/concert venue) and the Old Miami (a super grimy Vietnam vet bar in the Cass Corridor). I started working at the Majestic shortly after they were having shows upstairs in the Magic Stick and the Gold Dollar opened. It was there that I met Brian Boyle who later went on to work at the Metro Times (a local, events oriented, tabloid). He booked all of the shows at the Magic Stick and the Majestic Theatre.
When he went on to the Metro Times he and Chris Handyside (who as one of the drummers of the Dirtbombs and the original drummer to the Hentchmen) began putting together an annual music fest in the town of Hamtramck, MI (a weird little island city inside of Detroit) called the Hamtramck Blowout.
They had the bright idea of asking me to make a documentary about the whole event. I myself had never actually made a documentary before but it seemed like a good idea. Upon making it, it all kinda blew up and it became more about the music “scene” and the city itself than about the music festival in Hamtramck. I don’t think anyone even mentions Hamtramck in the movie. It included some bands that never even played at the festival (Rocket 455 and the Hearing Trumpet).
Within 6 months of the movie being shot Brian and Chris both left the Metro Times and half of the bands broke up (the movie actually contains what was then some last show footage from the Hentchmen, the Wildbunch, 2 Star Tabernacle and even the White Stripes, most of whom came back together, obviously!). The Dirtbombs were broken up and non-existent at the time that the movie was made, as were the Detroit Cobras (to answer everyone’s incessantly asked question). The Von Bondies, the Come Ons and Ko & the Knockouts and just about every other band know “charting” didn’t exist yet. It was a strange time. Fun, exciting, all of those things you would want from a homegrown rock scene.
A year passed by the White Stripes first record came and went and there wasn’t any more money to finish the movie than there was to start it. The 3rd Hamtramck Blowout was coming so I edited the movie on 2 VCR and one camera. It looked and sounded kinda shitty but it was fun and nobody other than the people in the movie would ever see the damn thing. Funny how quickly all of that changed.
About the movie itself: It’s a cheaper than cheap but truer than true document of what Detroit was then — right before any explosion, when everyone was just someone in their basement, attic, loft space and, yes even some in their garages. Doing what you do to do it with no vision of rock stardom or anything other than doing something with a spirit that didn’t disagree with you. Everyone got together on the weekends, shared some ideas had some fun and went home, back to work or wherever it was that those people went when they weren’t out at the next show. You could go and see freaked out noise experimentalism
(like Fez or the Wolfman Band) with the Hentchmen or the Wildbunch.
You could see this quirky little rock group with that guy from 2 Star Tabernacle who sings in the fine falsetto play with the balls
of rock fury of Rocket 455. Everyone knew and pretty much likedeach other. It was all pretty cool. Now there’s a little document of it. A rough, hazy little porthole for people to peer into.
|
Detroit - 1999 Meet the personalities behind the music of: Bantam Rooster, Brendan Benson, Fez, The Foxgloves, The Go, The Hearing Trumpet, The Hentchmen, The Immigrant Sun, Rocket 455, The Soledad Brothers, They Come In Threes, The Universal Indians, The Volebeats, The Wildbunch, The Witches and more. |
Detroit Rock Movie
Shot entirely on Hi-8 video in and around Detroit.
Directed/Produced/Edited by Benjamin Hernandez
Approx. 1 hr. 33 min.
Copyright 2000
DriveWay Productions
All performances recorded in Detroit and Hamtramck in 1999 at Paychecks, The Gold Dollar, Motor, The Magic Stick, Detroit Contemporary, The Kress Lounge (R.I.P) and one short segment at the Magic Bag in Ferndale, MI.
Featuring (in order of appearance):
1) Intro by press secretary for mayor of Hamtramck, MI
2) The LoveMasters
3) The Wolfman Band (aka Princess Dragon Mom)
4) Basketcase
5) 12 TechMob (Dj Daddy Riff)
6) Persona
7) Adult
8) Jazzhead (intvw.)
9) The Porters
10) Soul Cligue
11) spyradio
12) Mick Vranich and Detroit Crew
13) Larval
14) Only a Mother
15) immigrant suns (intvw.)
16) spyradio (intvw.)
17) Speedball
18) Fez
19) The LoveMasters
20) The Wolfman Band w/ stungun
21) Paper Tiger
22) Maschina
23) Fez (intvw.)
24) The Clone Defects
25) Visitor
26) Persona
27) Hearing Trumpet (intvw. w/ commentary by Ebeling Hughes)
28) The Wolfman Band
29) Visitor
30) Soledad Brothers
31) Universal Indians
32) Fez
33) The Foxgloves (intvw.)
34) Universal Indians (intvw.)
35) The Volebeats (intvw.)
36) Brendan Benson (intvw.)
37) The White Stripes (intvw.)
38) Soledad Brothers (intvw.) interlude Johnny and Ko, plus drunk
and drunks
39) The Lovemasters
40) The Wildbunch
41) Bantam Rooster (intvw. also featuring Eric Cook, the original
drummer)
42) The Numbers
43) The Sights
44) The Go
45) The Hentchmen
46) The Wildbunch (doing a Hentchmen cover)
47) The Hentchmen
48) The Go (intvw. w/ “go sequence” by Ebeling Hughes)
49) Rocket 455 (intvw.)
50) The Numbers
51) Speedball
52) Poopy Time
53) Easy Action
54) 2 Star Tabernacle
55) The Wildbunch (intvw.)
56) The Witches (intvw.)
57) They Come In Threes (intvw.)
58) Mood Elevator
59) Outrageous Cherry (off of cheezy PBS show)
60) Teach Me Tiger
61) 2 Star Tabernacle
62) Mick Vranich and Detroit Crew
63) Ebeling Hughes
64) The Piranhas
65) C3
66) Basketcase
67) Persona
68) Adult
69) 12 Tech Mob
Outro by Ebeling Hughes
Credits Universal Indians and Chinese Fish
On the way to the liqour store, sometime that winter.
The End
Special thanks to Grunnen
Rocks
How To Get A Copy
Of The Detroit Rock Movie
Contact Benjamin Hernandez at KidDetroit@hotmail.com for more information.
