Turn it Down!

Locals Pick Locals Vol. IV

Another round of Michigan-made tunes that’ll ease your cabin fever

Posted

The nation is shut down, so is local music. With no shows to report, here’s the fourth edition of “Locals Pick Locals,” a weekly tracklist of homegrown tunes, compiled by Lansing-based musicians and record-store crate diggers. Plus, all of these songs are streaming on YouTube, so feel free to listen along as you read. Perhaps you’ll find a new favorite local band?

Ariel Rogers (Journalist, drummer, formerly of Teenage Slumber Party)

Pick: Doc Dart “Patricia” LP — 1990

Nothing gets me more in the mood for self-isolation than the album “Patricia,” by Doc Dart, the notoriously reclusive Lansing-area legend. Dart, who now goes by the name 26, formed the Crucifucks in 1981 and has since gained a decent cult following. 26’s shrill voice and subversive lyrics are a punk-rock contrarian’s dream and Tipper Gore’s worst nightmare. Some songs on the Crucifucks’ self-titled album include “Democracy Spawns Bad Taste,” “Hinckley Had A Vision” — named for the would-be Ronald Reagan assassin — and “Cops For Fertilizer.”

In 1990, 26 released his solo album “Patricia,” named after his therapist at the time. The album explores themes of cyclical depression, isolation, abandonment, and gives the listener a more introspective look into 26’s psyche. When I listen to it, it almost feels like he ripped a page from my diary and set it to haunting, yet beautiful guitar music.

While the world is on lockdown and we are shut in our homes, 26’s songs are relatable now more than ever — especially the song “Falling,” where he desperately asks, “Why does it have to be this way again? Today feels just like yesterday again.” I couldn’t agree more.

Rich Tupica (Turn it Down! writer, “Inzane Michigan” co-host)

Pick: Bantam Rooster “Dumb It Down” — 2000

If you’ve been on a farm in the sticks of Michigan, you may have crossed paths with a feisty bantam rooster. They’re small in stature, but surprisingly strong, mean and fierce … much like the legendary Lansing band of the same name.

Formed in 1994, Bantam Rooster was an explosive two-piece rock outfit that cut its sharp teeth at Mac’s Bar and beer-soaked basements across Michigan. Fueled by the visceral voice and signature riffs of frontman T. Jackson Potter (guitar/vocals), the garage-punk duo cranked out records for two iconic underground imprints: Crypt Records and Sympathy For the Record Industry. Thanks to that international street cred, throughout the ’90s, the pair toured the world and became a fixture in the same Detroit-rock scene that spawned The White Stripes. Bantam Rooster is even featured on Jack White’s 2001 “Sympathetic Sounds of Detroit” compilation.

Underscored here is Bantam’s last hurrah: the fiery “Fuck All Ya’ll” LP. Released in the summer of 2000, it serves as a fitting exodus for the primitive — yet somehow colossal-sounding — twosome. Front to back, the album is tense, brash and would perplex your neighbors when cranked appropriately. The 35-minute disc abruptly launches with “Dumb it Down,” a fully unhinged mess that’s laced with feedback-squeals from hell and smothered in demented vocal barks. Classic Potter. The track burns hot for a brief 1:37 before it abruptly boils over and fizzles out. Be sure to also queue up “Shit List +1” and “You’re the Sun.” It’s pure Michigan.

John Olson, aka Inzane Johnny (Musician, Wolf Eyes, “Inzane Michigan” co-host)

Pick: Don Lee “ECHO, Echo, echo” — 1957

The mysterious kingpin of all Lansing sonics from 1952 through the late ’60s, Don Lee Bloomquist was the owner of the legendary Don Lee Studios at 1328 E. Michigan Avenue, where he engineered stacks of records for locals. But Bloomquist was a musician too, and title holder for the sole human superpower that can make an accordion psychedelic. This forgotten hit single on Blue-Chip Records is a homemade cosmic beast that sounds like Sun Ra tanked on $3 Pabst pitchers at Green Dot Stables. Best polka that’s not on Michigan’s SOUND Records. Play this during an online group-drinking party — separate the hard from the hardcore.

Lindsey Taylor (La La Delivery, guitar/vocals)

Pick: Myron James “Out of Tune”— 2018

I decided to showcase none other than my quarantine-mate. Myron James is the moniker of James Mitchell, who’s played in a handful of Lansing acts, like Edible Intention, Rhode Island Sluts and La La Delivery. After years of being a rambunctious young punker in the Lansing scene, he’s now grown accustomed to being a basement rocker and prefers to hang under the radar. Some prominent inspirations on this track are Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits. This song has only one lyric, and the home-made quality of the drum machine and guitars blend together in a hilarious fashion. “Out of Tune” tells us that Myron James is not afraid to let his freak flag fly. It’s a testament to all artists who just got to let their weirdness out somewhere.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here




Connect with us