Mick's Musick

 

If you’re not already familiar with Mick Collins, then I’m going to do what I can to remedy that right now.

Mick may well be the king of funked-out fuck-you garage punk. Mick was born in Detroit on December 18, 1965. He has been breaking guitar strings for over 25 years now but claims he still has only mastered two chords. He's fried the blues, soul, & punk rock in so many electric batters you could open a small restaurant featuring his many aural feasts.

Collins first got exposure to early rock ‘n’ roll music through his family's record collection. Also, living in Detroit, he was surrounded by Motown records, which also provided influence.

 

Collins first played organ in a band called the U-Boats in 1981. He then played drums in the Wire-influenced art-pop band Floor Tasters from 1984 to 1985. In 1986, the 20-year old Collins helped form the seminal garage punk band, The Gories.

 

The Gories is the real Detroit sound. Forget all that stuff  about how the White Stripes & The Strokes are saving rock ‘n’ roll, creating a new scene. The Gories had a profound understanding of both blues & garage minimalism. Mick Collins’ soul roar combined with Dan Kroha's punk wail mixed with a healthy dose of Peggy O'Neil's heavy thud created a sound capable of melting everyone’s brain. The Gories were the ultimate in totally minimalist, real bluesy garage rock. They epitomize GARAGE band. Primitive electric guitars & primitive drums with no bass. They released three albums & five singles before they called it quits after their 1992 European tour.

The Gories – I Know You Fine, but How You Doin’, New Rose Records ROSE 219, 1990.
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Side 1 –

Hey, Hey We’re the Gories

You Make it Move

Detroit Breakdown

Stranded

Goin’ to the River

Early in the Morning

Thunderbird ESQ

Nitroglycerine

Side 2 –

Let Your Daddy Ride

Six Cold Feet

Queenie

Smashed

Ghost Rider

Chick-Inn

View from Here

 

 

Collins next worked in a basic garage rock band, Blacktop from 1994 to 1996. Much heavier & darker than The Gories, Blacktop ventured into the deepest, darkest corners of the garage for its sweaty inspiration. Among its gems is the rough & ready cover of Captain Beefheart's "Here I Am (Here I Always Am)" along with a slew of stomping originals that sound as if they were penned at a drag strip. Collins & Darin Lin Wood on guitars & vocals are always in fine voice & their anti-heroic guitar riffing merges perfectly. Bassist Alex Cuervo & drummer Janet Walker keep the low end down & dirty.

Blacktop – Up All Night, Au Go Go ANDA 188, 1994.

Side A –

I Think It’s Going to Rain

Tornado Love

Here I Am, I Always Am (Captain Beefheart cover)

44 Blues

Planet Earth (Goddamn)

Bahai

Side B –

Mojo Kitty

Keep on Doggin’ Me

Let Me Go Home, Whiskey

Blazing Streets

Goin’

She’s Mine, All Mine

 

After the demise of Blacktop, Collins helped form King Sound Quartet which had one single in 1996 & one album, The Getdown Imperative in 1997.  This band was made up of: Mick Collins – vocals & guitar; Tim Kerr – guitar; Alex Cuervo (from Blacktop) – bass; & Stephanie Friedman – drums.

 

King Sound Quartet -  Annihilate This Week 7”, Estrus Records ES787, 1996.

Side A –

Annihilate This Week

Side B –

Memphis Town

 

King Sound Quartet – The Getdown Imperative, In the Red Recordings ITR 052, 1997.

Side A –

I Wouldn’t Put it Past You

Inebreation ‘63

I Want To

White Streak

Sheer Terror

Side B –

Space is the Place

 

 

Another project around this time was The Screws. The Screws came about something like this…Epitaph recording artists the Red Aunts went to Detroit in 1997 to record their final album Ghetto Blaster at Ghetto Records studio (owned by Jim Diamond, a name that will continue to pop up numerous times in this saga) with Mick Collins as their chosen producer. The Red Aunts had long been fans of Mick's work & likewise Mick was a fan of the Red Aunts. During a moment of inspiration, the Aunts decided to have Mick record a duet with their vocalist & guitarist Terri Wahl. This was the seed that produced The Screws. Mick & Terri put together a band during one of Mick's many sojourns to Los Angeles for a comic book convention. They enlisted the duties of rhythm-section-for-hire Dan Brown & Marty Moore (from Jacksonville Beach, Florida) to take part in the project. Dan & Marty had a two-piece band called Johnny Hash. Dan is also known as the on again – off again bass player for Royal Trux. Once the debut Hate Filled Classics was recorded, everyone went back to their other projects & forgot about it. After its release, offers began to roll in for live appearances. Mick & Terri did not want to disappoint, so the band toured the western half of the US & Japan with Jimmy Hole (Necessary Evils) on bass & Kerry Davis (Red Aunts) on drums. Their blues infused slop-punk sounds delighted & offended crowds wherever they went. In 2001 they released their second album Shake Your Monkey with their new line-up of Collins, Wahl, Hole, & drummer Mike McHugh.

 

The Screws – Shake Your Monkey, In the Red Recordings ITR 080, 2001.

Side 1 –

Story 16

Keep on Lovin’ Me

In Case You Need love

Flip Your Face

The Storm

I See You, Baby

Ramona say Yes

Side 2 –

Betcha Can’t Kiss Me

Shake it, Baby

Strange Things

If Loving is Believing

I’m Yours & I’m Hers

Monkey Doin’ Woman

I Ain’t in the Mood

 

However, by this time, Collins was most focused on his newest project, The Dirtbombs. The Dirtbombs is Collins' latest garage punk vehicle but unlike the other collective acts he's worked with, he can truly call this one his own. The Dirtbombs is a wide-ranging, musically eclectic band. Beginning with the "High Octane Salvation" single in 1996, the Dirtbombs have come to be Collins' most durable & arguably most popular project (rivaled only by the legendary status of The Gories).

The Dirtbombs had a shifting cast of musicians behind Collins on guitar, consisting of a 2-drum, 2-bass set-up. Since 2004 The Dirtbombs have had a relatively steady line-up: Mick – guitar, keyboards, & vocals; Tom Potter & legendary Ghetto Records owner Jim Diamond - bass & vocals; Ben Blackwell & Pat Pantano – drums & vocals; & Troy Gregory – strings with Eugene Strobe & Shelia Holmes – backing vocals.

The Dirtbombs – Dangerous Magical Noise, In the Red Recordings ITR 099, 2003.

Side 1 –

Start the Party

Get it While You Can

Don’t Break My Heart

Sun is Shining

Earthquake Heart

Thunder in the Sky

Side 2 –

Motor City Baby

Stuck in thee Garage

I’m Through with White Girls

21^st Century Fox

Stop

Stupid

F.I.D.O.

The Dirtbombs -  We Have You Surrounded, In the Red Recordings ITR 150, 2008.

Side One –

It’s not Fun Until They See You Cry

Ever Lovin’ Man

Indivisible

Sherlock Holmes (Sparks cover)

Wreck My Flow

Leopardman at C&A

Side Two –

Fire in the Western World (Dead Moon cover)

Pretty Princess Day

I Hear the Sirens

They Have us Surrounded

Race to the Bottom

La Fin du Monde

 

Mick also played in Voltaire Brothers, a funk project that issued the 2003 album I Sing the Booty Electric. Voltaire Brothers are actually based around a two-headed rhythm section/songwriting duo of Collins on drums, guitar, & vocals along with Jerome Gray on guitar & bass. A gang of others including frequent Collins collaborator & studio engineer Jim Diamond, singers Shelia Holmes & former Atomic Fireball front man John Bunkley among others  have been roped into the rubbery P-Funk-worshiping shenanigans. The group’s debut LP, the six-song I Sing the Booty Electric is a wiggly jointed blast of DIY rubber soul ranging from the dystopian atmospheric groove of “Trouble Man Everyday” (a loose jam-merge of Marvin Gaye’s “Troubleman” & Frank Zappa’s “Trouble Comin’ Every Day”) to sure-fire dance floor flame-ups like the Funkadelic verbalfunknastics of

“Transparabolocwobblemegatronicthangmabutylspasmotickryptorumpalistics (aka Siege Of The Booty Chirren).” It’s a thing of beauty or more rightly, booty…a testament to the Mothership’s ability to hold us all in its tractor beam.

Voltaire Brothers – I Sing the Booty Electric, Fall of Rome FOR 1006, 2003.

Side 1 –

The Mother Ones

I Sing the Booty Electric

Which One

Side 2 –

Funky Motion

Transparabolicwobblemegatronicthangamabutylspasmotickryptorumpalistics \

     (A.K.A. Siege of the Booty Chirren)

Trouble Man Everyday

Aside from all that, Mick has also done solo work (including issuing a split 7" vinyl with Lorrette Velvette for the film Wayne County Ramblin' in which Collins has a role), produced scores of other artists' music (including Andre Williams), DJs, & does vocals for yet another long-time side project, Man Ray, Man Ray. He was the host of Night Train, a Saturday night show on WDET - Detroit Public Radio. Collins was the producer of the CD Drop Dead by Figures of Light, which was recorded in Brooklyn, New York at Mitro's Studios June, 2011 & released on vinyl by Norton Records on November 13, 2011; the remastered CD version was released on May 18, 2012.

Collins is also preparing more Dirtbombs singles & a new LP, as well as a new Voltaire Brothers record, a Man Ray, Man Ray record as well as a techno record.

Although Collins seems to eat, breathe, & secrete music, he claims his madness has a method:

     ”One of my firm beliefs is that if you can't dance to it, it isn't rock and roll. So every band I play in, you're gonna be able to dance to it. Overall, Detroit is really a rah-rah, fist-in-the-air kind of rock town. From soul music to techno, we like music that has a strong rhythm,” he says with a hearty laugh.

Enjoy,

NØ