Tart Pops Their Black Christmas Cherry Tonight!

Black Christmas is finally here! Tonight some of the best bands in Detroit and the surrounding area will be taking over the entire Majestic complex! This annual event couldn't be pulled off by anyone other than Black Iris Booking, and this year Ramona has outdone herself. 

Favorites like The Suicide Machines, The Black Dahlia Murder and Mustard Plug will be hitting the stages throughout the night, but this year there are some newbies playing the show too! This is the first year that bands like The Idiot Kids and Tart will be playing this festival. We had a chance to ask Zee & Adam from Tart our 12 Days of Black Christmas questions. Check out what they had to say. 

HID- What other band are you most looking forward to seeing during this year's Black Christmas? 

TART- "This is always such a tough question, we're not much for picking favorites. But we are super pumped to see the Suicide Machines and Fucked Up. We also always love watching the Idiot Kids. They mesmerize us every time. "

HID- What did you ask Santa for this Holiday Season? 

TART- "We must have been on the nice list this year, because Santa delivered on a the new boots we'd been eyeing."

HID- What’s the most memorable gift you got as a child? 

TART- "A very sophisticated wooden easel, that had a drawer filled with new paints. Also a pair of shiny, violet, pleather pants my Gram got me when I was nine. I thought they were so cool, but my mom wouldn't let me keep them."

HID- What's your favorite food around the holidays? 

TART- "Everything, we're not picky! But we do get excited for desserts- cassata cake, banana cream pie, hummers- yes, please."

HID- Do you have a favorite Christmas song? 

TART- "'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' is surprisingly moody and dark for a Christmas song. We also like Nat King Cole's version of "The Christmas Song". It's classic."

HID- What does Black Christmas mean to you?

TART- "This is our first Black Christmas, so we're sure we'll be able to answer this better after Friday! But we're really just excited/proud/honored to be included in this line-up. Like, holy shit. This is awesome."

HID- Have you ever caught your parents having sex when you were looking for Santa on Christmas Eve? 

TART- "Not yet! Maybe next year."

Tickets are still available to Black Christmas and can be purchased in advance here. Doors are set to open at 6 p.m. and all ages are welcome. Check out the entire lineup and set times below! 

 

~C&S

Get Ready for Black Christmas with The Suicide Machines!

It's no secret that we're super excited about Black Christmas. The lineup is great, with bands like The Black Dahlia Murder, Cheapshow, Bison Machine, and the Koffin Kats. But, the band we are most excited about seeing is The Suicide Machines! The "main event" for every Black Christmas, The Suicide Machines are at the top of a lot of people's lists of favorite Detroit bands. They always put on an awesome show, they don't play very often, so it's always a treat, and every SM's show is like a reunion! You see friends that you haven't seen in years and you dance and party like you're a teenager again. We absolutely cannot wait!

Photo Credit: Camera Jesus

Our friend Ryan V. from The Suicide Machines was nice enough to answer our 12 days of Black Christmas questions. Check out what he had to say below, then read ahead to find out how you can enter to win tickets to Friday's show.

HID- What other band are you most looking forward to seeing during this year's Black Christmas

Ryan V- "I'm looking forward to checking out some the bands I haven't seen yet like Bison Machine, The War Between, and Municipal Waste. Black Iris has done another great job of organizing a cool variety this year."

HID- What did you ask Santa for this Holiday Season? 

Ryan V- "Nothing! I have a car that runs, a warm house, and an awesome boyfriend. I don't really need much more. Unless of course, Santa wants to stop by and clean my house...he does windows, right? Either that or maybe a little help getting the new Machines record finished at some point in 2017."

HID- What’s the most memorable gift you got as a child? 

Ryan V- "My first guitar! It was a piece of shit and never stayed in tune but I absolutely loved it. So much in fact, that I traded it for a crappy drum kit years later!"

HID- What's your favorite food around the holidays? 

Ryan V- "Mostly bourbon and champagne, but sometimes you need a little Great Lakes Christmas Ale to kick the season off right."

HID- Do you have a favorite Christmas song? 

Ryan V- "Not one particular song, but I usually play the entire Vince Guaraldi Trio Charlie Brown Xmas album on repeat for most of December. I did make the mistake of watching the Mariah Carey Christmas special this year...yeowza"

HID- What does Black Christmas mean to you?

Ryan V- "It's become an end of the year reunion to see friends and family and celebrate some cool music that happens to be in the middle of a killer party. I like how it has kind of morphed into a mixture of older bands stepping out for reunion sets, newer bands that are keeping things fresh, and bands coming to Detroit from out of town to join in the chaos. It's a perfect way to close out the year. Oh, and a massive hangover the next day."

HID- Have you ever caught your parents having sex when you were looking for Santa on Christmas Eve? 

Ryan V- "I never looked for Santa. I met him at the mall a few times and he always smelled weird."


Black Christmas is happening this Friday, December 30th. That means that there is only one day left to win tickets to the show from us and Black Iris Booking! To enter to win, email your name to hipindetroit@gmail.com with #blackchristmas in the subject line. Since there's only one day left, you can get a second entry in if you hit us up on social media (@hipindetroit). Tag us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and let us know that you want to go to #blackchristmas. You can also purchase tickets here for just $35! We will draw our final winner on Friday morning and will send them details on how to claim their prize.

Doors are set to open at 6 p.m. on Friday. For more details and to stay in the loop the day of the show, head over and RSVP to the Facebook event here.

~C

Bison Machine is Ready for Black Christmas! Are you?

All week we have had the pleasure of talking with some of the bands playing this year's Black Christmas and giving away free tickets to the show. Well, the fun isn't over yet! Black Christmas is only a few days away and we have more tickets to giveaway and bands to chat with.

This time around, we had the pleasure of talking with Bison Machine. These guys just got back from tour, opened for Nashville Pussy a few weeks ago, and now they have a new album in the works. If you like stoner rock and you haven't checked this band out yet, it's about time that you do. Give them a listen on bandcamp here.

Casey O'Ryan and Anthony Franchina were nice enough to answer our 12 Days of Black Christmas questions. Read ahead to find out what they asked Santa for this year.

HID- What other band are you most looking forward to seeing during this year's Black Christmas
Casey & Anthony- "Municipal Waste. Gotta get a couple of those Trump-blowing-his-brains-out shirts. Also looking forward to the George Michael hologram we heard is gonna be on the main stage between bands."

HID- What did you ask Santa for this Holiday Season? 
C & A- "New band van, a couple of swords, a fifth of Jezy, and a sense of purpose."

HID- What’s the most memorable gift you got as a child? 
Anthony- "Black Sabbath We Sold Our Souls For Rock And Roll CD from my grandma."

Casey- "Backrubs from Santa (I think it was my uncle Jack)."

HID- What's your favorite food around the holidays? 
C & A- "Anything leftover, just throw it in the deep fryer. Good as new."

HID- Do you have a favorite Christmas song? 
C & A- "Judas Priest - Ram It Down"

HID- What does Black Christmas mean to you?
C & A- "Guarantee of a 3 day bender. But seriously this is our first time playing it and we are stoked to be here this year. See you all Friday!"

HID- Have you ever caught your parents having sex when you were looking for Santa on Christmas Eve?
C & A- "Yes..."

Tickets to see Bison Machine and a ton of other awesome bands at Black Christmas this Friday are $35 and you can pick yours up here. You can also win tickets from our 12 Days of Black Christmas ticket giveaway! If you would like to enter for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the show, email your name to hipindetroit@gmail.com with #blackchristmas in the subject line. Since time is running out and the show is drawing closer, you can get a second entry in if you hit us up on social media (@hipindetroit). Tag us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and let us know that you want to go to #blackchristmas.

Good luck! 

~C

Celebrate 25 Years of Mustard Plug at Black Christmas

Can you believe it? Black Christmas is almost here! In just a few days The Majestic will be full of boys and girls, and women and men of all ages all there for one reason. To fucking party! Black Christmas will once again bring together great bands like The Suicide Machines, The Black Dahlia Murder, Koffin Kats, Cheapshow, Dirtwolf and of course, Mustard Plug.

It has been a tradition for years now for Mustard Plug to play special holiday shows around Christmas. This year it is extra special for these guys because they are also celebrating their 25th Anniversary! And we thought 5 years was a big deal! Mustard Plug will be celebrating their anniversary first on Thursday night at The Intersection in Grand Rapids. Then they will head to Detroit on Friday night to party at Black Christmas. 

We had a chance to ask Mustard Plug's own Colin Clive our 12 Days of Black Christmas questions. Check out what he had to say below.

HID- What other band are you most looking forward to seeing during this year's Black Christmas? 

Colin- "Fucked Up! and… Municipal Waste!! and…. Suicide Machines!! and… Rebel Spies!!! and… Koffin Kats!! and….. and…. I’m sorry, I can’t do this. I can never pick just one / when it comes to seeing live music/bands! I’ve been going to shows forever and I still get just as excited as I did at my first show. A good band can change your life!! Love it!! Can’t wait to see everyone!!"

HID- What did you ask Santa for this Holiday Season?  

Colin- "To please help the nation survive the next 4 years. Other than that some new records is always a good thing!!"

HID- What’s the most memorable gift you got as a child?

Colin- "I’d have to say it was probably my Hutch BMX Bike. Or any number of other BMX related gear. My family was really into BMX racing in the early 80’s and Christmas presents were heavily based around new bike stuff. My parents were also really clever with surprises!"

HID- What's your favorite food around the holidays? 

Colin- "Mexican food!! All the time!! I am a big fan of fondue as well!! My family usually has one or the other for our big holiday meal. This year it’s enchiladas, burritos, rice and beans, etc. So good!!"

HID- Do you have a favorite Christmas song? 

Colin- "Last Christmas by Wham! Is there another one?"

HID- What does Black Christmas mean to you? 

Colin- "It’s a tradition at this point!! Something to always look forward to and an awesome way to end the year!! Detroit has always been a home away from home for us and it’s a great way to wrap stuff up and get ready for the next year!! Good times with good friends old and new guaranteed!!"

HID- Have you ever caught your parents having sex when you were looking for Santa on Christmas Eve?

Colin- "Thankfully I have not. I was reading these questions to a 21 year old coworker who unfortunately had and he didn’t have very fond memories of it. He said he will probably never recover. I’m glad I don’t have to live with that. I have enough things to deal with."

Tickets are still available for Black Christmas, but hurry because they're going fast! You can pick yours up for $35 here. Thanks to the always amazing Black Iris Booking, our 12 Days of Black Christmas ticket giveaway continues today! If you would like to enter for a chance to win tickets to the show, email your name to hipindetroit@gmail.com with #blackchristmas in the subject line. Since time is running out and the show is drawing closer, you can get a second entry in if you hit us up on social media (@hipindetroit). You can tag us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and let us know that you want to go to #blackchristmas.

Whatever you do, don't miss it! Black Christmas is always one of the best shows of the year! 

~C&S