It's hard to believe that it has been four years since Ironclad Tattoo Company first opened its doors. It seems like just yesterday that we were interviewing co-owner Mike Moore about starting the company. Since then they have become a big part of the tattoo, piercing, and music community in Metro Detroit. They are the only place that I would ever buy a pair of plugs and they have sponsored all four of the HipInDetroit.com anniversary parties. Mike Bagz gave me my first tattoo on camera and Mike Moore has pierced some of my friends' kids when they came of age. I even painted myself solid gold for their first anniversary party. It's been a fun-filled four years and it's time to celebrate!
The crew will be gathering at Zeke's Rock and Roll BBQ in Ferndale this Friday for their fourth anniversary party. The FREE event will feature music from Kommander, White Shag and The Bon Johnsons (an AC/DC Tribute band featuring members of Pittbull, Against the Grain, The Meatmen, and RAWDOGS). There will be cheap booze and good food available for purchase and everyone will be hanging out having a good time. Doors for the party open at 9 p.m. this Friday!
Congratulations on four years of fun, we look to many more!
Friday night the Majestic complex was full of people that had enough family time over the holidays and were ready to party. Black Iris Booking took over all three stages for their 3rd annual Black Christmas. This year's lineup was as bad ass, with a few legendary Detroit bands on the bill too.
Two of the most talked about bands on the lineup were Fordirelifesake and Telegraph, who were both reuniting for the event. Both drew huge crowds of fans that definitely got their money's worth. FDLS played with as much precision and energy as they did when the guys were all 20 something. Telegraph had fans dancing and singing along to old favorites and even a few off of Switched On, the album the band claims that everyone hates. Judging by the crowds response, I disagree. Telegraph announced at the show that they are giving the band a run for one more year, which was quite the Christmas gift for their fans! So keep an eye out for more shows and possible new music from them. And, in case you didn't know, Fordirelifesake also has recorded a few new songs. Head over and pick those up here.
We managed to get video of songs from both of these bands' sets. The crowds were a little rowdy, but we held strong to make sure to at least get you a glimpse of what happened.
The crowds also went crazy for a lot of other bands Friday night. Some of our favorites were the Koffin Kats, Destroy This Place, Wilson, and of course, The Suicide Machines. These bands never disappoint, but they all definitely brought their a-game for this show.
Other bands that we regrettably didn't catch, but heard also put on amazing sets were The Meatmen and Negative Approach. But, with a stacked lineup from start to finish, it was hard to catch everyone.
We applaud Sarah and Ramona of Black Iris Booking for another stellar show and one of the best lineups ever. We don't know how you pull this off every year and manage to make it bigger and better every time. We've heard a ton of people saying they wish they could relive Friday night or go to a show like that every night and we agree with them. Although Black Iris doesn't put on shows this huge every night, they put on amazing shows all year long. If you haven't already, make sure you head over and "like" them on Facebook so you don't miss out on one of them! While you're at it, head over to our Facebook page to see more pictures from Black Christmas 2014!
December 24th and 25th are two days that most of us spend with family and friends exchanging gifts, eating meals, and sharing some holiday love. But, after two days of being nice, we're all going to need to get naughty and we have the perfect place for all of us to gather to behave badly this holiday season, Black Iris Booking'sBlack Christmas!
The night will kick off at 6 p.m. and the event will feature three stages. Tickets are $20 for the first 250 people then they will be $25 in advance. They will go up to $30 on the day of the show. We also have one pair of tickets to give away to one lucky reader courtesy of the ladies over at Black Iris Booking. We love these girls more than they will ever know! They bring some of the best bands to town and take care of our readers by making sure that at least one of you gets in the doors for FREE. To enter, please email your full name to hipindetroit@gmail.com with Black Christmas in the subject. We will draw a winner the day before the show and email them details on how to claim their prize. Good luck! This is a do not miss event, so we expect to see all of you there. Let's drink whiskey and get weird together this holiday season!
Saturday night history will take place at Small's. The infamous band The Meatmen will be hitting the stage in celebration of their new full length album. This is the first release from the band in over 19 years!
The new album Savage Sagas is being released on Self Destructo Records, also home to Detroit's own Against the Grain. The reviews of the album so far sound like The Meatmen are up to their same antics and are as offensive as ever, so fans will not be disappointed. If you want a sneak peak of what you can expect, listen to the track "Dinosaur" that Decibel Magazine premiered here.
The official release show is this Saturday, May 17th at Small's in Hamtramck. Also hitting the stage that night are Gang Green, Easy Action and Nice Hooves. Tickets are $12 in advance and can be picked up online here or entry is $15 at the door. After this show The Meatmen will be hitting the road and heading out west. So head out and pick up the new album before their tour! And make sure you keep an eye out for Tesco Fest III when they head back to town later this summer!
Friday night we kicked off the Blowout by booking a bunch of interviews and making a schedule of where we needed to be down to the minute. The three of us, Christie, Becca, and myself, gathered at Whiskey in the Jar around 9:30 and that's where the trouble began.
About two minutes into our first interview with All The Wild Chidren our camera stopped working. We were able to grab the back up camera and have a quick talk with the band, but I wasn't even able to ask vocalist Paul about his uncanny resemblance to Rob Zombie.
Then after we "fixed" the camera it went totally black on us while trying to shoot a song. We went back to our car and tried to work out the issues, but quickly realized it just wasn't happening for that camera on this night. We switched to the back up, missed quite a few sets that we were dying to see, and headed to the New Dodge to check out the rappers showcase and talk to Cold Men Young before they performed.
The New Dodge had a great vibe and Cold Men Young were wonderful to speak with. We found out that they were actually the geniuses behind this hip-hop showcase and learned a little about the guys and how they work together as a group. Things were finally starting to look up.
We left the New Dodge and headed to the Polish National Alliance to catch our friends in Against The Grain. We caught most of their set and it was definitely a highlight of the evening. We are really looking forward to their album release on May 31st! We got a sneak peak of the new album last week and we think you guys are going to love it!
Just as things were starting to look up we realized we had some how lost some, we'll just say "important stuff" during the last two hours since we had started our night. We left the PNA to get another interview and hunt for what we lost. We ventured back to the New Dodge and actually found one of our two missing items while catching the end of Cold Men Young's set.
We then headed over to The Painted Lady with hopes of catching Disinformants for our last interview of the night. When we walked in they were taking the stage a half hour earlier than we planned. So, we had missed our window for the interview and officially decided trying to plan the Blowout is the worst idea ever.
Somehow we forgot the beauty of the Blowout is getting lost in a sea of people, bands, beers and music. You can't plan your night. You can try to catch all the bands you want to see and you will miss at least one. You also will stumble across a band that you have never heard of and truly enjoy. You will drink too much, probably get pizza or a burger during the evening and, if you're lucky, you will cross paths with many people you know and love.
We put down the cameras, picked up the drinks, and danced like idiots to The Meatmen until 2 a.m. Turnout was definitely down from last year and the weather was a little chilly, but dancing with my two girls at the end of a crazy night to some good music in a room filled with friends cannot be considered anything but a success.
Last Thursday, The Loving Touch was packed wall to wall for a day after Halloween celebration. Some of Detroit's most talented musicians came together and put on quite a show. Personally, I threw on leopard print spandex and my brightest pink lipstick and headed out for the show.
All three bands killed it and really did justice to their namesakes. Thanks to the amazing Matt Moy we were able to get video from each set to share with all of you.
This past Saturday we made it out to the mayhem that is Tesco Fest at the Magic Stick. If you weren't there, you really missed a hell of a night! The place was packed and the bands were awesome! Once you reached the top of the stairs, the smell of punk rock filled the air!
We were at Motors & Music earlier, so we got there a little later than we had wanted to, but we were able to catch Bill Bondsmen, Hellmouth and The Meatmen. We've seen Bill Bondsmen and Hellmouth before and we love them every time. We especially love Jay Navarro's stories in between songs- we love him for getting out of the car and yelling at the anti-abortion people on Woodward! The Meatmen closed out the night with quite the performance. Tesco, Danny Dirtbag, Hindu Kush and Swarthy "Bun-Length" Franklin were awesome, but the special guest at the end of the set was something else. And don't worry if you missed it, we have it on video! Before their performance, we caught up with Danny Dirtbag and Sadie chatted with him about the night, their upcoming tour and among other ridiculousness. See what he had to say:
Make sure to check out these 2 videos from The Meatmen's performance. We can't wait to see more of these guys and wish them luck on their tour in Europe, even if the UK doesn't want anything to do with them!
And as always thanks to Black Iris Booking for putting on an awesome show!
Doors are at 7 and the music starts at 8 sharp! Tickets are only $15 in advance and will be available at the door for $17. You can purchase tickets at the Garden Bowl with no service fee, or you can get them here.
This is a great lineup that you do not want to miss! Hope to see you and all your friends there!
