Detroit Punk Rock, Baby!

I think I may have mentioned once or twice that Detroit is home to an incredible rock scene. Today’s post just confirms that idea.

Choking Susan describe themselves (jokingly, I assume) as a “cross between the Bee Gees and Minor Threat.” Seriously, they are an old-school-sounding punk band, and they do their city's rock history proud.

The band has been together – in various versions – since about 1999. Colleen Caffeine and guitarist Killer Keith are the mainstays. If you can believe the bios on their Web Site (and if you can believe Choking Susan is influenced by the Bee Gees, there’s no reason you shouldn’t believe these bios), Colleen is a former Hooters waitress and is currently waiting to “find some dumb rich man”; and Keith was born in jail and makes frequent reappearances there. Bass player Lower GI Joe, and drummer Bob the Builder round out the line-up.

“The name Choking Susan comes from the name of a porno movie,” Colleen told Loud Horizon Music. “After a while we decided to change the name to Crap. That was really short-lived though, and we then decided to call ourselves Doug’s Dead Eye, which was a kind of perverse homage to an ex-boyfriend of mine. Although we recorded under the latter name, it again was a short-lived incarnation, and we soon reverted to the original and best, Choking Susan. Why? Because it RAWKS, baby!”

Choking Susan recently released The FBI Did It, which you can order from the band’s MySpace space. They’re also on-again, off-again touring, with gigs in and around Michigan. In August, they’ll be at Rebellionfest in Blackpool, UK. More info on tour dates is also on their MySpace.

4 A Girl.mp3
Anorexia.mp3
Mental Floss.mp3

Labels: Detroit, local stuff, punk

posted by aikin @ 6:25 PM