Beverly Hills, CA.  --The Detroit Punks crew found themselves back in the sunshine for a second round of LA interviews at the end of January. Directors Ivan Suvanjieff and Dawn Gifford Engle sat down with prolific producer Don Was to discuss Detroit music, Don's involvement with the late 70s punk scene, and tales of producing some of the world's top acts.

Don Was, along with David Weiss are the ears & eyes of the sexy slinky beast that is Was (Not Was). Don is one of the world's great producers, nabbing the Producer of the Year Grammy for his efforts in 1994. He's produced world-class acts including the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, Carly Simon, Elton John... as well as local luminaries like the Pigs, and Mark J. Norton. In his interview, Don raved about the souped-up reformation of Was (Not Was), which played a gig at the Sundance Film Festival a few weeks ago. Motorcityrocks.com is hoping to see Was (Not Was) roll into Detroit soon!

The question motorcityrocks.com wants answered about this latest LA DETROIT PUNKS shoot is, "What were Don Was, Elmore Leonard, LORD OF THE RINGS' producer Barrie Osborne, Megumi Fukasawa, Satoru Iseki, Michael Siegel, Gregg Sutter, Charles Hanna, Ivan Suvanjieff and Dawn Gifford Engle talking so intently about in the lounge of Beverly Hills Four Seasons on January 31st?" Stay tuned to this page for further developments....

Michael Davis, bass player of the MC5, rocked out in his DETROIT PUNKS interview. He described his life with the legenday group without rancor, in no uncertain terms, and with verve. Monsieur "Dubois" Davis, a gifted painter, also manned the bass for Destroy All Monsters in their endearingly wild and definitive days. Davis and his family recently relocated to LA from Tuscon. His work continues on... Davis' MC5 bandmate - the sublime Wayne Kramer - provided an eye-gouging look into a buzzsaw of  Detroit rock-based lore in a previous round of L.A. interviews.

Michael Rushlow of The Pigs / Rushlow-King Combo, and former Creem editor Dave DiMartino coughed up a few more Detroit rock hairballs. Rushlow mused about the Pigs when they toured with Don Was' Traitors in the Motor City Revue (1978), and told stories of producer Paul Zimmerman's not-quite-legendary White Noise Mansion. Dave DiMartino jawed on working at Creem Magazine and at A2's School Kids Records, where he sold punk 45s to mega-diva Niagara, after a frustrating career as a hotdog salesman. The interview ended when Suvanjieff innocently asked about the demise of DiMartino's legendary and long-lamented space-punk band the Pork Dukes. "Don't ask me 'bout no drugged dolphins!" huffed a heated DiMartino as he hastily exited the interview.

Director Ivan Suvanjieff concluded the trip by stopping by LA rock
hangout The Troubador to check out The Sights and The Dirtbombs on January 31.  --Ryan Sult