THE RAMRODS - SHOW REVIEW


Part 1: The Ramrods: A Summer of Experiences … So this summer’s been a blast and a blur, and I vaguely remember it actually feeling like the season had officially started back in June, when MCR publisher Ryan Sult told me he was about to blow my mind just before popping a copy of the somewhat long-lost Ramrods demos into his stereo. I was transfixed by the raw energy, the sound, and the ‘freshness’ of it all … I felt like it was 1977 again, and I kept thinking that I should’ve still been in the womb while the song filled the room. Turns out, it was 1977 again – well, at least, the recording was, that is, which explained the fresh feeling the demo gave off. Six songs, barely 16 minutes (if that, even), and there I was for the next few days, playing that shaky copy of them over and over, drilling them into my head; me, Mr. 26-Year-Old Music Nut, was left wondering how it was that I’d learned so much about the Dead Boys, Pere Ubu, X, Lester Bangs, Peter Laughner, The Germs, and countless other icons from before my time, and yet, living in the metro Detroit area for 26 years, I’d never once come across even the slightest mention of Detroit’s own Ramrods. It just seemed wrong somehow. At some point, various things Ryan had told me and tidbits I’d read on Motor City Rocks beforehand all began to blur together – Ramrod ‘Mark Norton’ and Detroit Punks conspirator Ivan Suvanjieff were actually one and the same, which tied up a lot of loose ends for me. When I started making sense of everything, I realized that Suvanjieff was the ‘zen master of life’ responsible for a great deal of very helpful advice and encouragement given to Ryan concerning life, music, and Motor City Rocks. Between the Detroit punk scene documentary, The Ramrods, the PeaceJam organization he was involved with, and his crazy e-mails/phone calls/random support of some guy that ran a Detroit music site, I was hooked. This Suvanjieff guy was really something else. … Would I like to meet him? … Uh, lemme think on that one for a minute, heh. Two weeks later, I was fortunate enough to find myself shaking Suvanjieff’s hand before chatting him up over a Greektown dinner. The people and experiences he spoke of were a glut of much needed cultural exposure, and my brain took everything in like a sponge. An invitation was extended to check out one of The Ramrods’ first rehearsals that night, and before I knew it, I was sitting in a home with a handful of truly great people while sipping whiskey, petting someone’s cat and watching Bootsey X, Dave Hanna and slightly out-of-place bassist Danny Doll Rod toss off scratched out basement versions of everything on that Ramrods demo (and then some) with Mark Norton fronting them, flailing around the basement like the band had never stopped playing (and yes, Suvanjieff really does become ‘Mark Norton’ with a mic in his hand, indeed). Sure, it was rough; outside of a few run-throughs of minor underground Detroit anthem, “I’m a Ramrod,” the rehearsal was a bit scattershot. Norton referred to his lyrical cheat sheets an awful lot; bassist-come-guitarist Hanna and Bootsey X had to discuss the rhythmic starting points for every track every single time a take was about to start … Hell, that night was actually Danny’s first time even playing a bass (though he did pick the skill up damn quick), and here he was trying to learn songs on the fly – learning from three guys who hadn’t played the songs themselves since 1978. Oddly enough, the band gelled somehow. It wasn’t pretty, but by the end of the night, there were definitely signs of worthwhile substance. Over the next two months, I was fortunate enough to correspond with Suvanjieff almost every day via e-mail, and I was even more fortunate enough to meet up with him for drinks and conversations a few more times during his quickie trips to Detroit for rehearsals. While exchanging oddball e-mails with him about two weeks ago, it dawned on me that after having listened to those demos countless times, I was far closer than I’d realized to actually experiencing some form of musical catharsis with this Ramrods reunion of sorts. Sure, there was the whole Peter James situation (that of the former Ramrods guitarist who was not necessarily a welcome piece of the reunion, for reasons best known only to the four original Ramrods themselves), but that all seemed like a scratch on the side of a hulking battleship at that point; the main thing was that I was this close to hearing those songs played by folks who originally sweated them out in the late 70’s. To me, much like seeing Rocket From the Tombs last November or the DKT/MC(3) gig back in June, this gig had become a personal and necessary cultural experience in the field of music. Sure, the logistics of my birthdate kept me from experiencing the heyday, but there was no way I was missing things on the rebound. Part II: The Ramrods: The Show In all honesty, I really didn’t know what the hell to expect on Saturday night. I don’t think anyone did, to be honest … I mean, sure, from all I’ve read and been told, The Ramrods have apparently had quite a continuous amount of underground appreciation – but how well would the band translate to a live show? Even when the band existed, it was only around in any incarnation for about a year (if that), and The Ramrods only actually played something like six months of live shows before imploding in 1978. Hell, Norton hadn’t performed in ANY musical capacity since that last Ramrods show. All of the elements were in-line: the show was bound to be either a blazing success or a complete clusterfuck. The results? Well, in all honesty, the show was flawed (as any old school punk show is expected to be), but it was still an energetic and worthwhile experience for this writer, regardless. I said it about the DKT/MC(3) gig, and I’ll say it again – anytime that many people are flailing around and having a blast without a care in the world, I can’t possibly say the experience was a bad one. Unfortunately, my sorry ass was running a bit late, so I did manage to miss a bit of Cinecyde. Still, I was impressed with what I caught of the band’s set. For some reason, I was expecting something a little more edgy and punk. Still, Cinecyde’s power-pop songs were well structured, and the band’s performance was tight; I still can’t believe how strong the singer’s voice was, either. Two or three belated birthday gift beers later, I ambled towards the stage to check out what wound up being another high energy set from The Go. Bobby Harlow came dressed to the nines for the occasion, sporting a black suit coat and tie with a red button-up dress shirt for the night, while Dion Fischer made a valiant attempt to match him with a suit coat of his own. As usual, The Go popped off a commendably hectic set full of hooks, fuzzy guitars, and plenty of unintentional vocalist posturing battles between Harlow and Fischer. The set highlight seemed to be a torrid performance of “Meet Me at the Movies” that showcased a powerful rhythm section performance beneath the song’s frequent guitar solo squalls. … and The Ramrods? Well, even without Peter James, it was a slightly surreal sight to see any incarnation of The Ramrods stepping onto the Magic Stick stage in 2004 – and I’m saying that as someone who’s just getting his brain wet in the history of the band. I can only imagine what that moment seemed like to the large amount of 70’s Detroit scenesters that turned out for the show. Danny Doll Rod was low-key on stage, though his bass playing created a surprisingly strong rhythm section with the drumming of Bootsey X. Dave Hanna’s guitar leads were fluid, and his rhythms were perfectly capable – commendable, considering he played bass in the original Ramrod lineup. Mark Norton was just all over the place, sauntering on stage clad in a leather jacket, then grabbing the mic and flailing around nervously during his vocals. It sure didn’t take long for the crowd to nail the 70’s punk show atmosphere, either; it wasn’t even a song into the set when a cascading rain of stage-flung beers rained down on Hanna, Bootsey X and Norton. Norton, seemingly stunned at first, just grinned slyly and perused the audience as if he’d suddenly found himself amongst a room full of close and faithful newfound family members. Not long after the quick beer shower, a legitimate fist fight (with actual punches thrown!) broke out amongst a crew of folks directly front and center of the stage. Of course, that’s not to say that everything in the set went smoothly. Norton’s nerves were noticeable at points; he did a noticeable flub-job on the lyrics to a cover of “Pablo Picasso,” and fell a bit flat on the choruses to “Nothin’ Going Down at All” (though the crowd sang along to that one, helping him out a bit). Still, the band kept the momentum strong throughout the set regardless. Norton and company tore through a fierce rendition of “Nothin’ to Do in Detroit Anymore” that had most of the crowd singing along by the end of the song, and the audience let out a whoop when the band went the surprising route of pulling out a spot-on take of “I’m a Ramrod” early, as the second song of the set. If anything, the band actually seemed more juiced for the set’s encore. Norton made a call to a few ‘friends’ to join him up on stage, which resulted in Human Eye’s Tim Vulgar joining Cinecyde frontman Gary Reichel onstage to back up a rather crazy version of The Stooges’ “Real Cool Time.” At that point, what looked like closing time just wound up riling the crowd up yet again, as the Ramrods went the Stooges route and busted out a second performance of “I’m a Ramrod” to close the show. This take drew Bobby Harlow and Dion Fischer onto the stage to lend Reichel and Vulgar backing support, and even through the stage lights, it wasn’t very hard to see that most of the audience was singing and/or shouting along. Well, it wasn’t perfect, but I have to say that in my own not-so-humble opinion, The Ramrods’ ‘reunion’ gig really did manage to live up to my expectations. It was obvious that the band members were enjoying themselves on stage (Danny was caught smiling on stage multiple times), and despite the temporary sloppiness of parts of the set, the crowd seemed excited from the first note to the last. All truths being told – considering the band member scramble and Norton’s lengthy layoff from performing, Saturday night’s gig really should be considered a triumphant hometown return of sorts for The Ramrods. - Gary Blackwell For more show photos and mp3's, visit www.ramrodsdetroit.com Photos by S. Kay Young: Copyright owned by S. Kay Young. Reproduction in any form, including electronic media, will be granted with written permission only from S. Kay Young. Image cannot be electronically modified, copied, cropped or altered in any way, shape or form. Illegal copyright will result in prosecution to the fullest extent.	The Ramrods never before released material is now available on the Young Soul Rebels label.
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