Scott Morgan
As much hip cachet as the whole Detroit late-'60s/early-'70s thang (MC5, Stooges, et al.) has always had, you'd think more people would know about Scott Morgan. When Iggy was still working at Discount Records in Ann Arbor, Scott's high school band the Rationals (who morphed from Nuggets-era garage kings into blue-eyed soul brothers extraordinaire under the tutelage of legendary manager/record guy Jeep Holland) were voted the most popular band in Detroit. When the wheels kind of came off the scene there in the mid-'70s, Scott formed a sort of local supergroup, Sonic's Rendezvous Band, with Fred "Sonic" Smith from the MC5, Scott "Rock Action" Asheton from the Stooges, and Gary Rasmussen from the Up (kind of a poor man's Blue Cheer, but with important connections in the Ann Arbor hip community). For some reason, he's more highly revered in Australia and Scandinavia (where they apparently go for high-energy, R&B based hard rock more than folks here seem to) than he is in this country. If you're an uninitiate, suffice to say he's prolly the best rock vocalist this side of Paul Rodgers, and he's still sho 'nuff doin' it, although he's old enough to qualify for AARP membership.
Since the late '90s, when he hooked up with that season's Rawk flavor-o'-the-month the Hellacopters, he's had something of a career over in Europe, where he fronted a Swedish/Dutch band called the Hydromatics that started out with head 'Copter Nick Royale on drums. He's also toured the Continent with fellow Ann Arborite Deniz Tek of Radio Birdman fame. I had the pleasure of meeting Scott and his girlfriend Maureen at SXSW back in 1999, where he signed my Rationals album and played me the rough mixes of the first Hydromatics album in the van outside his hotel room. The next night, he showed up at Emo's to sit in with Wayne Kramer and I spent most of the Bellrays' set listening to Scott and Frank Meyer discussing what MC5 songs Scott might sing with Frank's band the Streetwalkin' Cheetahs (in the event, he sang none). At the very end of Wayne's set, he brought Scott out to sing the first two verses of "Kick Out the Jams" before bogarting the rest of the song himself -- pretty shabby treatment, I thought, for a guy who'd made a wide detour on a trip from Michigan to L.A. to be there.
Back home, Scott works with the band Powertrane, featuring Mitch Ryder's guitarist Robert Gillespie and the rhythm section of Chris "Box" Taylor on bass and Andy Frost on drums. In April 2002, I was present for a couple of shows that Powertrane played with Deniz Tek in Cleveland and Ann Arbor. For the second one (which was recorded for the CD Ann Arbor Revival Meeting), Ron Asheton from the Stooges was also in the lineup. As I wrote at the time, it was wish fulfillment at its best, and it gave me a buzz that persisted for a couple of weeks, even though I got shitcanned from my job around that time. More recently, Scott has actually topped the charts in Scandinavia with a record called Communicate! by a band called the Solution -- another collaboration with Nick Royale. It's actually the record I told Scott he needed to make when we first met back in '99 -- one on which he prominently displays his Detroit R&B roots.
Scott and Powertrane will be in Austin for SXSW this year, on March 17th. I won't be -- I'm getting married that Friday. But I'm trying to help him get a gig in Dallas or Fort Worth that week (say Wednesday or Friday). Any takers?
Since the late '90s, when he hooked up with that season's Rawk flavor-o'-the-month the Hellacopters, he's had something of a career over in Europe, where he fronted a Swedish/Dutch band called the Hydromatics that started out with head 'Copter Nick Royale on drums. He's also toured the Continent with fellow Ann Arborite Deniz Tek of Radio Birdman fame. I had the pleasure of meeting Scott and his girlfriend Maureen at SXSW back in 1999, where he signed my Rationals album and played me the rough mixes of the first Hydromatics album in the van outside his hotel room. The next night, he showed up at Emo's to sit in with Wayne Kramer and I spent most of the Bellrays' set listening to Scott and Frank Meyer discussing what MC5 songs Scott might sing with Frank's band the Streetwalkin' Cheetahs (in the event, he sang none). At the very end of Wayne's set, he brought Scott out to sing the first two verses of "Kick Out the Jams" before bogarting the rest of the song himself -- pretty shabby treatment, I thought, for a guy who'd made a wide detour on a trip from Michigan to L.A. to be there.
Back home, Scott works with the band Powertrane, featuring Mitch Ryder's guitarist Robert Gillespie and the rhythm section of Chris "Box" Taylor on bass and Andy Frost on drums. In April 2002, I was present for a couple of shows that Powertrane played with Deniz Tek in Cleveland and Ann Arbor. For the second one (which was recorded for the CD Ann Arbor Revival Meeting), Ron Asheton from the Stooges was also in the lineup. As I wrote at the time, it was wish fulfillment at its best, and it gave me a buzz that persisted for a couple of weeks, even though I got shitcanned from my job around that time. More recently, Scott has actually topped the charts in Scandinavia with a record called Communicate! by a band called the Solution -- another collaboration with Nick Royale. It's actually the record I told Scott he needed to make when we first met back in '99 -- one on which he prominently displays his Detroit R&B roots.
Scott and Powertrane will be in Austin for SXSW this year, on March 17th. I won't be -- I'm getting married that Friday. But I'm trying to help him get a gig in Dallas or Fort Worth that week (say Wednesday or Friday). Any takers?
posted by stashdauber at 9:32 PM
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