Originally formed in Detroit in 1958, The Contours started out as a quartet consisting of lead singer Billy Gordon, Billy Hogg, Joe Billingslea and Sylvester Potts. Their original name was The Blenders, but after the addition of guitarist Huey...
Big Ive sits down with the legendary Ralphe Armstrong for an up-close and personal chat. For those that know or have seen Ralphe know when he talks, you should listen! In 1973, Ralphe Armstrong – a 17-year-old Detroit kid...
Throwback Thursday on our site honors the originators and innovators who paved the way for other contemporary Detroit artists to explore their sound and vision, and thanks to true visionaries like Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson, Detroit...
While not exactly sure how big the Bass-Mint is, this summit of upright bass players is impressive. Ivan “Big Ive” Williams chats with Jazz Great Robert Hurst, and friends. Robert Hurst has been one of the most in-demand bass...
Since we are new in town, we decided not to do a traditional list, that being #1 is the best and #25 being the bottom. Instead we have compiled a list of 20 Artists/Bands that really made their mark...
Singer/Songwriter Mel and producer Black Milk have discovered that personal lyrics and dope beats always make for a good combination. “Back At You” and “Inner Demons” are stand out tracks due to their mixture of soul, electro, and hip...
Jamaican Queens are beautifully dark and creepy. I don’t always download the album that I have to review, but I did with this one. Jamaican Queens’ secret weapon is taking sounds and genres that you never expect together and...
Thursday, October 10th, 2013. Raining innumerable domestic animals. Inside the New Way Bar, loners, lovers, childhood friends, and withered businessmen merge with a love of two sacred things in common: music and baseball. The Jet Rodriguez gets the crowd...
Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas released the five track “Demons” EP on November 12th. Her sound goes all over the place in this EP. In “Shadow Boy”, the song has musical elements of a spaghetti western which is quite...
Seeing Tin Scribble live was a pleasure, and I found myself entranced by their dark, gritty, and complex rock elements. “Breakable” is a longer track, but shows their versatility and musicality. The musical knowledge and experience of all the...
Alkalino takes us on an edit journey through one of his strongest 6 track EP’s while disregarding genres making edits from Alan Parsons Project, and Mr Scruff. The EP starts off with the high energy “Angel Dust,” the track...
Recently I had a chance to see Matador while he played the Minus Showcase at the Bleu Room, a very close friend and associate of mine gave me access to this show and I was amazed from the moment...
Alkalino hailing from Bavaria, Germany is not only one of the most recognizable and talented disco producers and DJ’s in the world, he has a Detroit Connection. A couple months back for those who were lucky enough to be...
Jimmy and Frank Bryant were two brothers from Detroit who worked as session musicians and created a dance-floor hit so groovy, it has been sampled over the years by the likes of British DJ hit-maker Norman Cook (known by...
Get ready to relax and rage with these two songs from the Mexican Knives’ Other Tramps album. “Make This Moment” is slow-burner punk rock; a different venture than their usual fast paced surf-goth. The vocals come out effortlessly raw, and the combination of...
Dej Loaf has achieved what many spend a lifetime trying to find: Their own truthful story. In an age where the internet has both negatively and positively provided instant access to billions of factoids and people, it’s hard to...
Local producer and DJ Frank Raines has yet another monthly release off of his label Funk Night Records, featuring Musca (aka Black) with his second FNR single. The single is entitled ‘Gees,’ and is performed by Musca (aka Black),...
This is my first listen to Rogue Satellites, and I’m impressed. There’s a certain grunge rock to their sound which they’ve blended extremely well with lighter melodies. “Blue Skies Don’t Care” hits with a synth opening beat, and then...
Freda Payne was born in Detroit in 1942 with Motown soul in her genes — both Freda and her sister, former Supreme Scherrie Payne, were blessed with the gift of vocal prowess. Freda Payne attended the Detroit Institute of...
Unfortunately, Michael Michael Jackson’s album falls short of the synth-pop expectations. Overall the sound is repetitive and might be better served as a shorter EP. I say this because while Wonderland is not my style of music, I know...
I sit here in this brightly-colored classroom, as my teacher pulls up a file on his computer screen and suddenly he asks, “Do you see that big phallic thing at 200?” My eyes focus on the projected image before...
The Eastown Theatre went from being an opulent, family-friendly movie house in Detroit around the 1930s, to a rough-and-tumble rock-and-roll rave spot plagued by bad luck in the 1960s. After being shut down for a brief period in the...
While only in his early thirties, Grammy Award nominee Brandon “B” Williams has been sharing music with us for a while. As a direct protégé of super producer Michael J. Powell, Brandon has lent his production skills to many artists: Janet...
New Bethel Baptist Church, located on Linwood St. and previously located on Hastings, was founded in 1948 by the Reverend C.L. Franklin. In the 1960s, Franklin was recording sermons from New Bethel Baptist on the gospel label Chess Records,...
Halloween morning started as bleak, gloomy and grey as Detroit Sounds Like This got ready to spend the day with Funk Night Records DJ and Owner Frank Raines and headliner for tonight’s return of Funk Night: Rickey Calloway. Rickey, having only...
We Detroiters can be a sensitive lot. We do not necessarily agree with our realities. The city is certainly no masterpiece of the modern condition, but outside sources have a particular way of making it look extra gross. We...
In the 1980s, in Michigan and elsewhere, the punk and hardcore music scenes were developing heavily thanks to a relentless group of bands who were forming and playing in any venue that would host their style of music. In...
When Detroit Sounds Like This sat down with LaDarrel Johnson for an interview, one of the first things to happen was a show-and-tell about his instrument, custom made and engraved with his ‘Saxappeal’ emblem. A wealth of pride was...
Did you ever hear the one about Paul McCartney dying and being replaced by a doppelganger in 1966? The “Paul Is Dead” controversy than began as The Beatles were in their final years as a band together was fueled...
The raspy-voiced renegade from Lincoln Park, Bob Seger, has a thousand tracks we could feature for Throwback Thursday on Detroit Sounds Like This, but we’ve chosen the first track off of his debut album for not only putting Bob...