MOHA Presentation III

Presentation III: Support Your Scene: Socioeconomic Context and Competing Authenticities in Detroit Rock from Early Punk to the Garage Revival

Abstract: My research focuses on the underground Detroit rock scenes beginning with the early punk scene of the late 1970s run out of a gay bar and former disco club called Bookies on 6 mile just west of Woodward Avenue, followed by the hardcore punk scene in the 1980s made up mostly of teenagers from the surrounding suburbs of Metro Detroit, based out of run-down storefronts, bars, and clubs in Cass Corridor. This small angst fueled group founded Touch and Go Records, an influential indie-rock label of the 1990s, and were instrumental in inspiring the garage rock scene of the 1990s and early 2000s, which birthed the White Stripes. Using oral history, fanzines, and documentaries I explore how musicians and fans were driven by a politics of authenticity to create alternative culture producing systems, and how their music and organizing was influenced by the changing social and economic context of Southeastern Michigan.

Q&A Session

Facilitated by: Cameron Michael Amin, Professor of History, University of Michigan-Dearborn and Brittany Fremion, Associate Professor of History, Central Michigan University.