For shame!
Brett Callwood should be ashamed of himself! In his miserable attempt to be edgy and clever with his back-handed compliments (A glorified bar band? Really? Do bar bands open for Alice Cooper with a huge crowd response, such as they got?) Does this writer know of the history behind McCarty and Bee? They actually have the credibility to even attempt these songs, not to mention the talent to do them so amazingly! And the difference between the Hell Drivers and the Stooges is that the Hell Drivers can tune their guitars! McCarty is a virtuoso, compared to Ron Asheton, who couldn't have even done the intro of the new version, let alone the rest of the tune! —Vince Knight, St. Clair Shores
Keep 'em talking
Brett Callwood's feature is a very good piece. I think most of us do aspire to be in great bar bands, or at least maintain that kind of energy and crowd-pleasing ability. Cats in bar bands have a deep understanding and love of rock 'n' roll, and know a zillion songs. The phrase unfortunately carries a dismissive quality to it now, status-wise, like it's about the guy in CCR's "Lodi." The end of the line, "just a bar band." Obviously the opposite of what's happening with the Hell Drivers.
Lester (Bangs), (Dave) Marsh, Greil Marcus and (Robert) Christgau, all those guys — have been imitated to the point of impotence. It's never been harder to be an interesting critic and still have an audience.
Describing good music is like telling someone how it feels to sneeze. The great critics tell you why the sneeze matters, how much snot there was, and why you feel what you feel, on several levels. It's hard to write about magic, and that's what the best music is.
I love the fact that people are talking about music in Detroit, and talking back and forth about your article about the band. It's what makes a scene exciting and valuable. So Callwood has more than done his job, by my lights. —Stewart Francke, Detroit
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