Lost Horizons
Dan Maister, former guitarist for Bogue and Detroit City Council, and bassist for P.W. Long’s hillbilly punk outfit Reelfoot, committed suicide on Monday, Jan. 31. His mother found the 34-year-old dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in their suburban Detroit family garage. Maister had been wrestling with depression and heroin addiction for years, though he’d been clean for a while.
Maister played bass for former Mule frontman P. W. Long’s first two solo albums We Didn’t See You On Sunday (1997) and Push Me Again (1998) with former Jesus Lizard trapsman Mac McNeilly. After the stint with Long, Maister ran a short-lived Hamtramck resale shop called Poletown Salvage. He’d been playing with Bogue and the Detroit City Council until last year. The former had finished a record (and got a buzz-worthy nod in Spin) when Maister’s drug relapse split the band. The album is still unreleased. The sadness of Maister’s death is profound: He has been described as “a brilliant guitar player and a beautiful soul.”
Bulldog Crowes
Eddie Harsch, the affable and long-limbed Bulldog keyboardist, is rumored to be back with the Black Crowes, at least for a seven-night stand at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City in late March. (There’s no word on whether the Crowes will be a touring and recording fixture again.) Speaking of Bulldog, the band’s next show will be at the Hamtramck Blowout on Saturday, March 5. By then, their delayed four-song EP Crash and Burn should be available. Bulldog singer, Kenny Tudrick is, by the way, back smacking tubs in the Detroit Cobras.
Yankee soldiers
Once again, Detroit artists are getting more love juice dripped upon them overseas than they ever get at home. Last week, Slum Village was in London performing sold-out shows that, we’re told, had Brits shittin’ drawers. By coincidence, original SV member, and current head of the Platinum Pied Pipers, Wajeed, was in the UK when he ran into his old pals. It was old home week for all concerned. Metro Times first told you about Wajeed’s production work last year. Since then, he’s been in Atlanta getting his knob-twiddlin’ swagger on; aside from producing and licensing music to companies such as Nickelodeon, he’s positioning the PPP for, of course, UK and world domination. We’ll keep you posted on his progress.
Soul Training
So far it’s a huge year for Detroit’s J Moss, he of the writing and production team PAJAM (hit-makers for Dru Hill, Boyz II Men, Kelly Price and others). Days ago, Moss was nominated for the Soul Train Music Awards’ Gospel Artist of the Year. Also, the J Moss tune (from the album The J Moss Project) “We Must Praise” scaled national Gospel charts, getting more than 900 spins a week at radio stations around the country. Two other projects nominated in Soul Train’s Gospel category are Detroit’s Karen Clark-Sheard and daughter Kierra Sheard, both of whom are related to Moss. The 19th Annual Soul Train Music Awards take place on Monday, Feb. 28, at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles.
The old in-out, in-out
And finally, Kid Rock split with jizz queen Jesse Jane, the helium-headed, silicon-fortified Pamela Anderson knock-off. Yeah, yeah, we know, it’s sad. The power-pouting star of Older Women and Younger Women and Hoochie-Ho’s cooed recently to the L.A. Times that she wasn’t in love with Rock at all and that after three months “it would be retarded for me to stay with him.” Jane added that Rock “didn’t know what he’s doing in bed.” To stay rigid with Anderson associations, it should be noted that the porn star used to spread ’em for Rock’s best pal Tommy Lee. And, of course, Happy Valentine’s Day.
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