WWJ-TV gave us their picks for their five "Best Up-And-Coming Detroit Bands Of 2014" last week, a list that left us in the MT office scratching our heads (and no, it wasn't just because of their inclusion of the Mega '80s, a 12-year-old '80s cover band).
One of the strangest mentions on the list to us were Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. — not because of the quality of DEJJ's work, but because of the designation of "up-and-coming."
DEJJ, "up-and-coming?" No matter how you slice it, DEJJ have "made it," at least by 2014 standards. They're on Warner Bros. Records, one of the last of the major labels. They've played Conan ... twice. They tour nationally, having recently played back-to-back hometown shows at the 1,100 capacity Crofoot. Hell, they've been referred to as one of the "best new bands" since 2010 from the likes of Stereogum, SPIN, and us.
What the hell more else do you want from them, WWJ? Look, everyone can't attain Taylor Swift-levels of fame. DEJJ is probably about as big as a band can hope to be these days.
The rest of WWJ's list also included the Appleseed Collective, Kaleido, and Frontier Ruckus. Read our 2014 music picks from our year in review issue here, and watch DEJJ from the first time they played on Conan below:
Leyland “Lee” DeVito is the editor in chief of Detroit Metro Times since 2016. His writing has also been published in CREEM, VICE, In These Times, and New City. He once asked porn star Stormy Daniels to spank him with an issue of Metro Times. She obliged.