THE DETROIT WASMOPOLITAN ROAD TRIP
Liner Notes by Don Was

The great jazz drummer, Elvin Jones, epitomized the musical spirit of Detroit. Muscular, brash, swinging like crazy.... he had an enormous, instantly recognizable & unique musical personality. Most importantly, beneath his intimidating exterior, there lived a beautiful cat.

Unenlightened pundits have a hard time seeing beyond Detroit's intimidating exterior. They tend to portray the city as a wrecked, rusty grey jalopy when it's actually a psychedelic muscle car with pedals permanently welded to the floor. Detroit's disdain for moderation can sometimes be cause for alarm (Devil's Night, unemployment, etc.) but, for those who live there, this propensity for The Extreme creates overwhelmingly beautiful harmonic overtones. Musically, it has given rise to some of the most wildly innovative and distinctive artists ever recorded-from Stevie Wonder, Alice Coltrane, the MC5 and Jack White to John Lee Hooker, Mitch Ryder, Andre Williams and Yusef Lateef. There's never been anyplace like Detroit.

The desire to capture the breadth and quirky charisma of the area's musical tradition was foremost in our minds when, on October 20, 2007, the Wasmopolitan Cavalcade pulled up at 54 Sound Studios on E. Nine Mile Road. This inauspicious-looking recording facility is located in an unmarked, boarded-up storefront on one of the most nondescript street corners in America. The broken guitars hanging on the walls and the unfinished, low ceiling reminded me of a basement - just down the road in Oak Park- where my first band (The Saturns-For Music Out of This World!) used to rehearse in 1964. So it comes as quite a shocker to realize that-thanks to Eminem and his extended family of Dr. Dre, Jay Z., 50 Cent, Obie Trice and D12-this funky room has spawned more hit records in the last decade than any other studio on Earth! 54 Sound is a sublime metaphor for the entire City of Detroit. Pundits beware: you'd better check your preconceptions at the gate!

Case in point: we were greeted in the parking lot by the artist formerly known as Mark Norton (now Ivan Suvanjieff) - lead singer of The Ramrods and keeper of the Detroit music flame. Ivan's unbridled enthusiasm for the current state of local music was the driving force behind this whole road trip. Many of us remember that, in the late 70's, he specialized in antagonizing audiences to the point where he was routinely beaten up after most Ramrods shows. Watching him take a motorcycle boot to the ribs behind The Velvet Hammer, it was absolutely impossible to know that, 30 years later, he would be nominated for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of the work that he and his lovely wife, Dawn, do for the Peacejam Organization. He flew to these sessions directly from meetings with his friend, President Oscar Arias, in Costa Rica.... during the recording, he traded emails with Bishop Desmond Tutu. (I know what you're thinking.... go ahead and google him!)

Or take Steve 'Dr. Ching' King who engineered these sessions.... he has the same youthful demeanor that he did 27 years ago when he was both homeless and the bass player in a band called The Pigs. Back then, he was allowed to 'live' on a sofa at the hallowed inner-city recording studio, Soundsuite, in exchange for his work as an assistant engineer on our sessions. Remembering those times, one would be hard pressed to imagine that the mantelpiece of his elegantly hip Birmingham home is adorned with Grammy Awards -commemorating his engineering, mixing and songwriting work with Eminem.

Or how about Luis Resto - a true keyboard genius -whose extensive collection of electronic gear adorns/clutters the main room at 54 Sound.... Prematurely grey hair aside, he also looks just like he did as a teenager when, in 1980, Was (Not Was) hired him for his first recording session (he was paid triple scale - 3 x $0.00). From his humble demeanor, you'd never know that he is one of the most quietly successful songwriters and producers in the world. Or that, five years ago, he was rewarded with an Oscar - presented by Barbra Streisand - for writing the Best Original Song From A Motion Picture - Mr. Mathers' "Lose Yourself" from "8 Mile". Here's the best part: in front of a viewing audience of a billion people (and to Ms. Streisand's obvious chagrin), he strode to the podium wearing a Grant Hill Detroit Pistons jersey!

Point is that it would be a huge mistake to underestimate Detroit musicians or the vibrant milieu they choose to be a part of...The Motor City is a happening town that marches to its own drummer.... where individuality is held at a premium.... where world class music pops out from the most unlikely places and bites your head off!

This compilation opens with a contribution from THE BLACK BOTTOM COLLECTIVE. Non-Detroiters can be forgiven for mistakenly thinking that their name is a crude reference to the human anatomy - Black Bottom was an African-American neighborhood near Downtown where, in the late 40's and 50's, artists like John Lee Hooker helped spawn the local rhythm and blues sound. Although firmly rooted in hip hop, BBC does not need loops and samples to establish an authentic R&B groove-they are a timeless live funk band. Leader Khary Turner is also a highly regarded journalist and his literary prowess elevates their lyrics to poetic heights. For my money, they are one of the hippest bands in this or any city.

Ann Arbor's NOMO has blended the percussive afro beat sound of Fela Kuti with equal parts of Sun Ra and The Art Ensemble of Chicago to come up with something brand new and totally uncategorizable. Leader Elliot Bergman sees their music as a "transcendent, elemental sound-one that moves both bodies and spirits". Can't argue with that. Look closely and you'll see the highly esteemed local musician and producer Warn DeFever joining them on the bass drum for this session.

Talk about uncategorizable... THE SISTERS LUCAS - twins Loretta and Julie- replace traditional Motown Muscle with the even more powerful weapon of an insidiously catchy melodic hook. Don't say I didn't warn you: you will not be able to get "Rollercoaster" out of your heads for weeks to come! Though at first this music appears to come from WAY outside, it soon becomes apparent that the sisters are quite sane and highly intelligent; their arrangements and songwriting are just deeply brilliant and innovative.

THE RAMRODS were Detroit's preeminent Punk band in the late 70's. While all the other groups played to a bunch of spitting, pogo-ing, disenfranchised boys, the first few rows of a Ramrods show were always filled with undulating girls. Like The Stooges before them, this was due to their ability to blend high-energy rock n roll with a sexy groove. Although their live appearances over the last 27 years can be counted on one hand, this version of their classic, "Here It Comes", clearly demonstrates that The Ramrods remain poised to go another 15 rounds.

BLACK MERDA is another band that has weathered decades of relative inactivity only to return stronger than ever in the 21st Century. Original members V.C. Veasey, Anthony Hawkins and Charles Hawkins were on tour as Edwin Starr's backup band in the mid-sixties when they had a chance encounter with the music of Jimi Hendrix. Shortly thereafter, they embarked on a course that led them to become the link between Hendrix and Funkadelic. In 1967, Black Merda recorded the first of two albums for Chess Records. For these Wasmopolitan sessions, they've reprised one of those early songs, "Cynthy-Ruth" - a blues number that owes far more to Muddy than to Jimi. At 54 Sound, the song took on a decidedly more groove-oriented approach than the original version. This may be due, in part, to the funky drumming of Terry Thunder - a man with the best gig in America: he performs courtside at every Detroit Pistons game with the official house band of the Palace at Auburn Hills, The Sun Messengers.



It would be impossible to overstate the impact that JOHN SINCLAIR has made on the culture and politics of Detroit. He's been my hero since I saw him selling mimeographed collections of beat poetry at the grand opening of Plum Street in July of 1966. Initially gaining notoriety as the de-facto leader of the local counter-cultural movement, John became notorious as the head of The White Panther Party and as the manager/political strategist of the MC5. He became an international symbol of Revolution when John Lennon rose to his defense after he was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for possession of two joints. Over the years, he's published numerous books, recorded several albums, been a disc jockey, journalist and a nomadic performing poet. Currently based out of Amsterdam (surprise!), he just happened to be visiting Detroit during these sessions. Although we boldly interrupted his dinner at the old Eastern Market, John was generous enough to hop in a car and bring his iBook full of poetry uptown to 54 Sound.

THE GO are torchbearers of a great Detroit tradition that combines aggressive rock n roll with a solid R&B feel. They are the most popular band in Detroit and I'm truly unable to explain why international stardom has eluded them thus far. The Go's first album, "Whatcha Doin'", was released in 1999 on the Sub Pop label and features original member Jack White on guitar and vocals. Their latest cd is this year's critically acclaimed "Howl on the Haunted Beat You Ride". For these sessions, we've recorded a previously unreleased song called "It's Only In Your Mind"... Ivan says that it reminds him of what The Kinks might've sounded like if they were born in Michigan. Lead vocalist Bobby Harlow is also an erudite and entertaining writer-you should check out some of his musings-especially 'Yer Stoned Italian Cowboy': http://thegodetroit.com/essays.htm.



In a studio 10 years ago, Herbie Hancock pulled me aside to rave about the great saxophone player on the session, DAVE McMURRAY. Over the ensuing decade, his musicianship has soared to even greater heights. Dave has produced five albums featuring his unique brand of jazz and has recorded and/or toured with Bob Dylan, The B52s, Gladys Knight, Khaled, Bob James, Iggy Pop, The Winans, The Rolling Stones, Was (Not Was), Brian Wilson. The Temptations, Geri Allen, Kid Rock and Kem. Though we've played together for over 30 years, I've never heard him like this-fronting an explosive, stripped down power trio. Herbie was right: Dave's an awesome musician.

THE MULDOONS are a 3-piece family band that plays loud, aggressive punk rock in the great Detroit tradition. Brothers Hunter and Shane Muldoon (aged 14 and 10 respectively) write, play guitar and sing - their father, Brian, is a powerful, grooving drummer. During my stay in Detroit, they performed one of the most captivating live shows I've ever attended. The Muldoons have a cool new album out on Cass Records and their Christmas song from 2006, "Luchador Santa", is not to be missed. For these sessions, they cut 4 great tracks in 45 minutes - if they'd only skipped school, we could've recorded a double album! One interesting side note: back in 2000, Brian Muldoon and his old friend, Jack White (one of the most talented artists to EVER emerge from this city), formed a duo known as The Upholsters. They released a very cool record, "Makers of High Grade Suites", that is definitely worth searching for...to my knowledge, it is the only album that comes with an absolutely free patch of sandpaper!

We've already discussed my old friend, LUIS RESTO. He's best known as a wildly successful hip hop producer and songwriter- his oeuvre includes collaborations with Eminem, Jay Z, 50 Cent, Judakiss, Obie Trice and Akon. Music fans who've also followed his work with Patti Smith realize there's more to Luis than meets the Pop Charts. That said, there's still nothing to prepare them for the profound musical surprise that Luis cooked up for these Wasmopolitan Sessions. "Bravo" owes as much to the artist's ancestral home, Puerto Rico, as it does to the Ford River Rouge Plant but I have no idea of how to further describe it to you. Uncategorizable and utterly original - Luis definitely fits the profile of the greatest Detroit musicians. ...... I hope you enjoy this music. I also hope that we can get back to Detroit very soon and do more recording - there's so much great stuff going on there! Special thanks to the generous folks at Lincoln - in particular Tom Grill, whose love of cars is surpassed only by his love of music. It's great to see a big company supporting the local culture! Additional thanks to Joel Martin and everyone at 54 Sound for hosting the Cavalcade.