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Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 preview: Gories
When talking to Mick Collins about his reunion of long-lost Detroit garage rockers The Gories, the word that keeps coming to mind is “lark.” Asked how the train finally pulled out of the station after more than a decade of pleading from fans, Collins reveals it was only because fellow former Crypt Record labelmates The Oblivians lobbied them to play an anniversary party for the German imprint. A date they ended up not playing, by the way.
On the topic of a new record; “Nah, we broke up in 1992 because we didn’t have anything more to say, and we still don’t.” And when talk turns to the trio’s visit to Austin for Fun Fun Fun Fest, Collins’ nonchalance becomes extraordinary, asking, “Hey, can you tell me exactly where it is that thing’s taking place? I haven’t really checked the whole thing out.” Alright then.
This devil-may-care approach shouldn’t come as much surprise when considered against the ramshackle garage rock The Gories produced for three albums, and as many breakups, spread over seven years. There’s no way anyone the least bit uptight or detail oriented could have had a hand in simple stompers like “Goin’ To The River” or “Nitroglycerine.”
Collins admits as much when talking about the current state of the band, saying the songs are sharper and better executed now that he, guitarist Dan Kroha and drummer Peggy O’Neill have spent years in bands such as The Dirtbombs (for Collins) and Demolition Doll Rods (Kroha).
“We’ve been playing them extremely well, and some of these songs we’re finally playing them exactly as I imagined they’d sound when we first wrote them,” Collins said by phone from his home in Brooklyn. “The songs themselves haven’t changed, just how we’re performing at playing them because that stuff is really as easy as it gets from a musical standpoint. With most of them all we had to do was call it and count off and we were right back to playing them like we were before we broke up.” While The Gories’ members went their separate ways with no expectation of a legacy or cries for a reunion, Collins said it wasn’t long before just about everyone who had ever seen the band in clubs around Detroit and the midwest began clamoring for the group to get back together.
“It started around 1996 or 1997 and the questions just never stopped only now there are questions about our legacy, and I honestly have no idea how to answer those,” he said. “It got to be kind of annoying after a while because all people would talk to us about was The Gories, when we had new bands we were doing that no one wanted to talk much about. Still, it is kind of neat now to have someone saying they’ve been listening to you since they were in high school and they’re so glad they can finally see the band live.” Even though Collins seems stumped about The Gories’ place in rock history, it’s hard to deny their influence on the wave of garage-influenced bands such as The White Stripes, The VonBondies, The Electric Six, Collins’ most recent band The Dirtbombs and more that had the music world flocking to Detroit - record contracts in hand - at the turn of the millenium.
“It was a madhouse around there. (The Dirtbombs) had been on tour and when we came back suddenly all the clubs were packed with record executives, and we even got to play a showcase for Sire Records, if you can believe that,” Collins said. “Suddenly everyone was looking at all these opportunities and it kinda went to some people’s heads. I mean, for a while people in bands were moving to Detroit specifically for that reason. It was nuts.”
Normalcy eventually returned and Collins and his cohorts returned to their lives as getting-by touring musicians. The Gories will continue to tour as the members’ moods allow - O’Neill dislikes the grind of the road - and The Dirtbombs are getting ready to release a series of three 12-inch records.
What’s the new Dirtbombs stuff sound like, you wonder?
“It’s not new, we’re doing garage covers of Detroit techno songs,” Collins says before a healthy cackle.
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