JEREMY PORTER AND THE TUCOS - PRESS VAULT
International Pop Overthrow (National)
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos – Part power-pop-rock (like Cheap Trick, Hüsker Dü and X), part whiskey-soaked twang (like Uncle Tupelo, Gram Parsons and Waylon Jennings), Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are Detroit rock ‘n roll…even if Detroit isn’t quite ready for it! Luckily, IPO is ready, and we can’t wait to see them…check out a copy of their latest EP, Barrel of Tears, to hear why!
The Free Press (Mankato, MN)
Live Music at Pub 500
September 17, 2017 External Link
September 17, 2017 External Link
Mankato - Detroit band Jeremy Porter and The Tucos will perform 8:30PM Saturday at Pub 500, 500 E. Front. St.
The band is a blend of classic American power pop and roots rock and has been compared to The Replacements and Cheap Trick.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information visit thetucos.com
The band is a blend of classic American power pop and roots rock and has been compared to The Replacements and Cheap Trick.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information visit thetucos.com
City Pulse (Lansing, MI)
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos at The Avenue Café
Saturday, Nov. 18 @ The Avenue Café, 2021 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. FREE, 21+, 8 p.m.
November 15, 2017
External Link
Detroit-based rock ‘n’ roll band Jeremy Porter and The Tucos releases its new GTG Records-issued LP, “Don’t Worry, It's Not Contagious,” at a free Avenue Café show. This is the third fulllength album from the alt-country trio led by Jeremy Porter, a Marquette native. Before relocating to the Motor City in the ’90s, Porter co-founded the Regulars, one of the Upper Peninsula’s first punk-rock bands. After stints in Detroit groups like SlugBug, the OffRamps and Fidrych, Porter formed the Tucos in 2009. Rounding out the trio are drummer Gabriel Doman and bassist Patrick O’Harris. Since then, the band has toured across the United States and Canada. Fans of the Replacements, Cheap Trick, Uncle Tupelo or Hüsker Dü might want to check out the new record. Openers at the Avenue are the Plurals and Jake Simmons & The Little Ghosts.
CW50 - Detroit Proud (Detroit, MI)
Detroit Proud Playlist: Week of 11/20
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos – “Patty’s Not Impressed”
November 20, 2017
External Link
Coming at you with some power pop-rock, Jeremy Porter and The Tucos hold nothing back with their release Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious. It’s loud, it’s fast and it’ll blow your socks off. The guitar twang is heavy with this one and you’ll be shocked at how catchy each song seems to be. You won’t be able to contain your foot-tapping when you listen to this track.
Jersey Beat (New Jersey)
JEREMY PORTER AND THE TUCOS - Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious (GTG Records www.gtgrecords.com)
November 23, 2017 External Link
November 23, 2017 External Link
Jeremy Porter and his mates Gabriel Doman (drums) and bassist Patrick O'Harris do not waste time with gimmicks or studio tricks, opting for the path of traditional, greasy rock n’ roll. The third album from this Detroit act jangles and shakes with tales of broken hearts, failed relationships, and not giving up even after all the pain. The bluesy, whiskey-soaked “Walk of Shame” is a straight shooting, country-punched anthem that sets the tone for the rest of the record. Doman’s hard-hitting nature carries the downhome “Huckleberry”, while Porter tries diligently to impress yet another woman who is hard to please. While the majority of the tracks here deal with love gone wrong, it stays in the world of adult heartache and never stumbles into any form of teenage melodrama. Like the music they play, Porter and his Tucos have seen some sights and are fighting off cynicism and sorrow on the reflective “Avenues are for Heroes” and the biting title track. The slower “Consolation Prize” is made deeply compelling by the soaring beauty of Jennifer Westwood’s stunning vocals, while the heart-wrenching “Torn” invokes the best moments of Paul Westerberg’s skills as a raconteur. “You Don’t Have to Ask Twice” and “Worth the Wait” both have a Tom Petty vibe made all the more poignant by that legend’s tragic passing, while “Patty’s Not Impressed” proves that Porter and the Tucos have a sense of humor. Accented once again by Westwood, the song details a tough critic who “did not like the opening band/even though they did their best” and cannot understand why Porter’s band always plays last. Jeremy Porter may hail from Detroit, but he has certainly traveled south down Route 66 for inspiration on “Urge to Cry”, an emotionally gripping anthem that is one of the finest moments here. For those who still appreciate honest rock, this is one of America’s best examples of pure talent and hard work.
Dagger Zine (National)
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos- DON’T WORRY, IT’S NOT CONTAGIOUS (GTG RECORDS)
December 12, 2017 External Link
December 12, 2017 External Link
Listening to Jeremy Porter and his Tucos on this, their,third record, you’d think they’d call Nashville home but nope, this sturdy trio are from Detroit as in Michigan. Though they’ve got healthy doses of twang in their tunes it’s equal parts early Wilco and Cheap Trick. With Porter on vocals/guitar and the rhythm section of bassist Patrick O’Harris and drummer Gabriel Doman these guys are tight, taut and economical. These 11 songs don’t wear out their welcome just hit you in all the sweet spots. Opening cut “Walk of Shame” was a nice hi how are ya’ as was the next one, the bouncy “Huckleberry.” Later on “Avenues Are for Heroes” drop big dollops of melody on your head while “Torn” slows it down to a crawl as Porter breaks out he acoustic guitar (and possibly a bottle of whiskey, too) and cranks it back up again on the catchy, ragged “Don’t Have to Ask Me Twice.” Also, I really liked the backing vocals by Jennifer Westwood on “Consolation Prize” and “Patty’s Not Impressed” (bring her back on the next record). If some of the main power pop sites haven’t given this one a listen yet then they really should. Another solid batch of songs from Porter and his co-horts. If you like no frills rock and roll then you’ll like this. No reason not to. www.gtgrecords.net www.thetucos.com
Herald-Palladium (Benton Harbor, MI)
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos set to impress
Armed with new album, Detroit-based band plays The Livery on Friday
January 04, 2018
External Link
"By JEREMY D. BONFIGLIO - Sight & Sound Editor Jan 4, 2018 Updated 2 hrs ago BENTON HARBOR — There’s a song on Jeremy Porter & The Tucos’ new album, “Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious,” called “Patty’s Not Impressed,” which is written about the trio’s opinionated bass player Patrick O’Harris.
“Patty is a bit of a character,” Porter says by phone from his home near Detroit. “He’s one who is not slow to voice his opinion on something, and we spend a lot of time together driving around the country in a van, so we get to hear all of the things Patty doesn’t like, and eventually it worked it’s way into a two-and-a-half-minute song. What’s funny is that some of these are really unconventional things. Like, Patty doesn’t like the Ramones. Who doesn’t like the Ramones? There’s like eight people who love music who don’t like the Ramones, and Patty is one of them.”
Of course, the song title itself begs the obvious question.
“Was Patty impressed with the song?” Porter says, laughing. “It’s funny. Sometimes he is quick to judge, and other times he really, really takes his time to think about something. This was one of those moments. Then we were in the van one day and all he said was, ‘You know, half of that isn’t even true.’”
That still hasn’t kept the song out of the set list, which includes Friday’s show at The Livery.
The band, which features, Porter on guitars, vocals, organ, piano and harmonica, O’Harris on bass and Gabriel Doman on percussion, formed in 2010, in Plymouth, Mich., taking the name from the character Tuco Ramirez, played by actor Eli Wallach, in “The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.” The name was an alternative to a suggestion by original bassist Jason Bowes, who proposed The Mortimers – after the Lee Van Cleef character in the same film – when they discovered a punk band from Poland had already claimed it.
It’s fitting since there’s a bit of punk swagger behind Porter & The Tucos as well. While the bio on the band’s website may compare their sound to that of “whiskey, hooks and heartache,” influences range from Cheap Trick to The Replacements to Johnny Cash to Social Distortion.
“Huckleberry,” the first single off “Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious,” Porter says, almost feels like a discarded track from a 1980s Soul Asylum record.
“It’s really a power-pop rock song,” he says. “It’s a little bit uptempo and visits some familiar themes. It’s about the guy who can never quite seem to get the girl, and there’s a little bit of a darker, obsessive side in there for sure. We do this sort of power-pop, metal, punk, alt-country thing, which is why we are often accused of having an identity crisis, because one song sounds like Soul Asylum would have done in 1984 and the next song sounds like The Flying Burrito Brothers or something. That’s part of the dynamic of the band to keep that diversity between alt-country and power-pop.”
Many of the band’s disparate sounds can be traced to Porter’s own musical upbringing in the Upper Peninsula city of Marquette.
“When I was a kid, my parents had a great record collection,” he says. “They had all of the (Bob) Dylan stuff, all of The Beatles, all of the (Rolling) Stones stuff and Beach Boys. I mean, I was listening to that when I was like 5 and 6 years old. Toward the end of the ’70s, I was getting into Fleetwood Mac and stuff like that, then I heard Cheap Trick, and everything just changed. I’ll never forget hearing ‘I Want You To Want Me.’ The hook of that song was just crazy.”
By the early ’80s, Porter took a deep dive into bands such as Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe before being introduced to punk by John Burke, best known as the drummer of the Ann Arbor-based alternative rock band Wig.
“He turned me onto The Clash and Dead Kennedys and ultimately The Replacements, Hüsker Dü, Minutemen,” Porter says. “There was such a lack of pretentiousness to it, so it was life changing.”
Porter and Burke formed The Regulars, one of the UP’s first punk bands, while he was still in high school. After moving to Detroit, “to play rock and roll under the guise of going to college,” Porter says, he spent the next two decades fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych as well as a solo stint. After doing a solo tour for the album “Party of One,” Porter got the urge to form a new band.
“I toured that album about a year-and-a-half, and most of the time it was just me,” he says. “I really started missing the camaraderie that comes with playing with other dudes and that whole gang mentality. I was asked to contribute a song to this Christmas compilation by Suburban Sprawl out of Ann Arbor. I had been talking to Gabriel, our drummer, and I grabbed the bass player from The OffRamps, Jason Bowes, and we basically got together in the basement and hashed that song out in three weeks. We weren’t planning on doing anything, but when the song came out, we were asked to do a show, and then we got a couple really good shows, and things turned quickly to where it was a real band.”
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos released their debut album, “Partner In Crime” in 2013. O’Harris replaced Bowes a year later and the trio released “Above The Sweet Tea Line” in 2015, and “Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious” in November on GTG Records, a Lansing-based label. In addition to CD and digital download, the album was released on vinyl, pressed at the new Third Man Pressing plant, the manufacturing branch of Detroit native Jack White’s Third Man Records.
Which, of course, is impressive, even for Patty. As for everything else, well ...
“I think we’re working our way into a ‘Patty’s Not Impressed’ concept album,” Porter says, laughing. “If we added in everything Patty didn’t like, we’d be up to about two-and-a-half hours now.”
If You Go
Who: Jeremy Porter & The Tucos
When: 9 p.m. Friday
Where: The Livery, 190 Fifth St., Benton Harbor
How much: Free
Contact: 925-8760 or www.liverybrew.com
Artist info: www.thetucos.com
“Patty is a bit of a character,” Porter says by phone from his home near Detroit. “He’s one who is not slow to voice his opinion on something, and we spend a lot of time together driving around the country in a van, so we get to hear all of the things Patty doesn’t like, and eventually it worked it’s way into a two-and-a-half-minute song. What’s funny is that some of these are really unconventional things. Like, Patty doesn’t like the Ramones. Who doesn’t like the Ramones? There’s like eight people who love music who don’t like the Ramones, and Patty is one of them.”
Of course, the song title itself begs the obvious question.
“Was Patty impressed with the song?” Porter says, laughing. “It’s funny. Sometimes he is quick to judge, and other times he really, really takes his time to think about something. This was one of those moments. Then we were in the van one day and all he said was, ‘You know, half of that isn’t even true.’”
That still hasn’t kept the song out of the set list, which includes Friday’s show at The Livery.
The band, which features, Porter on guitars, vocals, organ, piano and harmonica, O’Harris on bass and Gabriel Doman on percussion, formed in 2010, in Plymouth, Mich., taking the name from the character Tuco Ramirez, played by actor Eli Wallach, in “The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.” The name was an alternative to a suggestion by original bassist Jason Bowes, who proposed The Mortimers – after the Lee Van Cleef character in the same film – when they discovered a punk band from Poland had already claimed it.
It’s fitting since there’s a bit of punk swagger behind Porter & The Tucos as well. While the bio on the band’s website may compare their sound to that of “whiskey, hooks and heartache,” influences range from Cheap Trick to The Replacements to Johnny Cash to Social Distortion.
“Huckleberry,” the first single off “Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious,” Porter says, almost feels like a discarded track from a 1980s Soul Asylum record.
“It’s really a power-pop rock song,” he says. “It’s a little bit uptempo and visits some familiar themes. It’s about the guy who can never quite seem to get the girl, and there’s a little bit of a darker, obsessive side in there for sure. We do this sort of power-pop, metal, punk, alt-country thing, which is why we are often accused of having an identity crisis, because one song sounds like Soul Asylum would have done in 1984 and the next song sounds like The Flying Burrito Brothers or something. That’s part of the dynamic of the band to keep that diversity between alt-country and power-pop.”
Many of the band’s disparate sounds can be traced to Porter’s own musical upbringing in the Upper Peninsula city of Marquette.
“When I was a kid, my parents had a great record collection,” he says. “They had all of the (Bob) Dylan stuff, all of The Beatles, all of the (Rolling) Stones stuff and Beach Boys. I mean, I was listening to that when I was like 5 and 6 years old. Toward the end of the ’70s, I was getting into Fleetwood Mac and stuff like that, then I heard Cheap Trick, and everything just changed. I’ll never forget hearing ‘I Want You To Want Me.’ The hook of that song was just crazy.”
By the early ’80s, Porter took a deep dive into bands such as Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe before being introduced to punk by John Burke, best known as the drummer of the Ann Arbor-based alternative rock band Wig.
“He turned me onto The Clash and Dead Kennedys and ultimately The Replacements, Hüsker Dü, Minutemen,” Porter says. “There was such a lack of pretentiousness to it, so it was life changing.”
Porter and Burke formed The Regulars, one of the UP’s first punk bands, while he was still in high school. After moving to Detroit, “to play rock and roll under the guise of going to college,” Porter says, he spent the next two decades fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych as well as a solo stint. After doing a solo tour for the album “Party of One,” Porter got the urge to form a new band.
“I toured that album about a year-and-a-half, and most of the time it was just me,” he says. “I really started missing the camaraderie that comes with playing with other dudes and that whole gang mentality. I was asked to contribute a song to this Christmas compilation by Suburban Sprawl out of Ann Arbor. I had been talking to Gabriel, our drummer, and I grabbed the bass player from The OffRamps, Jason Bowes, and we basically got together in the basement and hashed that song out in three weeks. We weren’t planning on doing anything, but when the song came out, we were asked to do a show, and then we got a couple really good shows, and things turned quickly to where it was a real band.”
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos released their debut album, “Partner In Crime” in 2013. O’Harris replaced Bowes a year later and the trio released “Above The Sweet Tea Line” in 2015, and “Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious” in November on GTG Records, a Lansing-based label. In addition to CD and digital download, the album was released on vinyl, pressed at the new Third Man Pressing plant, the manufacturing branch of Detroit native Jack White’s Third Man Records.
Which, of course, is impressive, even for Patty. As for everything else, well ...
“I think we’re working our way into a ‘Patty’s Not Impressed’ concept album,” Porter says, laughing. “If we added in everything Patty didn’t like, we’d be up to about two-and-a-half hours now.”
If You Go
Who: Jeremy Porter & The Tucos
When: 9 p.m. Friday
Where: The Livery, 190 Fifth St., Benton Harbor
How much: Free
Contact: 925-8760 or www.liverybrew.com
Artist info: www.thetucos.com
2G1 Reviews (National)
REVIEW: Jeremy Porter and The Tucos - Don't Worry, It's Not Contagious
January 18, 2018 External Link
January 18, 2018 External Link
Reviewed by: Ryan McLelland
While Don’t Worry It’s Not Contagious is the third album from Detroit’s Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, I’m very sad that this is only the first album of their music that I’ve heard. I say I’m sad because this album is so damn good it truly makes me feel like I’m missing out on so much great music. Unfortunately I’ve been unable to break away to listen to The Tucos other albums because I’ve been enjoying Don’t Worry a bit too much.
It’s hard for me to describe the sound of The Tucos. I get different vibes from many different songs. They sound like the Midwestern version of Toad the Wet Sprocket but way more rocking. Like Foo Fighters but more soothing. At times I even get some Descendents, N.E.R.D, and Led Zeppelin vibes. Throw that all in a blender, pour it into a glass, and sprinkle some Detroit rock on top and you have yourself Jeremy Porter and The Tucos.
The album kicks off great with a one-two punch. Both songs, Walk of Shame and Huckleberry, are just fun songs that usually have me hitting repeat before going through the rest of the album. Walk of Shame is a great song to lead off with because it shows off not only the musical abilities of the group but how great the trio can harmonize with each other. Huckleberry is truly addictive and possibly one of the best of the album. It is an awesome rock and roll song – it is the sort of song that would have been massive in the nineties before the radio got taken over by whatever crap they are calling “music” these days. The group released Huckleberry as a single and I can say that was a truly smart move.
There’s a song titled Consolation Prize. It’s a bit slower then some of the other songs but that isn’t to say that it isn’t gorgeous because it truly is. Jeremy Porter duets here with singer Jennifer Westwood and the result of the duet is outstanding. The two voices meld beautifully together with Westwood’s voice really standing out. I’ve never heard of Westwood either, but she fronts her own Detroit band that I’ll have to check out.
The sixth song is called Torn and there is some excellent finger work here on the guitar. It reminds me of acoustic Jimmy Page or perhaps the music of folk singer Nick Drake. The guitar really is the spotlight of this song and while I’m a huge fan of Porter’s voice I can also say that his guitar work is amazingly impressive.
I think the second half of the album really takes off. While the first seven to eight songs are great, the remainder will knock your socks off. There’s a tune called Patty’s Not Impressed which is just too damn good and probably my favorite of Don’t Worry. It’s the lyrics here that really get me. The song is about a barfly named Patty and Porter sings about her demeanor as she sits in a bar. Drunk? Daft? I’m not sure but it is funny how Patty can’t grasp the notion of opening bands. Like she’s shown up to hear some music but doesn’t understand why the band she’s there to see is going on so late. So she’s forced to listen to these other bands while not so patiently waiting for the headliner to go on. The song really paints a beautiful visual picture and this is why I can listen to this song alone a thousand times.
Right near the end is a tune called Worth the Wait. A fairly kickass slower rock song with great lyrics, phenom instrumentation, and a wonderful chorus. You can’t even finish the song for the first time without singing along to the chorus. It’s physically impossible not to.
With every song here I almost want to say, “It makes me want to repeat the song over and over again.” I have at times, but I seemingly keep ‘holding my breath.’ There’s a reason for this and the reason is Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious is just one damn good rock album where you want to listen to each song over and over again. Jeremy Porter, Gabriel Doman, and Patrick O’Harris really did amazing work here and I hope the band is proud of this album because it is great from start to finish. It is truly kickass bar music whether it’s The Tucos playing live or you are putting in on TouchTunes. The perfect album to put on, sit back with friends, and have a couple beers.
Overall Jeremy Porter and The Tucos’ Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious truly earns high marks. Even though it was released in 2017, I feel it to be the first great album of 2018. Not only does the album earn high marks but it an album I’ll be telling my friends about. The Tucos need to be heard, especially with an album that is this good. Hopefully they’ll get over to Jersey so I can hear them play live someday.
RATING: A
Find Jeremy Porter and the Tucos here: http://www.thetucos.com
While Don’t Worry It’s Not Contagious is the third album from Detroit’s Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, I’m very sad that this is only the first album of their music that I’ve heard. I say I’m sad because this album is so damn good it truly makes me feel like I’m missing out on so much great music. Unfortunately I’ve been unable to break away to listen to The Tucos other albums because I’ve been enjoying Don’t Worry a bit too much.
It’s hard for me to describe the sound of The Tucos. I get different vibes from many different songs. They sound like the Midwestern version of Toad the Wet Sprocket but way more rocking. Like Foo Fighters but more soothing. At times I even get some Descendents, N.E.R.D, and Led Zeppelin vibes. Throw that all in a blender, pour it into a glass, and sprinkle some Detroit rock on top and you have yourself Jeremy Porter and The Tucos.
The album kicks off great with a one-two punch. Both songs, Walk of Shame and Huckleberry, are just fun songs that usually have me hitting repeat before going through the rest of the album. Walk of Shame is a great song to lead off with because it shows off not only the musical abilities of the group but how great the trio can harmonize with each other. Huckleberry is truly addictive and possibly one of the best of the album. It is an awesome rock and roll song – it is the sort of song that would have been massive in the nineties before the radio got taken over by whatever crap they are calling “music” these days. The group released Huckleberry as a single and I can say that was a truly smart move.
There’s a song titled Consolation Prize. It’s a bit slower then some of the other songs but that isn’t to say that it isn’t gorgeous because it truly is. Jeremy Porter duets here with singer Jennifer Westwood and the result of the duet is outstanding. The two voices meld beautifully together with Westwood’s voice really standing out. I’ve never heard of Westwood either, but she fronts her own Detroit band that I’ll have to check out.
The sixth song is called Torn and there is some excellent finger work here on the guitar. It reminds me of acoustic Jimmy Page or perhaps the music of folk singer Nick Drake. The guitar really is the spotlight of this song and while I’m a huge fan of Porter’s voice I can also say that his guitar work is amazingly impressive.
I think the second half of the album really takes off. While the first seven to eight songs are great, the remainder will knock your socks off. There’s a tune called Patty’s Not Impressed which is just too damn good and probably my favorite of Don’t Worry. It’s the lyrics here that really get me. The song is about a barfly named Patty and Porter sings about her demeanor as she sits in a bar. Drunk? Daft? I’m not sure but it is funny how Patty can’t grasp the notion of opening bands. Like she’s shown up to hear some music but doesn’t understand why the band she’s there to see is going on so late. So she’s forced to listen to these other bands while not so patiently waiting for the headliner to go on. The song really paints a beautiful visual picture and this is why I can listen to this song alone a thousand times.
Right near the end is a tune called Worth the Wait. A fairly kickass slower rock song with great lyrics, phenom instrumentation, and a wonderful chorus. You can’t even finish the song for the first time without singing along to the chorus. It’s physically impossible not to.
With every song here I almost want to say, “It makes me want to repeat the song over and over again.” I have at times, but I seemingly keep ‘holding my breath.’ There’s a reason for this and the reason is Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious is just one damn good rock album where you want to listen to each song over and over again. Jeremy Porter, Gabriel Doman, and Patrick O’Harris really did amazing work here and I hope the band is proud of this album because it is great from start to finish. It is truly kickass bar music whether it’s The Tucos playing live or you are putting in on TouchTunes. The perfect album to put on, sit back with friends, and have a couple beers.
Overall Jeremy Porter and The Tucos’ Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious truly earns high marks. Even though it was released in 2017, I feel it to be the first great album of 2018. Not only does the album earn high marks but it an album I’ll be telling my friends about. The Tucos need to be heard, especially with an album that is this good. Hopefully they’ll get over to Jersey so I can hear them play live someday.
RATING: A
Find Jeremy Porter and the Tucos here: http://www.thetucos.com
Glide Magazine / Wannabe The Comic (National)
"Don't Worry, It's Not Contagious" by Jeremy Porter & the Tucos
In the latest Wannabe, artist Chris Prunckle reviews the new album, Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious, from Michigan rock trio Jeremy Porter & the Tucos, in his signature six-panel comic strip form.
January 31, 2018
External Link
"Everybody says I'm acting dumb
Everybody says you're just too young
We can sail across the ocean, find ourselves lost at sea
If you could be my Clementine, I'll be your Huckleberry.*
* Lyrics from "Huckleberry"
There are so many talented bands slaving away to miles and miles of blacktop and night after night of barroom stages. The music industry seems stacked against the little guy more and more everyday, but nevertheless musicians luckily continue to fight for their dreams. One such group is Jeremy Porter and The Tucos and their latest album "Don't Worry, It's Not Contagious" is the wonderful spoils of that battle.
A rock band out of Detroit, The Tucos fill me with that good old fashioned fun feeling. They sound like Cheap Trick if they put out a late 90s pop punk album. "Don't Worry, It's Not Contagious" is filled with solid musicianship, sing along lyrics and cheeky comments that I find myself continuously coming back to.
The Tucos are proof that music can be fun without being dumbed down or homogenized. There's a playfulness at work that pulled me in from the first track on, putting a smile on my face as bopped my head along to the music. It's refreshing to hear an album that just wants to get you singing along, maybe with a beer or two in hand and a smile on your face.
"Don't Worry, it's Not Contagious" is the exact opposite of what it's title suggests. Jeremy Porter and The Tucos are bound to get you addicted with the infectious good time their sound invokes. It's like having a barroom show playing out in your head as the album blares through your speakers. Good music should always be supported and make sure this album the attention it deserves!
You always like to make an entrance cause attention is your thing
Your words they flow like whiskey, but they don't have any sting
You find yourself a little nervous when it's time to close up shop
In one ear and out the other when you're told it's time to stop.**
** Lyrics from "Avenues are for Heroes"
Everybody says you're just too young
We can sail across the ocean, find ourselves lost at sea
If you could be my Clementine, I'll be your Huckleberry.*
* Lyrics from "Huckleberry"
There are so many talented bands slaving away to miles and miles of blacktop and night after night of barroom stages. The music industry seems stacked against the little guy more and more everyday, but nevertheless musicians luckily continue to fight for their dreams. One such group is Jeremy Porter and The Tucos and their latest album "Don't Worry, It's Not Contagious" is the wonderful spoils of that battle.
A rock band out of Detroit, The Tucos fill me with that good old fashioned fun feeling. They sound like Cheap Trick if they put out a late 90s pop punk album. "Don't Worry, It's Not Contagious" is filled with solid musicianship, sing along lyrics and cheeky comments that I find myself continuously coming back to.
The Tucos are proof that music can be fun without being dumbed down or homogenized. There's a playfulness at work that pulled me in from the first track on, putting a smile on my face as bopped my head along to the music. It's refreshing to hear an album that just wants to get you singing along, maybe with a beer or two in hand and a smile on your face.
"Don't Worry, it's Not Contagious" is the exact opposite of what it's title suggests. Jeremy Porter and The Tucos are bound to get you addicted with the infectious good time their sound invokes. It's like having a barroom show playing out in your head as the album blares through your speakers. Good music should always be supported and make sure this album the attention it deserves!
You always like to make an entrance cause attention is your thing
Your words they flow like whiskey, but they don't have any sting
You find yourself a little nervous when it's time to close up shop
In one ear and out the other when you're told it's time to stop.**
** Lyrics from "Avenues are for Heroes"
Razorcake (National)
JEREMY PORTER AND THE TUCOS: Don’t Worry It’s Not Contagious: CD
January 31, 2018 Read, Record Reviews
January 31, 2018
External Link
There is a sticker on the front of this CD. It tells me that they are from Detroit and this is their third album. Hey, if they think it is important then I need to wire the message down the line. I’m hearing some Slobberbone and Grand Champeen whirling around in a blender. The songwriting is solid and the playing is assured. “Patty’s Not Impressed,” but I am. –Sean Koepenick (GTG, contact@jeremyportermusic.com)
Global Texan Chronicles (Texas)
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos – Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious, or is it?
April 30, 2018 External Link
April 30, 2018 External Link
I know, you’ve been wondering when and where you’d find the sounds reminiscent of your 1990’s college days. The era you spent your nights in a dingy smoked filled barroom dumping quarters into a jukebox getting your fill of The Replacements, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Old 97’s, and Hüsker Dü. Worry no more, Michigan’s Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are just what’ve been looking for.
And before any naysayers pop their heads out of their mom’s basement and declare, “this sort of rock is dead for a reason”, let me clarify. This isn’t a band stuck in the past, yet an outfit that knows a solid rock n’ roll sound and they do it better than most. And if you need yourself further proof this sound is relevant, reference your Foo Fighters collection.
Case in point is their 2017 ‘Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious’. A brilliantly constructed 11 track album full of all the whiskey-stained subjects matters and guitar licks any music aficionado of any era could hope for. And yes, sonically, some bits are a reminder of the good ol’ days, or can we just say timeless. Indeed, that sounds much better.
And why not, Jeremy Porter has survived many a music scene and it shows in this latest album. It’s kind of a music lesson of sorts. Taking bits of personal histories and molding them into something tactile, true, and relatable…it takes heaps of know-how and perseverance.
Is this band actually contagious? Absolutely.
And before any naysayers pop their heads out of their mom’s basement and declare, “this sort of rock is dead for a reason”, let me clarify. This isn’t a band stuck in the past, yet an outfit that knows a solid rock n’ roll sound and they do it better than most. And if you need yourself further proof this sound is relevant, reference your Foo Fighters collection.
Case in point is their 2017 ‘Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious’. A brilliantly constructed 11 track album full of all the whiskey-stained subjects matters and guitar licks any music aficionado of any era could hope for. And yes, sonically, some bits are a reminder of the good ol’ days, or can we just say timeless. Indeed, that sounds much better.
And why not, Jeremy Porter has survived many a music scene and it shows in this latest album. It’s kind of a music lesson of sorts. Taking bits of personal histories and molding them into something tactile, true, and relatable…it takes heaps of know-how and perseverance.
Is this band actually contagious? Absolutely.
Buffalo Rising (Buffalo, NY)
Sounds of Buffalo: Jeremy Porter and The Tucos – Friday @ Nietzsche’s
Band will play with hometown favorites The Buffalo Brass Machine, and The Alison Pipitone Band
June 11, 2018
External Link
List your band members and the instruments that they play.
Jeremy Porter – Guitar, vocals Gabriel Doman – Drums, vocals Patrick “Patty Two Shoes” O’Harris – Bass, vocals
What is the name of your group and what led to the naming?
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos. We’re named after the Eli Wallach character in the spaghetti western film The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
When did it form?
The band first got together in November of 2010 to record a song for a Christmas compilation. Things gelled and we played a couple shows, and here we are eight years later!
Who writes the music?
I write the songs, but I take them to the boys when they’re about 80% done and we finish them off together, mostly hashing out arrangements and feel. Over time, the boys have contributed more and more to the writing process and one of our new songs is based on a riff that Gabe brought.
How would you describe the sound?
This is always a tough question to answer, but I’d call it “Detroit Rock and Roll.” We’re from the Detroit area, and we play rock and roll, and that’s about it. People like to put things in buckets that are easily labeled, and I get that too, so if I had to I’d say that we draw influence primarily from a couple genres – classic American powerpop (bands like Cheap Trick and The Plimsouls), Roots-rock/Americana (Gram Parsons, Uncle Tupelo), post-punk/alternative (The Replacements, Hüsker Dü), and rockabilly (X, Eddie Cochran).
Where are you from originally? If not from Buffalo, why are you here?
We’re from Michigan and we each live in communities surrounding Detroit. I’m originally from Marquette, which is a small college town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It’s a beautiful city on the shore of Lake Superior, and was where I formed my first band. We’re in Buffalo as part of our “Don’t Worry, We’re ALL Contagious” tour, supporting our third album “Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious.” This is our third time there!
What are some of the band’s influences?
I think I answered this up above, but I think our performance comes from bands that really put it all out there on stage. We’re no shoe-gazers. We like to go all out, play a high-energy set, have fun up there, and engage the audience to join us. When The Who played, your eyes were glued to the stage. They might not have been the best band in the world every night, but they were never boring.
Are you schooled in music? From where?
Actually, yeah, a bit. I played guitar in high school jazz band, and even played percussion in marching band, though that was more just something to do with my friends before we could go party. I had one semester of college jazz band that culminated in a cool tour of historic theaters in the Upper Peninsula.
Where have you played in Buffalo and what did you think of those places?
We’ve played at The Mohawk and the Buffalo Iron Works. We liked both places very much, though they’re quite difference. The Mohawk is a bit more punk rock – dark, loud, and grungy, in the best way. Iron Works is a newer place with pristine sound and a lot of space to move around. Both venues were very nice to us, and we had a blast at both shows. We’d play either room again in a heartbeat. What is your impression of Buffalo? First, that it’s a hard-working Rust-Belt city, just like Detroit. It’s a city that’s been through some tough times, but is coming back and has some great things going on, also like Detroit. There’s some cool culture and activity – but it’s still a blue-collar, roll-up-your-sleeves and kick the day in the ass kind of city, and that gives it a cool edge and makes it special. I have to say that our experience is that the wings are over-rated, so if you want to turn us on to some good eats this time around, we’re all ears!
What’s your day job?
I work in technology when we’re not on the road. It’s a good job that keeps me busy and helps to finance the band, and also offers me the freedom to play as much as we do.
What was the last live music performance that you caught?
Hmm, other than bands we’ve played with, I think that would be Deer Tick (from Providence, RI) at the Magic Stick in Detroit. They played an acoustic set and an electric set, which matches their latest dual-LP release. It was a fantastic show.
Do you play/sing covers or all originals? Or a combination of both?
We are an original band and have three albums of our own songs that we pull from. We do occasionally play a cover or two, depending on the show and our mood. Occasionally we’ll play a few covers if we’re playing multiple sets, but we are definitely an original band.
If you could play/sing with one famous band/musician (any time in history), what/who would that be?
Jeez, that’s a tough one. Gram Parsons, Keith Richards, Phil Lynott all come to mind. Just to see Gram in person would be worth anything I guess.
Where do you draw inspiration for your songs? What makes a good song?
That’s another good question. Traditionally most of my songs are about heartache and heartbreak, obsession and frustration. They often take place in bars and dark rooms, and often from the point of view of someone who longs for something they don’t have. I’ve been working hard to stretch outside of those parameters, expand my lyrical horizons, so to speak. I think a good song tells a story, avoids clichés and overused songwriting techniques, and has some sort of hook or earworm that the listener can’t shake. A good song is about a moment in time, not a broad, spanning subject. And for God’s sake, try to keep it under four minutes!
How would you describe your style of playing guitar?
Aggressive, but hopefully tasty when it should be. A little sloppy at times, but often intentionally. I like to veer off the road a bit, straddling the shoulder, then, just when you start to fly off a cliff, right the ship and get back on track and lock in. That’s something Keith Richards is great at, and he and Pete Townsend are my rhythm guitar heroes. I also love Bob Mould, Bob Stinson, J. Mascis and some of the metal guys like Randy Rhoads. Can you give a brief rundown of your guitar rig?
Sure! I play Reverend PA1 guitars, which are the Pete Anderson signature series hollow-bodies. I’m a featured artist for Reverend, and I stand behind their guitars wholeheartedly. They play like a dream, sound great, and they stay in tune and in-toned after bouncing around the back of a frozen van. You can’t ask for anything more. My Matchless 98 Chieftain head is the core of my sound, and I run that through a gutted Matchless combo that’s just a cab now. Then I have a 68 Fender Deluxe Reverb reissue with all the Rivera mods. I run them in stereo. Live I use a Wampler Paisley overdrive and a Spaceman Saturn V dirty boost, then a delay and chorus for occasional flavor. In the studio, there’s a multitude of amps, guitars, and pedals used. Between Gabe, the studio, and I, we have a damn impressive arsenal at our disposal. Do you have a label? A recording studio? Have you recorded a CD? We’re on GTG Records out of Lansing, Michigan. They’re great people we’ve known for a few years, and they released our most recent record. We’ve got three albums out (Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious (2017), Above the Sweet Tea Line (2015), and Partner in Crime (2013). Gabriel and I each have studios in our home. Gabe does some legitimate band recording sessions, but I mostly do personal demos and Tucos demos. Each of our albums was recorded at The Loft in Saline, Mi. It’s a great room above a converted hayloft on a harness-racing horse farm south of Ann Arbor.
What’s up with the restroom photos?
Haha, well, that’s just something that sort of happened organically. There’s nothing quite like the bathrooms out there on the dive bar circuit. I posted a photo of one once to social media and it kinda took off, so I did it again (and again) and now it’s sorta my thing. I did a prototype of a coffee table book called “Rock and Roll Restrooms – A Photographic Memoir – Volume 1 – A unique look into the seedy underbelly of small-time rock and roll” and I’m currently searching for a publisher, so if ya know anyone….
Where and when is your next gig(s) in the city?
We’re playing Nietzsche’s in Allentown on Friday night! (Friday, June 15: 10:00 pm – 2:00 am | Tickets are $5.00 | Also on the bill are our old pals The Buffalo Brass Machine, and new friends The Alison Pipitone Band. This is our first Buffalo show that falls on a weekend, so we are pumped!
facebook.com/JeremyPorterMusic
twitter.com/onetogive
instagram.com/onetogive
jeremyporter.bandcamp.com
youtube.com/jeremyportermusic
Photo credits: EonZero
Jeremy Porter – Guitar, vocals Gabriel Doman – Drums, vocals Patrick “Patty Two Shoes” O’Harris – Bass, vocals
What is the name of your group and what led to the naming?
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos. We’re named after the Eli Wallach character in the spaghetti western film The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
When did it form?
The band first got together in November of 2010 to record a song for a Christmas compilation. Things gelled and we played a couple shows, and here we are eight years later!
Who writes the music?
I write the songs, but I take them to the boys when they’re about 80% done and we finish them off together, mostly hashing out arrangements and feel. Over time, the boys have contributed more and more to the writing process and one of our new songs is based on a riff that Gabe brought.
How would you describe the sound?
This is always a tough question to answer, but I’d call it “Detroit Rock and Roll.” We’re from the Detroit area, and we play rock and roll, and that’s about it. People like to put things in buckets that are easily labeled, and I get that too, so if I had to I’d say that we draw influence primarily from a couple genres – classic American powerpop (bands like Cheap Trick and The Plimsouls), Roots-rock/Americana (Gram Parsons, Uncle Tupelo), post-punk/alternative (The Replacements, Hüsker Dü), and rockabilly (X, Eddie Cochran).
Where are you from originally? If not from Buffalo, why are you here?
We’re from Michigan and we each live in communities surrounding Detroit. I’m originally from Marquette, which is a small college town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It’s a beautiful city on the shore of Lake Superior, and was where I formed my first band. We’re in Buffalo as part of our “Don’t Worry, We’re ALL Contagious” tour, supporting our third album “Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious.” This is our third time there!
What are some of the band’s influences?
I think I answered this up above, but I think our performance comes from bands that really put it all out there on stage. We’re no shoe-gazers. We like to go all out, play a high-energy set, have fun up there, and engage the audience to join us. When The Who played, your eyes were glued to the stage. They might not have been the best band in the world every night, but they were never boring.
Are you schooled in music? From where?
Actually, yeah, a bit. I played guitar in high school jazz band, and even played percussion in marching band, though that was more just something to do with my friends before we could go party. I had one semester of college jazz band that culminated in a cool tour of historic theaters in the Upper Peninsula.
Where have you played in Buffalo and what did you think of those places?
We’ve played at The Mohawk and the Buffalo Iron Works. We liked both places very much, though they’re quite difference. The Mohawk is a bit more punk rock – dark, loud, and grungy, in the best way. Iron Works is a newer place with pristine sound and a lot of space to move around. Both venues were very nice to us, and we had a blast at both shows. We’d play either room again in a heartbeat. What is your impression of Buffalo? First, that it’s a hard-working Rust-Belt city, just like Detroit. It’s a city that’s been through some tough times, but is coming back and has some great things going on, also like Detroit. There’s some cool culture and activity – but it’s still a blue-collar, roll-up-your-sleeves and kick the day in the ass kind of city, and that gives it a cool edge and makes it special. I have to say that our experience is that the wings are over-rated, so if you want to turn us on to some good eats this time around, we’re all ears!
What’s your day job?
I work in technology when we’re not on the road. It’s a good job that keeps me busy and helps to finance the band, and also offers me the freedom to play as much as we do.
What was the last live music performance that you caught?
Hmm, other than bands we’ve played with, I think that would be Deer Tick (from Providence, RI) at the Magic Stick in Detroit. They played an acoustic set and an electric set, which matches their latest dual-LP release. It was a fantastic show.
Do you play/sing covers or all originals? Or a combination of both?
We are an original band and have three albums of our own songs that we pull from. We do occasionally play a cover or two, depending on the show and our mood. Occasionally we’ll play a few covers if we’re playing multiple sets, but we are definitely an original band.
If you could play/sing with one famous band/musician (any time in history), what/who would that be?
Jeez, that’s a tough one. Gram Parsons, Keith Richards, Phil Lynott all come to mind. Just to see Gram in person would be worth anything I guess.
Where do you draw inspiration for your songs? What makes a good song?
That’s another good question. Traditionally most of my songs are about heartache and heartbreak, obsession and frustration. They often take place in bars and dark rooms, and often from the point of view of someone who longs for something they don’t have. I’ve been working hard to stretch outside of those parameters, expand my lyrical horizons, so to speak. I think a good song tells a story, avoids clichés and overused songwriting techniques, and has some sort of hook or earworm that the listener can’t shake. A good song is about a moment in time, not a broad, spanning subject. And for God’s sake, try to keep it under four minutes!
How would you describe your style of playing guitar?
Aggressive, but hopefully tasty when it should be. A little sloppy at times, but often intentionally. I like to veer off the road a bit, straddling the shoulder, then, just when you start to fly off a cliff, right the ship and get back on track and lock in. That’s something Keith Richards is great at, and he and Pete Townsend are my rhythm guitar heroes. I also love Bob Mould, Bob Stinson, J. Mascis and some of the metal guys like Randy Rhoads. Can you give a brief rundown of your guitar rig?
Sure! I play Reverend PA1 guitars, which are the Pete Anderson signature series hollow-bodies. I’m a featured artist for Reverend, and I stand behind their guitars wholeheartedly. They play like a dream, sound great, and they stay in tune and in-toned after bouncing around the back of a frozen van. You can’t ask for anything more. My Matchless 98 Chieftain head is the core of my sound, and I run that through a gutted Matchless combo that’s just a cab now. Then I have a 68 Fender Deluxe Reverb reissue with all the Rivera mods. I run them in stereo. Live I use a Wampler Paisley overdrive and a Spaceman Saturn V dirty boost, then a delay and chorus for occasional flavor. In the studio, there’s a multitude of amps, guitars, and pedals used. Between Gabe, the studio, and I, we have a damn impressive arsenal at our disposal. Do you have a label? A recording studio? Have you recorded a CD? We’re on GTG Records out of Lansing, Michigan. They’re great people we’ve known for a few years, and they released our most recent record. We’ve got three albums out (Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious (2017), Above the Sweet Tea Line (2015), and Partner in Crime (2013). Gabriel and I each have studios in our home. Gabe does some legitimate band recording sessions, but I mostly do personal demos and Tucos demos. Each of our albums was recorded at The Loft in Saline, Mi. It’s a great room above a converted hayloft on a harness-racing horse farm south of Ann Arbor.
What’s up with the restroom photos?
Haha, well, that’s just something that sort of happened organically. There’s nothing quite like the bathrooms out there on the dive bar circuit. I posted a photo of one once to social media and it kinda took off, so I did it again (and again) and now it’s sorta my thing. I did a prototype of a coffee table book called “Rock and Roll Restrooms – A Photographic Memoir – Volume 1 – A unique look into the seedy underbelly of small-time rock and roll” and I’m currently searching for a publisher, so if ya know anyone….
Where and when is your next gig(s) in the city?
We’re playing Nietzsche’s in Allentown on Friday night! (Friday, June 15: 10:00 pm – 2:00 am | Tickets are $5.00 | Also on the bill are our old pals The Buffalo Brass Machine, and new friends The Alison Pipitone Band. This is our first Buffalo show that falls on a weekend, so we are pumped!
facebook.com/JeremyPorterMusic
twitter.com/onetogive
instagram.com/onetogive
jeremyporter.bandcamp.com
youtube.com/jeremyportermusic
Photo credits: EonZero
Cincy Music (Cincinnati, Oh)
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos Back at The Southgate House Revival
June 22, 2018 External Link
June 22, 2018 External Link
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. They are stopping at The Southgate House Revival on Friday, June 29th with Arlo McKinley & Bryan Minks and The Kentucky Sons. It’s a FREE event, so no excuses.
The Tucos are from Detroit, Michigan and they have played Cincinnati many times. They've been compared to The Replacements, Cheap Trick, Gram Parsons and X, and they're currently touring in support of their third album Don't Worry, It's Not Contagious.
They are known for a tight live show that will get you rocking and dancing one minute and crying in your beer the next. Don't miss it!
The Tucos are from Detroit, Michigan and they have played Cincinnati many times. They've been compared to The Replacements, Cheap Trick, Gram Parsons and X, and they're currently touring in support of their third album Don't Worry, It's Not Contagious.
They are known for a tight live show that will get you rocking and dancing one minute and crying in your beer the next. Don't miss it!
Axs (Cleveland, OH)
Interview: Jeremy Porter & The Tucos on tour again with 'Contagious'
June 22, 2018 External Link
June 22, 2018 External Link
June 22, 2018
Jeremy Porter’s been rocking Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for a quarter-century now, having founded (or fronted) hard-hitting punk / rock groups like The Regulars, The Off Ramps, and SlugBug in the ‘90s and early ’00s. The guitar hero also recorded a solo album, Party of One, before he started searching for new musical conspirators.
Now Porter is three LPs (and several 7”ers) deep with his Detroit-based trio, The Tucos.
Named for Eli Wallach’s bumbling bandit in 1966 Clint Eastwood classic The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, Jeremy Porter and The Tucos issued their mission statement in 2013 with Partner in Crime. With 2015’s Above the Sweet Tea Line, they doubled-down on their Stones-esque roadhouse rock and bluesy ballads.
2017’s Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious is the group’s first release on GTG Records. Powered by the sizzling Southern guitar gristle of single “Huckleberry,” the disc boasts more of Porter’s alt / indie-rock panache (“Worth the Wait”), country-flavored fury (“Consolation Prize”), and melancholy folk-rock (“Urge to Cry”)—and drummer Gabe Doman and bassist Patrick “Two Shoes” O’Harris’ rugged rhythms.
We chatted with Porter via email this week about Contagious and about The Tucos’ upcoming tour—which will land them at the legendary Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights next Thursday, June 28, with Duo Decibel System and Dutch Babies (click for tickets). You can check out the new songs on iTunes or Amazon, and scan their tour itinerary for gigs near you via their website.
AXS: When did the writing process start for the new album? Where was it recorded?
JEREMY PORTER: I started writing the record around the time we wrapped up recording Above the Sweet Tea Line, so it was mid-2015-ish I guess. We recorded in Spring of 2017 at The Loft in Saline, which is a converted hayloft on a horse farm in rural Michigan, south of Ann Arbor.
AXS: Seems like you're always on the road...do you do most of the writing there?
JP: I don't write on the road. It's just something that's never worked for me. Any downtime we get is spent fixing guitars, cleaning out merch bins, refining set lists, or watching bad movies. I am, however, constantly making mental notes on things that grab me as potential ideas for lyrics or titles or subjects. Things people say, situations we find ourselves in. I write alone, at home, with an acoustic guitar, usually get the chords, melody and lyrics recorded onto my phone, then when I get time I'll record a proper demo in Pro Tools. From there I'll sit on it for a bit, see if it sticks or if it's not worth pursuing, and if it makes my cut I'll take it to the boys for the next step. Sometimes they help with the writing, but they always help with arrangement and feel. Sometimes we collectively agree that the song just isn’t working.
AXS: What kinds of guitars / amps did you use on the album (and live)? You have a nice mix of twangy Tele-sounding stuff and heavy, crunchy classic / hard rock
JP: Thanks! That's all a part of our little identity crisis I guess. My main rig is a Matchless Chieftain 98 head, and I'll run that through a variety of cabs. On this record, I used an Avatar 1x12 a lot, with a Celestion Alnico in it. Gabe has a nice Music Man and a couple great Mesas that we use a lot too. The Mesas are used a lot on the rock stuff, and the Matchless is used a lot on the twangier stuff, but we'll often mic both and mix them together for a nice thick sound. My road guitars are Reverend PA1s—the Pete Anderson signature models—and those are all over the record, but there's plenty of Teles, Les Pauls, a Danelectro Baritone, Gibson and Guild acoustics. More than I can remember! Pat has a great Strat that we used a bit too. Between the studio, Gabriel, Pat, and I, we have an incredible arsenal of gear at our disposal, and we take advantage of that.
AXS: Tell me about “Patty's Not Impressed.” Seems like it's about some smart-aleck friend who has an opinion about everything. I think most of us know someone like that!
JP: Hahaha! Oh he's gonna love that! Patty is our bassist, Patrick O' Harris, and he's an opinionated guy, and he likes to talk a lot, so we're constantly hearing about what he likes and doesn't like and why. He's the polar opposite of Gabe in that way, in that Gabe is a quieter guy who really only speaks up when he's got something specific to say. The narrative that's in Patty's head is something we have come to love about him, and it was just ripe for the picking as far as lyrics go. A lot of people don't realize it's about him. I've heard that it's about a waitress, an ex-girlfriend. It's so funny! I'm trying to talk him into doing a video for it.
AXS: Is it harder writing the slower, more serious songs like “Torn” and “Urge to Cry” than the fast rockers?
JP: I'm not sure I would say that it's harder. “Torn” was written after a particularly depressing show at the end of a tour in West Virginia, and it was probably written in less than an hour. It pretty much wrote itself in one sitting. “Urge to Cry” took a bit longer. It's more conventional as far as chords and arrangement go, so it took us longer to find a good feel to set it apart, and that song continues to find its legs on stage. I think it's a bit fast on the record. Songwriting, in general, is pretty easy for me, in that songs come fairly easily, but that's not to say that everything I write is good. Separating the crap from the good stuff, then editing it into a good arrangement is the part of the craft that I (or we) tend to spend the most time on. That can also involve re-writes of lyrics or parts. I think that's where the real work happens.
AXS: What's the traveling situation like for the group? Is it a grind, or are there things / hobbies / activities that can help alleviate the stress / slog?
JP: It's a bit of both. We do a lot of shows, but we focus on Thursday through Saturday shows and rarely play weeknight shows. It's a mentality and methodology that is more and more common for bands. So we're usually gone for four days at a time, sometimes longer, and pretty constant in the spring and fall, but less in the summer and winter. When we have shorter drives and we get more downtime it's always easier on the body and mind, but the longer drives tend to be more of a grind. Fairly typical I guess, but we're lucky in that we have a nice van and usually stay in ok hotels or AirBBs. We are each into good food too, so we rarely do the fast-food thing. When we're not eating at the venue we'll search out good local places and that helps to keep it interesting too.
AXS: Do you still photograph the lavatories at the venues? How'd that start?
JP: Oh yeah! That started a few years back when I was playing a solo show at the Corktown Tavern in Detroit, and I was taking a leak and just looking at the graffiti and stickers and grime in the men's room and it seemed so rock and roll that I felt compelled to document it, so I snapped a pic, posted it to social media, and got a hell of a reaction. So, just like a little kid who gets a reaction to something, I did it again, and again. It kinda just became my thing. People seem to dig it. I actually have a coffee table book called "Rock and Roll Restrooms – A Photographic Memoir Vol. 1 – A unique look into the seedy underbelly of small time rock and roll." I did a couple pressings of a hardcover and softcover prototype, and they sold out quickly, but it's hard to do it by myself. I really need a publisher. So if you or any of your readers know anyone, let's talk! Check out www.rockandrollrestrooms.com. You can also find them on Instagram under #rockandrollrestrooms and/or my feed at @onetogive.
AXS: You've played Beachland, Happy Dog, and a couple other joints in Cleveland, but you mentioned you'd been trying to get into Grog for a while.
JP: It's one of those iconic American clubs that you always hear about. It's always the stop after or before Detroit. When you see those clubs on the back of a shirt or a favorite band's itinerary, it sticks with you after a while. And those are the clubs I want to play! We love the Beachland. The Tucos played the Tavern a couple years back and I played the big room about 10 years ago with a Clash-cover side project band. The Grog Shop has been on my list for years. This is our first time back to Cleveland since the last album. Besides just being thrilled to be at The Grog Shop, we're really excited to play with our pals Dutch Babies, who we met at Now That's Class many years ago. They're kinda like a post-punk rock band with a great stage presence and great guitars. Gina is their singer and she's a darling, and watching their set is a treat. Duo Decibel System are another great band we've played with—at Happy Dog, I think. Melanie is a great front-person, a bit more rootsy than the Dutch Babies, but still a bit of a punk approach, great songs and good people. It's going to be super fun! It's Gina's birthday, and it's gonna be an earlier show so don't go worrying about them Friday morning alarm clocks folks!
Jeremy Porter’s been rocking Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for a quarter-century now, having founded (or fronted) hard-hitting punk / rock groups like The Regulars, The Off Ramps, and SlugBug in the ‘90s and early ’00s. The guitar hero also recorded a solo album, Party of One, before he started searching for new musical conspirators.
Now Porter is three LPs (and several 7”ers) deep with his Detroit-based trio, The Tucos.
Named for Eli Wallach’s bumbling bandit in 1966 Clint Eastwood classic The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, Jeremy Porter and The Tucos issued their mission statement in 2013 with Partner in Crime. With 2015’s Above the Sweet Tea Line, they doubled-down on their Stones-esque roadhouse rock and bluesy ballads.
2017’s Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious is the group’s first release on GTG Records. Powered by the sizzling Southern guitar gristle of single “Huckleberry,” the disc boasts more of Porter’s alt / indie-rock panache (“Worth the Wait”), country-flavored fury (“Consolation Prize”), and melancholy folk-rock (“Urge to Cry”)—and drummer Gabe Doman and bassist Patrick “Two Shoes” O’Harris’ rugged rhythms.
We chatted with Porter via email this week about Contagious and about The Tucos’ upcoming tour—which will land them at the legendary Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights next Thursday, June 28, with Duo Decibel System and Dutch Babies (click for tickets). You can check out the new songs on iTunes or Amazon, and scan their tour itinerary for gigs near you via their website.
AXS: When did the writing process start for the new album? Where was it recorded?
JEREMY PORTER: I started writing the record around the time we wrapped up recording Above the Sweet Tea Line, so it was mid-2015-ish I guess. We recorded in Spring of 2017 at The Loft in Saline, which is a converted hayloft on a horse farm in rural Michigan, south of Ann Arbor.
AXS: Seems like you're always on the road...do you do most of the writing there?
JP: I don't write on the road. It's just something that's never worked for me. Any downtime we get is spent fixing guitars, cleaning out merch bins, refining set lists, or watching bad movies. I am, however, constantly making mental notes on things that grab me as potential ideas for lyrics or titles or subjects. Things people say, situations we find ourselves in. I write alone, at home, with an acoustic guitar, usually get the chords, melody and lyrics recorded onto my phone, then when I get time I'll record a proper demo in Pro Tools. From there I'll sit on it for a bit, see if it sticks or if it's not worth pursuing, and if it makes my cut I'll take it to the boys for the next step. Sometimes they help with the writing, but they always help with arrangement and feel. Sometimes we collectively agree that the song just isn’t working.
AXS: What kinds of guitars / amps did you use on the album (and live)? You have a nice mix of twangy Tele-sounding stuff and heavy, crunchy classic / hard rock
JP: Thanks! That's all a part of our little identity crisis I guess. My main rig is a Matchless Chieftain 98 head, and I'll run that through a variety of cabs. On this record, I used an Avatar 1x12 a lot, with a Celestion Alnico in it. Gabe has a nice Music Man and a couple great Mesas that we use a lot too. The Mesas are used a lot on the rock stuff, and the Matchless is used a lot on the twangier stuff, but we'll often mic both and mix them together for a nice thick sound. My road guitars are Reverend PA1s—the Pete Anderson signature models—and those are all over the record, but there's plenty of Teles, Les Pauls, a Danelectro Baritone, Gibson and Guild acoustics. More than I can remember! Pat has a great Strat that we used a bit too. Between the studio, Gabriel, Pat, and I, we have an incredible arsenal of gear at our disposal, and we take advantage of that.
AXS: Tell me about “Patty's Not Impressed.” Seems like it's about some smart-aleck friend who has an opinion about everything. I think most of us know someone like that!
JP: Hahaha! Oh he's gonna love that! Patty is our bassist, Patrick O' Harris, and he's an opinionated guy, and he likes to talk a lot, so we're constantly hearing about what he likes and doesn't like and why. He's the polar opposite of Gabe in that way, in that Gabe is a quieter guy who really only speaks up when he's got something specific to say. The narrative that's in Patty's head is something we have come to love about him, and it was just ripe for the picking as far as lyrics go. A lot of people don't realize it's about him. I've heard that it's about a waitress, an ex-girlfriend. It's so funny! I'm trying to talk him into doing a video for it.
AXS: Is it harder writing the slower, more serious songs like “Torn” and “Urge to Cry” than the fast rockers?
JP: I'm not sure I would say that it's harder. “Torn” was written after a particularly depressing show at the end of a tour in West Virginia, and it was probably written in less than an hour. It pretty much wrote itself in one sitting. “Urge to Cry” took a bit longer. It's more conventional as far as chords and arrangement go, so it took us longer to find a good feel to set it apart, and that song continues to find its legs on stage. I think it's a bit fast on the record. Songwriting, in general, is pretty easy for me, in that songs come fairly easily, but that's not to say that everything I write is good. Separating the crap from the good stuff, then editing it into a good arrangement is the part of the craft that I (or we) tend to spend the most time on. That can also involve re-writes of lyrics or parts. I think that's where the real work happens.
AXS: What's the traveling situation like for the group? Is it a grind, or are there things / hobbies / activities that can help alleviate the stress / slog?
JP: It's a bit of both. We do a lot of shows, but we focus on Thursday through Saturday shows and rarely play weeknight shows. It's a mentality and methodology that is more and more common for bands. So we're usually gone for four days at a time, sometimes longer, and pretty constant in the spring and fall, but less in the summer and winter. When we have shorter drives and we get more downtime it's always easier on the body and mind, but the longer drives tend to be more of a grind. Fairly typical I guess, but we're lucky in that we have a nice van and usually stay in ok hotels or AirBBs. We are each into good food too, so we rarely do the fast-food thing. When we're not eating at the venue we'll search out good local places and that helps to keep it interesting too.
AXS: Do you still photograph the lavatories at the venues? How'd that start?
JP: Oh yeah! That started a few years back when I was playing a solo show at the Corktown Tavern in Detroit, and I was taking a leak and just looking at the graffiti and stickers and grime in the men's room and it seemed so rock and roll that I felt compelled to document it, so I snapped a pic, posted it to social media, and got a hell of a reaction. So, just like a little kid who gets a reaction to something, I did it again, and again. It kinda just became my thing. People seem to dig it. I actually have a coffee table book called "Rock and Roll Restrooms – A Photographic Memoir Vol. 1 – A unique look into the seedy underbelly of small time rock and roll." I did a couple pressings of a hardcover and softcover prototype, and they sold out quickly, but it's hard to do it by myself. I really need a publisher. So if you or any of your readers know anyone, let's talk! Check out www.rockandrollrestrooms.com. You can also find them on Instagram under #rockandrollrestrooms and/or my feed at @onetogive.
AXS: You've played Beachland, Happy Dog, and a couple other joints in Cleveland, but you mentioned you'd been trying to get into Grog for a while.
JP: It's one of those iconic American clubs that you always hear about. It's always the stop after or before Detroit. When you see those clubs on the back of a shirt or a favorite band's itinerary, it sticks with you after a while. And those are the clubs I want to play! We love the Beachland. The Tucos played the Tavern a couple years back and I played the big room about 10 years ago with a Clash-cover side project band. The Grog Shop has been on my list for years. This is our first time back to Cleveland since the last album. Besides just being thrilled to be at The Grog Shop, we're really excited to play with our pals Dutch Babies, who we met at Now That's Class many years ago. They're kinda like a post-punk rock band with a great stage presence and great guitars. Gina is their singer and she's a darling, and watching their set is a treat. Duo Decibel System are another great band we've played with—at Happy Dog, I think. Melanie is a great front-person, a bit more rootsy than the Dutch Babies, but still a bit of a punk approach, great songs and good people. It's going to be super fun! It's Gina's birthday, and it's gonna be an earlier show so don't go worrying about them Friday morning alarm clocks folks!
Twangri-La - Country Music Utopia (Maryland)
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos: Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious (One To Give Music)
July 11, 2018 External Link
July 11, 2018 External Link
Reviewed by Harry Kaplan
Right in my wheelhouse. Irreverent rock and roll with a sturdy foundation of power pop. Not too shabby for just three fellas. That’s a lot of sound from three peeps. I was, and still am, totally obsessed with power trios. The good ones, of course. I put Jeremy Porter & The Tucos in that category. All of the guys in the band sing and play at the same time. I have trouble doing two things simultaneously so when I see folks do it well, it really impresses me. Let me introduce you to the boys in the band. We got: Jeremy Porter on guitars, vocals, organ, piano, and harmonica; Gabriel Doman on drums, percussion, and vocals; and, Patrick O’Harris on bass and vocals. All of the guys are expert multitaskers.
I hear a lot of influences on Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious. Heavy helpings of Cheap Trick, The Replacements, Big Star, and even Wilco. These guys definitely leaned a lot from their elders and contemporaries. That emulsion is the sauce that JP & The Tucos uses to make the song foundation. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention The Minutemen as an influence as well. Patrick O’Harris definitely got a couple of nuggets out of Mike Watt’s playbook.
I originally thought the band’s name came from the character Tuco Salamanca from Breaking Bad. That is not the case. After reading the band’s Wikipedia page, I discovered that the band’s name is based on the character Tuco Ramirez in The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. Either way, the name is badass.
It’s time to take a dive into the music. no better place to begin than the beginning. Walk Of Shame (Track 1) is a country blend with hints of The Replacements, Lemonheads, and perhaps a dash of Old 97s. This song has amazing swagger, but also a very powerful aura about it. Great blending of heavy and light. This song has great pop sensibilities.
Keeping with The Replacements theme, Patty’s Not Impressed (Track 9) sounds like it could have walked right out of Paul Westerberg’s library. I, for one, am extremely happy that there are bands like Jeremy Porter & The Tucos making real music based on the founders of post punk. This guy Patty is tough to please. But he sure sounds like a loveable guy in a very rugged and grouchy old man cocoon.
I have mentioned a few times before that feedback is my favorite instrument. So you can only imagine my glee when I heard Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious (Track 3) which starts off with a ten second feedback blast that is simply beautiful. It fits perfectly with the rest of the music. It really is another instrument and is used correctly to add maximum effect.
This album bridges the gap between hard driving, loud “in your face” rock and roll and country music. This space is my sweet spot. It just sounds so pleasing to the ears how can any reasonable music fan resist?
Right in my wheelhouse. Irreverent rock and roll with a sturdy foundation of power pop. Not too shabby for just three fellas. That’s a lot of sound from three peeps. I was, and still am, totally obsessed with power trios. The good ones, of course. I put Jeremy Porter & The Tucos in that category. All of the guys in the band sing and play at the same time. I have trouble doing two things simultaneously so when I see folks do it well, it really impresses me. Let me introduce you to the boys in the band. We got: Jeremy Porter on guitars, vocals, organ, piano, and harmonica; Gabriel Doman on drums, percussion, and vocals; and, Patrick O’Harris on bass and vocals. All of the guys are expert multitaskers.
I hear a lot of influences on Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious. Heavy helpings of Cheap Trick, The Replacements, Big Star, and even Wilco. These guys definitely leaned a lot from their elders and contemporaries. That emulsion is the sauce that JP & The Tucos uses to make the song foundation. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention The Minutemen as an influence as well. Patrick O’Harris definitely got a couple of nuggets out of Mike Watt’s playbook.
I originally thought the band’s name came from the character Tuco Salamanca from Breaking Bad. That is not the case. After reading the band’s Wikipedia page, I discovered that the band’s name is based on the character Tuco Ramirez in The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. Either way, the name is badass.
It’s time to take a dive into the music. no better place to begin than the beginning. Walk Of Shame (Track 1) is a country blend with hints of The Replacements, Lemonheads, and perhaps a dash of Old 97s. This song has amazing swagger, but also a very powerful aura about it. Great blending of heavy and light. This song has great pop sensibilities.
Keeping with The Replacements theme, Patty’s Not Impressed (Track 9) sounds like it could have walked right out of Paul Westerberg’s library. I, for one, am extremely happy that there are bands like Jeremy Porter & The Tucos making real music based on the founders of post punk. This guy Patty is tough to please. But he sure sounds like a loveable guy in a very rugged and grouchy old man cocoon.
I have mentioned a few times before that feedback is my favorite instrument. So you can only imagine my glee when I heard Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious (Track 3) which starts off with a ten second feedback blast that is simply beautiful. It fits perfectly with the rest of the music. It really is another instrument and is used correctly to add maximum effect.
This album bridges the gap between hard driving, loud “in your face” rock and roll and country music. This space is my sweet spot. It just sounds so pleasing to the ears how can any reasonable music fan resist?
Cult#MTL (Montreal, QC)
Half Measures will be departing their regular seats at the bar to amble up on stage a few feet away at the Barfly as part of the afterparty of the Hungover Golf event with Detroit’s Jeremy Porter and the Tucos lubing up the joint. 4062 St-Laurent.
Mankato Times (Mankato, MN)
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos at Pub 500
September 14, 2018 External Link
September 14, 2018 External Link
Jeremy Porter & the Tucos will be playing at Pub 500 on Saturday, September 22 from 9 pm – 11:59 pm.
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You’ll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It’s Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn’t quite ready for it.
Pub 500, 500 South Front Street, Mankato.
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You’ll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It’s Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn’t quite ready for it.
Pub 500, 500 South Front Street, Mankato.
Pete's Rock News and Views (Wales)
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos
September 25, 2018 External Link
September 25, 2018 External Link
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You’ll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It’s Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn’t quite ready for it.
Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small town in Michigan’s upper peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP’s first punk bands – The Regulars. He moved to Detroit and tore through the 90s and 00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych (as well as a solo stint) though 2 decades of recording and touring before forming The Tucos in 2009. Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Patrick O’Harris (Mike Hard Band, Sons of the Gun) round out the trio.
• JP & The Tucos have released 3 full-length LPs, 4 7?s and a slew of contributions to comps.
• They’ve toured the US and Canada multiple times – playing festivals, theaters, clubs, corner bars and coffee shops from Massachusetts to Texas, Colorado to Montréal, and all points between.
• They’ve become one of the go-to support acts for national acts coming through Detroit, opening for Lydia Loveless, Beach Slang, Supersuckers, Jesse Malin, Deadstring Brothers, Two Cow Garage, Whitey Morgan, Tim Barry, Old Man Markley and many more.
In November, 2017, JP&T released Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious – their third LP, and first for Lansing’s GTG Records.
Jeremy Porter – Guitar, Vocals, Songs
Patrick O’Harris – Bass
Gabriel Doman – Drums
Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small town in Michigan’s upper peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP’s first punk bands – The Regulars. He moved to Detroit and tore through the 90s and 00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych (as well as a solo stint) though 2 decades of recording and touring before forming The Tucos in 2009. Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Patrick O’Harris (Mike Hard Band, Sons of the Gun) round out the trio.
• JP & The Tucos have released 3 full-length LPs, 4 7?s and a slew of contributions to comps.
• They’ve toured the US and Canada multiple times – playing festivals, theaters, clubs, corner bars and coffee shops from Massachusetts to Texas, Colorado to Montréal, and all points between.
• They’ve become one of the go-to support acts for national acts coming through Detroit, opening for Lydia Loveless, Beach Slang, Supersuckers, Jesse Malin, Deadstring Brothers, Two Cow Garage, Whitey Morgan, Tim Barry, Old Man Markley and many more.
In November, 2017, JP&T released Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious – their third LP, and first for Lansing’s GTG Records.
Jeremy Porter – Guitar, Vocals, Songs
Patrick O’Harris – Bass
Gabriel Doman – Drums
Americana UK (England)
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos hits UK for dates next month
October 01, 2018 External Link
October 01, 2018 External Link
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan who, according to their press release, “sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You’ll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle
Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It’s Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn’t quite ready for it.” So there you go. And if Detroit isn’t ready for it then imagine how the rest of us feel. Still their latest album ‘Don’t Worry, We’re ALL Contagious’ came out at the end of last year and they’re hitting the UK next week for dates. You can catch them at any of these places below.
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos 2018 UK Tour
Fri Oct 5 – Ilfracombe – The Pier
Sat Oct 6 – Swansea, Wales – Swansea Fringe Festival
Sun Oct 7 – Bideford – Palladium
Mon Oct 8 – London – Urban Bar
Tue Oct 9 – London – The Islington
Wed Oct 10 – Northampton – King Billy
Thu Oct 11 – Wakefield – Black Mass Club
Fri Oct 12 – Coalville/Leicester – The Victoria
Sat Oct 13 – Workington – Lounge 41
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos 2018 UK Tour
Fri Oct 5 – Ilfracombe – The Pier
Sat Oct 6 – Swansea, Wales – Swansea Fringe Festival
Sun Oct 7 – Bideford – Palladium
Mon Oct 8 – London – Urban Bar
Tue Oct 9 – London – The Islington
Wed Oct 10 – Northampton – King Billy
Thu Oct 11 – Wakefield – Black Mass Club
Fri Oct 12 – Coalville/Leicester – The Victoria
Sat Oct 13 – Workington – Lounge 41
The Afterword (London, England)
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos/Jimmy Regal and the Royals
The Islington, London
October 10, 2018
External Link
Many Afterworders will know The Islington well, home of the Word podcasts and hosting as it does many Massive-approved acts. I’m here to see my friends (and occasional clients) Jimmy Regal and the Royals – so, interest declared, take my review of them with as much salt as you fancy. Jimmy Regal play old-school blues without a bass player. Where most modern blues guitarists echo Stevie Ray Vaughan or 60s Clapton, guitarist Corin channels ‘Gatemouth’ Brown, T-Bone Walker and Hubert Sumlin – clean-toned and heavy on the rhythm. Singer Joff Watkins has the authoritative bark of a Howlin’ Wolf and, most impressively, has The Gift when it comes to playing harp. Jimmy Regal come onstage to about five people and leave a room full and happy.
I thought I’d stick around for the headliners, and this turns out to be a good choice. Until they replace Jimmy Regal onstage, I had never heard one note of Jeremy Porter and the Tucos. The first effect is visual – the rock’n’roll look that tells you synth solos and sequenced beats will not be forthcoming. The Tucos’ bassist is called Patty Two Shoes, which also bodes well. The music is as the Tucos’ bearing promises – Replacements, Johnny Thunders, the Clash – three-minute bursts of energy with witty lyrics. The songs tell of everything that is wonderful – and deflating – about being a rock’n’roll band who tour in van. Two-minute ‘Patty’s Not Impressed’ is a choice example, a gentle ribbing of the bass player and his prejudices: “Patty didn’t like the opening band/Even though they did their best/Patty’s not impressed”. Following this, they take pains to point out that they quite liked the opening band (who I didn’t see).
It’s not all fantastic – ‘Huckleberry’ is a bit too punk-pop for me, but even though songs like ‘Bottled Regrets’ have a Hold Steady shaggy-dog narrative, I’m willing them on. Jeremy is a great frontman, throwing shapes, pulling faces, chatting between songs with an easy charm. This is an American thing, to my mind. Bruce has it. Dave Grohl has it. Thom Yorke does not. They mention they are from Detroit and are very proud to be so. Everyone gets thanked, especially us for ‘coming out on a Tuesday’. After 35 minutes it’s over and they get selling merch and chatting to anyone who wants to say hi.
I like nights like this.
The audience:
Folks in their thirties and forties, tearing themselves from the couch as the nights draw in, and being glad they did, for the most part, although the bar prices are ridiculous enough to make people from outside London go a bit funny.
It made me think..
Blues can make you dance, if done right.
Many Americans front their bands like they do table service – friendlier, breezily efficient and designed to make the customer happy. We can’t seem to do it as well most of the time.
I thought I’d stick around for the headliners, and this turns out to be a good choice. Until they replace Jimmy Regal onstage, I had never heard one note of Jeremy Porter and the Tucos. The first effect is visual – the rock’n’roll look that tells you synth solos and sequenced beats will not be forthcoming. The Tucos’ bassist is called Patty Two Shoes, which also bodes well. The music is as the Tucos’ bearing promises – Replacements, Johnny Thunders, the Clash – three-minute bursts of energy with witty lyrics. The songs tell of everything that is wonderful – and deflating – about being a rock’n’roll band who tour in van. Two-minute ‘Patty’s Not Impressed’ is a choice example, a gentle ribbing of the bass player and his prejudices: “Patty didn’t like the opening band/Even though they did their best/Patty’s not impressed”. Following this, they take pains to point out that they quite liked the opening band (who I didn’t see).
It’s not all fantastic – ‘Huckleberry’ is a bit too punk-pop for me, but even though songs like ‘Bottled Regrets’ have a Hold Steady shaggy-dog narrative, I’m willing them on. Jeremy is a great frontman, throwing shapes, pulling faces, chatting between songs with an easy charm. This is an American thing, to my mind. Bruce has it. Dave Grohl has it. Thom Yorke does not. They mention they are from Detroit and are very proud to be so. Everyone gets thanked, especially us for ‘coming out on a Tuesday’. After 35 minutes it’s over and they get selling merch and chatting to anyone who wants to say hi.
I like nights like this.
The audience:
Folks in their thirties and forties, tearing themselves from the couch as the nights draw in, and being glad they did, for the most part, although the bar prices are ridiculous enough to make people from outside London go a bit funny.
It made me think..
Blues can make you dance, if done right.
Many Americans front their bands like they do table service – friendlier, breezily efficient and designed to make the customer happy. We can’t seem to do it as well most of the time.
New Boots (Northamton, UK)
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos + Rufus Goodlove
Wednesday, October 10th
The King Billy, Northampton
A rock 'n' roll trio on tour from Detroit, USA. You'll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons on their third album [from last year], Don't Worry, It's Not Contagious. Doors 8pm, free entry.
Wednesday, October 10th
The King Billy, Northampton
A rock 'n' roll trio on tour from Detroit, USA. You'll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons on their third album [from last year], Don't Worry, It's Not Contagious. Doors 8pm, free entry.
The Oakland Press (Metro Detroit, MI)
Concerts: Jim McCarty, Maxwell, Thom Yorke, Steel Panther and more...
By Gary Graff ggraff@digitalfirstmedia.com; @GraffonMusic on Twitter
November 29, 2018
External Link
Jeremy Porter & the Tucos play their only Detroit show of the year and celebrate a new single on Saturday, Dec. 1, at PJ's Lager House, Detroit. Copper Thieves and Bryan Minks also perform. Doors at 8 p.m., tickets $8; 313-961-4668 or pjslagerhouse.com.
The Detroit News (Detroit, MI)
Artist Spotlight: Jeremy Porter & the Tucos
A weekly feature showcasing local artists.
November 29, 2018
External Link
Name: Jeremy Porter & the Tucos
Line up: Jeremy Porter, guitar and vocals; Patrick O'Harris, bass; Gabriel Doman, drums.
Sound: This Metro Detroit trio plays rock and roll from the heartland. The band's flannel-shirt-and-dusty-denim look can almost be heard in Porter's blue collar-cool, catchy tunes.
Next: Porter and the guys will celebrate the release of their new 7-inch single "At Least She's Still in Love With You," out on Lansing's GTG Records, Saturday with a show at PJ's Lager House, 1254 Michigan in Detroit. This is the band's only local show of 2018, as they've been focusing on performing elsewhere, including a nine-date tour of the United Kingdom. Copper Thieves and Bryan Minks open the show; doors open at 9 p.m. and tickets are $8.
Melody Baetens
Line up: Jeremy Porter, guitar and vocals; Patrick O'Harris, bass; Gabriel Doman, drums.
Sound: This Metro Detroit trio plays rock and roll from the heartland. The band's flannel-shirt-and-dusty-denim look can almost be heard in Porter's blue collar-cool, catchy tunes.
Next: Porter and the guys will celebrate the release of their new 7-inch single "At Least She's Still in Love With You," out on Lansing's GTG Records, Saturday with a show at PJ's Lager House, 1254 Michigan in Detroit. This is the band's only local show of 2018, as they've been focusing on performing elsewhere, including a nine-date tour of the United Kingdom. Copper Thieves and Bryan Minks open the show; doors open at 9 p.m. and tickets are $8.
Melody Baetens
Pencil Storm (Columbus, OH)
Jeremy Porter is a regular contributor to Pencilstorm. He is also an accomplished musician who records and tours with both his band the Tucos and solo. Since he is usually he is the one usually doing the interviews, we thought it would be fun to turn the tables and ask him some questions about his latest release, EP 1987. - Colin G.
1) So where did the inspiration for your new solo EP 1987 come from?
Hey Colin! Well, we had a lineup change in the Tucos over the holidays, with Patrick out on bass and Bob Moulton coming in. We've done just a couple shows (including Bob's first show with us, in Columbus with the Bowlers in January) and have been hyper-focused on new material for a new record. As is my normal process, I write way more songs than we'll need, and a lot of the leftovers are throwaways, but some are decent songs that just don't really have a place with the new Tucos material. So with The Tucos being off the road and nothing new coming out in the near future, a few songs without a home, and an itch to get out on the road, I decided to throw it together quickly and get it out. GTG Records said "hell yeah," in their usual super-supportive way, and there we have it.
2) How is it different than recording with the Tucos?
It's completely different. I engineered it myself in my basement, and had only myself to look to for quality control. That's not necessarily a good thing, but it sure is liberating and convenient. I asked Gabriel to mix it, not only because he's talented and has a great ear, but because he knows what I am after and he'll (hopefully) let me know if something sucks. The Tucos, on the other hand, take a much more labored, deliberate approach. We work the hell out of the songs to varying degrees, then demo them in the basement, then record them properly at The Loft with Tim and/or Andy Patalan. There's a lot of collaboration between the band and with the Patalans, and it takes a lot longer. They're both good approaches - each has is pros and cons - but they are very different.
3) It is definitely more stripped down than your recent recordings at The Loft, was this the plan all along or did it just happen organically?
It was the plan. All at once I had a bunch of solo shows booked - some Michigan dates with NP Presley and The Ghost of Jesse Garon, a farm show down in Kentucky, shows in Ohio and West Virginia. When I realized I had the songs, and I had the shows, I had a very short window to record-mix-master-manufacture & release. It had to be stripped down. But the material calls for that anyway.
4) Where did that cover photo come from?
That's me sitting in the back of my dad's Toyota pickup truck in the Marquette Senior High School parking lot in the spring of 1987, leading into graduation. Tim Demarte, one of my best friends, always had a camera handy. I was smoking a cigarette and we were probably trying to figure out where we were going to go get high. I'm wearing a Milwaukee Zoo t-shirt I bought at the zoo the same day we saw Hüsker Dü down there not long before that photo. I look pretty pissed off. I was probably thinking, "I better look cool, this might end up on an album cover someday."
5) You recently covered "Christmas in Washington" by Steve Earle and I can detect some of his influence on the new EP. Did recording that song open a new creative door for you ?
Yeah, it seems every year either The Tucos or myself solo are doing a song for a holidays comp. We've got a handful and keep wanting to release a Christmas EP and one of these years it's gonna happen. I always prefer to record and play with The Tucos over solo, but the Steve Earle song came together because we were in the middle of the Patty-to-Bob change in the Tucos and I needed it quick, and I'd wanted to do it for awhile. The only door it really opened is that I played slide on it, and I've been getting a lot more into that. I've been playing lap steel for a couple years now, but this is just slide guitar. Well, Joe Walsh I ain't by a mile, but there'll be a little slide on the next Tucos record and hopefully in the live set too.
6) As usual, all the guitars sound amazing. Tell me a little about Reverend guitars?
Thanks, man! Reverend guitars was started by Joe Naylor and is basically run by Ken Haas, a guy I've known for 30 years, played a million punk and other shows with, and we remain good friends. It was a Michigan company for a long time but they moved to Ohio, just outside of Toledo a couple years back. They make an affordable line of guitars that for my money stand up to just about anything out there on the market. I can't fawn over them enough. I've been playing a couple of the Pete Anderson signature hollow-bodies for years. To be honest, I've been trying for the last couple to put them down - just purely for the sake of mixing it up a bit. I've got a lot of guitars and most of them don't get played until we record. I took the Tele to the UK last year, I've got some Gibsons I've brought out, but I keep going back to the Reverends. They stay in tune, they keep their intonation, they sound and play amazing, even after bouncing around the back of the van for long runs. I'm addicted. I need help! I'm honored to be one of their "Featured Artists" but this isn't a commercial - they make a great instrument!
7) Between all your music, touring and writing it seems you always have something going on. What is the secret to your productivity? Yoga? Trucker speed? Do tell.
Man, that's a good question. I have a lot going for me, for starters. I have a really supportive wife, a demanding but flexible job, no kids, and bandmates that are all-in and can almost keep up. A few things have happened in the last decade that have put things in perspective for me: previous band breakups, getting older, health things, people dying, and I just have this feeling like I'm on the clock and don't want to waste another minute. There's certainly some OCD at play in there too. I just can't be idle. I go nuts and get depressed.
Another factor is that I am just resigned to being perpetually exhausted. It's not that I have endless energy, I just think that going to or playing shows is more important than a good night's sleep or being tired at work the next day. You'll rebound, you can always catch up on sleep, but if you miss seeing Ex Hex, you're going to regret it forever! People get so wrapped up in getting enough rest and watching TV and staring at their phones that they never go out. I enjoy that stuff too, but I'm not ready to do it seven nights a week yet.
8) I assume you will be hitting the road for some shows. Will you be playing more solo dates or will the Tucos be coming along too?
I just wrapped up a couple runs of solo shows. I've got my EP release show next weekend with Shane Sweeney and Todd May coming through Detroit to play that with me (look for a Pencilstorm article later this week!). The Tucos have a couple shows coming up, then we're gonna spend the rest of the summer finishing the writing of the next record. In September and October we'll hit the road hard, break in all of the new material, get some good miles in, then come back and start the record right off the road before the holidays.
9) What’s up with your book Rock And Roll Restrooms - A Photographic Memoir?
I've got another small batch of prototypes printed up and they're at the merch table and the shows these days. Still looking for a publisher who can help me get it out there at an affordable price and in greater numbers, but it's all me at the moment. I'm pretty wrapped up in making music and don't have the time to really shop it, so I just try to keep it in conversation when I can. One day I hope someone will help get it out there. The owner of Howard's Club H in Bowling Green recently had the cover framed for the bar - that's their bathroom on the cover. I can't wait to get back there to see it! Meanwhile you can follow me on Instagram @onetogive and #rockandrollrestrooms to keep up on all the great cans in the dive-bar circuit.
10) Final question, you have played so many different places, what are a couple of your favorite places to perform outside the USA?
We toured the UK last fall and had a couple great shows - London, Workington, and Ilfracombe come to mind. I love Montreal. We play a super-fun show up there every September for my pal Eric who does a charity golf tournament, and we play the draft/kickoff show. The theme is Hungover Golf. We don't golf, but we contribute to the hangover. London, Ontario has been fun the couple times we've played there - lots of good people.
Domestically, Lexington, Kentucky is wonderful. I have so many good friends down there who are really supportive. It gets crazy in the best way and it's super-positive. Huntington, West Virginia has been great the last couple years. Detroit is great as long as we spread it out. In Ohio our best city is probably Dayton. We love Columbus, tons of friends and so much great music out of there, but it hasn't been our best city. We need to keep working on that, man!!!
Click here to learn more at Jeremy Porter Music.
1) So where did the inspiration for your new solo EP 1987 come from?
Hey Colin! Well, we had a lineup change in the Tucos over the holidays, with Patrick out on bass and Bob Moulton coming in. We've done just a couple shows (including Bob's first show with us, in Columbus with the Bowlers in January) and have been hyper-focused on new material for a new record. As is my normal process, I write way more songs than we'll need, and a lot of the leftovers are throwaways, but some are decent songs that just don't really have a place with the new Tucos material. So with The Tucos being off the road and nothing new coming out in the near future, a few songs without a home, and an itch to get out on the road, I decided to throw it together quickly and get it out. GTG Records said "hell yeah," in their usual super-supportive way, and there we have it.
2) How is it different than recording with the Tucos?
It's completely different. I engineered it myself in my basement, and had only myself to look to for quality control. That's not necessarily a good thing, but it sure is liberating and convenient. I asked Gabriel to mix it, not only because he's talented and has a great ear, but because he knows what I am after and he'll (hopefully) let me know if something sucks. The Tucos, on the other hand, take a much more labored, deliberate approach. We work the hell out of the songs to varying degrees, then demo them in the basement, then record them properly at The Loft with Tim and/or Andy Patalan. There's a lot of collaboration between the band and with the Patalans, and it takes a lot longer. They're both good approaches - each has is pros and cons - but they are very different.
3) It is definitely more stripped down than your recent recordings at The Loft, was this the plan all along or did it just happen organically?
It was the plan. All at once I had a bunch of solo shows booked - some Michigan dates with NP Presley and The Ghost of Jesse Garon, a farm show down in Kentucky, shows in Ohio and West Virginia. When I realized I had the songs, and I had the shows, I had a very short window to record-mix-master-manufacture & release. It had to be stripped down. But the material calls for that anyway.
4) Where did that cover photo come from?
That's me sitting in the back of my dad's Toyota pickup truck in the Marquette Senior High School parking lot in the spring of 1987, leading into graduation. Tim Demarte, one of my best friends, always had a camera handy. I was smoking a cigarette and we were probably trying to figure out where we were going to go get high. I'm wearing a Milwaukee Zoo t-shirt I bought at the zoo the same day we saw Hüsker Dü down there not long before that photo. I look pretty pissed off. I was probably thinking, "I better look cool, this might end up on an album cover someday."
5) You recently covered "Christmas in Washington" by Steve Earle and I can detect some of his influence on the new EP. Did recording that song open a new creative door for you ?
Yeah, it seems every year either The Tucos or myself solo are doing a song for a holidays comp. We've got a handful and keep wanting to release a Christmas EP and one of these years it's gonna happen. I always prefer to record and play with The Tucos over solo, but the Steve Earle song came together because we were in the middle of the Patty-to-Bob change in the Tucos and I needed it quick, and I'd wanted to do it for awhile. The only door it really opened is that I played slide on it, and I've been getting a lot more into that. I've been playing lap steel for a couple years now, but this is just slide guitar. Well, Joe Walsh I ain't by a mile, but there'll be a little slide on the next Tucos record and hopefully in the live set too.
6) As usual, all the guitars sound amazing. Tell me a little about Reverend guitars?
Thanks, man! Reverend guitars was started by Joe Naylor and is basically run by Ken Haas, a guy I've known for 30 years, played a million punk and other shows with, and we remain good friends. It was a Michigan company for a long time but they moved to Ohio, just outside of Toledo a couple years back. They make an affordable line of guitars that for my money stand up to just about anything out there on the market. I can't fawn over them enough. I've been playing a couple of the Pete Anderson signature hollow-bodies for years. To be honest, I've been trying for the last couple to put them down - just purely for the sake of mixing it up a bit. I've got a lot of guitars and most of them don't get played until we record. I took the Tele to the UK last year, I've got some Gibsons I've brought out, but I keep going back to the Reverends. They stay in tune, they keep their intonation, they sound and play amazing, even after bouncing around the back of the van for long runs. I'm addicted. I need help! I'm honored to be one of their "Featured Artists" but this isn't a commercial - they make a great instrument!
7) Between all your music, touring and writing it seems you always have something going on. What is the secret to your productivity? Yoga? Trucker speed? Do tell.
Man, that's a good question. I have a lot going for me, for starters. I have a really supportive wife, a demanding but flexible job, no kids, and bandmates that are all-in and can almost keep up. A few things have happened in the last decade that have put things in perspective for me: previous band breakups, getting older, health things, people dying, and I just have this feeling like I'm on the clock and don't want to waste another minute. There's certainly some OCD at play in there too. I just can't be idle. I go nuts and get depressed.
Another factor is that I am just resigned to being perpetually exhausted. It's not that I have endless energy, I just think that going to or playing shows is more important than a good night's sleep or being tired at work the next day. You'll rebound, you can always catch up on sleep, but if you miss seeing Ex Hex, you're going to regret it forever! People get so wrapped up in getting enough rest and watching TV and staring at their phones that they never go out. I enjoy that stuff too, but I'm not ready to do it seven nights a week yet.
8) I assume you will be hitting the road for some shows. Will you be playing more solo dates or will the Tucos be coming along too?
I just wrapped up a couple runs of solo shows. I've got my EP release show next weekend with Shane Sweeney and Todd May coming through Detroit to play that with me (look for a Pencilstorm article later this week!). The Tucos have a couple shows coming up, then we're gonna spend the rest of the summer finishing the writing of the next record. In September and October we'll hit the road hard, break in all of the new material, get some good miles in, then come back and start the record right off the road before the holidays.
9) What’s up with your book Rock And Roll Restrooms - A Photographic Memoir?
I've got another small batch of prototypes printed up and they're at the merch table and the shows these days. Still looking for a publisher who can help me get it out there at an affordable price and in greater numbers, but it's all me at the moment. I'm pretty wrapped up in making music and don't have the time to really shop it, so I just try to keep it in conversation when I can. One day I hope someone will help get it out there. The owner of Howard's Club H in Bowling Green recently had the cover framed for the bar - that's their bathroom on the cover. I can't wait to get back there to see it! Meanwhile you can follow me on Instagram @onetogive and #rockandrollrestrooms to keep up on all the great cans in the dive-bar circuit.
10) Final question, you have played so many different places, what are a couple of your favorite places to perform outside the USA?
We toured the UK last fall and had a couple great shows - London, Workington, and Ilfracombe come to mind. I love Montreal. We play a super-fun show up there every September for my pal Eric who does a charity golf tournament, and we play the draft/kickoff show. The theme is Hungover Golf. We don't golf, but we contribute to the hangover. London, Ontario has been fun the couple times we've played there - lots of good people.
Domestically, Lexington, Kentucky is wonderful. I have so many good friends down there who are really supportive. It gets crazy in the best way and it's super-positive. Huntington, West Virginia has been great the last couple years. Detroit is great as long as we spread it out. In Ohio our best city is probably Dayton. We love Columbus, tons of friends and so much great music out of there, but it hasn't been our best city. We need to keep working on that, man!!!
Click here to learn more at Jeremy Porter Music.
Pencil Storm (Columbus, OH)
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos - New Album: Candy Coated Cannonball!
by Colin Gawel
January 01, 2021
External Link
On March 6th, 2020 – just a week before the country shut down because of Covid-19 – Jeremy Porter and The Tucos wrapped up tracking on their new album Candy Coated Cannonball. The album was recorded at Willis Sound – a huge, converted 1895 church in rural Willis, Michigan. Jim Roll (Jason Ringenberg, Chris Bathgate) twisted the knobs and lent his opinions about sounds and performances. Tim Patalan (Cheap Trick, Sponge, Watershed, The Fags, Ted Nugent) mixed the album at The Loft in Saline, Michigan, and Dan Coutant (The Sword, Smoking Popes, War on Women) mastered the tracks at Sun Room Audio in Windsor, NY.
This is The Tucos fourth album, and first with bassist Bob Moulton. Since the release of 2017’s Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious they’ve played a couple hundred shows across the US, Canada, England and Wales, released a Christmas EP, and opened for some amazing artists like Beach Slang, Jesse Dayton, Arlo McKinley, Sponge, American Aquarium, Colin Gawel & The League Bowlers and more.
Candy Coated Cannonball will be released on January 22, 2021 on LP, CD, and digital by GTG Records. You can pre-order the record NOW and get in on a discount price and some freebie swag only available before the release-date. There are combo-packages available and pre-orders should arrive in advance of the official release.
The first single from Candy Coated Cannonball is “Dead Ringer.” The B-side is the non-album track “Hummingbird Heartbeat” which is NOT a cover of the Katy Perry song. You can stream/buy the track on their Bandcamp or watch the DIY lyric video here:
This is The Tucos fourth album, and first with bassist Bob Moulton. Since the release of 2017’s Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious they’ve played a couple hundred shows across the US, Canada, England and Wales, released a Christmas EP, and opened for some amazing artists like Beach Slang, Jesse Dayton, Arlo McKinley, Sponge, American Aquarium, Colin Gawel & The League Bowlers and more.
Candy Coated Cannonball will be released on January 22, 2021 on LP, CD, and digital by GTG Records. You can pre-order the record NOW and get in on a discount price and some freebie swag only available before the release-date. There are combo-packages available and pre-orders should arrive in advance of the official release.
The first single from Candy Coated Cannonball is “Dead Ringer.” The B-side is the non-album track “Hummingbird Heartbeat” which is NOT a cover of the Katy Perry song. You can stream/buy the track on their Bandcamp or watch the DIY lyric video here:
The Afterword (London, England)
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos – Candy Coloured Cannonball
January 19, 2021 External Link
January 19, 2021 External Link
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos – Candy Coloured Cannonball
19/01/2021 by TrypF
What does it sound like?:
There’s a kind of music that falls through the cracks of traditional rock-journo classification. Somewhere in the middle of a Venn diagram of punk, traditional rock’n’roll, garage rock and Americana, it’s best enjoyed in a cosy bar room – small enough to appreciate witty lyrics, loud enough to feel the vibes. I’ve written on this site before about the difference between British and US bands in this regard – we do punk well over here, but veer away from its full-throttle dogma and you frequently get into leather-waistcoated pub-rock territory these days. In the States, it’s a rich tradition perfected by the Replacements and best imported over here in the 70s by Chrissie Hynde.
I’ve been following the career of Jeremy Porter and the Tucos since I caught their show at The Islington two summers ago, reviewed on these pages in October 2018. It cheered my old heart to see a US band who played this kind of rock and roll, less fussy than many of their trendier peers but smarter and sharper than either the punk or trad-rock acts they share their venues with. Their fourth album proper finds them at home in the States, sadly unable to tour the places their music shines brightest. Like so many performers, without shows to showcase the new tunes and sell the CDs, it’ll be tougher market for them this time round.
Opener ‘Put You on Hold’ kicks us off at a fair old lick, the fuzzed-out guitars (and vocals) recalling the Stooges or MC5, plus a neat sprinkling of Mysterians-style Farfisa organ. From this, music Sherlocks can hazard a guess the Tucos are from Michigan (and they’d be right) but this song sells you a dummy – we’re not getting forty minutes of Bay Area proto-punk. Candy Coated Cannonball has more swing in most of its other songs, plus some other surprises.
‘The Things All Men Do’ is a prime example of the album’s more eclectic fare – it starts with a shimmery Cooder-ish intro before breaking into a swaggering rocker, then wrapping up with a mariachi-style trumpet solo. ‘October Girls’ is a highlight tucked away in the last-but-one slot, a beautiful voice-and-guitar ditty about inadvisable relationships when the weather gets cold. As well as the less familiar sounds, there’s more traditional stuff for those that know Mr Porter’s work. There are a couple of crackers that I’d love to see live: ‘Upward Trend’ and closing anthem ‘Girls named Erica’ rock out in the accustomed swinging way, and standout ‘Zipper Merge’ follows a rich tradition of American love songs set in cars. The sound is tight and punchy without sounding too ‘studio’ producers Porter and drummer Gabriel Doman have gone light on the fairy dust. New bassist Bob Moulton needs a shout, too, for filling the white loafers of Patty ‘Two Shoes’ O’Harris ably.
It isn’t all zingers. ‘Downriver’ drinks from the Neil Young/Creedence trough a little too deeply, guitar solo and all, showing the band’s ambition and willingness to stretch out doesn’t always come off. There are a couple of other tunes that clearly have go-forward but lack spark on the other side of the speakers. This is nitpicking, though, and for an album created in 2020, it’s welcome relief from the social media-obsessed, over-polished guff that masquerades as rock’n’roll these days.
Candy Coated Cannonball is available on bandcamp and the band’s online store from Friday 22nd January. Lead single ‘Dead Ringer’ is out now.
What does it all *mean*?
Rock’n’roll doesn’t need to be dumb, but it doesn’t have to put on airs either. Sometimes you just want songs like these to tell you a story and put a spring in your heels.
Goes well with…
Wistfully wishing there was live music in the world.
Release Date:
22/1/2021
Might suit people who like…
The Replacements, The Hold Steady, Jesse Malin
19/01/2021 by TrypF
What does it sound like?:
There’s a kind of music that falls through the cracks of traditional rock-journo classification. Somewhere in the middle of a Venn diagram of punk, traditional rock’n’roll, garage rock and Americana, it’s best enjoyed in a cosy bar room – small enough to appreciate witty lyrics, loud enough to feel the vibes. I’ve written on this site before about the difference between British and US bands in this regard – we do punk well over here, but veer away from its full-throttle dogma and you frequently get into leather-waistcoated pub-rock territory these days. In the States, it’s a rich tradition perfected by the Replacements and best imported over here in the 70s by Chrissie Hynde.
I’ve been following the career of Jeremy Porter and the Tucos since I caught their show at The Islington two summers ago, reviewed on these pages in October 2018. It cheered my old heart to see a US band who played this kind of rock and roll, less fussy than many of their trendier peers but smarter and sharper than either the punk or trad-rock acts they share their venues with. Their fourth album proper finds them at home in the States, sadly unable to tour the places their music shines brightest. Like so many performers, without shows to showcase the new tunes and sell the CDs, it’ll be tougher market for them this time round.
Opener ‘Put You on Hold’ kicks us off at a fair old lick, the fuzzed-out guitars (and vocals) recalling the Stooges or MC5, plus a neat sprinkling of Mysterians-style Farfisa organ. From this, music Sherlocks can hazard a guess the Tucos are from Michigan (and they’d be right) but this song sells you a dummy – we’re not getting forty minutes of Bay Area proto-punk. Candy Coated Cannonball has more swing in most of its other songs, plus some other surprises.
‘The Things All Men Do’ is a prime example of the album’s more eclectic fare – it starts with a shimmery Cooder-ish intro before breaking into a swaggering rocker, then wrapping up with a mariachi-style trumpet solo. ‘October Girls’ is a highlight tucked away in the last-but-one slot, a beautiful voice-and-guitar ditty about inadvisable relationships when the weather gets cold. As well as the less familiar sounds, there’s more traditional stuff for those that know Mr Porter’s work. There are a couple of crackers that I’d love to see live: ‘Upward Trend’ and closing anthem ‘Girls named Erica’ rock out in the accustomed swinging way, and standout ‘Zipper Merge’ follows a rich tradition of American love songs set in cars. The sound is tight and punchy without sounding too ‘studio’ producers Porter and drummer Gabriel Doman have gone light on the fairy dust. New bassist Bob Moulton needs a shout, too, for filling the white loafers of Patty ‘Two Shoes’ O’Harris ably.
It isn’t all zingers. ‘Downriver’ drinks from the Neil Young/Creedence trough a little too deeply, guitar solo and all, showing the band’s ambition and willingness to stretch out doesn’t always come off. There are a couple of other tunes that clearly have go-forward but lack spark on the other side of the speakers. This is nitpicking, though, and for an album created in 2020, it’s welcome relief from the social media-obsessed, over-polished guff that masquerades as rock’n’roll these days.
Candy Coated Cannonball is available on bandcamp and the band’s online store from Friday 22nd January. Lead single ‘Dead Ringer’ is out now.
What does it all *mean*?
Rock’n’roll doesn’t need to be dumb, but it doesn’t have to put on airs either. Sometimes you just want songs like these to tell you a story and put a spring in your heels.
Goes well with…
Wistfully wishing there was live music in the world.
Release Date:
22/1/2021
Might suit people who like…
The Replacements, The Hold Steady, Jesse Malin
Off Shelf (Dayton, OH)
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos recorded this record in March of 2020 at a converted 1895 church before the world changed. I have to say at the outset that the chorus will stick with you for days and days and you will be unable to avoid it. You will find yourself singing along “She’s a dead ringer for a pop singer, I fell in love with on a record sleeve, she’s a dead ringer for a pop singer I fell in love with on TV.” Singing with a Westerbergian exasperation that is evocative and attentive, Jeremy Porter provides a gravity that is undeniable in his expressive voice. Porter sounds like a mix between Jeff Tweedy of Wilco and the aforementioned Paul Westerberg. The arrangement of the tune is direct and unassuming which serves it quite well. There is no need for unnecessary frills and extras – the guitar, bass and drums hold this catchy record together extraordinarily well. Also, recommend ‘Put You on Hold’, ‘What Could Be in That Box’ and ‘October Girls’.
The Pit (National)
Music News: JP & The Tucos Release New Album “Candy Coated Cannonball
JP and The Tucos Feature the DIY video “Dead Ringer”
January 30, 2021
External Link
JP & The Tucos fourth album “Candy Coated Cannonball” is available now on GTG Records and road support will begin as soon as it’s safe to travel and congregate again. Check out “Dead Ringer” the DIY lyric video from our new album – Candy Coated Cannonball!
JP and The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You’ll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It’s Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn’t quite ready for it.
Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small town in Michigan’s upper peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP’s first punk bands – The Regulars. He moved to Detroit and tore through the 90s and 00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych (as well as a solo stint) through 2 decades of recording and touring before forming The Tucos in 2009. Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Bob Moulton (Cactusk) round out the trio.
JP and The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You’ll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It’s Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn’t quite ready for it.
Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small town in Michigan’s upper peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP’s first punk bands – The Regulars. He moved to Detroit and tore through the 90s and 00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych (as well as a solo stint) through 2 decades of recording and touring before forming The Tucos in 2009. Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Bob Moulton (Cactusk) round out the trio.
Americana UK (United Kingdom)
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos “Candy Coated Cannonball”
Power pop for teenagers played, really well, by their dads.
February 02, 2021
External Link
Opening with a rock and roll riff, and a Farfisa organ, ‘Put You On Hold’ is a solid slab of early sixties garage rock. However, it is country-tinged power pop that dominates ‘Candy Coated Cannonball’ by Jeremy Porter and the Tucos. Porter seems to have a good touch with a pop-rock song like ‘Dead Ringer’ about a girl who is a “Dead ringer, For a pop singer, I fell in love with on a record sleeve”. It’s lightweight, throwaway, bubble-gum pop produced with some panache; but there is little in the way of the influences the group cite from Uncle Tupelo and Gram Parsons through X to Husker Du and Cheap Trick. Unfortunately.
There are a few diversions into more interesting territory. ‘The Things All Men Do’ takes a slightly different direction, driven by heavier guitar riffs and picking up a trace of menace and, bizarrely, some mariachi horns. This then leads into the country-rock ballad ‘Downriver Song’ which chronicles the erosion of jobs and descent into terminal decline, possibly of small-town America. Although it could equally be an elegy for their economically destroyed home city of Detroit.
Porter previously played in local punk bands before moving into this power-pop style and there seems little of that left in the mix. Although the Stones can pull off a song called ‘Some Girls’ Porter really doesn’t have the swagger for ‘Girls Named Erica’, who it turns out “can be so boring”.
I am left with the impression that here we have some solid teenage rock and roll played by a band who might have developed a more complex and thoughtful approach, but have just become very good at what they do: good time power pop, with big riffs and poppy tunes. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
5/10
There are a few diversions into more interesting territory. ‘The Things All Men Do’ takes a slightly different direction, driven by heavier guitar riffs and picking up a trace of menace and, bizarrely, some mariachi horns. This then leads into the country-rock ballad ‘Downriver Song’ which chronicles the erosion of jobs and descent into terminal decline, possibly of small-town America. Although it could equally be an elegy for their economically destroyed home city of Detroit.
Porter previously played in local punk bands before moving into this power-pop style and there seems little of that left in the mix. Although the Stones can pull off a song called ‘Some Girls’ Porter really doesn’t have the swagger for ‘Girls Named Erica’, who it turns out “can be so boring”.
I am left with the impression that here we have some solid teenage rock and roll played by a band who might have developed a more complex and thoughtful approach, but have just become very good at what they do: good time power pop, with big riffs and poppy tunes. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
5/10
The Pit (National)
Record Review of JP and The Tucos’s “Candy Coated Cannoball” – “Sloppy” Joe Lyons
February 04, 2021 External Link
February 04, 2021 External Link
So, JP and The Tucos were nice enough to send me a digital copy of “Candy Coated Cannonball.” Admittedly, growing up with punk, thrash, and heavy rock, I was not prepared to enjoy this record. But, it is good! The record won’t crush your soul or bring ear-piercing, screaming heavy metal. What it will bring is a fun record to listen to. After I gave the first run while I was working a number of the songs had me tapping my toes. They sounded really catchy. I listened to it again, this time I paid attention. I like this record. The music is catchy. The vocals are easy to listen to and you want to sing along. The record is available in its physical copies, but digital is also available. I would recommend giving it a solid listen and then run out and buy it. You will be surprised how good it is.
Dagger Zine (National)
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos- Candy Coated Cannonball (GTG Records)
February 06, 2021 External Link
February 06, 2021 External Link
Michigan’s most underrated songwriter, Jeremy Porter, is back with his trusty Tucos sidekicks Gabriel Doman on drums and Bob Moulton on bass). Right from the get go you wonder if they completely changed things up as opening cut “Put You On Hold” with it searing farfisa is staight-up 60’s garage rock (with some Stooges kick in there as well). That style really suits the band but by the next cut, “Dead Ringer” Porter is back to his ragged and lovely tunes. Having said that you really can’t pigeonhole these guys as they do so many things well . “Upward Trend” is pretty much a straight-ahead rock/pop number and “Downriver Song” sounds like Son Volt on a bender and “October Girls” takes it all down by the river complete with acoustic guitars and a wounded soul. It all ends with the soaring rawk of “Girls Named Erica” which ends the record on a most righteous note. I’ve said it before but this band is too good to be so damned unknown. If you’ve ever seen the bottom of a glass while listening to Hootenanny then these guy just might be up your alley. Not might they will.
P3DRO (United Kingdom)
13 Questions with Jeremy Porter and the Tucos – The Best Eggs answer we’ve had so far. Also, songwriters as poets.
With a back catalogue of more than 50 albums and EPs with his various bands, Jeremy Porter is nothing, if not prolific. His latest band, The Tucos, have just released their fourth album this year. We thought it was time for a quiz.
February 22, 2021
External Link
Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small city on the shore of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP’s first punk bands – The Regulars. After moving to the Detroit area in 1988, he would go on to join, form and front several bands including Chutes and Ladders, SlugBug, Clashback, Fidrych and The OffRamps.
Porter then released and toured behind a solo album in 2009 called Party of One and formed Jeremy Porter and The Tucos the following year. The Tucos have released 3 LP/CDs, a live EP, and several singles.
Porter says The Tucos “sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. The racket they make is Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn’t quite ready for it”.
The Tucos fourth album Candy Coated Cannonball was released in January 2021.
It’s a classy mix of punk infused rock ‘n’ roll that does pretty much as described, albeit more Cannonball than Candy Coated. Give it a spin at the link below.
We fired off our 13 Questions to JP. Here’s how it went:
1. Where are you and what are you doing?
Hey P3DRO! I’m just outside of Detroit, USA, in a city called Plymouth, Michigan watching it snow outside, strumming on an acoustic guitar, and patiently waiting for the deluxe edition of ‘Black Sabbath Vol. 4’ to arrive via UPS. It’s late because of the snow.
2. What is your favourite view?
Hmm, Mount Royal in Montréal, Hogback Mountain in Marquette, Michigan, and the view from the stage at PJ’s Lager House in Detroit.
3. What is your favourite swear word and why?
That’s a tough one. I’m terribly profane. I use the F-word too much, and Goddamnit is probably a close second, but my favourite might be shitbag because it seems like a perfectly economical way to describe the kind of person who breeds negativity, agitation, hate, and fear.
4. What was the first record / cd you bought with your own money?
KISS – Alive! Double LP at Record Town or something, Fashion Square Mall, Saginaw, Michigan, 1978 or so.
5. Marmite. Yes, or no?
Well. I’m not against it, but it’s not really a thing in The States. I’ll try anything once and most things twice if you put it in front of me. When we were on tour in Texas between shows in Dallas and Houston a few years back I tried Cajun-flavoured dried crickets, and if I’m honest, I didn’t love them, so I’d give Marmite a go, sure.
6. If you could go to a gig right now, anywhere in the world, which band would you see? And in which venue?
Another tough one. I’m dying to do any sort of travel, so I could say something grandiose like seeing McCartney in London or Iron Maiden in Brazil, but I’d be over the moon just to see some friends play in a dive bar anywhere within a few hours too. I’ve never seen a Beatle though, and time is precious, so let’s go with Paul McCartney.
7. Who are your musical influences?
As a songwriter, Westerberg is always mentioned. Love Gram Parsons, The Beatles, Bob Mould, early 70s Stones. Shane MacGowan and Tom Waits are amazing poets, and for guitar let’s say Joe Strummer, Bob Mould, Keith Richards and Pete Townsend.
8. How do you like your eggs?
I make a hell of a Sicilian Omelette (Detroit Style) – 2 eggs with a splash of milk whisked up but not over-mixed. Set aside. Heat up with some olive oil and cook up some chopped bell and yellow banana peppers, hot Italian sausage, yellow and green onions, add some mushroom if you have `em, and some baby spinach. Cook just enough to wilt the spinach and heat up the peppers. Remove the guts and add the eggs to the pan, add a bit of salt and pepper, let them cook into a big circle and flip `em when it’s safe, add the guts over half and a good dose of thick-cut mozzarella cheese and fold it over. After a couple minutes flip it one last time. Add a bit of hot sauce over the omelette then top with Detroit Coney-style chili (ground beef but no beans) and a bit more cheese if you want. Serve with a piece of peanut butter toast on the side. Bon Appétit!
9. Tell us something we don’t know.
Did you know that three members of Cheap Trick recorded a version of ‘I’m Losing You’ with John Lennon in 1980 during the ‘Double Fantasy’ sessions? That version didn’t make the record, but it came out on a box set years later. It’s super great. Bun E. Carlos and Tom Petersson smoked a joint with Lennon, but Rick Nielsen passed on it, and he regrets it.
10. Which city do you recommend we visit – and why?
Easy one – Detroit! We’re proud ambassadors of this city and it’s very misunderstood around the world. There’s great food, culture, history, sports, shopping and nightlife here. The people are welcoming and it’s a wonderful place. Like any city, there are issues, some are deep-rooted, but I’ll make sure you hit the right spots.
11. What’s your drink of choice?
Rye whiskey over ice. Milk is second.
12. What band or album do you think we should check out right now?
Besides our new one (Jeremy Porter and The Tucos – ‘Candy Coated Cannonball’ – GTG Records), I love the new Lucero record.
From 2020 my favs were Drive-By Truckers – ‘The Unraveling‘, Lydia Loveless – ‘Daughter’ and Country Westerns‘ self titled debut.
NP Presley and The Ghost of Jesse Garon from Lexington, KY put out a hell of a record in 2020. The new Steve Earle record, which is all songs his son (who recently passed away) wrote, is going to be something. I’ve been listening to a band from Minneapolis called High on Stress – great songs, production, and musicianship.
So much great new music out there.
13. Do you have anything else to declare?
I declare that rock and roll is not dead, though it’s taking a hell of a beating.
Support your favourite bands – especially the indie ones who don’t sell in major numbers and can’t tour. Buy a record or a shirt, watch a live-stream and donate to their PayPal or Venmo, tell your friends.
And for fuck’s sake, when things open up – go to some shows! We’ll get through this, but it’s been a bitch, hasn’t it?
And try that omelette! xx
Lead image – credit – David Kellogg
Porter then released and toured behind a solo album in 2009 called Party of One and formed Jeremy Porter and The Tucos the following year. The Tucos have released 3 LP/CDs, a live EP, and several singles.
Porter says The Tucos “sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. The racket they make is Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn’t quite ready for it”.
The Tucos fourth album Candy Coated Cannonball was released in January 2021.
It’s a classy mix of punk infused rock ‘n’ roll that does pretty much as described, albeit more Cannonball than Candy Coated. Give it a spin at the link below.
We fired off our 13 Questions to JP. Here’s how it went:
1. Where are you and what are you doing?
Hey P3DRO! I’m just outside of Detroit, USA, in a city called Plymouth, Michigan watching it snow outside, strumming on an acoustic guitar, and patiently waiting for the deluxe edition of ‘Black Sabbath Vol. 4’ to arrive via UPS. It’s late because of the snow.
2. What is your favourite view?
Hmm, Mount Royal in Montréal, Hogback Mountain in Marquette, Michigan, and the view from the stage at PJ’s Lager House in Detroit.
3. What is your favourite swear word and why?
That’s a tough one. I’m terribly profane. I use the F-word too much, and Goddamnit is probably a close second, but my favourite might be shitbag because it seems like a perfectly economical way to describe the kind of person who breeds negativity, agitation, hate, and fear.
4. What was the first record / cd you bought with your own money?
KISS – Alive! Double LP at Record Town or something, Fashion Square Mall, Saginaw, Michigan, 1978 or so.
5. Marmite. Yes, or no?
Well. I’m not against it, but it’s not really a thing in The States. I’ll try anything once and most things twice if you put it in front of me. When we were on tour in Texas between shows in Dallas and Houston a few years back I tried Cajun-flavoured dried crickets, and if I’m honest, I didn’t love them, so I’d give Marmite a go, sure.
6. If you could go to a gig right now, anywhere in the world, which band would you see? And in which venue?
Another tough one. I’m dying to do any sort of travel, so I could say something grandiose like seeing McCartney in London or Iron Maiden in Brazil, but I’d be over the moon just to see some friends play in a dive bar anywhere within a few hours too. I’ve never seen a Beatle though, and time is precious, so let’s go with Paul McCartney.
7. Who are your musical influences?
As a songwriter, Westerberg is always mentioned. Love Gram Parsons, The Beatles, Bob Mould, early 70s Stones. Shane MacGowan and Tom Waits are amazing poets, and for guitar let’s say Joe Strummer, Bob Mould, Keith Richards and Pete Townsend.
8. How do you like your eggs?
I make a hell of a Sicilian Omelette (Detroit Style) – 2 eggs with a splash of milk whisked up but not over-mixed. Set aside. Heat up with some olive oil and cook up some chopped bell and yellow banana peppers, hot Italian sausage, yellow and green onions, add some mushroom if you have `em, and some baby spinach. Cook just enough to wilt the spinach and heat up the peppers. Remove the guts and add the eggs to the pan, add a bit of salt and pepper, let them cook into a big circle and flip `em when it’s safe, add the guts over half and a good dose of thick-cut mozzarella cheese and fold it over. After a couple minutes flip it one last time. Add a bit of hot sauce over the omelette then top with Detroit Coney-style chili (ground beef but no beans) and a bit more cheese if you want. Serve with a piece of peanut butter toast on the side. Bon Appétit!
9. Tell us something we don’t know.
Did you know that three members of Cheap Trick recorded a version of ‘I’m Losing You’ with John Lennon in 1980 during the ‘Double Fantasy’ sessions? That version didn’t make the record, but it came out on a box set years later. It’s super great. Bun E. Carlos and Tom Petersson smoked a joint with Lennon, but Rick Nielsen passed on it, and he regrets it.
10. Which city do you recommend we visit – and why?
Easy one – Detroit! We’re proud ambassadors of this city and it’s very misunderstood around the world. There’s great food, culture, history, sports, shopping and nightlife here. The people are welcoming and it’s a wonderful place. Like any city, there are issues, some are deep-rooted, but I’ll make sure you hit the right spots.
11. What’s your drink of choice?
Rye whiskey over ice. Milk is second.
12. What band or album do you think we should check out right now?
Besides our new one (Jeremy Porter and The Tucos – ‘Candy Coated Cannonball’ – GTG Records), I love the new Lucero record.
From 2020 my favs were Drive-By Truckers – ‘The Unraveling‘, Lydia Loveless – ‘Daughter’ and Country Westerns‘ self titled debut.
NP Presley and The Ghost of Jesse Garon from Lexington, KY put out a hell of a record in 2020. The new Steve Earle record, which is all songs his son (who recently passed away) wrote, is going to be something. I’ve been listening to a band from Minneapolis called High on Stress – great songs, production, and musicianship.
So much great new music out there.
13. Do you have anything else to declare?
I declare that rock and roll is not dead, though it’s taking a hell of a beating.
Support your favourite bands – especially the indie ones who don’t sell in major numbers and can’t tour. Buy a record or a shirt, watch a live-stream and donate to their PayPal or Venmo, tell your friends.
And for fuck’s sake, when things open up – go to some shows! We’ll get through this, but it’s been a bitch, hasn’t it?
And try that omelette! xx
Lead image – credit – David Kellogg
The Rock (Plymouth, MI)
The Rock - Plymouth Michigan Lifestyle & Culture Magazine
Porter Takes Aim At Pandemic With Candy Coated Cannonball
March 01, 2021
External Link
By Kevin Brown
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos are ready for new adventures on the road, as soon as Covid-19 takes an off-ramp.
“Candy Coated Cannonball” is the new record from the Detroit Music Awards-nominated powerpop band. It is led by Porter, a veteran Plymouth roots-rock singer-songwriter-guitarist. The 11-song LP was recorded just prior to the pandemic. In January, it was released digitally and on vinyl and CD.
Key songs include the fun and catchy “Dead Ringer”.
“She’s a dead ringer for a pop singer I fell in love with on a record sleeve.”
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos songs would fit on a playlist with Tom Petty, Green Day and Foo Fighters. The band also has an alt-country bent, as Porter loves him some Gram Parsons and Merle Haggard.
“Take the hooks from your favorite Cheap Trick record, the dark humor from a Tom Waits ballad, and soak it in a puddle of beer next to Paul Westerberg’s amp and you might have something resembling a description of Jeremy’s sound,” a Nashville, TN reviewer once wrote. “For those who still appreciate honest rock, this is one of America’s best examples of pure talent and hard work,” wrote Jersey Beat. The name Tucos comes from Eli Wallach’s character in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”
ORIGIN STORY
Bassist Bob Moulton’s initiation to the band came at the start of a 2019 tour, at the Preservation Pub in Knoxville, Tennessee. “Mid song, Jeremy leaps off the stage and down into the crowd, launching into a guitar solo without missing a beat. I remember looking back at Gabriel (Doman, drums) and holding my breath a bit before smiling. I was relieved he didn’t kill himself and was blown away by the solo,” Moulton said.
Porter was raised in Alpena. “I grew up in a musical household, my mom played piano and she had an acoustic guitar,” he said. When he was grounded all summer after seventh grade – for egging the house of the junior vice principal – “I got that guitar and haven’t put it down since.”
It was the early ‘80s. “My Aunt Lori would babysit, and she had a Who songbook with music. I was already way into KISS, Cheap Trick and The Knack.” Porter said. He learned chords and how to play.
The family moved to Marquette in fall 1984. “It was still a small town but a lot bigger than Alpena. After a few months I met a couple of guys,” he said. They formed a band called The Regulars. It was one of the UP’s first punk bands, playing the Dead Kennedys, Velvet Underground and The Monkees. Their first show was for a senior party outdoors. “It was terrifying. We had really bad stage fright, and the mosquitoes were terrible. But it was a real PA (sound system) and lights.”
Porter moved to Ypsilanti in fall 1988 and earned a B.S. degree from Eastern Michigan University. “I wanted to play in bands and be in the city,” he said. He tried out for one named Chutes and Ladders. When the lead singer left soon after, Porter took over the microphone. “From that point on, I’ve been the lead singer in every band I’ve been in.”
He also discovered the value of songwriting. “I knew if I was ever going to do anything in music it wasn’t going to be doing cover songs. I’m pretty fortunate that I write a lot of songs.” The Tucos touring cycle begins with Porter writing a new record. “Every couple of years I’ll write 30, show the band 20, record about 15 and release about 10. I let the good stuff flow to the top.”
NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS
Hitting the road is a blast. It’s also a bore. “I think everyone thinks you’re living in a Van Halen video. But it’s a lot of work, a lot of waiting to play, and a lot of travel. It’s like a Groundhog Day thing,” Porter said. The band does roughly 50 shows a year, heading out for long weekends and some twoweek tour stretches. Lexington, Kentucky is among the most welcoming. A Bluegrass State crowd fave is Porter’s song “Hey Kentucky,” with its sing-along ending.
Porter once shared a bill with Green Day. It was at a house party on Grosse Isle, in the early 90s. “It was after their first album; we were really into them. They were super friendly. They smelled horrible,” Porter recalled. He played front man Billy Joe Armstrong’s guitar at the performance, on the back deck of a house. “We had them open the show. It was in a neighborhood and there was the fear the cops were going to come and close it down.”
While Porter and the group have toured throughout the U.S. and Canada, he said a UK tour in October 2018 was special: Nine shows in nine nights, including two in London and one at a festival in Wales. “The last show was in a small town called Workington, way north, just south of the Scotland border. It was a sort of mini fest at this little rock bar. We partied hard into the night with everyone there.”
On one tour, Porter shot and posted a photo of a restroom where the band performed. Since, Porter’s become known for restroom posts, snapped at successive venues. He’s collected them in a book and hopes to find an interested publisher.
Happy bandmates, Porter said, is a key to touring. “You have to be aligned in your commitment and ambitions. They have to be good people.” Both Moulton and Doman add harmonies. The band has posted a video of “Dead Ringer” to YouTube to promote the new album. Past video locations have included Kellogg Park, the Plymouth Coffee Bean Co and local pubs.
Porter does the odd solo tour. He topped the bill in 2019 at the Farm City Festival in Danville, Kentucky. It was staged on a goat farm. “It was dark; I could see horns moving,” he said.
COPING WITH COVID
After wrapping “Candy Coated Cannonball” in early March, the band played its last live show before the shutdown in March 2020. “We lost over 25 tour dates across the U.S. and Canada in 2020, so it was devastating.” Porter kept busy by posting solo videos in response to song requests. The band got into mixing and mastering their new record.
Porter met wife Noreen when he was 19. His day job is managing a web applications team for an automotive supplier. She works in electronic health care and medical record systems. They have lived in Plymouth 25 years.
“I love being home, hanging with my wife, doing our thing -- listening to records, cooking great food, strumming a guitar on the front porch, and I miss the occasional family or friends get-together, but it’s really the lack of playing rock and roll that is killing me,” he said. In October, Porter took a week off to hole up in a Wisconsin cabin and write songs for the next record.
LOVING PLYMOUTH
The couple enjoys shopping at Westborn Market, a beer and burger at Stella’s Black Dog Tavern, and downtown in general. Porter has another reason for loving the city: “I had a couple packages stolen off my porch. My neighbors saw it, and actually followed the guy in his car and called police. They were there in 90 seconds. That doesn’t happen everywhere,” he said.
For more information about Jeremy Porter and the Tucos and “Candy Coated Cannonball” visit tucos.com.
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos are ready for new adventures on the road, as soon as Covid-19 takes an off-ramp.
“Candy Coated Cannonball” is the new record from the Detroit Music Awards-nominated powerpop band. It is led by Porter, a veteran Plymouth roots-rock singer-songwriter-guitarist. The 11-song LP was recorded just prior to the pandemic. In January, it was released digitally and on vinyl and CD.
Key songs include the fun and catchy “Dead Ringer”.
“She’s a dead ringer for a pop singer I fell in love with on a record sleeve.”
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos songs would fit on a playlist with Tom Petty, Green Day and Foo Fighters. The band also has an alt-country bent, as Porter loves him some Gram Parsons and Merle Haggard.
“Take the hooks from your favorite Cheap Trick record, the dark humor from a Tom Waits ballad, and soak it in a puddle of beer next to Paul Westerberg’s amp and you might have something resembling a description of Jeremy’s sound,” a Nashville, TN reviewer once wrote. “For those who still appreciate honest rock, this is one of America’s best examples of pure talent and hard work,” wrote Jersey Beat. The name Tucos comes from Eli Wallach’s character in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”
ORIGIN STORY
Bassist Bob Moulton’s initiation to the band came at the start of a 2019 tour, at the Preservation Pub in Knoxville, Tennessee. “Mid song, Jeremy leaps off the stage and down into the crowd, launching into a guitar solo without missing a beat. I remember looking back at Gabriel (Doman, drums) and holding my breath a bit before smiling. I was relieved he didn’t kill himself and was blown away by the solo,” Moulton said.
Porter was raised in Alpena. “I grew up in a musical household, my mom played piano and she had an acoustic guitar,” he said. When he was grounded all summer after seventh grade – for egging the house of the junior vice principal – “I got that guitar and haven’t put it down since.”
It was the early ‘80s. “My Aunt Lori would babysit, and she had a Who songbook with music. I was already way into KISS, Cheap Trick and The Knack.” Porter said. He learned chords and how to play.
The family moved to Marquette in fall 1984. “It was still a small town but a lot bigger than Alpena. After a few months I met a couple of guys,” he said. They formed a band called The Regulars. It was one of the UP’s first punk bands, playing the Dead Kennedys, Velvet Underground and The Monkees. Their first show was for a senior party outdoors. “It was terrifying. We had really bad stage fright, and the mosquitoes were terrible. But it was a real PA (sound system) and lights.”
Porter moved to Ypsilanti in fall 1988 and earned a B.S. degree from Eastern Michigan University. “I wanted to play in bands and be in the city,” he said. He tried out for one named Chutes and Ladders. When the lead singer left soon after, Porter took over the microphone. “From that point on, I’ve been the lead singer in every band I’ve been in.”
He also discovered the value of songwriting. “I knew if I was ever going to do anything in music it wasn’t going to be doing cover songs. I’m pretty fortunate that I write a lot of songs.” The Tucos touring cycle begins with Porter writing a new record. “Every couple of years I’ll write 30, show the band 20, record about 15 and release about 10. I let the good stuff flow to the top.”
NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS
Hitting the road is a blast. It’s also a bore. “I think everyone thinks you’re living in a Van Halen video. But it’s a lot of work, a lot of waiting to play, and a lot of travel. It’s like a Groundhog Day thing,” Porter said. The band does roughly 50 shows a year, heading out for long weekends and some twoweek tour stretches. Lexington, Kentucky is among the most welcoming. A Bluegrass State crowd fave is Porter’s song “Hey Kentucky,” with its sing-along ending.
Porter once shared a bill with Green Day. It was at a house party on Grosse Isle, in the early 90s. “It was after their first album; we were really into them. They were super friendly. They smelled horrible,” Porter recalled. He played front man Billy Joe Armstrong’s guitar at the performance, on the back deck of a house. “We had them open the show. It was in a neighborhood and there was the fear the cops were going to come and close it down.”
While Porter and the group have toured throughout the U.S. and Canada, he said a UK tour in October 2018 was special: Nine shows in nine nights, including two in London and one at a festival in Wales. “The last show was in a small town called Workington, way north, just south of the Scotland border. It was a sort of mini fest at this little rock bar. We partied hard into the night with everyone there.”
On one tour, Porter shot and posted a photo of a restroom where the band performed. Since, Porter’s become known for restroom posts, snapped at successive venues. He’s collected them in a book and hopes to find an interested publisher.
Happy bandmates, Porter said, is a key to touring. “You have to be aligned in your commitment and ambitions. They have to be good people.” Both Moulton and Doman add harmonies. The band has posted a video of “Dead Ringer” to YouTube to promote the new album. Past video locations have included Kellogg Park, the Plymouth Coffee Bean Co and local pubs.
Porter does the odd solo tour. He topped the bill in 2019 at the Farm City Festival in Danville, Kentucky. It was staged on a goat farm. “It was dark; I could see horns moving,” he said.
COPING WITH COVID
After wrapping “Candy Coated Cannonball” in early March, the band played its last live show before the shutdown in March 2020. “We lost over 25 tour dates across the U.S. and Canada in 2020, so it was devastating.” Porter kept busy by posting solo videos in response to song requests. The band got into mixing and mastering their new record.
Porter met wife Noreen when he was 19. His day job is managing a web applications team for an automotive supplier. She works in electronic health care and medical record systems. They have lived in Plymouth 25 years.
“I love being home, hanging with my wife, doing our thing -- listening to records, cooking great food, strumming a guitar on the front porch, and I miss the occasional family or friends get-together, but it’s really the lack of playing rock and roll that is killing me,” he said. In October, Porter took a week off to hole up in a Wisconsin cabin and write songs for the next record.
LOVING PLYMOUTH
The couple enjoys shopping at Westborn Market, a beer and burger at Stella’s Black Dog Tavern, and downtown in general. Porter has another reason for loving the city: “I had a couple packages stolen off my porch. My neighbors saw it, and actually followed the guy in his car and called police. They were there in 90 seconds. That doesn’t happen everywhere,” he said.
For more information about Jeremy Porter and the Tucos and “Candy Coated Cannonball” visit tucos.com.
Tinnitist (Canada)
Now Hear This: Jeremy Porter & The Tucos | Candy Coated Cannonball
I'm getting caught up on the good albums that have come out lately. Like this one.
March 10, 2021
External Link
Darryl Sterdan
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “This is an 11-song slab of the kind of righteous rock and roll that we all desperately need right now. Great riffs, catchy choruses, simultaneously slacker-y and polished, hints of Americana, Cheap Trick moments, Lemonheads echoes, and literal references to both Minutemen and Big Star.”
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “This is an 11-song slab of the kind of righteous rock and roll that we all desperately need right now. Great riffs, catchy choruses, simultaneously slacker-y and polished, hints of Americana, Cheap Trick moments, Lemonheads echoes, and literal references to both Minutemen and Big Star.”
Under the Tangerine Tree (English) (Italy)
Disc of the Day: Jeremy Porter and The Tucos "Candy Coated
Cannonball" (2021 - GTG Records)
March 20, 2021 External Link
March 20, 2021 External Link
The queue of winter is making the imminent arrival of spring pay dearly, and the icy wind with which it is sweeping its last days recalls the sacking of cities perpetrated by the army en route during the retreat. Better to close at home in front of the stereo, therefore, also because in a strict lockdown regime there are not many alternatives. Among the few, listening to new records is certainly among the best options, and Jeremy Porter's latest work And The Tucos was sent by providence to save the weekend.
In an era whose beginning is now lost in the remote memory marked by the persistent absence of live shows, "Candy Coated Cannonball" is a well-deserved cure-all. The press kit combined with the disc, citing its influences, speaks of classic American power pop between Cheap Trick and Plimsouls, of roots rock of Parsons-Tweedy heritage, of punk son of the X and certainly rockabilly. We can find agreement, more or less, but the sensitivities of each are not questionable. Certainly the group knows how to do many things, first of all accelerating and decelerating with wisdom, rattling with sharp riffs and insolent voices a moment before; seducing with long acoustic ballads a second later. Just like the best groups that frequented your favorite troughs in the good old days, returning to the consideration of a little while ago.
In the various repertoire exhibited there are above all two souls that stand out: the electric and aggressively melodic debtor of Robin Zander, Paul Westerberg and Evan Dando and the calm and songwriting one, often inlaid with elements taken from the alt.country vocabulary that Porter knows how to handle very well. Together with the Tucos - currently Bob Moulton on bass and Gabriel Doman on drums - Jeremy opens fire with Put You On Hold, an episode that honors Detroit, the trio's hometown, and its proverbial sound. Defined by a competent Farfisa, the song is made of intense garage'n'roll and tastes of Stooges, in fact, of those intent on eating a dose of speed more conspicuous than normal.
The next step is Dead Ringer, who seems to be a mid-tempo of the Replacements and makes the symptomatic chorus a real boast ("She's a dead ringer for a pop singer i fell in love with on a record sleeve - applause), but the best comes later: Upward Trend and What Could Be In That Box are full of references to the classic book of American power pop above, while Downriver Song, October Girls and above all the wonderful Zipper Merge demonstrate Porter's natural propensity for handling the best popicana in the house. Not being able to do without it, we also point out the precious and chanting interlude History Lesson, Part III, another peep by Paul Westerberg in Stunned and the incisive closure delegated to Girls Named Erica, during which muscle by Cheap Trick blends with a shrewd Lemonheads-flavored songwriting.
There isn't much more we can add to define the record of the day even more precisely. "Candy Coated Cannonball", at times running, at others strolling meditatively, ends up being simply a good American rock record, able to draw from tradition avoiding that it becomes an insurmountable dogma. The posters in the bedroom, then, are the right ones.
In an era whose beginning is now lost in the remote memory marked by the persistent absence of live shows, "Candy Coated Cannonball" is a well-deserved cure-all. The press kit combined with the disc, citing its influences, speaks of classic American power pop between Cheap Trick and Plimsouls, of roots rock of Parsons-Tweedy heritage, of punk son of the X and certainly rockabilly. We can find agreement, more or less, but the sensitivities of each are not questionable. Certainly the group knows how to do many things, first of all accelerating and decelerating with wisdom, rattling with sharp riffs and insolent voices a moment before; seducing with long acoustic ballads a second later. Just like the best groups that frequented your favorite troughs in the good old days, returning to the consideration of a little while ago.
In the various repertoire exhibited there are above all two souls that stand out: the electric and aggressively melodic debtor of Robin Zander, Paul Westerberg and Evan Dando and the calm and songwriting one, often inlaid with elements taken from the alt.country vocabulary that Porter knows how to handle very well. Together with the Tucos - currently Bob Moulton on bass and Gabriel Doman on drums - Jeremy opens fire with Put You On Hold, an episode that honors Detroit, the trio's hometown, and its proverbial sound. Defined by a competent Farfisa, the song is made of intense garage'n'roll and tastes of Stooges, in fact, of those intent on eating a dose of speed more conspicuous than normal.
The next step is Dead Ringer, who seems to be a mid-tempo of the Replacements and makes the symptomatic chorus a real boast ("She's a dead ringer for a pop singer i fell in love with on a record sleeve - applause), but the best comes later: Upward Trend and What Could Be In That Box are full of references to the classic book of American power pop above, while Downriver Song, October Girls and above all the wonderful Zipper Merge demonstrate Porter's natural propensity for handling the best popicana in the house. Not being able to do without it, we also point out the precious and chanting interlude History Lesson, Part III, another peep by Paul Westerberg in Stunned and the incisive closure delegated to Girls Named Erica, during which muscle by Cheap Trick blends with a shrewd Lemonheads-flavored songwriting.
There isn't much more we can add to define the record of the day even more precisely. "Candy Coated Cannonball", at times running, at others strolling meditatively, ends up being simply a good American rock record, able to draw from tradition avoiding that it becomes an insurmountable dogma. The posters in the bedroom, then, are the right ones.
Twangri-La (National)
Jeremy Porter And The Tucos: Candy Coated Cannonball
Reviewed by Harry Kaplan
March 22, 2021
External Link
Most people, when they think of a state that produces a lot of popular musicians, would mention states like New York or California. It’s time to rethink that. I am going to throw Michigan in the mix. Let’s not forget, Motown was started in Detroit and most of the early stars were from Michigan. Motown aside, the musical influencers from Michigan are all over the place. Of course there are The Stooges and the MC5, but let’s not forget one of the greatest guitar players of all time, Bill Kirchen. And, Bill went to the same high school as Iggy Pop (James Osterberg) and Bob Seger. So Michigan is pretty dense with game changing bands and musicians. It just so happens that Jeremy Porter And The Tucos are from none other than Detroit, Michigan. And they definitely learned a lot from those that came before them. Once in a while, you can hear a Stooges riff or a little bit of Iggy styling, and I love that. There are enough differences in the music that the similarities stand out more.
Jeremy Porter And The Tucos definitely use noise and distortion at times, but they can also turn out a beautiful pop song with gorgeous vocals and backing harmonies. In fact, they do an amazing job of mixing a heaping helping of influences and genres in their own music. And they do it flawlessly, with no need for safety nets. They aren’t bound by any labels or parameters when it comes to the music. Not only do you have the standard electric guitars and bass, but this album has B3, trumpet, flugelhorn, and farfisa.
So who are Jeremy Porter And The Tucos? Let’s find out. Of course, on lead guitar and vocals, you got Jeremy Porter. If you think that’s all Jeremy plays, think again. Jeremy also plays organ, synth, piano, mando, and baritone guitar. And that’s just on this album. On drums, percussion, vocals, and guitar, you have Gabriel Doman. The final leg of this power trio is Bob Moulton on bass, vocals, baritone guitar, and hand claps. It’s not easy to get a good hand clap recorded.
So, onto the music… I have given it one listen already and my early favorite out of the gate is Zipper Merge. I have such a soft spot for this type of smart, well crafted, pop music. The harmonies and hooks are so infectious, you may need a booster shot. It’s a really nice song about driving home to see the one you love. The vocals are great and the instruments perfectly compliment the entire ensemble. If you listen closely, you can hear those stunning Hammond B3 organ fills. Total ear candy.
Jeremy and the rest of the musicians can also shred it up, when necessary. Just take a listen to the opening track, Put You On Hold, The opening guitar riffs will definitely take you back to the early 70s when The Stooges and MC5 where the bullies on the block. This song has some heavy guitar and drums, but the heaviness is tempered a bit by the farfisa played by Even Mercer. A perfect example of power chord driven rock and roll with a twist. Jeremy and the boys put their own signature on this hard rockin’ ditty.
Another really nice song that is a perfect example of power pop executed perfectly is Girls Named Erica, I have a hunch that this song is not about all girls named Erica. No, I have a hunch that song is about a very specific girl named Erica. They seem to be making a connection that one “Erica” speaks for the entire “Erica named” population. Whether this is true, I have no idea. But, it makes for a really beautiful rock and roll song played the way it should be, with real instruments and limited knob twisting.
I have been hearing a lot that rock and roll is dead. Candy Coated Cannonball completely disproves that theory. This is almost a perfect rock and roll record. My hope is that this fine LP will influence other musicians and bands to make their own rock records and start a real comeback. Rock and Roll is still alive, but a little more of it wouldn’t be a bad thing. Jeremy Porter And The Tucos can make it happen.
Listen and buy Candy Coated Cannonball here.
Jeremy Porter And The Tucos definitely use noise and distortion at times, but they can also turn out a beautiful pop song with gorgeous vocals and backing harmonies. In fact, they do an amazing job of mixing a heaping helping of influences and genres in their own music. And they do it flawlessly, with no need for safety nets. They aren’t bound by any labels or parameters when it comes to the music. Not only do you have the standard electric guitars and bass, but this album has B3, trumpet, flugelhorn, and farfisa.
So who are Jeremy Porter And The Tucos? Let’s find out. Of course, on lead guitar and vocals, you got Jeremy Porter. If you think that’s all Jeremy plays, think again. Jeremy also plays organ, synth, piano, mando, and baritone guitar. And that’s just on this album. On drums, percussion, vocals, and guitar, you have Gabriel Doman. The final leg of this power trio is Bob Moulton on bass, vocals, baritone guitar, and hand claps. It’s not easy to get a good hand clap recorded.
So, onto the music… I have given it one listen already and my early favorite out of the gate is Zipper Merge. I have such a soft spot for this type of smart, well crafted, pop music. The harmonies and hooks are so infectious, you may need a booster shot. It’s a really nice song about driving home to see the one you love. The vocals are great and the instruments perfectly compliment the entire ensemble. If you listen closely, you can hear those stunning Hammond B3 organ fills. Total ear candy.
Jeremy and the rest of the musicians can also shred it up, when necessary. Just take a listen to the opening track, Put You On Hold, The opening guitar riffs will definitely take you back to the early 70s when The Stooges and MC5 where the bullies on the block. This song has some heavy guitar and drums, but the heaviness is tempered a bit by the farfisa played by Even Mercer. A perfect example of power chord driven rock and roll with a twist. Jeremy and the boys put their own signature on this hard rockin’ ditty.
Another really nice song that is a perfect example of power pop executed perfectly is Girls Named Erica, I have a hunch that this song is not about all girls named Erica. No, I have a hunch that song is about a very specific girl named Erica. They seem to be making a connection that one “Erica” speaks for the entire “Erica named” population. Whether this is true, I have no idea. But, it makes for a really beautiful rock and roll song played the way it should be, with real instruments and limited knob twisting.
I have been hearing a lot that rock and roll is dead. Candy Coated Cannonball completely disproves that theory. This is almost a perfect rock and roll record. My hope is that this fine LP will influence other musicians and bands to make their own rock records and start a real comeback. Rock and Roll is still alive, but a little more of it wouldn’t be a bad thing. Jeremy Porter And The Tucos can make it happen.
Listen and buy Candy Coated Cannonball here.
The I-94 Bar (Australia)
Blue collar contrasts make for an enjoyable trip
Candy Coated Cannonball – Jeremy Porter and the Tucos (GTG Records)
March 28, 2021
External Link
Written by The Barman on 28 March 2021.
Detroit Rock was never just about the MC5 and the Stooges. Ask a Michigan native and they’re just as likely to nominate Kid Rock or techno as defining. Don’t even start anyone aged over 50 talking about Motown and the myriad of soul labels that sprang up in the ‘60s.
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos sound like none of the above. With origins in the city’s punk underground, the trio’s sound is a mix of power-pop, roots rock, alt-country and twangy blue collar garage. The title of their fourth album, “Candy Coated Cannonball”, is a misnomer – the album’s neither overwhelmingly sticky-sweet or explosive.
“Put You On Hold” is a super opener, a heady burst of gritty guitar, warm Hammond B3 and Porter’s emphatic vocal. It’s a rocking song and a juxtaposition, of sorts, that’s apparent in a lyric like: “Time flies by when the conversation is slow.”
The Tucos aren’t content to sit in any one niche for very long. “The Things All Men Do” employs strings and trumpet for an evocative prologue before slipping into a dirty rock groove.
“Zipper Merge” is mid-paced pop, a touching “I’m on my way home” song with Porter’s aching vocal and the B3 front-and-centre. The starkness is punctuated by Gabriel Doman’s rim taps and the arrangement works so well.
“Downriver Song” switches the mood to Crazy Horse-style work boots country rock, not as lumbering and with lyrics about urban decay. Yes, it could be Detroit or it could be any number of Midwestern cities and towns. Take your pick.
“Dead Ringer” is country-flavoured pop, an ear-wig where some candy coating does come in, and “October Girls” a sparse blues with Porter and only his guitar.
What’s evident after a few listens to this record is that Porter and The Tucos are a seasoned combo. They’ve toured the US and Canada extensively over their 10-plus years and shared Detroit stages with any number of out-of-town acts.
Recorded just before plague lockdown and produced with a lot of warmth, “Candy Coated Cannonball” won’t blow you sideways but it’s a solid effort.
Detroit Rock was never just about the MC5 and the Stooges. Ask a Michigan native and they’re just as likely to nominate Kid Rock or techno as defining. Don’t even start anyone aged over 50 talking about Motown and the myriad of soul labels that sprang up in the ‘60s.
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos sound like none of the above. With origins in the city’s punk underground, the trio’s sound is a mix of power-pop, roots rock, alt-country and twangy blue collar garage. The title of their fourth album, “Candy Coated Cannonball”, is a misnomer – the album’s neither overwhelmingly sticky-sweet or explosive.
“Put You On Hold” is a super opener, a heady burst of gritty guitar, warm Hammond B3 and Porter’s emphatic vocal. It’s a rocking song and a juxtaposition, of sorts, that’s apparent in a lyric like: “Time flies by when the conversation is slow.”
The Tucos aren’t content to sit in any one niche for very long. “The Things All Men Do” employs strings and trumpet for an evocative prologue before slipping into a dirty rock groove.
“Zipper Merge” is mid-paced pop, a touching “I’m on my way home” song with Porter’s aching vocal and the B3 front-and-centre. The starkness is punctuated by Gabriel Doman’s rim taps and the arrangement works so well.
“Downriver Song” switches the mood to Crazy Horse-style work boots country rock, not as lumbering and with lyrics about urban decay. Yes, it could be Detroit or it could be any number of Midwestern cities and towns. Take your pick.
“Dead Ringer” is country-flavoured pop, an ear-wig where some candy coating does come in, and “October Girls” a sparse blues with Porter and only his guitar.
What’s evident after a few listens to this record is that Porter and The Tucos are a seasoned combo. They’ve toured the US and Canada extensively over their 10-plus years and shared Detroit stages with any number of out-of-town acts.
Recorded just before plague lockdown and produced with a lot of warmth, “Candy Coated Cannonball” won’t blow you sideways but it’s a solid effort.
Sweet Sweet Music Blog (The Netherlands)
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos – Candy Coated Cannonball
Jeremy Porter &The Tucos is an original Rock band from Detroit. Part power-pop-rock (like Cheap Trick, Hüsker Dü and X). Part whiskey-soaked twang (like Uncle Tupelo, Gram Parsons and Waylon Jennings).
Sweet Sweet Music spoke to Jeremy about how Candy Coated Cannonball, the new record, came about.
April 29, 2021
External Link
Sweet Sweet Music spoke to Jeremy about how Candy Coated Cannonball, the new record, came about.
By patrickdonders
SSMB: What was the moment you knew you were on to something?
JP: Man, that’s a tough question. I guess the first time would be in my first band The Regulars back in high school up in the UP of Michigan when we were just starting to introduce our own songs into the mix. We did all covers for a while, punk, 60s, garage stuff. Then, with our own songs, it was the realization that…. ”yeah – we can do this!” Of course, our songs were derivative and immature, but that didn’t matter at that age. It was empowering and fulfilling. Doing what we saw the bands we loved do was within reach.
SSMB: How did Candy Coated Cannonball come together?
JP: It was very deliberate and planned out, as most things Tucos are. When Patty left the band at the end of 2018, the plan was to bring Bob in, spend a year writing the record and playing shows, breaking him in, and then record right off the road. I had a bunch of songs ready and wrote the rest over that year. We demoed over the summer, toured in the fall, and started recording on January 2, 2020. It was nauseatingly calculated.
SSMB: When did you decide to start asking for opinions on the new songs?
JP: Well, that’s an ongoing process in the basement with the boys. Other than that, I don’t think I asked for any opinions. I seldom share the demos. Ya know, I did send them to my friend Ian Trumbull (from the band Ypsitucky) out in California – I think we trust each other with those things and pretty much no one else outside of our bands. I’ll hear about it from my wife upstairs after practice in the basement sometimes – “What was that song you played 85 times tonight? Yeah…needs some work.” She hears `em first ya know, and she’s brutally honest.
SSMB: The meaning of success has changed over the years. What would success look like for the new record?
JP: It sure has. At this point, success for me is just still doing it. Still putting out music that I’m proud of, playing shows, touring, writing songs that I think were worth writing. The other stuff is gravy. We were happy to get played on Little Steven’s channel on SiriusXM recently, it’s always nice to get good press, sell records, have your friends and strangers sing your praises – stuff like that, but I’d still do it without all that. At this age and point in my musical career, keeping on keeping on is success.
SSMB: How great is the urge to stay creative? To keep writing songs and lyrics?
JP: It comes and goes, and always has for me. It’s been very difficult over the pandemic, to be honest. Part of that was the focus on mixing, mastering, and release of the album, but I just didn’t have the gumption to put pen to paper much. I’ve always been streaky – I’ll write a lot, then not much, then a lot again, but it’s been pretty dry. In October I rented a house on the Mississippi River in Wisconsin alone for a week and took a stack of half-written songs to finish. I came out with a bunch of songs but failed to keep the momentum going when I got home. Something snapped a few weeks ago and I’ve been writing again, so that’s encouraging. Maybe the optimism of getting back out in front of people again.
SSMB: As an artist, you chose to show your emotions to the world. Is it always comfortable to do so?
JP: Absolutely not. It’s a weird thing. I think a lot of songwriters are introverts. I know I am. I think it’s our way to get what we want to say out there, without being in an awkward conversation at a dinner party or something. Then there are cases where something is about someone specific, and it’s in the back of your mind what they’ll think, and that can’t help but creep in there sometimes. But you gotta get it out, and you can’t worry about it. One way or another there’s some anxiety involved.
SSMB: What’s the gig you will always remember? And why?
JP: There are a few that stand out. We had a couple of shows in England a couple of years ago that I’ll remember very fondly – amazing nights. Today I’ll say a show we played at The Brass Rail in Fort Wayne, Indiana with Raelyn Nelson (Willie’s Granddaughter). It’s been difficult for us to get in there, the place was packed, and it was rowdy as hell. Playing with Lydia Loveless, Beach Slang, Sponge and so many other great bands has been memorable as well.
SSMB: Lyrics are too often taken for granted. What is the line of text or are the lines of text that you hope listeners will remember? And why?
JP: Hmmm… it’s hard to look at your own work that way. On the new record, there are a few lines that resonate with me personally, but I think once it’s out there, listeners will consume it their own way and make their own attachments, and I’m perfectly fine with that. I like when someone latches onto something that I never considered anything special. Once in a while, I’ll come up with something that I think really “nails it” but it feels a bit weird to toot my own horn that way. There’s a line in “Dead Ringer” that goes “Must be my lazy eye or my wasted friends, the lack of means to all my ends, or the way I almost die when she’s around” and that pretty much sums up my teenage years in a few short words.
SSMB: When was the last time you thought ‘I just wrote a hit!’?
JP: Haha! Man…what’s a hit? I write a lot of songs. Most of them are throwaways that I never show the band and never play. Occasionally I’ll come up with something that I can tell early on will make the record. “Dead Ringer,” mentioned above, was one of those – the demo stuck with me, the lyrics and hook were good, I knew it would make the record before we ever played it.
SSMB: Is recording a record easier than getting it heard nowadays?
JP: Getting your music heard is exhaustive, endlessly frustrating, and most often thankless. The rejection and, worse yet, ambivalence are crippling. Good people like yourself who help mean so much to the musicians. I’m so thankful for every pair of ears, every podcast play, every download purchased, every blog mention… anyone who cares enough to give it a minute.
Recording an album is a shit-ton of work. I’m not sure it’s easier, but at least it’s in your control, it’s up to you what you put into it and get out of it. Getting it heard is much less controllable.
SSMB: Recording music. What’s all the fun about?
JP: I approach it very much like work. We’ve got a job to do; we’re spending a lot of money, time, and energy on it, and we have a responsibility (to ourselves, mostly, I guess) to make it as good as it can be. It’s long hours, heavy work, and, as we talked about above, the potential returns can be…prohibitive, if that’s your motivation. All that said, it’s incredibly fun to have an arsenal of gear and sounds at your fingertips, great musicians in the room making your songs come to life, and hearing a playback of something that’s better than you ever knew it could be – it’s all easily worth it. The camaraderie of a few people working on something for the pure sake of the love of the work is a big part of it too, and there are some laughs along the way. But it’s work first, for me at least, and a lot of it.
SSMB: Playing music in front of a crowd. What’s all the fun about?
JP: Well, that’s a different monster, isn’t it? That’s something special on a couple of different levels. It’s the culmination of all the work we’ve been talking about – all that writing, demoing, recording… Going after the press and radio. It’s the moment you’re up there and you remember coming up with that riff, or the time in the basement that Gabriel said we should do the chorus twice there, or that line that always makes the girls smile. It’s the payoff for the press you got in that city that week from the kid at the college paper who’s at the show with her parents, the table in the corner that read a blog that said you sound like The Smithereens, who maybe you do or don’t, but they love The Smithereens so it’s totally cool! The friends who surprised you in Kentucky or upstate New York by driving in from Cleveland to see you. The sweat and ringing ears and torn up fingernails. It’s the payoff for all the work. Nothing beats that – there’s nothing better.
SSMB: You can’t control the way people ‘hear’ your music. But if you could make them aware of certain aspects, you think, set your songs apart. What would they be?
JP: I agree that you can’t control how your music is consumed. I’ve been part of that exact conversation a couple of times recently. I guess for that reason I wouldn’t focus in on what sets my songs apart, but with every song we do, we try to deliver the best “product” that we can. I say that because it’s not just the song – it’s the parts, the lyrics, the tones, the mix, the cover art. Painstaking effort goes into all that – and the most efficient, economical arrangement is key – nothing wasted, nothing indulgent. Editing arrangements is something we work incredibly hard at – it’s a part of the process that I think is very important. It’s so hard to get your song to someone’s ears that when it gets there it has to be as easy to consume as possible. Getting a song to that point is the culmination of the artistic process. Once it lands, it’s all up to the listener.
SSMB: They expect ‘the roaring 20s v2.0’. What kind of party are you looking for?
JP: I sure do hope we can get back to live music, eating in restaurants, and taking in a Detroit Tigers’ game soon! I’ll be happy to walk up to a stage knowing Cheap Trick will be breaking into “Hello there ladies and gentlemen! Are you ready to rock? Are you ready to rock?” any minute. I’ll also be happy when I can grab a booth at the back of a dark bar with a friend or 2 and a great jukebox and argue about the nuances of rock and roll over drinks for a couple of hours. I don’t need a big party – any sense of normalcy will be welcome!
SSMB: What was the moment you knew you were on to something?
JP: Man, that’s a tough question. I guess the first time would be in my first band The Regulars back in high school up in the UP of Michigan when we were just starting to introduce our own songs into the mix. We did all covers for a while, punk, 60s, garage stuff. Then, with our own songs, it was the realization that…. ”yeah – we can do this!” Of course, our songs were derivative and immature, but that didn’t matter at that age. It was empowering and fulfilling. Doing what we saw the bands we loved do was within reach.
SSMB: How did Candy Coated Cannonball come together?
JP: It was very deliberate and planned out, as most things Tucos are. When Patty left the band at the end of 2018, the plan was to bring Bob in, spend a year writing the record and playing shows, breaking him in, and then record right off the road. I had a bunch of songs ready and wrote the rest over that year. We demoed over the summer, toured in the fall, and started recording on January 2, 2020. It was nauseatingly calculated.
SSMB: When did you decide to start asking for opinions on the new songs?
JP: Well, that’s an ongoing process in the basement with the boys. Other than that, I don’t think I asked for any opinions. I seldom share the demos. Ya know, I did send them to my friend Ian Trumbull (from the band Ypsitucky) out in California – I think we trust each other with those things and pretty much no one else outside of our bands. I’ll hear about it from my wife upstairs after practice in the basement sometimes – “What was that song you played 85 times tonight? Yeah…needs some work.” She hears `em first ya know, and she’s brutally honest.
SSMB: The meaning of success has changed over the years. What would success look like for the new record?
JP: It sure has. At this point, success for me is just still doing it. Still putting out music that I’m proud of, playing shows, touring, writing songs that I think were worth writing. The other stuff is gravy. We were happy to get played on Little Steven’s channel on SiriusXM recently, it’s always nice to get good press, sell records, have your friends and strangers sing your praises – stuff like that, but I’d still do it without all that. At this age and point in my musical career, keeping on keeping on is success.
SSMB: How great is the urge to stay creative? To keep writing songs and lyrics?
JP: It comes and goes, and always has for me. It’s been very difficult over the pandemic, to be honest. Part of that was the focus on mixing, mastering, and release of the album, but I just didn’t have the gumption to put pen to paper much. I’ve always been streaky – I’ll write a lot, then not much, then a lot again, but it’s been pretty dry. In October I rented a house on the Mississippi River in Wisconsin alone for a week and took a stack of half-written songs to finish. I came out with a bunch of songs but failed to keep the momentum going when I got home. Something snapped a few weeks ago and I’ve been writing again, so that’s encouraging. Maybe the optimism of getting back out in front of people again.
SSMB: As an artist, you chose to show your emotions to the world. Is it always comfortable to do so?
JP: Absolutely not. It’s a weird thing. I think a lot of songwriters are introverts. I know I am. I think it’s our way to get what we want to say out there, without being in an awkward conversation at a dinner party or something. Then there are cases where something is about someone specific, and it’s in the back of your mind what they’ll think, and that can’t help but creep in there sometimes. But you gotta get it out, and you can’t worry about it. One way or another there’s some anxiety involved.
SSMB: What’s the gig you will always remember? And why?
JP: There are a few that stand out. We had a couple of shows in England a couple of years ago that I’ll remember very fondly – amazing nights. Today I’ll say a show we played at The Brass Rail in Fort Wayne, Indiana with Raelyn Nelson (Willie’s Granddaughter). It’s been difficult for us to get in there, the place was packed, and it was rowdy as hell. Playing with Lydia Loveless, Beach Slang, Sponge and so many other great bands has been memorable as well.
SSMB: Lyrics are too often taken for granted. What is the line of text or are the lines of text that you hope listeners will remember? And why?
JP: Hmmm… it’s hard to look at your own work that way. On the new record, there are a few lines that resonate with me personally, but I think once it’s out there, listeners will consume it their own way and make their own attachments, and I’m perfectly fine with that. I like when someone latches onto something that I never considered anything special. Once in a while, I’ll come up with something that I think really “nails it” but it feels a bit weird to toot my own horn that way. There’s a line in “Dead Ringer” that goes “Must be my lazy eye or my wasted friends, the lack of means to all my ends, or the way I almost die when she’s around” and that pretty much sums up my teenage years in a few short words.
SSMB: When was the last time you thought ‘I just wrote a hit!’?
JP: Haha! Man…what’s a hit? I write a lot of songs. Most of them are throwaways that I never show the band and never play. Occasionally I’ll come up with something that I can tell early on will make the record. “Dead Ringer,” mentioned above, was one of those – the demo stuck with me, the lyrics and hook were good, I knew it would make the record before we ever played it.
SSMB: Is recording a record easier than getting it heard nowadays?
JP: Getting your music heard is exhaustive, endlessly frustrating, and most often thankless. The rejection and, worse yet, ambivalence are crippling. Good people like yourself who help mean so much to the musicians. I’m so thankful for every pair of ears, every podcast play, every download purchased, every blog mention… anyone who cares enough to give it a minute.
Recording an album is a shit-ton of work. I’m not sure it’s easier, but at least it’s in your control, it’s up to you what you put into it and get out of it. Getting it heard is much less controllable.
SSMB: Recording music. What’s all the fun about?
JP: I approach it very much like work. We’ve got a job to do; we’re spending a lot of money, time, and energy on it, and we have a responsibility (to ourselves, mostly, I guess) to make it as good as it can be. It’s long hours, heavy work, and, as we talked about above, the potential returns can be…prohibitive, if that’s your motivation. All that said, it’s incredibly fun to have an arsenal of gear and sounds at your fingertips, great musicians in the room making your songs come to life, and hearing a playback of something that’s better than you ever knew it could be – it’s all easily worth it. The camaraderie of a few people working on something for the pure sake of the love of the work is a big part of it too, and there are some laughs along the way. But it’s work first, for me at least, and a lot of it.
SSMB: Playing music in front of a crowd. What’s all the fun about?
JP: Well, that’s a different monster, isn’t it? That’s something special on a couple of different levels. It’s the culmination of all the work we’ve been talking about – all that writing, demoing, recording… Going after the press and radio. It’s the moment you’re up there and you remember coming up with that riff, or the time in the basement that Gabriel said we should do the chorus twice there, or that line that always makes the girls smile. It’s the payoff for the press you got in that city that week from the kid at the college paper who’s at the show with her parents, the table in the corner that read a blog that said you sound like The Smithereens, who maybe you do or don’t, but they love The Smithereens so it’s totally cool! The friends who surprised you in Kentucky or upstate New York by driving in from Cleveland to see you. The sweat and ringing ears and torn up fingernails. It’s the payoff for all the work. Nothing beats that – there’s nothing better.
SSMB: You can’t control the way people ‘hear’ your music. But if you could make them aware of certain aspects, you think, set your songs apart. What would they be?
JP: I agree that you can’t control how your music is consumed. I’ve been part of that exact conversation a couple of times recently. I guess for that reason I wouldn’t focus in on what sets my songs apart, but with every song we do, we try to deliver the best “product” that we can. I say that because it’s not just the song – it’s the parts, the lyrics, the tones, the mix, the cover art. Painstaking effort goes into all that – and the most efficient, economical arrangement is key – nothing wasted, nothing indulgent. Editing arrangements is something we work incredibly hard at – it’s a part of the process that I think is very important. It’s so hard to get your song to someone’s ears that when it gets there it has to be as easy to consume as possible. Getting a song to that point is the culmination of the artistic process. Once it lands, it’s all up to the listener.
SSMB: They expect ‘the roaring 20s v2.0’. What kind of party are you looking for?
JP: I sure do hope we can get back to live music, eating in restaurants, and taking in a Detroit Tigers’ game soon! I’ll be happy to walk up to a stage knowing Cheap Trick will be breaking into “Hello there ladies and gentlemen! Are you ready to rock? Are you ready to rock?” any minute. I’ll also be happy when I can grab a booth at the back of a dark bar with a friend or 2 and a great jukebox and argue about the nuances of rock and roll over drinks for a couple of hours. I don’t need a big party – any sense of normalcy will be welcome!
Divide And Conquer (National)
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos - Candy Coated Cannonball
4.0 out of 5 - By Dino DiMuro
May 13, 2021
External Link
It’s not only because of a KISS song that Detroit, Michigan is known as Rock City: alumni range from the MC5 to The White Stripes, not to mention all of classic Motown. To this grand tradition you can add rockers Jeremy Porter and the Tucos, who’ve recently completed their new LP Candy Coated Cannonball on GTG Records. Far from their first rodeo, Porter and pals have released four LPs and five 7” singles along with a slew of compilation tracks, plus extensive tours of America, Canada and Britain. They describe their “racket” as sounding a bit like Cheap Trick, Gram Parsons, Husker Du, Uncle Tupelo, X, Merle Haggard, the Replacements and AC/DC: “Sort of an identity crisis between classic-American powerpop, early alt-country, and a little bit of punk and rockabilly.”
The core members are Jeremy Porter (guitars/keys/vocals), Bob Moulton (bass/baritone guitar/vocals) and Gabriel Doman (drums/vocals/guitars) with various guests. Porter is the principal songwriter with some help from Doman on two songs. They recorded their basic tracks live at Willis Sound - a huge converted 1800’s Michigan church - and spent time with a diverse array of gear and instruments for overdubs (“We are gear geeks!”). If I understand their notes correctly, they recorded everything in Pro Tools but then copied their original tracks to 2” tape for that fat analog sound, mixed by Tim Patalan at The Loft. The resulting tracks definitely have that full analog feel with all the detail of digital. Mastering was performed by Dan Coutant at Sun Room Audio, New York. You can get it on CD and vinyl along with digital downloads.
I took to these guys right away - not just because of their playing, which ROCKS, but for the sensibility of their songs. They have an amusing view of relationships with girls, which I find much more entertaining than heartbreaking odes to lost loves (though they have those, too). I also appreciate their determination to trick out their songs with different “colors” like horns and weird organs, so that one never grows tired of their sound.
“Put You On Hold” kicks right in with rockabilly swagger featuring overdriven vocals, riffing guitars and churchly Farfisa organ (by guest Evan Mercer). The boys do sound like a live band, though at a slight remove as the drums feel somewhat centered.
“Dead Ringer” has a great topic: falling in love with a girl who looks like someone famous and not having a chance in hell of getting her. “She goes to the places that I can’t go / And she hangs with the people that I don’t know / And sometimes she’ll talk to me when they’re not around / Must be my lazy eye or my wasted friends.” The music is a fun amalgam of Barenaked Ladies, Joe Jackson and even the Beatles (or Rutles!). They wisely chose this song as their first single, as it really does sound like it belongs on AM radio.
“Upward Trend” ups the speed ante with a Cheap Trick-style rave up, featuring slabs of electric guitar that would do Rick Nielsen proud. Lyrically the singer from “Dead Ringer” appears to be making a tiny bit of progress with his girl, as we’d all like that kind of “upward trend” to continue unabated.
“Zipper Merge” finds Porter’s vocals sounding a bit like John Prine for a funny tune about trying to get home to your lover while sitting in one of those infuriating freeway merge lanes. The Who-like chorus of “one by one by one by one by one” is a great idea. “The Things All Men Do” changes tack for an ominous lament about a sudden breakup simply because of “the things all men do.” By my reckoning, we’re now five songs into the album and Porter has sketched a perfect relationship arc, from desire to dissolution. Great arrangement in this high energy track, including Johnny Cash-style mariachi horns overdubbed by Ingrid Racine.
“What Could Be In That Box?” Is another Beatles-like pop rock gem featuring Mercer on Farfisa organ. At this point the lover once part of an “upward trend” is now throwing away a box of relationship memorabilia (ouch!). Very funny lyrics include: “The truth is out but the news is old / The milk’s gone bad and the bread has mold / And you were in no hurry to decide.”
Two more fine rockers follow, leading to “October Girls,” an unexpectedly slow and sweet finger-picked ballad about turning down sexual companionship on the road, just to remain faithful. A backward zooming effect takes us directly into the terrific rave-up ending “Girls Named Erica,” a hilarious rant about those mysterious nighttime lovers who come and go with the breeze. “They might play with your heart or criticize your art” indeed!
?I had a great time with these songs, though listeners who want their pop music straight up with no laughs might find fault. The subject matter is especially relevant to younger, arty males who strike out more than they hit homers, but it’s fun for everybody!
The core members are Jeremy Porter (guitars/keys/vocals), Bob Moulton (bass/baritone guitar/vocals) and Gabriel Doman (drums/vocals/guitars) with various guests. Porter is the principal songwriter with some help from Doman on two songs. They recorded their basic tracks live at Willis Sound - a huge converted 1800’s Michigan church - and spent time with a diverse array of gear and instruments for overdubs (“We are gear geeks!”). If I understand their notes correctly, they recorded everything in Pro Tools but then copied their original tracks to 2” tape for that fat analog sound, mixed by Tim Patalan at The Loft. The resulting tracks definitely have that full analog feel with all the detail of digital. Mastering was performed by Dan Coutant at Sun Room Audio, New York. You can get it on CD and vinyl along with digital downloads.
I took to these guys right away - not just because of their playing, which ROCKS, but for the sensibility of their songs. They have an amusing view of relationships with girls, which I find much more entertaining than heartbreaking odes to lost loves (though they have those, too). I also appreciate their determination to trick out their songs with different “colors” like horns and weird organs, so that one never grows tired of their sound.
“Put You On Hold” kicks right in with rockabilly swagger featuring overdriven vocals, riffing guitars and churchly Farfisa organ (by guest Evan Mercer). The boys do sound like a live band, though at a slight remove as the drums feel somewhat centered.
“Dead Ringer” has a great topic: falling in love with a girl who looks like someone famous and not having a chance in hell of getting her. “She goes to the places that I can’t go / And she hangs with the people that I don’t know / And sometimes she’ll talk to me when they’re not around / Must be my lazy eye or my wasted friends.” The music is a fun amalgam of Barenaked Ladies, Joe Jackson and even the Beatles (or Rutles!). They wisely chose this song as their first single, as it really does sound like it belongs on AM radio.
“Upward Trend” ups the speed ante with a Cheap Trick-style rave up, featuring slabs of electric guitar that would do Rick Nielsen proud. Lyrically the singer from “Dead Ringer” appears to be making a tiny bit of progress with his girl, as we’d all like that kind of “upward trend” to continue unabated.
“Zipper Merge” finds Porter’s vocals sounding a bit like John Prine for a funny tune about trying to get home to your lover while sitting in one of those infuriating freeway merge lanes. The Who-like chorus of “one by one by one by one by one” is a great idea. “The Things All Men Do” changes tack for an ominous lament about a sudden breakup simply because of “the things all men do.” By my reckoning, we’re now five songs into the album and Porter has sketched a perfect relationship arc, from desire to dissolution. Great arrangement in this high energy track, including Johnny Cash-style mariachi horns overdubbed by Ingrid Racine.
“What Could Be In That Box?” Is another Beatles-like pop rock gem featuring Mercer on Farfisa organ. At this point the lover once part of an “upward trend” is now throwing away a box of relationship memorabilia (ouch!). Very funny lyrics include: “The truth is out but the news is old / The milk’s gone bad and the bread has mold / And you were in no hurry to decide.”
Two more fine rockers follow, leading to “October Girls,” an unexpectedly slow and sweet finger-picked ballad about turning down sexual companionship on the road, just to remain faithful. A backward zooming effect takes us directly into the terrific rave-up ending “Girls Named Erica,” a hilarious rant about those mysterious nighttime lovers who come and go with the breeze. “They might play with your heart or criticize your art” indeed!
?I had a great time with these songs, though listeners who want their pop music straight up with no laughs might find fault. The subject matter is especially relevant to younger, arty males who strike out more than they hit homers, but it’s fun for everybody!
Pure Pop 4 Now People (National)
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos is one of the best rock and roll trios I’ve heard since Ben Folds Five released their debut album more than 20 years ago. In addition to Porter on guitars and lead vocals, The Tucos (a reference to the character played by Eli Wallach in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) are Gabriel Doman on drums and Bob Moulton on bass and vocals.
Their latest album, Candy Coated Cannonball (Bandcamp), is full of songs that rock as well as pop. For example, the opening track, “Put You On Hold,” adds a Farfisa organ and Porter’s treated vocals to create a mix that will remind you of those garage-rock legends The 13th Floor Elevators and would certainly be in the running for a slot on the High Fidelity follow-up movie.
“Dead Ringer,” on the other hand, is one of the best pop tunes you’ll hear this year. It’s got a melody and lyrics to get your toes tapping and you’re smile working like a song from ‘70s AM radio (when tunes ruled). Just imagine the new girl at school or a new woman at work who looks like Debbie Harry, Patty Smyth, or Carlene Carter and your heart beats faster and your tongue gets tied every time you get near her.
“Upward Trend” has an excellent mix of both rock and pop and is about what happens when you get that girlfriend and the things that guys do to mess it up. “Zipper Merge” is a wonderful acoustic-based song that would have fit nicely on Fountains of Wayne’s Welcome Interstate Managers album. And Porter moves the timing of a Big Star song by a month on “October Girls” where the only warmth to be had is not from the sun but from a late-night pickup; the solo guitar also brings to mind “Thirteen.”
If you’re in Chicago or Iowa later this month, Porter will be playing some solo acoustic dates. Here’s where and when so you can check it out:
Their latest album, Candy Coated Cannonball (Bandcamp), is full of songs that rock as well as pop. For example, the opening track, “Put You On Hold,” adds a Farfisa organ and Porter’s treated vocals to create a mix that will remind you of those garage-rock legends The 13th Floor Elevators and would certainly be in the running for a slot on the High Fidelity follow-up movie.
“Dead Ringer,” on the other hand, is one of the best pop tunes you’ll hear this year. It’s got a melody and lyrics to get your toes tapping and you’re smile working like a song from ‘70s AM radio (when tunes ruled). Just imagine the new girl at school or a new woman at work who looks like Debbie Harry, Patty Smyth, or Carlene Carter and your heart beats faster and your tongue gets tied every time you get near her.
“Upward Trend” has an excellent mix of both rock and pop and is about what happens when you get that girlfriend and the things that guys do to mess it up. “Zipper Merge” is a wonderful acoustic-based song that would have fit nicely on Fountains of Wayne’s Welcome Interstate Managers album. And Porter moves the timing of a Big Star song by a month on “October Girls” where the only warmth to be had is not from the sun but from a late-night pickup; the solo guitar also brings to mind “Thirteen.”
If you’re in Chicago or Iowa later this month, Porter will be playing some solo acoustic dates. Here’s where and when so you can check it out:
Poprock Record ~ Songs with a hook (National)
Almost summer singles mixtape I
Posted by Dennis Pilon in Poprock Themepark
June 23, 2021
External Link
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos’ “Dead Ringer” is straight ahead melodic Americana, reminding me of the more upbeat moments on that first Peter Case solo album back in 1986, particularly vocally. I love the synth snippet that kicks in at 3:10 in the final few moments of the solo. It’s featured on their new longplayer, Candy Coated Cannonball, and it’s just one of many highlights.
Ghettoblaster (National)
Video Premiere | Jeremy Porter & The Tucos, “Put You On Hold”
July 30, 2021 External Link
July 30, 2021 External Link
Back in late January, Detroit trio Jeremy Porter & The Tucos released their excellent fourth album Candy Coated Cannonball via Lansing, Michigan’s GTG Records (Extra Arms, The Plurals). A rave-up, rock and roll band of the highest, truest order; JP&TC sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, and sullen, youthful defiance. They fit alongside a variety of forbearers, from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC. The racket they conjure echoes a bit of each but stands unique in its own right. Simply, it’s rebellious and reverent Detroit rock and roll.
Today, Ghettoblaster has the pleasure of premiering the second official video resulting from Candy Coated Cannonball, “Put You On Hold.” This is what Porter had to say about it.
“We filmed the band parts in an old high school gym in Plymouth, Michigan. near my house. It was huge and dark and loud! We felt that the song, being what it is – a bit sleazy and glam and rockin’ – deserved that same treatment as a visual too, so we did our best thrift-store Aerosmith meets Sweet meets Vegas-era Elvis I guess, and just had fun with it. It’s a classic tale – girl goes out on the town with her friends, things get crazy, and in the end, she just needs to be loved… I got my hair cut the next day.”
Today, Ghettoblaster has the pleasure of premiering the second official video resulting from Candy Coated Cannonball, “Put You On Hold.” This is what Porter had to say about it.
“We filmed the band parts in an old high school gym in Plymouth, Michigan. near my house. It was huge and dark and loud! We felt that the song, being what it is – a bit sleazy and glam and rockin’ – deserved that same treatment as a visual too, so we did our best thrift-store Aerosmith meets Sweet meets Vegas-era Elvis I guess, and just had fun with it. It’s a classic tale – girl goes out on the town with her friends, things get crazy, and in the end, she just needs to be loved… I got my hair cut the next day.”
The Stratton Setlist (Ann Arbor, MI)
Grit ‘N Glam
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos Release New ‘Put You on Hold’ Video - By Lori Stratton
July 30, 2021
External Link
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos elegantly bring grit and glam to their stylish new video for Candy Coated Cannonball’s “Put You on Hold” single.
The Detroit rock trio of Jeremy Porter (guitar, vocals), Gabriel Doman (drums, vocals) and Bob Moulton (bass, vocals) seamlessly fuse energetic live performance footage with colorful animation to illustrate “Put You on Hold’s” storyline about a girl becoming captivated with city life.
“I wanted to go for a bit of a throwback to the Aerosmith videos with Alicia Silverstone – sort of a very loose plot about a party girl that maybe worked with the song, but didn’t necessarily follow the song’s lyrics to a tee,” said Porter, who worked with director-photographer David Kellogg on the video.
“There are nods to the lyrics here and there, and in general, like the song, it’s about a crazy night out for a not-so-crazy girl, but the concept and its tie-in to the lyrics aren’t overthought. We glammed the look of the band up a bit for shits ‘n giggles to do something different, get out of our comfort zone and have some fun.”
Porter and The Tucos demonstrate that glamorous fun while dressing head-to-toe in white or black and adorning sunglasses and scarves, thanks to stylist Alessandra Lipman. They proudly sport those hip stage fashions in a darkened gym located at the Plymouth Arts & Recreation Complex (PARC).
“PARC is an old high school here in Plymouth that’s been converted into an art space with studios that local artists can rent and stuff like that. I wanted something big like a high school gym, and it just seemed perfect,” said Porter, who’s partnering with Ghettoblaster Magazine to premiere the video today.
“I also like to keep my money in my community when possible and support the arts when I can. David and I met the manager there, and she showed us around, and we agreed it was our spot. The gym has the feel of the ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ video a bit, which I liked.”
In tandem with the band’s live performance footage, the “Put You on Hold” video includes compelling animated characters and background scenery by Jones William. It explores the main character’s social outings with friends as well as her dating life and city adventures.
“(Jones) answered a Craigslist ad and was honestly one of the very few worth following up with. We never talked, just through email, a language barrier was an issue, and I wasn’t sure what I was gonna get. In the end, he delivered, and I was pleased with the work he did,” Porter said.
The band’s “Put You on Hold” video ultimately came together with Kellogg, who brought a “youthful, enthusiastic energy” to the camera.
“I met David through Instagram when we were recording. His work caught my eye, and he ended up doing all of the photography, including the cover, for the record. And even though he’s younger, he still gets the ‘70s/‘80s references we were throwing out – he’s well-traveled, so to speak,” Porter said.
“He didn’t have much to do with the concept or animation part, but he was very involved in scouting and choosing the location and everything that went into the performance part – lighting, setup, direction and all that. He and I also edited it together.”
The Many Flavors of Candy Coated Cannonball
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos’ “Candy Coated Cannonball” album packs a powerful sonic punch with intricate stories about relationships and life experiences. Artwork – Jeremy Porter & David Kellogg
While “Put You on Hold” serves as Porter and The Tucos’ newest video, it also functions as the turbocharged opening track on their latest and fourth album, Candy Coated Cannonball.
The catchy track blends crunchy, swift electric guitars, thumping drums, exuberant bass and frantic organ as listeners vicariously join the main character’s exciting journey. Porter sings,” Little sister what you doing next Wednesday night?/Maybe grab a little something if the feeling’s right?/Don’t you worry momma don’t you have no fear/I’ll pick you up at seven in my Cavalier?”
“When I was writing Candy Coated Cannonball, I pushed myself in some different places that I hadn’t been before, whether it was a song like ‘Dead Ringer’ or ‘The Things All Men Do.’ It’s definitely not the last record part two,” said Porter, who formed The Tucos in 2010 after playing in several highly regarded Michigan bands.
Released via GTG Records in January, the 11-track Candy Coated Cannonball album, now available on all streaming platforms, nicely delves into diverse musical terrain through the lush greenways of alt country to the jam-packed cityscapes of classic rock and power pop to the subterranean sounds of punk and folk. Each track packs a powerful sonic punch with intricate stories about changing relationships and memorable life experiences.
“I’m a big sucker for melody – I love The Beatles, Cheap Trick and power pop stuff. We also have that tender country, Americana side. But then at the same time, I think our music also has a lot of energy and balls to it,” Porter said.
“That’s what I was going for with the title. The candy coating would be the sweet melodies of the acoustic and country grooves, but the cannonball would be the rock, the big amps, the electric guitars and the faster tempos.”
Porter and The Tucos also share a fast, addictive tempo on the Wilco-esque, power pop gem, “Dead Ringer,” as pounding drums, vivid acoustic strums, dancy bass, fiery electric guitars and spirited percussion depict a tale of an enchanting love interest.
He reveals, “I wake to find her standing there/In my twisted mind she’s everywhere/Telling me this chance is mine to lose.”
“The title came about from a story that Tom Waits told on ‘The David Letterman Show.’ He asked Dave, ‘Do you know how they got the term ‘dead ringer?’ Apparently, back in England in the 18th and 19th centuries, when they would bury someone in a cemetery, they would tie a string around their finger, and it would go up to the surface to a bell hanging on a stick,” he said.
“If you were buried alive, then you could ring the stick. They would hire somebody to stay in the cemetery all night and listen for bells. That’s how the term ‘dead ringer’ came up. I heard that story, and I’m a huge Tom Waits fan and thought that would be a great name for a song.”
In late 2020, the band also released a lyric video for “Dead Ringer,” which blends live performance and studio footage with still images. Porter shot live footage at pre-pandemic shows in Missouri, Illinois, West Virginia and Ohio while Moulton captured studio shots at Willis Sound.
“We couldn’t do a video because of the pandemic, and we needed a video for the record to come out. Lyric videos are all the rage, and some of the footage was taken at the last show we played, which was at The Village Idiot in Maumee,” Porter said.
Another endearing Candy Coated Cannonball track includes “Downriver Song,” a thoughtful, emotive rock track that pays homage to Porter’s family legacy south of Detroit. Shimmering cymbals, heated electric guitars (think Tom Petty and Mike Campbell), vibrant organ, soft bass and placid drums invite listeners along Porter’s father’s early work experiences of delivering papers and working in a foundry.
Porter reflects, “My old man returns now and again/To see what’s changed, what’s in the wind/And I make it back myself, sometimes too/I call ‘em my streets, tried and true.”
“My dad was raised in Woodhaven and Grosse Ile, and I was born in Alpena and grew up there and Marquette. We would come downstate, and my dad would show us the house he grew up in,” he said.
“When I moved downstate and started playing in bands, the first couple bands I was in were Downriver-based. I was running around on those streets, and it dawned on me years later how that came full circle, and then I tied in the whole plight of Detroit industrialism, the rise and fall.”
Porter took “Downriver Song” and the other 10 Candy Coated Cannonball tracks into the studio with co-producer/engineer Doman and Moulton in early 2020. They recorded the project at Willis Sound with engineer Jim Roll, completed additional tracking at The Pharmhouse and The Basement and worked with The Loft’s Tim Patalan to mix it and Sun Room Audio’s Dan Coutant to master it.
“Jim and I have a million friends in common, and I had heard his name for years and years. I’ve played guitar on records that he’s engineered. I wanted to work with him, and we ended up with him at Willis Sound, and we quickly became fast friends,” Porter said.
Candy Coated Cannonball also features stellar collaborations with Evan Mercer (Farfisa organ), Ingrid Racine (trumpet and flugelhorn), Roll (backing vocals) and Kellogg (hand claps).
“Both Evan and Ingrid came through Jim. I asked Jim, ‘Who should we get to play the Farfisa?’ And he’s like, ‘I got your guy.’ The same with Ingrid, and I was like, ‘We need a spaghetti western trumpet,’ and Jim said, ‘I know exactly who to call.’ They both were amazing,” Porter said.
The Future of The Tucos
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos have several local live dates lined up through the fall. Photo – Sara Jones
With the return of live music, Porter and The Tucos are eager to promote and share Candy Coated Cannonball with fans locally and nationally. The trio will play their first live show together in nearly 18 months at The Village Idiot on Aug. 14 in Maumee, Ohio.
“The Village Idiot was the last show we played the night before the entire country locked down, so it makes great sense to start back up there. It’s a small room where people go to listen, but it’s also got that dive bar, music joint feel that we’re comfortable in,” said Porter, who also performs solo acoustic shows.
“We’ll do two sets, material from our entire catalog and a few well-paced, unexpected covers. Sometimes things get a little crazy there, so who knows what else might happen. We do have a couple of new songs in varying states of completeness that will almost certainly be debuted that night.”
After The Village Idiot show, Porter and The Tucos will play Hamtramck’s Outer Limits Lounge on Oct. 22, Lansing’s The Avenue Café on Oct. 23, Knoxville’s Preservation Pub on Nov. 5 and Detroit’s PJ’s Lager House on Dec. 4.
“We’re writing and practicing in The Basement regularly, and that’s been cathartic. We plan to hit the road in 2022, continue to write new material and work toward a new record, though it’s too early to start talking seriously about that. I want to focus on supporting this record for the next year or so,” he said.
The Detroit rock trio of Jeremy Porter (guitar, vocals), Gabriel Doman (drums, vocals) and Bob Moulton (bass, vocals) seamlessly fuse energetic live performance footage with colorful animation to illustrate “Put You on Hold’s” storyline about a girl becoming captivated with city life.
“I wanted to go for a bit of a throwback to the Aerosmith videos with Alicia Silverstone – sort of a very loose plot about a party girl that maybe worked with the song, but didn’t necessarily follow the song’s lyrics to a tee,” said Porter, who worked with director-photographer David Kellogg on the video.
“There are nods to the lyrics here and there, and in general, like the song, it’s about a crazy night out for a not-so-crazy girl, but the concept and its tie-in to the lyrics aren’t overthought. We glammed the look of the band up a bit for shits ‘n giggles to do something different, get out of our comfort zone and have some fun.”
Porter and The Tucos demonstrate that glamorous fun while dressing head-to-toe in white or black and adorning sunglasses and scarves, thanks to stylist Alessandra Lipman. They proudly sport those hip stage fashions in a darkened gym located at the Plymouth Arts & Recreation Complex (PARC).
“PARC is an old high school here in Plymouth that’s been converted into an art space with studios that local artists can rent and stuff like that. I wanted something big like a high school gym, and it just seemed perfect,” said Porter, who’s partnering with Ghettoblaster Magazine to premiere the video today.
“I also like to keep my money in my community when possible and support the arts when I can. David and I met the manager there, and she showed us around, and we agreed it was our spot. The gym has the feel of the ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ video a bit, which I liked.”
In tandem with the band’s live performance footage, the “Put You on Hold” video includes compelling animated characters and background scenery by Jones William. It explores the main character’s social outings with friends as well as her dating life and city adventures.
“(Jones) answered a Craigslist ad and was honestly one of the very few worth following up with. We never talked, just through email, a language barrier was an issue, and I wasn’t sure what I was gonna get. In the end, he delivered, and I was pleased with the work he did,” Porter said.
The band’s “Put You on Hold” video ultimately came together with Kellogg, who brought a “youthful, enthusiastic energy” to the camera.
“I met David through Instagram when we were recording. His work caught my eye, and he ended up doing all of the photography, including the cover, for the record. And even though he’s younger, he still gets the ‘70s/‘80s references we were throwing out – he’s well-traveled, so to speak,” Porter said.
“He didn’t have much to do with the concept or animation part, but he was very involved in scouting and choosing the location and everything that went into the performance part – lighting, setup, direction and all that. He and I also edited it together.”
The Many Flavors of Candy Coated Cannonball
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos’ “Candy Coated Cannonball” album packs a powerful sonic punch with intricate stories about relationships and life experiences. Artwork – Jeremy Porter & David Kellogg
While “Put You on Hold” serves as Porter and The Tucos’ newest video, it also functions as the turbocharged opening track on their latest and fourth album, Candy Coated Cannonball.
The catchy track blends crunchy, swift electric guitars, thumping drums, exuberant bass and frantic organ as listeners vicariously join the main character’s exciting journey. Porter sings,” Little sister what you doing next Wednesday night?/Maybe grab a little something if the feeling’s right?/Don’t you worry momma don’t you have no fear/I’ll pick you up at seven in my Cavalier?”
“When I was writing Candy Coated Cannonball, I pushed myself in some different places that I hadn’t been before, whether it was a song like ‘Dead Ringer’ or ‘The Things All Men Do.’ It’s definitely not the last record part two,” said Porter, who formed The Tucos in 2010 after playing in several highly regarded Michigan bands.
Released via GTG Records in January, the 11-track Candy Coated Cannonball album, now available on all streaming platforms, nicely delves into diverse musical terrain through the lush greenways of alt country to the jam-packed cityscapes of classic rock and power pop to the subterranean sounds of punk and folk. Each track packs a powerful sonic punch with intricate stories about changing relationships and memorable life experiences.
“I’m a big sucker for melody – I love The Beatles, Cheap Trick and power pop stuff. We also have that tender country, Americana side. But then at the same time, I think our music also has a lot of energy and balls to it,” Porter said.
“That’s what I was going for with the title. The candy coating would be the sweet melodies of the acoustic and country grooves, but the cannonball would be the rock, the big amps, the electric guitars and the faster tempos.”
Porter and The Tucos also share a fast, addictive tempo on the Wilco-esque, power pop gem, “Dead Ringer,” as pounding drums, vivid acoustic strums, dancy bass, fiery electric guitars and spirited percussion depict a tale of an enchanting love interest.
He reveals, “I wake to find her standing there/In my twisted mind she’s everywhere/Telling me this chance is mine to lose.”
“The title came about from a story that Tom Waits told on ‘The David Letterman Show.’ He asked Dave, ‘Do you know how they got the term ‘dead ringer?’ Apparently, back in England in the 18th and 19th centuries, when they would bury someone in a cemetery, they would tie a string around their finger, and it would go up to the surface to a bell hanging on a stick,” he said.
“If you were buried alive, then you could ring the stick. They would hire somebody to stay in the cemetery all night and listen for bells. That’s how the term ‘dead ringer’ came up. I heard that story, and I’m a huge Tom Waits fan and thought that would be a great name for a song.”
In late 2020, the band also released a lyric video for “Dead Ringer,” which blends live performance and studio footage with still images. Porter shot live footage at pre-pandemic shows in Missouri, Illinois, West Virginia and Ohio while Moulton captured studio shots at Willis Sound.
“We couldn’t do a video because of the pandemic, and we needed a video for the record to come out. Lyric videos are all the rage, and some of the footage was taken at the last show we played, which was at The Village Idiot in Maumee,” Porter said.
Another endearing Candy Coated Cannonball track includes “Downriver Song,” a thoughtful, emotive rock track that pays homage to Porter’s family legacy south of Detroit. Shimmering cymbals, heated electric guitars (think Tom Petty and Mike Campbell), vibrant organ, soft bass and placid drums invite listeners along Porter’s father’s early work experiences of delivering papers and working in a foundry.
Porter reflects, “My old man returns now and again/To see what’s changed, what’s in the wind/And I make it back myself, sometimes too/I call ‘em my streets, tried and true.”
“My dad was raised in Woodhaven and Grosse Ile, and I was born in Alpena and grew up there and Marquette. We would come downstate, and my dad would show us the house he grew up in,” he said.
“When I moved downstate and started playing in bands, the first couple bands I was in were Downriver-based. I was running around on those streets, and it dawned on me years later how that came full circle, and then I tied in the whole plight of Detroit industrialism, the rise and fall.”
Porter took “Downriver Song” and the other 10 Candy Coated Cannonball tracks into the studio with co-producer/engineer Doman and Moulton in early 2020. They recorded the project at Willis Sound with engineer Jim Roll, completed additional tracking at The Pharmhouse and The Basement and worked with The Loft’s Tim Patalan to mix it and Sun Room Audio’s Dan Coutant to master it.
“Jim and I have a million friends in common, and I had heard his name for years and years. I’ve played guitar on records that he’s engineered. I wanted to work with him, and we ended up with him at Willis Sound, and we quickly became fast friends,” Porter said.
Candy Coated Cannonball also features stellar collaborations with Evan Mercer (Farfisa organ), Ingrid Racine (trumpet and flugelhorn), Roll (backing vocals) and Kellogg (hand claps).
“Both Evan and Ingrid came through Jim. I asked Jim, ‘Who should we get to play the Farfisa?’ And he’s like, ‘I got your guy.’ The same with Ingrid, and I was like, ‘We need a spaghetti western trumpet,’ and Jim said, ‘I know exactly who to call.’ They both were amazing,” Porter said.
The Future of The Tucos
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos have several local live dates lined up through the fall. Photo – Sara Jones
With the return of live music, Porter and The Tucos are eager to promote and share Candy Coated Cannonball with fans locally and nationally. The trio will play their first live show together in nearly 18 months at The Village Idiot on Aug. 14 in Maumee, Ohio.
“The Village Idiot was the last show we played the night before the entire country locked down, so it makes great sense to start back up there. It’s a small room where people go to listen, but it’s also got that dive bar, music joint feel that we’re comfortable in,” said Porter, who also performs solo acoustic shows.
“We’ll do two sets, material from our entire catalog and a few well-paced, unexpected covers. Sometimes things get a little crazy there, so who knows what else might happen. We do have a couple of new songs in varying states of completeness that will almost certainly be debuted that night.”
After The Village Idiot show, Porter and The Tucos will play Hamtramck’s Outer Limits Lounge on Oct. 22, Lansing’s The Avenue Café on Oct. 23, Knoxville’s Preservation Pub on Nov. 5 and Detroit’s PJ’s Lager House on Dec. 4.
“We’re writing and practicing in The Basement regularly, and that’s been cathartic. We plan to hit the road in 2022, continue to write new material and work toward a new record, though it’s too early to start talking seriously about that. I want to focus on supporting this record for the next year or so,” he said.
Aldora Britain Records E-Zine #57 (UK)
Candy Coated Cannonball
September 08, 2021 External Link
September 08, 2021 External Link
Candy Coated Cannonball
Michigan-born underground rock legend JEREMY PORTER is renowned in and around Detroit for his brilliant work with his backing band The Tucos. Taking influence from classic rock and roll acts such as The Rolling Stones, Kiss and The Knack, Porter has enjoyed almost four decades of marvellous music making. From the pub punk scene to alt country swansongs, there is little ground left uncovered, such is the diversity and brilliance of this musician and songwriter. Most recently, Porter and The Tucos have released their pre-lockdown era album Candy Coated Cannonball. With live gig opportunities few and far between, Aldora Britain Records caught up with Porter to chat about the record and his journey so far.
JEREMY PORTER AND THE TUCOS CAN BE HEARD AS PART OF THIS ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS COMPILATION.
ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS: Hi Jeremy, how are you doing? It is such a pleasure to be talking to the face of The Tucos today. Thank you for your time! I was wondering if we could start off right at the beginning in that smalltown of Marquette. What are some of your first musical memories and what pushed you towards pursuing music?
JEREMY PORTER: Hey Tom, great to talk to you as well. Thanks for having me! My first musical memories were of my parent’s stereo, playing Bob Dylan, The
Beatles, then later Linda Ronstadt, Fleetwood Mac, stuff life that. There was always music in our house, on the stereo or the piano or whatever.
I started playing guitar fairly young with the reasonable and perfectly obtainable goal of being a huge rockstar like Ace Frehley. I always liked school because I could hang with my friends, but I hated being stuck there and I hated schoolwork. I wasn’t a good student, but mostly just because I didn’t care. I wasn’t engaged. It wasn’t something I embraced. Rockstar seemed like the perfect job for me. As time went on, I started to realise that it wasn’t as easy as it looked, playing guitar like those guys in Circus Magazine, and it started to seem unobtainable. Around then my family moved to a new city – Marquette, Michigan – I met some new friends, they turned me onto The Clash and The Ramones, and I realised you didn’t have to play like Eddie Van Halen to be in a band and you could have a fulfilling music career without being a huge ‘star’. I guess I’ve been making that adjustment for the last 35 years.
ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS: You eventually moved to Detroit, a city that has an immense and undeniable musical heritage. What was the draw of Detroit at this
“I started playing guitar fairly young with the reasonable and perfectly obtainable goal of being a huge rockstar like Ace Frehley.”
time for you? You had quite an education during this period in local punk bands. How do you look back on those days?
JEREMY PORTER: I had to get out of Marquette. I love that city and my friends there, and it’ll always be ‘home’ to me, but I wasn’t going to be able to forge a music career there. I was drawn to Detroit for a couple of reasons. First of all, I’ve always lived in Michigan, and from Marquette, it was basically Detroit, Chicago or Milwaukee. Growing up, we would visit Detroit, I could get into college for less money in that area, I had friends down there, and for some reason, it just made more sense. It was the only place I really considered, to be honest. It’s a great city, but those were some dark years for it.
I look back on my early punk years in Detroit very fondly. I’m still friends with all those people, some of them very closely, and I’m proud of the work we did, the ground we covered, and the music we made. I’ve got regrets and things I’d do differently in hindsight, but for the most part I think I did the best I could at the time.
ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS: The Tucos came about in 2009. I simply love this band and I think it is fair to say that it is one of your most successful projects to date. What was the initial spark behind it all? Can you tell me about the early days and is it a group mentality or more of an outlet for your amazing songwriting?
JEREMY PORTER: That’s high praise, thanks man! It was actually late 2010 when we got together. Around that time, I was playing in a band called Fidrych with some really good friends, and good dudes, and good musicians. We had fun playing together, but it was a bit relaxed and slow-paced for me. We were coming off a slow, mostly inactive year and staring down a period of extended inactivity ahead due to outside factors, and I just can’t be idle like that. I was asked to contribute a song to a Christmas compilation, so I got Gabriel and Jason together to back me up. A few weeks later we were gigging. Pretty much as simple as that. We were very busy, very early on and quickly started playing a lot of road dates, which was something my last couple of bands had done very little of, regrettably.
The logistics of the music we play is very collaborative. I bring in the songs, occasionally Gabriel has a riff or idea, and we work together on parts and arrangement. It’s very open and honest, and nothing is off the table. Very democratic and collaborative. The logistics of the business side are more in my lap. I manage most of the booking, promotion, travel, press, artwork, etc. It’s an arrangement that’s worked pretty well so far.
ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS: I love the band’s sound. I think it is rooted in a strong passion for American rock and roll music. What would you say are the main influences behind it all, what bands do you look to? How do you describe the sound?
JEREMY PORTER: This is always a tough question. I generally say we’re afflicted with an ongoing identity crisis and we’re not really sure what we are, but there are clearly some buckets we would fit in. We’ve got a powerpop side – classic American powerpop bands like Cheap Trick, Plimsouls, The Knack. A little darker or more rocking – not so much the happy, janglier stuff, though not altogether excluded! We’ve also got a roots rock side – a little more whiskey soaked,
“It’s very open and honest, and nothing is off the table. Very democratic and collaborative.”
country rock, bar rock. And if you dig a little deeper you’ll hear some rockabilly, classic country and punk in there too. It’s not one thing, and sometimes that works for us, and sometimes it works against us.
We try not to follow the sound of any band, but comparisons to The Replacements are inevitable. Uncle Tupelo has a place in that conversation too. The bands I mentioned before. It’s very Midwestern USA, blue collar, honest rock and roll, like all of those bands. Not a lot of schtick, just plug in and play the best songs you can write the best way you can, have fun, and hopefully people can relate.
ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS: Candy Coated Cannonball is an absolute godsend after the isolation, boredom and misery of the last year. How did that record come about? What are your memories from making and releasing it? It must be fairly difficult to make a ‘lockdown’ album!
JEREMY PORTER: Yeah, it’s been a real drag, hasn’t it? We finished recording the album right before everything shut down in early March. We had a bass player change at the start of 2019 and Bob came on board. We spent the year
“Not a lot of schtick, just plug in and play the best songs you can write the best way you can, have fun, and hopefully people can relate.”
writing the album, doing demos and playing shows, breaking him in. We did some good road work that fall then started recording right after the holidays. When the pandemic hit, we tried waiting it out for a couple of months, but when it became clear that it was going to be a while, we fired up the gears and got it mixed and mastered over the summer and fall.
It was weird releasing a record without tour dates to support it. I live for playing live and travelling, so the record is to some extent the vehicle for that to me, and it just wasn’t going to happen this time. Surprisingly, pre-sales and sales around the release were stronger than ever, and people like you have been very receptive and kind in talking about it, which helps to take some of the sting out, but it still hurts not to be able to support it out on the road and give these songs some life on stage.
ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS: I would like to single out ‘The Things Men Do’. The title caught my eye straightaway and the song itself does not disappoint. What is the story behind it and what does it mean to you?
JEREMY PORTER: Yeah, you like that one? Thanks! There’s a lot going on in there. The intro is very Spaghetti Western with that beautiful trumpet played by Ingrid Racine. It’s a slowed-down rip off of ‘Dream While You Still Can’ by NP Presley and The Ghost of Jesse Garon, with a bit of Tom Waits reverb and tribal beats thrown in. The main part of more American punk – reminds me a bit of 90s era Social Distortion, I guess. Lots of loud guitars – Les Pauls and Marshalls. Lyrically, I guess it’s fairly typical of my writing. A relationship that has failed and left a deep scar on the song’s protagonist, but with his acceptance of most of the blame at the same time. It’s also a bit of a nod to the #MeToo movement, I suppose, because men are jerks, and because breaking hearts is what we do. That’s probably where the title came from, even though it’s a bit of stretch in message and execution.
ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS: And you have a coffee table book too! Rock and Roll Restrooms. What is that about?
JEREMY PORTER: Yeah! It’s a collection of snapshots I’ve taken of the bathrooms in the bars and clubs we’ve played across the US, UK and Canada over the years – each unique and nasty and glorious in its own special way. The book is just a prototype, about forty images or so. There are hundreds more and I’m looking for a publisher. If anyone is interested, let’s talk!
QUICKFIRE ROUND
AB RECORDS: Favourite artist? JEREMY: These days, Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood. All time, The Who, Cheap Trick, Beatles, Stones, Gram Parsons, Husker Du, Drive-By Truckers, Bangles.
AB RECORDS: Favourite album? JEREMY: These days, Paul Stanley 1978 Kiss solo album. All time, The Replacements – Let It Be.
AB RECORDS: First gig? JEREMY: Alice Cooper, Special Forces tour, July 5, 1981, Thunder Bay Drive In, Alpena, Michigan.
AB RECORDS: Style icon? JEREMY: Blackie Lawless circa 1984.
AB RECORDS: Favourite film? JEREMY: Every Which Way but Loose.
AB RECORDS: Favourite up and coming artist? JEREMY: Tex Dynamite.
Michigan-born underground rock legend JEREMY PORTER is renowned in and around Detroit for his brilliant work with his backing band The Tucos. Taking influence from classic rock and roll acts such as The Rolling Stones, Kiss and The Knack, Porter has enjoyed almost four decades of marvellous music making. From the pub punk scene to alt country swansongs, there is little ground left uncovered, such is the diversity and brilliance of this musician and songwriter. Most recently, Porter and The Tucos have released their pre-lockdown era album Candy Coated Cannonball. With live gig opportunities few and far between, Aldora Britain Records caught up with Porter to chat about the record and his journey so far.
JEREMY PORTER AND THE TUCOS CAN BE HEARD AS PART OF THIS ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS COMPILATION.
ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS: Hi Jeremy, how are you doing? It is such a pleasure to be talking to the face of The Tucos today. Thank you for your time! I was wondering if we could start off right at the beginning in that smalltown of Marquette. What are some of your first musical memories and what pushed you towards pursuing music?
JEREMY PORTER: Hey Tom, great to talk to you as well. Thanks for having me! My first musical memories were of my parent’s stereo, playing Bob Dylan, The
Beatles, then later Linda Ronstadt, Fleetwood Mac, stuff life that. There was always music in our house, on the stereo or the piano or whatever.
I started playing guitar fairly young with the reasonable and perfectly obtainable goal of being a huge rockstar like Ace Frehley. I always liked school because I could hang with my friends, but I hated being stuck there and I hated schoolwork. I wasn’t a good student, but mostly just because I didn’t care. I wasn’t engaged. It wasn’t something I embraced. Rockstar seemed like the perfect job for me. As time went on, I started to realise that it wasn’t as easy as it looked, playing guitar like those guys in Circus Magazine, and it started to seem unobtainable. Around then my family moved to a new city – Marquette, Michigan – I met some new friends, they turned me onto The Clash and The Ramones, and I realised you didn’t have to play like Eddie Van Halen to be in a band and you could have a fulfilling music career without being a huge ‘star’. I guess I’ve been making that adjustment for the last 35 years.
ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS: You eventually moved to Detroit, a city that has an immense and undeniable musical heritage. What was the draw of Detroit at this
“I started playing guitar fairly young with the reasonable and perfectly obtainable goal of being a huge rockstar like Ace Frehley.”
time for you? You had quite an education during this period in local punk bands. How do you look back on those days?
JEREMY PORTER: I had to get out of Marquette. I love that city and my friends there, and it’ll always be ‘home’ to me, but I wasn’t going to be able to forge a music career there. I was drawn to Detroit for a couple of reasons. First of all, I’ve always lived in Michigan, and from Marquette, it was basically Detroit, Chicago or Milwaukee. Growing up, we would visit Detroit, I could get into college for less money in that area, I had friends down there, and for some reason, it just made more sense. It was the only place I really considered, to be honest. It’s a great city, but those were some dark years for it.
I look back on my early punk years in Detroit very fondly. I’m still friends with all those people, some of them very closely, and I’m proud of the work we did, the ground we covered, and the music we made. I’ve got regrets and things I’d do differently in hindsight, but for the most part I think I did the best I could at the time.
ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS: The Tucos came about in 2009. I simply love this band and I think it is fair to say that it is one of your most successful projects to date. What was the initial spark behind it all? Can you tell me about the early days and is it a group mentality or more of an outlet for your amazing songwriting?
JEREMY PORTER: That’s high praise, thanks man! It was actually late 2010 when we got together. Around that time, I was playing in a band called Fidrych with some really good friends, and good dudes, and good musicians. We had fun playing together, but it was a bit relaxed and slow-paced for me. We were coming off a slow, mostly inactive year and staring down a period of extended inactivity ahead due to outside factors, and I just can’t be idle like that. I was asked to contribute a song to a Christmas compilation, so I got Gabriel and Jason together to back me up. A few weeks later we were gigging. Pretty much as simple as that. We were very busy, very early on and quickly started playing a lot of road dates, which was something my last couple of bands had done very little of, regrettably.
The logistics of the music we play is very collaborative. I bring in the songs, occasionally Gabriel has a riff or idea, and we work together on parts and arrangement. It’s very open and honest, and nothing is off the table. Very democratic and collaborative. The logistics of the business side are more in my lap. I manage most of the booking, promotion, travel, press, artwork, etc. It’s an arrangement that’s worked pretty well so far.
ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS: I love the band’s sound. I think it is rooted in a strong passion for American rock and roll music. What would you say are the main influences behind it all, what bands do you look to? How do you describe the sound?
JEREMY PORTER: This is always a tough question. I generally say we’re afflicted with an ongoing identity crisis and we’re not really sure what we are, but there are clearly some buckets we would fit in. We’ve got a powerpop side – classic American powerpop bands like Cheap Trick, Plimsouls, The Knack. A little darker or more rocking – not so much the happy, janglier stuff, though not altogether excluded! We’ve also got a roots rock side – a little more whiskey soaked,
“It’s very open and honest, and nothing is off the table. Very democratic and collaborative.”
country rock, bar rock. And if you dig a little deeper you’ll hear some rockabilly, classic country and punk in there too. It’s not one thing, and sometimes that works for us, and sometimes it works against us.
We try not to follow the sound of any band, but comparisons to The Replacements are inevitable. Uncle Tupelo has a place in that conversation too. The bands I mentioned before. It’s very Midwestern USA, blue collar, honest rock and roll, like all of those bands. Not a lot of schtick, just plug in and play the best songs you can write the best way you can, have fun, and hopefully people can relate.
ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS: Candy Coated Cannonball is an absolute godsend after the isolation, boredom and misery of the last year. How did that record come about? What are your memories from making and releasing it? It must be fairly difficult to make a ‘lockdown’ album!
JEREMY PORTER: Yeah, it’s been a real drag, hasn’t it? We finished recording the album right before everything shut down in early March. We had a bass player change at the start of 2019 and Bob came on board. We spent the year
“Not a lot of schtick, just plug in and play the best songs you can write the best way you can, have fun, and hopefully people can relate.”
writing the album, doing demos and playing shows, breaking him in. We did some good road work that fall then started recording right after the holidays. When the pandemic hit, we tried waiting it out for a couple of months, but when it became clear that it was going to be a while, we fired up the gears and got it mixed and mastered over the summer and fall.
It was weird releasing a record without tour dates to support it. I live for playing live and travelling, so the record is to some extent the vehicle for that to me, and it just wasn’t going to happen this time. Surprisingly, pre-sales and sales around the release were stronger than ever, and people like you have been very receptive and kind in talking about it, which helps to take some of the sting out, but it still hurts not to be able to support it out on the road and give these songs some life on stage.
ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS: I would like to single out ‘The Things Men Do’. The title caught my eye straightaway and the song itself does not disappoint. What is the story behind it and what does it mean to you?
JEREMY PORTER: Yeah, you like that one? Thanks! There’s a lot going on in there. The intro is very Spaghetti Western with that beautiful trumpet played by Ingrid Racine. It’s a slowed-down rip off of ‘Dream While You Still Can’ by NP Presley and The Ghost of Jesse Garon, with a bit of Tom Waits reverb and tribal beats thrown in. The main part of more American punk – reminds me a bit of 90s era Social Distortion, I guess. Lots of loud guitars – Les Pauls and Marshalls. Lyrically, I guess it’s fairly typical of my writing. A relationship that has failed and left a deep scar on the song’s protagonist, but with his acceptance of most of the blame at the same time. It’s also a bit of a nod to the #MeToo movement, I suppose, because men are jerks, and because breaking hearts is what we do. That’s probably where the title came from, even though it’s a bit of stretch in message and execution.
ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS: And you have a coffee table book too! Rock and Roll Restrooms. What is that about?
JEREMY PORTER: Yeah! It’s a collection of snapshots I’ve taken of the bathrooms in the bars and clubs we’ve played across the US, UK and Canada over the years – each unique and nasty and glorious in its own special way. The book is just a prototype, about forty images or so. There are hundreds more and I’m looking for a publisher. If anyone is interested, let’s talk!
QUICKFIRE ROUND
AB RECORDS: Favourite artist? JEREMY: These days, Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood. All time, The Who, Cheap Trick, Beatles, Stones, Gram Parsons, Husker Du, Drive-By Truckers, Bangles.
AB RECORDS: Favourite album? JEREMY: These days, Paul Stanley 1978 Kiss solo album. All time, The Replacements – Let It Be.
AB RECORDS: First gig? JEREMY: Alice Cooper, Special Forces tour, July 5, 1981, Thunder Bay Drive In, Alpena, Michigan.
AB RECORDS: Style icon? JEREMY: Blackie Lawless circa 1984.
AB RECORDS: Favourite film? JEREMY: Every Which Way but Loose.
AB RECORDS: Favourite up and coming artist? JEREMY: Tex Dynamite.
Brattleboro Reformer (Brattleboro, VT)
Collective forms as a result of pandemic, musicians call Brattleboro 'honorary hometown'
By Dave Madeloni, Correspondent | Oct 4, 2021
October 04, 2021
External Link
BRATTLEBORO — The pandemic has been tough on everyone, and it’s been particularly cruel for musical performers, who rely so much on gigs to sustain their creative work. For the past 18 months or so, many were relegated to performing virtually from their living rooms instead of live with people at concert venues. Luckily, that is beginning to change.
When it comes to crises, we know that opportunities can arise as well. In the case of The Wild Honey Collective (TWHC) — who will be performing at The Stone Church this evening, the ensemble formed because of the pandemic.
In a recent email exchange, founding member guitarist Tommy McCord explained how TWHC came together. “Danielle (Gyger) and I formed this project in the summer of 2020, essentially because all of the shows were canceled and none of our regular bands were practicing or recording”
And what did this brand new collective cook up musically?
“As cliche as it may sound, the whole concept was one of “getting back to the roots” of music as we were basically doing acoustic, outdoor practice sessions, so everyone that we play with is someone that we know we can connect with on a stripped-down level. We put “collective” in the band name for a reason — folks come in and out of the lineup depending on the show.”
The other two leaders of the collective (Timmy Rodriguez and Dan O’Brien) are not currently able to tour. So that mini-crisis became an opportunity to do a long-discussed collaboration with old friend Jeremy Porter, and also get out on the road with Nich Richard, a longtime bandmate of McCord’s from the rock band The Plurals.
Porter fronts his own rock band Jeremy Porter and the Tucos. He is clearly pumped to take a new direction with some old friends.
“This is the first time in forever that I’ve played or toured with other musicians outside of The Tucos” Porter added. “So it’s pretty exciting for me to get some fresh blood in the mix, get pushed and pulled in a couple different directions. ... We’ve known each other for years, but playing music together adds a deeper element to the relationships and touring together takes it even one step further. Friendships aside, Tommy, Dani and Nich are all people I respected as musicians, and this whole experience has just cemented that, and my hope is that it comes off that way on stage.”
I asked McCord what concertgoers might expect from The Collective at The Stone Church show.
“My number-one goal is to always just give the audience a great night out. Particularly in the era of COVID, any chance to get lost in the passion of live music is worth appreciating. We’ve got a set planned that works as a revue of sorts — Jeremy will play some songs from his projects, then Dani, Nich, and I will back him up on songs before taking over the rest of the set with a selection of Wild Honey Collective originals, traditional songs, and a variety of country-flavored cover songs from artists ranging from Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Gram Parsons, Husker Du, Rolling Stones and beyond. Danielle used to live in Brattleboro so we’re also looking forward to staking this out as an honorary hometown for us.”
Porter also is excited to share the bill with Moon Hollow, a high-energy acoustic trio from these parts, and have a better time than the last time he played in The Green Mountain State. “I’ve played Vermont once before, in Burlington, and we were on a stage the size of a postage stamp playing to 4 people with their backs to us the entire time on a Sunday night after a nine-hour drive, so I am really looking forward to checking out Brattleboro and playing at The Stone Church — it can only get better, right?”
When it comes to crises, we know that opportunities can arise as well. In the case of The Wild Honey Collective (TWHC) — who will be performing at The Stone Church this evening, the ensemble formed because of the pandemic.
In a recent email exchange, founding member guitarist Tommy McCord explained how TWHC came together. “Danielle (Gyger) and I formed this project in the summer of 2020, essentially because all of the shows were canceled and none of our regular bands were practicing or recording”
And what did this brand new collective cook up musically?
“As cliche as it may sound, the whole concept was one of “getting back to the roots” of music as we were basically doing acoustic, outdoor practice sessions, so everyone that we play with is someone that we know we can connect with on a stripped-down level. We put “collective” in the band name for a reason — folks come in and out of the lineup depending on the show.”
The other two leaders of the collective (Timmy Rodriguez and Dan O’Brien) are not currently able to tour. So that mini-crisis became an opportunity to do a long-discussed collaboration with old friend Jeremy Porter, and also get out on the road with Nich Richard, a longtime bandmate of McCord’s from the rock band The Plurals.
Porter fronts his own rock band Jeremy Porter and the Tucos. He is clearly pumped to take a new direction with some old friends.
“This is the first time in forever that I’ve played or toured with other musicians outside of The Tucos” Porter added. “So it’s pretty exciting for me to get some fresh blood in the mix, get pushed and pulled in a couple different directions. ... We’ve known each other for years, but playing music together adds a deeper element to the relationships and touring together takes it even one step further. Friendships aside, Tommy, Dani and Nich are all people I respected as musicians, and this whole experience has just cemented that, and my hope is that it comes off that way on stage.”
I asked McCord what concertgoers might expect from The Collective at The Stone Church show.
“My number-one goal is to always just give the audience a great night out. Particularly in the era of COVID, any chance to get lost in the passion of live music is worth appreciating. We’ve got a set planned that works as a revue of sorts — Jeremy will play some songs from his projects, then Dani, Nich, and I will back him up on songs before taking over the rest of the set with a selection of Wild Honey Collective originals, traditional songs, and a variety of country-flavored cover songs from artists ranging from Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Gram Parsons, Husker Du, Rolling Stones and beyond. Danielle used to live in Brattleboro so we’re also looking forward to staking this out as an honorary hometown for us.”
Porter also is excited to share the bill with Moon Hollow, a high-energy acoustic trio from these parts, and have a better time than the last time he played in The Green Mountain State. “I’ve played Vermont once before, in Burlington, and we were on a stage the size of a postage stamp playing to 4 people with their backs to us the entire time on a Sunday night after a nine-hour drive, so I am really looking forward to checking out Brattleboro and playing at The Stone Church — it can only get better, right?”
The Free Press (Midcoast ME)
The Wild Honey Collective Live, in Searsmont
Tuesday, October 5, 2021 2:29 PM
October 05, 2021
External Link
The Wild Honey Collective featuring Jeremy Porter will play at Threshers Brewing Company, located at
22B Main Street North in Searsmont, on Saturday, October 9, from 7 to 9 p.m. There is no charge.
The Wild Honey Collective, from Lansing, Michigan, play acoustic folk music with a hint of rock. They are touring in support of their debut LP “The Wild Honey Collective: Volume 1,” released earlier this year. Joining the group will be members of The Plurals. Porter has played with Jeremy Porter and the Tucos, The OffRamps, Slugbug and other groups for 35 years.
The Wild Honey Collective Live, in Searsmont
Tuesday, October 5, 2021 2:29 PM
Clockwise from upper right, Nicholas Richard, Jeremy Porter, Danielle Gyger and Tommy Plural
The Wild Honey Collective, from Lansing, Michigan, play acoustic folk music with a hint of rock. They are touring in support of their debut LP “The Wild Honey Collective: Volume 1,” released earlier this year. Joining the group will be members of The Plurals. Porter has played with Jeremy Porter and the Tucos, The OffRamps, Slugbug and other groups for 35 years.
The Wild Honey Collective Live, in Searsmont
Tuesday, October 5, 2021 2:29 PM
Clockwise from upper right, Nicholas Richard, Jeremy Porter, Danielle Gyger and Tommy Plural
Stay Happening (Brattleboro, VT)
Wild Honey Collective/Moon Hollow/Jeremy Porter
October 06, 2021 External Link
October 06, 2021 External Link
The Wild Honey Collective is a mid-Michigan music project formed in the summmer of 2020 by
Danielle Gyger, Tommy McCord, Timmy Rodriguez, and Dan O'Brien to showcase folk and traditional
music alongside original compositions.
Hailing from the hills of southern Vermont, Moon Hollow is a high energy acoustic trio which features the songwriting talent Tim Cardiello, Charlie Peckar & Louis Willens. They perform original music and a mix of americana, alt-country, folk, early jazz and bluegrass. Each night, Moon Hollow strives to put smiles on faces by getting folks up and dancing!
Jeremy Porter is a guitar player, singer and songwriter from Marquette, Michigan, currently living in Plymouth, Michigan (near Detroit). He is the founder of the Detroit-based band Jeremy Porter & The Tucos and co-founder of The Regulars, considered one of the first punk bands in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
Hailing from the hills of southern Vermont, Moon Hollow is a high energy acoustic trio which features the songwriting talent Tim Cardiello, Charlie Peckar & Louis Willens. They perform original music and a mix of americana, alt-country, folk, early jazz and bluegrass. Each night, Moon Hollow strives to put smiles on faces by getting folks up and dancing!
Jeremy Porter is a guitar player, singer and songwriter from Marquette, Michigan, currently living in Plymouth, Michigan (near Detroit). He is the founder of the Detroit-based band Jeremy Porter & The Tucos and co-founder of The Regulars, considered one of the first punk bands in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
Nippertown (Upstate NY)
Today’s Top Tips for Live Music (October 6, 2021)
Best bet: Wild Honey Collective featuring Jeremy Porter / Curious Comet / As Iz @ Pauly’s Hotel, Albany.
October 06, 2021
External Link
A unique version of Michigan’s Wild Honey Collective comes to Pauly’s,
featuring Jeremy Porter (who will also play solo in addition to accompanying
Wild Honey on lap steel, mandolin, and guitar) and Nicholas Richard. (8:00)
Seven Days (Brattleboro, VT)
The Wild Honey Collective
When: Thu., Oct. 7, 8 p.m. 2021
Phone: 802-579-9960
Price: $10.
The Michigan folk band fiddles the night away alongside special guest singer-songwriter Jeremy Porter. Masks and proof of vaccination required.
When: Thu., Oct. 7, 8 p.m. 2021
Phone: 802-579-9960
Price: $10.
The Michigan folk band fiddles the night away alongside special guest singer-songwriter Jeremy Porter. Masks and proof of vaccination required.
Erie Reader (Erie, PA)
The Wild Honey Collective Featuring Jeremy Porter - Live at Riverside Brewing Company
October 12, 2021 External Link
October 12, 2021 External Link
The Wild Honey Collective are a cosmic-folk-Appalachian band from Lansing Michigan supporting their debut LP Volume 1 released earlier that year on GTG Records. The touring party includes members of The Plurals! Jeremy Porter brings 30 years of touring/recording with Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, The OffRamps, Slugbug and solo-acoustic as direct support and also sitting with TWHC on various instruments. The tour is a classic "revue" format where members will step in and out and swap instruments throughout. It's folky and acoustic, but there is a rock element to it as well. It is a blast!
"In true Americana fashion, [Wild Honey] benefits from talented instrumentalists, luscious vocal harmonies, richly complex arrangements, heartfelt lyrics and high-quality production. The Wild Honey Collective's sound has its feet firmly rooted in classic country and folk while daring to allow its head to explore the technicolor clouds of psychedelia." - Local Spins, Lansing, MI
"In true Americana fashion, [Wild Honey] benefits from talented instrumentalists, luscious vocal harmonies, richly complex arrangements, heartfelt lyrics and high-quality production. The Wild Honey Collective's sound has its feet firmly rooted in classic country and folk while daring to allow its head to explore the technicolor clouds of psychedelia." - Local Spins, Lansing, MI
Audio Ink Radio (Detroit, MI)
Local Music Beat: From Billy Strings to Centenary, Audio Ink Radio names some of the best Michigan albums and singles of 2021
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, “Candy Coated Cannonball”
December 17, 2021
External Link
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, “Candy Coated Cannonball”
In March 2020, shortly before the world closed down due to the pandemic, Jeremy Porter and the Tucos finished recording their new album, “Candy Coated Cannonball.” The album was uniquely recorded at Willis Sound, a converted 1895 church in Willis, Michigan. Porter and company released the set in January 2021, and it was worth the wait, featuring strong songwriting and tuneful melodies.
In March 2020, shortly before the world closed down due to the pandemic, Jeremy Porter and the Tucos finished recording their new album, “Candy Coated Cannonball.” The album was uniquely recorded at Willis Sound, a converted 1895 church in Willis, Michigan. Porter and company released the set in January 2021, and it was worth the wait, featuring strong songwriting and tuneful melodies.
Rant-A-Bit By Scott Hudson (National)
The Ledge #502: Best Records of 2021 NYE Countdown
And now tracks from my countdown of the best albums of 2021:
January 01, 2022
External Link
4. Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, Dead Ringer
Lowell Arts (Lowell, MI)
Featured Artist of the Month: January - The Wild Honey Collective
About The Wild Honey Collective
January 01, 2022
External Link
By Laurel Jordan & Sue Clements
Debut Album: The Wild Honey Collective, Volume 1 (2021)
Band Members: Tommy McCord, Timmy Rodriguez, , Danielle (Dani) Gyger, and Dan O’Brien
Covid-19 didn’t stop the music. In fact, for The Wild Honey Collective that’s when things were getting started. Band members Tommy McCord and Timmy Rodriguez both play a part in the indie-rock band Drinking Mercury, who were still actively playing until the pandemic put life on hold. Tommy and Timmy still got together, along with Tommy’s fiance, Danielle (Dani) Gyger, and the three musicians sat on a back porch in the spring and summer of 2020, playing music. “We played our own songs, friend's songs, and traditional folks songs and decided to make an album in this vein which turned the whole thing into a proper band,” Tommy explained.
Timmy then brought on the fourth member, Dan O’Brien, wanting to add another multi-instrumentalist to round out the band. “Once Dan was in, we started churning out material. There were no shows going on, so we just practiced. Some of us were not working because of the shutdown, so we had time on our hands. We met on a weekly basis, putting together material for when shows returned.” The Wild Honey Collective has some great material to share. They released their debut album in 2021 titled The Wild Honey Collective, Volume 1, and this album is much like the band members themselves - rooted in what they do best, but also multi-faceted. You can hear all four voices throughout the album as they interchange who takes the lead vocally. A troop of truly versatile performers.
“We intentionally rotate roles as everyone sings, writes, and plays multiple instruments,” Tommy says. “But generally speaking, Tommy is the bandleader and recording arranger, Danielle is the leader in the vocal harmony department and also the one with a legitimate traditional/folk background, Timmy is the deputy vocal harmony arranger and adds the most energy and pop music sensibility, while Dan is the necessary glue with the widest instrumental knowledge and encyclopedic song memory.”
The band has been busy this last year. After releasing their first album, the group took to the east coast for a tour spanning the first two weeks in October. While Timmy and Dan held down the fort in Michigan, Tommy and Danielle traveled with friends Jeremy Porter and Nicholas Richard, starting their journey in Albany, New York and ending in Dayton, Ohio before coming home. Tommy shared his experience with us. “This tour was very unique in that every show was completely different - we played a dive bar, a former church, a metropolitan jazz club, an outdoor brewery patio in 40 degree northern Maine, the loft of a record store, a private party in a fancy brewery, and a converted taxi garage.
“I think everyone's favorite show was at the classy jazz club/listening room Blue in Portland, Maine. Our show the night before had been full of an incredible amount of technical issues and had overall been sterile and stressful, and then the locals in Portland and the staff at Blue were incredibly welcoming and supportive, resulting in a well-played and fun show from our band. A great show is a collaboration between the band and the audience.” Jeremy Porter also documented each gig and the time the musicians spent on the road in a series of posts he titled as his “Road Blog,” which can be found on The Wild Honey Collective’s Facebook page if you scroll back to October 2021.
Looking to the future, The Wild Honey Collective isn’t done taking to the road to share their music. When asked about their touring plans, Tommy explained, “We're planning a shorter excursion in the midwest for springtime that hopefully can feature the four principles, and nothing is set in stone but the collaboration with Jeremy Porter was very successful so we'll definitely do some more road work together in some capacity.” The band is also excited to venture back out east for another tour, expressing that they hope to visit northern Maine when the weather would give them a warmer welcome.
Timmy is especially looking forward to more live opportunities with the band. “We just missed the boat on booking a bunch of shows last summer because we didn't know if live shows would really return in full fashion, so this year we are already booking up the summer. We are totally stoked to just play.” But scheduling tours and live performances isn’t the only project The Wild Honey Collective has in store for the new year. They also plan to release their second album in the spring of 2022.
“The second album will very much follow in the footsteps of the first album: there will be new original songs, songs written by friends of the band, and some band arrangements of folk standards,” Tommy says. “The main difference between this album and the first is that we had never played any proper shows until after the first album was out so we have clearer ideas of our strengths and in general we have just been growing as a band.” Danielle seems to agree with this sentiment. Now with more live performance experience under her belt, she shares, “I'm new to performing, and it's brought me out of my shell and forced creativity upon me in a way that I have never experienced as an adult. I couldn't ask for a better band of constructive, inspiring, and encouraging people to play with.”
Collective is the perfect word for this group. By definition, “a cooperative project or undertaking” is exactly what this band creates for each other and their listeners. Timmy explains this well. “The word ‘collective’ is certainly true here because we are all equally contributing to the songs in ways I have never done before in other bands. Usually in my previous bands, one person
has a song and you just kind of make up stuff based around their structures. That's not exactly how it is here. We rely on each other a lot for the composing.”
There seems to be no better way to describe the band that got together to simply play music while the world was idle and waiting. It’s inspiring for all of us to see the good things that came from a time of hardships. This band’s story is one that shows us the endurance of art and creativity, even in hard times. And now, because of their love of music and playing together, everyone has much to look forward to from The Wild Honey Collective.
Debut Album: The Wild Honey Collective, Volume 1 (2021)
Band Members: Tommy McCord, Timmy Rodriguez, , Danielle (Dani) Gyger, and Dan O’Brien
Covid-19 didn’t stop the music. In fact, for The Wild Honey Collective that’s when things were getting started. Band members Tommy McCord and Timmy Rodriguez both play a part in the indie-rock band Drinking Mercury, who were still actively playing until the pandemic put life on hold. Tommy and Timmy still got together, along with Tommy’s fiance, Danielle (Dani) Gyger, and the three musicians sat on a back porch in the spring and summer of 2020, playing music. “We played our own songs, friend's songs, and traditional folks songs and decided to make an album in this vein which turned the whole thing into a proper band,” Tommy explained.
Timmy then brought on the fourth member, Dan O’Brien, wanting to add another multi-instrumentalist to round out the band. “Once Dan was in, we started churning out material. There were no shows going on, so we just practiced. Some of us were not working because of the shutdown, so we had time on our hands. We met on a weekly basis, putting together material for when shows returned.” The Wild Honey Collective has some great material to share. They released their debut album in 2021 titled The Wild Honey Collective, Volume 1, and this album is much like the band members themselves - rooted in what they do best, but also multi-faceted. You can hear all four voices throughout the album as they interchange who takes the lead vocally. A troop of truly versatile performers.
“We intentionally rotate roles as everyone sings, writes, and plays multiple instruments,” Tommy says. “But generally speaking, Tommy is the bandleader and recording arranger, Danielle is the leader in the vocal harmony department and also the one with a legitimate traditional/folk background, Timmy is the deputy vocal harmony arranger and adds the most energy and pop music sensibility, while Dan is the necessary glue with the widest instrumental knowledge and encyclopedic song memory.”
The band has been busy this last year. After releasing their first album, the group took to the east coast for a tour spanning the first two weeks in October. While Timmy and Dan held down the fort in Michigan, Tommy and Danielle traveled with friends Jeremy Porter and Nicholas Richard, starting their journey in Albany, New York and ending in Dayton, Ohio before coming home. Tommy shared his experience with us. “This tour was very unique in that every show was completely different - we played a dive bar, a former church, a metropolitan jazz club, an outdoor brewery patio in 40 degree northern Maine, the loft of a record store, a private party in a fancy brewery, and a converted taxi garage.
“I think everyone's favorite show was at the classy jazz club/listening room Blue in Portland, Maine. Our show the night before had been full of an incredible amount of technical issues and had overall been sterile and stressful, and then the locals in Portland and the staff at Blue were incredibly welcoming and supportive, resulting in a well-played and fun show from our band. A great show is a collaboration between the band and the audience.” Jeremy Porter also documented each gig and the time the musicians spent on the road in a series of posts he titled as his “Road Blog,” which can be found on The Wild Honey Collective’s Facebook page if you scroll back to October 2021.
Looking to the future, The Wild Honey Collective isn’t done taking to the road to share their music. When asked about their touring plans, Tommy explained, “We're planning a shorter excursion in the midwest for springtime that hopefully can feature the four principles, and nothing is set in stone but the collaboration with Jeremy Porter was very successful so we'll definitely do some more road work together in some capacity.” The band is also excited to venture back out east for another tour, expressing that they hope to visit northern Maine when the weather would give them a warmer welcome.
Timmy is especially looking forward to more live opportunities with the band. “We just missed the boat on booking a bunch of shows last summer because we didn't know if live shows would really return in full fashion, so this year we are already booking up the summer. We are totally stoked to just play.” But scheduling tours and live performances isn’t the only project The Wild Honey Collective has in store for the new year. They also plan to release their second album in the spring of 2022.
“The second album will very much follow in the footsteps of the first album: there will be new original songs, songs written by friends of the band, and some band arrangements of folk standards,” Tommy says. “The main difference between this album and the first is that we had never played any proper shows until after the first album was out so we have clearer ideas of our strengths and in general we have just been growing as a band.” Danielle seems to agree with this sentiment. Now with more live performance experience under her belt, she shares, “I'm new to performing, and it's brought me out of my shell and forced creativity upon me in a way that I have never experienced as an adult. I couldn't ask for a better band of constructive, inspiring, and encouraging people to play with.”
Collective is the perfect word for this group. By definition, “a cooperative project or undertaking” is exactly what this band creates for each other and their listeners. Timmy explains this well. “The word ‘collective’ is certainly true here because we are all equally contributing to the songs in ways I have never done before in other bands. Usually in my previous bands, one person
has a song and you just kind of make up stuff based around their structures. That's not exactly how it is here. We rely on each other a lot for the composing.”
There seems to be no better way to describe the band that got together to simply play music while the world was idle and waiting. It’s inspiring for all of us to see the good things that came from a time of hardships. This band’s story is one that shows us the endurance of art and creativity, even in hard times. And now, because of their love of music and playing together, everyone has much to look forward to from The Wild Honey Collective.
Quixotronic - Zero Hour Playlist (Milwaukee, WI)
Questionable content from disreputable sources
Zero Hour Playlist: 1.7.22 (Baby, Yer the Best `21)
January 09, 2022
External Link
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos / October Girls / Gtg Records
Marquette Monthly (Marquette, MI)
Jeremy Porter hasn’t played music in The Queen City for about a decade.
Porter, who grew up in Marquette, will bring his Detroit-based band, Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, to perform at the Ore Dock at the end of March. The stop will be part of his tour promoting their new album, Candy Coated Cannonball.
“We lived in Harvey,” he said. “I moved away in September of ‘88. I went to NMU for a year after high school, then moved downstate.
Porter spent the ‘90s and ‘00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych, as well as a solo stint. He formed The Tucos in 2009, and they have released four full-length LPs, five 7”s and several contributions to compilations.
The Tucos, who describe themselves as “a rock and roll band who sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion,” have toured the United States and Canada many times. Joining Porter on stage are Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Bob Moulton Cactusk) to complete the trio.
In 2019, they toured the United Kingdom, playing nine shows in nine nights, including two nights in London.
Their hometown venues have made them one of the go-tos for national acts coming through Detroit, opening for Lydia Loveless, Jesse Malin, Supersuckers, Beach Slang, Jesse Dayton, American Aquarium, Deadstring Brothers, Two Cow Garage, Whitey Morgan, LA Witch, Tim Barry, Old Man Markley and many more.
“Detroit has a reputation, a big hard rock history - Eminem, White Stripes, Kid Rock,” Porter said. “We’re proud to be a Detroit band, but it’s a bit difficult for us in Detroit because we don’t necessarily fit those molds. We do get some really good shows of all sizes.”
Porter said he had a full circle moment in September, when The Tucos opened for Soul Asylum at The Shelter.
“That’s one of my favorite bands,” he said. “When I was 17, my friends and I drove to Detroit to see Soul Asylum. It was a really cool thing for me to open for them.”
Despite living in the Detroit area, his U.P. connections got him in touch with the Ore Dock to put together this hometown gig, which is taking place during the four-day vinyl record show, put on by his friends.
“The pop-up record sale is great,” he said. “Geoff (Walker) has a list of mine, and knows some things I’m looking for. It’s great to be playing while that sale is going on.”
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos’ latest album, Candy Coated Cannonball, was released in January of 2021, which was a hard time for bands, touring and promotion.
“It was such a weird time,” he said. “We finished recording the album right before the pandemic hit. We figured we’d take a few weeks off - we had 25 tour dates booked - but we’ll be out there in the spring.”
By Summer, with the pandemic still raging, there still was nothing happening with music venues. “We thought, ‘Should we put this out or wait?’” he said. “We were already writing new songs. COVID is difficult for the bands, but also for the venues. They don’t want patrons to get sick, but they need to make money. It’s so difficult.”
Thankfully, people were looking for ways to help artists and musicians during that time, so the record was a success, Porter said.
“Touring musicians and music venues had nothing, and yet the record did really well,” he said. “The band had done six shows since it came out. We usually do 50-100 shows to promote a new record.”
Porter said every band and venue did the best they could during the pandemic.
“There wasn’t a right way or wrong way,” he said. “We’re super proud of the record. There’s that void where we didn’t go out and promote it, but we’re hitting the road this year. All we can do is be as safe as we can, and play as much as we can. And I need to get these album copies out of my basement.”
A founding member of one of the U.P.’s first punk bands, The Regulars, Porter is no stranger to changing times, and adapting to keep his music viable. Playing punk in the U.P. during a strong rock era was a challenge.
“We were the first to play that music within our age group,” he said. “It was something that a lot of the people up there weren’t prepared for. We’d play parties out in Forestville, Trowbridge. People wanted to hear Lynyrd Skynyrd, not the Dead Kennedys. We start writing our own songs near the end, as we were getting close to being done with high school. It was around that time we started moving away from covers; we all realized that writing our own music whas where the real reward comes from.”
The Regulars formed in the Spring of 1985, when John Burke and Jeremy Porter met over a common love of The Who’s music. With Fritz VanKosky on bass and Tim DeMarte’s vocals, the band learned punk and alternative covers of the day.
According to The Regulars website, “many flannel-clad, hunting-cap-wearing swampers laughed and beat them up, but there were just as many who actually dug it. Occasionally sandwiching a Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden cover between songs by The Clash, The Replacements, Dead Kennedys, Velvet Underground or Ramones, the swampers were appeased.”
Despite a rough start, The Regulars became a mainstay in local music of the time. They even did four reunion shows in the 2000s. Porter’s other bands such as The Offramps, SlugBug and Clashback, have played at venues in the U.P. as well, including UpFront & Company.
“I have a long history of playing in Marquette,” he said. “A lot of cities don’t have places like UpFront & Company. That was a blessing to have that atmosphere and sound. It was a really nice medium-sized music venue.”
The Tucos expect to bring a variety of sound to the Ore Dock stage during this visit. In addition to playing singles from all of their records, they have a catalog of covers, and hope to bring some friends up to sing or play with them.
“I still have a lot of close friends in Marquette,” he said. “I love coming home, so it’s great to see those friends and get them up to help us out.”
Porter has fond memories of Marquette County, and especially misses the people and the community atmosphere. Despite not visiting the area often, he still has strong bonds from his time in Marquette.
“It’s really crazy how many people I am close with from my days in the U.P.,” Porter said. “There are many people I met in the few years I lived up there that I’m still very connected with. That is not a normal thing - it’s unique.”
In addition to the people, Porter said he tries to stop at as many of his favorite places as possible - Portside, Vango’s, the Vierling and Blackrocks, to name a few.
“I think Marquette is a great food town,” he said. “When I’m coming up to play, I’m working so I can’t get everywhere I want. I probably won’t get a chance, but we love climbing Hogsback and watching the freighters come in.”
Porter said he did the Ore to Shore bike race for many years as well.
“This is not just another show for me,” he said. “I still consider Marquette my hometown, and it’s always special when I can come back. When I write, I pull on events and situations from Marquette, that’s always been a part because those were such formative years. I always draw from that creatively.”
In addition to the live music offering, Porter will have albums for sale, as well as his new book Rock and Roll Restrooms: A Photographic Memoir.
“We started this thing, 17 or 18 years ago, because there was this incredible bathroom at this place in Detroit,” he said. “I put a picture of it on social media, and it kind of exploded. It’s been going on for so long that I actually put together a coffee table book - some really nice restrooms and some nasty squats.”
Celebrating a decade
In December of 2009, Jeremy Porter and The Tucos played their first show at a non-venue bar in Royal Oak, Michigan on a Sunday night, to a small handful of friends who ventured out in the blizzard of the season for the event.
A decade later, in December 2019, they entered into the studio to record their fourth album, Candy Coated Cannonball. Three record labels, four bass players, four full-length LPs, five 7” singles, and about 370 shows later, The Tucos are still at it.
To mark the occasion and put a cap on what is loosely being called a decade (ok, it’s more like 12 years, but there was a pandemic in there!), the band is releasing a three-CD series to celebrate the accomplishment that not even The Beatles could achieve. The three-CD set includes:
Disc One, Bottled Regrets: The Best of the First Ten Years includes 21 songs, hand picked byJeremy Porter, including fan-favorites, live staples, and singles. All tracks are remastered from the original final mixes and a couple have never been available digitally.
Disc Two, Castaways: Rarities and B-Sides from the First Ten Years includes 18 demos, outtakes, B-sides, compilation contributions and EP deep cuts, all remastered from originals, several never heard before. There are originals and covers, fully realized and pro-recorded songs and basement recordings never intended for civilian ears.
Disc Three, Patty’s Not Impressed: Live in Toronto captures the band live in Canada on the “Above (and below) the Sweet Line Tour” in 2016 and 2017. The shows were recorded live, edited together and mixed by the band. It’s rwa and loud, warts and all, and contains songs from the first three records, some early singles and a couple covers.
“This stuff was all just sitting there, gathering dust, and we started thinking about it during the lockdown, how to get it out there, let people hear it, and sort of say, ‘hey, this was cool - let’s clean the slate!’ before we get back to the grindstone and start working on the next phase - album five, and a bunch of new songs, stories and adventures,” Porter said. “It was way more time, work and money than expected - isn’t it always? - but I’m glad to see it finally realized.”
Compilation artwork illustration was done by original Tucos’ bassist Jason Bowes, and all mastering was done by longtime Tucos’ partner Chris Goosman at Baseline Audio Labs. The compilations will be released by GTG Records on CD individually and as a discounted three-CD set. There will be a limited digital release with streaming services to follow later in the year. Pre-orders will come with some bonus swag. Release date currently scheduled for March 4, 2022, pending supply chain, workforce, and delivery time issues.
Email jer@jeremyportermusic.com or visit www.thetucos.com for details.
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos will perform at 8 p.m. on March 25 and 26 at Ore Dock Brewing Company in Marquette.
For more about the band, visit www.thetucos.com.
MM
About the Author: Kristy Basolo-Malmsten has a master’s degree in writing from NMU, has worked for MM for almost two decades and has her own editing and publishing company. Her day job is as senior center director in Negaunee.
Porter, who grew up in Marquette, will bring his Detroit-based band, Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, to perform at the Ore Dock at the end of March. The stop will be part of his tour promoting their new album, Candy Coated Cannonball.
“We lived in Harvey,” he said. “I moved away in September of ‘88. I went to NMU for a year after high school, then moved downstate.
Porter spent the ‘90s and ‘00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych, as well as a solo stint. He formed The Tucos in 2009, and they have released four full-length LPs, five 7”s and several contributions to compilations.
The Tucos, who describe themselves as “a rock and roll band who sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion,” have toured the United States and Canada many times. Joining Porter on stage are Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Bob Moulton Cactusk) to complete the trio.
In 2019, they toured the United Kingdom, playing nine shows in nine nights, including two nights in London.
Their hometown venues have made them one of the go-tos for national acts coming through Detroit, opening for Lydia Loveless, Jesse Malin, Supersuckers, Beach Slang, Jesse Dayton, American Aquarium, Deadstring Brothers, Two Cow Garage, Whitey Morgan, LA Witch, Tim Barry, Old Man Markley and many more.
“Detroit has a reputation, a big hard rock history - Eminem, White Stripes, Kid Rock,” Porter said. “We’re proud to be a Detroit band, but it’s a bit difficult for us in Detroit because we don’t necessarily fit those molds. We do get some really good shows of all sizes.”
Porter said he had a full circle moment in September, when The Tucos opened for Soul Asylum at The Shelter.
“That’s one of my favorite bands,” he said. “When I was 17, my friends and I drove to Detroit to see Soul Asylum. It was a really cool thing for me to open for them.”
Despite living in the Detroit area, his U.P. connections got him in touch with the Ore Dock to put together this hometown gig, which is taking place during the four-day vinyl record show, put on by his friends.
“The pop-up record sale is great,” he said. “Geoff (Walker) has a list of mine, and knows some things I’m looking for. It’s great to be playing while that sale is going on.”
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos’ latest album, Candy Coated Cannonball, was released in January of 2021, which was a hard time for bands, touring and promotion.
“It was such a weird time,” he said. “We finished recording the album right before the pandemic hit. We figured we’d take a few weeks off - we had 25 tour dates booked - but we’ll be out there in the spring.”
By Summer, with the pandemic still raging, there still was nothing happening with music venues. “We thought, ‘Should we put this out or wait?’” he said. “We were already writing new songs. COVID is difficult for the bands, but also for the venues. They don’t want patrons to get sick, but they need to make money. It’s so difficult.”
Thankfully, people were looking for ways to help artists and musicians during that time, so the record was a success, Porter said.
“Touring musicians and music venues had nothing, and yet the record did really well,” he said. “The band had done six shows since it came out. We usually do 50-100 shows to promote a new record.”
Porter said every band and venue did the best they could during the pandemic.
“There wasn’t a right way or wrong way,” he said. “We’re super proud of the record. There’s that void where we didn’t go out and promote it, but we’re hitting the road this year. All we can do is be as safe as we can, and play as much as we can. And I need to get these album copies out of my basement.”
A founding member of one of the U.P.’s first punk bands, The Regulars, Porter is no stranger to changing times, and adapting to keep his music viable. Playing punk in the U.P. during a strong rock era was a challenge.
“We were the first to play that music within our age group,” he said. “It was something that a lot of the people up there weren’t prepared for. We’d play parties out in Forestville, Trowbridge. People wanted to hear Lynyrd Skynyrd, not the Dead Kennedys. We start writing our own songs near the end, as we were getting close to being done with high school. It was around that time we started moving away from covers; we all realized that writing our own music whas where the real reward comes from.”
The Regulars formed in the Spring of 1985, when John Burke and Jeremy Porter met over a common love of The Who’s music. With Fritz VanKosky on bass and Tim DeMarte’s vocals, the band learned punk and alternative covers of the day.
According to The Regulars website, “many flannel-clad, hunting-cap-wearing swampers laughed and beat them up, but there were just as many who actually dug it. Occasionally sandwiching a Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden cover between songs by The Clash, The Replacements, Dead Kennedys, Velvet Underground or Ramones, the swampers were appeased.”
Despite a rough start, The Regulars became a mainstay in local music of the time. They even did four reunion shows in the 2000s. Porter’s other bands such as The Offramps, SlugBug and Clashback, have played at venues in the U.P. as well, including UpFront & Company.
“I have a long history of playing in Marquette,” he said. “A lot of cities don’t have places like UpFront & Company. That was a blessing to have that atmosphere and sound. It was a really nice medium-sized music venue.”
The Tucos expect to bring a variety of sound to the Ore Dock stage during this visit. In addition to playing singles from all of their records, they have a catalog of covers, and hope to bring some friends up to sing or play with them.
“I still have a lot of close friends in Marquette,” he said. “I love coming home, so it’s great to see those friends and get them up to help us out.”
Porter has fond memories of Marquette County, and especially misses the people and the community atmosphere. Despite not visiting the area often, he still has strong bonds from his time in Marquette.
“It’s really crazy how many people I am close with from my days in the U.P.,” Porter said. “There are many people I met in the few years I lived up there that I’m still very connected with. That is not a normal thing - it’s unique.”
In addition to the people, Porter said he tries to stop at as many of his favorite places as possible - Portside, Vango’s, the Vierling and Blackrocks, to name a few.
“I think Marquette is a great food town,” he said. “When I’m coming up to play, I’m working so I can’t get everywhere I want. I probably won’t get a chance, but we love climbing Hogsback and watching the freighters come in.”
Porter said he did the Ore to Shore bike race for many years as well.
“This is not just another show for me,” he said. “I still consider Marquette my hometown, and it’s always special when I can come back. When I write, I pull on events and situations from Marquette, that’s always been a part because those were such formative years. I always draw from that creatively.”
In addition to the live music offering, Porter will have albums for sale, as well as his new book Rock and Roll Restrooms: A Photographic Memoir.
“We started this thing, 17 or 18 years ago, because there was this incredible bathroom at this place in Detroit,” he said. “I put a picture of it on social media, and it kind of exploded. It’s been going on for so long that I actually put together a coffee table book - some really nice restrooms and some nasty squats.”
Celebrating a decade
In December of 2009, Jeremy Porter and The Tucos played their first show at a non-venue bar in Royal Oak, Michigan on a Sunday night, to a small handful of friends who ventured out in the blizzard of the season for the event.
A decade later, in December 2019, they entered into the studio to record their fourth album, Candy Coated Cannonball. Three record labels, four bass players, four full-length LPs, five 7” singles, and about 370 shows later, The Tucos are still at it.
To mark the occasion and put a cap on what is loosely being called a decade (ok, it’s more like 12 years, but there was a pandemic in there!), the band is releasing a three-CD series to celebrate the accomplishment that not even The Beatles could achieve. The three-CD set includes:
Disc One, Bottled Regrets: The Best of the First Ten Years includes 21 songs, hand picked byJeremy Porter, including fan-favorites, live staples, and singles. All tracks are remastered from the original final mixes and a couple have never been available digitally.
Disc Two, Castaways: Rarities and B-Sides from the First Ten Years includes 18 demos, outtakes, B-sides, compilation contributions and EP deep cuts, all remastered from originals, several never heard before. There are originals and covers, fully realized and pro-recorded songs and basement recordings never intended for civilian ears.
Disc Three, Patty’s Not Impressed: Live in Toronto captures the band live in Canada on the “Above (and below) the Sweet Line Tour” in 2016 and 2017. The shows were recorded live, edited together and mixed by the band. It’s rwa and loud, warts and all, and contains songs from the first three records, some early singles and a couple covers.
“This stuff was all just sitting there, gathering dust, and we started thinking about it during the lockdown, how to get it out there, let people hear it, and sort of say, ‘hey, this was cool - let’s clean the slate!’ before we get back to the grindstone and start working on the next phase - album five, and a bunch of new songs, stories and adventures,” Porter said. “It was way more time, work and money than expected - isn’t it always? - but I’m glad to see it finally realized.”
Compilation artwork illustration was done by original Tucos’ bassist Jason Bowes, and all mastering was done by longtime Tucos’ partner Chris Goosman at Baseline Audio Labs. The compilations will be released by GTG Records on CD individually and as a discounted three-CD set. There will be a limited digital release with streaming services to follow later in the year. Pre-orders will come with some bonus swag. Release date currently scheduled for March 4, 2022, pending supply chain, workforce, and delivery time issues.
Email jer@jeremyportermusic.com or visit www.thetucos.com for details.
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos will perform at 8 p.m. on March 25 and 26 at Ore Dock Brewing Company in Marquette.
For more about the band, visit www.thetucos.com.
MM
About the Author: Kristy Basolo-Malmsten has a master’s degree in writing from NMU, has worked for MM for almost two decades and has her own editing and publishing company. Her day job is as senior center director in Negaunee.
Audio Ink Radio (National)
Detroit’s Jeremy Porter Talks Michigan Music, Mark Lanegan and More
Local Music Beat: Jeremy Porter of Detroit’s The Tucos talks about the band’s upcoming retrospective, remembering Mark Lanegan and more in this edition of the column
March 10, 2022
External Link
The Motor City has a history of cranking out great rock ‘n’ roll, and Jeremy Porter is continuing that tradition. Porter and his band The Tucos make raw, real rock music that they describe as sounding like “guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion.”
Porter checked in with Audio Ink Radio to discuss his upcoming retrospective, “Jeremy Porter and The Tucos – Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years,” the Michigan music scene and more. Read the full interview below.
Anne Erickson: I really enjoy how you post your tour experiences on Facebook. Tell me about why you like sharing your road experiences with fans.
Jeremy Porter: Thanks, Anne! I appreciate that! It’s something I started to do around 2013 when we were on the road and it just seemed like a lot of our friends appreciated hearing the stories about what it’s really like out there – the good and the bad. They don’t always get a lot of likes or feedback, but I’m continually surprised at how many people tell me in our travels that they read and enjoy them. One guy in West Virginia once told me they are the perfect length to read while, um, doing a No. 2 to paraphrase, which I thought was a sweet thing to say.
I write more formally for a website called Pencil Storm out of Columbus, Ohio, but the road blogs aren’t quite as polished – they’re usually started late at night in some seedy motel room and finished early the next day with an aching head and an unsteady hand, and not extensively proofread for grammar and typos due to time constraints, but they are a document to what happened the day before and I hope they capture the mood of the trip. I’ve been working on archiving them and tying them into our past-shows database on our website.
What’s it been like getting back on the road, after the pandemic made it not possible for so long?
It’s great to be back out there, but it’s also a bit weird, for sure. We lost over 25 tour dates to the pandemic and released an album we couldn’t support. It was crushing, so to be able to do that again feels so great, and I’m careful to not take it for granted. At the same time, the world isn’t entirely ready to move on. People, especially in our age bracket, will take any excuse they can to stay home, and a dangerous and contagious virus is as good an excuse as any I suppose, so it’s harder than ever to get people out. But, to loop back, the people who are coming out again are as excited to have live music back as we are. It’s been awesome. Whatever anyone’s position is on masks and vaccines and venue-mandates, my position is that anything that makes live music viable is worth doing, so besides the general “let’s all stay healthy and help each other stay healthy” angle, which is reason enough, we’re all for anything that keeps venues open and bands on stages.
You have a gig coming up at PJ’s Lager House in Detroit on March 12 with Popular Creeps and Royal Scene. Tell me about what makes this a great bill and what we should expect from the show.
This is a make-up show for a cancellation in December when there was some Covid going around the bar. Lenny from Popular Creeps and I are pals who bond over our mutual love for Cheap Trick and bop around town a bit, and I saw his old band The Leonards in Ann Arbor when I first moved down here in the fall of ’88, so that’s kind of cool. Royal Scene are some pals from Lansing we’ve played with up there before, and I know a couple of those guys from their old band The DTs, who my old band SlugBug used to get in trouble with on the streets of East Lansing back in the early ’90s. All three bands are your basic heart-on-sleeve, up-tempo, power-poppy, bar-rock with a focus on songwriting and spirit over precision. I love them both and can’t wait to watch them before we play! It’s also our first local show with our new bassist Jake Riley, and the release weekend of our 10-Year retrospective collection, and our first local headlining show since 2019, so, yeah – lots to celebrate!
I saw that you posted about the passing of Mark Lanegan. Tell me about your experience meeting him and what you think he brought to that era of music.
Yeah, that’s a bummer, eh? My meeting with him was very brief and pretty much fan – artist. I was coming from Wyandotte, the first practice of a new band I’d just joined, Chutes & Ladders, and the Screaming Trees were supporting the Meat Puppets at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor. Because of the practice and the drive we missed them, and I didn’t really know much about them, but I knew I’d wished I could have seen them. This was January 1990, so still before the big alternative boom and they weren’t as well known as they’d be in a few years. They were all sitting at this table just off the main band room and they seemed so big and hairy, all decked out in flannel, like lumberjacks, and sweaty from the show. I always liked meeting touring bands and knew it was them, and I just apologized to Mark for missing them and had some small talk with them all for a minute. The Meat Puppets killed, and I’d see the Mark Lanegan Band at Small’s in 2012 after I really latched onto his “Blues Funeral” record, and it was a great show.
As far as what they brought to that era, I’d say an elevated sense of melody and less of a hoarse, growly vocal style set them apart from those other bands. I think people tend to forget or under-appreciate how great Layne Staley and Kurt Cobain and some of those other grunge-era guys were as vocalists. Cornell gets much-deserved credit, but so many of those bands just had awesome singers, and Lanegan was very different; melodic, smooth, but absolutely belongs in that conversation. I always thought he would have been a much better choice for that (unnecessary) Doors reunion tour than Ian Astbury, much more mysterious, dark, and Morrison-esque.
Congrats on the new retrospective on the way, “Jeremy Porter and The Tucos – Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years.” Tell me about this set and why you wanted to create this collection.
Thanks! It’s been in the back of my mind for a couple years. We were going to have a big 10-year show in Detroit to celebrate in 2020, and that couldn’t happen. Then I just found myself sitting on all this stuff – these tracks we’d done for compilations, a couple demos of songs we never released or covers we recorded just for shits and giggles, studio outtakes, whatever. And we had these two shows from Toronto that were recorded to tracks and somehow we actually played halfway decent.
Then we did our last record around the time the decade mark came and went, and we parted ways with our bassist, and shows were starting to pick up, and it just seemed like…now’s the time to do it, or it ain’t gonna happen, ya know? Disc one is a “best of,” disc two is “rarities & B-sides,” and disc three is live. The live album especially was way more of an undertaking than I’d expected, but I’m so happy it’s all going to be out there, and we are starting decade two with a clean plate, a new bass player and a whole bunch of new songs and shows in front of us! We’ll do that again in ten years, but I’ll try to be a little more pro-active and organized so it’s not so cumbersome.
You guys are on bassist No. 4. Tell me about what happened with your previous bassist.
As things started to pick up late last year, Bob decided that the amount of road work we do wasn’t something he was up for anymore. We made a record together that we’re all proud of, had some laughs and adventures, and came out on the other side still friends, so that’s about as good as you could hope.
Jake Riley is a friend from a few years back, he loves the road and loves playing, knows our catalog (better than Gabriel and I do sometimes), plays great, and sings like a bird. We couldn’t be happier to have him on board and in the van. We call him The Professor, and sometimes Jake E. Lee (you’ll get that, as a metal fan), and we’re learning to adjust to him being a vegetarian. Onward and upward, Anne!
What’s your favorite memory from those first 10 years as a musician, performing, etc.?
You know, there are so many. Early on with Jason on bass, recording with Tim and Andy Patalan at The Loft in Saline, and for the first time in my life actually enjoying that process, thanks to them. Then all the way forward to last September, 2021, with Bob on bass, opening for Soul Asylum in Detroit, a band I’ve been a huge fan of since 1985.
But I have to say my favorite memories are just climbing in the van, passing around the iPod, hanging with the boys, watching The Rifleman and Little House reruns at the motel, and of course all the great shows, bands, bar-staff, and other people we’ve met all over the place. Touring the UK was something I’ll never forget, and hope to do again. I’m trying to enjoy the journey and not obsess about the proverbial arrival, and that makes for some happy travels, less agitation, and lasting memories.
You’re part of GTG Records. How has being on GTG Records helped your music get to a broader audience over the years, and what do you love about the GTG community?
Well, you kind of answered the question right there – it’s a community. All we ever really wanted out of a label was some promotional support, and some sense of camaraderie, family, and togetherness between the label and the bands. Like, no one is getting rich, so let’s have some fun and combine forces for the mutual good and make some memories and get into some trouble, eh? Tommy Plural, GTG Records, The Plurals, and the whole Lansing scene in general have embraced us old Detroiters into their scene and we feel more welcome there than we do in Detroit.
The pandemic was rough on independent music venues across the U.S. You’re based in Detroit. Did you lose any favorite venues due to the pandemic? What are your thoughts on Mac’s Bar and The Loft closing in Lansing?
The closing of a venue, or a record store, or an independent radio station is always a bummer. I’d never been to The Loft in Lansing, but I loved Mac’s. One of our best shows early-on was there. It was a rock dive in every sense, and I was just right next door having a beer at an adjacent restaurant last weekend. It may still come back as some sort of venue, but who knows. Lansing can certainly support another music venue, though they are very fortunate that The Avenue Cafe is doing well.
I loved Three Kings in Denver, Douglas Corner in Nashville, The Mothlight in Asheville, all closed. We had gigs booked at This Ain’t Hollywood in Hamilton, Ontario and Cosmic Charlie’s in Lexington, Kentucky that were cancelled by Covid, then they closed, so I’ll never get to play those great rooms. It’s just depressing, but let’s hope as things open up the demand will bring new venues and new places to play. I’m really happy that PJ’s Lager House, Small’s, Outer Limits, and most of the other Detroit/Hamtramck venues have weathered the storm so far.
What are some local, independent bands that you think should be on people’s radar throughout Michigan and beyond? Both GTG artists and others.
That’s a good question. As mentioned above, The Plurals, Popular Creeps, and Royal Scene are all worthy of attention. A Rueful Noise out of Lansing is a new band that I love. They have a 7-inch single coming out on GTG that I produced over the lockdown and our drummer Gabriel engineered and mixed out of his home studio in December. Ladyship Warship is one of my favorite Detroit bands. I love Alpha Rabbit from New Jersey, The Great Dying from Mississippi, Vibrolas and NP Presley & the CEB from Kentucky, The Stick Arounds from Lansing, The Zimmerman Twins from Toledo, David Picco from Newfoundland, Ned Hill from Nashville… I could talk about under-appreciated great bands all day!
What are your thoughts on the Michigan music scene? Do you think it’s strong?
This is always such a hard question. I think the Lansing scene is the strongest in the state. It’s diverse and inclusive, welcoming, positive and consistent. They have a bunch of great bands, a reliable venue, a couple labels, some press and radio support, and a couple record stores that are all collectively ingrained into the scene and all work together to make it a positive thing for everyone. It’s everything a scene should be, and it’s incredibly rare.
Detroit is much more fragmented and cliquey. I love Detroit. I’m proud to be based here. I have great friends. I love the city and the people and the shows we play here, but it just seems like everything is so much more of a fight, which I guess is very “Detroit” in itself. It’s not supposed to be friendly or easy to succeed here, I guess? There’s tons of bands from Detroit that are incredible, and I love the venues and festivals. I can’t get the time of day from half of them, and that’s ok too, but inclusive isn’t a word I’d use to describe the Detroit music scene. Michigan rules. We fly that flag, and we do what we can to help bands from outside the state who want to play here, but it’s a struggle. I find myself always telling them “It’s not like where you’re from, it’s harder to get things done…”
Talk about your “Restrooms” book a bit.
I have a book called “Rock and Roll Restrooms – A Photographic Memoir Vol 1 – A Unique Look into the Seedy Underbelly of Small Time Rock and Roll.” I’ve got prototype copies available on soft and hard cover in our web store, and I’m looking for a publisher who can help me get it out there in some real capacity. It’s basically a coffee table book of cell-phone photos of the cans in the bars we play all over the U.S. and Canada that I take and share every night. Any publishers out there? Let’s talk!
You seem to have an affinity to metal, which we’ve connected over on our socials. What is your draw to that?
Oh, yeah, I was huge into metal and hard rock as a kid, then stepped back a bit as I got into punk, but never really left, and dove back in deep over the years. It’s in my blood. I love the energy of the music and the sense of community in metal, and the dichotomy between serious and cheesy. Now there is an inclusive music scene!
I am into the early British bands like Priest, Maiden, Sabbath, and UFO, as well as bands like Aerosmith, Dio, and KISS. I love the Whitesnake records with John Sykes, the first two Motley Crue records, the first three Def Leppard albums, the earlier Cinderella and W.A.S.P. stuff. Nich from The Plurals turned me on to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, who are a newer and more current band that I now love. I’m also just now diving into the early Skid Row catalog. My wife and I are going to see the Scorpions residency in Vegas in April.
What do the next couple years look like for The Tucos?
We are touring extensively this year, on pace to do 40-50 shows, working on material for album #5 while supporting our Candy Coated Cannonball record and this Ten-Year collection. We’ve got a song coming out on a Guided by Voices covers comp, a video for the NPR Tiny Desk Concert series, and a seven-inch single on GTG Records in the fall. It is insanely busy, which I love! It’s good to be alive and out there making music, Anne! Thanks for the talk and all you do for Michigan Music!
Anne Erickson’s column appears regularly in Audio Ink Radio. Have a band or concert to share? Contact her at anne@audioinkradio.com.
Porter checked in with Audio Ink Radio to discuss his upcoming retrospective, “Jeremy Porter and The Tucos – Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years,” the Michigan music scene and more. Read the full interview below.
Anne Erickson: I really enjoy how you post your tour experiences on Facebook. Tell me about why you like sharing your road experiences with fans.
Jeremy Porter: Thanks, Anne! I appreciate that! It’s something I started to do around 2013 when we were on the road and it just seemed like a lot of our friends appreciated hearing the stories about what it’s really like out there – the good and the bad. They don’t always get a lot of likes or feedback, but I’m continually surprised at how many people tell me in our travels that they read and enjoy them. One guy in West Virginia once told me they are the perfect length to read while, um, doing a No. 2 to paraphrase, which I thought was a sweet thing to say.
I write more formally for a website called Pencil Storm out of Columbus, Ohio, but the road blogs aren’t quite as polished – they’re usually started late at night in some seedy motel room and finished early the next day with an aching head and an unsteady hand, and not extensively proofread for grammar and typos due to time constraints, but they are a document to what happened the day before and I hope they capture the mood of the trip. I’ve been working on archiving them and tying them into our past-shows database on our website.
What’s it been like getting back on the road, after the pandemic made it not possible for so long?
It’s great to be back out there, but it’s also a bit weird, for sure. We lost over 25 tour dates to the pandemic and released an album we couldn’t support. It was crushing, so to be able to do that again feels so great, and I’m careful to not take it for granted. At the same time, the world isn’t entirely ready to move on. People, especially in our age bracket, will take any excuse they can to stay home, and a dangerous and contagious virus is as good an excuse as any I suppose, so it’s harder than ever to get people out. But, to loop back, the people who are coming out again are as excited to have live music back as we are. It’s been awesome. Whatever anyone’s position is on masks and vaccines and venue-mandates, my position is that anything that makes live music viable is worth doing, so besides the general “let’s all stay healthy and help each other stay healthy” angle, which is reason enough, we’re all for anything that keeps venues open and bands on stages.
You have a gig coming up at PJ’s Lager House in Detroit on March 12 with Popular Creeps and Royal Scene. Tell me about what makes this a great bill and what we should expect from the show.
This is a make-up show for a cancellation in December when there was some Covid going around the bar. Lenny from Popular Creeps and I are pals who bond over our mutual love for Cheap Trick and bop around town a bit, and I saw his old band The Leonards in Ann Arbor when I first moved down here in the fall of ’88, so that’s kind of cool. Royal Scene are some pals from Lansing we’ve played with up there before, and I know a couple of those guys from their old band The DTs, who my old band SlugBug used to get in trouble with on the streets of East Lansing back in the early ’90s. All three bands are your basic heart-on-sleeve, up-tempo, power-poppy, bar-rock with a focus on songwriting and spirit over precision. I love them both and can’t wait to watch them before we play! It’s also our first local show with our new bassist Jake Riley, and the release weekend of our 10-Year retrospective collection, and our first local headlining show since 2019, so, yeah – lots to celebrate!
I saw that you posted about the passing of Mark Lanegan. Tell me about your experience meeting him and what you think he brought to that era of music.
Yeah, that’s a bummer, eh? My meeting with him was very brief and pretty much fan – artist. I was coming from Wyandotte, the first practice of a new band I’d just joined, Chutes & Ladders, and the Screaming Trees were supporting the Meat Puppets at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor. Because of the practice and the drive we missed them, and I didn’t really know much about them, but I knew I’d wished I could have seen them. This was January 1990, so still before the big alternative boom and they weren’t as well known as they’d be in a few years. They were all sitting at this table just off the main band room and they seemed so big and hairy, all decked out in flannel, like lumberjacks, and sweaty from the show. I always liked meeting touring bands and knew it was them, and I just apologized to Mark for missing them and had some small talk with them all for a minute. The Meat Puppets killed, and I’d see the Mark Lanegan Band at Small’s in 2012 after I really latched onto his “Blues Funeral” record, and it was a great show.
As far as what they brought to that era, I’d say an elevated sense of melody and less of a hoarse, growly vocal style set them apart from those other bands. I think people tend to forget or under-appreciate how great Layne Staley and Kurt Cobain and some of those other grunge-era guys were as vocalists. Cornell gets much-deserved credit, but so many of those bands just had awesome singers, and Lanegan was very different; melodic, smooth, but absolutely belongs in that conversation. I always thought he would have been a much better choice for that (unnecessary) Doors reunion tour than Ian Astbury, much more mysterious, dark, and Morrison-esque.
Congrats on the new retrospective on the way, “Jeremy Porter and The Tucos – Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years.” Tell me about this set and why you wanted to create this collection.
Thanks! It’s been in the back of my mind for a couple years. We were going to have a big 10-year show in Detroit to celebrate in 2020, and that couldn’t happen. Then I just found myself sitting on all this stuff – these tracks we’d done for compilations, a couple demos of songs we never released or covers we recorded just for shits and giggles, studio outtakes, whatever. And we had these two shows from Toronto that were recorded to tracks and somehow we actually played halfway decent.
Then we did our last record around the time the decade mark came and went, and we parted ways with our bassist, and shows were starting to pick up, and it just seemed like…now’s the time to do it, or it ain’t gonna happen, ya know? Disc one is a “best of,” disc two is “rarities & B-sides,” and disc three is live. The live album especially was way more of an undertaking than I’d expected, but I’m so happy it’s all going to be out there, and we are starting decade two with a clean plate, a new bass player and a whole bunch of new songs and shows in front of us! We’ll do that again in ten years, but I’ll try to be a little more pro-active and organized so it’s not so cumbersome.
You guys are on bassist No. 4. Tell me about what happened with your previous bassist.
As things started to pick up late last year, Bob decided that the amount of road work we do wasn’t something he was up for anymore. We made a record together that we’re all proud of, had some laughs and adventures, and came out on the other side still friends, so that’s about as good as you could hope.
Jake Riley is a friend from a few years back, he loves the road and loves playing, knows our catalog (better than Gabriel and I do sometimes), plays great, and sings like a bird. We couldn’t be happier to have him on board and in the van. We call him The Professor, and sometimes Jake E. Lee (you’ll get that, as a metal fan), and we’re learning to adjust to him being a vegetarian. Onward and upward, Anne!
What’s your favorite memory from those first 10 years as a musician, performing, etc.?
You know, there are so many. Early on with Jason on bass, recording with Tim and Andy Patalan at The Loft in Saline, and for the first time in my life actually enjoying that process, thanks to them. Then all the way forward to last September, 2021, with Bob on bass, opening for Soul Asylum in Detroit, a band I’ve been a huge fan of since 1985.
But I have to say my favorite memories are just climbing in the van, passing around the iPod, hanging with the boys, watching The Rifleman and Little House reruns at the motel, and of course all the great shows, bands, bar-staff, and other people we’ve met all over the place. Touring the UK was something I’ll never forget, and hope to do again. I’m trying to enjoy the journey and not obsess about the proverbial arrival, and that makes for some happy travels, less agitation, and lasting memories.
You’re part of GTG Records. How has being on GTG Records helped your music get to a broader audience over the years, and what do you love about the GTG community?
Well, you kind of answered the question right there – it’s a community. All we ever really wanted out of a label was some promotional support, and some sense of camaraderie, family, and togetherness between the label and the bands. Like, no one is getting rich, so let’s have some fun and combine forces for the mutual good and make some memories and get into some trouble, eh? Tommy Plural, GTG Records, The Plurals, and the whole Lansing scene in general have embraced us old Detroiters into their scene and we feel more welcome there than we do in Detroit.
The pandemic was rough on independent music venues across the U.S. You’re based in Detroit. Did you lose any favorite venues due to the pandemic? What are your thoughts on Mac’s Bar and The Loft closing in Lansing?
The closing of a venue, or a record store, or an independent radio station is always a bummer. I’d never been to The Loft in Lansing, but I loved Mac’s. One of our best shows early-on was there. It was a rock dive in every sense, and I was just right next door having a beer at an adjacent restaurant last weekend. It may still come back as some sort of venue, but who knows. Lansing can certainly support another music venue, though they are very fortunate that The Avenue Cafe is doing well.
I loved Three Kings in Denver, Douglas Corner in Nashville, The Mothlight in Asheville, all closed. We had gigs booked at This Ain’t Hollywood in Hamilton, Ontario and Cosmic Charlie’s in Lexington, Kentucky that were cancelled by Covid, then they closed, so I’ll never get to play those great rooms. It’s just depressing, but let’s hope as things open up the demand will bring new venues and new places to play. I’m really happy that PJ’s Lager House, Small’s, Outer Limits, and most of the other Detroit/Hamtramck venues have weathered the storm so far.
What are some local, independent bands that you think should be on people’s radar throughout Michigan and beyond? Both GTG artists and others.
That’s a good question. As mentioned above, The Plurals, Popular Creeps, and Royal Scene are all worthy of attention. A Rueful Noise out of Lansing is a new band that I love. They have a 7-inch single coming out on GTG that I produced over the lockdown and our drummer Gabriel engineered and mixed out of his home studio in December. Ladyship Warship is one of my favorite Detroit bands. I love Alpha Rabbit from New Jersey, The Great Dying from Mississippi, Vibrolas and NP Presley & the CEB from Kentucky, The Stick Arounds from Lansing, The Zimmerman Twins from Toledo, David Picco from Newfoundland, Ned Hill from Nashville… I could talk about under-appreciated great bands all day!
What are your thoughts on the Michigan music scene? Do you think it’s strong?
This is always such a hard question. I think the Lansing scene is the strongest in the state. It’s diverse and inclusive, welcoming, positive and consistent. They have a bunch of great bands, a reliable venue, a couple labels, some press and radio support, and a couple record stores that are all collectively ingrained into the scene and all work together to make it a positive thing for everyone. It’s everything a scene should be, and it’s incredibly rare.
Detroit is much more fragmented and cliquey. I love Detroit. I’m proud to be based here. I have great friends. I love the city and the people and the shows we play here, but it just seems like everything is so much more of a fight, which I guess is very “Detroit” in itself. It’s not supposed to be friendly or easy to succeed here, I guess? There’s tons of bands from Detroit that are incredible, and I love the venues and festivals. I can’t get the time of day from half of them, and that’s ok too, but inclusive isn’t a word I’d use to describe the Detroit music scene. Michigan rules. We fly that flag, and we do what we can to help bands from outside the state who want to play here, but it’s a struggle. I find myself always telling them “It’s not like where you’re from, it’s harder to get things done…”
Talk about your “Restrooms” book a bit.
I have a book called “Rock and Roll Restrooms – A Photographic Memoir Vol 1 – A Unique Look into the Seedy Underbelly of Small Time Rock and Roll.” I’ve got prototype copies available on soft and hard cover in our web store, and I’m looking for a publisher who can help me get it out there in some real capacity. It’s basically a coffee table book of cell-phone photos of the cans in the bars we play all over the U.S. and Canada that I take and share every night. Any publishers out there? Let’s talk!
You seem to have an affinity to metal, which we’ve connected over on our socials. What is your draw to that?
Oh, yeah, I was huge into metal and hard rock as a kid, then stepped back a bit as I got into punk, but never really left, and dove back in deep over the years. It’s in my blood. I love the energy of the music and the sense of community in metal, and the dichotomy between serious and cheesy. Now there is an inclusive music scene!
I am into the early British bands like Priest, Maiden, Sabbath, and UFO, as well as bands like Aerosmith, Dio, and KISS. I love the Whitesnake records with John Sykes, the first two Motley Crue records, the first three Def Leppard albums, the earlier Cinderella and W.A.S.P. stuff. Nich from The Plurals turned me on to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, who are a newer and more current band that I now love. I’m also just now diving into the early Skid Row catalog. My wife and I are going to see the Scorpions residency in Vegas in April.
What do the next couple years look like for The Tucos?
We are touring extensively this year, on pace to do 40-50 shows, working on material for album #5 while supporting our Candy Coated Cannonball record and this Ten-Year collection. We’ve got a song coming out on a Guided by Voices covers comp, a video for the NPR Tiny Desk Concert series, and a seven-inch single on GTG Records in the fall. It is insanely busy, which I love! It’s good to be alive and out there making music, Anne! Thanks for the talk and all you do for Michigan Music!
Anne Erickson’s column appears regularly in Audio Ink Radio. Have a band or concert to share? Contact her at anne@audioinkradio.com.
Mining Journal (Marquette, MI)
Back home again
Jeremy Porter returns to Marquette with his band, The Tucos
March 14, 2022
External Link
MARQUETTE — Musician Jeremy Porter, who grew up in Marquette and played music at Marquette Senior High School and Northern Michigan University, is returning here later this month with his band, The Tucos, to the place where this music career started.
On March 25 and 26, Jeremy Porter and The Tucos — based in Detroit — will perform at the Ore Dock Brewing Co. in Marquette. The show begins at 8 p.m. each evening.
Porter, via email, answered some questions about what he has been up to since his last gig in the Marquette area almost 10 years ago:
Mining Journal: When was the last time you performed in Marquette and at what venue?
Jeremy Porter:Last time I played in Marquette was July 4th, 2012 with The Regulars at UpFront & Company. We were an active Marquette band in the mid-80s and did a couple reunions in the 2000s. Last time with The Tucos was that same year in April. It seems so long ago!
MJ:Is your band still composed of the same musicians as the last time you were here?
JP: We have a new bass player — Jake Riley! He’s a good guy, fantastic musician, loves playing and touring, and keeps Gabriel (Doman) and I on our toes. He knows our catalog better than we do and he’s always pushing us! We’re thrilled to have him on board. Gabriel, our drummer, and I have been together since the beginning, late 2009.
MJ: Are you touring this spring and summer?
JP: Yes! Touring has been very limited over the last couple years because of the pandemic, so we’re happy to be out there. We’re doing about 20 shows or so in the next couple months, mostly Midwest and southern USA. In the fall we’re hoping to get back to Canada and the deeper southeast.
MJ: You just released your three-CD set “Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years.” What has the last decade or so meant for you, professionally? Personally?
JP: Yeah, the “Bottled Regrets” thing came about as we passed the decade mark and couldn’t have the big party/anniversary show that we wanted to. It’s three CDs — “Best Of,” “Rarities” and “Live in Toronto,” released individually and as a collection on GTG Records. I’ve spent the better part of the last four months assembling it.
This compilation forced me to look back on the last decade and appreciate what’s been accomplished — several hundred shows, four albums, a tour of England and Wales, our relationship with GTG records, opening for bands like Soul Asylum, Beach Slang, and Lydia Loveless … It’s been a crazy, great ride, to be honest. Most of my friends and peers who I was playing with in the 90s have given up playing music, or at least performing for the most part, and I’ve had the busiest, most productive and successful decade of my music career. That feels good, and sometimes a bit exhausting.
But at the same time, it feels like we’re coming out of the pandemic, this comp is out, so the slate is wiped clean, we’ve got a new bass player and bunch of new songs … things are exciting and it’s time for the nostalgia train to pull into the station for a while and let’s get back to work making some new music and memories!
On a personal level, there’s not much more to add. I’m grateful to be happily married and that my family and friends are healthy for the most part. I hope the worst of the pandemic is behind us so we can all get back to making and consuming live music, or whatever else it is that gets you off!
MJ: For the uninitiated, describe your band’s style and genre.
JP: This is always such a difficult question! We call it Detroit Rock and Roll, because it’s blue-collar, hard-working, take-a-beating and get-back-up guitar rock, even though we don’t really sound much like the music most people would associate with Detroit.
Our music is high-energy, spirited, often (but not always) up-tempo, and has a consistent melodic, catchy side. We can slow it down and tear some hearts out when we feel like it too. We focus more on the spirit of the performance and the quality of the songs than the precision with which they are delivered.
Our songs are about places like Marquette, and the characters I met and the experiences I had living here. A lot of songs about heartache and regret, and some less dour subject matter too. Fans of alternative music, punk, power-pop, alternative-country, and rockabilly won’t leave disappointed, and we’ve even got a couple tricks up our sleeve for the pop, 60s, and metal fans. Yes, we have a bit of an identity crisis!
MJ: What are you looking forward to the most when you’re here?
JP: Marquette is still home to me in a lot of ways. Even though I only lived here for a few years, they were very formative. I have a big core of friends either still in, or at least from, Marquette, I got in a lot of trouble on these streets and have a lot of great memories. It’s very much a homecoming that always feels very special. Besides my friends and just being back, I love the food and being near the lake and hearing that “last call!” at Remie’s!
On March 25 and 26, Jeremy Porter and The Tucos — based in Detroit — will perform at the Ore Dock Brewing Co. in Marquette. The show begins at 8 p.m. each evening.
Porter, via email, answered some questions about what he has been up to since his last gig in the Marquette area almost 10 years ago:
Mining Journal: When was the last time you performed in Marquette and at what venue?
Jeremy Porter:Last time I played in Marquette was July 4th, 2012 with The Regulars at UpFront & Company. We were an active Marquette band in the mid-80s and did a couple reunions in the 2000s. Last time with The Tucos was that same year in April. It seems so long ago!
MJ:Is your band still composed of the same musicians as the last time you were here?
JP: We have a new bass player — Jake Riley! He’s a good guy, fantastic musician, loves playing and touring, and keeps Gabriel (Doman) and I on our toes. He knows our catalog better than we do and he’s always pushing us! We’re thrilled to have him on board. Gabriel, our drummer, and I have been together since the beginning, late 2009.
MJ: Are you touring this spring and summer?
JP: Yes! Touring has been very limited over the last couple years because of the pandemic, so we’re happy to be out there. We’re doing about 20 shows or so in the next couple months, mostly Midwest and southern USA. In the fall we’re hoping to get back to Canada and the deeper southeast.
MJ: You just released your three-CD set “Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years.” What has the last decade or so meant for you, professionally? Personally?
JP: Yeah, the “Bottled Regrets” thing came about as we passed the decade mark and couldn’t have the big party/anniversary show that we wanted to. It’s three CDs — “Best Of,” “Rarities” and “Live in Toronto,” released individually and as a collection on GTG Records. I’ve spent the better part of the last four months assembling it.
This compilation forced me to look back on the last decade and appreciate what’s been accomplished — several hundred shows, four albums, a tour of England and Wales, our relationship with GTG records, opening for bands like Soul Asylum, Beach Slang, and Lydia Loveless … It’s been a crazy, great ride, to be honest. Most of my friends and peers who I was playing with in the 90s have given up playing music, or at least performing for the most part, and I’ve had the busiest, most productive and successful decade of my music career. That feels good, and sometimes a bit exhausting.
But at the same time, it feels like we’re coming out of the pandemic, this comp is out, so the slate is wiped clean, we’ve got a new bass player and bunch of new songs … things are exciting and it’s time for the nostalgia train to pull into the station for a while and let’s get back to work making some new music and memories!
On a personal level, there’s not much more to add. I’m grateful to be happily married and that my family and friends are healthy for the most part. I hope the worst of the pandemic is behind us so we can all get back to making and consuming live music, or whatever else it is that gets you off!
MJ: For the uninitiated, describe your band’s style and genre.
JP: This is always such a difficult question! We call it Detroit Rock and Roll, because it’s blue-collar, hard-working, take-a-beating and get-back-up guitar rock, even though we don’t really sound much like the music most people would associate with Detroit.
Our music is high-energy, spirited, often (but not always) up-tempo, and has a consistent melodic, catchy side. We can slow it down and tear some hearts out when we feel like it too. We focus more on the spirit of the performance and the quality of the songs than the precision with which they are delivered.
Our songs are about places like Marquette, and the characters I met and the experiences I had living here. A lot of songs about heartache and regret, and some less dour subject matter too. Fans of alternative music, punk, power-pop, alternative-country, and rockabilly won’t leave disappointed, and we’ve even got a couple tricks up our sleeve for the pop, 60s, and metal fans. Yes, we have a bit of an identity crisis!
MJ: What are you looking forward to the most when you’re here?
JP: Marquette is still home to me in a lot of ways. Even though I only lived here for a few years, they were very formative. I have a big core of friends either still in, or at least from, Marquette, I got in a lot of trouble on these streets and have a lot of great memories. It’s very much a homecoming that always feels very special. Besides my friends and just being back, I love the food and being near the lake and hearing that “last call!” at Remie’s!
GoRockford (Rockford, IL)
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos and Half Hawk at Marys Place!
May 09, 2022 External Link
May 09, 2022 External Link
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, from Detroit, Michigan, make their Rockford, IL debut on Saturday night, May 14th, opening for Rockford's Half Hawk. The Tucos are supporting their most recent album Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years as well as a 3-disck retrospective collection Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years, which includes best of, rarities, and live albums.
The Tucos are no strangers to the history of Rockford, though. Front-man Jeremy Porter is a huge Cheap Trick fan, dating back some 4 decades. "This is a show I've been working on for many years." he says. "I saw Cheap Trick at the riverfront park for their big 25th anniversary show, I came back for the Rick's Picks exhibit at the Burpee - I love the city, and can't wait!"
Rockford's Half Hawk will headline the show. Mary's is the oldest bar in Rockford, and is home to some of the best live music in the Rockford area. Mary's has cheap drink prices and a diverse crowd.
21+
The Tucos are no strangers to the history of Rockford, though. Front-man Jeremy Porter is a huge Cheap Trick fan, dating back some 4 decades. "This is a show I've been working on for many years." he says. "I saw Cheap Trick at the riverfront park for their big 25th anniversary show, I came back for the Rick's Picks exhibit at the Burpee - I love the city, and can't wait!"
Rockford's Half Hawk will headline the show. Mary's is the oldest bar in Rockford, and is home to some of the best live music in the Rockford area. Mary's has cheap drink prices and a diverse crowd.
21+
Isthmus (Madison, WI)
Jeremy Porter & the Tucos, Mackenzie Moore
Main Street Music, Brooklyn 102 W. Main St., Brooklyn, Wisconsin 53521
May 13, 2022
External Link
Detroit's Jeremy Porter and The Tucos make their Brooklyn debut at Main Street Music on Friday night. The band is supporting their most recent record Candy Coated Cannonball (GTG Records, 2021) and a new retrospective Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years. The Tucos cite early American powerpop bands like The Plimsouls and Cheap Trick, and roots-rockers like Uncle Tupelo and Gram Parsons as influences. Mackenzie Moore, a singer/songwriter and WAMI finalist from Wisconsin will open the show. For more info please visit www.thetucos.com
Marion Star (Marion, IL)
Michigan-Based Band to Perform in Marion Friday
May 17, 2022 External Link
May 17, 2022 External Link
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos will perform at John Brown's on The Square (100 Tower Square Plaza) in Marion this Friday, May 20 starting at 8 p.m. The show is free and for those ages 21 and over. The Tucos are supporting their most recent album Candy Coated Cannonball as well as a 3-disk retrospective collection Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years, which includes best of, rarities, and live albums. The Tucos cite early American powerpop bands like The Plimsouls and Cheap Trick, and roots-rockers like Uncle Tupelo and Gram Parsons as influences. Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are a rock-and-roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You'll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. "It's Detroit Rock and Roll, even if Detroit isn't quite ready for it," the band says. For more information, visit www.thetucos.com
Complex Distractions (Fort Wayne, IN)
“It’s Not Supposed To Be Easy” : A Conversation With Jeremy Porter Of Jeremy Porter & The Tucos
Posted on May 18, 2022 by J. Hubner
May 24, 2022
External Link
Posted on May 18, 2022 by J. Hubner
Once in a while I get the privilege to help promote a cool local show that’s happening in my general vicinity. In doing so I get to chat with some pretty amazing rock and roll road warriors. Long haulers touring the highways and byways of the great Midwest in search of cool stages located in cooler venues and in front of crowds searching for a live music high. Today I get to talk to Jeremy Porter of Jeremy Porter & The Tucos.
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos hail from the Motor City, Detroit, Michigan. A town known as much for rock and roll as it is for the automotive industry(and maybe Robocop, too.) Jeremy Porter & The Tucos sound like a band raised on classic rock and roll(Beatles, the Who, Cheap Trick, NRBQ), but then took a detour that led them to punk rock, alt-country, 90s indie, and most anything with a little jangle. Their songs are earworm after earworm, with a solid front man and songwriter in Porter who has a voice that’s part Jay Farrar, Rhett Miller, and Robin Zander for good measure. He’s just got one of those voices that can pretty much sell anything.
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos will be stopping in Fort Wayne, IN to play a show at The Brass Rail on Thursday, May 19th with Fort Wayne’s own Streetlamps For Spotlights. I sat down and chatted with Jeremy Porter about the bands now 12 year career, their influences, history, and recent best-of, rarities, and live album releases, and how he’ll never play Olivia Newton-John in the tour van again.
________________________________________
J Hubner: Hello Jeremy. So tell me about Jeremy Porter & The Tucos. When did the band start? How did you come together?
Jeremy Porter: Hey John – Great to meet and talk to you! The band formed in late 2010 when I was coming off a solo-album and tour, looking to get back to playing and traveling with people again. I was asked to contribute to a holiday compilation from a label out of Ann Arbor and had a song that needed a band, so I called my pal Jason, who’d been with me in The OffRamps and Fidrych, and we met Gabriel, who was a friend of a friend, and in a few weeks we were playing shows around Detroit, Chicago, Ohio, etc. A dozen years, four albums, and four bass players later, and here we are, still at it!
J Hubner: Who were some bands you guys bonded over? I definitely hear bits of power pop, punk, and alternative country ala Uncle Tupelo, Old 97s, and The Bottle Rockets.
Jeremy Porter: Yeah, I can’t deny any of that stuff. It doesn’t really show in our sound much, but we were and are all into Descendents. That’s one of the few bands that we all really liked. Uncle Tupelo was in there for sure, and The Beatles and The Who, and there might be a couple others, but we start to branch in different directions pretty quick after that. Back in those early days, Jason and Gabriel were into more punk stuff and I was more into the alt-country/singer-songwriter stuff, but there was always some crossover. Over the years we’ve found some more common ground, turned each other onto new things, new bass players brought new stuff in, and we still embrace the things we don’t have in common. We’re music fans before artist/genre fans, so we can almost always latch on to something someone plays, and it’s all swimming around in our heads, affecting our sound. Except once I played Olivia Newton John’s Greatest Hits in the van and Gabe vowed to quit the band if I ever did that again.
J Hubner: Hey man, I’ll never turn off “Xanadu” or “Magic” if I run across them. Just saying. It seems to me that coming from Detroit you guys are at the epicenter of some major music history. Stooges, MC5, Bob Seger, Nugent, White Stripes, and Motown giants like Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy. Standing in the shadows of giants in the Motor City. What’s the local music scene like in Detroit nowadays?
Jeremy Porter: It’s a strange place, Detroit. There are several great venues, loads of great bands, and a lot of good people that I consider close friends. The scene, however, is very cliquey. The same small handful of bands get 99% of the accolades year in and year out, even though a lot of them haven’t released any new music or played more than a show or two in years. It seems that being a touring band works against you here, maybe because you’re not socializing at all the local shows every weekend, I don’t know.
It might come off like sour grapes, and I don’t want that, because we love it here – we do well in the city, we get some great shows, people come out, and we love being here and from here, but compared to some of the cities we travel to, it just seems a little less unified and a little more segmented. But it’s Detroit – it’s not supposed to be easy, it’s supposed to be hard and rough, no? Bands like Ladyship Warship, Popular Creeps, Jennifer Westwood & Dylan Dunbar, Counter Elites – it’s exciting to see these guys and know that there’s great music coming out of the city.
J Hubner: The band recently released back in March a pretty staggering 3-CD collection of music, which included a curated set of tunes from the band’s first 10 years, a rarities set, and a live gig recorded in Toronto. First, can you believe you’ve been a band for 10 years already? Second, going thru all of the outtakes and unreleased tracks did you find yourself wondering why some of them didn’t make it onto proper LPs? And third, what is your all-time favorite live album?
Jeremy Porter: Yeah, we’re actually coming up on 12 years at this point, but who’s counting? I built the band for longevity. I called it Jeremy Porter AND THE… for the sole reason that I wanted to be able to keep it going if/when members came in and out without losing momentum and traction, and it seems to be working. We’re on bass player no. 4 now, and the band name has stayed the same and the shows and records keep getting better. What sometimes makes me take pause is to look around and see that most of the people I’ve played with over the years are retired from performing, if not playing altogether. The appeal wore off, life happened, and they’ve moved on. Those things haven’t happened to me, and that is something I occasionally ponder.
OK, second – honestly, no… and the same applies to this compilation and almost all the deluxe edition reissues that have come out in the last few decades – be it the Stones, the Who, Replacements, X, Lemonheads, whoever. Bands put a lot of work into recording and sequencing albums and as the sessions progress and conclude the good stuff rises to the top and it’s not all that hard for me to decide what isn’t going to make the cut, and history is almost always on the side of those decisions. There are a few exceptions, but outtakes are outtakes for a reason, and sometimes they’re great, they’re fun, I’m glad people get to hear them, but I don’t look back very often and think one of them would have been better on the record than one of the songs that made it.
And what was the third question? Oh yea – favorite live album. I have to go with Cheap Trick …at Budokan – The Complete Concert (not the original single LP, but the full-show double LP). Live at Leeds is right up there, the Deluxe Edition, again, with the complete concert, not the original culled and overdubbed release. I also love the UFO Youngstown Record Store Day release, and The Jimi Hendrix Concerts, which is amazing.
J Hubner: On Thursday May 19th Jeremy Porter & The Tucos will be playing a gig with Fort Wayne’s own Streetlamps For Spotlights at The Brass Rail. Have you played Fort Wayne before?
Jeremy Porter: Yes, actually quite a few times. I’ve played there a couple times solo-acoustic, and The Tucos have played The Berlin (now The Ruin), and our last FTW show was at The Brass Rail, with the Raelyn Nelson Band. She’s Willie’s granddaughter, she rules and her band is amazing, and they’ve been great to us, bringing us down to Nashville to play. That show was awesome. Love The Brass Rail – it’s one of those upper-Midwestern clubs that has great history and vibe.
J Hubner: What should folks expect to see at the Brass Rail on the 19th?
Jeremy Porter: It’ll be an upbeat set for sure. We’ll pull mostly from our latest album Candy Coated Cannonball, but we’ll hit every record and maybe do a new one or two. We’ll do about 45 minutes, give or take, and get ya home in time to get a good night’s sleep before work Friday. Openers Streetlamps for Spotlights are a great Fort Wayne band we met in Dayton, Ohio, I think, and we can’t wait to watch them and hang out. I love them. I think it’s their first show since before the pandemic.
J Hubner: You guys keep a pretty tight schedule, hitting Illinois on the 20th. When you have time in a town, what kind of stuff do you look for? Local record shops? Book shops? Breweries?
Jeremy Porter: Whenever possible we like to hit record stores. We’re all music junkies, and we like to shop and make sure stores have a copy of our record to sell too. It’s not uncommon for Gabe and me to spend more at a local record store than we make at the gig. Record stores are part of the scene too, just like people like yourself who do write-ups, college radio stations, venues and bands. Time permitting, we might hit a guitar store or some touristy historical or rock and roll landmark or something. Sometimes there’s a mandatory food stop – like Hattie B’s in Nashville, or Starliner Diner near Columbus. Love Cindy’s in Fort Wayne!
J Hubner: What are some essential road tunes for Jeremy Porter & The Tucos?
Jeremy Porter: We just pass the aux-cable and pick records going around clockwise in the van. Sometimes we get in a theme – like a genre, or an era or whatever. Sometimes I’ll hijack the iPod and play something specific for the city we’re in – like Cheap Trick in Rockford, The Replacements in Minneapolis, or The Nils in Montreal. I tend to play a lot of metal too. I’m a big metal fan, even though that’s not our sound at all. Gabe has the most diverse taste, and Jake is younger, so he brings a lot to the table that we haven’t heard.
J Hubner: What’s the rest of 2022 look like for the band?
Jeremy Porter: Our last record, Candy Coated Cannonball came out in January of 2021 and before this year we haven’t really had time to support it as a band, so we’re trying to make up for that. Jake, our bass player, came on at the end of 2021, and he’s been fitting in great, with a great sense of musicianship and positive attitude, and we’re just looking to play wherever, whenever we can. We’ve got a 7” coming out in the fall and we’re looking to do a longer run then, get back to Canada, and rack up as many shows as we can. We’re also working up a batch of new material for what will be album number 5, hopefully in 2023.
________________________________________
Go deep dive into Jeremy Porter & The Tucos’ discography here. Keep up with the band’s comings and goings right here. And if you’re in the Fort Wayne area on Thursday May 19th do yourself a favor and head down to Broadway to the Brass Rail and see Jeremy Porter & The Tucos in action, along with amazing Streetlamps For Spotlights.
Step Out Buffalo (Buffalo, NY)
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos
Thu, Jun 9
6:00 pm 8:00 pm
Free
Duende at Silo City • 85 Silo City Row, Buffalo 14203
Description
June 03, 2022
External Link
6:00 pm 8:00 pm
Free
Duende at Silo City • 85 Silo City Row, Buffalo 14203
Description
On Thursday, June 9th, Jeremy Porter and The Tucos bring their original rock and roll from Detroit to Buffalo for a show at Duende at Silo City. This will be The Tucos fourth Buffalo appearance and their first since 2018. The band’s sound is described as a combination of classic American powerpop bands like Cheap Trick and The Plimsouls and roots-rock/alt-country bands like Uncle Tupelo and Gram Parsons, with elements of punk, rockabilly, pop and classic rock thrown in. They’re supporting their most recent album Candy Coated Cannonball (GTG Records, 2021) and a three-CD retrospective “Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years.” Front-man Jeremy Porter says of Buffalo: “We love the city – it’s a blue-collar, rust-belt town like Detroit that wears its heart on its sleeve. Some hard years for sure, but things are coming back better than ever. Great people, great food, and a down-to-Earth attitude. We fit right in!”
Joe Tell's Music Blog (Buffalo, NY)
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos - Detroit, Michigan
June 04, 2022 External Link
June 04, 2022 External Link
On Thursday, June 9th, Jeremy Porter and The Tucos bring their original rock and roll from Detroit to Buffalo for a show at Duende at Silo City. This will be The Tucos fourth Buffalo appearance and their first since 2018. The band's sound is described as a combination of classic American powerpop bands like Cheap Trick and The Plimsouls and roots-rock/alt-country bands like Uncle Tupelo and Gram Parsons, with elements of punk, rockabilly, pop and classic rock thrown in. They're supporting their most recent album Candy Coated Cannonball (GTG Records, 2021) and a three-CD retrospective "Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years." Front-man Jeremy Porter says of Buffalo: "We love the city - it's a blue-collar, rust-belt town like Detroit that wears its heart on its sleeve. Some hard years for sure, but things are coming back better than ever. Great people, great food, and a down-to-Earth attitude. We fit right in!"
Thursday, June 9th
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos
Duende at Silo City
85 Silo City Row - Buffalo NY
6-8 PM - Free - All Ages
Thursday, June 9th
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos
Duende at Silo City
85 Silo City Row - Buffalo NY
6-8 PM - Free - All Ages
The Macomb Daily (Macomb County, Michigan)
By Gary Graff | PUBLISHED: June 23, 2022 at 7:00 a.m.
The first weekend of summer is loaded with sounds of all styles, and volumes. The heat is certainly on with this assortment of concerts:
Bakersfield, Calif. rock troupe Cracker, with opener Jeremy Porter & the Tucos, plays Saturday, June 25, at the Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Doors at 8 p.m. 248-544-1991 or themagicbag.com.
The first weekend of summer is loaded with sounds of all styles, and volumes. The heat is certainly on with this assortment of concerts:
Bakersfield, Calif. rock troupe Cracker, with opener Jeremy Porter & the Tucos, plays Saturday, June 25, at the Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Doors at 8 p.m. 248-544-1991 or themagicbag.com.
Ghettoblaster Magazine (National)
Jeremy Porter And The Tucos Release 7″, Announce Fall Tour
August 24, 2022
August 24, 2022
External Link
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos along with GTG Records announce the release of their new single “Tonight Is Not the Night” b/w “DTW” on seven-inch, limited-edition, opaque red vinyl. Preorder it here.
This is The Tucos’ sixth seven-inch single and their first release since the three-CD career retrospective Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years.
The songs were recorded during the Candy Coated Cannonball sessions in the winter of 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the music industry and the rest of the world down. Both songs are previously unreleased and will be available initially only on vinyl and digitally through the accompanying download card that will be included with the record.
Jeremy Porter says, “These weren’t exactly leftovers from the Candy Coated Cannonball album, but intentionally set aside for the single. The A-side, ‘Tonight Is Not the Night,’ was played live a few times leading up to the recording of that record. It’s your standard Tucos midwestern-powerpop-heartbreak song, and the B-Side, ‘DTW,’ is our twangy/honkytonk-instrumental answer to Rush’s ‘YYZ,’ played live more often than not these days. We worked it up as the theme song for an animated series in 2019 that never got off the ground, so it needed a home.”
Watch the lyric video for “Tonight Is Not The Night”:
Each seven-inch includes a hand-silkscreened insert and a download card.
The seven-inch will be released on September 9 and supported on the Tucos’ Fall Tour across the eastern and southern U.S. and Canada. Preorders started August 12 and will ship in advance of the release.
JEREMY PORTER and The Tucos – 2022 Fall Tour Dates:
Fri 26 Aug – Lansing, MI – Avenue Café (7" Release show)
Thu 8 Sep – London, ON – Palasad Social Bowl
Fri 9 Sep – Montreal, QC – Barfly
Sat 10 Sep – Windsor, ON – Phog Lounge
Sat 17 Sep – Ferndale, MI – Magic Bag (w/Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band)
Thu 22 Sep – Indianapolis, IN – Melody Inn
Fri 23 Sept – Iowa City, IA – Elray’s Live & Dive
Sat 24 Sept – Wausau, WI – Polack Inn
Thu 13 Oct – Cleveland, OH – Happy Dog
Fri 14 Oct – Catonsville, MD – State Fare
Sat 15 Oct – Salem, VA – Olde Salem Brewing Co
Sun 16 Oct – Raleigh, NC – Chasing Raleigh
Mon 17 Oct – Chattanooga, TN – Cherry Street Tavern
Tue 18 Oct – Atlanta, GA – The Earl
Wed 19 Oct – Tuscaloosa, AL – Druid City Brewing Company
Thu 20 Oct – Water Valley, MS – Hometown Pizza
Fri 21 Oct – Marion, IL – John Brown’s on the Square
Sat 22 Oct – TBA
Thu 17 Nov – Lima, OH – Live at the Lab
Fri 18 Nov – Knoxville, TN – Preservation Pub
Sat 19 Nov – Eaton, OH – Taffy’s of Eaton
Photo by David Kellogg
By: Timothy Anderl Tags: GTG Records, Jeremy Porter And The Tucos
This is The Tucos’ sixth seven-inch single and their first release since the three-CD career retrospective Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years.
The songs were recorded during the Candy Coated Cannonball sessions in the winter of 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the music industry and the rest of the world down. Both songs are previously unreleased and will be available initially only on vinyl and digitally through the accompanying download card that will be included with the record.
Jeremy Porter says, “These weren’t exactly leftovers from the Candy Coated Cannonball album, but intentionally set aside for the single. The A-side, ‘Tonight Is Not the Night,’ was played live a few times leading up to the recording of that record. It’s your standard Tucos midwestern-powerpop-heartbreak song, and the B-Side, ‘DTW,’ is our twangy/honkytonk-instrumental answer to Rush’s ‘YYZ,’ played live more often than not these days. We worked it up as the theme song for an animated series in 2019 that never got off the ground, so it needed a home.”
Watch the lyric video for “Tonight Is Not The Night”:
Each seven-inch includes a hand-silkscreened insert and a download card.
The seven-inch will be released on September 9 and supported on the Tucos’ Fall Tour across the eastern and southern U.S. and Canada. Preorders started August 12 and will ship in advance of the release.
JEREMY PORTER and The Tucos – 2022 Fall Tour Dates:
Fri 26 Aug – Lansing, MI – Avenue Café (7" Release show)
Thu 8 Sep – London, ON – Palasad Social Bowl
Fri 9 Sep – Montreal, QC – Barfly
Sat 10 Sep – Windsor, ON – Phog Lounge
Sat 17 Sep – Ferndale, MI – Magic Bag (w/Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band)
Thu 22 Sep – Indianapolis, IN – Melody Inn
Fri 23 Sept – Iowa City, IA – Elray’s Live & Dive
Sat 24 Sept – Wausau, WI – Polack Inn
Thu 13 Oct – Cleveland, OH – Happy Dog
Fri 14 Oct – Catonsville, MD – State Fare
Sat 15 Oct – Salem, VA – Olde Salem Brewing Co
Sun 16 Oct – Raleigh, NC – Chasing Raleigh
Mon 17 Oct – Chattanooga, TN – Cherry Street Tavern
Tue 18 Oct – Atlanta, GA – The Earl
Wed 19 Oct – Tuscaloosa, AL – Druid City Brewing Company
Thu 20 Oct – Water Valley, MS – Hometown Pizza
Fri 21 Oct – Marion, IL – John Brown’s on the Square
Sat 22 Oct – TBA
Thu 17 Nov – Lima, OH – Live at the Lab
Fri 18 Nov – Knoxville, TN – Preservation Pub
Sat 19 Nov – Eaton, OH – Taffy’s of Eaton
Photo by David Kellogg
By: Timothy Anderl Tags: GTG Records, Jeremy Porter And The Tucos
New Noise Magazine (National)
News: Jeremy Porter and The Tucos Release Limited-Edition Seven-Inch, Announce Fall Tour Dates
By Tim Anderl
August 26, 2022
External Link
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos along with GTG Records announce the release of their new single “Tonight Is Not the Night” b/w “DTW” on seven-inch, limited-edition, opaque red vinyl. Preorder it here.
This is The Tucos’ sixth seven-inch single and their first release since the three-CD career retrospective Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years.
The songs were recorded during the Candy Coated Cannonball sessions in the winter of 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the music industry and the rest of the world down. Both songs are previously unreleased and will be available initially only on vinyl and digitally through the accompanying download card that will be included with the record.
Jeremy Porter says, “These weren’t exactly leftovers from the Candy Coated Cannonball album, but intentionally set aside for the single. The A-side, ‘Tonight Is Not the Night,’ was played live a few times leading up to the recording of that record. It’s your standard Tucos midwestern-powerpop-heartbreak song, and the B-Side, ‘DTW,’ is our twangy/honkytonk-instrumental answer to Rush’s ‘YYZ,’ played live more often than not these days. We worked it up as the theme song for an animated series in 2019 that never got off the ground, so it needed a home.”
Watch the lyric video for “Tonight Is Not The Night”:
Each seven-inch includes a hand-silkscreened insert and a download card.
The seven-inch will be released on September 9 and supported on the Tucos’ Fall Tour across the eastern and southern U.S. and Canada. Preorders started August 12 and will ship in advance of the release.
JEREMY PORTER and The Tucos – 2022 Fall Tour Dates:
Fri 26 Aug – Lansing, MI – Avenue Café (7" Release show)
Thu 8 Sep – London, ON – Palasad Social Bowl
Fri 9 Sep – Montreal, QC – Barfly
Sat 10 Sep – Windsor, ON – Phog Lounge
Sat 17 Sep – Ferndale, MI – Magic Bag (w/Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band)
Thu 22 Sep – Indianapolis, IN – Melody Inn
Fri 23 Sept – Iowa City, IA – Elray’s Live & Dive
Sat 24 Sept – Wausau, WI – Polack Inn
Thu 13 Oct – Cleveland, OH – Happy Dog
Fri 14 Oct – Catonsville, MD – State Fare
Sat 15 Oct – Salem, VA – Olde Salem Brewing Co
Sun 16 Oct – Raleigh, NC – Chasing Raleigh
Mon 17 Oct – Chattanooga, TN – Cherry Street Tavern
Tue 18 Oct – Atlanta, GA – The Earl
Wed 19 Oct – Tuscaloosa, AL – Druid City Brewing Company
Thu 20 Oct – Water Valley, MS – Hometown Pizza
Fri 21 Oct – Marion, IL – John Brown’s on the Square
Sat 22 Oct – TBA
Thu 17 Nov – Lima, OH – Live at the Lab
Fri 18 Nov – Knoxville, TN – Preservation Pub
Sat 19 Nov – Eaton, OH – Taffy’s of Eaton
Photo by David Kellogg
This is The Tucos’ sixth seven-inch single and their first release since the three-CD career retrospective Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years.
The songs were recorded during the Candy Coated Cannonball sessions in the winter of 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the music industry and the rest of the world down. Both songs are previously unreleased and will be available initially only on vinyl and digitally through the accompanying download card that will be included with the record.
Jeremy Porter says, “These weren’t exactly leftovers from the Candy Coated Cannonball album, but intentionally set aside for the single. The A-side, ‘Tonight Is Not the Night,’ was played live a few times leading up to the recording of that record. It’s your standard Tucos midwestern-powerpop-heartbreak song, and the B-Side, ‘DTW,’ is our twangy/honkytonk-instrumental answer to Rush’s ‘YYZ,’ played live more often than not these days. We worked it up as the theme song for an animated series in 2019 that never got off the ground, so it needed a home.”
Watch the lyric video for “Tonight Is Not The Night”:
Each seven-inch includes a hand-silkscreened insert and a download card.
The seven-inch will be released on September 9 and supported on the Tucos’ Fall Tour across the eastern and southern U.S. and Canada. Preorders started August 12 and will ship in advance of the release.
JEREMY PORTER and The Tucos – 2022 Fall Tour Dates:
Fri 26 Aug – Lansing, MI – Avenue Café (7" Release show)
Thu 8 Sep – London, ON – Palasad Social Bowl
Fri 9 Sep – Montreal, QC – Barfly
Sat 10 Sep – Windsor, ON – Phog Lounge
Sat 17 Sep – Ferndale, MI – Magic Bag (w/Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band)
Thu 22 Sep – Indianapolis, IN – Melody Inn
Fri 23 Sept – Iowa City, IA – Elray’s Live & Dive
Sat 24 Sept – Wausau, WI – Polack Inn
Thu 13 Oct – Cleveland, OH – Happy Dog
Fri 14 Oct – Catonsville, MD – State Fare
Sat 15 Oct – Salem, VA – Olde Salem Brewing Co
Sun 16 Oct – Raleigh, NC – Chasing Raleigh
Mon 17 Oct – Chattanooga, TN – Cherry Street Tavern
Tue 18 Oct – Atlanta, GA – The Earl
Wed 19 Oct – Tuscaloosa, AL – Druid City Brewing Company
Thu 20 Oct – Water Valley, MS – Hometown Pizza
Fri 21 Oct – Marion, IL – John Brown’s on the Square
Sat 22 Oct – TBA
Thu 17 Nov – Lima, OH – Live at the Lab
Fri 18 Nov – Knoxville, TN – Preservation Pub
Sat 19 Nov – Eaton, OH – Taffy’s of Eaton
Photo by David Kellogg
Hometown Stations (Lima, OH)
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos at Live At The Lab
September 01, 2022 External Link
September 01, 2022 External Link
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos at Live At The Lab
Thursday, November 17, 2022 , 7:00pm
Location: Legacy Arts Building
Lima, OH
Price $10.00
Description: Join us for live music by Jeremy Porter & The Tacos (rock)! http://www.thetucos.com/. Jeremy Porter and The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You'll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It's Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn't quite ready for it. Tickets can be purchased at
Thursday, November 17, 2022 , 7:00pm
Location: Legacy Arts Building
Lima, OH
Price $10.00
Description: Join us for live music by Jeremy Porter & The Tacos (rock)! http://www.thetucos.com/. Jeremy Porter and The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You'll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It's Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn't quite ready for it. Tickets can be purchased at
Pure Pop 4 Now People (National)
When it comes to Jeremy Porter and the Tucos every night is the night
September 05, 2022 External Link
September 05, 2022 External Link
By Henry Lipput
If you’ve read more than a few of my reviews on this blog you’ll notice there’s not a lot of straight up rock and roll in the mix. What tends to attract my ears and pen and paper is melodic pop and more than a bit of jangle.
One of the exceptions is my review last year of Candy Coated Cannonball, the album by Jeremy Porter and the Tucos. In the review I wrote: “Jeremy Porter and the Tucos is one of the best rock and roll trios I’ve heard since Ben Folds Five released their debut album more than 20 years ago.”
And now they’re back with a new 7’ single that, as David Letterman was fond of saying, blows the roof off the dump. It’s available only from their website as a preorder from GTG Records and at shows. (You can find out about the dates for the band’s Fall tour here.)
“Tonight is Not the Night” b/w “DTW” is pressed on limited-edition red vinyl and comes with great cover art by Kentucky's Nick Walters, a hand-screened insert, and a download card. Recorded during the Candy Coated Cannonball sessions, “Tonight is Not the Night” is nowhere near a left-over but a worthy addition to the band’s greatest hits.
Speaking of greatest hits, if you like what you hear you need to check out Jeremy Porter and the Tucos 3-CD career retrospective Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years on Bandcamp.
If you’ve read more than a few of my reviews on this blog you’ll notice there’s not a lot of straight up rock and roll in the mix. What tends to attract my ears and pen and paper is melodic pop and more than a bit of jangle.
One of the exceptions is my review last year of Candy Coated Cannonball, the album by Jeremy Porter and the Tucos. In the review I wrote: “Jeremy Porter and the Tucos is one of the best rock and roll trios I’ve heard since Ben Folds Five released their debut album more than 20 years ago.”
And now they’re back with a new 7’ single that, as David Letterman was fond of saying, blows the roof off the dump. It’s available only from their website as a preorder from GTG Records and at shows. (You can find out about the dates for the band’s Fall tour here.)
“Tonight is Not the Night” b/w “DTW” is pressed on limited-edition red vinyl and comes with great cover art by Kentucky's Nick Walters, a hand-screened insert, and a download card. Recorded during the Candy Coated Cannonball sessions, “Tonight is Not the Night” is nowhere near a left-over but a worthy addition to the band’s greatest hits.
Speaking of greatest hits, if you like what you hear you need to check out Jeremy Porter and the Tucos 3-CD career retrospective Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years on Bandcamp.
Jersey Beat (National)
JEREMY PORTER AND THE TUCOS – "Tonight Is Not The Night" EP
(GTG Records, gtgrecords.net)
September 08, 2022
External Link
This two-song 7” single was recorded just before the pandemic changed the world, as they recorded their “Candy Coated Cannonball” album. But these weren’t leftovers from the album, but were rather intended to be released separately on a single. The title track is the A-side, featuring a blend of power-pop, working class rock and roll, and a little bit of Americana. The B-side, “DTW,” is more intentionally twangy country rock instrumental. Apparently it was intended to be the theme song for an animated series that was never picked up, so they use it here. It does kind of feel like throwaway filler, particularly compared to the A-side, which is a pretty solid pub-rock sort of song.
Visit Roanoke (Roanoke, VA)
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos Live at Olde Salem Brewing Co.
Date: October 15, 2022
Time: Music starts at 6:30pm
September 21, 2022
External Link
Time: Music starts at 6:30pm
On Saturday, October 15th, Detroit’s Jeremy Porter and The Tucos will be playing at the Olde Salem Brewing Company In Salem, Virginia. This will be the Tucos’ 1st time in Virginia, although they’ve toured up and down the east coast a couple times previously. The band is supporting their record Candy Coated Cannonball (2021, GTG Records) and their 3-CD retrospective Bottled Regrets: The First Ten years (2022) as well as a brand new 7” single “Tonight Is Not the Night” each of which will be available at the show. Attendees can expect an upbeat and lively performance of original Detroit rock and roll!
“We’re excited to play in Salem!” Jeremy Porter says. “We’ve been trying to get something in Virginia for a few years and it’s one of the few states east of the Rockies that we haven’t played, though I've visited the area a few times in my travels.”
Music starts at 6:30pm and runs until 9:30. It’s free and all ages are welcome.
“We’re excited to play in Salem!” Jeremy Porter says. “We’ve been trying to get something in Virginia for a few years and it’s one of the few states east of the Rockies that we haven’t played, though I've visited the area a few times in my travels.”
Music starts at 6:30pm and runs until 9:30. It’s free and all ages are welcome.
Cleveland Scene (Cleveland, OH)
Michigan Rockers Jeremy Porter & the Tucos To Play Happy Dog on October 13
Group will kick off fall tour with the performance
September 27, 2022
External Link
Singer-guitarist Jeremy Porter, the veteran punk/garage rocker who heads up Jeremy Porter & the Tucos, got his start at an early age. By 16, he was playing in the Regulars, a legit punk group.
“It was pretty cool,” he says of the experience via phone from his Michigan home. Jeremy Porter and the Tucos perform at 9 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 13, at the Happy Dog. “We were in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on the shore of Lake Superior. The winters were long, and there wasn’t a whole lot to do there for kids. A friend of mine’s mom worked at a record store in Ann Arbor, so he had all the newer records by the newer bands. We dug into those and played punk rock and garage covers. We were a little ahead of our time. It was a great experience. I learned a lot, and to this day, I carry a lot of that with me."
As much as Porter infuses his music with a punk rock ethos, he also brings something very melodic to the table. When it comes down to it, he says the Beatles, Beach Boys and Stones all influenced him as much as anything else.
“I have Black Flag records and Dead Kennedys and a lot of metal,” he says. “But we listen to a lot of different stuff. From the very earliest days, it was those pop hooks that got me. I will never forget hearing ‘I Want You To Want Me’ from Cheap Trick for the first time and what better hook is there than that? I will never forget that moment. I just liked the way it made me feel. It could be anything. It doesn’t have to be a vocal melody either. I’m really attracted to the idea of taking a melody like that and putting it up against a distorted guitar or even a minor key or some lyrics that are dark. The melody could be bright, and the topic of the song is not. I like that contrast, and it makes for some interesting art.”
Coming out of another punk-garage band, the Offramps, Porter formed the Tucos in 2010 with the intention of “taking the reins because nobody was on board as much as I am,” as he puts it.
“I thought that if I didn’t do that, I'd be struggling to wait for people to catch up,” he says. “I decided to do a Jeremy Porter and the fill-in-the-blank band. If someone comes and goes, I don’t have to start over. I didn’t want it to be me and a couple of hired guns, either. The band has always been collaborative. [Drummer] Gabriel [Doman] and I have been together since the start. We’re now on bass player No. 4 but every one of them has been a collaborator. It is my name just because I couldn’t be switching gears every few years when someone has a kid or is suddenly married to their job.”
Last year, the band released its latest studio album, Candy Coated Cannonball, and this year, it’s put out the retrospective Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years. The best of complilation includes a greatest hits album, a live album and a rarities album.
“It was a lot of work,” Porter says of the album. “I thought it would be a quick and easy thing. The live album was the most work. I mixed and edited that myself. The best of was the easiest. I just had to deliver that to the mastering guy. The rarities was in the middle. It ran the gamut from professionally recorded outtakes to basement demos. I’m more careful with my archiving now. We’ve done a Christmas song and a contribution to a Guided by Voices compilation. I’m being very careful where I keep the mixes and masters, so when the time does come, it’ll be a lot less painful. I’m also trying to be more diligent about tracking live shows, so I have a bigger pool of material. That is the plan. Nothing would make me happier than to have the band go another ten years and have another two to three CDs to put out. It’s been received really well.”
With its raspy vocals and introspective lyrics, the new single, “Tonight Is Not the Night,” evokes the Pleased to Meet Me-era Replacements .
“It feels like a party song,” Porter says of the track. “The B-side is called ‘DTW.’ That’s an instrumental. That was written a couple of years prior for an animated series by a guy here in Detroit. You never know what to call an instrumental. Rush has a song called ‘YYZ.’ It’s the abbreviation for their airport in Toronto. We though that we could call it ‘DTW.’ Thanks to Geddy [Lee] and Alex [Lifeson] for that one.
Porter says his band has played the Happy Dog a few times in the past, and he’s particularly excited about the lineup for the upcoming show, which features two terrific local acts.
“We’re playing with my good friend Doug McKean,” he says. “He was in GC5 and Boys from County Hell and Bedroom Legends. I was in a Clash cover band, and we used to play with his Pogues cover band. He’s a great guy. The records he’s been putting out are just fantastic. He doesn’t get out much, so it’ll be really special to get him on stage. Duo Decibel System is also playing. They’re a two-piece, and they play dirty blues rock 'n’ roll. It’s the first night of our tour. We’re going on a long run down South, and we’re starting it off in Cleveland. We’ll play songs from Candy Coated Cannonball and dig back into the catalog. Maybe we can get Doug up to sing on a song with us. It’s going to be great.
“It was pretty cool,” he says of the experience via phone from his Michigan home. Jeremy Porter and the Tucos perform at 9 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 13, at the Happy Dog. “We were in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on the shore of Lake Superior. The winters were long, and there wasn’t a whole lot to do there for kids. A friend of mine’s mom worked at a record store in Ann Arbor, so he had all the newer records by the newer bands. We dug into those and played punk rock and garage covers. We were a little ahead of our time. It was a great experience. I learned a lot, and to this day, I carry a lot of that with me."
As much as Porter infuses his music with a punk rock ethos, he also brings something very melodic to the table. When it comes down to it, he says the Beatles, Beach Boys and Stones all influenced him as much as anything else.
“I have Black Flag records and Dead Kennedys and a lot of metal,” he says. “But we listen to a lot of different stuff. From the very earliest days, it was those pop hooks that got me. I will never forget hearing ‘I Want You To Want Me’ from Cheap Trick for the first time and what better hook is there than that? I will never forget that moment. I just liked the way it made me feel. It could be anything. It doesn’t have to be a vocal melody either. I’m really attracted to the idea of taking a melody like that and putting it up against a distorted guitar or even a minor key or some lyrics that are dark. The melody could be bright, and the topic of the song is not. I like that contrast, and it makes for some interesting art.”
Coming out of another punk-garage band, the Offramps, Porter formed the Tucos in 2010 with the intention of “taking the reins because nobody was on board as much as I am,” as he puts it.
“I thought that if I didn’t do that, I'd be struggling to wait for people to catch up,” he says. “I decided to do a Jeremy Porter and the fill-in-the-blank band. If someone comes and goes, I don’t have to start over. I didn’t want it to be me and a couple of hired guns, either. The band has always been collaborative. [Drummer] Gabriel [Doman] and I have been together since the start. We’re now on bass player No. 4 but every one of them has been a collaborator. It is my name just because I couldn’t be switching gears every few years when someone has a kid or is suddenly married to their job.”
Last year, the band released its latest studio album, Candy Coated Cannonball, and this year, it’s put out the retrospective Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years. The best of complilation includes a greatest hits album, a live album and a rarities album.
“It was a lot of work,” Porter says of the album. “I thought it would be a quick and easy thing. The live album was the most work. I mixed and edited that myself. The best of was the easiest. I just had to deliver that to the mastering guy. The rarities was in the middle. It ran the gamut from professionally recorded outtakes to basement demos. I’m more careful with my archiving now. We’ve done a Christmas song and a contribution to a Guided by Voices compilation. I’m being very careful where I keep the mixes and masters, so when the time does come, it’ll be a lot less painful. I’m also trying to be more diligent about tracking live shows, so I have a bigger pool of material. That is the plan. Nothing would make me happier than to have the band go another ten years and have another two to three CDs to put out. It’s been received really well.”
With its raspy vocals and introspective lyrics, the new single, “Tonight Is Not the Night,” evokes the Pleased to Meet Me-era Replacements .
“It feels like a party song,” Porter says of the track. “The B-side is called ‘DTW.’ That’s an instrumental. That was written a couple of years prior for an animated series by a guy here in Detroit. You never know what to call an instrumental. Rush has a song called ‘YYZ.’ It’s the abbreviation for their airport in Toronto. We though that we could call it ‘DTW.’ Thanks to Geddy [Lee] and Alex [Lifeson] for that one.
Porter says his band has played the Happy Dog a few times in the past, and he’s particularly excited about the lineup for the upcoming show, which features two terrific local acts.
“We’re playing with my good friend Doug McKean,” he says. “He was in GC5 and Boys from County Hell and Bedroom Legends. I was in a Clash cover band, and we used to play with his Pogues cover band. He’s a great guy. The records he’s been putting out are just fantastic. He doesn’t get out much, so it’ll be really special to get him on stage. Duo Decibel System is also playing. They’re a two-piece, and they play dirty blues rock 'n’ roll. It’s the first night of our tour. We’re going on a long run down South, and we’re starting it off in Cleveland. We’ll play songs from Candy Coated Cannonball and dig back into the catalog. Maybe we can get Doug up to sing on a song with us. It’s going to be great.
North Coast Voice (Cleveland, OH)
All you Ohio “October Girls” pay attention, because Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are tearing back into town.
Renowned for fronting gritty Michigan outfits like The Regulars, Slug Bug, and The Off Ramps in the ‘90s and early ’00s, Porter formed his own hard-rockin’ Tucos trio for a bar gig on a cold, blizzardy night in Royal Oaks in 2009. Debut album Partner in Crime dropped in 2013, followed by Above the Sweet Tea Line (2015) and Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious (2017). The band toured relentlessly in the 2010s (until COVID, anyway), opening for Soul Asylum, Supersuckers, Whitney Morgan, and Jesse Dayton.
Now Marquette maestro Porter is four LPs deep with his revamped three-piece, who issued Candy Coated Cannonball on GTG Records in 2021. Backed by bassist Bob Moulton and drummer Gabriel Doman, the guitar-slinger (and keyboardist) sizzles on “Dead Ringer,” “Zipper Merge,” “Upward Trend,” and the horn-slathered “Girls Named Erica.” The disc - tracked at Willis Sounds in the Wolverine State (Ann Arbor and Dearborn) - also boasts Evan Mercer, whose Hammond and Farfisa organs lend vintage appeal to the decidedly modern tracks.
Porter and Doman will provide plenty of Cannonball shrapnel when they headline Happy Dog (again) in Cleveland on October 13 (with new bassist Jake Riley of Gainesville, Florida group Big Shoals). It’ll be The Tucos’ seventh Northeast Ohio appearance in five years. Admission is a measly $8.00.
To clear the table for studio album five (and celebrate his first decade with The Tucos), Porter has also issued the catch-up compilation Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years - a three-disc treasure trove of remastered Tuco standards, rarities, B-sides, outtakes, and live tracks (from Toronto 2016-17). It’s available now at www.thetucos.com and on most streaming platforms. Their new 7” single, “Tonight is Not the Night,” will be on hand at the show (opaque red vinyl!).
We chatted with Jeremy via email this week about The Tucos’ ongoing tour, which brings them back to The Happy Dog on Thursday, October 13, for a gig with Cleveland pals Doug McKean (Ohio City Singers, Boys From the County Hell), and Duo Decibel System.
NCV: How did you get started in music? Who (or what) inspired you? Any particular epiphany moment that catalyzed you?
JEREMY PORTER: Growing up there was always a piano and a guitar in the corner. There was always a stack of Beatles, Dylan, and Beach Boys records. My parents encouraged me to love music, and it stuck as I grew up. Around the time I turned 8 or 9, I guess, I started taking guitar lessons and finding my own tastes in music. I loved Kiss, Cheap Trick, The Knack, and then The Who, and I hated school, so rock star seemed the logical choice for a career path. I wanted to be Ace Frehley. That was some pretty good motivation, but hearing “I Want You to Want Me” for the first time, seeing the inside gatefold of KISS Alive II, and watching The Who’s farewell (haha) concert on HBO in 1982 all had an impact. Hearing The Clash for the first time a couple years later made it all seem somehow obtainable. NCV: Any personal favorite singer-songwriters or guitarists?
JEREMY PORTER: Loads of them, really. As far as songwriters, Townsend, Jagger- Richards, Lennon-McCartney early on. More recently Rick Nielsen, the Drive-By Truckers, Jason Isbell. Westerberg, Mould, Weller, Waits are all in there… I like aggressive guitarists like Townsend and Mould, who focus on energy and impact over precision, but I’m also a longtime passionate metal fan, so I studied Randy Rhoads for a while, and I love those metal guys too, even though I could never play like that. Keith Richards is a big influence and got me into open tunings.
NCV: Detroit is Motown, but it’s also known for Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, MC-5, Seger, Nugent, etc. What was the “scene” like when you were growing up, and what was it like once you were part of it?
JEREMY PORTER: Well, I didn’t grow up around here, I moved here when I was 18, right before Ann Arbor became a pretty powerful scene (again). Bands like Laughing Hyenas and Big Chief were making a big splash, and the scene was pretty healthy, especially in Ann Arbor. I struggled to fit in with my more poppy-punk-powerpop type stuff, it wasn’t fashionable at all. I wasn’t well connected and struggled to make things happen, but over time things have come around. It’s taken decades and a lot of indifference and rejection, but I can’t really complain about where I am/ we are now. The scene today is pretty fragmented and clicquey. I’ve been there for so long that I have tons of friends and we get good shows and are very fortunate in that way, but I still struggle to fit in in a lot of those circles. Compared to some other scenes like Lansing, Michigan and Lexington Kentucky, for example, it’s just not as healthy or inclusive. Part of the problem, if you want to call it that, is that we’re a road band, so we aren’t home playing the social game as much, which doesn’t help break into that sphere of acceptance.
NCV: Can you talk a little about some of your earlier groups?
JEREMY PORTER: Sure! My first band was called The Regulars, up in Marquette, Michigan. We were kids in high school doing punk and garage covers. We weren’t great, but we thought we were, and we had a lot of fun, and I have nothing but great memories from those days. Those guys are still among my closest friends. Then I moved to the Detroit/ Ann Arbor area and joined a band called Chutes and Ladders and started really working on songwriting. My next band - SlugBug - did some touring and put out some stuff on an indie label out of Chicago and had some major label interest before we fizzled out. Then I was in bands called The OffRamps and Fidrych that both did some good stuff, but didn’t tour much. There’s a lot of stuff out there if anyone’s interested, and I’m still cool with pretty much everyone I’ve played with, so I feel really blessed to have that resume and to have been surrounded by all those great people.
NCV: How did Tucos form? Were you always friends, or did that happen as a result of being in the group together (both new and past members)?
JEREMY PORTER: Our first bassist Jason was in Fidrych and The OffRamps with me and we shared a similar work ethic and had a lot of our record collections in common, not to mention being great friends, so after Fidrych he was the guy. I’d known Gabriel casually, he’d tried out for my Clash-covers project Cashback on guitar, but when Jay and I needed a drummer, he was clearly the guy. Gabe is my right-hand man, we work together really well, and I rely on him to keep me leveled when it comes to songs, arrangements, recording, production, and generally calling out my BS when it needs calling out. Our bass player since late last year is Jake Riley, a guy from Ann Arbor who was already familiar with our catalog and we’d each worked with outside of The Tucos before. He’s a great guy and plays and sings great, and just loves getting up there and putting on a show. He’s given us a kick in the ass. We’re firing on all cylinders at the moment, and it’s a lot of fun.
NCV: Last time you played Cleveland Patty was on bass, right?
JEREMY PORTER: Yeah, Patty left a few weeks after we got back from England in late 2018. I think we’d played The Grog Shop that spring, if memory serves. Bob Moulton came on board, who was a friend from the area I’d known for a long time. We did a year’s worth of touring with him, wrote, recorded, and released the album, then as we were starting to get back out there on the road after the long lockdown, he decided it wasn’t for him anymore. We miss hanging with those guys, and each of the three of them left a big mark on the band, but we’re so happy to have Jake - he’s picked up all the slack and then some - and the new songs with his mark on them are coming along fantastic and the next record is gonna be something special!
NCV: My son and I love The Good The Bad and The Ugly. I'm guessing the Tucos name came from Eli Wallach’s character?
JEREMY PORTER: It did! Thanks for not saying Breaking Bad [with drug kingpin Tuco Salamanca]! We needed a name in a hurry and that was available. Naming a band is really hard, for me anyway. I think we coulda done better, but we coulda done worse too. That movie is so great - one of the best ever, and he was a very colorful character. Jason wanted to call us The Mortimers, after the Lee Van Cleef character, but that was taken by a hardcore band from Poland, so that’s why we landed on The Tucos.
NCV: I’m familiar with Sweet Tea Line and It’s Not Contagious...was Cannonball a product of pandemic sessions, or had some of the album already been in-process?
JEREMY PORTER: Most of the recording was finished days before the actual pandemic lockdown happened, in early March 2020. We had to cram in some background vocals and percussion in our home studio over lockdown, but it was basically done before. However… we did mix, master, and release it during the pandemic, so that was weird. The whole pandemic really sucked for us - we lost a ton of tour dates, and a bunch of great venues and other businesses closed. It was a super bummer, and it doesn’t seem like we’re even close to being out of it, despite what we’re not seeing and hearing on TV. I’m seeing tours and shows cancelled almost daily still.
NCV: You’ll be playing Happy Dog with Duo Decibel System and Doug McKean. How’d you all meet up? I just did an open mic with Duo Decibel here on Wednesday, and I know Doug from all his local bands. Great guy. Were you familiar with Sean (Happy Dog former owner)?
JEREMY PORTER: I’ve known Doug for a long time. His Pogues cover band Boys From the County Hell backed up Spider Stacy in the Detroit Area back in the `00s, I think, and we met that night, then Clashback played with them at the Beachland in the big room a couple years later, which was amazing. I loved his band The Bedroom Legends, and his solo stuff is really incredible. I’m a big fan. Not sure exactly how we ever connected with Duo Decibel System but we have played a bunch of shows with them over the years - great people and a great band! Always love their stuff, love watching them play. Really looking forward to this lineup! And I’m not sure if I actually know Sean, maybe I do - I’m terrible with that stuff - but Doug’s brother used to work at Happy Dog, I think, and we’ve played there a few times, including one really memorable night with Bill Fox from The Mice. We have some people who’ve seen us there and still follow us around a bit. It’s awesome. And the hot dog rule, and they have a Paul Westerberg portrait over one of the booths. What’s not to love?
NCV: Where are some of your favorite Cleveland haunts?
JEREMY PORTER: Blue Arrow is my favorite record store in the Cleveland area, but there are a handful of great shops there. I always find something great at Blue Arrow - last time it was an original pressing of Gram Parson’s GP album. They sell our records there too. They’re always really nice to us there, which is maybe not as common as you’d think. Really hope we have time to stop in when we’re in town!
NCV: Any other cool Cleveland memories?
JEREMY PORTER: Quite a few! Our song “Bottled Regrets” is about a hangover I had in Cleveland after a show at the old Spitfire, which was a grimy punk dive with one of the nastiest bathrooms I’ve ever seen. I played Peabody’s with SlugBug in the ‘90s and we slept in our van in a parking lot of some office building for a couple hours before driving all night to get to a matinee show in Worcester, Mass that was never actually booked, unbeknownst to us (this was pre-internet). And I remember seeing Bob Mould at Peabody’s shortly after he’d left Husker Du, and The Replacements with the Goo Goo Dolls at The Agora in 1991 on Westerberg’s guest list. I’ve been to Cleveland many times as a musician and a civilian and always love it.
NCV: You play guitars from Reverend Guitars (Billy Corgan, Black Keys, Reeves Gabrels, etc.) here in Ohio, right?
JEREMY PORTER: Yeah, I love my Reverends! They’re based out of Sylvania over near Toledo. My main road guitars are the Pete Anderson signature hollow-bodies, the PA1. I bought one on a whim for recording, fell in love with it, bought a second one, and haven’t put them down. They’re great, and it’s a great company, run and staffed by fantastic wonderful people. I can’t say enough about them and\ their products. I also have an early Eastpointe Reverend, and I’m always watching the racks for something special.
NCV: I know I asked you this before, but since it’s awesome, can you talk a bit about how the idea for photographing venue restrooms came about? You really can tell a venue by its pissers...the photos celebrate / lambast the glamour / non-glam of tour life.
JEREMY PORTER: Yeah! Well it just started innocently in Detroit one night at the Corktown Tavern. I was just bored waiting for the show to start and the bathroom was so nasty so I took a snapshot and posted it on my socials and it got a great response and kinda just turned into a thing. Now I’ve got a prototype coffee table book that I sell in our web store and our merch booth at shows, and I’m looking for a publisher so I can get it out there - so if ya’ know anyone!
NCV: What else do you do during down time, on the road or back home?
JEREMY PORTER: I love grilling and smoking. We’ve always got something on the smoker at home - pork shoulders, briskets, baby backs, chicken, Korean short ribs. When the pandemic started we started doing Whiskey Wednesdays at the house where we make a nice meal and have a drink and crank out some vinyl to break up the endless Groundhog Day pandemic thing, and that’s still a thing. Other than that, I go to shows, the occasional metal concert, hang out with my wife, lots of band practices… On the road down time is so precious. We usually just hang at the hotel and watch TV or something, but as we were talking about, we do like record and guitar shopping. And we like to eat well, so we put some effort into that. When we have excessive downtime I try to get some exercise in, and once in a while we might even do something like a distillery tour or hit the horse races or go see the ocean or something. Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, with Duo Decibel System and Doug McKean. Thursday, October 13, 2022, at Happy Dog (5801 Detroit Avenue in Cleveland). Doors at 8pm, with $8 cover. Music starts at 9pm.
Renowned for fronting gritty Michigan outfits like The Regulars, Slug Bug, and The Off Ramps in the ‘90s and early ’00s, Porter formed his own hard-rockin’ Tucos trio for a bar gig on a cold, blizzardy night in Royal Oaks in 2009. Debut album Partner in Crime dropped in 2013, followed by Above the Sweet Tea Line (2015) and Don’t Worry, It’s Not Contagious (2017). The band toured relentlessly in the 2010s (until COVID, anyway), opening for Soul Asylum, Supersuckers, Whitney Morgan, and Jesse Dayton.
Now Marquette maestro Porter is four LPs deep with his revamped three-piece, who issued Candy Coated Cannonball on GTG Records in 2021. Backed by bassist Bob Moulton and drummer Gabriel Doman, the guitar-slinger (and keyboardist) sizzles on “Dead Ringer,” “Zipper Merge,” “Upward Trend,” and the horn-slathered “Girls Named Erica.” The disc - tracked at Willis Sounds in the Wolverine State (Ann Arbor and Dearborn) - also boasts Evan Mercer, whose Hammond and Farfisa organs lend vintage appeal to the decidedly modern tracks.
Porter and Doman will provide plenty of Cannonball shrapnel when they headline Happy Dog (again) in Cleveland on October 13 (with new bassist Jake Riley of Gainesville, Florida group Big Shoals). It’ll be The Tucos’ seventh Northeast Ohio appearance in five years. Admission is a measly $8.00.
To clear the table for studio album five (and celebrate his first decade with The Tucos), Porter has also issued the catch-up compilation Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years - a three-disc treasure trove of remastered Tuco standards, rarities, B-sides, outtakes, and live tracks (from Toronto 2016-17). It’s available now at www.thetucos.com and on most streaming platforms. Their new 7” single, “Tonight is Not the Night,” will be on hand at the show (opaque red vinyl!).
We chatted with Jeremy via email this week about The Tucos’ ongoing tour, which brings them back to The Happy Dog on Thursday, October 13, for a gig with Cleveland pals Doug McKean (Ohio City Singers, Boys From the County Hell), and Duo Decibel System.
NCV: How did you get started in music? Who (or what) inspired you? Any particular epiphany moment that catalyzed you?
JEREMY PORTER: Growing up there was always a piano and a guitar in the corner. There was always a stack of Beatles, Dylan, and Beach Boys records. My parents encouraged me to love music, and it stuck as I grew up. Around the time I turned 8 or 9, I guess, I started taking guitar lessons and finding my own tastes in music. I loved Kiss, Cheap Trick, The Knack, and then The Who, and I hated school, so rock star seemed the logical choice for a career path. I wanted to be Ace Frehley. That was some pretty good motivation, but hearing “I Want You to Want Me” for the first time, seeing the inside gatefold of KISS Alive II, and watching The Who’s farewell (haha) concert on HBO in 1982 all had an impact. Hearing The Clash for the first time a couple years later made it all seem somehow obtainable. NCV: Any personal favorite singer-songwriters or guitarists?
JEREMY PORTER: Loads of them, really. As far as songwriters, Townsend, Jagger- Richards, Lennon-McCartney early on. More recently Rick Nielsen, the Drive-By Truckers, Jason Isbell. Westerberg, Mould, Weller, Waits are all in there… I like aggressive guitarists like Townsend and Mould, who focus on energy and impact over precision, but I’m also a longtime passionate metal fan, so I studied Randy Rhoads for a while, and I love those metal guys too, even though I could never play like that. Keith Richards is a big influence and got me into open tunings.
NCV: Detroit is Motown, but it’s also known for Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, MC-5, Seger, Nugent, etc. What was the “scene” like when you were growing up, and what was it like once you were part of it?
JEREMY PORTER: Well, I didn’t grow up around here, I moved here when I was 18, right before Ann Arbor became a pretty powerful scene (again). Bands like Laughing Hyenas and Big Chief were making a big splash, and the scene was pretty healthy, especially in Ann Arbor. I struggled to fit in with my more poppy-punk-powerpop type stuff, it wasn’t fashionable at all. I wasn’t well connected and struggled to make things happen, but over time things have come around. It’s taken decades and a lot of indifference and rejection, but I can’t really complain about where I am/ we are now. The scene today is pretty fragmented and clicquey. I’ve been there for so long that I have tons of friends and we get good shows and are very fortunate in that way, but I still struggle to fit in in a lot of those circles. Compared to some other scenes like Lansing, Michigan and Lexington Kentucky, for example, it’s just not as healthy or inclusive. Part of the problem, if you want to call it that, is that we’re a road band, so we aren’t home playing the social game as much, which doesn’t help break into that sphere of acceptance.
NCV: Can you talk a little about some of your earlier groups?
JEREMY PORTER: Sure! My first band was called The Regulars, up in Marquette, Michigan. We were kids in high school doing punk and garage covers. We weren’t great, but we thought we were, and we had a lot of fun, and I have nothing but great memories from those days. Those guys are still among my closest friends. Then I moved to the Detroit/ Ann Arbor area and joined a band called Chutes and Ladders and started really working on songwriting. My next band - SlugBug - did some touring and put out some stuff on an indie label out of Chicago and had some major label interest before we fizzled out. Then I was in bands called The OffRamps and Fidrych that both did some good stuff, but didn’t tour much. There’s a lot of stuff out there if anyone’s interested, and I’m still cool with pretty much everyone I’ve played with, so I feel really blessed to have that resume and to have been surrounded by all those great people.
NCV: How did Tucos form? Were you always friends, or did that happen as a result of being in the group together (both new and past members)?
JEREMY PORTER: Our first bassist Jason was in Fidrych and The OffRamps with me and we shared a similar work ethic and had a lot of our record collections in common, not to mention being great friends, so after Fidrych he was the guy. I’d known Gabriel casually, he’d tried out for my Clash-covers project Cashback on guitar, but when Jay and I needed a drummer, he was clearly the guy. Gabe is my right-hand man, we work together really well, and I rely on him to keep me leveled when it comes to songs, arrangements, recording, production, and generally calling out my BS when it needs calling out. Our bass player since late last year is Jake Riley, a guy from Ann Arbor who was already familiar with our catalog and we’d each worked with outside of The Tucos before. He’s a great guy and plays and sings great, and just loves getting up there and putting on a show. He’s given us a kick in the ass. We’re firing on all cylinders at the moment, and it’s a lot of fun.
NCV: Last time you played Cleveland Patty was on bass, right?
JEREMY PORTER: Yeah, Patty left a few weeks after we got back from England in late 2018. I think we’d played The Grog Shop that spring, if memory serves. Bob Moulton came on board, who was a friend from the area I’d known for a long time. We did a year’s worth of touring with him, wrote, recorded, and released the album, then as we were starting to get back out there on the road after the long lockdown, he decided it wasn’t for him anymore. We miss hanging with those guys, and each of the three of them left a big mark on the band, but we’re so happy to have Jake - he’s picked up all the slack and then some - and the new songs with his mark on them are coming along fantastic and the next record is gonna be something special!
NCV: My son and I love The Good The Bad and The Ugly. I'm guessing the Tucos name came from Eli Wallach’s character?
JEREMY PORTER: It did! Thanks for not saying Breaking Bad [with drug kingpin Tuco Salamanca]! We needed a name in a hurry and that was available. Naming a band is really hard, for me anyway. I think we coulda done better, but we coulda done worse too. That movie is so great - one of the best ever, and he was a very colorful character. Jason wanted to call us The Mortimers, after the Lee Van Cleef character, but that was taken by a hardcore band from Poland, so that’s why we landed on The Tucos.
NCV: I’m familiar with Sweet Tea Line and It’s Not Contagious...was Cannonball a product of pandemic sessions, or had some of the album already been in-process?
JEREMY PORTER: Most of the recording was finished days before the actual pandemic lockdown happened, in early March 2020. We had to cram in some background vocals and percussion in our home studio over lockdown, but it was basically done before. However… we did mix, master, and release it during the pandemic, so that was weird. The whole pandemic really sucked for us - we lost a ton of tour dates, and a bunch of great venues and other businesses closed. It was a super bummer, and it doesn’t seem like we’re even close to being out of it, despite what we’re not seeing and hearing on TV. I’m seeing tours and shows cancelled almost daily still.
NCV: You’ll be playing Happy Dog with Duo Decibel System and Doug McKean. How’d you all meet up? I just did an open mic with Duo Decibel here on Wednesday, and I know Doug from all his local bands. Great guy. Were you familiar with Sean (Happy Dog former owner)?
JEREMY PORTER: I’ve known Doug for a long time. His Pogues cover band Boys From the County Hell backed up Spider Stacy in the Detroit Area back in the `00s, I think, and we met that night, then Clashback played with them at the Beachland in the big room a couple years later, which was amazing. I loved his band The Bedroom Legends, and his solo stuff is really incredible. I’m a big fan. Not sure exactly how we ever connected with Duo Decibel System but we have played a bunch of shows with them over the years - great people and a great band! Always love their stuff, love watching them play. Really looking forward to this lineup! And I’m not sure if I actually know Sean, maybe I do - I’m terrible with that stuff - but Doug’s brother used to work at Happy Dog, I think, and we’ve played there a few times, including one really memorable night with Bill Fox from The Mice. We have some people who’ve seen us there and still follow us around a bit. It’s awesome. And the hot dog rule, and they have a Paul Westerberg portrait over one of the booths. What’s not to love?
NCV: Where are some of your favorite Cleveland haunts?
JEREMY PORTER: Blue Arrow is my favorite record store in the Cleveland area, but there are a handful of great shops there. I always find something great at Blue Arrow - last time it was an original pressing of Gram Parson’s GP album. They sell our records there too. They’re always really nice to us there, which is maybe not as common as you’d think. Really hope we have time to stop in when we’re in town!
NCV: Any other cool Cleveland memories?
JEREMY PORTER: Quite a few! Our song “Bottled Regrets” is about a hangover I had in Cleveland after a show at the old Spitfire, which was a grimy punk dive with one of the nastiest bathrooms I’ve ever seen. I played Peabody’s with SlugBug in the ‘90s and we slept in our van in a parking lot of some office building for a couple hours before driving all night to get to a matinee show in Worcester, Mass that was never actually booked, unbeknownst to us (this was pre-internet). And I remember seeing Bob Mould at Peabody’s shortly after he’d left Husker Du, and The Replacements with the Goo Goo Dolls at The Agora in 1991 on Westerberg’s guest list. I’ve been to Cleveland many times as a musician and a civilian and always love it.
NCV: You play guitars from Reverend Guitars (Billy Corgan, Black Keys, Reeves Gabrels, etc.) here in Ohio, right?
JEREMY PORTER: Yeah, I love my Reverends! They’re based out of Sylvania over near Toledo. My main road guitars are the Pete Anderson signature hollow-bodies, the PA1. I bought one on a whim for recording, fell in love with it, bought a second one, and haven’t put them down. They’re great, and it’s a great company, run and staffed by fantastic wonderful people. I can’t say enough about them and\ their products. I also have an early Eastpointe Reverend, and I’m always watching the racks for something special.
NCV: I know I asked you this before, but since it’s awesome, can you talk a bit about how the idea for photographing venue restrooms came about? You really can tell a venue by its pissers...the photos celebrate / lambast the glamour / non-glam of tour life.
JEREMY PORTER: Yeah! Well it just started innocently in Detroit one night at the Corktown Tavern. I was just bored waiting for the show to start and the bathroom was so nasty so I took a snapshot and posted it on my socials and it got a great response and kinda just turned into a thing. Now I’ve got a prototype coffee table book that I sell in our web store and our merch booth at shows, and I’m looking for a publisher so I can get it out there - so if ya’ know anyone!
NCV: What else do you do during down time, on the road or back home?
JEREMY PORTER: I love grilling and smoking. We’ve always got something on the smoker at home - pork shoulders, briskets, baby backs, chicken, Korean short ribs. When the pandemic started we started doing Whiskey Wednesdays at the house where we make a nice meal and have a drink and crank out some vinyl to break up the endless Groundhog Day pandemic thing, and that’s still a thing. Other than that, I go to shows, the occasional metal concert, hang out with my wife, lots of band practices… On the road down time is so precious. We usually just hang at the hotel and watch TV or something, but as we were talking about, we do like record and guitar shopping. And we like to eat well, so we put some effort into that. When we have excessive downtime I try to get some exercise in, and once in a while we might even do something like a distillery tour or hit the horse races or go see the ocean or something. Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, with Duo Decibel System and Doug McKean. Thursday, October 13, 2022, at Happy Dog (5801 Detroit Avenue in Cleveland). Doors at 8pm, with $8 cover. Music starts at 9pm.
CincyGroove (Cincinnati, OH)
Detroit's Jeremy Porter and The Tucos Will Be Playing Fretboard Brewing Company on 10/22
Photo by David Kellogg
October 07, 2022
External Link
On Saturday, October 22nd, Detroit’s Jeremy Porter and The Tucos will be playing at Fretboard Brewing Company In Cincinnati. This will be the Tucos’ second show in Cincy, and their first since 2015. The band is supporting their record Candy Coated Cannonball (2021, GTG Records) and their 3-CD retrospective Bottled Regrets: The First Ten years (2022) as well as a brand new 7” single “Tonight Is Not the Night” each of which will be available at the show. Attendees can expect an upbeat and lively performance of original Detroit rock and roll! The band will be supporting Southern rocker Cage Willis from Mt. Carmel, IN.
“Cincinnati is a great city!” Jeremy Porter says. “We had a great show at The Comet a few years ago and we always stop at Shake-It Records whenever we pass through. Fretboard Brewing is a beautiful venue, and we’re really excited to open for Cage Willis and check out his set!”
Music starts at 7:30 and all ages are welcome before 9pm!
7:30PM: Jeremy Porter and The Tucos (from Detroit, MI USA)
9:30 PM: Cage Willis (Mt. Carmel, IN USA)
Fretboard Brewing Company • 1500 Creek Rd • Cincinnati
Saturday, October 22, 2022, 7:30pm • All Ages • Free
“Cincinnati is a great city!” Jeremy Porter says. “We had a great show at The Comet a few years ago and we always stop at Shake-It Records whenever we pass through. Fretboard Brewing is a beautiful venue, and we’re really excited to open for Cage Willis and check out his set!”
Music starts at 7:30 and all ages are welcome before 9pm!
7:30PM: Jeremy Porter and The Tucos (from Detroit, MI USA)
9:30 PM: Cage Willis (Mt. Carmel, IN USA)
Fretboard Brewing Company • 1500 Creek Rd • Cincinnati
Saturday, October 22, 2022, 7:30pm • All Ages • Free
The Chattanoogan (Chattanooga, TN)
Jeremy Porter And The Tucos Play For 1st Time In Chattanooga Oct. 17
October 10, 2022 External Link
October 10, 2022 External Link
Detroit, Michigan’s Jeremy Porter and The Tucos will be playing at the Cherry Street Tavern in Chattanooga on Monday, Oct 17 at Cherry Street Tavern, 719 Cherry St.
This will be the Tucos’ first time in Chattanooga, though they’ve played the region and Tennessee several times.
The band is supporting their record Candy Coated Cannonball (2021, GTG Records) and their 3-CD retrospective Bottled Regrets: The First Ten years (2022) as well as a brand new 7” single “Tonight Is Not the Night,” each of which will be available at the show.
Attendees can expect an upbeat and lively performance of original Detroit rock and roll.
“We’ve been looking to get to Chattanooga forever,” Jeremy Porter says. “We’ve come close a few times, we’ve played Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville plenty. Can’t wait to check out the city and the Cherry Street Tavern."
Music starts at 10 p.m. Everyone ages 21+ is welcome. Cover is $5.
This will be the Tucos’ first time in Chattanooga, though they’ve played the region and Tennessee several times.
The band is supporting their record Candy Coated Cannonball (2021, GTG Records) and their 3-CD retrospective Bottled Regrets: The First Ten years (2022) as well as a brand new 7” single “Tonight Is Not the Night,” each of which will be available at the show.
Attendees can expect an upbeat and lively performance of original Detroit rock and roll.
“We’ve been looking to get to Chattanooga forever,” Jeremy Porter says. “We’ve come close a few times, we’ve played Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville plenty. Can’t wait to check out the city and the Cherry Street Tavern."
Music starts at 10 p.m. Everyone ages 21+ is welcome. Cover is $5.
The Roanoker (Roanoke, VA)
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos Live at the Olde Salem Brewing Company!
October 11, 2022 External Link
October 11, 2022 External Link
Oct 15, 2022 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
Olde Salem Brewing Company 21 East Main Street, City of Salem, Virginia 24153
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos - Olde Salem Brewing Company
On Saturday, October 15th, Detroit’s Jeremy Porter and The Tucos will be playing at the Olde Salem Brewing Company In Salem, Virginia. This will be the Tucos’ 1st time in Virginia, although they’ve toured up and down the east coast a couple times previously. The band is supporting their record Candy Coated Cannonball (2021, GTG Records) and their 3-CD retrospective Bottled Regrets: The First Ten years (2022) as well as a brand new 7” single “Tonight Is Not the Night” each of which will be available at the show. Attendees can expect an upbeat and lively performance of original Detroit rock and roll!
“We’re excited to play in Salem!” Jeremy Porter says. “We’ve been trying to get something in Virginia for a few years and it’s one of the few states east of the Rockies that we haven’t played.”
Music starts at 6:30pm and runs until 9:30. It’s free and all ages are welcome.
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos (from Detroit, MI USA)
Olde Salem Brewing Company 21 E. Main Street • Salem, VA
6:30PM • Free • All Ages
Info
Location
Olde Salem Brewing Company 21 East Main Street, City of Salem, Virginia 24153
Event Type
Concerts & Live Music
Date & Time
Oct 15, 2022 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
North Mississippi Herald (Mississippi)
Jeremy Porter And The Tucos Will Play At Hometown Pizza
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos will bring original Detroit Rock and Roll to Hometown Pizza on Thursday, Oct. 20.
October 13, 2022
External Link
Detroit’s Jeremy Porter and The Tucos will be playing at Hometown Pizza in Water Valley on Thursday, Oct. 20. This will be the Tucos’ first time in Water Valley and Mississippi, though they’ve played the region extensively in the past. The band is supporting their record, “Candy Coated Cannonball” (2021, GTG Records) and their 3-CD retrospective “Bottled Regrets: The First Ten years” (2022) as well as a brand new seven-inch single “Tonight Is Not the Night” – each of which will be available at the show. Attendees can expect an upbeat and lively performance of original Detroit rock and roll! The Great Dying from Oxford is also playing.
“We’ve been looking to get to Mississippi for the longest time!” Jeremy Porter shared. “I met The Great Dying last year on tour in Pennsylvania, we became friend. We brought them to Detroit and now we’re heading down to Mississippi – this is the way it’s supposed to work! Can’t wait to see them again and check out Water Valley!”
Music starts at 7 p.m. and ends at 9. The show is free and all ages are welcome.
“We’ve been looking to get to Mississippi for the longest time!” Jeremy Porter shared. “I met The Great Dying last year on tour in Pennsylvania, we became friend. We brought them to Detroit and now we’re heading down to Mississippi – this is the way it’s supposed to work! Can’t wait to see them again and check out Water Valley!”
Music starts at 7 p.m. and ends at 9. The show is free and all ages are welcome.
Pencil Storm (Columbus, OH)
The Saturday Night Special: Jeremy Porter & The Tucos / Live @ State Fare, Catonsville, MD.
October 22, 2022 JCE
October 22, 2022
External Link
My fellow Pencil Storm contributor Jeremy Porter and his band decided to undertake a fall tour this year. I started listening to Jeremy Porter & the Tucos a few years ago as a direct result of our mutual association with Pencilstorm. Being the “outsider” of the Pencilstorm writers, regionally speaking, I was shocked to see that the tour would bring the band as far as Virginia, all the way from Detroit. In reality, the tour continues even further south after the Virginia show. I really wanted to see the band and meet Jeremy. I always enjoy reading his stuff, as it seems our musical tastes are quite well aligned, and I really love the records he and the Tucos have released. In looking at the October 15th Virginia date, at a brewery in Salem, VA, there were immediate issues. It’s a 3-hour drive, and it would conflict with the birthday party of a close friend. It was a party I had committed to weeks earlier, which was much more problematic than the distance. Despite the negatives, it was on a Saturday and I seriously contemplated it, so much so that I booked a hotel just in case. Then I looked at the schedule again a little more closely, and saw “State Fare, Catonsville, MD” on October 14th. My first thought was “I have no idea where Catonsville is and I don’t want to go to the Maryland State Fair to see a band,” so I initially ruled that out too. But upon even further review, it wasn’t a State Fair (duh), it was State Fare (as in food), a restaurant/pub. And Catonsville is essentially Baltimore, which is a 2-hour drive for me, without traffic at least. Take off early from work on a Friday afternoon? No problem. Book a new hotel and cancel the one in Salem? Check. Make a dinner reservation at the venue? Done. Buy tickets? No need, free show.
With our plans firmly in place, my wife and I spent a few weeks with Jeremy Porter & the Tucos in heavy rotation. I left work at noon on Friday, October 14th as planned. I went home, got a few clothes together, packed a small cooler and we hit the road around 1:00. Traffic was horrendous, so the drive took us three and a half hours. Add a stop at the Columbia Mall for my wife to make a return of an online order and it was after 5:00 when we checked into our Holiday Inn Express, which fortunately was just minutes from State Fare. The drive was taxing so we relaxed a bit, had a pre-dinner drink from the aforementioned cooler and then took an Uber to State Fare for our 7:00 dinner reservation. Upon arrival, we took stock of our surroundings. We asked the hostess if we could be seated near the music, but she indicated it would be outside, under a tent, and they did not serve dinner out there. No worries, that’s why we had a reservation at 7:00, so as to be ready to rock at 8:00 when the music was slated to start. We had a table next to a window looking out under the parking lot tent and I immediately saw Jeremy setting a few things up. I also saw him visit the bar inside once, but we opted to finish up dinner and wait until we were outside to introduce ourselves.
I had conversed via email with Jeremy a couple of times to let him know I was coming, so I knew that there would be an opening band, The Silverites, who Jeremy told me helped to organize the gig. I had listened to their album Parking Lot Regrets a couple of times and found it to be pretty good, so I was looking forward to the openers as well. After dinner, we took our unfinished beers outside, grabbed a little high-top table and then I went to meet Jeremy. He was super-nice right off the bat and after handling a little more of the setup he came to our table and hung out a bit with my wife & I. It was great to chat with him, and my wife took the opportunity to snap a photo of us.
The Silverites came on at 8:00 and played a good set. I didn’t feel like I heard too many songs from the record I was familiar with, but I could be wrong. The set did include a cover of The Go Go’s “Our Lips are Sealed” which was a pretty fun one. After their set ended, I took advantage of the break to go grab some merch. Jeremy was kind enough to throw in a beer coozie, a key chain and a decal with my (graciously discounted) purchase of a vinyl copy of Candy Coated Cannonball (clear vinyl) and the newly-released single called “Tonight Is Not The Night” (red vinyl). I had procured a gig flyer that I had to peel off the outdoor bar and I had Jeremy and the boys sign that, as well as the LP that I had just purchased. Jacob and Gabriel (the Tucos) were also very cool and really friendly.
The Tucos hit the stage at 9:30 and played until 11:00. I wish I could say that I can recall every song and the order they were played in, but far from it, I just know that they played an amazing set. I had shared my favorite 20 songs with Jeremy earlier in the week. My only real requests though, were “Huckleberry,” “Dead Ringer,” and “Girls Named Erica.” In the end, I think about half or more of my twenty-song, best of the Tucos playlist were included in the set. Of course, it was a given that I would need to do a write-up of this show for Pencil Storm, so I asked Jeremy if I might get a setlist after the show. He smiled and said yes, but he told me good luck deciphering it. It was a lengthy list of songs identified only by initials, and Jeremy warned me that they do not stick to it, adding some along the way, and leaving out others. More on that later.
Jeremy and the band looked great on the spacious stage and Jeremy played a few different guitars throughout the show, each of them beautiful. You can see two in a rack off to the side of the stage, but the red hollow-body was my favorite. Even though I don’t play, I love guitars.
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos under the tent.
The first song was “Ain’t My House Anymore” followed by “Worth the Wait” and “Dead Ringer,” which are two of my favorites. A short time later, after playing the new single “Tonight Is Not The Night,” Jeremy introduced the next song by jokingly explaining that the bands’ new cause is to educate the driving public on how to “zipper merge,” and then they played the song of the same name. I can totally relate, as I always wait until the lane that is ending is truly at its end before trying to merge, which is far more efficient and is actually how you’re supposed to do it, as opposed to jumping over as soon as possible and slowing everything down. “Girls Named Erica” was not on the setlist, but it was indeed played, I suspect largely for my benefit---thank you Jeremy. “Downriver Song” was a highlight for me as well, I love that one. “Bottled Regrets,” “Put You on Hold,” “Patty’s Not Impressed,” “Little Miss Awesome,” “Huckleberry” and “Goddamn Thing” were all killers along the way (again, my memory may not be perfect but these are all ones I believe I am accurately recalling and they are on the list). It really was a blistering set, and I have to say that Jeremy Porter and the Tucos are a really tight three-piece powerhouse. The music is clear and crisp and the sound was excellent.
A copy of the setlist with notes I added the next day.
When the set wrapped up at 11:00 I was tempted to hang around and have another beer with the band, but it had been a long day and I had had a few beers already, so I opted to say goodbye to Jeremy and thank him, Jacob and Gabriel for a great show, for the swag, and for being so accommodating to my wife and I. It was a great night and I was thrilled that we made the trip (so much so in fact that I was honestly wishing I could travel to Salem for the Saturday night show).
The next morning I got up early, made coffee in our hotel room, and sent Jeremy a thank you with some photos attached for his Facebook Road blog. He has been writing about the details of his travels on this tour, right down to the food, the venues, the bands’ overnight accommodations, opening acts, and how each show went. I had really been enjoying reading about it leading up to the Catonsville show. You should go to his page and check them out. We showered and then got the free hotel breakfast before blowing out of town and back to Virginia. The drive home was much better than the drive there—two hours. It was a great 24 hours all the way around.
BONUS: JCE’s favorite 20 Jeremy Porter & the Tucos tunes (in no particular order).
1. Put You On Hold
2. Dead Ringer
3. Upward Trend
4. Downriver Song
5. Girls Named Erica
6. Bottled Regrets
7. Sounds Like Goodbye
8. At Least She's Still In Love With You
9. How About a Beer For Smokey the Bear
10. Blue Letter
11. Don't Worry
12. Huckleberry
13. Patty's Not Impressed
14. Worth The Wait
15. Night On the Town
16. Castaways
17. Goddamn Thing
18. Little Miss Awesome
19. Make Out King
20. You Owe Me a Heart
If you compare my favorite 20 to the setlist, you know I was pretty damn happy with it.
JCE, or John to his friends, was born in the Nation’s Capital. He grew up in the VA suburbs of D.C. He has a wife of 32 years, and a grown daughter. He leads a bit of a double life, working by day as the chief administrative officer of a VA county, and spending as many nights as possible listening to live rock n roll with his wife at any club that has a decent band within 100 miles or so of their house. Oh, and he has an ever-growing collection of about 150 vintage skateboards.
With our plans firmly in place, my wife and I spent a few weeks with Jeremy Porter & the Tucos in heavy rotation. I left work at noon on Friday, October 14th as planned. I went home, got a few clothes together, packed a small cooler and we hit the road around 1:00. Traffic was horrendous, so the drive took us three and a half hours. Add a stop at the Columbia Mall for my wife to make a return of an online order and it was after 5:00 when we checked into our Holiday Inn Express, which fortunately was just minutes from State Fare. The drive was taxing so we relaxed a bit, had a pre-dinner drink from the aforementioned cooler and then took an Uber to State Fare for our 7:00 dinner reservation. Upon arrival, we took stock of our surroundings. We asked the hostess if we could be seated near the music, but she indicated it would be outside, under a tent, and they did not serve dinner out there. No worries, that’s why we had a reservation at 7:00, so as to be ready to rock at 8:00 when the music was slated to start. We had a table next to a window looking out under the parking lot tent and I immediately saw Jeremy setting a few things up. I also saw him visit the bar inside once, but we opted to finish up dinner and wait until we were outside to introduce ourselves.
I had conversed via email with Jeremy a couple of times to let him know I was coming, so I knew that there would be an opening band, The Silverites, who Jeremy told me helped to organize the gig. I had listened to their album Parking Lot Regrets a couple of times and found it to be pretty good, so I was looking forward to the openers as well. After dinner, we took our unfinished beers outside, grabbed a little high-top table and then I went to meet Jeremy. He was super-nice right off the bat and after handling a little more of the setup he came to our table and hung out a bit with my wife & I. It was great to chat with him, and my wife took the opportunity to snap a photo of us.
The Silverites came on at 8:00 and played a good set. I didn’t feel like I heard too many songs from the record I was familiar with, but I could be wrong. The set did include a cover of The Go Go’s “Our Lips are Sealed” which was a pretty fun one. After their set ended, I took advantage of the break to go grab some merch. Jeremy was kind enough to throw in a beer coozie, a key chain and a decal with my (graciously discounted) purchase of a vinyl copy of Candy Coated Cannonball (clear vinyl) and the newly-released single called “Tonight Is Not The Night” (red vinyl). I had procured a gig flyer that I had to peel off the outdoor bar and I had Jeremy and the boys sign that, as well as the LP that I had just purchased. Jacob and Gabriel (the Tucos) were also very cool and really friendly.
The Tucos hit the stage at 9:30 and played until 11:00. I wish I could say that I can recall every song and the order they were played in, but far from it, I just know that they played an amazing set. I had shared my favorite 20 songs with Jeremy earlier in the week. My only real requests though, were “Huckleberry,” “Dead Ringer,” and “Girls Named Erica.” In the end, I think about half or more of my twenty-song, best of the Tucos playlist were included in the set. Of course, it was a given that I would need to do a write-up of this show for Pencil Storm, so I asked Jeremy if I might get a setlist after the show. He smiled and said yes, but he told me good luck deciphering it. It was a lengthy list of songs identified only by initials, and Jeremy warned me that they do not stick to it, adding some along the way, and leaving out others. More on that later.
Jeremy and the band looked great on the spacious stage and Jeremy played a few different guitars throughout the show, each of them beautiful. You can see two in a rack off to the side of the stage, but the red hollow-body was my favorite. Even though I don’t play, I love guitars.
Jeremy Porter and the Tucos under the tent.
The first song was “Ain’t My House Anymore” followed by “Worth the Wait” and “Dead Ringer,” which are two of my favorites. A short time later, after playing the new single “Tonight Is Not The Night,” Jeremy introduced the next song by jokingly explaining that the bands’ new cause is to educate the driving public on how to “zipper merge,” and then they played the song of the same name. I can totally relate, as I always wait until the lane that is ending is truly at its end before trying to merge, which is far more efficient and is actually how you’re supposed to do it, as opposed to jumping over as soon as possible and slowing everything down. “Girls Named Erica” was not on the setlist, but it was indeed played, I suspect largely for my benefit---thank you Jeremy. “Downriver Song” was a highlight for me as well, I love that one. “Bottled Regrets,” “Put You on Hold,” “Patty’s Not Impressed,” “Little Miss Awesome,” “Huckleberry” and “Goddamn Thing” were all killers along the way (again, my memory may not be perfect but these are all ones I believe I am accurately recalling and they are on the list). It really was a blistering set, and I have to say that Jeremy Porter and the Tucos are a really tight three-piece powerhouse. The music is clear and crisp and the sound was excellent.
A copy of the setlist with notes I added the next day.
When the set wrapped up at 11:00 I was tempted to hang around and have another beer with the band, but it had been a long day and I had had a few beers already, so I opted to say goodbye to Jeremy and thank him, Jacob and Gabriel for a great show, for the swag, and for being so accommodating to my wife and I. It was a great night and I was thrilled that we made the trip (so much so in fact that I was honestly wishing I could travel to Salem for the Saturday night show).
The next morning I got up early, made coffee in our hotel room, and sent Jeremy a thank you with some photos attached for his Facebook Road blog. He has been writing about the details of his travels on this tour, right down to the food, the venues, the bands’ overnight accommodations, opening acts, and how each show went. I had really been enjoying reading about it leading up to the Catonsville show. You should go to his page and check them out. We showered and then got the free hotel breakfast before blowing out of town and back to Virginia. The drive home was much better than the drive there—two hours. It was a great 24 hours all the way around.
BONUS: JCE’s favorite 20 Jeremy Porter & the Tucos tunes (in no particular order).
1. Put You On Hold
2. Dead Ringer
3. Upward Trend
4. Downriver Song
5. Girls Named Erica
6. Bottled Regrets
7. Sounds Like Goodbye
8. At Least She's Still In Love With You
9. How About a Beer For Smokey the Bear
10. Blue Letter
11. Don't Worry
12. Huckleberry
13. Patty's Not Impressed
14. Worth The Wait
15. Night On the Town
16. Castaways
17. Goddamn Thing
18. Little Miss Awesome
19. Make Out King
20. You Owe Me a Heart
If you compare my favorite 20 to the setlist, you know I was pretty damn happy with it.
JCE, or John to his friends, was born in the Nation’s Capital. He grew up in the VA suburbs of D.C. He has a wife of 32 years, and a grown daughter. He leads a bit of a double life, working by day as the chief administrative officer of a VA county, and spending as many nights as possible listening to live rock n roll with his wife at any club that has a decent band within 100 miles or so of their house. Oh, and he has an ever-growing collection of about 150 vintage skateboards.
City Pulse (Lansing, MI)
Plymouth-based rockers Jeremy Porter and The Tucos return to The Avenue Café this weekend for yet another show at their home away from home, but the road-warrior band has gigged as far away as the United Kingdom and records often. Last year alone, the group released a 7-inch single, “Tonight Is Not the Night,” and a retrospective compilation, “Bottled Regrets: The Best of the First Ten Years.”
This year, Porter (guitar, vocals) said he’s “up to my neck in three different recording projects,” but he made time to chat with City Pulse before The Tucos’ Saturday gig with The Wild Honey Collective and Bottlecap Mountain. Here’s what the Hüsker Dü and Gram Parsons-influenced songwriter had to say.
Growing up in Marquette, how did you discover rock ‘n’ roll?
Jeremy Porter: I first discovered rock ‘n’ roll through my parents’ record collection — (The Beatles’) ‘Rubber Soul’ and ‘Revolver,’ The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones’ ‘Aftermath,’ Fleetwood Mac — and a bit through my Aunt Lori, who was into some harder rock like The Who, Bob Seger, Molly Hatchet and Nazareth. I’d copy her cassettes when my family would stay with her while she was going to Michigan State University in the early ’80s.
Then, around 9 or 10 years old, I saw “KISS Meets the Phantom (of the Park),” and that sent me down that rabbit hole big time. Pretty soon, it was Cheap Trick, Queen and The Knack. I was all in — a rock and roll junkie.
What’s the secret to writing catchy hooks?
It probably comes back to those Beatles and Cheap Trick records, eh? The melody and hook are what it’s all about for me. But it’s more than just the earworm — an economically arranged song is a hook from start to end, and that’s every bit as important as a melodic, sing-along chorus or a major-scale guitar run.
Another big part is presenting the hook — often enough but not too often. Keep the song under 3:30 whenever possible. South of three minutes is even better. Have a strong first line — that’s Jimmy Webb’s advice — and try to write a good ending.
How did you start playing?
I was grounded one summer after a vandalism rap, and out of sheer boredom, I learned my way through a bunch of Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden songs on the guitar and followed that road until I moved up to Marquette when I was 14. I started hanging around with guys who were listening to The Clash, The Sex Pistols and The Ramones. Unlike the metal guitar gods, this was an obtainable goal. I could actually play like these guys. We had a band called The Regulars, and that was all I ever really wanted to do from that time on. I never grew up.
You’ve never lived in Lansing but gig here quite often — what’s your connection?
In the ’90s, my band SlugBug played Ruskin’s Reef, Small Planet and Rick’s with bands like The dt’s and The Holy Cows. We played Small Planet once on Super Bowl Sunday. Hard lesson learned that night. Lansing has become my and The Tucos’ adopted second home since I met Isaac (The Hat Madder), who introduced me to Tommy (The Plurals, The Wild Honey Collective, GTG Records) eight years ago at the Mystery Garage.
I’ve toured with The Wild Honey Collective, produced A Rueful Noise, played on records by Lansing artists and become tight with The Stick Arounds, Harborcoat, Royal Scene, Narc Out the Reds and a bunch of others. It’s the strongest scene in Michigan. It wasn’t long before we became part of the GTG family.
This year, Porter (guitar, vocals) said he’s “up to my neck in three different recording projects,” but he made time to chat with City Pulse before The Tucos’ Saturday gig with The Wild Honey Collective and Bottlecap Mountain. Here’s what the Hüsker Dü and Gram Parsons-influenced songwriter had to say.
Growing up in Marquette, how did you discover rock ‘n’ roll?
Jeremy Porter: I first discovered rock ‘n’ roll through my parents’ record collection — (The Beatles’) ‘Rubber Soul’ and ‘Revolver,’ The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones’ ‘Aftermath,’ Fleetwood Mac — and a bit through my Aunt Lori, who was into some harder rock like The Who, Bob Seger, Molly Hatchet and Nazareth. I’d copy her cassettes when my family would stay with her while she was going to Michigan State University in the early ’80s.
Then, around 9 or 10 years old, I saw “KISS Meets the Phantom (of the Park),” and that sent me down that rabbit hole big time. Pretty soon, it was Cheap Trick, Queen and The Knack. I was all in — a rock and roll junkie.
What’s the secret to writing catchy hooks?
It probably comes back to those Beatles and Cheap Trick records, eh? The melody and hook are what it’s all about for me. But it’s more than just the earworm — an economically arranged song is a hook from start to end, and that’s every bit as important as a melodic, sing-along chorus or a major-scale guitar run.
Another big part is presenting the hook — often enough but not too often. Keep the song under 3:30 whenever possible. South of three minutes is even better. Have a strong first line — that’s Jimmy Webb’s advice — and try to write a good ending.
How did you start playing?
I was grounded one summer after a vandalism rap, and out of sheer boredom, I learned my way through a bunch of Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden songs on the guitar and followed that road until I moved up to Marquette when I was 14. I started hanging around with guys who were listening to The Clash, The Sex Pistols and The Ramones. Unlike the metal guitar gods, this was an obtainable goal. I could actually play like these guys. We had a band called The Regulars, and that was all I ever really wanted to do from that time on. I never grew up.
You’ve never lived in Lansing but gig here quite often — what’s your connection?
In the ’90s, my band SlugBug played Ruskin’s Reef, Small Planet and Rick’s with bands like The dt’s and The Holy Cows. We played Small Planet once on Super Bowl Sunday. Hard lesson learned that night. Lansing has become my and The Tucos’ adopted second home since I met Isaac (The Hat Madder), who introduced me to Tommy (The Plurals, The Wild Honey Collective, GTG Records) eight years ago at the Mystery Garage.
I’ve toured with The Wild Honey Collective, produced A Rueful Noise, played on records by Lansing artists and become tight with The Stick Arounds, Harborcoat, Royal Scene, Narc Out the Reds and a bunch of others. It’s the strongest scene in Michigan. It wasn’t long before we became part of the GTG family.
Wilfully Obscure (Buffalo, NY)
Reviews you can use: Chris Church, Popular Creeps, Jeremy Porter and the Tucos, The Black Watch, the Well Wishers.
April 26, 2023 External Link
April 26, 2023 External Link
I've got even more Detroit tuneage to enlighten you about, namely Jeremy Porter and the Tucos, a combo who've been in business for about a decade or so who are touting their most recent album, 2021's Candy Coated Cannonball. Nothing too unusual here - singer-songwriter fronting a sharp, guitarsy three-piece whose plaintive confessions usually hit the mark and occasionally yield something gnarly, like the indelible "Dead Ringer," which strikes me as the best slice of power pop Wilco forgot to come up with on A.M. In fact, there are shades of '90s indie rock cropping up delightfully all over ...Cannonball, and when these guys really nail the bullseye on the power chord enhanced "Girls Named Erica" and the looser "What Could Be in That Box" Jeremy and the Tucos impact along the same lines as the Lemonheads. I discovered more than a few interesting ideas here. Smash the hyperlink above and set yourself up with a copy of Cannonball on CD, digital, or even clear wax.
Cleveland Scene (Cleveland, OH)
Coming out of another punk-garage band, the Offramps, Jeremy Porter formed the Tucos in 2010 with the intention of “taking the reins because nobody was on board as much as I am,” as he has put it. Last year, the group released the retrospective Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years. The best of compilation includes a greatest hits album, a live album and a rarities album and shows just how many great tunes the band has written and recorded during the era. The group returns to the Happy Dog tonight at 9. Doug McKean & the Stuntmen and the SuperBabes open.
5801 Detroit Ave., 216-651-9474, happydogcleveland.com.
The Saline Courier (North Little Rock, AR)
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos - Live in - Little Rock
October 13, 2023 External Link
October 13, 2023 External Link
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You'll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It's Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn't quite ready for it.
Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small town in Michigan's upper peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP's first punk bands - The Regulars. He moved to Detroit and tore through the 90s and 00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych (as well as a solo stint) though 2 decades of recording and touring before forming The Tucos in 2009. Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Jake Riley (Big Shoals, Matt Woods Band) round out the trio.
• JP & The Tucos have released 4 full-length LPs, 5 7"s and a slew of contributions to comps.
• They've toured the US and Canada multiple times - playing festivals, theaters, clubs, corner bars and coffee shops pretty much everywhere east of the Rockies. They toured the UK in 2018, playing nine shows in nine nights, including two in London and an appearance at the Swansea Fringe Festival in Wales.
• They've become one of the go-to support acts for national acts coming through Detroit, opening for Soul Asylum, Lydia Loveless, Beach Slang, Supersuckers, Jesse Malin, Deadstring Brothers, Two Cow Garage, Whitey Morgan, American Aquarium, Tim Barry, Old Man Markley and many more.
• "Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years" available now on 3xCD individually and as a collection.
• • Bottled Regrets: The Best of the First Ten Years
• • Castaways: Rarities and B-Sides from the First Ten Years
• • Patty's Not Impressed: Live in Toronto
Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small town in Michigan's upper peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP's first punk bands - The Regulars. He moved to Detroit and tore through the 90s and 00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych (as well as a solo stint) though 2 decades of recording and touring before forming The Tucos in 2009. Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Jake Riley (Big Shoals, Matt Woods Band) round out the trio.
• JP & The Tucos have released 4 full-length LPs, 5 7"s and a slew of contributions to comps.
• They've toured the US and Canada multiple times - playing festivals, theaters, clubs, corner bars and coffee shops pretty much everywhere east of the Rockies. They toured the UK in 2018, playing nine shows in nine nights, including two in London and an appearance at the Swansea Fringe Festival in Wales.
• They've become one of the go-to support acts for national acts coming through Detroit, opening for Soul Asylum, Lydia Loveless, Beach Slang, Supersuckers, Jesse Malin, Deadstring Brothers, Two Cow Garage, Whitey Morgan, American Aquarium, Tim Barry, Old Man Markley and many more.
• "Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years" available now on 3xCD individually and as a collection.
• • Bottled Regrets: The Best of the First Ten Years
• • Castaways: Rarities and B-Sides from the First Ten Years
• • Patty's Not Impressed: Live in Toronto
Pencil Storm (Columbus, OH)
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos Tour Diary: October 12-21, 2023
October 28, 2023 External Link
October 28, 2023 External Link
Eleven years ago when The Tucos started doing more and more road work, I started doing a daily blog on Facebook about the day and show the night before. The idea was to capture the spirit of what it’s like to be on the road playing the dive bar circuit as a touring band, with basically no following in most places, just a bunch of songs, and the will to get out there. I wanted to document the mundane right along with the exciting, the bad shows next to the good, and everything in between. It’s a way to share the experience virtually, shed a little light on what it’s “really like,” and document the repetitive, Groundhog Day-like routine for myself and anyone who cares to follow along. They’re often done in haste, started late at night after a show in some dive motel and finished quickly the next morning before jumping back in the van to get to the next city. There’s little time for editing or proofreading. They are what they are.
The experience has grown with the band. I mean, we’re not selling out clubs and I’m not a published author, but I hear from friends and strangers all over the place that they read and enjoy them. One guy in West Virginia told me a couple years back that they’re the perfect length to read while taking a shit. High praise indeed, from below the Sweet Tea Line.
While I always felt the volume and daily barrage was a bit much for Pencil Storm, Colin asked me to compile and share the latest batch, which I’m happy to do. So here’s the blogs from our most recent run down to Texas, through the deep south, and back. And if you want a deeper dive, ALL of the blogs dating back to 2013 are archived HERE for your next trip to the bathroom. xx
October 12, 2023- Champaign, IL
Gabriel and I met at my place on Thursday morning and loaded what gear and luggage we hadn’t loaded after practice the other night into the van and headed west towards Ann Arbor to pick up Jacob. I cranked The Cars Anthology as Gabe drove in and out of rain squalls and construction zones until we hit the Indiana border. See ya in 11 days, Michigan. I had a major, traumatic dental event last weekend and had my #26 incisor yanked from my skull with great, unpleasant force on Monday morning, so I’m doing this run with a big hole in my face. I’m trying to do all the right things; staying up on my meds and not mess with it and stay away from the JujyFruits, but we weren’t even past Jackson when one of my stitches came out. I didn’t panic because it wasn’t bleeding or anything, so I texted my super cool dentist Dr. Natalie Henke and she said it’s cool just be careful so the show goes on. She knows what’s up.
The drive through central Illinois is not an exciting one. We wondered what they do with all the dry, dead corn stalks they’re mowing down with their giant machines. Certainly more than Halloween decorations. We listened to The Posies, Mammoth WVH, Ultraviolets, and Charles Mingus before putting on locals Titanic Love Affair as we headed into the city center of Champaign. We had a couple hours to kill so we stopped into the venue and said hello to the manager and the crew and did a loop around town on foot before settling on dinner at a nearby bar and grill. We got sandwiches and beers, did another lap, got a coffee, took a photo with Humpty Dumpty, and headed back to the bar for load in.
Barrelhouse 34 is a non-venue with a deconstructable stage and rented, mobile pa system and sound engineer. It’s a long, raw, exposed wood building with high-tops along one side and a long bar along the other. The stage is set up in the big window facing Main Street, not far from where the old High Dive was, where TrooperGirl22 and I saw The Bottle Rockets many years ago. We loaded in and waited for the staff to finish the stage assembly. I could tell it was going to be a bit so I went for another lap to get a little quiet before the show. “Hey Loser!” I heard from a passing car. My pal, and former mayor of Champaign himself Don Gerard was driving by, his little dog yapping and jumping around the back seat. A quick, passing “See ya up there” and he was off.
Joe Murphy is a friend who I’d met in Yorkville at The Law Office a couple years back, just coming out of the pandemic, if memory serves. He not only helped to get the word out about and posters up for the show, but brought a crue of people, including his lovely wife Kim, friend Chad and several others too numerous to name (but I love you all!). Don Stopped in and caught a good chunk of the show and we made a few new friends too. Our pal Daryl from DeKalb made the trip in, always appreciated! Erik, the colorful and salty sound engineer, fresh off a heart attack a couple weeks ago, got us all dialed in and we went on a few minutes after 8pm. The bar was hopping all night, a little fluctuation at times, but no complaints. People were hollerin’ and we had a great time.
Drinks were flowing and the conversation was splendid, but after our set the bar started to thin out, we said goodbye to our friends, tore down, loaded the van, tipped the bar staff, and headed south. We’ve got a hell of a drive ahead of us today down to North Little Rock, where we’ll play the Four Quarter Bar tonight, so we got an hour+ behind us last night and made it to Effingham where we crashed. I cranked Black Sabbath – Volume 4 to help Gabe stay awake and the drive was relatively painless. Champaign was awesome, just as it was nine years ago when we last played there. Thanks to Joe, Kim, Chad, Don, Emily How , Cody, Juan, and so many people how made it memorable. See ya tonight Arkansas! xx
Friday, October 13, 2023 - North Little Rock, Arkansas
Before leaving the Ramada Inn in Effingham, Illinois, we each meandered, in our own separate times, to the lobby for the free hotel breakfast of eggs from a plastic bag, grainy weird sausage, coffee and orange juice. The lady who was making sure the bag of eggs was heated thoroughly was overly apologetic that they didn’t have any peanut butter for my bagel, but spent a good few minutes selling me on the Cinnamon Toast Crunch flavored peanut butter spread that’s on the shelves at Wal-Mart right by the peanut butter. Her sister-in-law made some pumpkin spice cupcakes and my new friend thought it was an opportunity lost not using the CTC spread on them.
I took the wheel as we headed south through Illinois. A bald eagle swooped down and snagged a big piece of roadkill on the side of the northbound lanes and flew away with it in its talons. I thought it was a squirrel or a bunny, but Gabriel thought it was bigger, maybe a cat or something. Historically when we’ve seen bald eagles on tour it’s been a good omen, most recently when the Mackinac Bridge opened back up in time for us to make our gig in Marquette, right after we saw one in Mackinaw City. We crossed the Mississippi River into Missouri at noon, no signs of Jim or Huck, but the river was lower than I’ve ever seen it. The sprawling cotton fields were being harvested and semis hauling giant pink and yellow bails were everywhere. At 1:30 we crossed into Arkansas and headed west towards Little Rock. The drive was uneventful save for some digestive events that required stops at various truck stops, as I work to get off these meds I’m on for my extracted tooth. After a brief stopover at our dive motel and a call home to check in on TrooperGirl22 we headed towards the venue. We listened to Constantines, Valley Lodge, Stiff Little Fingers, R.E.M. and Scorpions.
North Little Rock is a small city that sits on the north bank of the Arkansas River directly above Little Rock proper. The Four Quarter Bar sits on Main Street in the Argenta Arts District, an old, eclectic neighborhood and entertainment area. There is a street festival this weekend, so there were tons of people around and parking was a challenge. We met Conan, the owner, who welcomed us to town and showed us around a bit, and Jayson, and Jason, the sound engineer and engineer-in-training with similar names. It’s a cool, old building with the sizeable stage in the front corner and a bar in the opposite corner. There’s a balcony with chairs and couches where you can hang or watch the bands, and a patio out back if it gets too loud. We ordered food and pints, and it was for sure the best meal we’ve had on this run yet (not offense, Ramada Inn bag-o-eggs). My pulled pork chimichanga with Cholula and sour-cream sauce on top was right on.
We went on around 9:30 to a fairly packed house of festival goers, happy hour stragglers, and a big wedding party looking to keep the libations flowing. The sound was great and people were into it, but we collectively agreed later that we just weren’t on fire. Maybe it was the travel or we just haven’t found our tour tour legs yet, but we were missing a little spring in our step.
Near the end of our first set a stream of floral-print moo moos, over-sized sunglasses, and red, permed wigs came in – the Mrs. Roper Romp, celebrating the Three’s Company character. It was a pretty impressive flow of Mrs. Roepers and they were in a great mood and many rocked out with us during our second set. An old pal of mine from the virtual world of Twitter introduced himself, Mike Mozely. We’d had a few, mostly guitar-geek, interactions and he just happened to wander into the bar and see we were playing, having abandoned the platform some time ago. It was a crazy coincidence, and we had a really ice chat, sharing some stories about rock and roll and our friends around the country, like Jeff Brower back in Atlanta.
After our set we mingled a bit, sold some merch, then did the usual tear down, load-out, Load the van, tip Bubba the bartender, and hit the road back to the motel. We watched a little South Park and had a nightcap before crashing out around two. Conan, Bubba, Jayson, Jason, Mike, and all the Helen Roepers – THANK YOU for making our firs show in Arkansas memorable! Can’t wait to come back!
We’re a little fried from a couple long drives and long sets, and we’ve got another one today as we head down to Fort Worth, Texas to play Lola's with our buds Bottlecap Mountain and Broke String Burnett. We’re gonna get Jacob JakeE some IHOP in his belly so he can get us down there. There’s something special in-store at Lola’s tonight folks – you don’t wanna miss it if you’re a Bottlecaps/Tucos fan. See ya in Texas!!!!
October 14, 2023 - Fort Worth, Texas
We started our day off at the IHOP in North Little Rock, AR, Arkansas, around the corner from our motel. If you know me, you know that I’ve never had a bad meal at an iHop. I got my usual, Eggs Benedict, resisting the urge to get something more aggressive that might wreak havoc on my already aggravated bowels. Gabriel got the same but the version that came with spinach and stuff. Both were awesome, but the poached eggs were overdone and there was no liquid yoke, so we were both disappointed. I won’t go so far as to say it was `bad,` but they need to do better. The struggle is real, I assure you.
Jacob drove us south, across the Arkansas River, through Little Rock, and towards Texarkana and the Texas border. Other than some construction it wasn’t a terrible drive until we hit Dallas traffic. We stopped in Fate, Texas, where, as fate would have it, I was destined to get a Sonic Blast milkshake, Recess Peanut Butter Cup flavor. `Cuz that’s what a dude with antibiotic-triggered digestive issues needs to calm things down. We cranked out The Lyres, Whiskeytown, Coffin Break, Porcupine Tree, G. Love & Special Sauce, and more. As we neared our dive motel I blared “Rock Soldiers” by Ace Frehley because Jake’s never heard it and he’s a Rock Soldier, so he needed to. He LOLd into the motel parking lot.
The front desk clerk at this dump tried his best, but what a nightmare. We had some sort of addict derelict try to get into our room and some sort of conflict around the number of beds and then this room was meant for that other guest and I have to charge you for another deposit but I’ll refund that one and this whole debacle. We’ll just see what gets charged and what gets refunded pal. This ain’t The Ritz, so we gotta roll with it to some extent, but JFC. We had grandiose plans to get some Tex Mex at this joint that’s 3rd generation owned and been around for 100 years but it was pretty clear we didn’t have time so we found a random restaurant near our motel called the Mexican Inn Cafe that’s at least been around 90 years. I got a combo and a mango margarita and it was really great. I ate too much, too fast, but after the roll we’ve been on and my digestive challenges we needed the energy.
We drove through Fort Worth and if I’m being honest, from what I saw, it’s a city that’s been hit pretty hard. And we’re from the Detroit area! No worries, just an observation. We pulled into Lola's, met the sound engineer, and unloaded our gear behind the outdoor stage out back. Our plans, Austin’s Bottlecap Mountain, pulled up and we quickly fell right back in to where we were when we played with them back in Michigan in March. Great people, lots of road war stories to share, and it was just great to see some familiar faces. They were coming to Fort Worth off a gig in Denton on Friday and their drummer Ray was unable to make the trip. I offered up Gabriel and they accepted, with Gabe’s trepidatious blessing of course. He spent the better part of the drive through Illinois, Arkansas, and Texas in the back of the van listening to and charting out the songs that they’d picked. He’s always up for a challenge.
Bottlecap Mountain went on right around 8pm as the night settled in and people started to congregate a bit out back. It was a pretty brisk 60f outside, and this Yankee was a bit chilly, but none of the Texan’s were complaining after months of 110f summer heat. They did a few songs as a drummer-less trio then Gabe came out did another 6 with them. He killed it; nailed their set, and they sounded fantastic. We played second to an ok crowd – not packed like we’d like on a Saturday night, but certainly enough people watching to make it fun. We played way better than we did in North Little Rock, which was good, and had a good time up there.
By the time we were done there was a pretty respectable crowd. Locals Broke String Burnett and his band went up and did about an hour of original Texas country with a bit of a rock edge. His songs are fantastic and lean a bit on the 70’s outlaw country scene, which is right up my alley. His band was super solid and we really enjoyed the set. Great people too – we had a few minutes to talk business and music and some other stuff before we loaded out and headed back to the dive motel. Lola’s is a cool place and it was great to get caught up with the Bottlecaps and see Broke Burnett play. Not a bad night at all.
Today is, again, action packed. We’re driving to San Antonio for a 5pm show, with a stop in Austin to borrow a couple PA speakers along the way. We’ve heard nothing but good things about Alamo Beer Company, so we’re excited about it, but we’ve also been basically running for three days straight without a moment of downtime, so were a little fried. After today things slow down for a moment, so we’ll be able to catch our breath, but it’s rock and roll, so let’s do it. See ya this afternoon San Antonio! xx
October 15, 2023 - San Antonio, Texas
First thing Sunday morning was to check the van in the parking lot of our dive motel in Fort Worth to make sure that it and all our gear was still there. It was a cold morning and the riff raff were milling about, but things looked intact, thankfully. I whipped off the road blog, showered, loaded up the guitars and luggage and we were off, with a very full day ahead. We gassed up and got breakfast at Whataburger. My fiend Brooks swears by it, but I’m not as enamored. It was serviceable for a quick meal, but honestly I’d take an Egg McMuffin any day. Jacob loved his jalapeno biscuit, and when the boy is happy with his breakfast, we’re all happy, so no probs. Later in the afternoon Brooks would pontificate about some “off the menu” concoction you need to order where they do this with the salsa and that with the biscuit and if you wanna get crazy you say “verde” then it’s green and all this, but who has time? So I’m batting .000 at Whataburger after two tries, but to be fair I haven’t tried a burger yet. Two days in Texas left so who knows?
We made it to Austin in just under three hours and stopped off at Kate and Chris Stangland’s house to pick up a couple PA speakers they’re loaning us from the Bottlecap Mountain practice space. We met Kate in Michigan back in March and she got us set up in no time, Chris still up north and on the road with the Bottlecaps. Their house is a cool, sort of sprawling ranch in a neat neighborhood not far from the highway and their dog really wanted to meet us, but we didn’t have time to socialize, unfortunately. Big thanks to Chris and Kate for the help – it saved us from lugging two giant PA mains across the country for one show.
We drove through what seemed an endless spawl of box stores, travel centers, food chains, and churches nonstop between Austin and San Antonio. One guy had a license plate on his Honda Civic that said RADDUDE. We cranked the Bottle Rockets’ Songs of Sahm record, which seemed appropriate. This was our first time in San Antonio and it seems the thing to do is to see The Alamo. Ever since I was a kid I heard about the Alamo and Davy Crockett and all that, and until you lay eyes on those types of things it’s just sort of some conceptual thing that is difficult to actually realize. Well, call me naive, but I figured we’d pull up, jump out, snap a couple pics, grab a souvenir magnet for the refrigerator and be on our way. Nope. It was a quagmire of humanity and traffic, multiple trips around blocks, scoffing at $25 for two hour parking, and some pretty colorful language. We eventually found a slightly less expensive parking option that was very close and walked over, got our pictures and magnets, nodded our heads, said “yup.” and moved on. Jake wasn't impressed.
A short mile away is the Alamo Beer Company, where the show was. We drove around the back alley and backed right up next to the stage to unload. The stage is in a courtyard/patio area between the taproom and brewing buildings, with string lights and a giant railroad overpass converted to a pedestrian path overhead. It’s a really cool setting and the weather was great – low 70s and sunny. There was karaoke going on in the adjacent yard of the compound, and this little dude killed “Jackson” (most famously done by Johnny and June Carter Cash) before some poor lass murdered the “Whole New World” song from some Disney movie I’ll never see. Someone wrapped up with the Nirvana version of “The Man Who Sold the World” and I’d bet dollars to doughnuts that cat had no idea it was a Bowie song. It was all good, people were having fun, and who am I to judge.
We got all set up, including the PA, had some food and pints, and went on around 5pm. Sunday-Wednesday shows on tour are always hit and miss, and often a bit weird. This one was on the better side for sure. There weren’t a ton of people, but there were enough to keep it fun, and they were engaged and responsive. The above-mentioned Brooks and our pal Jose drove up from the Houston area, Gabriel’s cousin Liz and her husband showed up, and some cat named Mike from Minnesota via England was there who was most complimentary and pleased with the music. He was disappointed that our last song “Double Negative” wasn’t available on any albums yet, heck, we’ve only played it a couple times now, but he picked up a couple CDs and promised to watch out for it on the next record.
We wrapped up at 8 as it was getting dark and the crowd was thinning out. Last-call pints were poured, I talked some guitars and amps with Jose, who’s a big Stevie Ray Vaughan fan, and we tore down the whole shebang - PA, lights, amps and drums. It really is a beautiful, urban, industrial setting, complete with regular passing freight trains and a view of the skyline in the near distance. Our trusty GPS companion Karen Jacobsen - The GPS Girl got us back on the freeway with Gabriel at the wheel and Jake cranking an early Fastball album. We stopped for fuel at a sketchy AF Circle K and I foolishly bought this thing called a Sponch, which is apparently “Marshmallow cookies coconut and strawberry” and immediately had massive buyer’s remorse We’ll report back on that later. But what is it with these ghetto travel centers? They have pints of chocolate milk, strawberry milk, Froot Loops milk, Cinnamon Toast Crunch milk…but no goddamn white milk?
From there it was a couple blocks inland to our AirBB where we’ll have a base for the next 36 hours, a welcome stretch of no travel and causal downtime after four straight days of nonstop movement, shows, and activity. We’re doing fine, but a bit fried and in need of a few hours of chill. San Antonio was a fun adventure, and you can’t complain for a Sunday show. Thanks to everyone at the Alamo Beer Company for being so nice to us (and thanks to everyone at the actual Alamo too I suppose).
Not sure what today will hold, maybe guitar and record shopping? Tonight we’re playing our second show ever in Austin, this time at HOLE IN THE WALL, back with our pals Bottlecap Mountain again. We’re ready to be back in a dive bar, and ready for a rockin’ 45 minute set. Tucos up second of three. See ya there! xx
October 16, 2023 - Austin, Texas
Monday morning was our first opportunity to sleep in and not have to rush out of town in five days. I was still at it pretty early, but the downtime was nice. The boys crashed out `til around 11 while I published the blog and went for a nice long walk up from our AirBB and through a couple neighborhoods. I saw lots of prickly pears cactus and giant aloe plants, a homeless encampment in the woods, and some massive drainage canals, dry to the bone. It’s so dry here. We’re all coughing and just parched, looking forward to the humidity of Alabama tomorrow. I was disappointed, however, to not see an armadillo or any lizards.
When I got back Jacob was researching lunch options, always on the lookout with a great track record of finding killer food. We also wanted to bop around Austin a bit. We went to Terry Black's Barbecue and there was a line out the door. The boy was determined, and the line moved really fast so no probs. I got a half pound of brisket and a couple pork ribs with a side of pintos and a side of mac and cheese. I’ve had BBQ all over the place and know my way around a grill and a smoker a bit myself, but I have to say this was the best I’ve ever had. The bark on the brisket was amazing. The ribs had a slight sweetness to them. The mac and cheese was the perfect amount of creamy, and the noodles were not overdone, and the pinto beans, holy smokes – incredible flavor. The meal lasted me until 2am.
We left Terry Black’s and walked of our lunches as much as we could in a couple of Austin’s popular neighborhoods. There really wasn’t a whole lot to see on 2nd Avenue or 6th Street for us, to be honest. We did see where Austin City Limits is filmed and some of the legendary bars that have made Austin one of the music meccas of the USA. Other than that it was a couple stores and some sidewalk. We hit End of an Ear record store on our way back to the AirBB, which is a store Gabriel and I visited in 2014, last time we were here. I got a Cheap Trick pin and Gabriel got an album. Back at the AirBB we had a couple hours before we had to head into town so we just sorta crashed out and did our own things for a bit, again very appreciative of the downtime, knowing also that it would be at least a couple days before it happens again.
We headed back into the city to meet up with our friends in Bottlecap Mountain and have a pre-show beverage, and about 10 minutes in to Austin rush hour traffic Gabriel asked me if I’d grabbed my guitars from the AIrBB. Nope, shit. We had to turn around and grab them, and it was a pain in the ass, let me tell you. Not the end of the world, but a rookie mistake. It went quickly and we were soon at Curra's Grill, recreating the same event from nine years ago, sipping on an avocado margarita with friends. Sounds weird but they’re amazing (the avocado margaritas, not the friends. Well, the friends are amazing too, but I was… nevermind). It was nice, too, to get to hang with our friends in Bottlecap Mountain again outside of the context of a show, where there’s gear to schlep, set up, tear down, and play on. I was thankful that Stewart Gersmann had the idea and invited us out.
An hour later and a 10 minute drive away we parked behind the HOLE IN THE WALL to load in, and a big THUNK resonated from the roof of the van. There was a massive branch hanging from the tree, seemingly ready to emancipate itself, but almost invisible because of how high up it was and how it camouflaged in the leaves and the Austin night. Seemed no damage done, but a bit of a wtf moment.
The Hole in the Wall is a great rock and roll dive bar. We felt right at home in this place. A bit dirty, stickers everywhere, half broken down gear, a well worn in stage, and a salty but friendly staff who’d seen a million bands come and go. There’s a big room in the back that’s probably good for at least a couple hundred people, but we played in the front, better suited for a Monday night show. We used some of the house gear and got set up pretty quickly and settled in for a drink. Brooks and Jose from Houston were again in attendance, for the second night. My pals Dan Whitaker and his wife Megan came out. We’d met in Chicago when we did a show together right as the pandemic was starting to ease up and bumped into each other a couple times sense. My friend Philip came out, who I’d met in Madison, Wisconsin when we played there about 10 years ago, and once in California since, great dude, and always supportive. And there were more – friends from Twitter Heather and Amber were there, rocking out till the end. And a ton of people I don’t know. Very sorry if I missed anyone, it’s a little hazy to be honest. We had a great crowd for our set, felt we played well, and it was a super fun night. Wesley Maffly-Kipp opened with a great set of solo-acoustic originals, and Bottlecap Mountain played after us and destroyed the joint with the best set I’ve seen them play yet (and they’re always great). Rockin’, high-energy, great sound, clear harmonies… just killer all around.
We spent at least another hour hanging out and talking to our old and new friends. Brooks has some new breakfast plan for us involving some other local chain and some custom concoction you have to order a certain way and well, we’ll see what happens. Drinks were flowing and spirits were very high all around after an awesome night – one of the best Mondays ever. We said goodbye to everyone and it’s always a little tough after a couple fun nights, but we’ll see the Bottlecaps out there again some day for sure. Great bond with that crüe and grateful to call them friends. Back at the AirBB Jacob made us each a bowl of ramen noodles to sop up the libations and we crashed out around 3am.
Today we’ve got an unusually short drive up to Dallas where we’ll play the Armoury, D.E. in Deep Ellum tonight with The Mullens and Long Black Car. Looking forward to rocking out with those dudes and wrapping up the Texas leg of the tour in style, and seeing some close friends. I’ve got nasty, crusty guitar strings to change and might try to do it before we leave, time permitting. If you’re following along and wondering where we stand with the missing tooth and medication issues, I finished the antibiotics yesterday and hope the stomach issues will start to settle down. Signs are pointing in the right direction there.
THANK YOU to everyone who was a part of last night. So much fun, best night of the run so far, and we love and appreciate each of you! Xx
Tuesday, October 17, 2023 - Dallas, Texas
We left Austin around 10:30 and headed north on I-35 towards Dallas. First stop was breakfast at a joint called Kerbey Lane Cafe that Jacob picked out. I got the Texas Benedict, which was two eggs poached over cornbread with queso sauce and avocado and Wagu beef. It was pretty awesome. Dude named Zion who worked there, all dressed in crazy colors and stuff, came over and introduced himself and we had a nice chat about Detroit rock and roll and snapped a photo.
I’ve started this thing where ever since we saw The Alamo on Sunday I play the theme from the Davy Crockett show when we get into the van on the stereo. The boys don’t seem to like it much but that makes it even more fun. This has the potential to go on for years. Monday night got away from us a little bit and we, especially me, were all a little worse for the wear. I nodded in and out for most of the drive. Jacob and Gabriel Doman have each developed a medium size case of road rage since we’ve been in Texas, thanks to the driving habits of these people here. It gets a little crazy sometimes.
We checked into our dive motel east of the city and to absolutely no surprise it did not go without a hitch. Gabe’s room was sans any linens whatsoever (including sheets) and the Mexican maid didn’t speak enough English to help, despite her honest and charming efforts. Eventually he got it sorted and we headed into the city. Traffic was a bear as I cranked Joan Jett and The Bleackhearts.
First stop was a bucket-list goal for many years – Dealy Plaza, the site of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. To set the mood I played my two favorite songs about the event: “Dallas 1PM” by Saxon and “The American in Me” by The Avengers. The boys show great patience with me and my detour excursions. They’d be just as happy to skip it and head to the venue for a cold one and early load in. We paid $10 to park and walked a couple blocks to the sacred ground, with 2 “X”s on the street where each bullet hit. It is a bizarre feeling to stand in a spot you’ve seen a million times on TV but never actually in person. We snapped a few pics of the window of the building that Oswald (supposedly) shot Kennedy from, the grassy knoll, some surrounding monuments and fountains, looked at each other with the same look we had at the Alamo, said “yup, ok,” and walked back to the van.
We drove the couple short miles to the Deep Ellum district of Dallas, a freed-man’s area after the Civil war turned into an entertainment center with music venues, restaurants, tattoo parlors, and stuff like that. The Armoury, D.E. sits in the middle of it all, and is a super cool joint. It’s got a sort of Hungarian/Transylvanian theme, including the menu, with weird Dracula art all over the place. We set up on the stage on the patio out back and ordered some food. I got the Pannonia Charred Octopus, served with potatoes and Hungarian bologna and paprika dip and a Lone Star tall boy. It was amazing!
I took a quick lap around the neighborhood to help the food digest, called TrooperGirl22 who was in a bit of sticker shock about some mail that showed how much my new tooth implant is going to cost us, but still unwavering in her insistence that she’ll not be seen with a toothless rock star for the rest of her life. Back at the Armoury my close, dear friends Jeff and Amy White showed up. They’re two of my favorite people, even though they’re republicans, and the rare times we can actually hang out are really special. We had a few laughs and a couple drinks. Jeff and I talked some Cowboys and Lions, and I made sure he knows that he's not great at giving gambling advice (jk haha). Another friend of mine from my high school days in Marquette, Wanda, showed up with her boyfriend Travis and I’d not seen her for over a decade, so that was amazing too! Pretty soon the Amy camp and the Wanda camp were acquainted and getting along stellarly.
Up first were Long Black Car, a five piece punk rock band in the fashion of a dirty Rolling Stones meets the Dead Boys. They were each super nice dudes and they put on a fantastic show. Their singer was jumping on tables and running around like he was at The Greystone in Detroit back in the 80s. It was awesome. We played second to a pretty decent crowd, especially for a Tuesday night. I’m having some hear issues with my rig and really need a few minutes that I haven’t had to tighten some bolts and lock down some pedals. Other than that we played pretty well and had a blast up there. After us was The Mullens. These guys were a little less punk, but still had elements of that. They reminded me of The Lyres from Boston, and an edgy version of The Kinks. They’re just back from a California run and tight as hell, with great songs and a pro stage presence. Great band, and we were honored to play between them and Long Black Car.
We sold a little merch, packed up, and loaded out. I traded a few war stories with our waiter Jeremy who’d played Michigan a few times himself. I bid a teary and emotional goodbye to Amy and Jeff, who were fit to be poured into an Uber and back to their hotel, and Wanda and Travis, who were so cool to make it out on a school night to hang with us. I love you all!
Jake took the wheel and got us out of Dallas. We were on fumes so we stopped at a 24 hour Fuel City and got gas and tacos before we made it back to our dive motel in Terrell, Texas. THANKS to The Armoury, The Mullens, Long Black Car, and everyone who was there!
We’re off to Tuscaloosa now, leaving Texas after four fun shows. It’s gonna be a marathon drive today and I’ll be at the wheel. I intend to play as much heavy metal as possible. See ya tonight at Druid City Brewing Company for a couple sets as we start to work our way back east! Thanks for reading, rushing to leave town today so sorry for any typos. xx
October 18, 2023 - Tuscaloosa, Alabama
We left our dive motel in Terrel, Texas (pronounced like Darryl, not tear-elle, as my Texas friends quickly pointed out) at an early 9am after a late, rambunctious night in Dallas with a daunting 8+ hour drive staring us down. I took the wheel and did the drive without any issue. We hit the Louisiana border at noon and the Mississippi border at 2pm. Crossing the Mississippi River into Vicksburg was alarming. The river is so low that there’s about 100 or more yards of sand on each shore, exposing what should be underwater in normal times. I’ve crossed this river more times than I can count and I’ve never seen it this low. When SlugBug toured in the 90s we played Saint Louis on the heels of a great flood, with the water about 2 steps below the foot of the arch. This is the polar opposite. We gulped down some Arby’s along the way and saw a nearby combo mobile-meth-lab-BBQ-joint-used-tire encampment in the adjacent woods. Hell yeah, Mississippi! Gabriel was intrigued (about each element), I was scared.
Anyhow, it was a beautiful day, the drive was pleasant and spirits were high. The boys napped a bit and we cranked all sorts of tunes – James Brown, Big Thief, All. I cranked Grim Reaper’s See You In Hell album that I ripped from vinyl last week for just such an occasion. Not sure Jacob was impressed but Gabriel didn’t seem to mind. As we crossed into Alabama I put on a Jason Isbell playlist I made of my favorite stuff from his solo albums and got the feels a little bit connecting some of those lyrics into my own life and the people around me. Something about listening to “Alabama Pines” while you’re actually driving through Alabama pines… Good music does that. Roadkill sightings included a fox, a deer, an opossum, a raccoon, and a couple armadillos. Gabriel got eyes one armadillo looking to cross the freeway, most likely adding to that toll for future drivers.
We checked into our dive motel on the south side of Tuscaloosa a little after five and were surprised to see the accommodations a good couple grades up from our normal dive motels. The two suns even shine on a wamprat’s ass some of the time I guess. We’ll forgive them for only having decaf in the room, settling for some nice, clean beds and space to stretch out. No time for dallying though, a quick splash of the face and change out of the civvies into show gear and it was off the venue.
We played Druid City Brewing Company last year, almost to the day, and had a great time. Sunday through Wednesday is always tough on tour, so you set expectations accordingly and just hope for the best. A small handful of people is often the best you can do, and frankly we over-achieved in Austin and Dallas earlier this week. We were greeted by a couple familiar faces and bellied up to the bar for food and pints. Operations have moved since last year, across the street. We weren’t playing on a cement floor in front of the beer vats now, it was a legit band room with a killer PA, a stage, lights, and cosmic murals ceiling to floor. I got what amounts to their meat-lovers pie with all sorts of beef and pork on it, and added raw onions. Great thin-crust pizza! The red IPA was Jake and my favorite. I called TrooperGirl22 while the boys were finishing up dinner and got caught up about what’s up in Michigan and it seems like the world is still turning above the sweet tea line.
We loaded in and sound-checked. My gear is in varying states of falling apart so I did what I could to do as far as some maintenance, but I really need some serious time to deal with it. The nut has fallen off of my Orange ABY switch – it’s been stripped since we left but not it’s just gone. My Wampler Paisley overdrive pedal is fading in and out at random. I zip-tied it into place but it only helped a little so I will try replacing the patch tonight. And one of the nuts holding my guitar stand is missing so the bolt is barely hanging on. We’re gonna try to get to a Home Depot today to get that fixed. Can’t have your guitar stand falling apart.
On a more optimistic note I’ve clearly rounded the corner on my emancipated tooth antibiotic-induced digestion issues, which is something I’m very grateful to have behind me, but I snagged my already torn-up fingernail and ripped a corner of it off, leaving some exposed flesh beneath and a little spur of hard skin that sends a sharp pain through my hand whenever it comes in contact with anything. It seems a little better this morning, but holding a pick was a bit of a challenge last night.
We played for about an hour and a half last night. There weren’t many there, but we did have some bodies in the room and a few more coming in and out throughout the set to check us out. It’s a LOUD room, and they seemed grateful that we offer up free earplugs at our merch table. Not much else to say about that – these weeknights are what they are and you just do what you can. Bo and his staff (and patrons) at Druid City are some of the friendliest around. They all remembered us from last year and were so welcoming. One dude was so pleased with his skulls tee shirt he got last year – he said he “wore the shit out of it” and it still looks great. Thanks for carrying the torch dude! Can’t find a better place for a weeknight show, and we’ll certainly be back if they’ll have us.
I drove back to the dive motel, which makes sense after brewery gigs as I’m not a big beer guy. It was abnormally early – not even 11pm yet – so we fired up some tunes, poured a whiskey, and hung out for an hour before crashing out. I got a solid 7 hours of sleep, which was needed and welcome. Lobby coffee now, and some bookwork before we head out. Three more nights – Memphis, Lexington, and Akron. Super excited to play Growlers tonight in Memphis with The Eastwoods and Orion Overstreet. Jake’s already talking BBQ again, and I’m half hoping to get a peek at the Lorraine Motel if it’s convenient, but I haven’t told the boys yet so shhhh.
Xx JP
October 19, 2023 - Memphis, Tennessee
Our day started with breakfast at the IHOP in Tuscaloosa. If you know me, you know I’ve never had a bad meal at an Ihop. This time they got the poached eggs right – nice and runny. It was a perfectly good meal. A final coffee and a little flirting with the waitresses and we jetted across the street to Lowe’s to get some hardware to fix my self-destructing guitar stand. Jacob and I went in, grabbed a wing nut, a bag of locking washers, and a few bolts (just in case) and from there we pointed the van north for the beginning of our three-night journey home. I fixed the guitar stand in route while Gabriel was driving and we rocked out to some L'Rain, Robbie Fulks, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, then heading into Memphis, Lucero (of course) and Jason Ringenberg.
Our AirBnb was a complicated puzzle of keypad gates and doors, elevators, hallways, stairs, parking permits, and rollaway beds. It’s also bright pink with a giant leather princess chair and neon signs that say “hellogorgerous” and “You’re Like…Beautiful.” Jake’s taking the retro art-deco couch, Gabriel’s got the bedroom, and I’m taking the rollaway. It was shaping up to be a long night. We wasted no time and headed out for some Memphis BBQ.
The Cozy Corner BBQ is a cinder block and corrugated metal structure down a lonely city road just off downtown Memphis. We ordered various incarnations and quantities of ribs and ate like kings for a few minutes. I’d eaten and Rendezvous Ribs many years ago with TrooperGirl22 and we didn’t love it. These were great and I’d go back again for sure.
From there we drove over to Growler’s, our venue for the night. It was the dojo where Elvis practiced karate for a time, and it’s still owned by the same sensei and has a lot of the same décor. Bryson, the promoter for the show, had a pretty amazing set of photos he showed me of Elvis and his sensei, and one of Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee in the building. It’s a great room with a sizeable stage in the corner and a bar along two walls. We loaded in, met the staff, including our sound engineer Jay, and sound-checked. It sounded awesome. We talked to the other band a bit, The Eastwoods, and opener Orion Overstreet who went on a little after eight. The crowd was sparse, and it wasn’t the winner show we were hoping for. We’ve started a version of the Drive-By Truckers’ song “Decoration Day” called “Explanation Day” with each verse citing lines we’ve heard about empty clubs. “It’s explanation day… all the bars are slow today…” “There’s a festival in town today…” “It’s always quiet this time of years…” “It was packed last Saturday…” “Archers of Loaf are playing their reunion show on the next block…” “There’s a street festival and everyone’s tired…” We’ve heard `em all. Anyhow, Orion was wonderful – singing her operatic folk music with an acoustic guitar and a banjo.
After us The Eastwoods went on and we really dug those guys. They reminded me of Dirty South-era Drive-By Truckers and had some other cowpunk, alt-country, and southern rock influences too. Guitarist Connor plays a mean slide that adds a cool element to their sound, and singer Kyle leads the rodeo through the set. Their stuff sits perfectly with a good chunk of my record collection. We had a good chat afterwards and vowed to play together again, hoping for a better result.
We loaded out, licked our wounds, and scurried back to our AirBnB, where a healthy rat was running around between cars as we walked in. There was some feasting on leftovers (us, not the rat), and a quick nightcap before crashing out. “Let’s check out this rollaway.” Crack-clunk-bang. Crooked, tilty and rickety. Missing 2 of the wheels, so it rocked front to back. The end legs wouldn’t lock into the brackets. Unsleepable. I set up the one in the storage closet, which was much more stable, and slept in there. Honestly…I’ve slept on worse beds for sure. It was weird sleeping in a prison cell isolation unit-like dark room with absolutely nothing in it, but I got a few hours.
Not too much exciting to write about today. The travel was routine and show was a drag for the most part. They’re not all winners, and it’s not all hookers, drugs, and parties, folks. We’re glad we met The Eastwoods and here’s to a better show next time. We loved the room and wouldn’t even rule out a return there.
Today we’re off to our favoritest road city Lexington, Kentucky. Can’t wait to see my brother NP Presley and hear his new band and hang with our many friends there. We are due for a winner, so let’s do this Lexington! Xx
October 20, 2023 - Lexington, Kentucky
Before we left out AIrBB in Memphis I darted over to see the Lorraine Motel, which was a couple blocks from where we were staying. It’s sacred ground, the location of the assassination of MLK, and a spot I’ve not been able to visit on my many previous times in Memphis. It’s now attached to a museum and somewhat converted to a monument to civil rights, but preserved very well and easily accessible. I took a few photos and tried to take in the moment before heading back to scoop up the boys. It’s not lost on me that touring has afforded me the ability to see so many great and important places, and I try not to take it for granted.
We were on a fairly downer roll after a couple slow nights and a lot of driving so what better to lift the spirits than another seven-hour drive and a shitty fast food breakfast? We got to McDonalds at 10:31am and sorry, it’s a Big Mac or squat. We got coffees and went over to Wendy’s where yay! They’re still serving breakfast! We stood there for at least 10 minutes while the kid behind the counter leaned up against the fryer looking at his phone, listening carefully for his approaching manager so he could act busy. Every employee looked at us but no one could be bothered to tell the person who was to take our order to do just that. Eventually she came out and said “We ain’t servin’ that. It’s after 10:30. What you want?” as we looked up at the menu off breakfast sandwiches and hash brown sticks. Eventually they flipped them over to burgers and chicken sandwiches. She wrote our orders down on paper, took it away with Gabriel’s credit card, and brought the card back a minute later, no receipt, no words, just thanks for your money sucker. Not what we wanted but we were already 40 minutes into this miserable debacle and we had miles to make up, so I got TrooperGirl22’s favorite – the Son of Baconator. It sucked – dry and cold, void of taste, and just plain pathetic. Knowing her standards, they have to normally be better than that. Not the attitude adjustment we needed.
Jacob drove through Nashville, out of Tennessee, into Kentucky, past the National Corvette Museum with the sinkhole, through Lexington, and up to our dive motel in Georgetown. We got a free glazed donut at some BP/donut shop for filling up the van, so thought I’d ride that potential wave of changing good fortune and added in a couple Betty Boop scratch-offs. First one was a dud. I’ll do the second today. We checked in to the motel, changed and headed back into the city to meet our pal J Tyler for dinner at a local institution – Winchell's. We go way back with J Tyler, from when he was in Those Crosstown Rivals, and we toured together back in 2014. It’s always great to see him and the conversation is never dull. He’s got a way with words, and when I told him I was eying up the fried oyster po’ boy but I was concerned about lingering digestion issues, he said “Sounds to me like you got nothing to lose!” so that was that. The last two fried oyster po’ poys I got were terrible, so I was trepidatious, but it was really great – hot and bulky and super yum.
Over at The Green Lantern Bar there were a line of dudes waiting to help us load in. Aaah Kentucky, you always rule! That went quickly and we arranged our stuff and set up whatever we could before the show started. Bumped into many friends – Jake and D'Arcy, Chandler Tex Dynamite, and my brother Nate NP Presley. I love these people and Lexington has always been our second home. First up was Haiku Seppuku, which is Tex’ new band, with Nate on drums. It was their first show and they played a short, killer set of alternative/punk that reminded me at times of Jawbreaker. Great stuff! Next up was Mayking, Nate now playing bass. These guys were a bit less punk and a bit more indie sounding, with a Moog keyboard in the middle. They were well rehearsed and had great songs and arrangements – another fantastic set from another new Lexington band!
We went on around 11 to a great crowd and did our best to burn the joint down. People were cheering and singing along, raising beers and throwing devil horns, and rooting us on. We had a blast up there and called some location-specific audibles. As always, we closed with our tribute to the people of Lexington – “Hey Kentucky” – with an audience participation outro. Super awesome!
Hilights of playing this area are never complete until we see our buds Vibrolas – Leila and Chris. We go back with them over a decade too, and they’re awesome people. This time, however, there was extra cause to celebrate as Chris presented me with a refurbished Silvertone guitar that he’s been working on for me for, well… a long time. I couldn’t believe it. It’s a work of art, he did an AMAZING job, and it made me sooo happy to finally lay hands on it! I paid $10 for the neck and body when I was in high school and it spent many winters in a frozen garage in Marquette, Michigan – hardly a place you’d want to store a stringed instrument. I gave it to him when we did a Michigan run with them back in 2014 and said “do what ya’ can, man” and all expectations and hopes were exceeded. It needs a little break-in time before it’ll see a stage, but maybe next weekend in Detroit. Dude, THANK YOU!
Back at the motel we’ve now got six guitars to take into the room. We had a nightcap and wished our TV worked. We needed a win after a couple stinkers and Lexington never, ever disappoints. THANK YOU to the Green Lantern, the bands, Nate, and all our friends who were there, too many to mention. You are a huge part of this band and we love you.
As we were getting ready to crash, just after 3am, Jake noticed that the headlining band for our show tonight in Akron, Ohio – the last show of our tour – has cancelled. That’s a kiss of death for a touring band in a new city, but the show will go on and we’ll do our best. Another kick in the nuts, and another line for our DBT parody song “Explanation Day.” I try to give you guys the shit right next to the glory, and there’s pretty much equal or more parts shit. Thing happen, you gotta roll with it. See ya tonight Akron – let’s wrap it up in style! Xx
October 21, 2023 - Akron, Ohio
We left our dive motel in Georgetown, Kentucky a bit worse for the wear, but in high spirits after the much needed great show in Lexington the night before. We had breakfast at the adjacent Waffle House, or the “Awful Waffle,” as it’s called if you’re in the know. It had been a while. The food wasn’t bad but the place was filthy – every surface was sticky – the floor, the counter, the laminated-place mat menus, the cups and mugs. Anyhow, it went down ok and we were soon on our way north with me at the wheel, Gabriel at shotgun, and Jacob in the back. They were both out pretty quick so I put on Juliana Hatfield’s Only Everything album, popped Fantasy-flavored HI-CHEWs every 15 minutes to keep me awake, and drove over the Ohio River, Cincinnati, and above the Sweet Tea Line for the first time in a week and a half. We’ve had blue, sunny skies since we crossed the Sweet Tea line into Missouri last Friday, and like clockwork, they turned grey and rainy when we crossed back over yesterday. The boys woke up around Columbus and it wasn’t long before we were checking into our dive motel north of Akron. The clerk tried to pull some “You can’t get the member price on two rooms” horse shit on me but I wasn’t having it, having done that in the 100s of times before. He acquiesced and we settled in for an hour or two.
Dinner options were limited so we ended up at this sports bar and grill called On Tap Medina I had a turkey and Swiss on a pretzel bun that wasn’t bad, and we watched Iowa win over Minnesota in the final seconds of the game. 20 minutes down the road and we were loaded into Buzzbin. This venue used to be in Canton, Ohio, and we played there a few years ago. Our pal Scott was on the sidewalk to greet us and inside we were happy to see Dawn and Elizabeth and say hello to Brian Lisik and his band. It’s on older building in the Kennmore neighborhood of Akron, a long room with a bar on the left side and a tall stage against the front. They had the Replacements’ Saturday Night Live poster hanging and played cool 80s punk for house music.
There was a local headliner booked to play the show but they unexpectedly cancelled, as we found out via a Facebook post at 3am the night before. When you’re a touring band in a new city and the local headliner cancels, it’s pretty much a kiss of death, so we knew we were now heading into a slow night. Brian Lisik and Hard Legs bassist wasn’t able to make the show but they showed up to play anyway, which we were very grateful for. They have some smart tunes with good hooks and Brian is a solid singer. Their guitarist Rob plays a Dr. Z amp, like me, and we bonded over tone for a bit. We’ll be crossing paths with them again sometime, and while they sounded great, I’ll be looking forward to seeing them with a bassist!
We played after them and did or best to rock the joint despite the barren landscape. We always try to never phone it in, if there’s three people there or 300. We felt like we played pretty well and it sounded ok. The microphone I was using had a windscreen (the grill-like ball at the end) that was frayed and torn and mid-set it caught the edge of my nostril as I sang a line and pulled away. That hurt like holy hell and I was seeing stars for a second, but the show goes on. After the set we sold a little merch, which we’re always grateful for, mingled a bit with our friends and the owner, Julia, who was dressed like Uma Thurman from Kill Bill, had a nightcap, loaded out and headed back to our motel.
Back in our room I heated up my leftover macaroni & cheese from dinner and left it in a little too long melting the Styrofoam a bit. Oh well, down the hatch. Probably not going to be what kills me. We watched a little Harold and Kumar and crashed out around 2am. This morning I went out to load up the guitars (we always bring the guitars into our room overnight) and had to back the van out a little to open the back doors. Hmm, that’s odd – says the rear passenger door is open. Yup, the side door to the van was wide open all night, leaving our gear exposed for anyone to help themselves. Holy Christ that could have been a disaster, and I was so grateful nothing was gone. I was sitting back there on the drive back from the bar, so I guess it’s on me. That’s a first, and hopefully a last. We grabbed a quick breakfast at McDonalds and now we’re on the Ohio Turnpike heading back towards Michigan.
And that’s a wrap on our October tour. Pretty typical in the end, with the first 2/3 being pretty solid but three of the last four shows not being great. We drove through 10 states, crossed the Mississippi River twice, played 10 shows in 10 days, ate some incredible food, saw some great friends and made a few more, saw some armadillo road kills, a giant bald eagle, the Alamo, Dealy Plaza, and the Lorraine Motel. We’re very much looking forward to getting home to our homes, wives, beds, and lives. But here’s to rock and roll. It ain’t always pretty but we ain’t done yet. Thanks for reading. Xx
Jeremy Porter lives near Detroit and fronts the rock and roll band Jeremy Porter And The Tucos. Follow them on Facebook to read his road blog about their adventures on the dive-bar circuit.
www.thetucos.com
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Twitter: @jeremyportermi | Instagram: @onetogive & @jeremyportermusic
In Music Tags Jeremy Porter, Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, Touring, VanLife, Gabriel Doman, Jake Riley, Champaign, North Little Rock, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Texas, Dallas, Austin, Tuscaloosa, Memphis, Lexington, Nate Presley, Akron, Bottlecap Mountain, The Mullens, Long Black Car, JFK, The Alamo, MLK, Lorraine Motel
The experience has grown with the band. I mean, we’re not selling out clubs and I’m not a published author, but I hear from friends and strangers all over the place that they read and enjoy them. One guy in West Virginia told me a couple years back that they’re the perfect length to read while taking a shit. High praise indeed, from below the Sweet Tea Line.
While I always felt the volume and daily barrage was a bit much for Pencil Storm, Colin asked me to compile and share the latest batch, which I’m happy to do. So here’s the blogs from our most recent run down to Texas, through the deep south, and back. And if you want a deeper dive, ALL of the blogs dating back to 2013 are archived HERE for your next trip to the bathroom. xx
October 12, 2023- Champaign, IL
Gabriel and I met at my place on Thursday morning and loaded what gear and luggage we hadn’t loaded after practice the other night into the van and headed west towards Ann Arbor to pick up Jacob. I cranked The Cars Anthology as Gabe drove in and out of rain squalls and construction zones until we hit the Indiana border. See ya in 11 days, Michigan. I had a major, traumatic dental event last weekend and had my #26 incisor yanked from my skull with great, unpleasant force on Monday morning, so I’m doing this run with a big hole in my face. I’m trying to do all the right things; staying up on my meds and not mess with it and stay away from the JujyFruits, but we weren’t even past Jackson when one of my stitches came out. I didn’t panic because it wasn’t bleeding or anything, so I texted my super cool dentist Dr. Natalie Henke and she said it’s cool just be careful so the show goes on. She knows what’s up.
The drive through central Illinois is not an exciting one. We wondered what they do with all the dry, dead corn stalks they’re mowing down with their giant machines. Certainly more than Halloween decorations. We listened to The Posies, Mammoth WVH, Ultraviolets, and Charles Mingus before putting on locals Titanic Love Affair as we headed into the city center of Champaign. We had a couple hours to kill so we stopped into the venue and said hello to the manager and the crew and did a loop around town on foot before settling on dinner at a nearby bar and grill. We got sandwiches and beers, did another lap, got a coffee, took a photo with Humpty Dumpty, and headed back to the bar for load in.
Barrelhouse 34 is a non-venue with a deconstructable stage and rented, mobile pa system and sound engineer. It’s a long, raw, exposed wood building with high-tops along one side and a long bar along the other. The stage is set up in the big window facing Main Street, not far from where the old High Dive was, where TrooperGirl22 and I saw The Bottle Rockets many years ago. We loaded in and waited for the staff to finish the stage assembly. I could tell it was going to be a bit so I went for another lap to get a little quiet before the show. “Hey Loser!” I heard from a passing car. My pal, and former mayor of Champaign himself Don Gerard was driving by, his little dog yapping and jumping around the back seat. A quick, passing “See ya up there” and he was off.
Joe Murphy is a friend who I’d met in Yorkville at The Law Office a couple years back, just coming out of the pandemic, if memory serves. He not only helped to get the word out about and posters up for the show, but brought a crue of people, including his lovely wife Kim, friend Chad and several others too numerous to name (but I love you all!). Don Stopped in and caught a good chunk of the show and we made a few new friends too. Our pal Daryl from DeKalb made the trip in, always appreciated! Erik, the colorful and salty sound engineer, fresh off a heart attack a couple weeks ago, got us all dialed in and we went on a few minutes after 8pm. The bar was hopping all night, a little fluctuation at times, but no complaints. People were hollerin’ and we had a great time.
Drinks were flowing and the conversation was splendid, but after our set the bar started to thin out, we said goodbye to our friends, tore down, loaded the van, tipped the bar staff, and headed south. We’ve got a hell of a drive ahead of us today down to North Little Rock, where we’ll play the Four Quarter Bar tonight, so we got an hour+ behind us last night and made it to Effingham where we crashed. I cranked Black Sabbath – Volume 4 to help Gabe stay awake and the drive was relatively painless. Champaign was awesome, just as it was nine years ago when we last played there. Thanks to Joe, Kim, Chad, Don, Emily How , Cody, Juan, and so many people how made it memorable. See ya tonight Arkansas! xx
Friday, October 13, 2023 - North Little Rock, Arkansas
Before leaving the Ramada Inn in Effingham, Illinois, we each meandered, in our own separate times, to the lobby for the free hotel breakfast of eggs from a plastic bag, grainy weird sausage, coffee and orange juice. The lady who was making sure the bag of eggs was heated thoroughly was overly apologetic that they didn’t have any peanut butter for my bagel, but spent a good few minutes selling me on the Cinnamon Toast Crunch flavored peanut butter spread that’s on the shelves at Wal-Mart right by the peanut butter. Her sister-in-law made some pumpkin spice cupcakes and my new friend thought it was an opportunity lost not using the CTC spread on them.
I took the wheel as we headed south through Illinois. A bald eagle swooped down and snagged a big piece of roadkill on the side of the northbound lanes and flew away with it in its talons. I thought it was a squirrel or a bunny, but Gabriel thought it was bigger, maybe a cat or something. Historically when we’ve seen bald eagles on tour it’s been a good omen, most recently when the Mackinac Bridge opened back up in time for us to make our gig in Marquette, right after we saw one in Mackinaw City. We crossed the Mississippi River into Missouri at noon, no signs of Jim or Huck, but the river was lower than I’ve ever seen it. The sprawling cotton fields were being harvested and semis hauling giant pink and yellow bails were everywhere. At 1:30 we crossed into Arkansas and headed west towards Little Rock. The drive was uneventful save for some digestive events that required stops at various truck stops, as I work to get off these meds I’m on for my extracted tooth. After a brief stopover at our dive motel and a call home to check in on TrooperGirl22 we headed towards the venue. We listened to Constantines, Valley Lodge, Stiff Little Fingers, R.E.M. and Scorpions.
North Little Rock is a small city that sits on the north bank of the Arkansas River directly above Little Rock proper. The Four Quarter Bar sits on Main Street in the Argenta Arts District, an old, eclectic neighborhood and entertainment area. There is a street festival this weekend, so there were tons of people around and parking was a challenge. We met Conan, the owner, who welcomed us to town and showed us around a bit, and Jayson, and Jason, the sound engineer and engineer-in-training with similar names. It’s a cool, old building with the sizeable stage in the front corner and a bar in the opposite corner. There’s a balcony with chairs and couches where you can hang or watch the bands, and a patio out back if it gets too loud. We ordered food and pints, and it was for sure the best meal we’ve had on this run yet (not offense, Ramada Inn bag-o-eggs). My pulled pork chimichanga with Cholula and sour-cream sauce on top was right on.
We went on around 9:30 to a fairly packed house of festival goers, happy hour stragglers, and a big wedding party looking to keep the libations flowing. The sound was great and people were into it, but we collectively agreed later that we just weren’t on fire. Maybe it was the travel or we just haven’t found our tour tour legs yet, but we were missing a little spring in our step.
Near the end of our first set a stream of floral-print moo moos, over-sized sunglasses, and red, permed wigs came in – the Mrs. Roper Romp, celebrating the Three’s Company character. It was a pretty impressive flow of Mrs. Roepers and they were in a great mood and many rocked out with us during our second set. An old pal of mine from the virtual world of Twitter introduced himself, Mike Mozely. We’d had a few, mostly guitar-geek, interactions and he just happened to wander into the bar and see we were playing, having abandoned the platform some time ago. It was a crazy coincidence, and we had a really ice chat, sharing some stories about rock and roll and our friends around the country, like Jeff Brower back in Atlanta.
After our set we mingled a bit, sold some merch, then did the usual tear down, load-out, Load the van, tip Bubba the bartender, and hit the road back to the motel. We watched a little South Park and had a nightcap before crashing out around two. Conan, Bubba, Jayson, Jason, Mike, and all the Helen Roepers – THANK YOU for making our firs show in Arkansas memorable! Can’t wait to come back!
We’re a little fried from a couple long drives and long sets, and we’ve got another one today as we head down to Fort Worth, Texas to play Lola's with our buds Bottlecap Mountain and Broke String Burnett. We’re gonna get Jacob JakeE some IHOP in his belly so he can get us down there. There’s something special in-store at Lola’s tonight folks – you don’t wanna miss it if you’re a Bottlecaps/Tucos fan. See ya in Texas!!!!
October 14, 2023 - Fort Worth, Texas
We started our day off at the IHOP in North Little Rock, AR, Arkansas, around the corner from our motel. If you know me, you know that I’ve never had a bad meal at an iHop. I got my usual, Eggs Benedict, resisting the urge to get something more aggressive that might wreak havoc on my already aggravated bowels. Gabriel got the same but the version that came with spinach and stuff. Both were awesome, but the poached eggs were overdone and there was no liquid yoke, so we were both disappointed. I won’t go so far as to say it was `bad,` but they need to do better. The struggle is real, I assure you.
Jacob drove us south, across the Arkansas River, through Little Rock, and towards Texarkana and the Texas border. Other than some construction it wasn’t a terrible drive until we hit Dallas traffic. We stopped in Fate, Texas, where, as fate would have it, I was destined to get a Sonic Blast milkshake, Recess Peanut Butter Cup flavor. `Cuz that’s what a dude with antibiotic-triggered digestive issues needs to calm things down. We cranked out The Lyres, Whiskeytown, Coffin Break, Porcupine Tree, G. Love & Special Sauce, and more. As we neared our dive motel I blared “Rock Soldiers” by Ace Frehley because Jake’s never heard it and he’s a Rock Soldier, so he needed to. He LOLd into the motel parking lot.
The front desk clerk at this dump tried his best, but what a nightmare. We had some sort of addict derelict try to get into our room and some sort of conflict around the number of beds and then this room was meant for that other guest and I have to charge you for another deposit but I’ll refund that one and this whole debacle. We’ll just see what gets charged and what gets refunded pal. This ain’t The Ritz, so we gotta roll with it to some extent, but JFC. We had grandiose plans to get some Tex Mex at this joint that’s 3rd generation owned and been around for 100 years but it was pretty clear we didn’t have time so we found a random restaurant near our motel called the Mexican Inn Cafe that’s at least been around 90 years. I got a combo and a mango margarita and it was really great. I ate too much, too fast, but after the roll we’ve been on and my digestive challenges we needed the energy.
We drove through Fort Worth and if I’m being honest, from what I saw, it’s a city that’s been hit pretty hard. And we’re from the Detroit area! No worries, just an observation. We pulled into Lola's, met the sound engineer, and unloaded our gear behind the outdoor stage out back. Our plans, Austin’s Bottlecap Mountain, pulled up and we quickly fell right back in to where we were when we played with them back in Michigan in March. Great people, lots of road war stories to share, and it was just great to see some familiar faces. They were coming to Fort Worth off a gig in Denton on Friday and their drummer Ray was unable to make the trip. I offered up Gabriel and they accepted, with Gabe’s trepidatious blessing of course. He spent the better part of the drive through Illinois, Arkansas, and Texas in the back of the van listening to and charting out the songs that they’d picked. He’s always up for a challenge.
Bottlecap Mountain went on right around 8pm as the night settled in and people started to congregate a bit out back. It was a pretty brisk 60f outside, and this Yankee was a bit chilly, but none of the Texan’s were complaining after months of 110f summer heat. They did a few songs as a drummer-less trio then Gabe came out did another 6 with them. He killed it; nailed their set, and they sounded fantastic. We played second to an ok crowd – not packed like we’d like on a Saturday night, but certainly enough people watching to make it fun. We played way better than we did in North Little Rock, which was good, and had a good time up there.
By the time we were done there was a pretty respectable crowd. Locals Broke String Burnett and his band went up and did about an hour of original Texas country with a bit of a rock edge. His songs are fantastic and lean a bit on the 70’s outlaw country scene, which is right up my alley. His band was super solid and we really enjoyed the set. Great people too – we had a few minutes to talk business and music and some other stuff before we loaded out and headed back to the dive motel. Lola’s is a cool place and it was great to get caught up with the Bottlecaps and see Broke Burnett play. Not a bad night at all.
Today is, again, action packed. We’re driving to San Antonio for a 5pm show, with a stop in Austin to borrow a couple PA speakers along the way. We’ve heard nothing but good things about Alamo Beer Company, so we’re excited about it, but we’ve also been basically running for three days straight without a moment of downtime, so were a little fried. After today things slow down for a moment, so we’ll be able to catch our breath, but it’s rock and roll, so let’s do it. See ya this afternoon San Antonio! xx
October 15, 2023 - San Antonio, Texas
First thing Sunday morning was to check the van in the parking lot of our dive motel in Fort Worth to make sure that it and all our gear was still there. It was a cold morning and the riff raff were milling about, but things looked intact, thankfully. I whipped off the road blog, showered, loaded up the guitars and luggage and we were off, with a very full day ahead. We gassed up and got breakfast at Whataburger. My fiend Brooks swears by it, but I’m not as enamored. It was serviceable for a quick meal, but honestly I’d take an Egg McMuffin any day. Jacob loved his jalapeno biscuit, and when the boy is happy with his breakfast, we’re all happy, so no probs. Later in the afternoon Brooks would pontificate about some “off the menu” concoction you need to order where they do this with the salsa and that with the biscuit and if you wanna get crazy you say “verde” then it’s green and all this, but who has time? So I’m batting .000 at Whataburger after two tries, but to be fair I haven’t tried a burger yet. Two days in Texas left so who knows?
We made it to Austin in just under three hours and stopped off at Kate and Chris Stangland’s house to pick up a couple PA speakers they’re loaning us from the Bottlecap Mountain practice space. We met Kate in Michigan back in March and she got us set up in no time, Chris still up north and on the road with the Bottlecaps. Their house is a cool, sort of sprawling ranch in a neat neighborhood not far from the highway and their dog really wanted to meet us, but we didn’t have time to socialize, unfortunately. Big thanks to Chris and Kate for the help – it saved us from lugging two giant PA mains across the country for one show.
We drove through what seemed an endless spawl of box stores, travel centers, food chains, and churches nonstop between Austin and San Antonio. One guy had a license plate on his Honda Civic that said RADDUDE. We cranked the Bottle Rockets’ Songs of Sahm record, which seemed appropriate. This was our first time in San Antonio and it seems the thing to do is to see The Alamo. Ever since I was a kid I heard about the Alamo and Davy Crockett and all that, and until you lay eyes on those types of things it’s just sort of some conceptual thing that is difficult to actually realize. Well, call me naive, but I figured we’d pull up, jump out, snap a couple pics, grab a souvenir magnet for the refrigerator and be on our way. Nope. It was a quagmire of humanity and traffic, multiple trips around blocks, scoffing at $25 for two hour parking, and some pretty colorful language. We eventually found a slightly less expensive parking option that was very close and walked over, got our pictures and magnets, nodded our heads, said “yup.” and moved on. Jake wasn't impressed.
A short mile away is the Alamo Beer Company, where the show was. We drove around the back alley and backed right up next to the stage to unload. The stage is in a courtyard/patio area between the taproom and brewing buildings, with string lights and a giant railroad overpass converted to a pedestrian path overhead. It’s a really cool setting and the weather was great – low 70s and sunny. There was karaoke going on in the adjacent yard of the compound, and this little dude killed “Jackson” (most famously done by Johnny and June Carter Cash) before some poor lass murdered the “Whole New World” song from some Disney movie I’ll never see. Someone wrapped up with the Nirvana version of “The Man Who Sold the World” and I’d bet dollars to doughnuts that cat had no idea it was a Bowie song. It was all good, people were having fun, and who am I to judge.
We got all set up, including the PA, had some food and pints, and went on around 5pm. Sunday-Wednesday shows on tour are always hit and miss, and often a bit weird. This one was on the better side for sure. There weren’t a ton of people, but there were enough to keep it fun, and they were engaged and responsive. The above-mentioned Brooks and our pal Jose drove up from the Houston area, Gabriel’s cousin Liz and her husband showed up, and some cat named Mike from Minnesota via England was there who was most complimentary and pleased with the music. He was disappointed that our last song “Double Negative” wasn’t available on any albums yet, heck, we’ve only played it a couple times now, but he picked up a couple CDs and promised to watch out for it on the next record.
We wrapped up at 8 as it was getting dark and the crowd was thinning out. Last-call pints were poured, I talked some guitars and amps with Jose, who’s a big Stevie Ray Vaughan fan, and we tore down the whole shebang - PA, lights, amps and drums. It really is a beautiful, urban, industrial setting, complete with regular passing freight trains and a view of the skyline in the near distance. Our trusty GPS companion Karen Jacobsen - The GPS Girl got us back on the freeway with Gabriel at the wheel and Jake cranking an early Fastball album. We stopped for fuel at a sketchy AF Circle K and I foolishly bought this thing called a Sponch, which is apparently “Marshmallow cookies coconut and strawberry” and immediately had massive buyer’s remorse We’ll report back on that later. But what is it with these ghetto travel centers? They have pints of chocolate milk, strawberry milk, Froot Loops milk, Cinnamon Toast Crunch milk…but no goddamn white milk?
From there it was a couple blocks inland to our AirBB where we’ll have a base for the next 36 hours, a welcome stretch of no travel and causal downtime after four straight days of nonstop movement, shows, and activity. We’re doing fine, but a bit fried and in need of a few hours of chill. San Antonio was a fun adventure, and you can’t complain for a Sunday show. Thanks to everyone at the Alamo Beer Company for being so nice to us (and thanks to everyone at the actual Alamo too I suppose).
Not sure what today will hold, maybe guitar and record shopping? Tonight we’re playing our second show ever in Austin, this time at HOLE IN THE WALL, back with our pals Bottlecap Mountain again. We’re ready to be back in a dive bar, and ready for a rockin’ 45 minute set. Tucos up second of three. See ya there! xx
October 16, 2023 - Austin, Texas
Monday morning was our first opportunity to sleep in and not have to rush out of town in five days. I was still at it pretty early, but the downtime was nice. The boys crashed out `til around 11 while I published the blog and went for a nice long walk up from our AirBB and through a couple neighborhoods. I saw lots of prickly pears cactus and giant aloe plants, a homeless encampment in the woods, and some massive drainage canals, dry to the bone. It’s so dry here. We’re all coughing and just parched, looking forward to the humidity of Alabama tomorrow. I was disappointed, however, to not see an armadillo or any lizards.
When I got back Jacob was researching lunch options, always on the lookout with a great track record of finding killer food. We also wanted to bop around Austin a bit. We went to Terry Black's Barbecue and there was a line out the door. The boy was determined, and the line moved really fast so no probs. I got a half pound of brisket and a couple pork ribs with a side of pintos and a side of mac and cheese. I’ve had BBQ all over the place and know my way around a grill and a smoker a bit myself, but I have to say this was the best I’ve ever had. The bark on the brisket was amazing. The ribs had a slight sweetness to them. The mac and cheese was the perfect amount of creamy, and the noodles were not overdone, and the pinto beans, holy smokes – incredible flavor. The meal lasted me until 2am.
We left Terry Black’s and walked of our lunches as much as we could in a couple of Austin’s popular neighborhoods. There really wasn’t a whole lot to see on 2nd Avenue or 6th Street for us, to be honest. We did see where Austin City Limits is filmed and some of the legendary bars that have made Austin one of the music meccas of the USA. Other than that it was a couple stores and some sidewalk. We hit End of an Ear record store on our way back to the AirBB, which is a store Gabriel and I visited in 2014, last time we were here. I got a Cheap Trick pin and Gabriel got an album. Back at the AirBB we had a couple hours before we had to head into town so we just sorta crashed out and did our own things for a bit, again very appreciative of the downtime, knowing also that it would be at least a couple days before it happens again.
We headed back into the city to meet up with our friends in Bottlecap Mountain and have a pre-show beverage, and about 10 minutes in to Austin rush hour traffic Gabriel asked me if I’d grabbed my guitars from the AIrBB. Nope, shit. We had to turn around and grab them, and it was a pain in the ass, let me tell you. Not the end of the world, but a rookie mistake. It went quickly and we were soon at Curra's Grill, recreating the same event from nine years ago, sipping on an avocado margarita with friends. Sounds weird but they’re amazing (the avocado margaritas, not the friends. Well, the friends are amazing too, but I was… nevermind). It was nice, too, to get to hang with our friends in Bottlecap Mountain again outside of the context of a show, where there’s gear to schlep, set up, tear down, and play on. I was thankful that Stewart Gersmann had the idea and invited us out.
An hour later and a 10 minute drive away we parked behind the HOLE IN THE WALL to load in, and a big THUNK resonated from the roof of the van. There was a massive branch hanging from the tree, seemingly ready to emancipate itself, but almost invisible because of how high up it was and how it camouflaged in the leaves and the Austin night. Seemed no damage done, but a bit of a wtf moment.
The Hole in the Wall is a great rock and roll dive bar. We felt right at home in this place. A bit dirty, stickers everywhere, half broken down gear, a well worn in stage, and a salty but friendly staff who’d seen a million bands come and go. There’s a big room in the back that’s probably good for at least a couple hundred people, but we played in the front, better suited for a Monday night show. We used some of the house gear and got set up pretty quickly and settled in for a drink. Brooks and Jose from Houston were again in attendance, for the second night. My pals Dan Whitaker and his wife Megan came out. We’d met in Chicago when we did a show together right as the pandemic was starting to ease up and bumped into each other a couple times sense. My friend Philip came out, who I’d met in Madison, Wisconsin when we played there about 10 years ago, and once in California since, great dude, and always supportive. And there were more – friends from Twitter Heather and Amber were there, rocking out till the end. And a ton of people I don’t know. Very sorry if I missed anyone, it’s a little hazy to be honest. We had a great crowd for our set, felt we played well, and it was a super fun night. Wesley Maffly-Kipp opened with a great set of solo-acoustic originals, and Bottlecap Mountain played after us and destroyed the joint with the best set I’ve seen them play yet (and they’re always great). Rockin’, high-energy, great sound, clear harmonies… just killer all around.
We spent at least another hour hanging out and talking to our old and new friends. Brooks has some new breakfast plan for us involving some other local chain and some custom concoction you have to order a certain way and well, we’ll see what happens. Drinks were flowing and spirits were very high all around after an awesome night – one of the best Mondays ever. We said goodbye to everyone and it’s always a little tough after a couple fun nights, but we’ll see the Bottlecaps out there again some day for sure. Great bond with that crüe and grateful to call them friends. Back at the AirBB Jacob made us each a bowl of ramen noodles to sop up the libations and we crashed out around 3am.
Today we’ve got an unusually short drive up to Dallas where we’ll play the Armoury, D.E. in Deep Ellum tonight with The Mullens and Long Black Car. Looking forward to rocking out with those dudes and wrapping up the Texas leg of the tour in style, and seeing some close friends. I’ve got nasty, crusty guitar strings to change and might try to do it before we leave, time permitting. If you’re following along and wondering where we stand with the missing tooth and medication issues, I finished the antibiotics yesterday and hope the stomach issues will start to settle down. Signs are pointing in the right direction there.
THANK YOU to everyone who was a part of last night. So much fun, best night of the run so far, and we love and appreciate each of you! Xx
Tuesday, October 17, 2023 - Dallas, Texas
We left Austin around 10:30 and headed north on I-35 towards Dallas. First stop was breakfast at a joint called Kerbey Lane Cafe that Jacob picked out. I got the Texas Benedict, which was two eggs poached over cornbread with queso sauce and avocado and Wagu beef. It was pretty awesome. Dude named Zion who worked there, all dressed in crazy colors and stuff, came over and introduced himself and we had a nice chat about Detroit rock and roll and snapped a photo.
I’ve started this thing where ever since we saw The Alamo on Sunday I play the theme from the Davy Crockett show when we get into the van on the stereo. The boys don’t seem to like it much but that makes it even more fun. This has the potential to go on for years. Monday night got away from us a little bit and we, especially me, were all a little worse for the wear. I nodded in and out for most of the drive. Jacob and Gabriel Doman have each developed a medium size case of road rage since we’ve been in Texas, thanks to the driving habits of these people here. It gets a little crazy sometimes.
We checked into our dive motel east of the city and to absolutely no surprise it did not go without a hitch. Gabe’s room was sans any linens whatsoever (including sheets) and the Mexican maid didn’t speak enough English to help, despite her honest and charming efforts. Eventually he got it sorted and we headed into the city. Traffic was a bear as I cranked Joan Jett and The Bleackhearts.
First stop was a bucket-list goal for many years – Dealy Plaza, the site of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. To set the mood I played my two favorite songs about the event: “Dallas 1PM” by Saxon and “The American in Me” by The Avengers. The boys show great patience with me and my detour excursions. They’d be just as happy to skip it and head to the venue for a cold one and early load in. We paid $10 to park and walked a couple blocks to the sacred ground, with 2 “X”s on the street where each bullet hit. It is a bizarre feeling to stand in a spot you’ve seen a million times on TV but never actually in person. We snapped a few pics of the window of the building that Oswald (supposedly) shot Kennedy from, the grassy knoll, some surrounding monuments and fountains, looked at each other with the same look we had at the Alamo, said “yup, ok,” and walked back to the van.
We drove the couple short miles to the Deep Ellum district of Dallas, a freed-man’s area after the Civil war turned into an entertainment center with music venues, restaurants, tattoo parlors, and stuff like that. The Armoury, D.E. sits in the middle of it all, and is a super cool joint. It’s got a sort of Hungarian/Transylvanian theme, including the menu, with weird Dracula art all over the place. We set up on the stage on the patio out back and ordered some food. I got the Pannonia Charred Octopus, served with potatoes and Hungarian bologna and paprika dip and a Lone Star tall boy. It was amazing!
I took a quick lap around the neighborhood to help the food digest, called TrooperGirl22 who was in a bit of sticker shock about some mail that showed how much my new tooth implant is going to cost us, but still unwavering in her insistence that she’ll not be seen with a toothless rock star for the rest of her life. Back at the Armoury my close, dear friends Jeff and Amy White showed up. They’re two of my favorite people, even though they’re republicans, and the rare times we can actually hang out are really special. We had a few laughs and a couple drinks. Jeff and I talked some Cowboys and Lions, and I made sure he knows that he's not great at giving gambling advice (jk haha). Another friend of mine from my high school days in Marquette, Wanda, showed up with her boyfriend Travis and I’d not seen her for over a decade, so that was amazing too! Pretty soon the Amy camp and the Wanda camp were acquainted and getting along stellarly.
Up first were Long Black Car, a five piece punk rock band in the fashion of a dirty Rolling Stones meets the Dead Boys. They were each super nice dudes and they put on a fantastic show. Their singer was jumping on tables and running around like he was at The Greystone in Detroit back in the 80s. It was awesome. We played second to a pretty decent crowd, especially for a Tuesday night. I’m having some hear issues with my rig and really need a few minutes that I haven’t had to tighten some bolts and lock down some pedals. Other than that we played pretty well and had a blast up there. After us was The Mullens. These guys were a little less punk, but still had elements of that. They reminded me of The Lyres from Boston, and an edgy version of The Kinks. They’re just back from a California run and tight as hell, with great songs and a pro stage presence. Great band, and we were honored to play between them and Long Black Car.
We sold a little merch, packed up, and loaded out. I traded a few war stories with our waiter Jeremy who’d played Michigan a few times himself. I bid a teary and emotional goodbye to Amy and Jeff, who were fit to be poured into an Uber and back to their hotel, and Wanda and Travis, who were so cool to make it out on a school night to hang with us. I love you all!
Jake took the wheel and got us out of Dallas. We were on fumes so we stopped at a 24 hour Fuel City and got gas and tacos before we made it back to our dive motel in Terrell, Texas. THANKS to The Armoury, The Mullens, Long Black Car, and everyone who was there!
We’re off to Tuscaloosa now, leaving Texas after four fun shows. It’s gonna be a marathon drive today and I’ll be at the wheel. I intend to play as much heavy metal as possible. See ya tonight at Druid City Brewing Company for a couple sets as we start to work our way back east! Thanks for reading, rushing to leave town today so sorry for any typos. xx
October 18, 2023 - Tuscaloosa, Alabama
We left our dive motel in Terrel, Texas (pronounced like Darryl, not tear-elle, as my Texas friends quickly pointed out) at an early 9am after a late, rambunctious night in Dallas with a daunting 8+ hour drive staring us down. I took the wheel and did the drive without any issue. We hit the Louisiana border at noon and the Mississippi border at 2pm. Crossing the Mississippi River into Vicksburg was alarming. The river is so low that there’s about 100 or more yards of sand on each shore, exposing what should be underwater in normal times. I’ve crossed this river more times than I can count and I’ve never seen it this low. When SlugBug toured in the 90s we played Saint Louis on the heels of a great flood, with the water about 2 steps below the foot of the arch. This is the polar opposite. We gulped down some Arby’s along the way and saw a nearby combo mobile-meth-lab-BBQ-joint-used-tire encampment in the adjacent woods. Hell yeah, Mississippi! Gabriel was intrigued (about each element), I was scared.
Anyhow, it was a beautiful day, the drive was pleasant and spirits were high. The boys napped a bit and we cranked all sorts of tunes – James Brown, Big Thief, All. I cranked Grim Reaper’s See You In Hell album that I ripped from vinyl last week for just such an occasion. Not sure Jacob was impressed but Gabriel didn’t seem to mind. As we crossed into Alabama I put on a Jason Isbell playlist I made of my favorite stuff from his solo albums and got the feels a little bit connecting some of those lyrics into my own life and the people around me. Something about listening to “Alabama Pines” while you’re actually driving through Alabama pines… Good music does that. Roadkill sightings included a fox, a deer, an opossum, a raccoon, and a couple armadillos. Gabriel got eyes one armadillo looking to cross the freeway, most likely adding to that toll for future drivers.
We checked into our dive motel on the south side of Tuscaloosa a little after five and were surprised to see the accommodations a good couple grades up from our normal dive motels. The two suns even shine on a wamprat’s ass some of the time I guess. We’ll forgive them for only having decaf in the room, settling for some nice, clean beds and space to stretch out. No time for dallying though, a quick splash of the face and change out of the civvies into show gear and it was off the venue.
We played Druid City Brewing Company last year, almost to the day, and had a great time. Sunday through Wednesday is always tough on tour, so you set expectations accordingly and just hope for the best. A small handful of people is often the best you can do, and frankly we over-achieved in Austin and Dallas earlier this week. We were greeted by a couple familiar faces and bellied up to the bar for food and pints. Operations have moved since last year, across the street. We weren’t playing on a cement floor in front of the beer vats now, it was a legit band room with a killer PA, a stage, lights, and cosmic murals ceiling to floor. I got what amounts to their meat-lovers pie with all sorts of beef and pork on it, and added raw onions. Great thin-crust pizza! The red IPA was Jake and my favorite. I called TrooperGirl22 while the boys were finishing up dinner and got caught up about what’s up in Michigan and it seems like the world is still turning above the sweet tea line.
We loaded in and sound-checked. My gear is in varying states of falling apart so I did what I could to do as far as some maintenance, but I really need some serious time to deal with it. The nut has fallen off of my Orange ABY switch – it’s been stripped since we left but not it’s just gone. My Wampler Paisley overdrive pedal is fading in and out at random. I zip-tied it into place but it only helped a little so I will try replacing the patch tonight. And one of the nuts holding my guitar stand is missing so the bolt is barely hanging on. We’re gonna try to get to a Home Depot today to get that fixed. Can’t have your guitar stand falling apart.
On a more optimistic note I’ve clearly rounded the corner on my emancipated tooth antibiotic-induced digestion issues, which is something I’m very grateful to have behind me, but I snagged my already torn-up fingernail and ripped a corner of it off, leaving some exposed flesh beneath and a little spur of hard skin that sends a sharp pain through my hand whenever it comes in contact with anything. It seems a little better this morning, but holding a pick was a bit of a challenge last night.
We played for about an hour and a half last night. There weren’t many there, but we did have some bodies in the room and a few more coming in and out throughout the set to check us out. It’s a LOUD room, and they seemed grateful that we offer up free earplugs at our merch table. Not much else to say about that – these weeknights are what they are and you just do what you can. Bo and his staff (and patrons) at Druid City are some of the friendliest around. They all remembered us from last year and were so welcoming. One dude was so pleased with his skulls tee shirt he got last year – he said he “wore the shit out of it” and it still looks great. Thanks for carrying the torch dude! Can’t find a better place for a weeknight show, and we’ll certainly be back if they’ll have us.
I drove back to the dive motel, which makes sense after brewery gigs as I’m not a big beer guy. It was abnormally early – not even 11pm yet – so we fired up some tunes, poured a whiskey, and hung out for an hour before crashing out. I got a solid 7 hours of sleep, which was needed and welcome. Lobby coffee now, and some bookwork before we head out. Three more nights – Memphis, Lexington, and Akron. Super excited to play Growlers tonight in Memphis with The Eastwoods and Orion Overstreet. Jake’s already talking BBQ again, and I’m half hoping to get a peek at the Lorraine Motel if it’s convenient, but I haven’t told the boys yet so shhhh.
Xx JP
October 19, 2023 - Memphis, Tennessee
Our day started with breakfast at the IHOP in Tuscaloosa. If you know me, you know I’ve never had a bad meal at an Ihop. This time they got the poached eggs right – nice and runny. It was a perfectly good meal. A final coffee and a little flirting with the waitresses and we jetted across the street to Lowe’s to get some hardware to fix my self-destructing guitar stand. Jacob and I went in, grabbed a wing nut, a bag of locking washers, and a few bolts (just in case) and from there we pointed the van north for the beginning of our three-night journey home. I fixed the guitar stand in route while Gabriel was driving and we rocked out to some L'Rain, Robbie Fulks, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, then heading into Memphis, Lucero (of course) and Jason Ringenberg.
Our AirBnb was a complicated puzzle of keypad gates and doors, elevators, hallways, stairs, parking permits, and rollaway beds. It’s also bright pink with a giant leather princess chair and neon signs that say “hellogorgerous” and “You’re Like…Beautiful.” Jake’s taking the retro art-deco couch, Gabriel’s got the bedroom, and I’m taking the rollaway. It was shaping up to be a long night. We wasted no time and headed out for some Memphis BBQ.
The Cozy Corner BBQ is a cinder block and corrugated metal structure down a lonely city road just off downtown Memphis. We ordered various incarnations and quantities of ribs and ate like kings for a few minutes. I’d eaten and Rendezvous Ribs many years ago with TrooperGirl22 and we didn’t love it. These were great and I’d go back again for sure.
From there we drove over to Growler’s, our venue for the night. It was the dojo where Elvis practiced karate for a time, and it’s still owned by the same sensei and has a lot of the same décor. Bryson, the promoter for the show, had a pretty amazing set of photos he showed me of Elvis and his sensei, and one of Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee in the building. It’s a great room with a sizeable stage in the corner and a bar along two walls. We loaded in, met the staff, including our sound engineer Jay, and sound-checked. It sounded awesome. We talked to the other band a bit, The Eastwoods, and opener Orion Overstreet who went on a little after eight. The crowd was sparse, and it wasn’t the winner show we were hoping for. We’ve started a version of the Drive-By Truckers’ song “Decoration Day” called “Explanation Day” with each verse citing lines we’ve heard about empty clubs. “It’s explanation day… all the bars are slow today…” “There’s a festival in town today…” “It’s always quiet this time of years…” “It was packed last Saturday…” “Archers of Loaf are playing their reunion show on the next block…” “There’s a street festival and everyone’s tired…” We’ve heard `em all. Anyhow, Orion was wonderful – singing her operatic folk music with an acoustic guitar and a banjo.
After us The Eastwoods went on and we really dug those guys. They reminded me of Dirty South-era Drive-By Truckers and had some other cowpunk, alt-country, and southern rock influences too. Guitarist Connor plays a mean slide that adds a cool element to their sound, and singer Kyle leads the rodeo through the set. Their stuff sits perfectly with a good chunk of my record collection. We had a good chat afterwards and vowed to play together again, hoping for a better result.
We loaded out, licked our wounds, and scurried back to our AirBnB, where a healthy rat was running around between cars as we walked in. There was some feasting on leftovers (us, not the rat), and a quick nightcap before crashing out. “Let’s check out this rollaway.” Crack-clunk-bang. Crooked, tilty and rickety. Missing 2 of the wheels, so it rocked front to back. The end legs wouldn’t lock into the brackets. Unsleepable. I set up the one in the storage closet, which was much more stable, and slept in there. Honestly…I’ve slept on worse beds for sure. It was weird sleeping in a prison cell isolation unit-like dark room with absolutely nothing in it, but I got a few hours.
Not too much exciting to write about today. The travel was routine and show was a drag for the most part. They’re not all winners, and it’s not all hookers, drugs, and parties, folks. We’re glad we met The Eastwoods and here’s to a better show next time. We loved the room and wouldn’t even rule out a return there.
Today we’re off to our favoritest road city Lexington, Kentucky. Can’t wait to see my brother NP Presley and hear his new band and hang with our many friends there. We are due for a winner, so let’s do this Lexington! Xx
October 20, 2023 - Lexington, Kentucky
Before we left out AIrBB in Memphis I darted over to see the Lorraine Motel, which was a couple blocks from where we were staying. It’s sacred ground, the location of the assassination of MLK, and a spot I’ve not been able to visit on my many previous times in Memphis. It’s now attached to a museum and somewhat converted to a monument to civil rights, but preserved very well and easily accessible. I took a few photos and tried to take in the moment before heading back to scoop up the boys. It’s not lost on me that touring has afforded me the ability to see so many great and important places, and I try not to take it for granted.
We were on a fairly downer roll after a couple slow nights and a lot of driving so what better to lift the spirits than another seven-hour drive and a shitty fast food breakfast? We got to McDonalds at 10:31am and sorry, it’s a Big Mac or squat. We got coffees and went over to Wendy’s where yay! They’re still serving breakfast! We stood there for at least 10 minutes while the kid behind the counter leaned up against the fryer looking at his phone, listening carefully for his approaching manager so he could act busy. Every employee looked at us but no one could be bothered to tell the person who was to take our order to do just that. Eventually she came out and said “We ain’t servin’ that. It’s after 10:30. What you want?” as we looked up at the menu off breakfast sandwiches and hash brown sticks. Eventually they flipped them over to burgers and chicken sandwiches. She wrote our orders down on paper, took it away with Gabriel’s credit card, and brought the card back a minute later, no receipt, no words, just thanks for your money sucker. Not what we wanted but we were already 40 minutes into this miserable debacle and we had miles to make up, so I got TrooperGirl22’s favorite – the Son of Baconator. It sucked – dry and cold, void of taste, and just plain pathetic. Knowing her standards, they have to normally be better than that. Not the attitude adjustment we needed.
Jacob drove through Nashville, out of Tennessee, into Kentucky, past the National Corvette Museum with the sinkhole, through Lexington, and up to our dive motel in Georgetown. We got a free glazed donut at some BP/donut shop for filling up the van, so thought I’d ride that potential wave of changing good fortune and added in a couple Betty Boop scratch-offs. First one was a dud. I’ll do the second today. We checked in to the motel, changed and headed back into the city to meet our pal J Tyler for dinner at a local institution – Winchell's. We go way back with J Tyler, from when he was in Those Crosstown Rivals, and we toured together back in 2014. It’s always great to see him and the conversation is never dull. He’s got a way with words, and when I told him I was eying up the fried oyster po’ boy but I was concerned about lingering digestion issues, he said “Sounds to me like you got nothing to lose!” so that was that. The last two fried oyster po’ poys I got were terrible, so I was trepidatious, but it was really great – hot and bulky and super yum.
Over at The Green Lantern Bar there were a line of dudes waiting to help us load in. Aaah Kentucky, you always rule! That went quickly and we arranged our stuff and set up whatever we could before the show started. Bumped into many friends – Jake and D'Arcy, Chandler Tex Dynamite, and my brother Nate NP Presley. I love these people and Lexington has always been our second home. First up was Haiku Seppuku, which is Tex’ new band, with Nate on drums. It was their first show and they played a short, killer set of alternative/punk that reminded me at times of Jawbreaker. Great stuff! Next up was Mayking, Nate now playing bass. These guys were a bit less punk and a bit more indie sounding, with a Moog keyboard in the middle. They were well rehearsed and had great songs and arrangements – another fantastic set from another new Lexington band!
We went on around 11 to a great crowd and did our best to burn the joint down. People were cheering and singing along, raising beers and throwing devil horns, and rooting us on. We had a blast up there and called some location-specific audibles. As always, we closed with our tribute to the people of Lexington – “Hey Kentucky” – with an audience participation outro. Super awesome!
Hilights of playing this area are never complete until we see our buds Vibrolas – Leila and Chris. We go back with them over a decade too, and they’re awesome people. This time, however, there was extra cause to celebrate as Chris presented me with a refurbished Silvertone guitar that he’s been working on for me for, well… a long time. I couldn’t believe it. It’s a work of art, he did an AMAZING job, and it made me sooo happy to finally lay hands on it! I paid $10 for the neck and body when I was in high school and it spent many winters in a frozen garage in Marquette, Michigan – hardly a place you’d want to store a stringed instrument. I gave it to him when we did a Michigan run with them back in 2014 and said “do what ya’ can, man” and all expectations and hopes were exceeded. It needs a little break-in time before it’ll see a stage, but maybe next weekend in Detroit. Dude, THANK YOU!
Back at the motel we’ve now got six guitars to take into the room. We had a nightcap and wished our TV worked. We needed a win after a couple stinkers and Lexington never, ever disappoints. THANK YOU to the Green Lantern, the bands, Nate, and all our friends who were there, too many to mention. You are a huge part of this band and we love you.
As we were getting ready to crash, just after 3am, Jake noticed that the headlining band for our show tonight in Akron, Ohio – the last show of our tour – has cancelled. That’s a kiss of death for a touring band in a new city, but the show will go on and we’ll do our best. Another kick in the nuts, and another line for our DBT parody song “Explanation Day.” I try to give you guys the shit right next to the glory, and there’s pretty much equal or more parts shit. Thing happen, you gotta roll with it. See ya tonight Akron – let’s wrap it up in style! Xx
October 21, 2023 - Akron, Ohio
We left our dive motel in Georgetown, Kentucky a bit worse for the wear, but in high spirits after the much needed great show in Lexington the night before. We had breakfast at the adjacent Waffle House, or the “Awful Waffle,” as it’s called if you’re in the know. It had been a while. The food wasn’t bad but the place was filthy – every surface was sticky – the floor, the counter, the laminated-place mat menus, the cups and mugs. Anyhow, it went down ok and we were soon on our way north with me at the wheel, Gabriel at shotgun, and Jacob in the back. They were both out pretty quick so I put on Juliana Hatfield’s Only Everything album, popped Fantasy-flavored HI-CHEWs every 15 minutes to keep me awake, and drove over the Ohio River, Cincinnati, and above the Sweet Tea Line for the first time in a week and a half. We’ve had blue, sunny skies since we crossed the Sweet Tea line into Missouri last Friday, and like clockwork, they turned grey and rainy when we crossed back over yesterday. The boys woke up around Columbus and it wasn’t long before we were checking into our dive motel north of Akron. The clerk tried to pull some “You can’t get the member price on two rooms” horse shit on me but I wasn’t having it, having done that in the 100s of times before. He acquiesced and we settled in for an hour or two.
Dinner options were limited so we ended up at this sports bar and grill called On Tap Medina I had a turkey and Swiss on a pretzel bun that wasn’t bad, and we watched Iowa win over Minnesota in the final seconds of the game. 20 minutes down the road and we were loaded into Buzzbin. This venue used to be in Canton, Ohio, and we played there a few years ago. Our pal Scott was on the sidewalk to greet us and inside we were happy to see Dawn and Elizabeth and say hello to Brian Lisik and his band. It’s on older building in the Kennmore neighborhood of Akron, a long room with a bar on the left side and a tall stage against the front. They had the Replacements’ Saturday Night Live poster hanging and played cool 80s punk for house music.
There was a local headliner booked to play the show but they unexpectedly cancelled, as we found out via a Facebook post at 3am the night before. When you’re a touring band in a new city and the local headliner cancels, it’s pretty much a kiss of death, so we knew we were now heading into a slow night. Brian Lisik and Hard Legs bassist wasn’t able to make the show but they showed up to play anyway, which we were very grateful for. They have some smart tunes with good hooks and Brian is a solid singer. Their guitarist Rob plays a Dr. Z amp, like me, and we bonded over tone for a bit. We’ll be crossing paths with them again sometime, and while they sounded great, I’ll be looking forward to seeing them with a bassist!
We played after them and did or best to rock the joint despite the barren landscape. We always try to never phone it in, if there’s three people there or 300. We felt like we played pretty well and it sounded ok. The microphone I was using had a windscreen (the grill-like ball at the end) that was frayed and torn and mid-set it caught the edge of my nostril as I sang a line and pulled away. That hurt like holy hell and I was seeing stars for a second, but the show goes on. After the set we sold a little merch, which we’re always grateful for, mingled a bit with our friends and the owner, Julia, who was dressed like Uma Thurman from Kill Bill, had a nightcap, loaded out and headed back to our motel.
Back in our room I heated up my leftover macaroni & cheese from dinner and left it in a little too long melting the Styrofoam a bit. Oh well, down the hatch. Probably not going to be what kills me. We watched a little Harold and Kumar and crashed out around 2am. This morning I went out to load up the guitars (we always bring the guitars into our room overnight) and had to back the van out a little to open the back doors. Hmm, that’s odd – says the rear passenger door is open. Yup, the side door to the van was wide open all night, leaving our gear exposed for anyone to help themselves. Holy Christ that could have been a disaster, and I was so grateful nothing was gone. I was sitting back there on the drive back from the bar, so I guess it’s on me. That’s a first, and hopefully a last. We grabbed a quick breakfast at McDonalds and now we’re on the Ohio Turnpike heading back towards Michigan.
And that’s a wrap on our October tour. Pretty typical in the end, with the first 2/3 being pretty solid but three of the last four shows not being great. We drove through 10 states, crossed the Mississippi River twice, played 10 shows in 10 days, ate some incredible food, saw some great friends and made a few more, saw some armadillo road kills, a giant bald eagle, the Alamo, Dealy Plaza, and the Lorraine Motel. We’re very much looking forward to getting home to our homes, wives, beds, and lives. But here’s to rock and roll. It ain’t always pretty but we ain’t done yet. Thanks for reading. Xx
Jeremy Porter lives near Detroit and fronts the rock and roll band Jeremy Porter And The Tucos. Follow them on Facebook to read his road blog about their adventures on the dive-bar circuit.
www.thetucos.com
www.facebook.com/jeremyportermusic
www.rockandrollrestrooms.com
Twitter: @jeremyportermi | Instagram: @onetogive & @jeremyportermusic
In Music Tags Jeremy Porter, Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, Touring, VanLife, Gabriel Doman, Jake Riley, Champaign, North Little Rock, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Texas, Dallas, Austin, Tuscaloosa, Memphis, Lexington, Nate Presley, Akron, Bottlecap Mountain, The Mullens, Long Black Car, JFK, The Alamo, MLK, Lorraine Motel
The Daily Beacon (Knoxville, TN)
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos Return to Knoxville!
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, a rock and roll band from Detroit, MI, make their return to Knoxville on November 17th at Scruffy City Hall!
November 07, 2023
External Link
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, a rock and roll band from Detroit, MI, make their return to Knoxville on November 17th at Scruffy City Hall!
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos bring their Detroit Rock and Roll and Fall 2023 tour to the Scruffy City Hall in Knoxville on November 17th. This is The Tucos’ sixth show in Knoxville and their first at Scruffy City. They’re out supporting their new single “Five-Foot-Three and Tiger Eyes,” available now on I-94 recordings as part of their Detroit Covers series.
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos have been at it since 2010, flying the Michigan flag while playing the dive-bar circuit, breweries, clubs, theatres, and festivals across the US, Canada, and the UK. They’ve been compared to your favorite bands – The Replacements, The Plimsouls, Cheap Trick, Uncle Tupelo, X – but their sound is very much their own.
http://www.thetucos.com/
https://jeremyporter.bandcamp.com/
http://www.youtube.com/jeremyportermusic
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos bring their Detroit Rock and Roll and Fall 2023 tour to the Scruffy City Hall in Knoxville on November 17th. This is The Tucos’ sixth show in Knoxville and their first at Scruffy City. They’re out supporting their new single “Five-Foot-Three and Tiger Eyes,” available now on I-94 recordings as part of their Detroit Covers series.
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos have been at it since 2010, flying the Michigan flag while playing the dive-bar circuit, breweries, clubs, theatres, and festivals across the US, Canada, and the UK. They’ve been compared to your favorite bands – The Replacements, The Plimsouls, Cheap Trick, Uncle Tupelo, X – but their sound is very much their own.
http://www.thetucos.com/
https://jeremyporter.bandcamp.com/
http://www.youtube.com/jeremyportermusic
City Beat (Cincinnati, OH)
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos Return to Cincinnati!
November 08, 2023 External Link
November 08, 2023 External Link
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos bring their Detroit Rock and Roll and Fall 2023 tour to Fretboard Brewing in Cincinnati on November 18th. They’re out supporting their new single “Five-Foot-Three and Tiger Eyes,” available now on I-94 records as part of their Detroit Covers series. Jeremy Porter and The Tucos have been at it since 2010, flying the Michigan flag while playing the dive bars, breweries, clubs, theatres, and festivals across the US, Canada, and the UK. They’ve been compared to The Replacements, The Plimsouls, Cheap Trick, Uncle Tupelo, X – but their sound is very much their own.
Visit Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos bring their Detroit Rock and Roll and Fall 2023 tour to the Scruffy City Hall in Knoxville on November 17th. This is The Tucos’ sixth show in Knoxville and their first at Scruffy City. They’re out supporting their new single “Five-Foot-Three and Tiger Eyes,” available now on I-94 records as part of their Detroit Covers series.
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos have been at it since 2010, flying the Michigan flag while playing the dive-bar circuit, breweries, clubs, theatres, and festivals across the US, Canada, and the UK. They’ve been compared to your favorite bands – The Replacements, The Plimsouls, Cheap Trick, Uncle Tupelo, X – but their sound is very much their own.
http://www.thetucos.com/
https://jeremyporter.bandcamp.com/
http://www.youtube.com/jeremyportermusic
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos have been at it since 2010, flying the Michigan flag while playing the dive-bar circuit, breweries, clubs, theatres, and festivals across the US, Canada, and the UK. They’ve been compared to your favorite bands – The Replacements, The Plimsouls, Cheap Trick, Uncle Tupelo, X – but their sound is very much their own.
http://www.thetucos.com/
https://jeremyporter.bandcamp.com/
http://www.youtube.com/jeremyportermusic
Pencil Storm (National)
JCE's 2023 Annual Top Ten Records List; plus Honorable Mentions, Singles & Ep's
SINGLES & EP’s:
December 30, 2023
External Link
JEREMY PORTER & THE TUCOS – FIVE FOOT THREE AND TIGER EYES b/w WHILE YOU SPIRAL
The A-side is a fantastic new original written by Jeremy Porter. The B-side is a cover of a Detroit band called The Waxwings.
Read about it here: Record Review: Five-Foot-Three and Tiger Eyes by Jeremy Porter and The Tucos — Pencil Storm
The A-side is a fantastic new original written by Jeremy Porter. The B-side is a cover of a Detroit band called The Waxwings.
Read about it here: Record Review: Five-Foot-Three and Tiger Eyes by Jeremy Porter and The Tucos — Pencil Storm
Real Gone (National)
JEREMY PORTER AND THE TUCOS
Five Foot Three & Tiger Eyes / While You Spiral
February 03, 2024
External Link
Seven years on – and following a couple of cult LPs, including a Christmas disc – Jeremy and The Tucos have actually improved, and rather dramatically. They were great before, but this two track 7” shares the work of a musical act absolutely overflowing with musical joy.
A Tucos original, ‘Five Foot Three & Tiger Eyes’ echews the roots rock of the earlier EP for some full blown power pop. Across two and a half minutes, shiny rhythm guitars bristle against a solid rhythm, and the band cast themselves in the mould of the early 80s skinny tie wearing bands, but take the style and make it their own. The lead vocals are equally bright, but a soaring backing vocal on a spirited chorus gives an already enjoyable tune a lift. Punching in with an instant feel good factor, musically speaking, it’s half a world away from the Nancy Sinatra catalogue that inspired it, but listen a little more closely and you’ll hear a pleasing 60s style production on the guitars, and the middle eight introduces a surf-ish quality that comes much closer to the era in which Nancy’s career hit its peak. The succinct playing time, too, is certainly a homage to the days of AM radio, making this a bite sized treat that should appeal to retro pop geeks everywhere.
On the flip, a version of Waxwings’ ‘While You Spiral’ is very respectful. The Tucos cling rigidly onto the chiming guitar sound that drove the original cut, but if anything, make it sound bigger with the help of a couple of briefly applied twin leads. There’s also a brief burst or two from a big guitar sound that leans towards the more psychedelic. The core of the track is modelled on the original cut, though, and although the dancing bassline is a little lower in the mix, the vocal harmonies are pin-sharp. Overall, a the jubilant feel of the song carries everything with ease. Those familiar with the original will certainly not be disappointed, and – more likely – those coming to the track for the first time will discover a power pop number that really bristles with life.
Even when measured against a couple of the other 7” releases in i-94 Records’ enjoyable “Detroit Cover Series”, Jeremy’s recordings are among the best. They don’t quite hit the heights of the brilliant Bellrays disc, but to compare such different records seems a little unfair. These tracks are almost perfect in their own way, and it’s great to hear The Tucos when they’re at their most optimistic sounding. The retro rock-pop here has a timeless appeal, and this is definitely worth having for the a-side alone, but even the cover tune shows a band that has sharpened up over the previous few years. For fans and new listeners alike, this double shot of power pop represents a must-hear.
Buy the vinyl here: Jeremy Porter and The Tucos – i-94 Detroit Cover Series 7″
A Tucos original, ‘Five Foot Three & Tiger Eyes’ echews the roots rock of the earlier EP for some full blown power pop. Across two and a half minutes, shiny rhythm guitars bristle against a solid rhythm, and the band cast themselves in the mould of the early 80s skinny tie wearing bands, but take the style and make it their own. The lead vocals are equally bright, but a soaring backing vocal on a spirited chorus gives an already enjoyable tune a lift. Punching in with an instant feel good factor, musically speaking, it’s half a world away from the Nancy Sinatra catalogue that inspired it, but listen a little more closely and you’ll hear a pleasing 60s style production on the guitars, and the middle eight introduces a surf-ish quality that comes much closer to the era in which Nancy’s career hit its peak. The succinct playing time, too, is certainly a homage to the days of AM radio, making this a bite sized treat that should appeal to retro pop geeks everywhere.
On the flip, a version of Waxwings’ ‘While You Spiral’ is very respectful. The Tucos cling rigidly onto the chiming guitar sound that drove the original cut, but if anything, make it sound bigger with the help of a couple of briefly applied twin leads. There’s also a brief burst or two from a big guitar sound that leans towards the more psychedelic. The core of the track is modelled on the original cut, though, and although the dancing bassline is a little lower in the mix, the vocal harmonies are pin-sharp. Overall, a the jubilant feel of the song carries everything with ease. Those familiar with the original will certainly not be disappointed, and – more likely – those coming to the track for the first time will discover a power pop number that really bristles with life.
Even when measured against a couple of the other 7” releases in i-94 Records’ enjoyable “Detroit Cover Series”, Jeremy’s recordings are among the best. They don’t quite hit the heights of the brilliant Bellrays disc, but to compare such different records seems a little unfair. These tracks are almost perfect in their own way, and it’s great to hear The Tucos when they’re at their most optimistic sounding. The retro rock-pop here has a timeless appeal, and this is definitely worth having for the a-side alone, but even the cover tune shows a band that has sharpened up over the previous few years. For fans and new listeners alike, this double shot of power pop represents a must-hear.
Buy the vinyl here: Jeremy Porter and The Tucos – i-94 Detroit Cover Series 7″
The Big Takeover (Global)
I-94 Singles Roundup:
Pat Tood & The Rank Outsiders – “Down At the End of Your Rope” 7”
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos – “Five-Foot-Three and Tiger Eyes” 7”
Norcors Y Horhcata – “Unkind Sometimes” 7”
Sleeveens – “UFOS” 7”
Detroit’s I-94 (the interstate connecting Ann Arbor with the Motor City) continues its excellent 7” series with smartly selected flipside Detroit covers, in different colors of vinyl – now up to a lucky 13. As Michael Toland pithily put it in issue 84, L.A.’s Lazy Cowgirls (1983-2004) mainman Todd and his Ros “rock like motherfuckers” on their smackin’ ‘n’ snortin’ rock ‘n’ roll “Down,” paired with a hard roots-rockabilly remake of the late Jimmy Boyer & The Newports’ (known by the 1962 shuffling country-flecked R&B 45 by Cennis Turner) “Little Miss Heartbreak.”
Next, Detroit’s longstanding Porter & Tucos let loose an amusing/affectionate homage to bodacious, badass living legend Nancy Sinatra, in a power-pop bounce that that the namechecked Wrecking Crew might effect directed by the late Lee Hazelwood. Their flip’s cover of The Waxwings’ 2000 Low to the Ground rocker “While You Spiral” delivers similar ringing guitar tightly played joys.
Also Detroit foursome NyH (see 2022’s Forever Dosjheveled) take a floor-tom pounding, tribal/glam/Killing Koke intro into the dirty, riotous, ornery “Unkind Sometimes,” before applying similar rude riffing into a chunky cover of Detroit punk pioneers Cineycyde’s (of 1977 “Gutless Radio” 7” infamy) 1982 I Left My Heart in Detroit City opener “Don’t Come Crying to Me.”
Finally, the pick of this littler, Nashville/Ireland’s (that’s right) Sleeveens’ “UFOs’ is methodical, mid-tempo, rock ‘n’ roll slamming like The Controllers “Electric Church” and the Weirdos “Life of Crime”! Then they ha the temerity to take on The Four Tops’ incredible Motown Holland-Dozier-Holland 1967 #4 staple “Bernadette,” as if it were a relentless, speedy punk burner by Black Market baby! Awesome! (i-94 Recordings.com)
Pat Tood & The Rank Outsiders – “Down At the End of Your Rope” 7”
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos – “Five-Foot-Three and Tiger Eyes” 7”
Norcors Y Horhcata – “Unkind Sometimes” 7”
Sleeveens – “UFOS” 7”
Detroit’s I-94 (the interstate connecting Ann Arbor with the Motor City) continues its excellent 7” series with smartly selected flipside Detroit covers, in different colors of vinyl – now up to a lucky 13. As Michael Toland pithily put it in issue 84, L.A.’s Lazy Cowgirls (1983-2004) mainman Todd and his Ros “rock like motherfuckers” on their smackin’ ‘n’ snortin’ rock ‘n’ roll “Down,” paired with a hard roots-rockabilly remake of the late Jimmy Boyer & The Newports’ (known by the 1962 shuffling country-flecked R&B 45 by Cennis Turner) “Little Miss Heartbreak.”
Next, Detroit’s longstanding Porter & Tucos let loose an amusing/affectionate homage to bodacious, badass living legend Nancy Sinatra, in a power-pop bounce that that the namechecked Wrecking Crew might effect directed by the late Lee Hazelwood. Their flip’s cover of The Waxwings’ 2000 Low to the Ground rocker “While You Spiral” delivers similar ringing guitar tightly played joys.
Also Detroit foursome NyH (see 2022’s Forever Dosjheveled) take a floor-tom pounding, tribal/glam/Killing Koke intro into the dirty, riotous, ornery “Unkind Sometimes,” before applying similar rude riffing into a chunky cover of Detroit punk pioneers Cineycyde’s (of 1977 “Gutless Radio” 7” infamy) 1982 I Left My Heart in Detroit City opener “Don’t Come Crying to Me.”
Finally, the pick of this littler, Nashville/Ireland’s (that’s right) Sleeveens’ “UFOs’ is methodical, mid-tempo, rock ‘n’ roll slamming like The Controllers “Electric Church” and the Weirdos “Life of Crime”! Then they ha the temerity to take on The Four Tops’ incredible Motown Holland-Dozier-Holland 1967 #4 staple “Bernadette,” as if it were a relentless, speedy punk burner by Black Market baby! Awesome! (i-94 Recordings.com)
EPNews (Boulder, CO)
Jeremy Porter - Dynamite Alley Solo-Acoustic Tour - Live in Boulder
Rosetta Hall
September 01, 2024
External Link
Oct 14 at 6:00PM - 10:00PM
Rosetta Hall
1109 Walnut St
Boulder
Jeremy Porter (Solo-Acoustic)
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You'll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It's Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn't quite ready for it.
Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small town in Michigan's upper peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP's first punk bands - The Regulars. He moved to Detroit and tore through the 90s and 00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych (as well as a solo stint) though 2 decades of recording and touring before forming The Tucos in 2009. Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Jake Riley (Big Shoals, Matt Woods Band) round out the trio.
• JP & The Tucos have released 4 full-length LPs, 5 7"s and a slew of contributions to comps.
• They've toured the US and Canada multiple times - playing festivals, theaters, clubs, corner bars and coffee shops pretty much everywhere east of the Rockies. They toured the UK in 2018, playing nine shows in nine nights, including two in London and an appearance at the Swansea Fringe Festival in Wales.
• They've become one of the go-to support acts for national acts coming through Detroit, opening for Soul Asylum, Lydia Loveless, Beach Slang, Supersuckers, Jesse Malin, Deadstring Brothers, Two Cow Garage, Whitey Morgan, American Aquarium, Tim Barry, Old Man Markley and many more.
• "Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years" available now on 3xCD individually and as a collection.
• • Bottled Regrets: The Best of the First Ten Years
• • Castaways: Rarities and B-Sides from the First Ten Years
• • Patty's Not Impressed: Live in Toronto
Rosetta Hall
1109 Walnut St
Boulder
Jeremy Porter (Solo-Acoustic)
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You'll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It's Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn't quite ready for it.
Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small town in Michigan's upper peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP's first punk bands - The Regulars. He moved to Detroit and tore through the 90s and 00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych (as well as a solo stint) though 2 decades of recording and touring before forming The Tucos in 2009. Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Jake Riley (Big Shoals, Matt Woods Band) round out the trio.
• JP & The Tucos have released 4 full-length LPs, 5 7"s and a slew of contributions to comps.
• They've toured the US and Canada multiple times - playing festivals, theaters, clubs, corner bars and coffee shops pretty much everywhere east of the Rockies. They toured the UK in 2018, playing nine shows in nine nights, including two in London and an appearance at the Swansea Fringe Festival in Wales.
• They've become one of the go-to support acts for national acts coming through Detroit, opening for Soul Asylum, Lydia Loveless, Beach Slang, Supersuckers, Jesse Malin, Deadstring Brothers, Two Cow Garage, Whitey Morgan, American Aquarium, Tim Barry, Old Man Markley and many more.
• "Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years" available now on 3xCD individually and as a collection.
• • Bottled Regrets: The Best of the First Ten Years
• • Castaways: Rarities and B-Sides from the First Ten Years
• • Patty's Not Impressed: Live in Toronto
EverOut Portland (Portland, OR)
Jeremy Porter
October 01, 2024 External Link
October 01, 2024 External Link
Detroit-based singer/songwriter Jeremy Porter, best known for his work fronting Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, is playing Portland for the first time on October 10th at the Guilded Raccoon Wine Lounge. Jeremy is out supporting his new album Dynamite Alley, released in September on GTG Records, touring the western and midwestern US and Canada this fall. The album is Porter’s first solo effort since 2019’s 1987 EP, and features friends from around the Detroit area and beyond, including members of The Wild Honey Collective, Drive-By Truckers, GC5, and more.
“The Pacific Northwest and Western states have been on my list for a few years now, so I’m really excited to be playing out there this fall!” Porter says. “I haven’t toured solo-acoustic in years, and this material lends itself well to that, and with The Tucos tied up in the recording studio, the time was right to get out that way.”
The Dynamite Alley 2024 Solo-Acoustic Tour will take Jeremy to Seattle, Portland, Boise, Salt Lake City, Denver, Laramie, Bozeman, Spokane, and Seattle, with Canadian shows in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Tillsonburg, and Midwest stops in Akron, Dayton, and Detroit. Jeremy will pull material from his solo releases as well as converted-to-acoustic selections from his bands The Tucos, The OffRamps. Fidrych, and SlugBug. The audience can expect a diverse set including some upbeat numbers, some slower, introspective songs, and depending on the night, a couple choice covers.
Jeremy Porter (Detroit, Michigan) Solo-Acoustic
Thursday, October 10th from 6 to 7 PM
The Guilded Raccoon
1910 N Killingsworth Street – Portland, Oregon
21+ Free
For more information about the shows and links to listen to his music and see his videos, please visit www.jeremyportermusic.com.
“The Pacific Northwest and Western states have been on my list for a few years now, so I’m really excited to be playing out there this fall!” Porter says. “I haven’t toured solo-acoustic in years, and this material lends itself well to that, and with The Tucos tied up in the recording studio, the time was right to get out that way.”
The Dynamite Alley 2024 Solo-Acoustic Tour will take Jeremy to Seattle, Portland, Boise, Salt Lake City, Denver, Laramie, Bozeman, Spokane, and Seattle, with Canadian shows in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Tillsonburg, and Midwest stops in Akron, Dayton, and Detroit. Jeremy will pull material from his solo releases as well as converted-to-acoustic selections from his bands The Tucos, The OffRamps. Fidrych, and SlugBug. The audience can expect a diverse set including some upbeat numbers, some slower, introspective songs, and depending on the night, a couple choice covers.
Jeremy Porter (Detroit, Michigan) Solo-Acoustic
Thursday, October 10th from 6 to 7 PM
The Guilded Raccoon
1910 N Killingsworth Street – Portland, Oregon
21+ Free
For more information about the shows and links to listen to his music and see his videos, please visit www.jeremyportermusic.com.
Thoughts Words Action (Croatia)
Jeremy Porter And The Tucos – Five-Foot-Three And Tiger Eyes 7" (I-94 Recordings)
October 10, 2024 External Link
October 10, 2024 External Link
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos continue their journey with the Five-Foot-Three and Tiger Eyes 7", the tenth installment in the I-94 Recordings’ Detroit Covers Series. Known for their signature blend of power pop, punk, Americana, and indie rock, this Michigan-based trio once again proves why they’re a staple of the local music scene. The single features an original track on the A-side and a cover of a Detroit power pop classic on the B-side, perfectly balancing their knack for storytelling with their ability to breathe new life into an old favorite.
The A-side track, “Five-Foot-Three and Tiger Eyes,” is a high-energy, upbeat power pop anthem with a punk rock edge, bringing to mind bands like X, Cheap Trick, or The Replacements. The song is a perfect example of their’ ability to blend different genres while staying true to their sound. From the first riff, the guitars drive the song forward with a bright power pop tone, layered with just enough distortion to give it that rough-around-the-edges feel that’s essential in punk-influenced rock. Vocally, Jeremy Porter’s performance is heartfelt and infectious. His voice carries a sense of familiarity, like a storyteller spinning a tale in a dive bar, and his delivery is full of warmth and personality. The lyrics center around a girl named Nancy, giving the song a personal, almost nostalgic feel, as if you’re hearing a story that’s been passed around for years. The hooks are undeniable, with melodic guitar lines that stick with you long after the song ends. Behind Porter’s vocals and guitar work, bassist Jake Riley provides a vivid foundation with melodic and punchy basslines, locking in with Gabriel Doman’s tight, powerful drumming. Riley’s contributions don’t stop there, his harmonies elevate the track, adding layers of depth and warmth that push it beyond your typical power pop number. The song’s production, helmed by drummer Gabriel Doman and mixed by Tim Patalan, is crisp and dynamic, allowing every instrument to shine without sacrificing the raw energy of a live performance. It’s clear that attention to detail was a priority, yet the band’s characteristic looseness and spontaneity are left intact, ensuring that the track feels immediate and alive.
The B-side, a cover of The Waxwings’ “While You Spiral,” takes a slightly different approach. The Waxwings were a beloved Detroit power pop band from the turn of the century, and Jeremy Porter and The Tucos do justice to the original while adding their own spin. The Tucos’ rendition is a little rougher around the edges, injected with more grit and attitude, while still honoring the melodic brilliance of the original. Porter’s guitar work on this track is once again stellar, balancing riffs with bursts of distortion, creating a sound that’s both polished and raw. The song’s pacing is tight and brisk, yet there’s a certain laid-back feel that gives it a sense of ease, like the band could play this one all day and never tire of it. The addition of Riley’s harmonies further distinguishes this version from the original, adding a richness to the vocal arrangement that wasn’t present in The Waxwings’ version. The decision to cover The Waxwings feels like a natural fit for Jeremy Porter and The Tucos. Both bands share a love for melody-driven rock with a punk attitude, and the cover works both as a tribute and as a reinterpretation. While The Waxwings’ version has a more ethereal, dream-like quality, The Tucos turn up the energy and inject a bit more “piss and vinegar,” as Porter himself put it, without losing the song’s inherent charm. What makes this single particularly compelling is the way it showcases their ability to blend different genres into a cohesive sound that feels uniquely their own.
You can hear influences from power pop, punk rock, and Americana, but none of those elements dominate. Instead, they coexist in a way that makes each song feel fresh and engaging. Whether they’re telling a story about a girl named Nancy or reimagining a Detroit power pop classic, The Tucos manage to bring their signature energy and authenticity to every track. There’s also a sense of locality that runs through the entire release. The Detroit Covers Series highlights the interconnectedness of the city’s musical legacy, and Jeremy Porter and The Tucos are more than up to the task of carrying that legacy forward. Their passion for their hometown scene is evident, and it adds an extra layer of meaning to the music. Whether you’re drawn to the infectious melodies, the gritty guitar work, or the heartfelt lyrics, this 7” offers something for everyone. The combination of a catchy, original A-side and a lovingly reworked B-side makes this release a must-have for fans of power pop, punk rock, and anyone who appreciates the intersection of melody and attitude. This 7" exemplifies Jeremy Porter and The Tucos’ versatility as musicians and their commitment to craft and their local scene. If you’re looking for a blend of heartfelt storytelling, punchy riffs, and a dash of Detroit grit, Five-Foot-Three and Tiger Eyes is well worth a spin. Head to I-94 Recordings for more information about ordering.
The A-side track, “Five-Foot-Three and Tiger Eyes,” is a high-energy, upbeat power pop anthem with a punk rock edge, bringing to mind bands like X, Cheap Trick, or The Replacements. The song is a perfect example of their’ ability to blend different genres while staying true to their sound. From the first riff, the guitars drive the song forward with a bright power pop tone, layered with just enough distortion to give it that rough-around-the-edges feel that’s essential in punk-influenced rock. Vocally, Jeremy Porter’s performance is heartfelt and infectious. His voice carries a sense of familiarity, like a storyteller spinning a tale in a dive bar, and his delivery is full of warmth and personality. The lyrics center around a girl named Nancy, giving the song a personal, almost nostalgic feel, as if you’re hearing a story that’s been passed around for years. The hooks are undeniable, with melodic guitar lines that stick with you long after the song ends. Behind Porter’s vocals and guitar work, bassist Jake Riley provides a vivid foundation with melodic and punchy basslines, locking in with Gabriel Doman’s tight, powerful drumming. Riley’s contributions don’t stop there, his harmonies elevate the track, adding layers of depth and warmth that push it beyond your typical power pop number. The song’s production, helmed by drummer Gabriel Doman and mixed by Tim Patalan, is crisp and dynamic, allowing every instrument to shine without sacrificing the raw energy of a live performance. It’s clear that attention to detail was a priority, yet the band’s characteristic looseness and spontaneity are left intact, ensuring that the track feels immediate and alive.
The B-side, a cover of The Waxwings’ “While You Spiral,” takes a slightly different approach. The Waxwings were a beloved Detroit power pop band from the turn of the century, and Jeremy Porter and The Tucos do justice to the original while adding their own spin. The Tucos’ rendition is a little rougher around the edges, injected with more grit and attitude, while still honoring the melodic brilliance of the original. Porter’s guitar work on this track is once again stellar, balancing riffs with bursts of distortion, creating a sound that’s both polished and raw. The song’s pacing is tight and brisk, yet there’s a certain laid-back feel that gives it a sense of ease, like the band could play this one all day and never tire of it. The addition of Riley’s harmonies further distinguishes this version from the original, adding a richness to the vocal arrangement that wasn’t present in The Waxwings’ version. The decision to cover The Waxwings feels like a natural fit for Jeremy Porter and The Tucos. Both bands share a love for melody-driven rock with a punk attitude, and the cover works both as a tribute and as a reinterpretation. While The Waxwings’ version has a more ethereal, dream-like quality, The Tucos turn up the energy and inject a bit more “piss and vinegar,” as Porter himself put it, without losing the song’s inherent charm. What makes this single particularly compelling is the way it showcases their ability to blend different genres into a cohesive sound that feels uniquely their own.
You can hear influences from power pop, punk rock, and Americana, but none of those elements dominate. Instead, they coexist in a way that makes each song feel fresh and engaging. Whether they’re telling a story about a girl named Nancy or reimagining a Detroit power pop classic, The Tucos manage to bring their signature energy and authenticity to every track. There’s also a sense of locality that runs through the entire release. The Detroit Covers Series highlights the interconnectedness of the city’s musical legacy, and Jeremy Porter and The Tucos are more than up to the task of carrying that legacy forward. Their passion for their hometown scene is evident, and it adds an extra layer of meaning to the music. Whether you’re drawn to the infectious melodies, the gritty guitar work, or the heartfelt lyrics, this 7” offers something for everyone. The combination of a catchy, original A-side and a lovingly reworked B-side makes this release a must-have for fans of power pop, punk rock, and anyone who appreciates the intersection of melody and attitude. This 7" exemplifies Jeremy Porter and The Tucos’ versatility as musicians and their commitment to craft and their local scene. If you’re looking for a blend of heartfelt storytelling, punchy riffs, and a dash of Detroit grit, Five-Foot-Three and Tiger Eyes is well worth a spin. Head to I-94 Recordings for more information about ordering.
The Stratton Setlist (National)
Rocky Mountain High — Detroit’s Jeremy Porter Longs for a Snowy Holiday Out West on “Colorado Christmas” Single
December 15, 2024 External Link
December 15, 2024 External Link
December 15, 2024
Rocky Mountain High — Detroit’s Jeremy Porter Longs for a Snowy Holiday Out West on “Colorado Christmas” Single
Detroit’s Jeremy Porter offers a fresh take on Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Colorado Christmas.” Photo – Noreen Porter Two years ago, Jeremy Porter discovered a hidden Christmas classic in a collection of 7-inch vinyl singles. The Detroit singer-songwriter and guitarist flipped over a “Mr. Bojangles” single for the Nitty Gritty Dirty Band and found “Colorado Christmas” on the B-side.
“Their version is solid, of course, but it was the B-side, ‘Colorado Christmas,’ that really caught my ear,” said Porter, who also fronts The Tucos. “I’m always looking for a good Christmas song to cover. I actually spent a Christmas in Colorado as a kid, so it just seemed like a natural choice.”
Porter decided to record a rendition of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Colorado Christmas” during the studio sessions for his latest alt-country album, Dynamite Alley, via GTG Records. On “Colorado Christmas,” the protagonist longs to escape Los Angeles for a snow-filled Christmas in Colorado. Surrounded by somber banjo and pedal steel, Porter sings, “Now the sun is setting in the California sky / And I can’t find the spirit anywhere / So I think it’s time for me to tell Los Angeles goodbye / I’m going back home to look for Christmas there.”
“The lyrics exploring the contradiction between winter in the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles traffic and palm trees was the icing on the cake,” Porter said.
To bring his version of “Colorado Christmas” to life, Porter teamed up with drummer David Below, bassist Jake Riley, mandolinist-vocalist Tommy McCord, vocalist Danielle Gyger, pedal steel guitarist Adam Aymor, banjoist Nick Raeon, and engineer Gabriel Doman.
“As with all of the songs on Dynamite Alley, it’s the surrounding cast way more than me that makes this great,” said Porter, who recorded the track at The Pharmhouse in Dearborn, Michigan, and The Basement in Plymouth, Michigan.
“David and I worked out the arrangement on the spot in the studio. Tommy and Dani sing wonderfully together and Adam’s pedal steel really ties this whole thing together.”
Many of Porter’s same collaborators also appear on Dynamite Alley. Released in September, the album features 10 tales of heartbreak, loss, and change alongside timeless country and roots-rock instrumentation. To learn more, I recently spoke to Porter about Dynamite Alley and the inspiration behind it.
Q: Dynamite Alley explores the impact of change over time and the harsh reality that comes with those experiences. How did those experiences help shape the 10 tracks on the album?
A: I think the best art comes from pain. For me, art doesn’t come from a happy place. I’m not going to sing about how it’s a beautiful, sunny day and that I love my wife and life is grand. All those things are true, but that to me doesn’t make great art. It’s about finding a way to express pain, regret, sorrow, and fear—emotions like that. That’s always been the case with me. I’m not perpetually miserable; I have it good in most ways and everything, but that isn’t my muse.
Q: You named the album after a CHiPs episode from 1980. How did that episode inspire the album’s title?
A: I was out in Wyoming, and I told that story every night of how I named the record after an episode of CHiPs. I was playing in Laramie, Wyoming, and a guy said, “The guy who played Jon Baker [grew up] one city away from Laramie. And I said, “It’s fate that I’m here.” Naming an album is the second most difficult thing after naming your band. I started the record a year ago in March, so it took a year and a half to come out. I was doing it casually and some things happened and I got sidetracked. The Tucos were also working on a record. But then all of a sudden, earlier this year, we decided The Tucos weren’t going to tour. I thought, “Well, I want to go out in the fall and I can’t be sitting still. I better get this record done.” I needed an album name and I’ve always been attracted to the names of ‘70s and ‘80s TV shows as potential album titles. I was looking at The Six Million Dollar Man, which has some great episode names. I was watching CHiPs and thought I should look at some of these CHiPs episode names. And then I saw “Dynamite Alley” come up.
Q: Dynamite Alley is also a nod to Rod Stewart’s 1970 album Gasoline Alley, which includes a mix of originals and covers. How did that album influence the title of your record as well?
A: Part of what I was going after—at least in some moments on the record—was an early Rod Stewart-Faces vibe and he has a record called Gasoline Alley that I love. I liked the CHiPs connection and I liked the Rod Stewart reference. There are moments on the record where I was distinctly going for that. And I had no time, so everything fell in [line] and I said, “That’s it.” I like the “Maggie May” / “She Wears It Well” open hi-hat kind of strumming stuff that’s similar to a song like “I Didn’t Want to Break Your Heart.” That’s an attempt to emulate that feel, which I’ve done on some of my other solo stuff. But I never really felt like I nailed it before and then [the album] brings in the mandolin and the fiddle. And when I was working with [my collaborators], I’d say, “Listen to this Rod Stewart song, listen to the fiddle. This is the feel that I want.”
Q: “Big Spender” highlights the struggle with questioning your worth and losing out to someone who’s richer and more powerful. How does this track serve as an anthem for knowing your self-worth and being true to yourself?
A: It’s a story that’s been told, and it’s a 50-year-old’s perspective on a John Hughes movie. And then halfway through … he’s saying, “I gotta sober up and get my shit together. What am I gonna do? Wallow in this misery forever?”
Q: “Big Spender” also includes a reference to Christopher Cross’ 1981 song, “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” and features the lyric, “When you get caught between the moon and New York City.” What inspired that reference in your song?
A: I’m not above doing that and I do that from time to time. I’ll steal a line from a songwriter, but it ties into the lyric, “He’s got an Upper East Side apartment too.” That’s why I went back to “the moon and New York City” [line].
Q: “I Didn’t Want to Break Your Heart” examines leaving a relationship behind and getting a fresh start. How did this breakup tale come together for you?
A: It flip-flops the protagonist role to now he’s leaving her and she’s not leaving him. It’s saying, “I gotta go, and let’s be honest, you can do better anyway. This sucks, but it is what it is, so let’s have the talk and I’ll be on my way.” But I was going for the Rod Stewart thing on that. It’s a simple song and you never know if it’s going to translate as something that’s going to resonate with people or if it’s a generic-comment type thing that’s been done 100 times. That mandolin lick at the beginning helps a lot and the fiddle helps a lot. Doug [McKean] and Liz [Fornal] doing the backup vocals helped make it too.
Q: “Destinations” explores settling for a relationship and being in denial about its future. How does this track represent a fitting portrayal of a complicated relationship?
A: It’s about people who are breaking up, but they’re still sleeping together. I know several relationships that have gone through that and I’ll hear, “Oh, I spent the weekend at my ex-wife’s house.” And I’m thinking, “Why did you get divorced?” The song is saying, “We’re trying to break up, but we don’t really know how to do it.” That’s the oldest song on the record. The Tucos took a stab at that in our first year or two, but we could never get the feel right. For whatever reason, it’s been shelved for a decade, but I always knew there was something there. During COVID, I rented a house in western Wisconsin on the Mississippi River and I went out there for a week on a songwriting retreat by myself. The whole world was shut down, so I couldn’t go to the bar and hang out with friends. I stayed in that house and I went with a notebook of half-written songs. That was one of the ones that I finished out there and brought it back.
Q: As a Spanish murder ballad, “Angelito Bebe” tells the tale of a husband who discovers his wife is having an affair and then kills her and her lover. What inspired you to write a murder ballad for Dynamite Alley?
A: A lot of people are calling that song out as a favorite. It’s uncharacteristic for me, but I think that’s what makes it cool. I love the minor key and I wanted something up-tempo and something that rocked a little bit. And I wanted something that was dark and it felt Spanish. Again, [it’s] a theme of a relationship in the process of going bad, and I’ve got a friend, José, who is Mexican and lives in Texas. He helped me make sure I had the Spanish right. And Noreen [Porter] played castanets on that and my friend Harry [Brish] out in Tempe, Arizona, he played accordion on it. I was happy with the way that one came out.
Q: “The Ballad of Denise and Jane” chronicles two unlikely women who cross paths and fall for the same man. How did hanging out in local bars inspire this track for you?
A: Years ago when I moved to Plymouth, I would meet my friends down there and we would stay out and close the bars. At the time, there was quite a divorcée scene. You’d start to see some of the same few women around week after week. That’s loosely how it came together and there’s a line in there that says, “They’ll be throwing down tonight at O’Callaghan’s.” That is a bar in downtown Plymouth—Sean O’Callaghan’s. It’s the most honky-tonk song on the record. And Jay Gonzales from Drive-By Truckers, his piano on that is fantastic. It’s one of those story songs with a beginning, middle, and end. It’s [also] a bit of a character study along with the story.
Q: You include two covers on Dynamite Alley: Loretta Lynn’s “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven” and The Scorpions’ “Blackout.” What prompted you to record renditions of those two tracks for the album?
A: The Loretta Lynn song is a song that I brought to [The Wild Honey Collective’s] Tommy [McCord] and Danielle [Gyger] when I toured with them. We did that song every night on that tour and The Tucos tried to do it. The Tucos have a live EP that was recorded at Plymouth Coffee Bean. We did it that night, but it didn’t make the cut. It’s always been in the back of my mind, especially the Ralph Stanley version. After doing it with Tommy and The Wild Honey Collective and knowing they were going to have a significant role on the record, we decided to do it. We did it with the lineup that we toured with … which was Nick Richard on bass from The Plurals and Tommy and Danielle are both on it. And The Scorpions’ song, it turned out as a one-off. I was doing some acoustic shows and I started doing it. I had some shows … with a friend from Kentucky named Nate Presley. He’s this rockabilly punk guy who has family lineage to Elvis. I wanted to learn it for some shows I was doing with him. And I did and people started to latch onto it.
When I would play it, there were always a couple of people who would say, “Whoa, what is going on here?” I did it a couple of times around Detroit and thought, “Well, I need material and people seem to dig that.” So then I thought, “Why not?” I had my friend Rachel [Goldsmith] play cello on it. She’s from Boston and she did a fantastic job. It was something different and a dark, sparse way to close the record.
Q: Tell me about your creative process for Dynamite Alley. When did you start compiling tracks for the album?
A: I’ve had a solo record in me dating back to the mid to late 2010s. When I write songs for a Tucos’ record, I’ll write 30 songs and at least a third of them don’t make the cut. I’ll show the band anywhere from 14 to 18 songs … and we’re brutally honest with each other. Some of the stuff they’re just not into. And some of it, I know they have legs, even if they don’t have legs for that project. I started accumulating some of this stuff—“Wet Cement” and “Destinations” were there. This is stuff that either I didn’t bother to show the band or they passed on it, like “The Ballad of Denise and Jane.” And then I went to that songwriting retreat [in Wisconsin], and when the pandemic hit, I thought, “I’m going to do my solo record.” But I never did because we mixed [The Tucos’] Candy Coated Cannonball and then I toured with The Wild Honey Collective. And then we came out of the pandemic and The Tucos were back at it hardcore. The Tucos were getting ready to start another record, and I thought, “I got these songs. I gotta start getting the solo record ready.”
Q: You recorded Dynamite Alley from March 2023 to June 2024 at The Pharmhouse in Dearborn and The Basement in Plymouth. How did the album come together with different collaborators during that time?
A: I did extensive pre-production on it by myself. I demoed everything, and I started figuring out who I wanted to play on it. And the first guy was Dave [Below], the drummer … His sweet spot is that sort of Americana thing. After I had everything demoed and I had a list of songs, he came over … and [we] went down into the studio [aka The Pharmhouse]. We went song by song and talked about an approach for two hours—and that was it. He had heard the songs and the demos and then we had that meeting. The next time we got together was when the tape was rolling. We did it in two days. Day one was with electric bass with Fritz Von Kosky and we did the songs he played on—“The Ballad of Dense and Jane,” “I Didn’t Want to Break Your Heart,” “Destinations,” and “Big Spender.” The next day, we had Jake Riley—who’s The Tucos’ bass player—come out and he played upright bass. He did “Lucy,” “Angelito Bebe,” and “Wet Cement.” And Nick Richard played [bass] on “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven.” We did the drums and the bass in one weekend. I worked on the guitar and the vocals. And then I started bringing Tommy [McCord] and Adam [Aymor] in and everybody else who played on it—Nick, Doug [McKean], and all those guys.
Earlier this year, when we said The Tucos weren’t going to be touring, then I had to step it up. I met Jay Gonzales from Drive-By Truckers and he agreed to play [piano] on it. And I got Liz [Fornal] involved from The Orbitsuns. Everything came together quickly in the springtime, but leading up to that, everything was pretty slow.
Q: Some tracks were recorded remotely in Cleveland; Boston; Tempe, Arizona; Athens, Georgia; and Lansing, Michigan for Dynamite Alley. How did those parts come together as well?
A: We did the drums and bass at Gabe [Doman’s]. And then we did everything else at my house—except for the remote stuff. [Cellist] Rachel [Goldsmith] is in Boston and she went to a studio out there. [Accordionist] Harry [Brish] is in Tempe. Nowadays, there’s a lot of passing tracks around … and all that. And believe me, I love the convenience of that—it’s amazing. And I’m as anti-social as they come … I would much rather do it by myself. But when it comes to making a record, I’m a huge fan of being in the same room and bouncing ideas [off each other]. I think it’s everything, and I think that’s lost when you’re emailing tracks back and forth, as convenient and awesome as that is—and sometimes necessary.
Q: What plans do you have for new material—both with The Tucos and solo?
A: The Tucos have a record that we started in February; it’s about 80 percent recorded. We have about 15 to 16 songs and we did it at Black Sheep Audio in Novi. It’s our heaviest record and our most rock ‘n’ roll record that we’ve done. The focus is quickly shifting to finishing that. Right now, Gabriel [Doman] is doing rough mixes of everything we have … so that we can go through everything and get a final list together of everything that we need to do.
The plan is to get that done as quickly as possible, mix it and master it, and put it out early to mid-next year. It’s not clear how much touring will be in The Tucos’ future moving forward. I miss not being on the road with those guys, and we’ll have this album to support, but our ability to get the machine out there might be limited. If that turns out to be the case, I’ll most likely be doing more solo acoustic shows to keep busy. But in the meantime, as we’re figuring that out, I’ll still be supporting Dynamite Alley and I hope to do some more acoustic stuff over the winter. Tommy [McCord] and I have been talking about collaborating on recording and playing shows, so something along those lines will probably come to fruition. In the back of my mind, I’ve got another solo record with the same drummer and approach with a new batch of songs somewhere. Realistically, that won’t be happening until 2026 at the earliest.
Rocky Mountain High — Detroit’s Jeremy Porter Longs for a Snowy Holiday Out West on “Colorado Christmas” Single
Detroit’s Jeremy Porter offers a fresh take on Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Colorado Christmas.” Photo – Noreen Porter Two years ago, Jeremy Porter discovered a hidden Christmas classic in a collection of 7-inch vinyl singles. The Detroit singer-songwriter and guitarist flipped over a “Mr. Bojangles” single for the Nitty Gritty Dirty Band and found “Colorado Christmas” on the B-side.
“Their version is solid, of course, but it was the B-side, ‘Colorado Christmas,’ that really caught my ear,” said Porter, who also fronts The Tucos. “I’m always looking for a good Christmas song to cover. I actually spent a Christmas in Colorado as a kid, so it just seemed like a natural choice.”
Porter decided to record a rendition of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Colorado Christmas” during the studio sessions for his latest alt-country album, Dynamite Alley, via GTG Records. On “Colorado Christmas,” the protagonist longs to escape Los Angeles for a snow-filled Christmas in Colorado. Surrounded by somber banjo and pedal steel, Porter sings, “Now the sun is setting in the California sky / And I can’t find the spirit anywhere / So I think it’s time for me to tell Los Angeles goodbye / I’m going back home to look for Christmas there.”
“The lyrics exploring the contradiction between winter in the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles traffic and palm trees was the icing on the cake,” Porter said.
To bring his version of “Colorado Christmas” to life, Porter teamed up with drummer David Below, bassist Jake Riley, mandolinist-vocalist Tommy McCord, vocalist Danielle Gyger, pedal steel guitarist Adam Aymor, banjoist Nick Raeon, and engineer Gabriel Doman.
“As with all of the songs on Dynamite Alley, it’s the surrounding cast way more than me that makes this great,” said Porter, who recorded the track at The Pharmhouse in Dearborn, Michigan, and The Basement in Plymouth, Michigan.
“David and I worked out the arrangement on the spot in the studio. Tommy and Dani sing wonderfully together and Adam’s pedal steel really ties this whole thing together.”
Many of Porter’s same collaborators also appear on Dynamite Alley. Released in September, the album features 10 tales of heartbreak, loss, and change alongside timeless country and roots-rock instrumentation. To learn more, I recently spoke to Porter about Dynamite Alley and the inspiration behind it.
Q: Dynamite Alley explores the impact of change over time and the harsh reality that comes with those experiences. How did those experiences help shape the 10 tracks on the album?
A: I think the best art comes from pain. For me, art doesn’t come from a happy place. I’m not going to sing about how it’s a beautiful, sunny day and that I love my wife and life is grand. All those things are true, but that to me doesn’t make great art. It’s about finding a way to express pain, regret, sorrow, and fear—emotions like that. That’s always been the case with me. I’m not perpetually miserable; I have it good in most ways and everything, but that isn’t my muse.
Q: You named the album after a CHiPs episode from 1980. How did that episode inspire the album’s title?
A: I was out in Wyoming, and I told that story every night of how I named the record after an episode of CHiPs. I was playing in Laramie, Wyoming, and a guy said, “The guy who played Jon Baker [grew up] one city away from Laramie. And I said, “It’s fate that I’m here.” Naming an album is the second most difficult thing after naming your band. I started the record a year ago in March, so it took a year and a half to come out. I was doing it casually and some things happened and I got sidetracked. The Tucos were also working on a record. But then all of a sudden, earlier this year, we decided The Tucos weren’t going to tour. I thought, “Well, I want to go out in the fall and I can’t be sitting still. I better get this record done.” I needed an album name and I’ve always been attracted to the names of ‘70s and ‘80s TV shows as potential album titles. I was looking at The Six Million Dollar Man, which has some great episode names. I was watching CHiPs and thought I should look at some of these CHiPs episode names. And then I saw “Dynamite Alley” come up.
Q: Dynamite Alley is also a nod to Rod Stewart’s 1970 album Gasoline Alley, which includes a mix of originals and covers. How did that album influence the title of your record as well?
A: Part of what I was going after—at least in some moments on the record—was an early Rod Stewart-Faces vibe and he has a record called Gasoline Alley that I love. I liked the CHiPs connection and I liked the Rod Stewart reference. There are moments on the record where I was distinctly going for that. And I had no time, so everything fell in [line] and I said, “That’s it.” I like the “Maggie May” / “She Wears It Well” open hi-hat kind of strumming stuff that’s similar to a song like “I Didn’t Want to Break Your Heart.” That’s an attempt to emulate that feel, which I’ve done on some of my other solo stuff. But I never really felt like I nailed it before and then [the album] brings in the mandolin and the fiddle. And when I was working with [my collaborators], I’d say, “Listen to this Rod Stewart song, listen to the fiddle. This is the feel that I want.”
Q: “Big Spender” highlights the struggle with questioning your worth and losing out to someone who’s richer and more powerful. How does this track serve as an anthem for knowing your self-worth and being true to yourself?
A: It’s a story that’s been told, and it’s a 50-year-old’s perspective on a John Hughes movie. And then halfway through … he’s saying, “I gotta sober up and get my shit together. What am I gonna do? Wallow in this misery forever?”
Q: “Big Spender” also includes a reference to Christopher Cross’ 1981 song, “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” and features the lyric, “When you get caught between the moon and New York City.” What inspired that reference in your song?
A: I’m not above doing that and I do that from time to time. I’ll steal a line from a songwriter, but it ties into the lyric, “He’s got an Upper East Side apartment too.” That’s why I went back to “the moon and New York City” [line].
Q: “I Didn’t Want to Break Your Heart” examines leaving a relationship behind and getting a fresh start. How did this breakup tale come together for you?
A: It flip-flops the protagonist role to now he’s leaving her and she’s not leaving him. It’s saying, “I gotta go, and let’s be honest, you can do better anyway. This sucks, but it is what it is, so let’s have the talk and I’ll be on my way.” But I was going for the Rod Stewart thing on that. It’s a simple song and you never know if it’s going to translate as something that’s going to resonate with people or if it’s a generic-comment type thing that’s been done 100 times. That mandolin lick at the beginning helps a lot and the fiddle helps a lot. Doug [McKean] and Liz [Fornal] doing the backup vocals helped make it too.
Q: “Destinations” explores settling for a relationship and being in denial about its future. How does this track represent a fitting portrayal of a complicated relationship?
A: It’s about people who are breaking up, but they’re still sleeping together. I know several relationships that have gone through that and I’ll hear, “Oh, I spent the weekend at my ex-wife’s house.” And I’m thinking, “Why did you get divorced?” The song is saying, “We’re trying to break up, but we don’t really know how to do it.” That’s the oldest song on the record. The Tucos took a stab at that in our first year or two, but we could never get the feel right. For whatever reason, it’s been shelved for a decade, but I always knew there was something there. During COVID, I rented a house in western Wisconsin on the Mississippi River and I went out there for a week on a songwriting retreat by myself. The whole world was shut down, so I couldn’t go to the bar and hang out with friends. I stayed in that house and I went with a notebook of half-written songs. That was one of the ones that I finished out there and brought it back.
Q: As a Spanish murder ballad, “Angelito Bebe” tells the tale of a husband who discovers his wife is having an affair and then kills her and her lover. What inspired you to write a murder ballad for Dynamite Alley?
A: A lot of people are calling that song out as a favorite. It’s uncharacteristic for me, but I think that’s what makes it cool. I love the minor key and I wanted something up-tempo and something that rocked a little bit. And I wanted something that was dark and it felt Spanish. Again, [it’s] a theme of a relationship in the process of going bad, and I’ve got a friend, José, who is Mexican and lives in Texas. He helped me make sure I had the Spanish right. And Noreen [Porter] played castanets on that and my friend Harry [Brish] out in Tempe, Arizona, he played accordion on it. I was happy with the way that one came out.
Q: “The Ballad of Denise and Jane” chronicles two unlikely women who cross paths and fall for the same man. How did hanging out in local bars inspire this track for you?
A: Years ago when I moved to Plymouth, I would meet my friends down there and we would stay out and close the bars. At the time, there was quite a divorcée scene. You’d start to see some of the same few women around week after week. That’s loosely how it came together and there’s a line in there that says, “They’ll be throwing down tonight at O’Callaghan’s.” That is a bar in downtown Plymouth—Sean O’Callaghan’s. It’s the most honky-tonk song on the record. And Jay Gonzales from Drive-By Truckers, his piano on that is fantastic. It’s one of those story songs with a beginning, middle, and end. It’s [also] a bit of a character study along with the story.
Q: You include two covers on Dynamite Alley: Loretta Lynn’s “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven” and The Scorpions’ “Blackout.” What prompted you to record renditions of those two tracks for the album?
A: The Loretta Lynn song is a song that I brought to [The Wild Honey Collective’s] Tommy [McCord] and Danielle [Gyger] when I toured with them. We did that song every night on that tour and The Tucos tried to do it. The Tucos have a live EP that was recorded at Plymouth Coffee Bean. We did it that night, but it didn’t make the cut. It’s always been in the back of my mind, especially the Ralph Stanley version. After doing it with Tommy and The Wild Honey Collective and knowing they were going to have a significant role on the record, we decided to do it. We did it with the lineup that we toured with … which was Nick Richard on bass from The Plurals and Tommy and Danielle are both on it. And The Scorpions’ song, it turned out as a one-off. I was doing some acoustic shows and I started doing it. I had some shows … with a friend from Kentucky named Nate Presley. He’s this rockabilly punk guy who has family lineage to Elvis. I wanted to learn it for some shows I was doing with him. And I did and people started to latch onto it.
When I would play it, there were always a couple of people who would say, “Whoa, what is going on here?” I did it a couple of times around Detroit and thought, “Well, I need material and people seem to dig that.” So then I thought, “Why not?” I had my friend Rachel [Goldsmith] play cello on it. She’s from Boston and she did a fantastic job. It was something different and a dark, sparse way to close the record.
Q: Tell me about your creative process for Dynamite Alley. When did you start compiling tracks for the album?
A: I’ve had a solo record in me dating back to the mid to late 2010s. When I write songs for a Tucos’ record, I’ll write 30 songs and at least a third of them don’t make the cut. I’ll show the band anywhere from 14 to 18 songs … and we’re brutally honest with each other. Some of the stuff they’re just not into. And some of it, I know they have legs, even if they don’t have legs for that project. I started accumulating some of this stuff—“Wet Cement” and “Destinations” were there. This is stuff that either I didn’t bother to show the band or they passed on it, like “The Ballad of Denise and Jane.” And then I went to that songwriting retreat [in Wisconsin], and when the pandemic hit, I thought, “I’m going to do my solo record.” But I never did because we mixed [The Tucos’] Candy Coated Cannonball and then I toured with The Wild Honey Collective. And then we came out of the pandemic and The Tucos were back at it hardcore. The Tucos were getting ready to start another record, and I thought, “I got these songs. I gotta start getting the solo record ready.”
Q: You recorded Dynamite Alley from March 2023 to June 2024 at The Pharmhouse in Dearborn and The Basement in Plymouth. How did the album come together with different collaborators during that time?
A: I did extensive pre-production on it by myself. I demoed everything, and I started figuring out who I wanted to play on it. And the first guy was Dave [Below], the drummer … His sweet spot is that sort of Americana thing. After I had everything demoed and I had a list of songs, he came over … and [we] went down into the studio [aka The Pharmhouse]. We went song by song and talked about an approach for two hours—and that was it. He had heard the songs and the demos and then we had that meeting. The next time we got together was when the tape was rolling. We did it in two days. Day one was with electric bass with Fritz Von Kosky and we did the songs he played on—“The Ballad of Dense and Jane,” “I Didn’t Want to Break Your Heart,” “Destinations,” and “Big Spender.” The next day, we had Jake Riley—who’s The Tucos’ bass player—come out and he played upright bass. He did “Lucy,” “Angelito Bebe,” and “Wet Cement.” And Nick Richard played [bass] on “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven.” We did the drums and the bass in one weekend. I worked on the guitar and the vocals. And then I started bringing Tommy [McCord] and Adam [Aymor] in and everybody else who played on it—Nick, Doug [McKean], and all those guys.
Earlier this year, when we said The Tucos weren’t going to be touring, then I had to step it up. I met Jay Gonzales from Drive-By Truckers and he agreed to play [piano] on it. And I got Liz [Fornal] involved from The Orbitsuns. Everything came together quickly in the springtime, but leading up to that, everything was pretty slow.
Q: Some tracks were recorded remotely in Cleveland; Boston; Tempe, Arizona; Athens, Georgia; and Lansing, Michigan for Dynamite Alley. How did those parts come together as well?
A: We did the drums and bass at Gabe [Doman’s]. And then we did everything else at my house—except for the remote stuff. [Cellist] Rachel [Goldsmith] is in Boston and she went to a studio out there. [Accordionist] Harry [Brish] is in Tempe. Nowadays, there’s a lot of passing tracks around … and all that. And believe me, I love the convenience of that—it’s amazing. And I’m as anti-social as they come … I would much rather do it by myself. But when it comes to making a record, I’m a huge fan of being in the same room and bouncing ideas [off each other]. I think it’s everything, and I think that’s lost when you’re emailing tracks back and forth, as convenient and awesome as that is—and sometimes necessary.
Q: What plans do you have for new material—both with The Tucos and solo?
A: The Tucos have a record that we started in February; it’s about 80 percent recorded. We have about 15 to 16 songs and we did it at Black Sheep Audio in Novi. It’s our heaviest record and our most rock ‘n’ roll record that we’ve done. The focus is quickly shifting to finishing that. Right now, Gabriel [Doman] is doing rough mixes of everything we have … so that we can go through everything and get a final list together of everything that we need to do.
The plan is to get that done as quickly as possible, mix it and master it, and put it out early to mid-next year. It’s not clear how much touring will be in The Tucos’ future moving forward. I miss not being on the road with those guys, and we’ll have this album to support, but our ability to get the machine out there might be limited. If that turns out to be the case, I’ll most likely be doing more solo acoustic shows to keep busy. But in the meantime, as we’re figuring that out, I’ll still be supporting Dynamite Alley and I hope to do some more acoustic stuff over the winter. Tommy [McCord] and I have been talking about collaborating on recording and playing shows, so something along those lines will probably come to fruition. In the back of my mind, I’ve got another solo record with the same drummer and approach with a new batch of songs somewhere. Realistically, that won’t be happening until 2026 at the earliest.
Local Spins (Lansing, MI)
Michigan stars jingle all the way with new holiday tunes: The Local Spins reviews
2024 has seen a flurry of releases of fresh Yuletide music by artists from across the state. Today, Local Spins presents its takes on these tunes, along with links to listen along.
December 16, 2024
External Link
Jeremy Porter, “Colorado Christmas” – The frontman for the Detroit-based roots rock band Jeremy Porter & The Tucos revisits the Nitty Gritty Dirt band’s “Colorado Christmas,” written by the late Steve Goodman. The tune is another take on the differences between the holidays in the Golden State and elsewhere, in this case a snowy Christmas in the Colorado snow – “The closest thing to Heaven on this planet anywhere.” With mandolin, banjo and pedal steel, it doesn’t venture far from standard country-rock.
Cleveland Jewish News (Cleveland, OH)
Jeremy Porter - Dynamite Alley Solo-Acoustic Tour - Live in Akron
December 18, 2024 External Link
December 18, 2024 External Link
Jeremy Porter returns for an encore performance at the RIalto Theatre in Akron in support of his new album Dynamite Alley and his new Christmas single "Colorado Christmas". It's a free show, and Jeremy plays first, at 7PM.
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You'll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It's Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn't quite ready for it. Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small town in Michigan's upper peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP's first punk bands - The Regulars. He moved to Detroit and tore through the 90s and 00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych (as well as a solo stint) though 2 decades of recording and touring before forming The Tucos in 2009. Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Jake Riley (Big Shoals, Matt Woods Band) round out the trio.
• JP & The Tucos have released 4 full-length LPs, 5 7"s and a slew of contributions to comps.
• They've toured the US and Canada multiple times - playing festivals, theaters, clubs, corner bars and coffee shops pretty much everywhere east of the Rockies. They toured the UK in 2018, playing nine shows in nine nights, including two in London and an appearance at the Swansea Fringe Festival in Wales.
• They've become one of the go-to support acts for national acts coming through Detroit, opening for Soul Asylum, Lydia Loveless, Beach Slang, Supersuckers, Jesse Malin, Deadstring Brothers, Two Cow Garage, Whitey Morgan, American Aquarium, Tim Barry, Old Man Markley and many more.
• "Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years" available now on 3xCD individually and as a collection.
• • Bottled Regrets: The Best of the First Ten Years
• • Castaways: Rarities and B-Sides from the First Ten Years
• • Patty's Not Impressed: Live in Toronto
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You'll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It's Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn't quite ready for it. Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small town in Michigan's upper peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP's first punk bands - The Regulars. He moved to Detroit and tore through the 90s and 00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych (as well as a solo stint) though 2 decades of recording and touring before forming The Tucos in 2009. Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Jake Riley (Big Shoals, Matt Woods Band) round out the trio.
• JP & The Tucos have released 4 full-length LPs, 5 7"s and a slew of contributions to comps.
• They've toured the US and Canada multiple times - playing festivals, theaters, clubs, corner bars and coffee shops pretty much everywhere east of the Rockies. They toured the UK in 2018, playing nine shows in nine nights, including two in London and an appearance at the Swansea Fringe Festival in Wales.
• They've become one of the go-to support acts for national acts coming through Detroit, opening for Soul Asylum, Lydia Loveless, Beach Slang, Supersuckers, Jesse Malin, Deadstring Brothers, Two Cow Garage, Whitey Morgan, American Aquarium, Tim Barry, Old Man Markley and many more.
• "Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years" available now on 3xCD individually and as a collection.
• • Bottled Regrets: The Best of the First Ten Years
• • Castaways: Rarities and B-Sides from the First Ten Years
• • Patty's Not Impressed: Live in Toronto
Charleston Hazard Herald (Charleston, WV)
Jeremy Porter - Dynamite Alley Solo-Acoustic Tour - Live in Charleston
December 19, 2024 External Link
December 19, 2024 External Link
Jeremy Porter plays his first solo-acoustic show in Charleston at the Empty Glass in
support of his new album Dynamite Alley and his new Christmas single "Colorado Christmas".
The Charleston Rogues, a Pogues tribute, are the main act and Jeremy will play a set between
their sets, and possibly a few songs before.
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You'll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It's Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn't quite ready for it. Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small town in Michigan's upper peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP's first punk bands - The Regulars. He moved to Detroit and tore through the 90s and 00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych (as well as a solo stint) though 2 decades of recording and touring before forming The Tucos in 2009. Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Jake Riley (Big Shoals, Matt Woods Band) round out the trio.
• JP & The Tucos have released 4 full-length LPs, 5 7"s and a slew of contributions to comps.
• They've toured the US and Canada multiple times - playing festivals, theaters, clubs, corner bars and coffee shops pretty much everywhere east of the Rockies. They toured the UK in 2018, playing nine shows in nine nights, including two in London and an appearance at the Swansea Fringe Festival in Wales.
• They've become one of the go-to support acts for national acts coming through Detroit, opening for Soul Asylum, Lydia Loveless, Beach Slang, Supersuckers, Jesse Malin, Deadstring Brothers, Two Cow Garage, Whitey Morgan, American Aquarium, Tim Barry, Old Man Markley and many more.
• "Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years" available now on 3xCD individually and as a collection.
• • Bottled Regrets: The Best of the First Ten Years
• • Castaways: Rarities and B-Sides from the First Ten Years
• • Patty's Not Impressed: Live in Toronto
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You'll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It's Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn't quite ready for it. Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small town in Michigan's upper peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP's first punk bands - The Regulars. He moved to Detroit and tore through the 90s and 00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych (as well as a solo stint) though 2 decades of recording and touring before forming The Tucos in 2009. Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Jake Riley (Big Shoals, Matt Woods Band) round out the trio.
• JP & The Tucos have released 4 full-length LPs, 5 7"s and a slew of contributions to comps.
• They've toured the US and Canada multiple times - playing festivals, theaters, clubs, corner bars and coffee shops pretty much everywhere east of the Rockies. They toured the UK in 2018, playing nine shows in nine nights, including two in London and an appearance at the Swansea Fringe Festival in Wales.
• They've become one of the go-to support acts for national acts coming through Detroit, opening for Soul Asylum, Lydia Loveless, Beach Slang, Supersuckers, Jesse Malin, Deadstring Brothers, Two Cow Garage, Whitey Morgan, American Aquarium, Tim Barry, Old Man Markley and many more.
• "Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years" available now on 3xCD individually and as a collection.
• • Bottled Regrets: The Best of the First Ten Years
• • Castaways: Rarities and B-Sides from the First Ten Years
• • Patty's Not Impressed: Live in Toronto
Your Tuesday Afternoon Alternative (Dayton, OH)
A YTAA Partial List of Album Favorites from 2024
Jeremy Porter - Dynamite Alley
December 20, 2024
External Link
Jeremy Porter – Dynamite Alley
Jeremy Porter’s Dynamite Alley is the kind of album that grabs you by the collar and says, “Wake up!” It’s a swaggering, heart-on-sleeve dose of Americana-infused rock ‘n’ roll that doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not—there’s no smoke and mirrors here, just straight-ahead songs about life, love, and the endless grind. It’s gritty, it’s raw, and it’s as real as the grease under your fingernails after a long day of work. Porter isn’t out to impress you with fancy tricks or studio wizardry. No, he’s here to kick your ass with songs that feel like they’ve been lived in, songs that make you remember what it’s like to feel alive.
The album opens with a bang, a combination of dirty guitar riffs and that unmistakable punk-meets-Americana energy. Porter’s voice—rough around the edges but smooth enough to catch your ear—sells every word with a sense of urgency. Tracks like “Big Spender” and “I Don’t Want to Break Your Heart” burst with an energy that’s impossible to ignore. It’s the kind of music you want to hear blaring from the jukebox in a smoky dive bar, the kind that makes you want to crack open a beer and sing along.
But don’t mistake this for self-indulgent country or down-on-your-luck rock and roll. There’s depth here. Dynamite Alley is about reckoning with your mistakes, growing up, and facing down the tough times. It’s not just a collection of songs—it’s an experience, one that you don’t just listen to, you live it. Jeremy Porter proves here that sometimes the simplest rock ‘n’ roll is the most enduring. This album is a hell of a ride.
Jeremy Porter’s Dynamite Alley is the kind of album that grabs you by the collar and says, “Wake up!” It’s a swaggering, heart-on-sleeve dose of Americana-infused rock ‘n’ roll that doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not—there’s no smoke and mirrors here, just straight-ahead songs about life, love, and the endless grind. It’s gritty, it’s raw, and it’s as real as the grease under your fingernails after a long day of work. Porter isn’t out to impress you with fancy tricks or studio wizardry. No, he’s here to kick your ass with songs that feel like they’ve been lived in, songs that make you remember what it’s like to feel alive.
The album opens with a bang, a combination of dirty guitar riffs and that unmistakable punk-meets-Americana energy. Porter’s voice—rough around the edges but smooth enough to catch your ear—sells every word with a sense of urgency. Tracks like “Big Spender” and “I Don’t Want to Break Your Heart” burst with an energy that’s impossible to ignore. It’s the kind of music you want to hear blaring from the jukebox in a smoky dive bar, the kind that makes you want to crack open a beer and sing along.
But don’t mistake this for self-indulgent country or down-on-your-luck rock and roll. There’s depth here. Dynamite Alley is about reckoning with your mistakes, growing up, and facing down the tough times. It’s not just a collection of songs—it’s an experience, one that you don’t just listen to, you live it. Jeremy Porter proves here that sometimes the simplest rock ‘n’ roll is the most enduring. This album is a hell of a ride.
GTG Records (Lansing, MI)
This record really ties together the punk rock history of GTG Records and the modern country/Americana etc that lots of us are playing these days. Jeremy’s done it all, and probably better than the rest of us, with Dynamite Alley blending powerpop, classic rock, country, and diversions into Latin music and a string-laden Scorpions cover. Now that’s how solo albums are supposed to be! The supporting players include The Tucos, Wild Honey Collective (including a song worked up on a joint tour in 2021 where Jeremy played in the band), Jay from Drive-By-Truckers, and many more talented folks from the Detroit scene and beyond. The varied styles and players hang together with Jeremy’s earnest vocal delivery and engaging song characters – elements that are certainly also part of The Tucos material but really shine here with the mellower backing. Michigan music veteran Tim Patalan manned the studio controls alongside Gabriel Doman, bringing the disparate studio environments into a cohesive whole that ties the whole year’s release catalog together.
Newsbreak (Detroit, MI)
Jeremy Porter & the Tucos / The Needmores / All Over the Shop
Trixies, Hamtramck
March 14, 2025
External Link
https://www.newsbreak.com/e/67c80dce6509cbb87690ad70-jeremy-porter-the-tucos-the-needmores-all-over-the-shop
Jeremy Porter & the Tucos / The Needmores / All Over the Shop
About this Event Welcome to a night of indie rock and alternative music at **Jeremy Porter & the Tucos / The Needmores / All Over the Shop**! Get ready for a high-energy live performance by these three talented bands that will keep you dancing all night long. Join us for an unforgettable evening filled with catchy tunes, electric guitar riffs, and amazing vocals. **Jeremy Porter & the Tucos**, **The Needmores**, and **All Over the Shop** are guaranteed to deliver a show that will leave you wanting more. Grab your friends and come rock out with us!
Connersville News Examiner (Muncie, IN)
Jeremy Porter - Spring 2025 Solo-Acoustic Tour - Live in Muncie, IN
Be Here Now
April 02, 2025
External Link
Jeremy Porter is touring solo acoustic supporting his new album Dynamite Alley (GTG Records).
This event is Be Here Now - Open Mic Night and Jeremy is the featured artist, playing around 11pm.
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You'll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It's Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn't quite ready for it.
Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small town in Michigan's upper peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP's first punk bands - The Regulars. He moved to Detroit and tore through the 90s and 00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych (as well as a solo stint) though 2 decades of recording and touring before forming The Tucos in 2009. Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Jake Riley (Big Shoals, Matt Woods Band) round out the trio.
• JP & The Tucos have released 4 full-length LPs, 5 7"s and a slew of contributions to comps.
• They've toured the US and Canada multiple times - playing festivals, theaters, clubs, corner bars and coffee shops pretty much everywhere east of the Rockies. They toured the UK in 2018, playing nine shows in nine nights, including two in London and an appearance at the Swansea Fringe Festival in Wales.
• They've become one of the go-to support acts for national acts coming through Detroit, opening for Soul Asylum, Lydia Loveless, Beach Slang, Supersuckers, Jesse Malin, Deadstring Brothers, Two Cow Garage, Whitey Morgan, American Aquarium, Tim Barry, Old Man Markley and many more.
• "Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years" available now on 3xCD individually and as a collection.
• • Bottled Regrets: The Best of the First Ten Years
• • Castaways: Rarities and B-Sides from the First Ten Years
• • Patty's Not Impressed: Live in Toronto
This event is Be Here Now - Open Mic Night and Jeremy is the featured artist, playing around 11pm.
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You'll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It's Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn't quite ready for it.
Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small town in Michigan's upper peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP's first punk bands - The Regulars. He moved to Detroit and tore through the 90s and 00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych (as well as a solo stint) though 2 decades of recording and touring before forming The Tucos in 2009. Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Jake Riley (Big Shoals, Matt Woods Band) round out the trio.
• JP & The Tucos have released 4 full-length LPs, 5 7"s and a slew of contributions to comps.
• They've toured the US and Canada multiple times - playing festivals, theaters, clubs, corner bars and coffee shops pretty much everywhere east of the Rockies. They toured the UK in 2018, playing nine shows in nine nights, including two in London and an appearance at the Swansea Fringe Festival in Wales.
• They've become one of the go-to support acts for national acts coming through Detroit, opening for Soul Asylum, Lydia Loveless, Beach Slang, Supersuckers, Jesse Malin, Deadstring Brothers, Two Cow Garage, Whitey Morgan, American Aquarium, Tim Barry, Old Man Markley and many more.
• "Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years" available now on 3xCD individually and as a collection.
• • Bottled Regrets: The Best of the First Ten Years
• • Castaways: Rarities and B-Sides from the First Ten Years
• • Patty's Not Impressed: Live in Toronto
Sweetwater (Fort Wayne, IN)
Enjoy Tucos frontmak Jeremy Porter as he performs a retrospective of career favorites. This Reverend Guitars atrist started one of the first punk bands in Michigan's Upper Peninsula in `85, and he's been touring ever since across the US, Canada, and the UK. He joins us live at linch on Wednesday, April 2, from 12PM to 1PM on the Cresendo Club stage at Sweewater.
Milord Daily News (Allston, MA)
Jeremy Porter - Dynamite Alley Solo-Acoustic Tour - Live in Allston
Silhouette Lounge
May 14, 2025
External Link
Jeremy Porter (Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, The OffRamps, SlugBug, Etc) continues his tour supporting his GTG Records 2024 release Dynamite Alley.
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You'll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It's Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn't quite ready for it.
Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small town in Michigan's upper peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP's first punk bands - The Regulars. He moved to Detroit and tore through the 90s and 00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych (as well as a solo stint) though 2 decades of recording and touring before forming The Tucos in 2009.
Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Jake Riley (Big Shoals, Matt Woods Band) round out the trio.
• JP & The Tucos have released 4 full-length LPs, 5 7"s and a slew of contributions to comps.
• They've toured the US and Canada multiple times - playing festivals, theaters, clubs, corner bars and coffee shops pretty much everywhere east of the Rockies. They toured the UK in 2018, playing nine shows in nine nights, including two in London and an appearance at the Swansea Fringe Festival in Wales.
• They've become one of the go-to support acts for national acts coming through Detroit, opening for Soul Asylum, Lydia Loveless, Beach Slang, Supersuckers, Jesse Malin, Deadstring Brothers, Two Cow Garage, Whitey Morgan, American Aquarium, Tim Barry, Old Man Markley and many more.
• "Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years" available now on 3xCD individually and as a collection.
• • Bottled Regrets: The Best of the First Ten Years
• • Castaways: Rarities and B-Sides from the First Ten Years
• • Patty's Not Impressed: Live in Toronto
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You'll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It's Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn't quite ready for it.
Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small town in Michigan's upper peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP's first punk bands - The Regulars. He moved to Detroit and tore through the 90s and 00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych (as well as a solo stint) though 2 decades of recording and touring before forming The Tucos in 2009.
Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Jake Riley (Big Shoals, Matt Woods Band) round out the trio.
• JP & The Tucos have released 4 full-length LPs, 5 7"s and a slew of contributions to comps.
• They've toured the US and Canada multiple times - playing festivals, theaters, clubs, corner bars and coffee shops pretty much everywhere east of the Rockies. They toured the UK in 2018, playing nine shows in nine nights, including two in London and an appearance at the Swansea Fringe Festival in Wales.
• They've become one of the go-to support acts for national acts coming through Detroit, opening for Soul Asylum, Lydia Loveless, Beach Slang, Supersuckers, Jesse Malin, Deadstring Brothers, Two Cow Garage, Whitey Morgan, American Aquarium, Tim Barry, Old Man Markley and many more.
• "Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years" available now on 3xCD individually and as a collection.
• • Bottled Regrets: The Best of the First Ten Years
• • Castaways: Rarities and B-Sides from the First Ten Years
• • Patty's Not Impressed: Live in Toronto
Livingston Daily (Howell, MI)
Tim Barry wsg Jeremy Porter and The Tucos and Timmy Reynolds
Smalls, Hamtramck
June 28, 2025
External Link
Blue collar folk music bringing punk ideals and perspective in a storytelling format, backed by Irish and Appalachian tradition. The song content takes you from American Midwest history to philosophical solutions for life, while sitting in on a political science class with a minor in poetry and heartbreak.
Tillsonburg Post (Tillsonburg, ON)
Tillsonburg feels like family for Jeremy Porter
Detroit songwriter Jeremy Porter has carved out a reputation over the last few decades as one of the Midwest’s most steadfast rock ‘n’ roll voices. With his mix heartfelt lyricism, gritty guitar work and the ability to shift seamlessly between electric swagger and acoustic intimacy, Porter has a long history of connecting deeply with audiences. Porter is no stanger to Tillsonburg and he returns Thursday, September 4 for a solo acoustic set at Paddy’s Underground, bringing songs from across his career including selections from his 2024 album Dynamite Alley.
“Dynamite Alley has been a great vehicle for me since it came out a year ago. The songs have been fun to play live and the response to the record has been wonderful.” Porter reflected. “It is a record that I have had in me for several years and the timing was right with The Tucos sort of stepping back from the roadf for a bit to get it out. so yeah, musically, it is absolutely where I am at these days. I still have the drive to plug in and turn it up and get rowdy, but doing the acoustic thing with these songs has been really fun and fulfilling.”
While Porter has been touring extensively as a solo artist, he has also been hard at work with his longtime band Jeremy Porter and The Tucos recording a new album at Black Sheep Audio in Novi, Michigan with producer Tim Patalan of the band Sponge.
“No one outside of the band has influenced the Tucos’ sound more than Tim, and on the first couple albums, his brother Andy. They have mixed every Tucos record and Dynamite Alley and produced some of them too.” Porter explained. “He has got an amazing ear and a great talent for getting things to sound as good as they can, not only sonically, but performance, arrangement, and instrumentally too. On top of that, they’re just great humans, and a great hang, and just a bit part of everything we do. I’m really grateful to be able to work with Tim as much as I do.”
For Porter, the return to Tillsonburg is a gig he always looks forward to with a recent perdormace here this past July during BuddiesFEST.
“Tillsonburg is such a special place. It feels like family even though our experiences together have only been a couple. BuddiesFEST was the best weekend I’ve had in years.” Porter says with a smile. “The vibe was so positive, and every person, from the bands to the fans to the bartenders, was just the best. It was one for the ages for sure.”
Jeremy has been touring for ages and continues to explain why Tillsonburg is one of his favourite spots to perform.
“I play big cities and small towns and they each have their pros and cons. The small towns, like Tillsonburg, tend to have more character and are more appreciative of original live music, maybe because there are fewer options. Of course there are great venues in big cities, but Tillsonburg is a place that’s always great to come back to.”
This upcoming show in Tillsonburg will feature Porter’s songs, both old and new, and he is particularly excited to share the stage with a friend.
“I’ll be playing some songs from Dynamite Alley, some Tucos songs, and some newer stuff too. My pal Trevor has been added to the bill. He’s a great talent, some beautiful songs and another amazing human that I count myself lucky to know, so I am stoked to finally get to see him play too!
While Porter continues to enjoy his solo-acoustic touring, the balance between band and solo life is always on his mind.
“What drives me to explore both paths is pretty much availability. The Tucos aren’t able to travel like we used to so I’m out on my own. I need to be out there, and this is my only option at the moment.” Porter elaborates. “While I have had a blast doing the solo thing this last year or two, I would always prefer to be out with the band. I like to say that touring with the band is way more work, but it’s way more fun and touring solo is way less work, but not quite as fun. It is awesome to only have myself to deal with. The logistics of traveling and playing are way more flexible, less expensive, less gear, bigger catalog, all that. I do enjoy playing acoustic, and it is something very different than The Tucos, but there is nothing like the camaraderie of climbing in the van with the boys and the smell of burning amp tubes and late night revelry after the show. “
That balance between nostalgia and new horizons was present earlier this summer when Porter reunited with his first band The Regulars for their 40th anniversary show.
“It’s insane to ponder that,” Porter reflects. “Our first gig was in Marquette in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where we grew up in May of 1985, and her we are in 2025 playing a show in those same woods. It came up quickly. Our drummer John lives in California and was going to be in town, so we threw together a house partly and I drove up and the next thing you know a couple hundred people were coming in from all corners of the country. It’s all covers, but so fun and these guys are my brothers so it was great to get together again. Being out there solo-acoustic for the last couple years it was great to get the amps back in service.”
With Dynamite Alley still resonating, a new Tucos record on the way, and a constant drive to stay on the road, Jeremy Porter shows no signs of slowing down. Tillsonburg audiences can expect an intimate night of storytelling, gritty melodies, and the kind of warmth that has already made him feel like part of the local family.
Jeremy Porter performs at Patty’s Underground with local buddy Trevor Kostyria of the band The McBains. Advanced tickets are $10 and are available for online from Eventbrite or $15 night of at the door. The concert is an all ages/licensed event with doors opening at 8pm. For music, upcoming tour dates, and more information on Jeremy Porter you can find him online at his official website at www.jeremyportermusic.com
Detroit songwriter Jeremy Porter has carved out a reputation over the last few decades as one of the Midwest’s most steadfast rock ‘n’ roll voices. With his mix heartfelt lyricism, gritty guitar work and the ability to shift seamlessly between electric swagger and acoustic intimacy, Porter has a long history of connecting deeply with audiences. Porter is no stanger to Tillsonburg and he returns Thursday, September 4 for a solo acoustic set at Paddy’s Underground, bringing songs from across his career including selections from his 2024 album Dynamite Alley.
“Dynamite Alley has been a great vehicle for me since it came out a year ago. The songs have been fun to play live and the response to the record has been wonderful.” Porter reflected. “It is a record that I have had in me for several years and the timing was right with The Tucos sort of stepping back from the roadf for a bit to get it out. so yeah, musically, it is absolutely where I am at these days. I still have the drive to plug in and turn it up and get rowdy, but doing the acoustic thing with these songs has been really fun and fulfilling.”
While Porter has been touring extensively as a solo artist, he has also been hard at work with his longtime band Jeremy Porter and The Tucos recording a new album at Black Sheep Audio in Novi, Michigan with producer Tim Patalan of the band Sponge.
“No one outside of the band has influenced the Tucos’ sound more than Tim, and on the first couple albums, his brother Andy. They have mixed every Tucos record and Dynamite Alley and produced some of them too.” Porter explained. “He has got an amazing ear and a great talent for getting things to sound as good as they can, not only sonically, but performance, arrangement, and instrumentally too. On top of that, they’re just great humans, and a great hang, and just a bit part of everything we do. I’m really grateful to be able to work with Tim as much as I do.”
For Porter, the return to Tillsonburg is a gig he always looks forward to with a recent perdormace here this past July during BuddiesFEST.
“Tillsonburg is such a special place. It feels like family even though our experiences together have only been a couple. BuddiesFEST was the best weekend I’ve had in years.” Porter says with a smile. “The vibe was so positive, and every person, from the bands to the fans to the bartenders, was just the best. It was one for the ages for sure.”
Jeremy has been touring for ages and continues to explain why Tillsonburg is one of his favourite spots to perform.
“I play big cities and small towns and they each have their pros and cons. The small towns, like Tillsonburg, tend to have more character and are more appreciative of original live music, maybe because there are fewer options. Of course there are great venues in big cities, but Tillsonburg is a place that’s always great to come back to.”
This upcoming show in Tillsonburg will feature Porter’s songs, both old and new, and he is particularly excited to share the stage with a friend.
“I’ll be playing some songs from Dynamite Alley, some Tucos songs, and some newer stuff too. My pal Trevor has been added to the bill. He’s a great talent, some beautiful songs and another amazing human that I count myself lucky to know, so I am stoked to finally get to see him play too!
While Porter continues to enjoy his solo-acoustic touring, the balance between band and solo life is always on his mind.
“What drives me to explore both paths is pretty much availability. The Tucos aren’t able to travel like we used to so I’m out on my own. I need to be out there, and this is my only option at the moment.” Porter elaborates. “While I have had a blast doing the solo thing this last year or two, I would always prefer to be out with the band. I like to say that touring with the band is way more work, but it’s way more fun and touring solo is way less work, but not quite as fun. It is awesome to only have myself to deal with. The logistics of traveling and playing are way more flexible, less expensive, less gear, bigger catalog, all that. I do enjoy playing acoustic, and it is something very different than The Tucos, but there is nothing like the camaraderie of climbing in the van with the boys and the smell of burning amp tubes and late night revelry after the show. “
That balance between nostalgia and new horizons was present earlier this summer when Porter reunited with his first band The Regulars for their 40th anniversary show.
“It’s insane to ponder that,” Porter reflects. “Our first gig was in Marquette in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where we grew up in May of 1985, and her we are in 2025 playing a show in those same woods. It came up quickly. Our drummer John lives in California and was going to be in town, so we threw together a house partly and I drove up and the next thing you know a couple hundred people were coming in from all corners of the country. It’s all covers, but so fun and these guys are my brothers so it was great to get together again. Being out there solo-acoustic for the last couple years it was great to get the amps back in service.”
With Dynamite Alley still resonating, a new Tucos record on the way, and a constant drive to stay on the road, Jeremy Porter shows no signs of slowing down. Tillsonburg audiences can expect an intimate night of storytelling, gritty melodies, and the kind of warmth that has already made him feel like part of the local family.
Jeremy Porter performs at Patty’s Underground with local buddy Trevor Kostyria of the band The McBains. Advanced tickets are $10 and are available for online from Eventbrite or $15 night of at the door. The concert is an all ages/licensed event with doors opening at 8pm. For music, upcoming tour dates, and more information on Jeremy Porter you can find him online at his official website at www.jeremyportermusic.com
The Suburban (Montreal, QC)
Jeremy Porter - Montreak, Quebec - Dynamite Alley Solo-Acoustic Tour
Barfly, Montreal
September 05, 2025
External Link
Most people know Detroit-based singer/songwriter Jeremy Porter from his band, Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, who’ve made a name for themselves releasing albums and touring across the US, Canada, and the UK since 2011, but Jeremy is an accomplished solo-acoustic performer too. Since the release of his latest solo album Dynamite Alley (GTG Records, 2024), he’s been all over, playing songs from that album, The Tucos, and more. When describing his sound, Nashville Gab magazine perhaps said it best: “...the hooks from your favorite Cheap Trick record and the dark humor from a Tom Waits ballad soaked in a puddle of beer next to Paul Westerberg’s amp.” It’s honest, original, and heartfelt music.
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You'll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It's Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn't quite ready for it.
Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small town in Michigan's upper peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP's first punk bands - The Regulars. He moved to Detroit and tore through the 90s and 00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych (as well as a solo stint) though 2 decades of recording and touring before forming The Tucos in 2009. Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Jake Riley (Big Shoals, Matt Woods Band) round out the trio.
• JP & The Tucos have released 4 full-length LPs, 5 7"s and a slew of contributions to comps.
• They've toured the US and Canada multiple times - playing festivals, theaters, clubs, corner bars and coffee shops pretty much everywhere east of the Rockies. They toured the UK in 2018, playing nine shows in nine nights, including two in London and an appearance at the Swansea Fringe Festival in Wales.
• They've become one of the go-to support acts for national acts coming through Detroit, opening for Soul Asylum, Lydia Loveless, Beach Slang, Supersuckers, Jesse Malin, Deadstring Brothers, Two Cow Garage, Whitey Morgan, American Aquarium, Tim Barry, Old Man Markley and many more.
• "Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years" available now on 3xCD individually and as a collection.
• • Bottled Regrets: The Best of the First Ten Years
• • Castaways: Rarities and B-Sides from the First Ten Years
• • Patty's Not Impressed: Live in Toronto
Jeremy Porter & The Tucos are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan. They sound like guitars and whiskey, hooks and heartache, energy and passion. You'll find everything from Cheap Trick to Gram Parsons, Hüsker Dü to Uncle Tupelo, Merle Haggard to AC/DC on their turntables. The racket they make is a little bit of each. It's Detroit rock and roll, even if Detroit isn't quite ready for it.
Jeremy Porter grew up in Marquette, a small town in Michigan's upper peninsula, where he was a founding member of one of the UP's first punk bands - The Regulars. He moved to Detroit and tore through the 90s and 00s fronting bands like SlugBug, The OffRamps and Fidrych (as well as a solo stint) though 2 decades of recording and touring before forming The Tucos in 2009. Gabriel Doman (Hotwalls) and Jake Riley (Big Shoals, Matt Woods Band) round out the trio.
• JP & The Tucos have released 4 full-length LPs, 5 7"s and a slew of contributions to comps.
• They've toured the US and Canada multiple times - playing festivals, theaters, clubs, corner bars and coffee shops pretty much everywhere east of the Rockies. They toured the UK in 2018, playing nine shows in nine nights, including two in London and an appearance at the Swansea Fringe Festival in Wales.
• They've become one of the go-to support acts for national acts coming through Detroit, opening for Soul Asylum, Lydia Loveless, Beach Slang, Supersuckers, Jesse Malin, Deadstring Brothers, Two Cow Garage, Whitey Morgan, American Aquarium, Tim Barry, Old Man Markley and many more.
• "Bottled Regrets: The First Ten Years" available now on 3xCD individually and as a collection.
• • Bottled Regrets: The Best of the First Ten Years
• • Castaways: Rarities and B-Sides from the First Ten Years
• • Patty's Not Impressed: Live in Toronto
What`s Going On Sioux Falls? (Sioux Falls, SD)
Jeremy Porter | Trich Darell | Tony Depaolo
Full Circle Book Co-Op - Sioux Falls, SD
September 25, 2025
External Link
Jeremy Porter | Trish Darell | Tony Depaolo Music
Live at FCBC
Wednesday, October 1,
2025 Full Circle Book Co-Op
Live at FCBC
Wednesday, October 1,
2025 Full Circle Book Co-Op