The PONTIAC PUNKS were a cool rock/punk band back in 1975. The played with a lot of cool local bands as well as out in NYC in 1976 – Ramones and others came to see them play at Max's Kansas City and the Ocean Club. Creem Magazine did an article on them comparing them to the Stooges and MC5. They were Lester Bangs band of choice for his going away party when he left Detroit for NYC in 1976.

PONTIAC PUNKS PLAY PEOPLE MUSIC

By Air-Wreck Genheimer

What would you think if you read about a group of young Pontiac musicians who were better than the Doors, the Stooges, the MC5, Ted Nugent and Patti Smith rolled into one?

Poster courtesy Dennis Loren, Poster Planet

In light of recent cram-it-down-your-throat promotion on everybody from Angel to ZZ Top, a justifiable reaction would be a common description of what male cows do after they eat. But local rock'n'roll has definitely received a much needed kick in the kidneys with the recent discovery of the 24 year old vocalist who calls himself Frantic, (Mr. and Mrs. Kuchon know him better as Skip) as well as Al Webber, guitar; Craigston J. Webshire III, drums; Rod McMahon, bass; and Steve Rocky, lead guitar: who collectively are known as the Punks.

Sure, you say, just another bunch of Vitalis-coated effeminate intellectuals imitating Henry Winkler imitating "The Fonz." But not so. These guys are the real thing. In fact, on a recent trip to New York in an effort to gain some recognition for their exotic musical sledge hammer delights, the band stopped in to see the people at PUNK Magazine (among others) for a meeting of the minds. In Frantic's words: "We went down there for the Punks to meet the Punks. They wanted us to act 'punky' and I really didn't know how to do that, too much anyway, so we just acted like we are normally and were real nice. Everything was punk this and punk that, you know. The punk scene is really happening out there, whatever the hell that is, and so it was sort of working against us, we thought. So we started letting everybody know that we've been the Punks for about three years or more and we had this idea a long time ago. We're not just jumping on the bandwagon. We also feel, at least I do, that the name is really not that important but it's what you can back it up with. If you can back it up with your music, that's what is really important, and I feel we can do that to the hilt!"

Back it up they certainly do, and in musical spades to boot! The Punks played in such a gut grabbing manner that your ear bones feel like they're getting socked in the jaw and cunnilinguisized at the same time. "I don't know what you'd call our music," reflected Frantic. "It's not exactly rock'n'roll; it's just sort of high energy, sensual free-form type music. It's not just playing Chuck Berry riffs. We throw some wild things in." Their newest song's title, "No Mercy for the Damned," should give you a clue to what sort of 'wild things.'

"We all grew up around the Detroit area back in the Sixties when the SRC, The MC5, the Stooges, Sky, Grand Funk and the Amboy Dukes had just started. We used to go and listen to them at the Silverbell in Holly and Factory Ballroom, a few places like that in the area. Those were more or less our influences."

I mentioned the lack of super groups in his list of musical reference points and Frantic replied. "Yeah, sure. The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin influenced everybody - but, basically we're just a very down to earth band, a people's band... whatever you want to call it. We don't really get into super-stardom stuff."

A people's band? Come on. "I know it becomes a big cliché," countered the singer, "but I really believe that, 'cause we did grow up on those kinds of bands. I mean if things were happening where we could play for people on - I don't know - a one to one basis, that's what we want to do. Like the Five (the MC5) were a people's band and that's what I loved about 'em. And that's what we wish we could get back to but people sort of reject that type of thing. They seem to be looking for superstars."

True enough, everybody loves a star and the idol-making business is big money for everyone. You can buy a new idol to grovel before any day of the week, and there's nothing wrong with that cause today is the day for you to buy the Punks. But you aren't gonna find them on the cover of Time and Newsweek, or in department store record racks or even (unfortunately at this point) on stage at the local disco den. As Frantic sums up: "We are playing original music and everybody is afraid to touch us because of the lack of promotion and everything. It's not like it was back in the Sixties, but we're willing to wait it out because we can't do it any other way." Spoken like a true punk.

Reprinted from with permission from CREEM Magazine, September 1976

Punks - 2005 - The Punks

The Punks - The Punks (80 MB)
Rave-Up Records
2005

1. My Time's Coming
2. Chains Of Madness
3. Darker Side
4. Drop Dead
5. Rocks Funeral
6. No Mercy
7. Drug Fueled Accident
8. Sinister Boy
9. Quick One

The Punks!!!! Ahhh, another long forgotten badass 1970's RnR band, this time from Detroit, Michigan. Heavily influenced by artists such as Iggy & The Stooges, MC5, & Blue Cheer. This is the 2005 reissue version put out by Italian label Rave-Up Records, (currently sold out and out of print) possibly the finest label still releasing records by relatively obscure and classic RnR/Garage/Punk/Glam bands.

>Singer Frantic of The Punks

This is what Matt Gimmick had to say in October 2001 about The Punks, featured on the Motor City Music website (they also issued a Punks CD a few years ago, titled The Most Powerful Music On Earth, which more or less contains the same songs on this release, plus a few live versions):

"This Volume I collection of songs was recorded between 1975 and 1977. These tracks aren't from some slick dressed commercial over-rehearsed band of rock star wanna-be's. They were culled from a live performance, rehearsals and low buck studio recordings. It's High Energy - and best described by the word "raunch." If it were to be categorized, this CD should be filed under the Listen Loud section.

There were bands The Punks enjoyed listening to and seeing; groups such as The Underdogs, Unrelated Segments, Velvet Underground, MC5, The Stooges, SRC, early Alice Cooper, and Blue Cheer - the list goes on and on. This CD represents their answer and contribution to the demise of the late great 60's era, especially in and around the Metro Detroit area. After 1970 or so, the Detroit scene died, so the punks geared up and decided to make their own noise.

The studio tracks were preparation recordings for an anticipated recording contract with a major label that didn't materialize. "My Time's Comin', "Drop Dead" (a song about feeling good) and "Sinister Bly" were recorded at The Punks' Saline headquarters in Waterford, Michigan. "Chains of Madness," a song about being possessed, and "Drug Related Incident" were recorded at League G studios, utilizing old Motown Records recording equipment. Includes as well "Darker Side," "Rocks Funeral," and "No Mercy (For The Damned)" - a title and song for a follow-up to the Dirty Dozen movie, and "Quick One," about... well, you know! The two live cuts were from the infamous IAC Club in Pontiac, Michigan. These shows were crazy. The audiences were usually drunk, drugged up and rowdy as hell. The late great Lester Bangs of CREEM Magazine would show up with friends to rejuvenate his senses and fill his need for some loud train-wreck type rock'n'roll. "On The Bum," a tune about being a poor rock musician during the disco period, and "Always Had This Problem," - not really an upbeat outlook on life - are two cuts from a show in 1976. Plans are to release more live material on a second volume in the near future.

To witness The Punks doing it live was like a preparation for a major hangover the next morning. There was no enthusiastic jumping around by guitarists Steve Rockey, Alan Webber or bassist Rod McMahon. Lead singer "Frantic", a/k/a William Kuchon, took care of the craziness. Frantic had more energy than a kid on speed, and enjoyed working it out while drummer Craigstone J. Webshire III was content to shred drumsticks the size of logs in the pursuit of annihilating his drum kit. It was loud and aggressive music, fast and rockin', at times slow and heavy with nontraditional guitar interactions of feedback/wah wah/distortion mixed with driving bass runs and an atomic bomb relentless backbeat. Add Frantic's stage presence - a smiling defiant singer with a dislike of the wimpy mainstream acts of the day coupled with a stance on stage that projected a "Hey! Let's get crazy, let's go over the top because there ain't no rules" attitude. Frantic believed he was just a voice cryin' in the wilderness, and he stood proud with an obnoxious-repetitious-ear splitting band of brothers behind him that loved to crank it up. It was destruction volume and energy - not so clean, nice or politically correct in any way, shape, form or fashion. At the time there was no media-coined "punk rock." There were no safety-pinned spike-haired, hey-look-at-me-I'm-tougher-than-you fashion hounds. There was just this band called The Punks, who had no delusional ideas of who they were or what they were trying to accomplish. So sit back, crank it up, and enjoy."

You heard what the man said; Sit back, crank it up, and enjoy.!