S: Hi Deanne, so tell us what's been cookin' with the Come Ons since the release of your debut alb?
D: Well, we've been playing shows 'round the mid-western region of the States this summer. We just hooked up with a booking agent and hope to visit Australia soon. Can we stay at your house?
S: Organs & handclaps -now that's a fine mixture to get a band swingin' - is it fun being a Come on?
And give us the lowdown on how y'all came to shake it and bake it as a band unit.
D: The whole idea of the band is to bring back the handclap. I love being a Come-On ! It's more fun than taking ecstacy at a GOP convention. Patrick and I started playing together a few years back. We wanted to form a genuine soul band with horn players and back up singers. Then it whittled down to a basic rhythm section with Bass, Drums & Organ. I wasn't even supposed to be the singer of this band, it sort of happened by default. We slowly began to expand our line-up by including Jim on Guitar (who also happens to be a fine bass player). Recently tho' we played a show with horns, harmonica, back-up singers playing tambourine & clapping hands. It was amazing! It was like playing in the Motown revue. I felt like James Jamerson and Martha Reeves all rolled up into one.
We'll soon be recording a dance-type EP for Sympathy that should be out around the new year in which we plan to include these elements. I suppose you could say that we're finally realizing the band as we first imagined it to be.
S: Do you look back much into your cities music heritage & do you feel proud to be making sweet sounds in such an important (Mo') town as Detroit?
D: Yes! We love being a part of the music community here. We especially love the rich heritage of pop and soul music in Detroit. We listen to many local artists past and present like the Gories and the White Stripes and Rocket 455 and Bantam Rooster.
S: The Come Ons add to a line of current bands who feed us fine ear candy such as the Dirtbombs, The White Stripes, Bantam Rooster, The Flying Bomb roster, etc. & I know that a Sympathy label Detroit comp is not too far away, as well. Is this a healthy/tight knit happening, or are most bands fragmented into scenes within scenes? Is it well supported by the locals or do they take it for granted that's it's in their own back yard, hence they become too comfortable with it?
D: It's a very healthy music community here. All of the bands you mentioned are friends of ours and well respected musicians to boot. We all support each other's efforts by attending shows, buying records, etc. Patrick takes photo's for many local bands, for instance the new Bantam Rooster record soon to be released on Au-Go-Go will include his photos. We like to play on each recordings & sit in on shows, too. Patrick plays drums with the Dirtbombs and also sits in with Andre Williams when he plays or records in town.
s: Tell us a bit about your album - 17 tracks in under 40 mins - in the great ol' pop spirit! Who gets the toons happening & was it fun recording with Jim Diamond?
d: The album was a ball to record! Jim Diamond is such a fantasic engineer. We smoked a lot of unfiltered Gauloise cigarettes and read his extensive collection of old porno mags. It was all very inspiring. I often get an idea rolling and Patrick and I work out a Bass and Drum thing, try to structure the song (I think you'd call that an arrangement!), then Jim layers his jangly guitar stylings over that. Usually the song goes through twenty transformations before we settle on something. I like to think of all our songs as works in progress.
S: Bumbling George Doubleya Bush or clean cut Goody Goody Gore? Deanne, please tell me your country can provide a better world leader than this? It's a shame that Jello Biafra (the Green Party nominee) won't be able to swing the millions of American's caught up in a flag flyin' frenzy - but that shouldn't surprise us a'course!
D: Hmmm... I once took an internet quiz that someone emailed me. It was called 'Choose your Candidate' or something like that. You answered questions pertaining to current political issues & then the candidate that best shared your philosophy was revealed. I ended up having most in common with a socialist from San Francisco. Unfortunately,I don't remember his name and I don't think it will be on the ballot. By the way, awesome coup on Au-Go-Go's part in snatching Bantam Rooster's new recording. We love those guys. We highly recommend that everyone check out the Clone Defects, The Paybacks, The Soledad Brothers and the Von Blondies. They'll all be on the Detroit comp that Sympathy is soon to release.
