Fred sonic'' smith mosrite
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More famous after Fred "Sonic" Smith's death than when they were when he was alive, Sonic's Rendezvous Band has attained legendary status in the pantheon of Michigan rock.
They existed from 1975-80 and during that time issued just one 45, the monumental City Slang, original copies of which now change hands for hundreds of dollars. They barely played outside their home state, yet their impact is still felt today, in bands from Stockholm to Seattle to Sydney, and all points in between.
Sonic's Rendezvous Band arose, phoenix-like, from the ashes of four of the Motor City's finest proponents of high-energy rock - the MC5, the Stooges, the Rationals, and the Up. The members steadfastly refused to bank on their illustrious pasts. They insisted on a more original kind of expression - hardly a guarantee of steady employment for a local band in the mid-to-late '70s.
Scott Morgan was the instigator of the first version of the band. He and Fred "Sonic" Smith called it the Orchids, for one low-key show on a blizzard-swept Detroit night. Sever
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Sonic's Rendezvous Band (album)
2006 box set by Sonic's Rendezvous Band
Sonic's Rendezvous Band is a 2006 release box set by Sonic's Rendezvous Band under the UK label Easy Action. The remaining band members contributed to the box as well as Fred "Sonic" Smith's estate. The Box includes three previously unreleased live shows, the previous release Sweet Nothing in its entirety, several tracks from the City Slang release, a collection of basement tapes and other live material, as well as the studio recorded single "City Slang" and its intended b-side "Electrophonic Tonic".[1]
Controversy
David Fricke, Senior Editor of Rolling Stone, stated in the review of this box set that it "comes with its own controversy" over whether it was approved by all involved. Record label Easy Action asserts on its Web site that the release was approved by the surviving band members and by Fred Smith's wife and children. The release is also advertised in Scott Morgan's website. Fricke added: "I'm not taking sides. I just want as much of the best of this band as I can get, in g
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Consider the Sonic's Rendezvous Band saga... Arisen, phoenix-like, from the ashes of four of the Motor City's finest proponents of high-energy rock -- the MC5, the Stooges, the Rationals, and the Up - the Rendezvous steadfastly refused to bank on their illustrious pasts (which, granted, might have been more of a liability than an asset at that point in history). Rather, they insisted on a more original kind of expression -- hardly a guarantee of steady employment for a local band in the mid-to-late '70s.
Bloodied but unbowed by the implosion of his former band, "revolutionary" radicals and rabble-rousers the MC5, Fred "Sonic" Smith was fast evolving past his roots in Berry/Stones drive into a guitarist/songwriter/singer of unmatched emotional directness and power. Joining him in the Rendezvous frontline was the former Rationals' blue-eyed soul-brother supreme Scott Morgan, arguably the finest American rock singer and himself no slouch as a songwriter and guitarist. The Rendezvous was more than just a band that rocked hard, although they did THAT with a vengeanc
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