Despite that good album, and the chip on the shoulder, Sommer believes his band is anything but cool, hip or part of any scene. "We're not somebody that anyone will come and see in order to be seen," he says. "We feel there's a consensus out there that this project doesn't matter, but I've never played with more competent musicians who are at the top of their game. I don't think it's considered cool to be good and make good music anymore. It just doesn't matter." 

"I feel like having you want to sit down and talk to us is validating though, because we put so much fucking energy into this," Allen adds. "We know that we're not as fashionable or sexy as other bands. We're in our early-to-mid 30s, so we're not as able to be part of a scene like we could've been years back. So it's nice to have somebody want to hear what we have to say about our project because we're passionate about it, we care about it, and we take it fucking seriously." 

That's Destroy This Place in a nutshell. The self-proclaimed "least cool band in Detroit" that is one of the most cool as a result. They play kick ass pop-rock with a punk rock edge, and they give a shit what it sounds like. 

Sommer, though, has loftier ambitions. 

"I have never, ever got a girl because I'm in a band," he says. "Never. Maybe it's something I'm doing wrong. Maybe they see the faces I'm making on stage and don't want to see them later."

Destroy This Place plays the Blowout on Friday, March 2, at the Atlas Bar in Hamtramck with Outrageous Cherry, Seedsmen to the world and Big Mess. 

> Email Brett Callwood