Consider This - (Rock Lottery)

I'm tired of being tired with the hyperbole of pundits. I'm not here to sway you, with misued grandiloquence, that something that's about to happen is going to be life-changing for you. Every outlet, every blogger, wants your attention - can you fathom all the cartoonish histrionics that get spewed across various digi-walls where nothing seems to stick... So much white noise out there in InternetWorld.

But since my writings have always been housed by the regenerative shack of music ...I might as well succinctly stitch my way over towards the Rock Lottery that's coming up at the Magic Stick in Detroit. (Next Friday - 4.20.12)

Once you're done with this article, see, you won't be back to re-play it. Ain't any chorus here to stick in your head, no rhythm for the words to roll-to, no hook, no hook to bring you back... ...but a song stays. Get fed up with...the world et al. and you can find your sanctuary in the song. It washes over you with its inherent charms, that you know where it's going--into the b-section with that scorching solo or into swelling to a thickly layered harmony for the third chorus' crescendo - this song is always going to be here for you. That part at the end, where the guitars cut away and a fill on the snare tumbles excitedly into a chest-thumping kick on the bass drum, that's where you can feel yourself punching the wall...and getting it out.

But some songs will only happen once. That's a given, and often a cliché. Yes, but, some Bands will only happen once...

4th Annual Rock Lottery: a benefit for Greening of Detroit featuring 60 local musicians randomly matched into 15 bands

If I could say anything about the Rock Lottery, its redeeming quality that could win your consideration amidst the Great Scary Shuffle of cynicism and seen-it-all's, event-invitations and insincere likes-of-things-you-might-not-actually-like... -this time - I'd like you to consider the nature of Detroit's Rock Lottery - dozens of local musicians, ticket-holders, are dumped together into 3- and 4-member groups and tasked to come up with one original song and one cover song - learn 'em, get 'em right, and perform them together (in just under a week).

So it becomes a social experiment. How quickly can musicians gel? Can they even ever gel at all, really? What happens if you take a member from the 50's-rock-revivalists The Walking Beat and put them in a room those with more raucous sensibilities, like a noise-digging punk-preservationist from the Terrible Twos or a no-wave-reveling-ambient-thrum-churner from Marco Polio & the New Vaccines?

Participants -so far- include members of: Lightning Love / The Terrible Twos / The Frustrations / Secret Twins / The Detroit Cobras / The Walking Beat / Belle Ghoul / Mexican Knives / K.I.D.S. / Phantom Cats / Detroit 442 / The HandGrenades / Old Empire / Johnny Ill Band / ...and many more...

What will it sound like?

The best part is that I can't use sensationalist, carnival-barker-esque language to tease you out to it. I'm not into teasing you, swaying you... Just asking you to consider... I know there's a lot out there and I know that you take in a lot - sharing-links, video-clips, polls, deciding whether to click "join" or "maybe" for the next local event... a lot.

You can take this article for granted. Take it with a grain of salt. But I'm betting you don't take local music for granted - I'm betting some of these musicians participating, holding their tickets, have made some songs that you've played and re-played, heard --and then heard-again at various live shows.

This article only happened. These songs, at the Rock Lottery - will only happen once. And we have no idea what they're going to sound like...

...And if you think its just a big bunch of rock-types wankin' off - then consider that it's for a good cause!  The Greening of Detroit who develop strategic landscapes (known as Green Infrastructure) and urban agriculture programs working towards benefiting a community’s social, economic and environmental health.

Ticket-holders (bands will be formed on Friday the 13th):

Scott Dunkerley - Frustrations

Andrew Pawelski - The HandGrenades

Kyle Akey - T-Tops

Whitney Hodge - Peach Pit

Erik Roosen - Jesse & the Gnome

Will Atkins -RZL DZL/ Heat Lightning

Justin Walker - Isles of ESP

Ryan Felton - Louder Than Bombs

Mike Hubbarth - Fancy Sauce

Carlos Ruiz - Replicas/ Weed Nap

Jeff Klein - Ko & the Knock Outs

Larry Wilson - Isles of ESP/ Tyvek

Arun Bali - Saves the Day

Dave Malosh - Electric Six/ Captains of the Head

Chris Campbell - Terrible Twos/ Johnny Ill Band

Zach Weedon - Mexican Knifes

Jeff Perry- Terrible Twos

Dina Bankole - Swimsuit / Secret Twin

Beren Ekine -

Pete Steffy - Johnny Ill Band

Todd McNulty - Sugarcoats

Ernie Guerra - Noman

Mike Trombley -The Sights

Julie Lucas - Mirror Twin

Mike Shalast - Replicas

Dale Wilson - The Octopus

Sandy Kramer - Thee Kaipirinas

Jesse Shepherd Bates - Jesse & The Gnome

Blake Hill - Instant Party

Ben Filler - Dread Wings/ Deaf Beasts

Shayne O'Keefe - Noman

Stevie Michael - Grand Nationals

Rob Wilson - Summer Pledge

Lacy Shelton - The Hillside Stranglers

Nick Chevillet - The HandGrenades

Sandy Hopkins - Velveteen Rabbit

Frank Woodman - Woodman

Michael Langan - Marco Pollio & the New Vaccines

Eric Allen - Twine Time/ Kommie Killpatrick

Nate Czarling - Bad Party

Andrew Beer - Noman

Deleano Acevedo - K.I.D.S.

Gabe Dodson - Old Empire

Steve McFever - Computer Perfection

Bill Kozy - Speedball

Phreddy Wischusen - Golden

Ben Collins - Lightning Love

Brittany Banenoch - BreeZee One

Jeff Arcel - Terrible Twos / Bill Bondsmen

Amado Guadarrama - Bill Bondsmen

Leslie Paterra

Kevin Herron - Esquire

Chris Koltay - Shadimond La Freedom

Danny Dollrod

Scott Stimac - K.I.D.S

Craig Brown - Terrible Twos/ Mahonies

Mary Cobra - Detroit Cobras

Loretta Lucas

Max Daley - Phantom Cats