Sing-song Call Girls; Spangler scores

Hooker-friendly

What do you get when you combine a trio of tarty, sex-positive pop chicks new to musical instruments, a fetching transsexual time-keep, an ex-cross-dressing Trash Brat and jizz-loads of glitter songs that plunge deep into personal record collections? The latest music-driven porn installment of John Leslie’s Fresh Meat Series on Evil Angel? Well, no, not exactly. According to urinal whispers, the aforementioned amalgamation is a spanking-new rock ’n’ roll band called the Car City Call Girls. We hear this impish quintet — whose members remain somewhat of a mystery at press time — are the antithesis of, or a reaction to, or even a send-up of the Detroit Cobras’ cover-song milieu, a band loyally upholding the honor of glam and punk sing-alongs. Word is CCCG’s set includes ageless chunes from Rose Tattoo, the Hollywood Brats, Lazy Cowgirls, and the Forgotten Rebels, among others. They also tackle Detroit great Suzi Quatro’s Chapman/Chinn classic “Lipstick,” the Wildhearts’ ever-pleasant “My Baby is a Headfuck,” and a (no-doubt) rousing version of the Stones’ “Starfucker.”

The Call Girls make their debut — for some band members, their first time ever on stage — this Saturday night at Hayloft Liquor Stand (140 N. Main, Mount Clemens, 586-468-1010) with Left For Dead.

Quote of the week

“I’m Mother Teresa with a boner.” —Ted Nugent

Royce rolls again

His beefs with members of D12 are settled. His dark days are past him. Royce da 5’9” is once again ready to get his thing in action. A new album and mixtape are scheduled to hit streets come February.

The album, Death Iz Certain, was recorded during the heat of his verbal and physical wars with D12 members Proof and Bizarre. Since those beefs have been squashed, what remains is an album that some have predicted will see a stellar run in 2004.

“I feel like a weight’s been lifted off of my shoulders,” Royce tells Hit Singles. “I’m not worrying about who I’m a kill on the mic next, what’s gonna happen to me in the street. I feel like I went through it, hit rock-bottom, and now it’s my time. Even though I recorded this album at a dark time in my life, I feel good.”

The album chronicles Royce’s trials, and was produced largely by Carlos “Six July” Broady and DJ Premier. “I love that cat,” Broady says about Royce. “He’s a real-ass dude. His focus in the studio is incredible.” During the recording, Royce awed his producers by sleeping only a few hours a night, spending his waking hours writing and tracking songs.

A mixtape recorded with the ever-popular DJ Butter will complement the release of Death. It’s said to contain all new material not on the album, including Vicious and Tupac Shakur songs.

Riot in numbers

Arch power-pop quartet the Rioteers overcame a demoralizing turn recently when Bay City bros Jason and Andy Reed suddenly up and quit. Seems the bass-and-guitar kinsmen opted not to endure the Detroit commute necessary for rehearsals and shows. Too bad for them.

“They were coming down from Bay City and, ultimately, it was too much,” explains Rioteer songsmith Tim McHugh. McHugh’s despondence over the split was short-lived and he wasted no precious (yes, the word is chosen carefully) time enrolling replacements. Montreal native Phil Murray stepped in on guitar. “He’s a smoking guitar player,” chirrups McHugh. “He learned guitar by studying Jimmy Page riffs, and now he finally gets to rock!” Indeed, Murray is coming off some sleepy Steely Dan-ish thing in Ann Arbor. Original Rioteer skinsman Jeffrey Hupp has switched to his instrument of choice, the bass. The new drummer is the in-demand Matt Aljian from Mood Elevator and Brendan Benson. “Matt’s the best drummer in Detroit — or, at least, the best drummer that I can get,” cracks McHugh. With Hupp and Aljian in tow the Rioteers are now three-fourths of the underappreciated Atomic Numbers.

McHugh, who recently renounced his office-work day job in favor of a Guitar Center gig, says the band’s Redd Kross/Cheap Trick anthem manifesto is essentially the same, promising the new lineup is gonna be “sweet.” A knuckle-whitening rehearsal schedule is underway and the revamped band is scheduled for a mid-November unveiling.

Ash bash

Hit Singles attended “Up From the Ashes: The R.J. Spangler Fire Relief Benefit” Sunday at the Magic Bag in Ferndale. Spangler, a Detroit blues stalwart who lost his home and its contents in a fire during the August blackout, must have more friends than anybody in town, judging by the hundreds who showed up for the event. Some brought books and records to help replace the extensive library he lost, while others whipped out their checkbooks. Artist Maurice Greenia even provided copies of the first Sun Messengers 45, the first record R.J. made. Musical highlights were numerous, including a stellar “Drown In My Own Tears” by Lyman Woodard, a friendly guitar battle between Johnnie Bassett and Larry McCray, earth-shaking sets from Alberta Adams and Thornetta Davis, and a first-rate turn from Doug Deming and the Jewel Tones. Kudos to the Bag and its staff for donating their joint; details on how much coin R.J. got were unavailable at press time.