[Photo: Fabrizio Costantini]

[by Scott Thill]

With nothing much more than their guitars, drums and oversexed imaginations, Detroit's Demolition Doll Rods are following in the footpaths laid down by elder statesmen like The Stooges and newer ones like The Dirtbombs. Not that they're neophytes: The Doll Rods have been together since 1996, and have worked with sleaze-rockers as diverse as The Cramps and Jon Spencer -- and whatever he's calling his Blues Explosion these days. So they've managed to help resurrect the Detroit rock scene now dominating the world, and have the new album There is a Difference (out now from Swami) to prove it. I got nasty with the guitarist Danny Doll Rod for a quick minute, although I would have preferred the company of his compatriots Margaret Doll Rod (vocals and guitar) or Thumper Doll Rod (drums) instead. Me and the rest of Detroit.

Morphizm: How can vegans produce such beer-soaked, meat-and-potatoes rawk?
Danny Doll Rod: It's not what you put in your body, it's what you put out. And when it comes to rawk, well, we put out.

Morphizm: The band's sound seems appropriately stripped-down. Are you purists or just really big fans of The Stooges?
DDR: We love the Stooges, but we just do what we do, so you get what you got.

Morphizm: Speaking of, testify about Detroit. From the Pistons to the Stripes, it's on the map again with a vengeance. What is it about the region that produces so much earnest roughnecks?
DDR: We don't know much about sports. Don't know much about rednecks, or stripes unless they are in our soiled panties. However, Detroit is a special place to be because it has nothing but soul.

Morphizm: Why does mainstream punk and rock suck so much ass?
DDR: Sucking ass is an art and some people are better at it than others. God bless them for they know not what they do.

Morphizm: Have we forgotten where the terms "rock 'n' roll" came from? Sex, right?
DDR: For some, sex is a dirty subject and from our experience if you got enough time to talk about it you're usually not doin' it.  Insatiable as it may seem, we just can't get enough, so that is why we are doin' it live every night. 

March 17, 2006

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