musician
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
from
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
.
Biography
Collins first got exposure to early rock and roll music through his family's record collection. Also, living in Detroit, he was surrounded by Motown records, which provided influenc
Collins first played in a band called the U-Boats in 1981 and then in the Floor Tasters from 1984 to 1985. In 1986, the 20-year-old Collins helped form the seminal Garage punk (fusion genre), garage punk band,
The Gories
The Gories are an American garage rock trio that formed in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in 1986. They were among the first 1980s garage rock bands to incorporate overt blues influences. The band features Mick Collins (of The Dirtbombs), Dan K ...
. The band featured Collins on guitar, Dan Kroha (later of the
Demolition Doll Rods
The Demolition Doll Rods were an American three-piece glam rock, glam / garage rock band from Detroit, Michigan, United States. The band, known for outré stage attire, released its first record in 1994. The original line up included Dan Kroha a ...
) on guitar, and Peg O'Neil on the drums. After three albums and five singles the band broke up after a 1992 European tour.
Collins next worked in a basic
garage rock
Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...
band, Blacktop, from 1994 to 1996. After the demise of Blacktop, Collins helped form the King Sound Quartet, which had one single in 1996 and one album, ''The Get Down Imperative'', in 1997.
Collins then focused on another of his projects, the wide-ranging, musically eclectic Dirtbombs. The Dirtbombs had a changing shift of musicians behind Collins on guitar, but since 2004 has had a steady lineup. Throughout, the band has consisted of a 2-drum, 2-bass set-up behind Collins' guitar work.
In addition to the Dirtbombs, Collins has played in the Screws, an eclectic
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
band that has released two albums since 1999 and has appeared on several compilations, an the Voltaire Brothers a
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
project that issued a 2002 album, ''I Sing The Booty Electric''. He's also done solo work (including issuing a split 7-inch vinyl with Lorrette Velvette for the film ''Wanye County Ramblin in which Collins has a role), produced scores of other artists' music (including
Andre Williams Andre Williams may refer to:
* Andre Williams (musician)
* Andre Williams (American football)
* Andre Williams, British DJ better known as Shy FX
{{hndis, Williams, Andre ...
), DJ's, and does vocals for yet another long-time side project, Man Ray, Man Ray.
Collins was the host of ''Night Train'', a Saturday night show on
WDET
WDET-FM (101.9 MHz) is a public radio station in Detroit, Michigan. Broadcasting from Wayne State University in the city's Cass Corridor neighborhood, about a mile south of the New Center neighborhood, WDET broadcasts original programming and ...
, Detroit Public Radio. The program featured four thematic "journeys" through music. The first edition premiered on June 3, 2006, and included musical journeys of
Motown
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...
, and 1980s Detroit
garage band
Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...
The
Hysteric Narcotics
Hysteria, in its colloquial use, describes a state of mind, one of unmanageable fear or emotional excesses.
Hysteria may also refer to:
Psychology
* Conversion disorder, a replacement for the term hysteria in formal diagnostic manuals
*Histrio ...
. The show was canceled in spring 2007 after WDET scrapped its music programming.
Collins was the producer of the CD "Drop Dead" by
Figures of Light
Figures of Light is an American proto-punk band formed in 1970 by Wheeler Winston Dixon (lead vocals, slide guitar) and Michael Downey (rhythm guitar, backing vocals).Thomas Savage"The Figures of Light," ''Savage Magazine'', December 4, 2009.Ed Po ...
, which was recorded in Brooklyn, New York at Mitro's Studios June 2011, featuring fifteen new tracks from the group. It was released on vinyl by
Norton Records
Norton Records, is an independent record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller in 1986. The label concentrates on rock, rockabilly, primitive music, punk, garage rock and early rhythm and blues."Mick Collins' Turn it Down Interview "http://turnit-down.blogspot.com" Retrieved April 7, 2013.