The Gories are an American

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 ...

trio that formed in

Detroit 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 t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

, United States, in 1986. They were among the first 1980s

bands to incorporate overt

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

influences. The band features Mick Collins (of

The Dirtbombs The Dirtbombs are an American garage rock band based in Detroit, Michigan, notable for blending diverse influences such as punk rock and soul, while featuring a dual bass guitar, dual drum and guitar lineup. The Dirtbombs were formed by Mick C ...

), Dan Kroha (later of the now defunct The Demolition Doll Rods) on guitar and vocals, and Peggy O'Neill on drums. The band originally broke up in 1992 after a European tour, reforming in July 2009 for a reunion tour across Europe, along with co-headliners The Oblivians. The band reconvened for a second reunion tour in 2010, this time across North America.

History

The Gories were formed in 1986 by metro-Detroit natives Mick Collins, Dan Kroha, and Peggy O'Neill. The Gories took their name from a band that appeared on the 1960s television show

Gidget Gidget () is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner (based on his teenaged daughter, Kathy) in his 1957 novel, ''Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas''. The novel follows the adventures of a teenaged girl and her surfing fri ...

. The band members, who at that time dressed in mod clothing, were friends for over a year before they decided to start the band. At the time they formed the Gories, only Collins had had any musical experience, and they had to teach themselves how to play. The Gories released their first album, ''Houserockin','' in 1989. The release had been pre-dated by two songs on a Wanghead compilation LP, ''It Came From The Garage Vol. II''. The band recorded the follow-up LP, ''I Know You Fine, but How You Doin','' in 1990, produced by Alex Chilton. They soon signed to the German label

Crypt Records Crypt Records is an independent record label founded by American-born Tim Warren in 1983. The label has been headquartered variously in Hamburg, Germany and in several locations in the United States. Crypt is perhaps best known for issuing the ten ...

and released ''Outta Here.'' After three albums, the band suffered a break-up in 1992.

Hiatus

Mick Collins went on to form various bands including

Blacktop Asphalt concrete (commonly called asphalt, blacktop, or pavement in North America, and tarmac, bitumen macadam, or rolled asphalt in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland) is a composite material commonly used to surface roads, parkin ...

and

, while Dan Kroha joined Rocket 455 and later formed the Demolition Doll Rods and The Readies. Peggy O'Neill went on to join '68 Comeback and The Darkest Hours.

Reunion

In September of 2008, via the

Goner Records Goner Records is an independent record label and record store co-owned by Eric Friedl of The Oblivians and Zac Ives and based in Memphis, Tennessee. It is known for releasing albums by punk, garage rock, and more recently post-punk and synth-orie ...

message board,

Greg Cartwright Greg Cartwright, also known by his stage name Greg Oblivian (born March 18, 1972), is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Memphis, Tennessee. From 2001 to 2022 he fronted Reigning Sound which was signed to Merge Records. After m ...

of the Oblivians announced that the Gories and the Oblivians would play reunion shows in Detroit and Memphis, as well as multiple shows across Europe in the summer of 2009. The ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primar ...

'' reported the reunion on April 1, 2009. '' The Metro Times'' ran a cover story on The Gories in its June 24, 2009, issue. The Oblivians-Gories show was at the Majestic Theater in Detroit on June 26, 2009.

Discography

Singles

* "Nitroglycerine" (New Rose, 1990, new 141/NR 100) * "Here Be The Gories" ( In The Red Records, 1991, ITR 003) * "Give Me Some Money" (

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are oft ...

, 1992, SP 134) * "Baby Say Unh!" ( Estrus Records, 1992, ES 724) * "To Find Out" (Giant Claw, 1992, GCS-005) * "You Little Nothing" (

Get Hip Records Get Hip Records is an independent Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most p ...

, 1995, GH-173) * “Be Nice” b/w “On the Run” ( Third Man Records), 2015, TMR-308)

Albums

* ''Houserockin LP/CD (Fanclub Records/New Rose, 1989, NR 340/FC 077) * ''I Know You Fine, But How You Doin LP/CD (New Rose, 1990, ROSE 219) * ''Outta Here LP/CD'' (

, 1992, CR-030)

Compilations

* ''I Know You Be Houserockin CD (

, 1994, CR-CD-04241) (re-release of first two records)

Live albums

* ''The Shaw Tapes: Live in Detroit 5-27-88'', 2013 (Third Man Records), CD and 12" Vinyl

References

External links

*Grunnenrock
"Gories Discography"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gories, The Garage rock groups from Michigan Garage punk groups Indie rock musical groups from Michigan Musical groups from Detroit Punk blues musical groups 1986 establishments in Michigan