HELL FREEZES OVER, LONG LIVE THE ROCKETS

In April, following their raucous performance at the 2010 Detroit Music Awards, the Hell Drivers announced their name change and the return of The Rockets. Rocket Roll is back again, and the new make up of the group is as determined as ever. The Bearded Hag caught up with front man and chief hell raiser, Jim Edwards to give us the scoop on the Rocket action in 2010.  

BH The Hell Drivers is a cool name, great songs, why the switch back to The Rockets?

The Hell Drivers was a cool name. Johnny Bee came up with that one, and it made all of us grin. Playing with those guys on a small stage felt as chaotic as a bar fight some times. The song list we'd put together was many things; a taste of all of the songs Jim McCarty and Johnny "Bee" (Badanjek) had played on or written, songs by other great Detroit musicians we'd played with, or songs we recognized to be an iconic part of the fabric of Detroit. Early on when we were playing Romantics songs for instance, Wally Palmar would get up and join us. The crowd would go nuts. So we had a Rationals song in there in the event Scott Morgan ever dropped in (the house). We had an Iggy song, a Seger song or two, and even dabbled briefly with a Patti Smith song. The songs that got the most response and had more requests for were Rockets songs. "When are you gonna play Fast Thing In Detroit? When are you gonna play "She's a Pretty One", when are you gonna play "Rollin' By The Record Machine"? The Rockets have such a huge catalog it is hard to pick.

The other thing is that The Hell Drivers were viewed as “just a bar band.” Partially because of the covers, and let's face it, we were playing in bars. Despite the lifetime work of Johnny "Bee" Badanjek and Jimmy McCarty; calling the band, The Hell Drivers, put us on par professionally and categorically with every run of the mill band playing "Old Time Rock and Roll" at a wedding. There's nothing wrong with that mind you, but these guys peers are Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, and have played with The Who for "chrissakes." The Rockets was the name they did it with, and that name is far more established.

BH What is first order of business for the band, being The Rockets?

We are currently putting together a 90 minute show that will knock the socks off the audience. We are also working up new, fresh material to add to the list, but we do not want to lose the audience with too many songs they've never heard either. So live, we'll have to wait until we get a new Rockets album out before we start adding 5 or 6 new ones. You will have to be happy with one or two new ones for now.

BH What plans are there for any new recordings or re-recordings of songs (Hell Drivers or Rockets)?

The most undisputed thing in this band is our desire to make new recordings. Everyone writes, so having new material is not the problem. Having the time to work up new stuff is tough, but what we've all brought to the table is sounding great. Right now we're doing pre-production in my project studio, or I set up a live recording rig in our rehearsal space.

BH What plans are there for performing this year?

We'll debut the band July 2nd at Mt. Clemens Stars and Stripes, and are still working on other dates. An actual tour in the traditional sense is not feasible. The days of riding in a tour bus for weeks on end does not appeal to any of us, but flying out and doing one-offs where there are Rockets fans is do-able. You won’t see us dragging a trailer behind a 16 passenger van either. We'd kill each other by the time we got to Toledo.

BH What do you want to tell the readers about the Rockets?

The Rockets are Jim McCarty and Johnny “Bee” Badanjek. Dave Gilbert was one of the greatest rock and roll voices I'd ever heard when I was younger. Before he died, I'd always held out hope that he would get straight, and the Rockets would get back together. When he died; I thought, as well as a lot of fans, that I'd never get to hear those songs again. Years later, the planets aligned, and here we are. We've got two Detroit music icons playing like they are 25 years old, playing some of the best music of their lives, for the greatest Rock and Roll audiences in the world. If a few more things get aligned; promoters, radio, management, it will all come together and Rock and Roll in Detroit will live another day. For now, we're doing what we do best.

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