Orbit Magazine, May 1998
Not Your Father's Rock & Roll

The Electric Six (formerly The Wildbunch) are not your typical rock and roll. Not even for Detroit. Transcending music into communication, they're more about irony and parody, with high-voltage rock and roll as its translator. From live performances to their three vinyl-only releases, and one very limited 8-track recording, the Electric Six (formerly The Wildbunch) challenge the aural and common senses.

First there's the song "Gay Bar," an intriguing enough title, using the shock of it to pull the observer into a much deeper black hole, the taunting of the start of a nuclear war. Then there's "The Ballade of MC Sucka DJ." In a city that boasts major-label act Insane Clown Posse, the song turns Detroit rap notions on end, bearing a pseudo-rap chorus, contrasted with a marked accent on crashing guitars and cymbal clutter--not your typical rap song.

Their sound could be attributed to the varying record-collecting habits of its band members. Valentine, weaned on 80s synthesizer pop-sensibility, finds his work augmented by the dirty-ass rock influences provided by the remaining band members, creating a collage that has been aptly described as "Kiss meets Devo."

The live experience carries yet another element of astonishment. Besides the self-confident, outrageous antics of one Dick Valentine, aspiring weatherman, singer and self-proclaimed "dictator" for the group, the sonic assault of their tailored version of "Rio" (yes, the same one by Duran Duran) is enough to leave one ultimately confounded, asking yourself who gave this group license to defy typical notions of rock music?

According to Martin M., drummer and co-founder of the band, "We're the Electric Six (formerly The Wildbunch). We can do anything we want. That's the whole point of the band." Get a glimpse for yourself at The Blind Pig in Ann Arbor on Thursday, May 21.