Sonics Rendezvous Band - The Second Chance

Tracklisting Second Chance Feb 22nd 1977 (from reels ) 97:35 Disc One: 1. Electrophonic Tonic, 2. Dangerous, 3. Its alright, 4. Earthy, 5. Soul Mover, 6. Cool Breeze, 7. Like a Rolling Stone, 8. Do it again, 9. Hearts Disc Two: 1. You Gotta Succeed (if you really try), 2. Asteroid B612, 3. Step by Step, 4. Keep on Hustlin’, 5. Song L, 6. City slang, 7. Empty Hearts (encore).

Sonic’s Rendezvous Band were: Fred Sonic Smith (MC5, Patti Smith) Scott Asheton (Stooges) Gary Rasmussen (The Up) Scott Morgan (Rationals, Hydromatics, Hellacopters)  The unreleased full show from the famous Second Chance club • Deluxe release in outsized cardboard gatefold sleeve • Taken from original reels • Due to sales of the SRB box set demand for this rarity is already high • Advertising in uk and European monthlies. More famous in death then when they were alive, Sonic's Rendezvous Band has attained legendary status in the pantheon of Michigan rock. They existed from 1975- 80 and during that time issued just one 45, the monumental City Slang, original copies of which now change hands for hundreds of dollars. They barely played outside their home state, yet their impact is still felt today, in bands from Stockholm to Seattle to Sydney, and all points in between.  Sonic's Rendezvous Band arose, phoenix like, from the ashes of four of the Motor City's finest proponents of high energy rock the MC5, the Stooges, the Rationals, and the Up. The members steadfastly refused to bank on their illustrious pasts. They insisted on a more original kind of expression  hardly a guarantee of steady employment for a local band in the mid to late '70s. Scott Morgan was the instigator of the first version of the band. He and Fred "Sonic" Smith called it the Orchids, for one lowkey show on a blizzard swept Detroit night. Several line ups later and the pair settled on a backline of Scott "Rock Action" Asheton (ex Stooges) on drums and Gary Rasmussen (The Up) on bass. Bloodied but unbowed by the implosion of his former band, the rabble rousing MC5, "Sonic" was fast evolving past his roots in Berry/Stones drive into a guitarist/songwriter/singer of unmatched emotional directness and power. Morgan was the former Rationals' blue eyed soul brother supreme Morgan, arguably the finest American rock singer and no slouch as a songwriter and guitarist. Sonic's Rendezvous Band was more than just a quartet that rocked hard, although they did THAT with a vengeance. The confluence of Fred's spirituality and Scott's soulfulness made them much, much more.  Recent releases of studio and live material  the Sweet Nothing and City Slang albums on Mack Aborn  make it easy to hear what the band could deliver in performance. But Gary Rasmussen has indicated that in rehearsals, the band would warm up with jams a lot more free form than anything they ever played publicly (although audience recordings of "American Boy" provide a tantalizing taste of what those jams MIGHT have sounded like). In more ways than one, this band was THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY. It seems criminal that they never found a wider audience in their day _ and begs the question, Why? Part of it has to do with the fact that they weren't charismatic performers in the way the Five or Stooges were. Scott Morgan freely admits today that "we just stood there looking at our shoes". Another factor was the depressed state of the local music scene generally and both a lack of major label interest and a reluctance to tour generally, as Sonic Smith moved more into domestic life with wife to be Patti Smith. Then there was the tension between Fred Smith and Scott Morgan, itself a positive creative force and a limiting factor at various stages of the band's life. Sonic's Rendezvous Band was arguably the right band in the wrong time. The full text of this article with quotes from band members appears at the I94 Bar ezine. http://www.sonicsrendezvousband.net

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