[A BAND CALLED DEATH
screens Tuesday July 16th at 7:30 pm at the Capitol Theatre.]
Review
by Bob Ignizio
Late sixties Detroit proto punks like
Iggy and the Stooges and The MC5 may not have exactly had their
albums flying off of record store shelves when they were first
released, but at least the records were released, making rediscovery
and reassessment some years later a fairly simple affair. Not so the
case with the titular combo in A BAND CALLED DEATH,
who came along in the early seventies with their own unique brand of
Motor City rock.
The
band consisted of three African-American brothers – David Hackney
on guitar, Bobby Hackney on bass and vocals, and Danis Hackney on
drums. Encouraged by their parents to listen to all kinds of music,
the brothers soon found inspiration in The Beatles and later, The
Who. Although all three contributed substantially to the sound and
songs, it was guitarist David who proved to be the true visionary in
the group, coming up with the band name and a concept to go with it
that he refused to compromise on. David stuck to his guns even when
it meant the difference between getting a record contract or not,
refusing to change his band's name for Columbia Records president
Clive Davis.
