Last year, we told you about Matt Gimmick, the Detroit punk band that released a killer EP in 1979. The 7-inch is especially notable for containing covers of unreleased songs by the Stooges. We’ve revised and updated our 2018 article, as the Matt Gimmick EP, out of print for decades, is about to be reissued for the first time, and we have the premiere of the remastered audio.

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In 1979, Matt Gimmick, a punk rock band out of Detroit that sprang from the ashes of one of the earliest Stooges-inspired groups, put out an EP that included a couple of unusual cover tunes. That they were Stooges compositions wasn’t the extraordinary part, though covering the unit fronted by Iggy Pop was far from common then; recording Stooges songs that virtually no one had ever heard before was most certainly noteworthy.   

The period following the second Stooges album, Fun House (1970), when Ron Asheton and James Williamson both played guitar, is an interesting era of the band, one that, alas, wasn’t well documented. It was a particularly dark time for the Stooges, as Elektra Records had dropped them, and three of the members—including Iggy—were addicted to heroin. This version of the group didn’t venture into the studio, and only very rough audience recordings are in circulation.
 

 
A CD boxed set consisting of four concerts from the Stooges’ spring 1971 outing was released in 2009 by Easy Action as You Don’t Want My Name, You Want My Action. The label did their best to clean up the tapes, but only so much could be done. At the time of the ‘71 tour, the band played the same six-song set of new numbers—all written by Iggy and Williamson—on a nightly basis (of those songs, only “I Got a Right,” recorded in 1972 by a different version of the band, and not released until 1977, is widely known). From the Easy Action collection, here are a couple of those tunes, “Fresh Rag” and “You Don’t Want My Name”:
 

 
Matt Gimmick evolved from the proto-punk band who called themselves—appropriately enough—the Punks. Formed in the Detroit suburb of Waterford in 1973, the Punks were around for a handful of years and did record, though they didn’t put out any material in their lifetime. Since 2003, a few Punks compilations have been issued, including Lost & Found 1973-1977, which came out in 2018. Check out the Punks via their YouTube channel.
 

The Punks, c. 1974.

The future members of the Punks used to go to shows together all the time, and in either late 1970 or the spring of 1971, they caught the Stooges at the Palladium in Birmingham, Michigan. Having snuck a tape recorder into the venue, the guys captured the Stooges’ entire set. Though what the group played was unfamiliar, the recording was nice and clear.
 

Detroit Free Press clipping, December 1970.

A couple of years later, the Punks learned three or four songs from the tape, which they mixed in with their originals during shows. Matt Gimmick recorded spot on versions of “Fresh Rag” and “You Don’t Want My Name” in late 1978 for their Detroit Renaissance ‘79 EP. Before launching head first into “Rag,” Matt Gimmick vocalist, Frantic, gives an amusing shout out to Iggy, and during the opening moments of “Ya Don’t Want My Name,” the singer is heard saying, “Goodbye Sid,” a nod to fallen Sex Pistols bassist, Sid Vicious, who died in February 1979.
 

The back cover (2019 reissue).

Two dynamite original numbers—the snotty, “Detroit Renaissance ’79,” and the Raw Power-esque ballad, “Cry”—balance out the 7-inch. Approximately 500 copies were released via the band’s own label, Earthbound Records.
 

 
I’ve been corresponding with Alan Webber, guitarist for both the Punks and Matt Gimmick. One of the things Al told me was how the latter group came up with their name.

The Gimmick part came from the fact that a lot of people in the music biz back then would say we needed some kind of gimmick to help the band “go places.” Like pyrotechnics or a fog generator—yeah right! So, we used the word “gimmick.” The Detroit music scene sucked back then.

I believe we got the name Matt from my great-uncle, Matt Flynn. He was the one that would call us a bunch of “punks” when we were first forming the Punks.

 

Matt Gimmick goofing around during a photo session, c. 1979.

Unfortunately, the cassette containing the Stooges’ Palladium show has been lost to the ages. No copies were ever made.

Matt Gimmick called it a day in the early ‘80s.

A documentary, My Time’s Coming: The Story of The Punks, is currently in the works. Follow the film’s progress on Facebook. The Punks first reunited for a show in 2003, and have played sporadically ever since. As for Matt Gimmick, Al says they “could play anytime in the near future.”
 

Matt Gimmick tearing it up at the legendary Detroit club, Bookie’s, c. 1979.

Here’s a preview of the Punks documentary:
 

 
Matt Gimmick photographs courtesy of Alan Webber. Thanks, Al.

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HoZac Records is set to reissue Detroit Renaissance ‘79, on vinyl and digital formats, by week’s end. Get it via HoZac’s website or Bandcamp.

As promised, here’s the premiere of Matt Gimmick’s remastered EP:

 

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Iggy & The Stooges playing at a high school gym in Michigan, 1970