Pig & Whiskey Afterparties: Detroit Proud Preview

Bring your appetite for barbecue and local live music to downtown Ferndale this weekend! The Pig & Whiskey street festival kicks off this Friday night and goes through Sunday evening. Detroit Proud is excited to sample some of the best barbecue the Detroit area has to offer, but what are we REALLY excited about?! The live music, of course!

After you've had your fill of barbecue and booze, head over to The Loving Touch and keep rockin' & rollin'! We caught up with some of the acts scheduled to perform at The Loving Touch's FREE after parties this weekend. Detroit Proud gathered Eddie Baranek of The Scrappers, Ryan Allen of Destroy This Place, and Matt Riessterer of The Erers and chatted about their bands' performances Friday and Saturday night. Check out what they had to say!

(photo: facebook.com/theErers)

What can new and veteran fans expect to see Friday and Saturday night?

Eddie - The Scrappers: It's the summer and you're on your friend's porch drinking a beer. We're the record you hear spinning on the record player in the corner. It's not too loud and it kinda reminds you of that one summer when you had your first...

Ryan - Destroy This Place: Our live show is loud. People can expect loudness. Bring earplugs.

Matt - The Erers: We like to bring the energy whenever we play.

(photo: Doug Coombe)

What other acts are you excited to see Friday or Saturday night? 

Eddie - The Scrappers: We like people who work with their feet and put on a show. The frontmen for The Beggars and Goober and the Peas take care of that just fine for us. Catch Goober & The Peas on Saturday ...and The Beggars on Sunday, both at Pig & Whiskey.

Ryan - Destroy This Place: I'm looking forward to catching YUM. I think I saw them once and the guitarist was super ripping, which I appreciate. I'm not real big on the two-piece/no-bass trend, but YUM seem to pull it off with enough stage presence and rock power. Go see Minihorse the next night. One of the best bands going in Michigan right now. Catch YUM on Friday and Minihorse on Saturday, both at the Loving Touch afterparties.

Matt - The Erers: There isn't a band in these lineups that I'm not looking forward to seeing. I've never seen Destroy this Place or Minihorse, but I've only heard great things for a while now. Catch Destroy This Place on Friday and Minihorse on Saturday, both at the Loving Touch afterparties.

(photo: facebook.com/destroythisplace)

How would you describe the local Detroit music scene? What makes it unique?

Eddie - The Scrappers: Detroit has many rooms for bands to play, and we like that. We much prefer to hear a band play in a corner of a dive bar rather than a large stage. Hearing/seeing them in their natural setting-- it's like checking them out while they're rehearsing in their basement. That's what Detroit sounds like to us.

Ryan - Destroy This Place: There seems to be a lot of diversity in the scene. There's bands like Zoos of Berlin and Fawnn who are making beautiful, pop-driven rock music with an experimental slant. There's heavier bands like Child Bite and the Armed who are tweaking the idea of what "metal" can be. Some of my favorites - like Undesirable People, Lawnmower, Mountain Club, Congress, Mexican Knives, Braided Veins, and Minihorse - are all skewing indie rock, punk and hardcore in their own unique ways. Obviously there's strong electronic and hip-hop scenes happening. There's country. There's just a lot going on, and people are sort encouraged to do their thing. If anything, I'd love to see us capitalize on that diversity and see things crossover a little bit more (and it does happen), but otherwise I think Detroit is a great place to be if you're an artist/in a band/producer/engineer/whatever. It always has been and hopefully always will be.

Matt - The Erers: I would describe the local Detroit music scene as growing. There is a solid community of genuine people who love the music they are surrounded by and the music they create. I think what makes it unique is the DIY community and the lush history in the music scene. It's also cool to see the big shows come through town and see all the familiar faces attending those shows. There is always a friendly face to see when you're out and about in Detroit.

Detroit Proud thanks Eddie, Ryan, Matt for talking with us about this weekend's festivities! All of the bands we spoke to perform at The Loving Touch afterparties! The Scrappers and Destroy This Place play Friday evening - The Erers perform Saturday night! See you there! 

For location and full line-up information of this year's Pig & Whiskey afterparties, CLICK HERE to check out The Loving Touch's Facebook page.