Sleepy Rock Singer On Comeback Trail
Mitch Ryder Belts One Out
Sleepy Rock Singer On Comeback Trail
By Norman Gibson
STAFF REPORTER
Rock singer Mitch Ryder was asleep in Room 218 of the Wolverine Inn, 3505 S. State Street, Thursday.
It was only the middle of the afternoon, but he had had a big performance Wednesday night in the Second Chance nightclub, 516 E. Washington.
He also was ready for a big performance at the Second Chance Thursday night. His manager Tom Connor said it was a sold-out performance, all 650 seats being filled on Wednesday. He expected the same for Thursday.
Ryder stood at his motel room door in the thick of sleepiness.
"HUH?” HE said. “Oh, you want room 222,” and pointed down the outdoor corridor, and he shut the door.
"Oh, you shouldn't have wakened him,” manager Connor said. "He gets in a nasty mood when he doesn’t get his sleep. We were up late last night and early this morning. I want him to get sleep so he's good for the performance tonight. He won't be up until 7:30 at least. I told them to call me at 11 this morning to see if we could do the interview this afternoon. Go ahead, I can answer any questions. I'm his manager."
Ryder's band was lolling on the two beds in the motel room. They were flipping playing cards around and seemed restless. Maybe they were sleepy, too.
Ryder is making a comeback on the rock circuit. Those who keep track of such matters say that he was a regional star. He was a big name in the Detroit-Ann Arbor area.
Rock is believed to be coming back as a music form in this area. Some other parts of the country are reported to be coming back to it, too; but it is not widespread on the popular music scene.
CONNOR SAYS that Ryder was in Ann Arbor about six years ago, then went into a four-year retirement.
A new album will be released in September.
“It’s all material he’s written himself,” Connor says. "That’s a departure for him. He still is playing hard rock but it is broader and more contemporary. This gives his music another flavor. He is going in new directions as a singer. He’s doing blues, jazz, Bessie Smith jazz.”
His new band "is just as energetic as his other two bands,” Connor says.
Wilson Owen, who plays the drums, comes from the Ann Arbor based band Uprising. Mark Gougeon, who plays the bass, comes from the Ann Arbor based band Lightnin’.
Ryder’s first band was called The Detroit Wheels, a name that later was taken by a football team, which also went under. The Wheels were at their peak in 1967 and 1968.
After leaving the Wheels, producer Bo Crewer got Ryder jobs in Las Vegas, but this was not too successful.
His biggest record was “Devil with the Blue Dress,” which was made back in the 1960s.
The new band has done a tour of Canada and went to Youngstown, Ohio. They go to Detroit’s Renaissance Center next week and the Chicago Augustfest later.