This is your chance to throw your support behind one of the hardest working bands in Detroit. Get down to the Hard Rock Cafe in Detroit tonight for a FREE SHOW from this amazing band and help put Detroit on the global map as force to be reckoned with. You can't go wrong with a free show that showcases some of the most amazing talent Detroit has to offer!
http://www.theinfatuations.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TheInfatuations
The Infatuations is a Detroit band, but give them a good listen and the chances are that you won’t need to be told that
because these guys take everything that’s awesome about Motor City
music, throw it in a big old pot and stir. The results are undeniably
spectacular.
Put
simply, the Infatuations is a high-energy soul-driven-rock band, but
that definition doesn’t really do them justice. The Infatuations makes
you want to dance. No, scrub that. The Infatuations makes you need to
dance. These guys combine the pop-suss of Motown soul, the sheer
in-your-face bravado of Parliament Funkadelic, and the raw, untamed
energy of Detroit rock ’n’ roll. The Infatuations force you to get up on
your feet and move.
How
do they do it? There are a million talented musicians out there – many
of them in Detroit – but not all of them have the swagger, the flowing
sexual energy, to seduce their audience like a hot girl on the wrong
side of town. Listening to the Infatuations feels slightly bad, but oh,
so good.
The Infatuations was formed by Christian Draheim and Marco Lowe as
an acoustic cover duo back in 2009 with the aim of bringing some paying
customers into the Eclipz Lounge inside the Greektown Casino. “Our first gig was January 9 2009 as a 2 piece acoustic cover duo,” Draheim says. “Marco invited J.T. Lee to
come out and sit in during the show on percussion playing the Cajon. So
I literally met J.T. and five minutes later we were playing our 1st gig
together. We played a handful of cover gigs, then on April 24 2009 we
had our EP/CD Release party for the January Sessions EP.”
The
boys felt that they were tapping into something special and just a
couple of months later, the band switched to original tunes. As well as
Draheim (guitar), Lowe (vocals) and Lee (drums), the original lineup
featured Aaron Julison of Kid Rock’s Twisted Brown Trucker Band on bass.
Since then, members have come and gone, including local country gal
Jennifer Westwood and Mitch Ryder guitarist Paul Moore. The current,
settled lineup features Draheim, Lee, vocalist Caleb Gutierrez, guitarist Chris Polite, bassist The Wolf (Kenny Olson’s bands), drummer/percussionist Robert Myers, and guitarist Nick Behnan (JIVA).
Co-founder Marco Lowe is no longer fronting the band, though he is
still deeply involved behind the scenes, working side-by-side with
Draheim in a role he loves as songwriter, producer and on development of
the Infatuations overall.
“While we were recording January Sessions,
Marco always joked that he was a rock singer at heart”, says Draheim.
“He wanted to find a dynamic, soul inspired vocalist that possesses the
power of Levi Stubbs, and the smoothness and range of Stevie Wonder with
a little bit of Tyner grit. On a Sunday night in September of 2009 that voice was heard. Billy Reedy (former Ty Stone lead
guitar player) and I were at an open mic night when we heard Caleb
Gutierrez for the first time. Caleb, started wailing away singing
“Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley full voice, and everyone in the room, stunned,
turned to watch and listen. A little over a year later Caleb joined the
Infatuations.”
Since that day, Gutierrez has sung the National Anthem at Comerica Park as part of the Latin-themed ¡Fiesta Tigres!,
and in October 2011 was invited by the Michigan Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce to sing the National Anthem at Ford World Headquarters in honor
of Ford Motor Company's Hispanic Heritage Month celebration.
Meanwhile,
the Infatuations has co-headlined Arts,
Beats & Eats in 2011 and headlined in 2012, both years on the Ford
Alternative Stage. In addition, it has headlined the Sparks in the Park in 2011, played the Stars & Stripes Festival in 2011, headlined the West Dearborn Oktoberfest, played
the 2012 Mid Point Music Festival in
Cincinnati, and played Detroit River
Days in 2011 and as co-headliner in 2012. “We seem to do really well at
festivals,” says Draheim. “The crowds are larger at the end of our set than the
beginning.”
Damn
straight they are. You see, the music that the Infatuations make is
infectious. It has a way of getting under your skin. That is why the
band will always do well at festivals – because it has the benefit of
passing traffic. People will be walking past the stage or waiting for a
band that they know, they will catch a few notes, maybe hear Gutierrez
killing it, and they won’t be able to leave. See for yourself - the Infatuations will be performing at the Mid Point Music Festival in Cincinnati for the first time at 11 p.m., Saturday,
September 29th 2012. They will also be performing at the West Dearborn Oktoberfest at 8:15pm, Friday, October 5th 2012.
That
is why the band is so aptly named – because it doesn’t simply have
“fans” like other bands. Its followers are genuinely infatuated with the
music. Everybody that listens to the Infatuations is basically having a
love affair with the members. It’s intimate. It means something. It
feels really good. On that note, the Infatuations has won the vitaminwater People's Choice Award two years in a row (2011 & 2012) at the Detroit Music Awards, which means a lot to the band as it is based on general public voting.
The band has thus far released the five-track January Sessions EP in 2009, the “Blame it on You” single in February 2012 and the Recorded Live in Front of a Studio Audience seven-track
mini album that same month. Those recordings, as well as countless
stellar live performances, have led to the Infatuations receiving 15
Detroit Music Award nominations, and an Emmy Award nomination for the
“Blame it on You” video.
The Infatuations are one of the best dance rock bands, dance bands and rock bands to have come out of Detroit in recent years, and in this town that means a hell of a lot.
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Metro Times - "The Infatuations’ January Sessions (Acid
Groove) sounds like the sort of music that Justin Timberlake wishes he
had the balls to make. In other words, this is fun and dance-able
white-boy disco-soul. “Dancin’ On My Knees”, in particular, is a great
tune."
Real Detroit Weekly – “The Infatuations are
like a can full of disco-funk, Motown soul and Detroit rock. Yet
another very Motor City-sounding band well worth checking out.”
Motorcityblog – “Blending
a mix of funk, soul, pop and just about every other aspect of music
that defines Detroit since its birth, The Infatuations breathe a fresh
life in to the music scene.”
Detroit Rock Review - “We at DR2 love when we get to hear something so unique, and so very Detroit, (yeh, we just used Detroit as an adjective!) so you gotta know we were already lovin' this 5 song epic, when the last track hit us squarely in that happy place only music can reach.” Detroit Live Magazine - “This group of young veteran musicians has taken the Motown roots combined with their obsession of celebration to create a new Detroit sound that will have you Dancing On Your Knees.” (Dancin’ On My Knees) “This tune puts me in a past era while feeling like the present. Its rock n beat and Motown feel would have had Berry Gordy dancing on his head to hear more.” |