Biography
Powertrane fused three eras of Michigan rock heritage into a hard-charging ensemble where soul-infused vocals met the blunt force of 1960s-inspired guitar attack and the raw attitude of garage and punk. Their onstage energy translated to the 2002 live document Ann Arbor Revival Meeting, yet the same approach translated successfully to recorded settings on the 2007 studio album Beyond the Sound.
Fronting the group was vocalist and guitarist Scott Morgan, a pivotal presence in the Detroit and Ann Arbor circuit whose résumé includes fronting the Rationals during the 1960s and later writing and performing with former MC5 guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith in Sonic's Rendezvous Band throughout the 1970s. In 2001 Morgan connected with guitarist Robert Gillespie, whose own history encompassed work alongside MC5 singer Rob Tyner in the 1970s, membership in the Detroit underground outfit the Torpedos across the 1970s and 1980s, co-founding the Motor City Rockers alongside the Romantics’ Jimmy Marinos, and an extended stint as lead guitarist in Mitch Ryder’s road band. Their complementary approaches prompted the pair to assemble a unit, bringing aboard bassist Chris "Box" Taylor, previously active with Ann Arbor groups Mazinga and the Avatars, and drummer Andy Frost, who had already collaborated with Morgan in the Hydromatics and performed with the High Rollers.
Powertrane debuted onstage in 2001; excerpts from two 2002 concerts that also featured Deniz Tek and Ron Asheton later surfaced as Ann Arbor Revival Meeting. Following further road work the band entered the studio for Beyond the Sound, though by the album’s 2007 release Andy Frost had departed and Dave Knepp, known from the Sights and the Singles, had taken the drum chair. Knepp’s tenure proved brief, with Alex King assuming drumming duties in time to record the 2009 single “2 + 2 = ?,” a forceful reading of Bob Seger’s antiwar classic. The group’s final appearance came in July 2009 at Don Was’ Concert of Colors inside Detroit’s Orchestra Hall. Andy Frost passed away in 2010. Electrophonic Records issued a 2008 7-inch pairing the rare studio cut “Pearl” with a live version of “She Messed Up My Mind” drawn from another Morgan project, the Solution; the single was reissued in 2018.
Fronting the group was vocalist and guitarist Scott Morgan, a pivotal presence in the Detroit and Ann Arbor circuit whose résumé includes fronting the Rationals during the 1960s and later writing and performing with former MC5 guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith in Sonic's Rendezvous Band throughout the 1970s. In 2001 Morgan connected with guitarist Robert Gillespie, whose own history encompassed work alongside MC5 singer Rob Tyner in the 1970s, membership in the Detroit underground outfit the Torpedos across the 1970s and 1980s, co-founding the Motor City Rockers alongside the Romantics’ Jimmy Marinos, and an extended stint as lead guitarist in Mitch Ryder’s road band. Their complementary approaches prompted the pair to assemble a unit, bringing aboard bassist Chris "Box" Taylor, previously active with Ann Arbor groups Mazinga and the Avatars, and drummer Andy Frost, who had already collaborated with Morgan in the Hydromatics and performed with the High Rollers.
Powertrane debuted onstage in 2001; excerpts from two 2002 concerts that also featured Deniz Tek and Ron Asheton later surfaced as Ann Arbor Revival Meeting. Following further road work the band entered the studio for Beyond the Sound, though by the album’s 2007 release Andy Frost had departed and Dave Knepp, known from the Sights and the Singles, had taken the drum chair. Knepp’s tenure proved brief, with Alex King assuming drumming duties in time to record the 2009 single “2 + 2 = ?,” a forceful reading of Bob Seger’s antiwar classic. The group’s final appearance came in July 2009 at Don Was’ Concert of Colors inside Detroit’s Orchestra Hall. Andy Frost passed away in 2010. Electrophonic Records issued a 2008 7-inch pairing the rare studio cut “Pearl” with a live version of “She Messed Up My Mind” drawn from another Morgan project, the Solution; the single was reissued in 2018.
Albums