During the 1970s in America's heartland, few rock ensembles could boast a lineage as distinguished as that of Sonic's Rendezvous Band. This outfit united alumni from four pivotal groups hailing from the legendary Detroit/Ann Arbor music milieu of the late 1960s: Fred "Sonic" Smith from the MC5, Scott Morgan from the Rationals, Scott Asheton from the Stooges, and Gary Rasmussen from the Up. Over time, devotees of intense Michigan rock came to regard Sonic's Rendezvous Band as nearly mythic in stature, comparable to those earlier outfits. Yet outside the region, audiences waited years for access to their recordings. Adverse circumstances plagued the ensemble throughout its existence, resulting in just a solitary single from this exceptional and dynamic unit across its six-year duration.
The ensemble's origins trace to the MC5's dissolution after their calamitous New Year's Eve 1972 finale. Fred "Sonic" Smith soon sketched ideas for a fresh project. He first tried reassembling the MC5's rhythm section of Michael Davis and Dennis Thompson under the name Ascension, yet that venture collapsed after only two or three performances. At the same moment, vocalist and guitarist Scott Morgan, seeking to resume work after the Rationals folded, connected with Smith via MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer. The pair forged a bond; after Smith supplied lead guitar for Morgan's debut solo single, they opted to launch a band. They enlisted Davis on bass along with former Rationals Bill Figg and Terry Trabandt on drums and guitar. Following their lone concert, the configuration fractured when Davis faced drug-related arrest. Trabandt shifted to bass while Jeff Vail took the drum chair. One sparsely attended performance under the name the Orchids—hindered by a blizzard—preceded the official adoption of Sonic's Rendezvous Band once ex-Mitch Ryder's Detroit bassist Ron Cooke joined. Multiple drummers rotated through before Scott Asheton received an invitation upon his return to Michigan after years in California following the Stooges' ultimate collapse. Cooke's motorcycle passion created friction when he pawned his bass for a new bike days before a show; he was dismissed, and Gary Rasmussen arrived, locking in the classic SRB lineup.
In 1975 Sonic's Rendezvous Band commenced gigs across Michigan. Both Smith and Morgan supplied first-rate original material and alternated lead vocals. Although the members' prior affiliations helped draw local crowds, the group avoided any songs from their earlier bands. Steady club and roadhouse work built a regional audience, yet the wider industry paid scant heed to Michigan in the mid-1970s. Major labels, wary after the drug-fueled turmoil surrounding the MC5 and Stooges' finales, showed little inclination to sign a unit containing veterans of both. While no one doubted Smith's abilities, accounts consistently noted that the band's informal leader could prove difficult; taciturn and averse to frequent touring, he nevertheless performed with full commitment and composed some of his strongest songs during this period.
Despite ongoing obstacles, 1978 brought signs of progress. SRB regularly filled Detroit and Ann Arbor venues, supported national acts, and tracked two tracks for a self-issued single intended to lure label attention. Mounting friction between Smith and Morgan, however, led to the removal of Morgan's "Electrophonic Tonic" from the B-side; the 45 instead carried stereo and mono versions of Smith's "City Slang." Just before release, the band accepted an offer to back Iggy Pop on a European tour without Morgan. While they were abroad, Morgan cut solo demos with associates; Smith's discovery of this move further strained relations. Smith had also met punk poetess Patti Smith in 1976; their romantic involvement deepened, and after they began cohabiting in 1978 Fred gradually withdrew from the road, stalling the group's forward motion. A final round of benefit concerts for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra—without Morgan—marked the quiet conclusion in 1980, the same year Patti and Fred wedded. Smith's subsequent major undertaking surfaced only in 1986, when he worked with Patti on Dream of Life as songwriter, guitarist, and producer. It ranked among his final recordings; heart failure claimed him on November 4, 1994. Post-breakup, Morgan has issued solo work and performed with Powertrane, Dodge Main, and the Hydromatics; Rasmussen stays active in session and live settings via his group GRR; Asheton continues global appearances with the reunited Stooges. A one-off 1999 reunion under the name Rendezvous Band featured Deniz Tek of Radio Birdman in Smith's stead; that concert appeared on CD in 2000 as Gettin' There Is Half the Fun.
As punk's ascent revived interest in the Detroit rock scene of the 1960s that had fueled the new sound, Sonic's Rendezvous Band accrued an international following among discerning listeners who kept the flame alive after the group's split. Bootlegs of demos and concerts surfaced in the 1980s, joined by an unauthorized reissue of the "City Slang" single. Detroit's Mack Aborn Rhythmic Arts issued the first official album, Sweet Nothing, in 1998, sourced from a 1978 Ann Arbor soundboard recording. A second Mack Aborn release, City Slang, arrived in 2000, pairing the scarce 1978 single with additional live cuts. In 2006 the U.K. imprint Easy Action produced a six-disc box compiling demos, rehearsals, studio takes, and four complete concerts, elevating the band's profile to unprecedented heights. Further archival live documents, some drawn from that set, have followed in subsequent years.
