The Bloids

Ann Arbor’s The Bloids Return from SXSW & Release a New Album Produced by Al Sutton
Between their SXSW gig sponsored by Blender magazine and a new album produced by Al Sutton (Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, Hank Williams Jr.) and Chuck Alkazian (Christina Aquilera, Elton John, The Dave Mathews Band), Ann Arbor’s The Bloids are gearing up for an exciting year.

For their new album Memories of Things I’ve Never Done, Mr. Wax brought his hip hop, old-school R&B roots to the table and Robert 'Reverend Jim' Jones looked to his Beatles/King Crimson background to create a classic rock vibe with a fresh approach.
Memories is about love, loss and life’s constant ability to take people to the edge of sanity and back. It doesn't sit in one place - it ebbs, flows, but does so with a concept that creates a concise album. From the heart-felt Girl Named Paradise to the pulsing Anchor to the vibe of Feelin' Me, this CD is meant to move.
Unlike their previous EP, Civilized Savage, when they wrote 30 songs in nine days, The Bloids took several months to craft Memories. They had another 30 songs in the end and wrote most of them in the dead of summer in a studio without air conditioning.
Memories of Things I’ve Never Done is packed with a big team of guest stars including MC Breed, Vinnie Dombrowski, Marlon Young, Jimmy Bones, Chuck Alkazian, Eric Hoegemeyer, Steve Stetson and Allison Friendly who have been involved with everyone from The Dave Matthews Band to Kid Rock and Tupac.
Al Sutton of Rustbelt Records was passionate about recording the album. He heard Civilized Savage, dug where they were at, musically speaking, and they finally grabbed a beer and just vibed off of each other.
Mr. Wax, who worked with Chuck Alkazian in the past, had specific tracks in mind for him. Chuck did a killer job – check out his high energy, high output work on Anchor.
In addition, Memories of Things I’ve Never Done is packed with cameos and guest appearances. Mr. Wax, who has also produced many albums, worked with Vinnie Dombrowski and MC Breed. He even lived with MC Breed for a while. It was only natural to invite the pair to play on their album. Vinnie played drums on several tracks and MC Breed rapped on Feelin’ Me.

Then, while they were hanging out at Rustbelt Studios, they met Marlon Young, Jimmy Bones and Steve Stetson. Because Rustbelt is just that sort of studio – people hang out, hear something, groove on it and want to jump in. Marlon kicked it up on the bass with a sort of James Jamerson groove. Jimmy Bones brought the B-3 organ and gave the album a soulful vibe. Steve Stetson is a powerhouse of a drummer who is currently playing with Uncle Kracker.
Eric Hoegemeyer also dropped some cool synth lines on All Night.
It wasn’t long before the finished album caught the attention of Blender magazine. They invited The Bloids to play their stage at SXSW in Austin that hosted such artists as Paolo Nutini, Albert Hammond Jr., The Fratellis, Peter Bjorn and John. Playing with national artists is no big thing for Rev. Bob who’s played with the likes of Live and Michelle Branch, but seeing so many great artists in an intimate setting about five feet from the stage, well, that’s quite another thing. For their own set, The Bloids asked Eric to round out their twosome on keys.
The Bloids spent four crazy days at SXSW. Rev. Bob met former MTV VJ Matt Pinfield, who was genuinely excited about listening to new music, and Brit Daniel of Spoon who is a huge musical influence. They ran into Wayne Coyne who was shooting a bit for The Tonight Show – and he was still wearing a plaid suit despite the 100-degree heat. They even bumped into Kirsten Dunst. She was shorter than they’d imagined her to be.
Shortly after they returned from SXSW, Mr. Wax was nominated for the Outstanding Hip Hop DJ award at the 2007 Detroit Music Awards. - Fox News

Never heard of an Ann Arbor band The Bloids? That may be about to change. The band ("Mr. Wax'' and the Reverend Robert "Jim'' Jones) just released a new album, "Memories of Things I've Never Done,'' and has also drawn the attention of Blender magazine, which invited The Bloids to play their stage at the most recent South By Southwest music festival in Texas and picked them as one of 18 bands to participate in an upcoming Battle of the Bands on-line competition.

The duo plays at the Elbow Room Sunday night.

The new album features artists such as MC Breed, Vinnie Dombrowski (from Sponge), Marlon Young, Jimmy Bones, Chuck Alkazian, Eric Hogemeyer, drummer Steve Stetson (Uncle Kracker), Allison Friendly and many more. Al Sutton (Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, Hank Williams Jr.) and Chuck Alkazian (Christina Aguilera, Elton John, The Dave Mathews Band) produced.

"The Bloids have been around since 2005; we both have been doing our respective things,'' Jones said recently. "Wax has been running (Ann Arbor's) Bassmeant Productions studio since 1989 and I've been about 15 other bands you may or may not have heard of.'' Wax released the CD "Phantom of Hip-Hopera'' in 2001 and he also has a Detroit Music Award nomination to his credit.

"I bring more a of Beatles-classic rock vibe into Wax's hip-hop and old-school R&B,'' Jones added, in an attempt to categorize the band's' sound.

"We're doing a batch of local shows until close to fall, then (Wax) and I are going to hit the road, probably do an East Coast run then go from there. Lots of playing, hard work and touring are on our agenda,'' he said.

Jones and Wax are understandably thrilled about the Blender news. "I think we're the only band from the Midwest, which we are pretty proud of. It will be a big deal if we win that.'' Voting starts next month.

"We're basically songwriting nerds, we'll get together on a day and knock out three songs. Before the next album we'll have 60-80 songs to whittle down,'' Jones promised. - Ann Arbor News

The Bloids, Frequency 54, & Core Effect @ Club 54 6-28-07
After last week's performance by The Brian Schram Band, da Club seemed a bit empty for tonight's show. But that didn't last long. As the night moved on, the crowd moved in. Opening up tonight was a highly anticipated (for me) set from the Ann Arbor based group "The Bloids". We sadly walked in at the end of their performance at the Blender Magazine show inside the Magic Bag about a month ago. Luckily we love local music so much, that we picked up their new CD "Memories Of Things I,ve Never Done" anyways. Good move, thank you. With a name like The Bloids, I was certain that this disk would sound like Detroit Garage ( BTW- I love that sound too.). But much to my surprise, it was nothing of the mold! Sounding more like a Steely Dan type of thing, these guys grabbed my attention, I just love their style of writing where every song has story to be told. This carries over to their live performance as well, where Mr. Wax opens up on stage and let's all of us inside with his story telling. With The "Reverend" Jim Jones supplying the rhythms on Guitar and Uncle Kracker's current drummer, Steve Stetson, driving the beat, The Bloids delivered one smooth & groovy set. Steve was flying out to North Dakota the following day to meet up with Uncle Kracker as they were opening up for Ted Nugent Saturday. Kinda cool, huh? Covering most of their new cd, they finished their set with A Girl Named Paradise, a radio friendly song that should be spinning on the airwaves today. These guys where a thrill to talk to, and stayed the whole night to show their support for the local scene. Watch out for these guys, they can be found at bloidsmusic.com. Check 'em out. Now while watching Justin from Frequency 54 hurt himself at the "Power Punch" machine, (just kidding) the boys from Flint were warming up this night for their CD release party Saturday up in their neck of the woods at the Machine Shop. Justin seemed pretty confident that they would fill the Machine Shop for that show, and my guess is they will. These guys deliver a "Rock" solid performance every time we see them, and tonight was no different, although we did miss Justin's "table dancing" as he chose to leave this out. LOL. Lots of fan's up there, and they do come down here to support them as well. I remember the first time they played the club this past winter, the 54 cent freaks practically filled da Club themselves, on a THURSDAY!! Can't wait to get a chance to spin the "New" one. They currently have 2 disks out, with "Beginnings" set to drop at the party Saturday. Congratulations to Frequency 54 as they are set to support Saliva at the Machine Shop August 16th. Check them at frequency54.com. Core Effect was on last, closing out the night @ da Club, and having played this club before, proceeded to give us the lively show they're known for. Playing off their Avenue of the Americas CD, the boys cranked through the jams, giving us "Certainty" that Core Effect was in the da Club! Always fun to watch, they are scheduled to play over at the Bag July 21st. You can catch up with them here-
coreeffect.com . Anyways, stay tuned with DR2 as we are heading to the Stars and Stripes Festival in The Cleme all weekend. Gonna be a fun one, don't miss it! Over - Detroit Rock Review