The Displays

It's difficult to clarify the semantics of Detroit Garage Rock .. suffice it to say that it means (or once meant) something to all of us .. and that whatever it is or was, there are always some who claim it is dying or already dead.

The Displays: Brandon Mallon (guitar), Andrew Hecker (bass) and Scott Ryan (drums) could come to represent a renaissance for Detroit garage, not only for the quality of their music, but for the fact that each member of the trio is only 13-years-old .. with a long road of rocking laid out ahead of them.
..Relevant to any ambiguous summations on Detroit garage is the fact that this band, and everything it's about, was formed entirely by the music of Detroit, and already at 13 they've got a sound worthy of being set beside something like The White Stripes' debut.

The sounds, stories and styles of all of the Detroit Greats have been so ingrained upon the impressionable minds of these three that their songwriting sensibilities and musicianship have matured at an alarming rate.

They've already got some legendary anecdotes to regale to their friends within the halls of Helen Keller Junior High School in Royal Oak .. like being pulled up on stage to play alongside The Hard Lessons at this summer's TasteFest, then later bowling in the Garden Bowl with Augie and Ko Ko Louise. "I can imagine a bar at 11 p.m. might be kind of boring for a 13-year-old, so we figured, 'What the hell .. let's bowl!'" Augie explained.

They've also hosted a concert in their own garage, for which John Szymanski was in attendance. "It was refreshing as hell," he exclaimed. "It was exactly what a garage band should be .. trashy as can be, Detroit band covers, just out of tune enough!"

"I love the songs their writing," said fellow garage show attendee Tony Muggs, proclaiming The Displays to be "the next batch of Detroit goodness to come out rocking and genuinely mean it."

"We all just liked the sound (garage) and that's what we wanted, so we decided to start our own band with that sound," Andrew explained.

"There's no other band out there that sounds like the kind of music now that's coming from Detroit," Brandon stated.

Andrew and Scott have known each other since preschool and the trio was formed (with Brandon) as friends two years ago. Over Spring Break in their 7th grade year, finding a mutual appreciation for both the proto-punk of The Stooges and MC5 as well as the recent explosion of our contemporary garage rock, they decided to start a band. Andrew had already had exposure to Detroit's punk rock chronicles through his mom and dad, the creator of Punk Fitness and a member of The Orbitsuns respectively. Scott and Brandon have both been playing their instruments from a considerably young age.

"I think they've got a lot of potential," said Dave Allison, who provided the boys internships in exchange for recording time at Rust Belt Studios. "They're definitely motivated .. tenacious as hell."

The boys have already recorded their own EP. "We did a demo in my basement," Brandon said. "Some of it's on 4-track, some of it's on cassette recorder, and we recorded three songs at Rust Belt."

The Displays are currently finishing up work on a 7" with Rust Belt and in a few months have plans to record a full length with Bobby Emmett of The Sights.

For their age, their musical consciousness and talent is astounding and rejuvenating .. as they play an exceptional cover of the Stooges "I Wanna Be Your Dog" often to an audience containing fellow teens, this could very well lead to a new culture completely resurged about the phenomenon of garage rock... | RDW - Real Detroit Weekly

Encouraged by a cast of local musicians, the members of The Displays went from songwriting over last spring break to sharing with the bands they study. The Royal Oak eighth-graders were inspired by the Detroit garage rock scene, which now supports The Displays by inviting them to open at local venues. "Most of our audience is people in other bands," said Andrew Hecker, 13, bass and vocals. "They recognize ua as the ones who are up front for every show." The trio - with guitar and vocals by Brandon Mallon, 14, and Scott Ryan, 13, on drums - open for The Hard Lessons on Friday and already lined up a slot for this years Hamtramck Blowout in March. Scott and Andrew have known each other since pre-school. Mallon met them in fourth grade. The former soccer teammates turned their attention to music when Andrew brought a Sights CD on a sixth-grade camping trip. Mallon was already a fan of The Hard Lessons, and Scott had already been playing drums for 5 years. "We thought about starting a band, but we knew that if we put it on myspace, someone would steal the name," They wrote their first song, The City, last spring. "That's why we started the band because we had a song," Brandon said. By then, a Chicago garge band already had the name The Dials. "I was looking at my stero and saw Volume...Band...Display...,"Brandon and I loved the name and thought this could work." They recently recorded a demo. A full-length album is in the works, and the boys are busy lining up more shows. As always, Their parents will be there - and not just because they need a ride home. They're fans of the main acts too. Brandon started attending concerts with his dad at a young age. Andrew's dad is in his own band, The Orbitsuns, and his mom created an exercise program called Punk Fitness. Their upbringing gives The Displays a leg up, siad a supporter, John Szymanski, of The Hentchmen and SSM. "They're listening to the right stuff," he said. "I didn't start listening to the right stuff until I was in my 20's. They're definatly at an advantage because their parents are already listening to the scene. My parents were listening to Sergio Mendes." Chris Ryan - Scott's mom and Brandon's fifth-grade teacher - is still getting used to the idea. "I'm at a bar with my 13-year-old son," she said, manning the merchandise table at The Lager House. "There's something wrong with this." The Hecker family will also apper in an upcoming Extreme Parenting programon the TLC network. "We were the Detroit rock family. They invaded our family for three days for 15 minutes of tape," Andrew said. But, he added, "It's good for the band." - Filter Newspaper

Over the past year, The Displays have played at popular venues around metro Detroit, recorded an EP, and above all, proved that they're not too young to rock. Guitarist and singer Brandon Mallon, 14, bass player Andrew Hecker, 13, and drummer Scott Ryan, 13, are all eight-graders at Royal Oak's Keller Middle School. The long-time friends bonded through a mutual love of music and decided to turn their dreams of being in a band into reality. "I always wanted to be able to play with kids my own age," said Ryan. They describe their sound as garage rock, and note that their influences include Detroit bands such as The Hard Lessons, The Sights and The Stooges. Their families have also helped spark their love for performing. Ryan started playing the drums six years ago when his cousin gave him an old drum set; Mallon, whose dad has "always been into music," has been playing the guitar for six years; and Hecker, whose father is a musician, learned how to play the bass in sixth-grade. "I've always had the local music scene exposed to me," said Hecker, noting that his dad plays bass in The Orbitsons and his mom is the founder of Punk Fitness Detroit. Although they've only been together for a year, The Displays are starting to make a name for themselves, performing at locales such as The Lager House in Detroit and Small's in Hamtramck. Over the summer, they also recorded three songs at Rustbelt Studio's in Royal Oak. Now, they're keeping busy with even more recording and are preparing for upcoming shows. "We just got out of the studio and we're going to do a 7''," said Mallon. According to Mallon, the group is trying to build a bigger fan base. However , like a lot of local bands, they're gaining exposure through MySpace. Their page on the popular Web site includes songs, photos, news and performance dates. "This is hopefully something we plan on doing for a long time," said hecker. - Royal Oak Review