Since the mid-'80s, Detroit's Mick Collins has been one of leading music icons in the Motor City. His impact, and influence -- on punk and garage revival bands, in particular -- continues to spread worldwide, due to Collins' incessant touring schedule, as well as a flurry of releases by his various bands on indie labels, foreign and domestic, including In the Red, Crypt, Estrus, and Fall of Rome. Fellow Detroit musician/producer Matthew Smith (Outrageous Cherry) once called Collins "a creator of trends rather than a follower." "What's happening in Detroit right now," Smith said in 2002, "is entirely influenced by what his band the Gories were doing over a decade ago. Mick is known for his garage/punk minimalism, but he's also one of those rare musicians that doesn't see any boundaries between musical realms. His deconstructions/reconstructions of soul/rock music are the work of a very original thinker. "

In 1981, Collins began playing organ in the U-Boats. He switched to drums, in 1984, for a Wire-influenced art pop group that eventually called themselves the Floor Tasters. In the summer of 1985, Collins began playing guitar, and formed the primitive punk -garage revival band, the Gories, with guitarist Dan Kroha (ex-the Onset) and drummer Peg (Margaret Ann O'Neill, Darkest Hours). They issued several recordings between 1986-1992, including the Alex Chilton-produced I Know You Fine, But How You Doin'. During that same period, Collins began dividing his time between several concurrent recording and touring commitments. In 1990-1991, he recorded with the Yeti Sanction, an avant-noise/performance art group. In late 1993, he formed Blacktop with guitarist Darin Lin Wood (Fireworks, 68 Comeback), bassist Alex Cuervo, and drummer Janet Walker. Blacktop's I've Got a Baaad Feelin' About This album was released in 1995 and the band recorded several more singles before calling it quits in October of that year. Collins and Cuervo then formed the avant-garde King Sound Quartet, with Tim Kerr (Big Boys, Poison 13, Lord High Fixers, Monkeywrench) and Stephanie Friedman (Lord High Fixers, Sugar Shack). They issued a single and an album; the band remains one of Collins' many side projects.

In 1997, Collins was producing the Red Aunts' Ghetto Blaster album, and soon a musical partnership with vocalist/guitarist Terri Wahl led to them forming a harder punk-style group, the Screws, with Marty Moore and Dan Brown (both from the Jacksonville, FL, duo Johnny Hash and ex-68 Comeback). In early 2000, Collins decided to leave Blacktop to focus on other projects, including The Sore Losers soundtrack. Collins then formed the Dirtbombs, whose lineup has, at times, featured two bassists -- Tom Potter (Bantam Rooster) and Ghetto Recordings producer/engineer Jim Diamond have both shared the stage at one point or another -- in addition to two drummers, usually Pat Pantano and Ben Blackwell. There would be at least 13 different Dirtbombs lineups over the next few years.

Collins' deep, soulful voice -- as well as his various musical talents -- have also appeared on a number of recordings. Along with Kroha (the Dirtbombs, the Demolition Doll Rods), Collins produced Andre Williams' 1998 comeback album, Silky, as well as his 2000 album, Andre Williams Is the Black Godfather, for In the Red. In 2000, the Screws' new lineup -- Collins, Terri Wahl, drummer Kerry Davis (Red Aunts), and guitarist/bassist Jimmy Hole (Necessary Evils) -- toured the Western U.S. and Japan, and recorded a second album, Shake Your Monkey. In 2002, Collins continued producing and recording and was juggling his time between the Screws, the Dirtbombs, and other projects, including finishing up a long-planned funk album, I Sing the Booty Electric; the latter attributed to the Voltaire Brothersand released on the L.A.-based Fall of Rome label, which pays tribute to the great funk masters of the '60s and '70s that Collins had listened to while growing up in Detroit. ~ Bryan Thomas, Rovi