Pick It Up Media Presents: Punkerton Records’ Half Dizzy, The Boy Detective and more.
The Boy Detective. All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein.
I'd heard about shows at The Corktown Tavern, but I'd never been there and can't honestly even remember being to Corktown. Corktown is Detroit's oldest neighborhood and was named for the Irish immigrants (primarily from County Cork) that first settled there. I must have been near The Corktown Tavern several times, however, since it’s directly across from the old Detroit Tigers ballpark and in view of Detroit's newly remodeled train station. We drove out to the area early to get dinner before the show and decided on the Corktown Taproom, which was right across the street from the venue. The streets are paved with bricks, and there appeared to be a lot of buildings in the process of being remodelled, so I'm hoping this will end up a hotspot for future shows.
I'm a fan of The Boy Detective, of course, and also Half Dizzy from New York (which has a great song "Pillars" on the new compilation "Rock Against Trump" from Punkerton Records). But this show was also booked by Pick It Up Media, which has been doing a lot for the Detroit ska scene lately, and I wanted to support them. I used to own a record label, and I've been to hundreds of shows, but I've never booked one. I took a few minutes to ask Chris Van Assche from Pick It Up Media a few questions about what it takes.
In-Spite Magazine: How did you end up booking this show in Corktown at The Corktown Tavern, with so many other venues in Hamtramck and Detroit being hotspots for punk and ska shows?
CVA: I could go to the usual spots for shows throughout Hamtramck or Detroit. I like to give a fresh spin on events with virgin venues or venues that have been long forgotten about. Brings the excitement back to shows.
In-Spite Magazine: Both The Boy Detective and Half Dizzy are on Punkerton Records, and I noticed that Brandon was at the show. Did you work with the label on booking the show, or did it just happen that way?
CVA: I didn't work with the label on this one; I was in contact with Half Dizzy for a while trying to bring them to Detroit; it just happened to work out that The Boy Detective was available for this date—and they are record label mates. I didn't know till the day before the show that Brandon was coming, which was a nice treat. I'm a huge supporter of Punkerton Records and can stand behind Brandon's 100% DIY ways.
In-Spite Magazine: I saw you setting up for a livestream. Is that something that you have done before? How was the response to that, and can we still find a recording of it somewhere if we were at the show and didn't see it live?
CVA: I was setting up the camera to record video only that night. I have recorded a few live streams under Pick It Up Media but my main focus was videos and photography for this event. The response to my live streams is pretty good. All of my content can both be found on Instagram and Facebook under Pick It Up Media. With that being said, in the days to come there will be 2 full sets up one each from Half Dizzy and The Boy Detective.
In-Spite Magazine: Is your company, Pick It Up Media, mainly booking Ska shows, or are you doing other types of promotion or types of bands?
CVA: My main focus is Detroit punk and ska bands. My main types of promotion are social media and word of mouth. In the future, I do want to branch out to other types of genres.
In-Spite Magazine: I saw the Michigan Ska flag/banner in the crowd; is that a group that you are part of, and what is their involvement in the Detroit Ska scene?
CVA: Yes, I'm part of the Michigan Ska Group. It's run by Joel Tacey, but I'm one of his admins of the group. We actually have multiple flags that travel throughout the state and out of state. Mini flags are usually passed out to the crowd at shows along with buttons and stickers. Michigan Ska's involvement in the community is pretty strong; it's a hub to find out anything Ska in Michigan.
In-Spite Magazine: What does the near future look like for Pick It Up Media? Do you have any other upcoming shows, and how can people support your efforts?
CVA: The future is looking bright for Pick It Up Media. I do have more events coming up, including one in May that is not announced yet. We have a big fundraiser event July 12th in Hazel Park for Punk Rock Saves Lives and Food Not Class with 16 acts. People can support my efforts by following Pick It Up Media and attending the events.
We arrived at the very end of Peanut Butter Mosquito and caught just a few songs. Ska't You Covered was next, and they did an energetic set that ended with Benny Capaul from The Boy Detective coming out and singing the final song with them. While we waited for Half Dizzy to set up, I ran into Nic Good from The Boy Detective hanging by the bar. My favorite The Boy Detective song is "Replacement," and I had some guesses as to what "the world's greatest favor" referred to but I wasn't sure. I took the opportunity to ask him (Nic is the primary songwriter for TBD). Many years ago he had a girlfriend that left him, but did it in the middle of the night, just packed up and left. She spared him all of the things that go with a breakup and allowed him to move on as quickly as possible. Next time I run into him, I need to ask if she has heard the song and knows it's about her.
Half Dizzy (from New York) did a 10-song set that was more punk than ska and included audience participation on a new one, "King of the Landfill." They did most of their "Courtesy Flush" EP on Punkerton Records but didn't play the song I was hoping for ("Pillars"). "Broken Down" was my next favorite and was a highlight of the set. You can download the Half Dizzy EP from bandcamp.com for only $5, or I'm guessing Punkerton will have physical medium.
The Boy Detective
Although I would have really liked to hear "Replacement", The Boy Detective announced in advance that they had a new album ready to go and would be playing all new songs tonight. I'm glad that they did, because the new songs were great. I grabbed a set list, but I'm not going to post it since I'm not sure what they have and haven't released about the new album—but I can say this. If you like punk and/or ska and liked their previous album (which made my top 20 albums of 2024) you will want to get their new album right away. As always, the stage was packed with musicians that included a horn section, and the singer never got up on the stage for the entire show. This time, in fact, he wasn't just in the mosh pit but moving throughout the venue and at times standing on the bar. During one song, he had the saxophonist on his shoulders and later got the entire crowd to pile up around him on the floor. It was an outstanding show, and on the way out I bought their new hoodie (with the nearly unreadable death metal font for their logo, which I assume is a parody) and grabbed a stack of stickers.
The Boy Detective
