The Prime Ministers have been around.
They’ve released music on cassette. Played Blowout III. Been through almost as many lineups as Guided by Voices. You can tell just by the name — how many bands are “The” Anything anymore?
A brief history: Todd Wicks and Ned Coho meet in high school (Rochester Adams, Class of ’92) and plug away in various bands through college. A rough draft of the band coalesces in the mid ‘90s in time for their proper Detroit debut. Later, as their lineup fluctuates, their style is refined into hook-filled rock nuggets the Metro Times would call “contented, but streaked with longing.” The Classic Lineup™ is completed in the mid-‘00s with the addition of a teacher named Brandon Malik, who takes Todd’s sturdy songs and smashes them over the fences with his guitar work, while quickly proving his own singing/songwriting mettle.
Now featuring Jimmy Irimescu on drums, the veteran Prime Ministers are at the height (or was it girth?) of their powers. Their new single, “Missed You Again/True Believer” was recorded with producer Eric Hoegemeyer at the famous Rustbelt Studios in Royal Oak, and finds the band stretching out into mildly funkier territory with trademark wit and warmth firmly intact. Yes, even old hands like these are capable of a surprise every now and then.
The Prime Ministers are:
Todd Wicks (vocals, guitar)
Brandon Malik (vocals, guitar)
Ned Coho (bass)
Jimmy Irimescu (drums)
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