This was a very busy weekend in the unexpected afterlife of the band called Death, freelancer Ben Edmonds in the Free Press.
In one of those wonderfully strange Rodriguez-like twists of fate that have become almost commonplace in Detroit music, the trio that has been described as “the first black punk group” has more happening right now than it did in its entire mid-1970s lifespan.
The hometown activity began on Thursday with a screening of the documentary film “A Band Called Death” in Birmingham. There was a full media day promoting the heralded film at the Magic Stick on Friday, and an in-store appearance at UHF Records in Royal Oak was held Saturday afternoon. The weekend culminates with a performance at the Orion Music + More festival Sunday at the invitation of Metallica. The documentary will open a special limited engagement at the Birmingham 8 theater June 28.
Not bad for a band whose entire output consisted of a seven-song demo tape recorded in 1974, and one local 45 self-released the following year in a pressing of only 500 copies. The group — brothers Bobby Hackney (bass/vocals), David Hackney (guitar) and Dennis Hackney (drums) — dissolved in 1977 after making absolutely no headway with its aggressive, sometimes abrasive pre-punk sonic assault.
