Ko and the Knockouts formed when Ko Shih, who was bartending at Detroit hot spot the Magic Stick and had been the bass player for the Come Ons, rounded up Steve Nawara, who was a member of Rocket 455 and the Go, to play guitar and Jeff Klein to play the drums. The group began playing shows sporadically and after replacing Steve Nawara with Eddie Baranek, guitarist and singer for Detroit teen mods The Sights, in early 2002 released their debut self-titled album.
The record is an uptempo garage gem that instead of slavishly imitating the sounds of the garage bands of the 60's, takes elements of that sound like the snotty lyrics, ringing guitars and pounding tempos and updates them with a touch of power pop melody and an indie rock lo-fi sensibility. Guests on the record include members of Detroit rock royalty like the Von Bondies, the Detoit Cobras and the Dirt Bombs.
KO AND THE KNOCKOUTS