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The Infatuations: A Vertiable Trip Through The Record Store With ADD

September 20, 2013, 1:55 PM by  Karolina Powalka

Bursting onto the Detroit music scene just three years ago, The Infatuations have already earned an Emmy nomination for their music video “Blame it on You” and won countless other awards. As their name suggests, from the moment they start playing, one can’t help but become infatuated with the music. Christian Draheim, one of the band’s founders, discusses what it took for the band to get to where they are today.

How did The Infatuations get their start?

In late 2008 and early 2009, Janel Stone, of Embarco and 7 Stones Management, oversees the opening of a new nightclub. In order to promote it, she asked me to put an acoustic duo together for a couple gigs. This led to messing around with some song ideas and eventually turned into a full-fledged writing project, which resulted in a band.

You’ve had many different musicians involved with the band. Do you think you’ve found your set group of members?

It took 15 musicians and three years to do it, but we’ve found our core. We’ve had this line up since April of 2012. We typically perform as a six-piece but there have been times when we scale down to a two-piece and times when we expand to an eight-piece band.

You had a really busy summer playing many, prominent gigs. It’s safe to say, that you’ve broken through the Detroit market. How did you reach this kind of success?

Honestly, we’re figuring it out as we ago. We keep our heads down, work hard, and make friends. I think a part of it is that we leave the ego out of it. We try to be very conscious and aware of not getting caught up in any negative “scene” politics. You never know what will inspire you so we try to find something good in everyone and, as a result, we’ve become friends with a lot of people. We try to help them out in whatever way we can and vice versa.

Why is it so important to the Infatuations to help out “the competition,” so to speak?

I don’t see it as competition. We are all working to create an awareness of Detroit music. It’s Detroit vs. everybody else, right? Instead of jumping on the bandwagon of hating someone because of their success, we want to be the best at being us. We’re always asking for feedback. It keeps us honest. We’ll have a great show and ask ourselves, “How can we improve?” Also, we strive to help others because the better somebody else does and the more success they have then the better off the entire scene is.

Why do you think people have responded so well to the Infatuations even though you don’t sound like anything that’s considered mainstream?

We have a catch phrase to describe what we do: Providing Anthems for All of Your Party Needs. We have so many different influences stylistically. So, there’s something in our music for everybody. It’s got a good groove so people can bob their heads. It’s not too heavy, so older folks like it. It’s not too rock or urban, so a lot of other demographics are hit. It’s like having ADD in a record store because it is funk, soul, R&B, disco and pop with a rock twist. We’d even like to get a hip-hop element involved someday.

Why do you think so much good music has come out and continues to come out of Detroit?

I ask myself that question all the time. There’s a lot of diversity in metro Detroit. We’re that forgotten, dead, industrial city in the rest of the world’s eyes. The folks that are left here are the heart and soul and they’re the creative types that keep the torch lit. They’re able to take their experiences and channel it into the music. There are also so many different backgrounds. With music, those cultural backgrounds are able to come together and become this big melting pot of influences from around the world.  

So, what’s next?

We have a single called “Yesterday Morning” coming out in late October. Madonna University’s Capstone Film Class and Jennifer Champange are helping us create a music video for the song, which should be out around the same time. Additionally, we are finishing our first full-length album, which will be released in winter 2014. At that time, we want to get out on the road and travel around the country. The goal is to turn The Infatuations into a career for our members. One day, I’d really like to see us mentioned in one of those Detroit history books alongside Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Bob Seger, MC5, Kid Rock, Jack White and all the other great talent that has come out of this city.

You can see the Infatuations next at the Flatrock Riverfest this Sunday at 3pm with Ty Stone. To find out more information about the Infatuations visit their website www.theinfatuations.com.

 

(An earlier version of the story mistakenly referred to Jennifer Champange as Jessica Champange.)


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