No Stitches Required: A Conversation with Detroit’s Musical Veterans The Needmores

The Needmores are a band that stands apart from most. They're a part of the life cycle of life-long musicians where they are local legends, who have all crossed paths with fame, but never set that as the end goal. They have all been playing in and out of Detroit for over 20 years and have collectively been in dozens of bands. But this time was a little different, they wanted to play with people who got it, other veterans like them. That's how The Needmores was born. They released their debut EP "Side X Side" in September of 2025 and there's a certain power pop with an edge vibe. I got to talk with them about the scene, changes in the industry, and a surprising amount of Descendants.

Interview edited for clarity and conciseness

Wax: You are all ‘veterans of the Detroit music scene’. How is The Needmores different from other projects you’ve been a part of?

Eric [Drums]: In the early 2000s, I played drums for Detroit’s most dangerous band, The Ruiners (Disaster/Bomp Records). The stage show included gas-powered lawnmowers, fake—and sometimes real—blood, motorcycles, and bikini-clad dancing girls riding a 12-foot fire-breathing horse. By the end of my run with The Ruiners in 2005, we were basically banned from all the clubs in Detroit and had to tour Norway and Sweden just to get gigs.

Playing in The Needmores is great. I haven’t needed any stitches, and I’m not worried about the club burning down.

Lenny [Guitar/Vocals]: Everything just seems pretty easy in The Needmores, I would say age has something to do with it, but I just think we just like the same kind of things regarding music and humor. And there’s no drama… our biggest drama is what to eat after the show.

Jason Bowes [Bass/Vocals]: I've been doing this for 40 years... over that time I've played in more than a dozen bands... in any band there's a handful of variables at play that can become serious problems that can derail the project if not properly acknowledged and dealt with. As I have gotten older, it gets harder and harder to find other people to play with who meet all or most of these criteria... "Are people on the same page with what the band wants to accomplish musically, touring-wise, etc.?" "Are they dependable?" "Are they able to manage whatever vices they may have?". With the Needmores, everyone is rock-solid.

Jason Neckrock [Guitar]: Yeah, everyone is on top of their game. It makes working together so much easier and enjoyable. An added bonus is that this is the first band I’ve been in where everyone has a fondness for pizza, coneys, and cats!

Jason Bowes [Bass/Vocals]: It is fun and inspiring to play with these guys. We all have a similar outlook on things, and maybe most importantly, a decent sense of humor about continuing to do this sort of thing long after other folks our age have hung it up.

Wax: How has the scene in Detroit changed since you first started?

Jason Bowes: I first started playing out in 1986... at the time, it seemed to me like genre distinctions were a much more important factor. Metal bands pretty much stuck to playing "metal" venues and played with other metal bands, ditto for punk bands, etc... that seems to have become much less of an issue. Much more variety in the type of bands that will be on one bill and venues and audiences seem more open to the variety... Things don't seem nearly as ego-driven and competitive to me now as they did when I was in my 20s

Jason Neckrock: There was a lot of competition between bands. It was a bit silly. Now I feel like the bands here really are supportive of each other.

Lenny: Detroit has always had a diverse musical make up. I think there’s less of a “scene” here now than when the garage rock thing was big in the early 2000’s. But there’s still tons of great bands playing around town. People tend to get along better and support each other more now.

Eric: The clubs are much nicer environments now—and they smell 100% better. In the early ’90s, after a gig, as a drummer you could practically wring your shirt and shorts out from all the sweat, and it smelled like a greasy pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray.

Now the scene feels much more upper-crust and refined. Today it’s even more about the quality of the music and less about theatrics. That said, the music coming out of Detroit has consistently been one of the best local scenes anywhere in terms of creativity and pure musicianship, especially compared to other cities I’ve lived in.

Wax: Who are your biggest influences, and how do they show up in your music?

Jason Bowes: My main influences are the punk and power-pop bands of the late 70s and early 80s, and especially the bands that came out of Minneapolis in that era: Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, Soul Asylum, etc... I think that's the general aesthetic of the band as a whole as well... we're all rooted in pretty similar influences. As far as my own playing goes though, my single biggest influence as a bassist is Karl Alvarez from the Descendents, though I also try to emulate/rip off other players like James Jamerson, Sting, and John Entwhistle whenever I can get away with it.

Eric: Jason Bowes and I have been a rhythm section in several projects/years together—most notably Culture Bandits. We all grew up on SST bands like Minutemen/firehose, Meat Puppets, Descendents/ALL, Hüsker Dü, and Black Flag. Beyond that, Jason and I always talk about how ’70s disco bands had some of the best bass-and-drum combinations ever recorded. So from time to time we throw in a few Taste of Honey-style beats in Needmores songs. Some of the drummers who influenced my playing the most include George Hurley, Bill Stevenson, Keith Moon, and Blackie Onassis.

Jason Neckrock: A few of my biggest influences are ALL, Descendents, and Elliot Easton from the Cars. I also like the Stax stuff. I’d say these influences show up in some of the chord voicings I use. Also, some of the little riffs I throw in on a couple tunes are my spin on Steve Cropper’s double-stops from the Stax records.

Lenny: I was always into music since I was a little kid, but when the Punk thing happened it really got me going. Some of my favorites are The Clash, The Kinks, Cheap Trick, The Replacements and Guided By Voices. I don’t know if they show up musically… maybe more in the thought process and attitude.

Wax: A lot of Descendants love from this group. Does playing/songwriting come more natural after being in bands for as long as you have, or is there still new things to learn?

Lenny: Writing songs can still be a mystery. If I’m being honest, every time I write a song, I kinda think it will be the last one. I mean, how many different melodies and chord progressions can there be? But somehow, they keep coming. At least I hope they will.

Jason Bowes: I try to make my bass parts interesting to myself as far as playing them, and for the listener. It can be a challenge sometimes to try to break out of my standard repertoire of riffs and fills that I've been using for years... sometimes the hardest part for me is just to know when to lay back and take the "less is more" approach.

Eric: I’m always trying out new beats and experimenting with songs. It’s great that the band is open to some experimentation—that really helps us find the best sound we can. The only way to get better is to try new techniques and push yourself to grow and be different.

Jason Neckrock: Sometimes some things come naturally. They can also be a bit of challenge for me. I have a tendency to overthink just about everything and wonder if there is something better that I could be playing. There will always be new things for me to learn. I’ll be a student until I can no longer play.

Wax: If you could write the soundtrack to any movie what would it be?

Lenny: That’s a tough one… maybe Airplane!

Jason Bowes: I'd love to do some sort of creepy bass-and-synth 80s horror/zombie film type music... I also play around with baritone guitar when I'm not playing bass, so spaghetti-western/surf monster movies would be fun too.

Eric: The final Quentin Tarantino movie—whatever that ends up being. He has an excellent ear for building scenes around soundtracks, and I’m a huge fan of the way he uses music in films like Jackie Brown, Reservoir Dogs, and Pulp Fiction.

Jason Neckrock: I have a thing for 1980’s movies- especially horror- both good horror and really bad cheesy horror. I think it would be cool to do a tune on the Return of the Living Dead or Phantasm soundtracks, but they’re both already perfect.

Thank you to The Needmores for taking part in this and I look forward to seeing what they have in store for the future! You can find them on Facebook and listen to them on bandcamp. My personal rec would have to be "Lookin'" which reminds me a lot of Mink Car-era They Might Be Giants (the Malcolm in the Middle theme, for those not in the know). But the whole EP is pretty concise and a great listen. Thanks again and if you liked this then you'll love the rest of Wax!