Count Reeshard

Late on a given Saturday, Count Reeshard & Lee-Roy will be found manning the DJ booth at the Purple Bat Lounge, a dive bar on Brush St. in downtown Detroit once described as a “frabjous sort of place in a decidedly vorpal neighborhood.” It is there that Reeshard, a hairless former rock critic, and Lee-Roy, a brindled pit bull with an outsized id, spin four sets of uptempo, ill-mannered tunes geared to dancing and short-term memory loss — in a phrase: Bad Music for Bad People. The unmistakable ambiance of the Purple Bat is very much a part of the show’s fabric, as are sundry local characters frequenting the place: LaWanda (a six-foot tall bartender who moonlights as a dominatrix); Nice Guy Eddie (frenemy to Lee-Roy, an irascible tuxedo cat working at a rival bar down the block); Lotsa Poppa (a local pimp whose Maserati is parked out front); and, much beloved of longtime N.C.I.P. listeners, Uncle Morty, proprietor of the Midnight Mobile Dispensary, a filthy former ice cream truck “that no longer sells popsicles.” Morty drives by at the 10 pm mark, when we learn of new strains on his truck topping this week’s Cheeba Chart™. There are no contemplative moments involving ambient music during No Condition Is Permanent. The show is fast, noisy, tattered at the edges and fully capable of breaking your lease, should you need that.

• Philosophy of my radio show: Having a really good evening of memory-obliterating quality, at all possible costs. Murdering time like you just don’t care. Total rejection of productivity. Cultivated indolence. The pursuit of pleasure in its multifarious — and probably lascivious — forms.
• Artists LuxuriaMusic listeners will hear on my show: Andre Williams, Vivian Stanshall, Juaneco y Su Combo, Omar Khorshid, Nyboma, Vicky Gomez, The Velvet Underground, Wes Dakus, Jackie Mittoo, The Raybeats, Marie et Les Garçons, T.Rex, Sadistic Mika Band, Pamelo Mounk’a, Art Van Dam, The 13th Floor Elevators, Los Zafiros, Kevin Ayers, James Brown, The 4 El-Moroccos, Salah Ragab, Public Image Ltd., The Royal Jokers, John Holt, ? & The Mysterians, Gaspar Lawal, Television, Parliament/Funkdelic, Françoise Hardy, X-Ray Spex, Lyn Taitt, Alex Chilton, King Tubby, Guitar Wolf, Jackie Lomax, The Mighty Hannibal, The Undertones, Sun Ra, Scotty, Bébé Manga, Captain Beefheart, Group Doueh, Travis Wammack, Orchestra Baobab, Ron Nagle, Augustus Pablo, The Fabulous Wailers, P.M. Pocket Music, The Cramps, Young-Holt Unlimited, Le Ryco Jazz, Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson, Del Rainey’s Umbrellas, Los Holys, Lee’Scratch’ Perry, The Ronettes, Sin Sisamouth, Marga Benitez, Dr. Alimantado, The Count Five, Ali Hassan Kuban
• To derive maximum pleasure from my radio show: Spark up early, don’t miss last call, know the location of a nearby weed shop and/or speakeasy. And try to dress well — others will be listening.
• When I’m not DJing I can be found: Music editing feature films, writing about music, watching Psychotronic™ endorsed monster movies while drinking inexpensive wine and eating expensive potato chips.
• Secret superpower I possess: A built-in Achilles Heel detector. Give me a few minutes to prowl the exterior of your house and I can find the finishing nail which, should I pull it out, can make the whole place collapse. My co-host Lee-Roy, on the other paw, claims to possess a built-in G-spot detector. About which the less said, the better.

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