 Commerce Township, MI:
I feel like a number,
I'm not a number,
I'm not a number,
Dammit I'm a man, I said I'm a man.
— Feel Like a Number
Bob Seger
Six stay-at-home dads, laid-off automotive engineers, and struggling professional musicians have decided they aren’t going to take it any longer and happy as hell about it.
The Southeast Michigan musicians have formed a rather gripping Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet tribute band dedicated to preserving the legacy of Southeast Michigan’s favorite rock-n-roll son, and breathe new life into some classic rock-n-roll favorites while discovering a viable and rewarding alternative to more “traditional” careers.
Lookin’ Back was the brainchild of Todd Stoney, a Commerce Township entrepreneur who was selling his patented vehicle display ramp systems to new car dealers; that is until dealers weren’t selling much of anything, and buying less. Necessity being the inspiration it usually is - Stoney felt that establishing a Bob Seger/Silver Bullet tribute band in the metro-Detroit area may help keep them working, provided they do it very well and pay attention to details. And if successful, they might just be able to rock the local economy in some small way.
Stoney dusted off his drums after years of storage, and started rehearsing to get back into “concert shape”. The project came together after eight months of searching for the right players. Stoney said, “It is all about the music and we’ve practiced, practiced, and practiced some more to make sure we pay tribute to Bob Seger and his music in every possible respect.” While researching this project, it was discovered that every Seger tribute band (a scant few) were all attempting to capitalize on Seger’s likeness/personal image and playing off his name.
Stoney said, “The whole impersonator scene is just weird to me, and I never felt introducing a new face and voice to a Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet tribute band was a bad idea, although people were skeptical since we didn’t have a look-a-like. Because his music stands on its own merits, I never felt Seger fans would have a problem with us if I didn’t try and impersonate our own local music hero. So we’re tossing out the industry ‘norm’ with respect to Seger tributes and we’ll see how it works out for us.”
Lookin’ Back plans to find ways to expose younger people to the man’s poetry and wide collection of timeless rock-n-roll hits. Lookin’ Back will kick things off for themselves by developing full live stage reproduction of Seger’s most important record album: Live Bullet that includes Travelin’ Man, Beautiful Loser, Turn The Page, Bo Diddley, Lookin’ Back, Katmandu, Get Out of Denver, and many others.
Band members are:
Dan Warren, White Lake, MI – Keys & Vocals.
Cliff Barrer, Berkley, MI – Bass & Vocals
Eric Kot, Davison, MI – Sax, Percussion & Vocals
Kirk Nelson, White Lake, MI – Guitar & Vocals
Todd Stoney, Commerce Township, MI – Drums
Lonnie Fletcher, Oxford, MI – Lead Vocalist & Acoustic
Suzi Marsh-Hatty, Sterling Heights, MI - Pro Singer, Vocal Coach, & Inspiration
Ping Spells, Detroit, MI – Pro Singer & Vocal Coach
Stoney, a long time entrepreneur and RAMPBOSS-USA CEO seems to have effectively utilized his marketing & PR skills, and previously abandoned rock star dreams, and connected with a few venues who agreed to play host to his show. Also backing the troupe is WCSX 94.7 FM (The Motor City’s Classic Rock Station) who has agreed to co-sponsor several upcoming shows entitled: Live Bullet Lives at New York New York in Chesterfield Township. The next show will be Dec. 5.
As a follow up to their debut, Lookin' Back performed at a new Bob Seger book launch/signing at Memphis Smoke in Royal Oak on October 15. The book, Travelin’ Man: On The Road & Behind The Scenes with Bob Seger was written by award winning syndicated music writer Gary Graff, and celebrated musician photographer Tom Weschler. Weschler spent more than a decade (late 1960s through the 1970s) with Bob Seger working as a tour manager and photographer during Seger’s hardest reputation-building early days. Weschler’s behind-the-scenes photographs do*****ent the frustrations and triumphs of recording, performing, songwriting, and building the Seger empire before the breakthroughs of Live Bullet and Night Moves.
Lookin’ Back Contact:
Todd Stoney
www.TributeToSeger.com | 
