On Season 2’s Episode 2, we discuss how Patti decided to start an all-female band called the Pleasure Seekers in the summer of 1964. Patti had just gone to see the Beatles and had what she describes as an epiphany. Patti also tells how they got the band name, Pleasure Seekers. She laughs, “Catholic girls? Pleasure Seekers? What were we thinking?!” It’s a hilarious story about the innocence of youth and the passion for playing music that fueled five teenage girls to start their first band. Patti also poignantly remembers and reflects upon one of her homeboys, Wayne Kramer. The Pleasure Seekers and MC5 played many shows together, and she describes the homegrown diversity of rock music emerging out of Detroit as “magical” even as far back as 1964. She notes the guys in her generation were trying desperately not to follow in their fathers’ footsteps of going into the car industry, and Wayne spearheaded the idea that there had to be more. Patti talks about how Wayne and others were trying to escape this career path, while she and her family were insulated in a musical bubble at their home outside the city. It’s a fascinating discussion of how Detroit’s geography often played into the political and cultural manifestations of Detroit rock city. We conclude with Patti sharing how her sister, Suzi, ended up joining her dad’s “da-di-da” trio at the age of seven playing the bongos at nightclubs. Patti makes the connections and highlights the strong will and determination Suzi had to make a name for herself after being teased about her height, her class, and her place in a large Catholic family.

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