Benefit show for cancer-stricken Trash Brats bassist Tony Romeo set for Small’s

Friends and supporters of longtime Detroit musician Tony Romeo, best known as the bassist of glam-punk legends the Trash Brats, are hosting a benefit show for Romeo Friday night in Hamtramck as he faces a battle with cancer.

After recently losing his longtime partner, artist and photographer Debbie Sipes, to cancer, Romeo is now facing his own health struggles. To help support Romeo, his friends have set up a crowdfunding campaign to raise much-needed funds to offset his medical expenses, and Friday’s show aims to supplement the campaign by providing the soundtrack.

Sprung from cages on Highway 94 in the late 1980s, Romeo and the Trash Brats were both berated and beloved for their raucous live shows at local clubs such as Blondies, St. Andrew’s, and The Ritz, and for bangers like “Don’t Wanna Dance” and (our fave) “Downtown Nowhere.”

And even for those who never saw them live back in the day, the Trash Brats still loom large in Detroit lore.

“Tony always played with total passion,” says Trash Brats lead singer Brian McCarty. “He played with his heart.

“He’s a good dude, and he’s got a good soul. He’s really kinda shy, actually, but he’s quick-witted and funny, and if you get to know him, he’ll have you on the floor rollin’.”

Even when the band was huge in the late ’80s and well into the ’90s, packing venues such as St. Andrew’s Hall, Trash Brats guitarist Ricky Rat says Romeo was always cool with their fans, and that’s why he remains so beloved to so many in Detroit and beyond.

“Tony was always good with people,” Rat says. “He was always social — he was always out, and people knew him because of his look. But he was never, like, a rock star or, like, ‘Fuck you’ to people. Whenever people would approach him as fans, he was never like, ‘Get away from me’ or ‘Who are you?’ He always had a way of making people feel good about themselves.”

In their heyday, the Brats were sort of like cartoon characters , dressed in the height of glam-punk fashion, and Romeo, with his long locks and outlandish outfits, was larger than life.

And although Romeo recently started radiation treatments, he’s still hoping to be in attendance Friday night.

“He’s a tough fucker,” Rat says. “People love him, and this benefit is so that Tony can feel the love.”

Friday’s event will be MC’d by legendary punk-rock vocalist Jimmy Doom . Bands scheduled to perform Friday night include Dr Haj, I Are Citizen, Superdevil, Pirate Love, Norcos Y Horchota, and Timmy’s Organism.

Some of Romeo’s old Brats bandmates, the Ricky Rat Pack, are scheduled to close the night, along with some very special guests.

Recently, before he started radiation, Romeo recorded a new single, which is scheduled for release soon on Jim Rinn’s I-94 Recordings label. The A side is an old tune by Romeo’s old band Just Born, written by David (Nice) Sylvester, titled “Autumn Song,” while the B side is a cover of the Junk Monkeys’ “I Lost My Faith.”

Romeo sings lead on both songs, accompanied by Sylvester and Rat on guitar, McCarty on bass, and Jason Pearce on drums.

“Everybody should know that Tony Romeo isn’t just a guy who was in a beloved but also somehow underappreciated band,” says Doom. “He’s also a person who for decades was loading in and lighting over-appreciated bands at venues like St. Andrew’s, Phoenix Center, and the State Theater. Even if you never saw the Trash Brats, it’s as certain as a Morrissey tantrum that you did see a concert that Tony worked on.

“He’ll always be a part of Detroit’s music legacy. Even if you never saw his balls hanging out of his lingerie while he was banging on an out-of-tune bass, you still owe him something for all the shows he helped put on stage.”

Watch the Trash Brats’ infamous March 10, 1995 performance opening for Kid Rock at Detroit’s State Theater (now known as the Fillmore):