Powertrane were an exciting, hard-hitting rock band that brought together three generations of Michigan's musical heritage, showing that soul and hard rock could readily coexist in one group. Grafting tough, R&B-influenced vocals with a high-impact instrumental attack derived from '60s-style hard rock and the swagger of garage rock and punk, Powertrane were a superb live act whose skills onstage were captured on the 2002 concert recording Ann Arbor Revival Meeting. But they could also make their sound work effectively in the studio, as they demonstrated on 2007's Beyond the Sound. Powertrane feature lead singer and guitarist Scott Morgan, an important figure in the Detroit/Ann Arbor music scene who sang with the legendary rock & soul combo the Rationals in the 1960s and wrote and performed alongside former MC5 guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith in Sonic's Rendezvous Band in the 1970s. In 2001, Morgan was introduced to Robert Gillespie, a talented guitarist with an impressive résumé of his own; he played with MC5 vocalist Rob Tyner in the 1970s, was a member of the noted Detroit underground band the Torpedos in the '70s and '80s, formed the Motor City Rockers with Jimmy Marinos of the Romantics, and has had a long tenure as lead guitarist with Mitch Ryder's touring band. Morgan and Gillespie's styles were a good match, and they decided to form a band, recruiting a young and energetic rhythm section -- Chris "Box" Taylor on bass (who had played with several fine Ann Arbor combos, including Mazinga and the Avatars) and Andy Frost on drums (who had worked with Morgan in the Hydromatics and also kept time with the High Rollers). In 2001, Powertrane made their live debut, and in 2002 highlights from a pair of live shows the group played with special guests Deniz Tek and Ron Asheton were collected on the album Ann Arbor Revival Meeting. After extensive live work, Powertrane made their studio debut with the album Beyond the Sound. By the time the long-gestating album was released in 2007, Andy Frost had left the group, and Dave Knepp (of the Sights and the Singles) had signed on as its new drummer. Knepp's time with the band proved to be short-lived, as Alex King became Powertrane's new drummer in time for the sessions for their 2009 single "2 + 2 = ?," a powerful cover of Bob Seger's classic antiwar tune. Powertrane played their last show at Don Was' Concert of Colors at Orchestra Hall in Detroit in July of 2009. Drummer Andy Frost died in 2010. In 2008, a 7" single was issued by Electrophonic Records that featured a rare studio track from Powertrane, "Pearl," backed with a live recording of "She Messed Up My Mind" from another of Scott Morgan's projects, the Solution. The rare single was reissued in 2018. ~ Mark Deming