MI Local: Boreouts’ Ko Melina joins the show to preview new music + more

“You never know what’s gonna happen with this band,” Ko Melina said, referring to The Boreouts, a new local super-group of punk rock players.

Melina is a bassist and singer who’s been performing and recording around the local music scene for more than 20 years, notably with groups like Ko & the Knockouts and The Dirtbombs. Similarly, her Boreouts bandmates are connected to noteworthy and memorable local outfits: J. Navarro from The Suicide Machines and John Bunkley from Gangster Fun and The Atomic Fireballs.

“And then there’s our beloved drummer, Rob Paul,” Melina said. “We practice in his basement, so he likes to say, ‘Rob from Rob’s Basement!'”

Melina joined me in-studio during this week’s MI Local to talk about the formation of the group, as well as their upcoming tour with Florida-based punk rockers The Dollyrots. This tour will start in an Atlanta, “…which is sort of like Detroit South,” Melina quipped. You can see the Boreouts live on July 23 when their tour brings them back home to Detroit with a show at the Lager House.

Along with revealing the story behind how Ko & the Knockouts formed in 2002 with a fateful recording session with Jack White, Melina also talked about The Dirtbombs, sharing two of her favorite songs from each respective project.

As the Boreouts, Melina said, “For a long time, I’ve been in bands where I just like everybody. We may not be the best friends, but we’re like fellow soldiers — we’ve been to war together, we’ve been on tour together — there’s just a camaraderie. With The Boreouts, J (Navarro) sort of put this whole thing together, and we’re all friends who just get along so well. I said, ‘Wait a minute, is this actually a band, or is this just the four of us hanging out and having fun?'”

Melina emphasized that even though this is a punk band, fun is the prevailing vibe. Not only that, but it’s a group that features three singers and three songwriters, which lends to the variety that’s woven into their canon so far.

We premiered The Boreouts lead single, “Give It To Me,” here on MI Local back in May, but on this week’s show, we were able to play two unreleased tracks, including “I’m a Boreout” and “I Said No.”

Stream this week’s show on-demand for two weeks after it airs and find the playlist below.

MI Local Playlist for July 9, 2024

• “High School Together” – Strange Witch
• “Underground” – Twin Deer
• “Boog’s Groove” – Boog Brown & Leaf Erikson
• “I Don’t Wanna Go Anywhere” – Reggi Roomers
• “Pillars” – Jessi Berkshires
• “Childheart” – Kite Flyer
• “You Wanna Beat Him Up” – Dear Darkness
• “I KIssed A Girl” – Killing Pixies
• “All Rises” – Mazinga
• “Little Failure” – Winestoned Cowboys
• “I’m A Boreout” – The Boreouts
• “I Said No” – The Boreouts
• “Black and Blue” – Ko & the Knockouts
• “Ever Lovin’ Man” – The Dirtbombs
• “Give It To Me” – The Boreouts