Bantam Rooster was an American garage punk

Garage punk

Garage punk is a fusion of garage rock and punk rock. It is fast-paced lo-fi music characterized by a dirty, choppy guitar sound—usually played by bands who are on independent record labels or who are unsigned...

 band, formed in 1994 in Lansing, Michigan

Lansing, Michigan

Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...

 and disbanded in 2003. Bantam Rooster was a duo composed of vocalist and guitarist Thomas Jackson Potter and drummer Eric Cook with later members Mike Alonso (ex-Dirtys) and Nick Lloyd (ex-Buzzards) filling in on drums.

Known for their hillbilly-influenced garage punk sound, the duo fluctuated between the all-out rock of "Dumb it Down" to the more melodic & lyrical stylings of "Perceptive Pornstar". Jim Diamond

Jim Diamond (music producer)

Jim Diamond is a music producer, studio engineer, and bass guitar player based in Detroit, Michigan. He worked on the first two White Stripes albums and played bass with The Dirtbombs.- Background :...

, the music producer and one-time member of The Dirtbombs

The Dirtbombs

The Dirtbombs are an American garage rock band based in Detroit, Michigan, notable for blending diverse influences such as punk rock and soul while featuring a dual bass guitar, dual drum and guitar lineup...

 along with Potter, has been dubbed the "3rd Rooster", appearing occasionally live and producing.

The group were first signed to Crypt Records

Crypt Records

Crypt Records is a Hamburg-based record label and record store founded by Tim Warren. The label is perhaps best known for issuing the eight-volume Back From The Grave Series of garage rock compilations, although its reissues and releases include surf, rockabilly, punk rock, exotica, garage punk,...

 in 1996, releasing Deal Me In (1997) and Cross and the Switchblade

Cross and the Switchblade

Cross and the Switchblade is a studio album by the garage punk band Bantam Rooster. The album was released to much critical acclaim. The album is heavier and more frantic than their debut album Deal Me In.-Track listing:...

(1999) to critical acclaim. In 2000, they moved to the revered Sympathy for the Record Industry

Sympathy for the Record Industry

Sympathy for the Record Industry is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by record industry anti-mogul Long Gone John...

 imprint for the release of Fuck All Y'All, and received further exposure through their similar approach to their then label-mates, The White Stripes

The White Stripes

The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...

. Bantam Rooster disbanded in 2003 as Potter formed the funk rock band Detroit City Council

Detroit City Council

The Detroit City Council is the legislative body of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The City Council consists of nine members elected for a four-year term in a single election conducted on an at-large and non-partisan basis...

.

Potter also did time in The Dirtbombs

The Dirtbombs

The Dirtbombs are an American garage rock band based in Detroit, Michigan, notable for blending diverse influences such as punk rock and soul while featuring a dual bass guitar, dual drum and guitar lineup...

, appearing on their albums Ultraglide In Black

Ultraglide in Black

-External links:* [ Ultraglide in Black] at Allmusic...

and Dangerous Magical Noise

Dangerous Magical Noise

Dangerous Magical Noise is an album by the American rock music group The Dirtbombs.As every Dirtbombs album sounds different, this one was chosen to have a more pop-rock sound.- Track listing :# "Start the Party" – 1:41# "Get It While You Can" – 2:25...

. He was also in Seger Liberation Army.

Bantam Rooster was mentioned (and Potter as an unnamed character) in Elmore Leonard

Elmore Leonard

Elmore John Leonard Jr. , better known as Elmore Leonard, is an American novelist and screenwriter. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.Among his...

's novel Mr. Paradise.

Discography

• Watch Me Burn (Flying Bomb Records) (single), 1997
• Deal Me In (Crypt Records), 1997
• Cross and the Switchblade
  Cross and the Switchblade
  Cross and the Switchblade is a studio album by the garage punk band Bantam Rooster. The album was released to much critical acclaim. The album is heavier and more frantic than their debut album Deal Me In.-Track listing:...
  
  (Crypt Records), 1999
• Big Mess (Flying Bomb Records) (EP), 2000
• Fuck All Y'All (Sympathy for the Record Industry
  Sympathy for the Record Industry
  Sympathy for the Record Industry is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by record industry anti-mogul Long Gone John...
  
  ), 2000
• Mexican Leather (Big Neck Records), 2000