Get Ready for Black Christmas with The Suicide Machines!

It's no secret that we're super excited about Black Christmas. The lineup is great, with bands like The Black Dahlia Murder, Cheapshow, Bison Machine, and the Koffin Kats. But, the band we are most excited about seeing is The Suicide Machines! The "main event" for every Black Christmas, The Suicide Machines are at the top of a lot of people's lists of favorite Detroit bands. They always put on an awesome show, they don't play very often, so it's always a treat, and every SM's show is like a reunion! You see friends that you haven't seen in years and you dance and party like you're a teenager again. We absolutely cannot wait!

Photo Credit: Camera Jesus

Our friend Ryan V. from The Suicide Machines was nice enough to answer our 12 days of Black Christmas questions. Check out what he had to say below, then read ahead to find out how you can enter to win tickets to Friday's show.

HID- What other band are you most looking forward to seeing during this year's Black Christmas

Ryan V- "I'm looking forward to checking out some the bands I haven't seen yet like Bison Machine, The War Between, and Municipal Waste. Black Iris has done another great job of organizing a cool variety this year."

HID- What did you ask Santa for this Holiday Season? 

Ryan V- "Nothing! I have a car that runs, a warm house, and an awesome boyfriend. I don't really need much more. Unless of course, Santa wants to stop by and clean my house...he does windows, right? Either that or maybe a little help getting the new Machines record finished at some point in 2017."

HID- What’s the most memorable gift you got as a child? 

Ryan V- "My first guitar! It was a piece of shit and never stayed in tune but I absolutely loved it. So much in fact, that I traded it for a crappy drum kit years later!"

HID- What's your favorite food around the holidays? 

Ryan V- "Mostly bourbon and champagne, but sometimes you need a little Great Lakes Christmas Ale to kick the season off right."

HID- Do you have a favorite Christmas song? 

Ryan V- "Not one particular song, but I usually play the entire Vince Guaraldi Trio Charlie Brown Xmas album on repeat for most of December. I did make the mistake of watching the Mariah Carey Christmas special this year...yeowza"

HID- What does Black Christmas mean to you?

Ryan V- "It's become an end of the year reunion to see friends and family and celebrate some cool music that happens to be in the middle of a killer party. I like how it has kind of morphed into a mixture of older bands stepping out for reunion sets, newer bands that are keeping things fresh, and bands coming to Detroit from out of town to join in the chaos. It's a perfect way to close out the year. Oh, and a massive hangover the next day."

HID- Have you ever caught your parents having sex when you were looking for Santa on Christmas Eve? 

Ryan V- "I never looked for Santa. I met him at the mall a few times and he always smelled weird."


Black Christmas is happening this Friday, December 30th. That means that there is only one day left to win tickets to the show from us and Black Iris Booking! To enter to win, email your name to hipindetroit@gmail.com with #blackchristmas in the subject line. Since there's only one day left, you can get a second entry in if you hit us up on social media (@hipindetroit). Tag us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and let us know that you want to go to #blackchristmas. You can also purchase tickets here for just $35! We will draw our final winner on Friday morning and will send them details on how to claim their prize.

Doors are set to open at 6 p.m. on Friday. For more details and to stay in the loop the day of the show, head over and RSVP to the Facebook event here.

~C