One of the earliest groups to emerge from the Detroit garage rock scene, the Detroit Cobras were the Midwest's finest and most distinctive cover band. Rarely writing material of their own, the group dug deep into the well of vintage R&B and primitive rock & roll, adapting lost classics to their swaggering aural personality. The band's cocky Motor City spirit was always front and center, even after the albums Mink Rat or Rabbit (1998) and Life, Love and Leaving (2001) made them international stars. Dozens of musicians made their way through the Cobras' lineup, but their musical identity was rooted in the two constant members. Vocalist Rachel Nagy possessed a cool, full-bodied instrument that split the difference between R&B and rock & roll, and guitarist Maribel Restrepo (aka Mary Ramirez) added scrappy, elemental guitar figures that honored the melodies but kept the songs from sounding like museum pieces.