The Lowdown: Whatever you do, don't call them the Commitments. While it's true the Elevations are a multimember soul band, and that they play the occasional Otis Redding cover, no cookie cutter could have created the sensual mishmash of Motown, punk, garage and ska that this Detroit/Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti-based band takes for granted. With two pure-voiced singers and a stage-crowding backing band, the Elevations end up sounding like the Standells fronted by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.

8 Lads, 1 Lady: Eric Stollsteimer on guitar. Jim Augé on bass guitar. Joel Devonshire on drums. Gabe Heiss on tenor sax. Jason Ledbetter on trumpet. Jerry Berlongieri on keyboards. Sean Ike and Erika Herron on vocals. And founder Ben Mancell plays rhythm guitar, but will be leaving the band to attend college in New York City.

The Assembly Line: Mancell called Stollsteimer about a year ago and asked him, "You wanna join a soul band -- like a 10-piece, big, Motown-style band?" Stollsteimer said sure, but assumed it would never come to light. "How can you get 10 people to do anything?" he thought.

Well, a month later, Mancell called back, saying, "OK, I've got the band." So, from humble beginnings playing instrumental soul in Stollsteimer's living room to the double-throated current sound, the Elevations have kept busy adding members and establishing themselves as an authentic alternative to straight garage rock.

My Brother!: Stollsteimer's older brother Jason plays guitar and sings for the Von Bondies, one of the few Detroit bands to break the D-town mold and hit it big overseas. And it was Herron's big bro, local mod-rapper Esquire (for whom she is a go-go dancer), who got her into the Elevations -- her first band -- telling Stollsteimer, "My sister has an amazing voice and she would totally be into this."

And into it she is. Herron and Ike write the lyrics to all the Elevations' songs, and though she was a novice, Herron "was a natural," says Stollsteimer. "We gave her the songs and she put lyrics to them instantly."

The Soul Experience: Dark suits, skinny ties and a sound that will light a gas furnace underneath your dancing feet. They might throw in an obscure Florence Ballard tune, but the rest of the songs are original. "We're not your dad's oldies cover band," Heiss warns. Stollsteimer adds, "We're part of the rock 'n' roll scene, not the casino scene."

And though Ike calls the Elevations' music "soul through the lens of Iggy Pop and the Jackson 5," it's still soul. And thus, the musicians must be true to the, well, soul of the music. "The thing about soul," Ike says, "is that for it to work right, everyone has to be committed. You can't half-ass it."

The Record: The Elevations will soon be putting out a single on D.Wrecked Hit Records.

Gigs: The Elevations play at 9 p.m. Saturday at313.Jac, the venue above Jacoby's, 624 Brush, Detroit. 800-700-2437. On Aug. 1, see the band at the Magic Stick, 4120 Woodward, Detroit. 313-833-9700. With the Sights and Thee Shams. The band's Web site is www.detroitsoul.com.