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MC5
MC5, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The original line-up consisted of Rob Tyner (vocals) Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitar), Michael Davis (bass), and Dennis Thompson (drums). MC5 was listed by VH1 as one of the most important American rock acts of their era. Their three albums are regarded by many as classics, and their 1969 song "Kick Out the Jams" is widely covered. "Crystallizing the counterculture movement at its most volatile and threatening", according to AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the MC5's leftist political ties and anti-establishment lyrics and music positioned them as emerging innovators of the punk movement in the United States. Their loud, energetic style of back-to-basics rock and roll included elements of garage rock, hard rock, blues rock, and psychedelic rock. MC5 had a promising beginning that earned them a January 1969 cover appearance in ''Rolling Stone'' and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wayne Kramer (guitarist)
Wayne Kramer (born Wayne Kambes; April 30, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and film and television composer. Kramer came to prominence as a teenager in 1967 as a co-founder of the Detroit rock group MC5, a group known for their powerful live performances and radical left-wing political stand. The MC5 broke up amid government harassment, poverty and drug abuse. For Kramer, this led to several fallow years as he battled drug addiction before returning to an active recording and performing schedule in the 1990s. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked him among the "100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time". Career With MC5 In 1967, the MC5 were designated “House Band” at Detroit's famous Grande Ballroom and was managed by Poet, John Sinclair, a radical left-wing writer and co-founder of the White Panther Party, until 1969 when he was sentenced to nine and a half years in the Michigan Department of Corrections for giving two joints to an undercover police woman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Davis (bassist)
Michael Davis (June 5, 1943 – February 17, 2012) was an American bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and music producer, best known as a member of the MC5. MC5 After dropping out of the fine arts program at Wayne State University, Davis became the bassist for the MC5 in 1964, replacing original bassist Pat Burrows when singer Rob Tyner and guitarist Wayne Kramer decided that they liked Davis's style and wanted him in the band. He played on the band's three original albums, including their debut ''Kick Out the Jams'', and remained in the group until 1972. In 1975–6, Davis spent time in Kentucky's Lexington Federal Prison on a drug charge, where he was unexpectedly reunited with Wayne Kramer. Destroy All Monsters Upon his release from prison, Davis joined the Ann Arbor-based art noise band Destroy All Monsters at the urging of friend Ron Asheton, of The Stooges. Davis spent seven years with Destroy All Monsters, penning the underground punk hits "Nobody Knows", "Meet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dennis Thompson (drummer)
Dennis Thompson (born September 7, 1948) is an American drummer, most famous for being a member of the 1960s–70s Detroit proto-punk/hard rock group MC5, which had a No. 82 US single with "Kick Out the Jams" and a No. 30 US album with the same name. Biography Thompson began playing drums by the time he was nine years old. Joining the MC5 by 1965, Thompson was later given the nickname "Machine Gun" because of his "assault" style of fast, hard-hitting drumming that sonically resembles the sound of a Thompson machine gun (commonly referred to as a "Tommy Gun"). His drumming pre-figured and influenced punk, metal, and hardcore punk drumming styles. After MC5 broke up in the early 1970s, Thompson was a member of the 1975–1976 Los Angeles-based supergroup The New Order, the 1981 Australia-based supergroup New Race, The Motor City Bad Boys, and The Secrets. In 2001, he guested for Asmodeus X on the song, "The Tiger" (St. Thomas Records). His influences include Elvin Jones, K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kick Out The Jams (song)
"Kick Out the Jams" is a song by MC5, released as a single in March 1969 by Elektra Records. The album of the same name caused some controversy due to Sinclair's inflammatory liner notes and the track's rallying cry of "Kick out the jams, motherfuckers!" According to Kramer, the band recorded this as "Kick out the jams, brothers and sisters!" for the single released for radio play; band member Rob Tyner claimed this was done without group consensus. The edited version also appeared in some LP copies, which also withdrew Sinclair's excitable comments. The album was released in January 1969; reviews were mixed, but the album was relatively successful, quickly selling over 100,000 copies and peaking at #30 on the ''Billboard'' album chart in May 1969 during a 23-week stay. When Hudson's, a Detroit-based department store chain, refused to stock the ''Kick Out the Jams'' album due to the obscenity, MC5 responded with a full page advertisement in the local underground magazine ''Fift ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Garage Rock
Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is characterized by basic chord structures played on electric guitars and other instruments, sometimes distorted through a fuzzbox, as well as often unsophisticated and occasionally aggressive lyrics and delivery. Its name derives from the perception that groups were often made up of young amateurs who rehearsed in the family garage, although many were professional. In the US and Canada, surf rock—and later the Beatles and other beat groups of the British Invasion—motivated thousands of young people to form bands between 1963 and 1968. Hundreds of acts produced regional hits, and some had national hits, usually played on AM radio stations. With the advent of psychedelia, numerous garage bands incorporated exotic elements in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Manitoba
Richard "Handsome Dick" Manitoba (born Richard Blum; January 29, 1954) is an American punk rock singer and radio personality, best known as the original lead singer of New York City-based band The Dictators and the reunion singer of MC5. Background Manitoba is Jewish, and was born in the Bronx, New York City, in 1954. He started out his singing career as a roadie for The Dictators. He made his official stage debut with The Dictators at Popeye's Spinach Factory in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, in 1975. The band's first major-label album, '' The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!'' ( Epic Records, 1975), featured his picture on the cover and he was listed as the "Secret Weapon". While he sang some lead and some background, he was still considered a "mascot" of the band. He took on a larger singing role on The Dictators' second offering, '' Manifest Destiny'', a 1977 release on the Asylum label. On '' Bloodbrothers'', the third and final Dictators studio recording from the 1970s (also on Asyl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred "Sonic" Smith
Frederick Dewey Smith (September 14, 1948 – November 4, 1994), known professionally as Fred "Sonic" Smith, was an American guitarist, best known as a member of the influential and political Detroit rock band MC5. At age 31, he married and raised a family with poet and fellow rock musician Patti Smith. The couple collaborated musically, and raised two children together. Career Smith was a guitarist with the MC5 and later went on to form Sonic's Rendezvous Band, which released one single, "City Slang", during Smith's lifetime. In 1988 he collaborated with Patti Smith on her album ''Dream of Life''. In 2018, Smith was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame alongside Hasil Adkins and Ann Magnuson. Personal life Smith was born on Broad Branch in the Harts Creek area of Lincoln County, West Virginia. He was born in his family's kitchen during an electrical storm, delivered by his grandfather. Smith was first married to Sigrid Dobat. They had a baby who died of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Stooges (band)
The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexander. Initially playing a raw, primitive style of rock and roll, the band sold few records in their original incarnation and gained a reputation for their confrontational performances, which often involved acts of self-mutilation by Iggy Pop. After releasing two albums – ''The Stooges'' (1969) and ''Fun House'' (1970) – the group disbanded briefly, and reformed with an altered lineup (with Ron Asheton replacing Dave Alexander on bass and James Williamson taking up guitar) to release a third album, '' Raw Power'' (1973), before breaking up again in 1974. The band reunited in 2003 with Ron Asheton moving back to guitar and Mike Watt on bass, and the addition of saxophonist Steve Mackay, who had played briefly with the 1973–1974 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kim Thayil
Kim Anand Thayil (born September 4, 1960) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he co-founded with singer Chris Cornell and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984. Cornell and Thayil remained as the original members of the band until Cornell's death in 2017, and the band's subsequent split in 2018. Thayil was named the 100th greatest guitarist of all time by ''Rolling Stone'' in 2010, and the 67th greatest guitarist of all time by SPIN in 2012. Thayil has won two Grammy Awards as a member of Soundgarden. Biography Childhood and early life Born in Seattle in 1960, Thayil grew up in the Chicago suburb of Park Forest. His parents came from the state of Kerala in India to Seattle. His mother Shanti Thayil was a music teacher who studied to be a concert pianist at the Royal Academy of Music. His father Boniface Thayil earned a degree in chemical engineering, received employment in Chicago and moved there with his family. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Destroy All Monsters (band)
Destroy All Monsters was an influential Detroit band existing from 1973 to 1985, with sporadic performances since. Their music touched on elements of punk rock, psychedelic rock, heavy metal and noise rock with a heavy dose of performance art. Their music was described by Lester Bangs as "anti-rock". They earned a measure of notoriety due to members of The Stooges and MC5 joining the band, and Sonic Youth singer/guitarist Thurston Moore compiling a three compact disc set of the group's music in 1994. History Early years Formed in 1973, the first edition of Destroy All Monsters was formed by University of Michigan art students Mike Kelley, Jim Shaw, Niagara, and filmmaker Cary Loren. They performed in the Ann Arbor area from 1973–1976, and their only release was a one-hour cassette of their recordings available only through ''Lightworks'' magazine. Their early music was influenced by Sun Ra, Velvet Underground, ESP-Disk, monster movies, beat culture and futurism. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proto-punk
Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music played mostly by garage bands from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock movement. The phrase is a retrospective label; the musicians involved were generally not originally associated with each other and came from a variety of backgrounds and styles; together, they anticipated many of punk's musical and thematic attributes. Definition According to the Allmusic guide: Most musicians classified as proto-punk are rock performers of the 1960s and early-1970s, with garage rock/art rock bands Them, the Velvet Underground, the Shaggs, los Saicos, MC5 and the Stooges considered to be archetypal proto-punk artists, along with glam rock band the New York Dolls. Origins and etymology One of the earliest written uses of the term "punk rock" was by critic Dave Marsh who used it in 1970 to describe US group Question Mark & The Mysterians, who had scored a major hit with their song "96 Tears" in 1966. Many US bands wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sonic's Rendezvous Band
Sonic's Rendezvous Band (or SRB) was an American rock and roll band from Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, forming in 1974, featuring veterans of the 1960s Detroit rock scene. Background Sonic's Rendezvous Band came from the ashes of four Michigan rock bands: * Fred "Sonic" Smith, formerly of the MC5 – guitar, vocals * Scott Morgan, formerly of The Rationals, a soul-influenced Detroit band of the 1960s – guitar, vocals * Gary Rasmussen, formerly of The Up – bass * Scott Asheton, formerly of The Stooges – drums They remained virtually unknown, but their one and only single retained high interest among fans of Detroit rock. The band had had only enough money to mix one song, "City Slang", so it was pressed on both sides of the single. One side was labeled mono and one side stereo although both sides were identical. A lo-fi bootleg LP composed of various radio appearances called ''Strikes Like Lightning'' was traded in the 1980s. Minus Scott Morgan they toured as back ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
