Opening Reception: July 11, 2015, 7:00 P.M. to 9:30 P.M. The exhibit closes on September 7, 2015. Join us for a free open air concert - with testimonials and special guests - held at the Lincoln Park Band Shell in Memorial Park on Sunday July 12, 2015.
MC5 50 years ~ It’s a Date
In the November newsletter we announced impending plans for a 50 Year celebration for rock legends MC5, most of whom hailed from Lincoln Park. The date has been set: events will take place over the weekend of July 11 and 12. Saturday the 11th at 7:00 p.m. will be a public opening reception for the ‘MC5 Exhibit’ at the museum, followed by Sunday’s 50 Year tribute concert at the Memorial Park Band Shell from 2:00pm to 6:00pm.
Purists will argue that the 5 began in 1964 when the name was adopted at vocalist Rob Tyner’s suggestion. Some of the musicians, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred Smith, were jamming together in their garages as early as 1963. The band members as we know them were all in place in 1965, when the stars aligned with the addition of Dennis Thompson on drums and Michael Davis on bass -- “MC5.”
As we move further along in the planning we will be gathering together a slate of performers and testimonials. You can keep up on the event postings via Facebook, as well as our own website. We will also have a complete section devoted to the MC5 in the May newsletter.
Business sponsorships to help underwrite this anniversary exhibit and concert are being sought to defray the costs of the events. Proceeds after expenses, as well as a portion of sales of merchandise, will be used to support the ongoing operations and programs of the historical museum. Please contact curator Jeff Day at lpmuseum at gmail com or (313) 386-3137 for information and sponsorship packets.
Left to right: bassist Michael Davis, drummer Dennis Thompson, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred “Sonic” Smith, and vocalist Rob Tyner
Updates for the MC5 50th Anniversary Tribute
Plans for the MC5 50 year anniversary tribute weekend in July continue to move forward. Much work has been completed and much yet to do. Posters and flyers, with art work by noted Detroit artist Carl Lundgren, will be out in May to help publicize the event. Surviving band members Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson and Wayne Kramer have been invited to attend as have the families of Rob Tyner, Fred “Sonic” Smith, and Michael Davis. The band will receive long due recognition for their Lincoln Park roots and their contributions to America’s rock ‘n roll legacy. Testimonials and special guests are part of the weekend celebration.
Saturday, July 11 at 7:00p.m. is the public opening for the MC5 exhibit at the historical museum. (The exhibit runs through Labor Day). On Sunday afternoon, July 12 from 2pm to 6pm is the Tribute Concert at the Band Shell in Memorial Park. The events are free to the public. Picnic baskets are encouraged on Sunday. Keep up with the event postings via Facebook.
Major sponsors have already signed up to help with the celebration, including John A. Papalas, the Fort Street Brewery, Busen Appliance and Best Impressions Printing. Contributions from sponsors are still being accepted to defray the costs associated with putting on the celebration and for installing a permanent MC5 exhibit. Sponsors who sign up now will receive recognition in the event program, on our FB page, and will be noted on the on-site placard. Volunteers are also needed to help on the weekend.
Following the close of the special exhibit on Labor Day, September 7, a permanent MC5 exhibit will be installed. Please contact us at lpmuseum@gmail.com or 313-386-3137 for more information.
Youtube has many clips of MC5 performances; this link will get you to the entire High Times studio-recorded album, The MC5’s third album, released in 1971: true home-grown rock ‘n roll!
“The Motor City 5 - MC5”
(from the May 2015 Newsletter)
The United States of America is a country whose very existence is founded upon and steeped in a rich tradition of rebellion and in your face, non-conformist ideals. Each generation and each culture proudly claims and reveres its own historic and pivotal icons. America in the 1960's gave birth to a new sort of street-wise yet idealistic long-haired youth sub-culture whose principles and high-energy means of spreading their creed of togetherness, equality, and rock 'n' roll continue to resonate with many generations of people around the world.
The Motor City 5, the MC5 for short, launched their total assault on the world in 1965 from the otherwise humble, blue collar town of Lincoln Park, Michigan. Selecting the cool moniker because they thought it sounded like a Detroit make and model, The MC5 caught the green light at the corner of Fort and Southfield, then mashed the pedal to floor and rode their rock and roll express to major label record deals, critical acclaim, world-wide tours and an ever-growing legacy and cultural relevancy that has outlived even the band itself.
The MC5 pictured in Wayne’s back yard, 1965 (photo courtesy of Emil Bacilla) L to R: Rob Tyner, Wayne Kramer, Dennis Thompson, Michael Davis, and Fred Smith
Consisting of Rob Tyner [Derminer] on lead vocals, Fred "Sonic" Smith and Wayne Kramer [Kambes] on dueling lead guitars, Dennis "Machine Gun" Thompson [Tomich] on drums and Michael Davis on bass guitar, the MC5 eventually recorded three albums and released several collector item 45 rpm vinyl record singles. Their iconic, self-professed mantra of a hit single "Kick Out The Jams," their albums on both Atlantic and Elecktra, and a devastating live show born at Russ Gibb’s famed Grande Ballroom, where they regularly shared the bill with local legends Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes, Iggy and the Stooges, and other Detroit-bred bands, together helped land The 5 on tours and concert bills with international rock royalty including The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Big Brother and The Holding Company, Cream, The Yardbirds, and The Mothers of Invention.
Moreover, high-profile gigs like their legendary performance in the face of, or perhaps in tandem with, a rioting mob at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago helped catapult the band’s high intensity image and aggressive political stance into the international consciousness. Subsequent European tours by the MC5 helped plant the seeds of high energy rebellion that would manifest as the English punk scene of the mid 1970's.
Despite the MC5's formal ,dissolution in 1973, their music and legacy never really left the face of popular music or popular culture. From the U.K.’s The Damned, to metal gods Motorhead, to mid-‘70’s N.Y.C.’s C.B.G.B. mainstays The Dictators, to ‘90's alt-rock stars Rage Against The Machine and Stone Temple Pilots, to The Gories and the garage bashers of the 2000's The White Stripes, the Lincoln Park local’s songs, riffs and attitude can be heard and felt on the airwaves, in movies, Guitar Hero video games and inside the earbuds of angst-infused and idealistic youth who believe in the power of an idea and in the right to kick out their jams by any means necessary.
The museum now has a permanent MC5 exhibit located in the old postmaster’s office.