HIGH TIME AGAIN
New MC5 is kicking out the jams again
Relaunching the MC5 — with a new lineup, new music and renewed purpose — helped pull Wayne Kramer out of “a real pit of despair” he fell into during the past couple of years.
And he’s confident that it’s the absolute right time for the MC5 to be kicking out the jams once again.
“We are in such a dangerous time for our country that I'm gonna have to pull out all the stops and use the most powerful tools that I have at my disposal,” Kramer, 73, explains from Los Angeles, where he resides. At the advice of his therapist to “do something creative,” Kramer began writing songs with Brad Brooks, leading to material he and others felt “could be an MC5 album.”
“The MC5 has always represented action and commitment and principle,” Kramer explains. “I think we're going to need all of that and more if our democracy is to survive. This was the time to reignite the MC5 to carry the necessary message for today.”
Amidst myriad concerns about the state of the country and world, Kramer, who co-founded the MC5 nearly 60 years ago in Lincoln Park — and is one of two original members, along with drummer Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson — still alive, is indeed primed and ready for battle. He's been writing and recording a fourth MC5 studio album, its first in 51 years, with producer Bob Ezrin and other co-writers such as Alejandro Escovedo, Tom Morello, Kesha and Tim McIlrath of Rise Against.
The title track, “Heavy Lifting,” is already out, while the rest of the album is “about two-thirds done” for release later this year, according to Kramer, with players such as Morello, Don Was, Alice in Chains' William Duvall, Paul McCartney's drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. and others playing on it. Kramer also pulled a “hot to trot” Thompson out of semi-retirement to play on two tracks.
“We've probably got 16 or 17 tunes, but we'll have to cut that down,” Kramer says. “We'll save some of them for special releases, B-sides or something. I don't want to hear anybody for more than 40, 45 minutes, maybe 50 minutes — especially me,” he adds with a laugh. But he's anxious to add the MC5's particular viewpoint to a landscape that's rife with political discord, challenges to voting rights, culture wars and myriad other issues.
“If you look at what the artist's role in social change could be, it's to carry a message,” Kramer says. “What the MC5's done since inception is to carry a message of self-efficacy, of taking action. We're not handing out the jams or passing out the jams — we're kicking out the mother------- jams! This is about action — get up off the couch, go do something.”
“Heavy Lifting” and the new “We are all MC5” campaign comprise the latest chapter in the band's dramatic history. An adjunct to Detroit's White Panther party during the late '60s, the MC5's potent brand of populist hard rock, blending influences as diverse as Chuck Berry and Sun Ra, was enormously influential over the course of three albums released between 1969-'71 — the landmark “Kick Out the Jams” album was recorded live at the Grande Ballroom during Halloween weekend in 1968 and cited as a touchstone for punk and grunge bands that followed. The MC5 broke up in 1972, but Kramer oversaw subsequent reunions, including DKT/MC5 with Thompson and late bassist Michael Davis and the all-star MC50 during 2018-2019.
He's equally if not more excited about the latest incarnation of the band, which launches a short tour Wednesday at Detroit's El Club. The lineup features Brooks on vocals, Steve Salas on guitar, Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Vicki Randle, who spent time in Mavis Staples' band.
“I think this is the best band yet,” says Kramer, who published an award-winning memoir, “The Hard Stuff,…” in 2019. “We're just at the beginning now of cracking the code on what we can do, but the whole thing seems to fit together really well. Rehearsals have been going fantastic. I'm shocked at how good the stuff sounds.”
The new MC5 will play two weeks' worth of shows this month before Kramer returns to work composing his next film soundtrack, for an adaptation of Arthur Miller's short story “The Performance.” He's hoping to do more touring with the band and is already contemplating a next album beyond “Heavy Lifting.” And he's waiting to see if this is the time the MC5 is finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, on its sixth nomination; inductees will be announced on Wednesday, May 4, the day before the tour starts.
“Either way it'll be OK with me,” says Kramer, who has a more benign view of the potential honor now than he's had in previous years. “I've gone through all the arguments and cynicism and criticism, and, listen, if the MC5 is recognized for their contribution I think that would be a good thing. There's a lot of people out there who love the band and love what the band represents.
“To have that appreciation confirmed wouldn't be a bad thing…But we've been here before, so let's see what happens.”