snakes&ladders
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Legal issues resolved, but backers short of $27K needed to use music
Susan Whitall / Detroit News Music Writer
Seven years after the highly regarded "MC5: A True Testimonial" film was withdrawn from release, the embattled documentary that captures the volatile 1960s music scene in Detroit through the story of 1960s rockers the MC5 might see a commercial release after all.
The legal and music publishing issues that led to the film's demise have been largely resolved; all that remains is to raise $27,000 for a synch license from Warner Chappell Publishing to use the MC5's songs in the film.
A Kickstarter page was launched to solicit contributions (and offer a special bonus); as of late afternoon Friday $2,445 had been raised, with 51 days to go (see sidebar).
Laurel Legler and David C. Thomas, the Chicago-based producer and director, respectively, interviewed surviving members of the MC5, their spouses and many others. The "testimony" of those participants was cut in with exciting live footage of the band to create a stirring portrait of the short-lived but highly influential "5."
"There's a lot of people who are into the band, but there's a lot of history they never knew, a lot of ups and downs that you see in the movie. There are a lot of good life lessons in there," says Jackson Smith, the guitarist son of the MC5's Fred "Sonic" Smith and Patti Smith.
"The live footage is extraordinary. It's the rock show at its absolute best: highly refined chaos," wrote Ben Ratliff in the New York Times. John Patterson of Britain's "The Guardian" was equally effusive. "MC5: A True Testimonial puts the music into its local, cultural and political context, and one understands the thinking much more clearly," he wrote. "You can fling 95% of all other rockumentaries into the furnace — if we can just get to keep this one."
The release, of course, depends upon raising the $27,000. "We'll concentrate on getting the license first, and then we'll explore doing some screenings," said Freddie Brooks, a Detroit music producer and longtime friend and associate of MC5 guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith. From there, it's hoped that a new national distribution deal would be secured.
"Once people know the film is back, I'm fairly certain there will be renewed interest in the DVD rights," Brooks said. "It's more than about the band, it's about a really significant part of American history."
So many copies went out to critics back in 2003 that inevitably, bootleg copies leaked onto the Internet. But fans are hoping the many hours of additional MC5 footage that turned up after the film was completed might be added as bonus material to a DVD.
Rob Tyner, Wayne Kramer, Fred "Sonic" Smith, Michael Davis and Dennis "Machinegun" Thompson were working class suburban kids, mostly from Lincoln Park, who came together over a few years to ultimately become the "Motor City Five."
That name was soon abbreviated, and as the MC5 they became the much-loved house band at Detroit's legendary Grande Ballroom, famous for shutting down headlining British groups like the Who, who found it almost impossible to follow their intensity.
The MC5 were signed to a national record contract by Elektra Records in 1969. Their explosive live album "Kick Out the Jams," named after their roiling theme song, created the sonic template from which punk and metal bands still draw inspiration.
But the band's subversive lyrics and ties to revolutionary politics caused trouble with the authorities, as well as dissension within the group. As the idealism of the '60s morphed into paranoia and drug abuse, discord within the group led it to disband in the early '70s.
Lead singer Tyner died in 1991, and guitarist Smith died in 1994. The surviving members of the MC5 reunited to tour for a time as DKT-MC5.
[email protected]
By blackglove at 2011-03-21
Legal issues resolved, but backers short of $27K needed to use music
Susan Whitall / Detroit News Music Writer
Seven years after the highly regarded "MC5: A True Testimonial" film was withdrawn from release, the embattled documentary that captures the volatile 1960s music scene in Detroit through the story of 1960s rockers the MC5 might see a commercial release after all.
The legal and music publishing issues that led to the film's demise have been largely resolved; all that remains is to raise $27,000 for a synch license from Warner Chappell Publishing to use the MC5's songs in the film.
A Kickstarter page was launched to solicit contributions (and offer a special bonus); as of late afternoon Friday $2,445 had been raised, with 51 days to go (see sidebar).
Laurel Legler and David C. Thomas, the Chicago-based producer and director, respectively, interviewed surviving members of the MC5, their spouses and many others. The "testimony" of those participants was cut in with exciting live footage of the band to create a stirring portrait of the short-lived but highly influential "5."
"There's a lot of people who are into the band, but there's a lot of history they never knew, a lot of ups and downs that you see in the movie. There are a lot of good life lessons in there," says Jackson Smith, the guitarist son of the MC5's Fred "Sonic" Smith and Patti Smith.
"The live footage is extraordinary. It's the rock show at its absolute best: highly refined chaos," wrote Ben Ratliff in the New York Times. John Patterson of Britain's "The Guardian" was equally effusive. "MC5: A True Testimonial puts the music into its local, cultural and political context, and one understands the thinking much more clearly," he wrote. "You can fling 95% of all other rockumentaries into the furnace — if we can just get to keep this one."
The release, of course, depends upon raising the $27,000. "We'll concentrate on getting the license first, and then we'll explore doing some screenings," said Freddie Brooks, a Detroit music producer and longtime friend and associate of MC5 guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith. From there, it's hoped that a new national distribution deal would be secured.
"Once people know the film is back, I'm fairly certain there will be renewed interest in the DVD rights," Brooks said. "It's more than about the band, it's about a really significant part of American history."
So many copies went out to critics back in 2003 that inevitably, bootleg copies leaked onto the Internet. But fans are hoping the many hours of additional MC5 footage that turned up after the film was completed might be added as bonus material to a DVD.
Rob Tyner, Wayne Kramer, Fred "Sonic" Smith, Michael Davis and Dennis "Machinegun" Thompson were working class suburban kids, mostly from Lincoln Park, who came together over a few years to ultimately become the "Motor City Five."
That name was soon abbreviated, and as the MC5 they became the much-loved house band at Detroit's legendary Grande Ballroom, famous for shutting down headlining British groups like the Who, who found it almost impossible to follow their intensity.
The MC5 were signed to a national record contract by Elektra Records in 1969. Their explosive live album "Kick Out the Jams," named after their roiling theme song, created the sonic template from which punk and metal bands still draw inspiration.
But the band's subversive lyrics and ties to revolutionary politics caused trouble with the authorities, as well as dissension within the group. As the idealism of the '60s morphed into paranoia and drug abuse, discord within the group led it to disband in the early '70s.
Lead singer Tyner died in 1991, and guitarist Smith died in 1994. The surviving members of the MC5 reunited to tour for a time as DKT-MC5.
[email protected]
By blackglove at 2011-03-21
