Monday, February 20, 2012

Mike Davis

MIchael Davis, the bass player of the MC5 in their most glorious incarnation, died on Friday at age 68. 
Mike was an artist studying at Wayne State and was recruited by Rob Tyner the singer and Wayne Kramer in 1966 into the band. After the demise of the MC5, Mike was one of the original members of the highly influential conceptual band, Destroy All Monsters. Tragically, Mike Kelley, the LA based American conceptual artist who was in the DAM, died 2 weeks ago. Davis had returned to art and had a number of shows and was actually going for his Masters at Berkeley when he died. He had been appearing with Wayne Kramer and Dennis Thompson, the other surviving members of the 5 in the MC5/DKT project which toured the world during the mid decade with a revolving cast of guest musicians playing the music of the MC5. This band was such a huge part of my life. I knew Michael in a few of his incarnations and he was truly a real man! I am in the crowd in the video, from 1970, live at Tartan Field at Wayne State University on the edge of the John C. Lodge Xway in Detroit!
Nobody plays music like this anymore!
Here's a cut of the MC5/DKT project from 2005. Thompson on drums. Wayne Kramer of course on guitar and Mike is playing bass and singing. I Can Only Give You Everything! 

5 comments:

Engineer of Knowledge said...

Hello Microdot,
Watching this clip makes me long for the old days when I played too.

microdot said...

I have 3 pieces I am writing on and not really getting anywhere fast. My friend in PA sent me some very interesting stuff in relation to his ongoing fracking crisis and trying to wade through the legalese of the bill and extract what I need is making me crazy!

Village Green said...

When I read of this in the news, I had to come see what you had to say.

Engineer of Knowledge said...

Microdot,
Yea I too did a piece on “Fracking” in Penn and Ohio on Muddy’s site. But no matter what the science says and the proof of water wells being poisoned, the gas is going to be developed anyway.

Lodo Grdzak said...

My old alma mater--Wayne State University! With the John C. Lodge Expressway in the background. Oh man--awesome clip!!!!