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Dennis Thompson (drummer)

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Dennis Thompson
Background information
Also known asMachine Gun, MGT
Born (1948-09-07) September 7, 1948 (age 76)
OriginDetroit
GenresGarage rock, proto-punk
OccupationMusician
InstrumentDrums
Years active1963-present

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,[1] 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.[2] Joining the MC5 by 1965,[3] 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.[citation needed]

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).[4]

His influences include Elvin Jones, Keith Moon and Mitch Mitchell, and Motown.[5] In 2015, he described how his drumming technique had changed considerably over time, playing with "much less force and tucked in elbows, more wrist action and less arm action".[6]

Thompson was in the band DKT/MC5 with the surviving members of MC5, from 2003-2012. Later, he recorded two tracks for a new MC5 album in 2022.[7]

References

  1. ^ ROB TYNER: HOW MC5’S FRONTMAN LED A ROCK’N’ROLL REVOLUTION - Gig!. 17 September 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  2. ^ MC5- Dennis Thompson interview - Perfect Sound Forever. November 1998. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  3. ^ Iconic proto-punk guitarist brings 'reanimation' of MC5 to Bimbo's - CBS San Francisco. 8 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  4. ^ Asmodeus X band biography, Electrogarden.com, Retrieved September 1, 2009]
  5. ^ City Slang: Dennis Thompson on “Kick out the Jams” - Detroit Metro Times. 10 July 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  6. ^ Modern drummer interview with Dennis Thompson. April 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  7. ^ Wayne Kramer Unveils ‘We Are All MC5’ Spring Tour - Yahoo!. 9 March 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.