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 MC5, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The original line-up consisted of Rob Tyner (vocals) Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitar), Michael Davis (bass), and Dennis ...

, 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. Joining the MC5 by 1965, 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 Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada * ...

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

(commonly referred to as a "Tommy Gun"). His drumming pre-figured and influenced

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

, and

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

drumming styles. 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 New Race was a Detroit rock-styled super-group based in Sydney, Australia, formed in April 1981. New Race was a concept band featuring three members of Radio Birdman: Deniz Tek, Rob Younger, and Warwick Gilbert, along with their inspirational ...

, The Motor City Bad Boys, and The Secrets. In 2001, he guested for Asmodeus X on the song, "The Tiger" (St. Thomas Records). His influences include Elvin Jones, Keith Moon and Mitch Mitchell, and Motown. 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". Thompson was in the band DKT/MC5 with the surviving members of

, from 2003-2012. Later, he recorded two tracks for a new MC5 album in 2022.Wayne Kramer Unveils ‘We Are All MC5’ Spring Tour
- ''Yahoo!''. 9 March 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.

References

External links

official website

1948 births American punk rock singers Living people MC5 members American people of Slovak descent Protopunk musicians American male drummers American punk rock drummers American rock drummers Singers from Detroit The New Order (band) members 20th-century American drummers New Race members 20th-century American male musicians {{US-rock-drummer-stub