"The MC5 is historically significant and its music and story merit being heard today.
The film had and still has the potential to spread the music and story of the MC5."
MC5 - A True Testimonial, the findings, courtesy of Detroit Tango.
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5 comments:
I,ve been following this case over the last few years, in spite of the judgement I think Wayne is right. Rob and Fred are dead, the others, the mouths involved,didnt play in this band. Basically they are profiting on something thats not theirs, documentaries are in my opinion totally irrelevant, its only the music that counts.Wayne is the music, so he should have the final say, not some business dorks. And who cares what Jackson Smith and Rob Tyners wife have to say, did they stand on the Grande Ballroom stage, I dont remember that.
That's not what the case is about. Wayne Kramer appears extensively in and narrates this documentary, he and his wife fully supported the making of the film, as did the other surviving members. Then, once they had a DVD to promote of their own, they tried to block the further release of this film. And the legal mechanisms that they tried to use have backfired. It is a great film, and deserves a wider release.
Howard Wall
From Waynes side as I understood it, they wanted him as musical advisor and then they used the music in a manner that he thought wasnt right, he disagreed so they went on and did it without him. I read a lot of stuff about this case , and in the beginning the focus was never about the other DVD release, they used that as an excuse much later. OK they won, case closed but I still dont agree with it.I,m sure its a great film and I would enjoy it but the whole thing stinks to me. Waynes arguements in his interviews sounded much more plausible, than the stuff i read with the makers of the film,he seemed very honourable , they just seemed to care about the money.
My tuppence worth, trying to be objective, is that this is a great film. Some of it isn't pretty but I think that the surviving members and the families of those who have sadly passed could all have benefitted from it's being seen. In order for the thing to be released, it would have to have a licence and the writers would get paid. As it is, the bootlegs are so widespread that the whole package would have to be overhauled. The MC5 was a band and the ferocity of what they created was bigger than any one member. Sometimes that happens. Though it does show the slide of the band, the wrap up is one of the most redemptive and optimistic examples I've ever seen in in a rock documentary. I don't think anybody here has gained a whole heck of a lot because of the verdict. What's important is that people get to see the film. Not diehards and people who know, but those who have yet to discover what a great band this was. Sonically speaking.
Wayne Kramer: "I'm looking forward to this New Year. We have some interesting plans and projects scheduled, including a new solo record from Yours Truly in June 2002 and the debut of the documentary film "The MC5: A True Testimonial." I've seen a portion of it and it's a motherfucker. Early screenings have generated a response bordering on ecstatic. I am very happy for the filmmakers. It's been a long, ling haul for them. We first started work on it over 5 years ago and it's truly been a labor of love for director David Thomas and producer Laurel Legler. These folks have gone to the mattresses on this project and the result is that the world will finally get to learn the story of the MC5 in the best possible way.
I find it all very exciting and more than a little strange. I've been through so much from the early days of the band through till today, that when I watch footage of me and the band back in the day, it doesn't seem like I'm the same person that's on the screen. It's like I'm watching someone else's story. But if I dig a little deeper into this feeling I know that, today, I'm actually not the same person that I was then. That would be an impossibility.
Even though I am Wayne Kramer from the MC5, my time in the MC5 was a long, long time ago. It was a time in my life that happened and ended. It took a long time for me to accept that fact; that it came to a close and will never happen again is, in the end, a good thing. I'm proud to have been part of one of the greatest rock bands of all time, but that was then and this is now."....... from The Kramer Report of February 2002.......http://www.waynekramer.com/wk/2002/02/february-1-2002.cfm
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