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MACHINEGUN THOMPSON: MAN, WHAT A RIDE!
Bill Elliot car for The Woods Brother's Team parked in Southgate on Dad;s Birthday 8-11-09
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.”
Henry David Thoreau
What a great life! Thoreau nailed it. Kimmer asked me last night how many drumming gigs I have played in my career. I told her probably in the area of 1500 or so. That number would include all of my performances, even backyard barbecues up to 100,000 seat arenas. Hell I have played to two drunks on bar stools to some of the coolest venues in the world.
Today it is all about reinventing myself again. Love it. Time for me to step up for my turn in the barrel. Bet you a thousand bucks I will become an actor next. Why not? Hollywood is coming to Detroit. Here are those six ideas again… HERE
We are going to film me drumming this weekend. How would you like me to perform “Skunk Sonically Speaking” as a warm up tune? Maybe I’ll break it down to its simplest parts and prove one guy can perform that piece.
I have two interviews I am going to do as well. I hope you will be entertained at my latest efforts at becoming the next Larry King, ha, ha, ha! No guts, no glory.
I will also be having a meeting with the talented writer Brett Callwood, author of two new books about to be distributed in the United States. He will be releasing “Sonically Speaking MC5—A Tale of Revolution and Rock ‘N’ Roll”, and the Stooges tome, “A Journey Through The Michigan Underworld—The Stooges.”
Great books. When you see them on the shelves, buy them. They will not be as expensive as “The MC5 and Social Change” by Mathew J. Bartkowiak. Oh, and get that one too! Why not…
“Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. I think that there is nothing, not even crime, more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, ay, to life itself than this incessant business.”
Henry David Thoreau
Just so you know, I am having a great time lately. We are planning a show in November. This show will be a factory experimental prototype of a multitude of different show biz concepts. This is all I am at liberty to say now.
Working out at the gym is giving me new energy and strength. To play like I want to play requires endurance and muscle. The gym is the best place for me to do this. I see all these ridiculous hard bodies and I want one!
Not like Lou or Arnold in his prime but super toned up. Feels good. Looks better. Takes effort though. This is the key.
One of the keys to the sober life is activity. Productive activity is better than plain old activity alone. How much can be done in a day? The mind reels. Tons, literally.
Even though we are in desperate and rough times, do not stop moving forward. Those that whine and piss and moan are wasting their valuable energy. Look at life as a gift and a blessing rather than a curse that never ends and you will change. Change your thinking. Work hard. Find your passion and get on with it.
I am six feet above, not under. So are you. Take no prisoners by living your life to the red line. It is fun walking the edge of the razor blade. Life was meant to be an exciting journey for all of us.
So get on all the coasters at Cedar Point before summer is over. Get to that sporting event, that beach, that picnic, that book, that new class at any school, that road that gives you life’s juice. You got five seconds to decide. Are you going to be part of the problem or the solution?
Kick Out Those MotherF**king Jams Today! You lose if you do not. I know, I’ve been there, got the t-shirt for free, wore it out and burned it.
By the way, Dad is doing as well as can be expected and we just celebrated his 92nd birthday on Tuesday August 11th.
Thanks to each and everyone of you out there on this tiny rock. Stay tuned—Great stuff coming. Promise…
MGT
7 comments:
Amen, brother!
Glad to hear your Dad is doing okay.
Academically expensive, but well worth all of its delicious academic dryness ;)
All the best from across the lake,
Mat
Hey Dennis,
I've been wanting to write to you for quite awhile, thinking about what I want to say, but time kept passing and now I'm just going to go for it, so please bear with me...
I'm a drummer and electrical engineer, 52, and I've been an MC5 fanatic since I bought the KOTJ LP at age 12 after reading about you in Newsweek of all places (and 16 Magazine - I hadn't discovered Hit Parader or Rolling Stone quite yet!) I talked to you on the phone back around 1997 when I was on business trip in Ypsi, thanks to Ralph Heibutzski, who I'd been in touch with since his epic article in DISCoveries - he gave you my number and you left a message for me back home in Pittsburgh after which I called you from my hotel. You graciously offered to try to get together while I was up in the area but my schedule didn't permit it.
I've been reading your blog with a great deal of interest - initially, obviously, for MC5 info, war stories, etc., as well as your other musical experiences. However, what I didn't expect and what has touched me even more are the motivational writings, the open, loving attitude that permeates everything you share. I look forward to each new blog, marvelling at points of commonality with my own life experiences and drawing strength from you encouragement.
My parents are both approaching 90 (my dad will be 90 on your birthday, as a matter of fact) and they're increasingly dependent on me for assistance. Fortunately they're still able to manage at home, and my dad is able to prepare their food and do the laundry. My mom is nearly blind as well as very weak, so she totally relies on my dad. They've survived heart attacks, my mom's had breast cancer and a mini-stroke, but they just keep going. Every day is a blessing, but the unknown future weighs heavy sometimes. I'm thankful that I'm able to help out - Dad quit driving a few months back so I take him shopping etc., and my wife Lynda helps by preparing extra food whenever possible. Just reading about how you and Patrice have been helping care for your dad has helped give me strength to carry on.
I started teaching myself to play drums when I was 12, shortly before discovering the MC5, and I've been fortunate to have a number of wonderful experiences over these 40 years. However, I never even considered pursuing it fulltime like you did - I think the influence of my parents was far too strong to allow that to happen, and it's probably just as well. Although I would have loved to have done more musically, I've been able to keep a pretty good balance between that and the "straight" world as an engineer, and I've been fortunate to avoid a lot of the pitfalls that come with the music business. When I graduated from college in 1979, my first job was, believe it or not, at Great Lakes Steel in Ecorse! I lived in an apartment on West Road for most of 1980 (technically it was Brownstown Township, although the mailing address was Trenton) before getting laid off and moving back to the Pittsburgh area. By the way, while I was there I did get to see you play once, with Secrets at the Red Carpet (you walked right past me but I was too intimidated to approach you!) So I got to know the Downriver area fairly well during that time, but my heart was still back home (literally - I started dating Lynda the weekend before I moved, and ended up driving home every other weekend). I regret not getting involved in the music scene while I lived there - that was certainly an opportunity missed because the music scene here obviously pales in comparison).
I don't want to bore you with too much personal stuff so I'll close now, but most importantly I want to thank you so much, not only for the 40 years of drumming inspiration, but for the life inspiration of your recent writings. Please keep it up, and I hope that we'll continue to stay in touch.
Best wishes,
Mike Kolesar
Monroeville, PA
Dennis....what happened to Steve Moorhouse the bassist you had? How did you come into contact with him?
It's all great stuff!
saw you first in '69, actually jammed with you at Skip Knape (VanWinkle) house early 70's, too drunk to sing, scared, too. haha love your music/playin
Angie
@ BETH.
WHEN DAD GETS A LITTLE BETTER I GUESS I GET A LITTLE BETTER. THANKS BETH.
MGT
@PROFESSOR BARTKOWIAK,
HI MAT! I UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR BOOK IS BEING USED AS A TEXTBOOK IN UNIVERSITY. SORRY, I SHOULD OF SAID THAT YOUR BOOK IS A GREAT BUY AT ANY COST, IT IS SO GOOD. THANKS AGAIN SIR.
MGT
@ MIKE KOLESAR.
SO GOOD TO HEAR FROM YOU. I AM PROUD OF YOU AS YOU TAKE CARE OF YOUR PARENTS. AS THEIR OFFSPRING WE OWE THEM A GREAT DEAL MORE I THINK THEN WE CAN EVER REPAY. SOMETIMES I GET DOWN WITH TAKING CARE OF DAD AS IT'S BEEN TEN YEARS, BUT WHEN I SEE HIM SMILE, IT CHARGES ME UP AGAIN.
YES, THE MUSIC BUSINESS ISN'T FOR EVERYONE. IT IS AN EXTREMELY DIFFICULT BUSINESS TO MAKE A LIVING IN. YOU HANG IN THERE WITH YOUR FOLKS AND ENJOY EVERY DAY YOU HAVE WITH THEM. EACH DAY IS A BLESSING. GLAD YOU WROTE MIKE!
MGT
@ MARKHERWIN
I REALLY DON'T KNOW MARK.
MGT
@ NUZZ,
YEAH IT IS.
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