Detroit proto-punk icons MC5 have announced they'll be releasing Heavy Lifting, their first new album in 51 years, later this year. While details are still fuzzy, bandleader Wayne Kramer has shared a preview of the title track, which was co-written by Kramer, Tom Morello and the band's touring singer Brad Brooks, and it features Morello, Don Was, Abe Laboriel Jr, and Brooks on lead vocals.
That single will be backed by "Edge of the Switchblade," which Kramer originally released on 1995 solo album The Hard Stuff, and features William Duvall from Alice in Chains sharing lead vocals with Kramer. Both new tracks were produced by veteran rock producer Bob Ezrin (Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, KISS). Preview "Heavy Lifting" below.
“We’ve just barely survived four catastrophic years of a failed presidency and a devastating pandemic,” Kramer said in a statement. “Brad and I started writing new music with the express purpose of pushing back against the cruelty of it all.” Heavy Lifting also features original drummer Dennis ‘Machine Gun’ Thompson on two songs, as well as songwriting contributions from Kesha, Alejandro Escovedo, Jill Sobule, and Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath.
Wayne will be taking the band, which are now called We Are All MC5, on the road this spring, and the lineup includes Kramer, Brooks, Stephen Perkins (Jane's Addiction), Vicki Randall and Stevie Salas. The eight-show tour hits Detroit, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. All dates are listed below.
The Brooklyn show is at Warsaw on May 8 and you can get tickets early with the BrooklynVegan presale that runs from Thursday, March 10 at 10 AM to Friday, March 11 at 10 AM. Check back Thursday morning for the presale password.
If you miss out on our presale, tickets for the We Are All MC5 tour go on sale Friday, March 11 at 10 AM local time.
Wayne celebrated the 50th anniversary of MC5's Kick Out the Jams on tour in 2018.
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MC5 -2022 Tour Dates 05-05 Detroit, MI - El Club 05-06 Pittsburgh, PA - Thunderbird 05-07 Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts 05-08 Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw 05-12 Sacramento, CA - Harlow’s 05-13 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo’s 365 Club 05-14 Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy Theatre 05-15 San Diego, CA - Soda Bar