Michael Davis, bassist for the proto-punk band MC5 died on Friday 17, at the age of 68. Davis died of liver failure; he was hospitalized at the Enloe Medical Center in Chico, CA, about one month ago for a liver disease. Davis leaves his wife, Angela Davis, three sons and a daughter.

Michael Davis joined the revolutionary band MC5 in 1964, replacing the band’s original bass player, Pat Burrows. In order to join the band, Davis dropped out of Wayne State University, where he had been attending a program in Fine Arts. He played in all the three studio albums MC5 recorded, including their debut record, ‘Kick Out The Jams’, released by Elektra Records in 1969.

MC5 band is categorized as one of the pioneers of the punk movement in the USA. Their lyrics were characterized by strong political and anti-racist identification, while their musical style swept from garage rock to hard rock. Davis left the band in 1972, and then reunited with the surviving members in 2003 for live performances.

After MC5 split up in 1972, Davis co-founded the art rock band Destroy All Monsters, together with his friend Ron Asheton of The Stooges. Although they never recorded a proper studio album, Destroy All Monsters became, through live performances, an influential band in the Detroit area. Davis remained with the band for seven years.

Michael Davis also carried on his painting work; he restarted studying art at several institutes, and collaborated with a variety of artists along the years. He also worked as a music producer.

After a dangerous motorcycle accident in May 2006, where he injured his back, Michael Davis and his wife Angela started the non-profit Music Is Revolution Foundation. The aim of the foundation is to support music education in public schools and raise awareness about the importance music education covers for cognitive abilities, understanding and cultural knowledge.

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Jack White has often been referred to as one of the most talented musicians of the last decade. In 2011, the White Stripes, the rock band composed of Jack and Meg White, broke up. The band rose to prominence during the 2000s and continue to be recognized through and associated worldwide with their biggest hit “Seven Nation Army.”

After the band disbanded, Jack White’s musical future was unclear. He collaborated with different kind of musicians such as Dead Weather, Tom Jones, The Raconteurs, and Insane Clown Posse, with whom White explored new and very particular ways of approaching music.

Now, the Detroit-born artist is returning to the music scene as a complete musician, announcing the release of his first solo album ‘Blunderbuss’, due on April 23-24. The record will be produced by White’s self-owned record label Third Man Records in collaboration with Columbia.

Jack White declared that ‘Blunderbuss’ is “an album I couldn’t have released until now. I’ve put off making records under my own name for a long time but these songs feel like they could only be presented under my name. These songs were written from scratch, had nothing to do with anyone or anything else but my own expression, my own colors on my own canvas.”

The first single from the album, ‘Love Interruption’, was released on the 30th of January and is now available for streaming on Jack White’s website and for purchasing on the main digital music platforms. The single will also be released as a 7-inch vinyl edition on the 7th of February; it will contain ‘Love Interruption’ and the non-album track B-side ‘Machine Gun Silhouette’. The vinyl edition of the single is already available for pre-order on White’s website.

The critically acclaimed artist will surprise the audience with this very particular track as the introduction of the new album. Love Interruption is a gentle track built on keyboard and acoustic guitar; it taps into folk and country, giving the impression that White chose to walk a path for his solo career that differs from the powerful rock that has previously characterized the artist.

The lyrics are quite dark, with White saying he wants love to “stick a knife inside me, and twist it all around” and “change my friends to enemies and show me how it’s all my fault.” This dark feeling, though, is then smoothed by what seems to be a raise of self consciousness and a positive attitude of self preservation with the chorus “I won’t let love disrupt, corrupt, or interrupt me anymore.”

As if the bulk and talent of Jack White’s achievements so far was not enough to awake the interest of most music lovers, this single has given the audience an additional reason to raise their expectations for the upcoming album release.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikekatzif/

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