MC5, Handsome Dick Manitoba and the Punk Sommelier: Andrew Shernoff

At the Azkena Rock Festival, MC5

was playing the next day at the same stage Las Furias were playing the day before.

Motor City Five (MC5)

han been mentioned frequently as one of the more important American bands of hard rock of his era, and their three albums are real classics: Kick Out the Jams 1969, Back in the USA 1970, High Time 1971.

Kick Out the Jams

as recorded life in the Big Ballroom of Detroit in October, 1968. The singer Rob Tyner was shouting: “And right now it’s time to… KICK OUT THE JAMS, MOTHERFUCKERS!” Before the initial riff. I still get excited when i listen to it. This is and indispensable Album to listent to, at high volume, to learn about anger, strenght, and catársis. At that time their manager was John Sinclair, poet and policit activist co-founder of the party of the White Panthers. The same John Sinclair who was sentence to be ten years prison for the sale of two joints of marijuana and after a series of previous sentences for possession of drug.

In the concert “Free John Sinclair” in Ann Arbor, Michigan on December 10, 1971, Lennon  and  Ono appeared on stage together with other great musicians. Lennon sang his new song «John Sinclair», where he asked the authorities “Let him be, set him free, let him be like you and me”. About approximately 20,000 persons were present in the manifestation, and three days later, the State of Michigan made Sinclair free.

You can imagine the emotion of seeing live MC5, though they were more like MC3, for the original members who remain in the band, the guitarist Wayne Kramer, the bassist Michael Davis,  and the drummer Dennis Thompson. In this concert they had a stellar guest at the microphone: Handsome Dick Manitoba of The Dictators as singer, with whom we were chatting a while backstaging and took this photo before he got on stage to sing with MC5.

Now is the time to talk about Andy Shernoff, bassist of  The Dictators, and as Manitoba told me that day, we share both passions about Wine and Music. Andy Shernoff is also known as The Punk Sommelier . Thats it! He’s a bassist rock star and a sommelier, and he has written his own  manifest, here a small taste of its esence:

¨Wine should be for everyday consumption not just the special occasion¨

¨There is nothing more important for the enjoyment of wine than food.

Wine without food is like sex without love. Alright, so sex without love ain’t all that bad, but you know what I’m saying; trust your own palate.

Then Shut Up and Drink!!!¨

Andy Shernoff