Some Punk, Proto-Punk, New Wave & Alt Rock Figures

Wayne Kramer ~ 72 ~ Guitarist with Proto Punk band the MC5 ("Kick Out The Jams"), later Gangwar and solo

Dennis Machine Gun Thompson - 75 - Drummer for Detroit Proto Punk band the MC5 "Kick Out The Jams", "High School") & Destroy All Monsters

John Sinclair - 82 - MC5 Manager, poet and Jazz radio DJ

THE MC5 ~ "KICK OUT THE JAMS";


THE MC5 ~ "MOTOR CITY IS BURNING";


THE MC5 ~ "AMERICAN RUSE";


THE MC5 ~ "LOOKING AT YOU";


Ruby Lynn Reyner ~ 72 ~ Singer with 1970's New York Glam Punk band Ruby & the Rednecks, musical actress & screenwriter & Andy Warhol model

RUBY & THE REDNECKS ~ "RUBY FROM THE WRONG SIDE OF TOWN";


Damo Suzuki - 74 - Japanese singer/guitarist with 1970's German Kraut Rock band Can

CAN ~ "PAPERHOUSE"


CAN ~ "BRING ME COFFEE OR TEA";


Chris Karrer ~ 76 ~ Guitarist with German Kraut Rock band Aamon Dull II

AAMON DULL II ~ "BETWEEN THE EYES";


Pavel Zajíček - 72 - Czech poet & singer with 1970's Czech Art Rock underground band DG 307

DG307;


DG307 ~ "INDIANSKA MODLITBA";


Chris Cross - 71 - Bassist with UK New Wave bands Ultravox & Tiger Lily

ULTRAVOX ~ "CROSS FADE";


ULTRAVOX ~ "SLEEPWALK";


ULTRAVOX ~ "DANCING WITH TEARS IN MY EYES";


ULTRAVOX ~ "REAP THE WILD WIND";


ULTRAVOX ~ "VIENNA";


Kay Russell - 72 - Guitarist with UK New Wave singer Susan Fassbinder ("Twilght Cafe")

SUSAN FASSBINDER ~ "TWILIGHT CAFE";


Frank Darcel - 65 - Guitarist with 1980's French New Wave band Marquis de Sade

MARQUIS DE SADE ~ "STAIRS & HALLS" / "CANCER & DRUGS";


MARQUIS DE SADE ~ "WANDA'S LOVING BOY";


Jean-Marie Aerts - 72 - Guitarist with Belgian New Wave band TC Matic

TC MATIC ~ "LE JAVA";


TC MATIC ~ "MIDDLE CLASS & BLUE";


Shane Baldwin - 50's - Drummer for UK Hardcore & Thrash bands Vice Squad, Chaotic Dischord, Onslaught

VICE SQUAD ~ "LAST ROCKERS";


VICE SQUAD ~ "STAND STRONG STAND PROUD";


CHAOTIC DISCHORD ~ "ANARCHY IN WOOLWORTH'S";


Steve Albini - 61 - Singer/guitarist w/Chicago Post Punk/Noise bands Big Black & Shellac, later producer with Nirvana, Pixies, Bush, the Breeders, PJ Harvey, Jesus Lizard, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, the Wedding Present, Low, the Sadies, Superchunk, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Manic Street Preachers, the Stooges, Helmet, the Fleshtones, Cheap Trick, Varuca Salt, The Frames, Jawbreaker, Neurosis, Bush, Fred Schnieder

BIG BLACK ~ "BAD PENNY";


BIG BLACK ~ "FIST OF LOVE";


BIG BLACK;


Keith LeBlanc ~ 70 ~ Drummer with New York Dance Industrial bands Tackhead Sound System, Little Axe as well as ABC ("How To Be A Millionaire")

TACKHEAD SOUND SYSTEM ~ "HARD LEFT";


TACKHEAD SOUND SYSTEM ~ "TICKING TIME BOMB";


MINISTRY ~ "NWO";


MINSTRY ~ "JESUS BUILT MY HOTROD";


ABC ~ "HOW TO BE A MILLIONAIRE";


T. M. Stevens - 72 - American bassist w/The Pretenders ("Get Close" lp), Joe Cocker, Steve Vai

THE PRETENDERS ~ "DON'T GET ME WRONG";


THE PRETENDERS ~ "MY BABY";


THE PRETENDERS ~ "HYMN TO HER";


Dexter Romweber ~ 57 ~ Singer/guitarist with North Carolina Punkabilly band the Flat Duo Jets

THE FLAT DUO JETS ~ "CRAZY HAZY KISSES";


THE FLAT DUO JETS ~ "WILD WILD LOVER";


THE FLAT DUO JETS ~ "YOU BELONG TO ME";


Mojo Nixon - 66 - American musician ("Elvis Is Everywhere", "Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child") and actor ("Super Mario Bros", "Great Balls of Fire")

MOJO NIXON ~ "DON HENLEY MUST DIE";


MOJO NIXON & SKID ROPER ~ "ELVIS IS EVERYWHERE";


MOJO NIXON & SKID ROPER ~ "DEBBIE GIBSON & MY TWO HEADED LOVECHILD";


Michael Ward - 57 - Guitarist with American Alternatie bands The Wallflowers, School of Fish

SCHOOL OF FISH ~ "3 STRANGE DAYS";


THE WALLFLOWERS ~ "LETTERS FROM THE WASTELAND";


THE WALLFLOWERS ~ "HEROS";


Carl Bevan - 51 - Drummer with 1990's Welsh Indie band (60 Ft. Dolls) and painter

60FT DOLLS ~ "STAY";


60FT DOLLS ~ "TALK TO ME";


Graeme Neysmith 50's - Guitarist with UK Showgaze band the Pale Saints

THE PALE SAINTS ~ "KINKY LOVE";


THE PALE SAINTS ~ "THROWING BACK THE APPLE";


Angela McCluskey - 64 - Scottish/American singer with Indie band the Wild Colonials

THE WILD COLONIALS ~ "GIRL";


THE WILD COLONIALS ~ "COY";


Fred Noonan - Drummer with Australian Alternative band Six Ft Hick

SIX FT HICK ~ "BEAT MYSELF";


Steve Kille - 50's - Bassist with American Indie band Dead Meadow

DEAD MEADOW ~ "WHAT NEEDS MUST BE";


DEAD MEADOW ~ "AT HER OPEN DOOR";


Michael Knott - 61 - Singer-songwriter with American Indie band Lifesavers Underground (LSU)

LIFESAVERS UNDERGROUND ~ "THE BOMB";

Ric Ocasek & Some More New Wave & Punk Figures

The Cars were (along with Blondie) the first American New Wave group to score hits. They were founded by Ohio natives Ric Ocasek (singer, guitarist & main songwriter) and Benjamin Orr (bass & vocals) who started out as a nameless folk duo as early as 1970 before moving to Boston after a few years where they slowly expanded to include Greg Hawkes (keys & sax) and guitarist Elliot Easton as a folk rock group Milkwood. Around 1977 they added drummer David Robinson who was already fairly well known in the Boston underground scene having drummed with Jonathan Richman's Modern Lovers, DMZ and The Pop. By this time the band was embracing the New Wave sounds of Blondie and Roxy Music and Robinson suggested a name change from Milkwood (a Dylan Thomas reference) to the more modern sounding The Cars.

THE CARS ~ "JUST WHAT I NEEDED";


The first album came out in 1978 and was an immediate smash with it's icy, spacey sound and tightly constructed songs. The entire album sounds like a greatest hits collection and fired off a series instant classics; "My Best Friend's Girl", "Just What I Needed", "Moving In Stereo", "Don't Ya Stop" keeping the album on the charts for the next two years. The next three albums carried on in the same vein with 1984's "Heartbeat City" being their last major hit album with hits in; "Hello Again", "You Might Think", "Magic" and the ballad "Drive". It also was the first time the Cars paid any real attention to videos in a collaboration with Andy Warhol to make some splashy videos that dominated MTV and Much Music for the next few years. This would be Warhol's last major project.

THE CARS ~ "LET'S GO";


By this time the Cars had long been considered as a mainstream band, albeit a likable one, and not associated with the underground scene and the next album 1987's "Door To Door" stiffed and that was basically it. The band broke up somewhat acrimoniously. Ocasek would have some minor solo success (as would Orr) but would be better known as a producer with notable alternative and underground bands like Suicide, Bad Brains, Romeo Void, Hole, Nada Surf, Bad Religion, Black 47, Guided by Voices, Weezer, Bebe Buell, No Doubt, Johnny Bravo, D Generation, Possum Dixon, Martin Rev and going full circle, Jonathan Richman.

Ben Orr died in 2000 and Ocasek shunned any band reunions saying he had no desire to perform live and was especially not interested in touring. The Cars did do a reunion tour without him in 2005-06 with Todd Rundgren on vocals which Ocasek at first gave legal permission for but then mocked, as did most fans. There would finally be a proper reunion (without Orr of course) in 2016 with a new album and tour. They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2018 which would be their last gig. Ric Ocasek was found dead of heart disease in his New York townhouse this September 15 aged 74.

THE CARS ~ "SHAKE IT UP";



Roy Loney ~ 72 ~ Singer/guitarist with 1970's San Francisco Proto-Punk band The Flamin' Groovies and the Phantom Movers. The Flamin Groovies were one of the handful of Proto-Punk bands cited as one of the founders of the later Punk scene. Starting in San Francisco as early as 1965 as a garage band and recorded several influential near hits like "Teenage Head", "Slow Death" and "Shake Some Action" which have been covered by many punk bands while the Hamilton band Teenage Head obviously took their name from the Groovies song. Loney later left the band and formed his own band the Phantom Movers.

THE FLAMING GROOVIES ~ "SLOW DEATH";


Kim Shattuck ~ 56 ~ American singer, songwriter and guitarist with punk bands The Muffs, The Pandoras, Pixies

THE PANDORAS ~ "STOP PRETENDING";


THE MUFFS ~ "WEIRD BOY NEXT DOOR";



Frank Stumpo ~ Singer/guitarist with 1980's NY Psyche Garage band Plan 9

PLAN 9 ~ "KEEP YOUR COOL";


PLAN 9 ~ "FRUSTRATION";



Tim Gassen ~ Singer for 1980's Garage Psych band The Marshmallow Overcoat;

THE MARSHMALLOW OVERCOAT ~ "13 GHOSTS";


THE MARSHMALLOW OVERCOAT ~ "THE MUMMY";


Hans Ingemansson ~ Organist for 1980's Swedish Garage Rockers The Creeps, not to be confused wit the various other bands with the same name.


THE CREEPS ~ "DON'T GO AWAY";



Dave Riley ~ 59 ~ Bassist for Chicago Noise Bands Big Black and Alegbra Suicide, bassist and engineer for George Clinton

BIG BLACK ~ "BAD PENNY";


BIG BLACK ~ "KEROSENE";



Gilles Bertin ~ 58 ~ Singer/bassist with 1980's French punk band Camera Silens

CAMERA SILENS ~ 58 ~ "REALITE";


CAMERA SILENS ~ "POUR LA GLORIE";


Marie Fredriksson ~ 61 ~ Swedish singer-songwriter with 1980's New Wave band Strul and 1990's pop band Roxette ("Joy Ride", "Must Have Been Love")

STRUL;


ROXETTE ~ "JOYRIDE";


ROXETTE ~ "THE LOOK";


ROXETTE ~ "MUST HAVE BEEN LOVE";



Ivan Maksimović ~ 57 ~ Guitarist with Serbian bands Metro, The No Smoking Orchestra

METRO ~ "ONA JE KAO ZVER";


NO SMOKING ORCH ~ "UNZA UNZA TIME";


Alexandr Vasilyev ~ Drummer with 1980's Russian New Wave bands Center and Joanna Stingray

STINGRAY;


STINGRAY ~ "DANGER";




Daniel Johnston ~ 58 ~ American 1990's underground singer-songwriter and artist

DANIEL JOHNSON ~ "TRUE LOVE WILL FIND YOU IN THE END";


DANIEL JOHNSON & THE SWELL SEASON ~ "LIFE IN VAIN";