Wayne Kramer (guitarist)

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Wayne Kramer
Wayne Kramer at Moers Festival 2004, Germany
Background information
Born	April 30, 1948
Genre(s)	Rock
Instrument(s)	Guitar, Bass
Years active	1948-Present
Label(s)	Progressive, Epitaph Records, Alive, Sonic, Muscle Tone, Diesel Motor
Associated acts	MC5, Gang War, Mudhoney
Website	[1]

Wayne Kramer (Born on April 30, 1948 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American guitarist. He co-founded the Detroit rock group MC5 (Motor City 5). The band played at Detroit's famous Grande Ballroom often and was managed by John Sinclair, a radical left-wing writer and co-founder of the White Panther Party, until 1970 when Jon Landau took over creative management of the group. After MC5's demise, Kramer spent several years committing crimes and battling drug addictions. In 1975, he was caught selling cocaine to undercover federal agents and went to prison for over two years at the Lexington Federal Prison in Lexington, Kentucky. While incarcerated he met Red Rodney, the American jazz trumpeter who had played with Charlie Parker's quintet. They played together in the institution's Sunday chapel.

Upon his release from prison, he moved to New York City and briefly teamed up with Johnny Thunders. They formed the band Gang War. He also spent a large amount of the 1980s out of the music business. In 1994, he began a solo career and released numerous records, including 1995's "The Hard Stuff", which was produced by Don Was, a former acquaintance from the late 1960s Detroit rock scene. Kramer, along with the other surviving members of MC5, reformed in 1991 in a memorial concert for former lead singer Robin Tyner, who passed away from a heart attack. This sparked a reunion tour which spanned several years and included dates in Europe and America. They also recorded and played some shows with GG Allin. Wayne Kramer was also temporarily in the grunge band Mudhoney. He was recently interviewed for the VH1 show 'The Drug Years'.

1 Solo albums
2 Influence
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Solo albums

Death Tongue (1991) Progressive
The Hard Stuff (1995) Epitaph Records
Dangerous Madness (1996) Epitaph Records
Dodge Main (1996) Alive
Gang War (1996) Sonic
Citizen Wayne (1997) Epitaph Records
LLMF (Live Like a Mutherfucker) (1998) Epitaph Records
The Return of Citizen Wayne (2002) Muscle Tone
Adult World (2002)Muscle Tone
More Dangerous Madness (2004) Diesel Motor
Mad for the Racket (2004) Diesel Motor

[edit] Influence

The 1996 EP "Eno Collaboration" by Half Man Half Biscuit features "Get Kramer", the lyrics of which begin:

We've got Kramer
Coming over
To produce us
So that we can show off to our specialist friends
Go down to the Falcon in Camden and say
'I'll have a pint for myself
And a pint for the ex-MC5"

Further on, mention is made of the band's work, viz:

And I'll call my farmhand
And he will come running in a red cap sleeve t-shirt
With a West Country smile that says
'I'll give you "Kick out the JAMS!"

The Clash also weigh in on Kramer's drug troubles in their song "Jail Guitar Doors":

Let me tell you 'bout Wayne and his deals of cocaine
A little more every day
Holding for a friend till the band do well
Then the D.E.A. locked him away