Wayne Kramer (guitarist)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Wayne Kramer | |
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 Wayne Kramer at Moers Festival 2004, Germany
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| Background information | |
| Born | April 30, 1948 |
| Genre(s) | Garage rock, Hard rock, Protopunk, Blues rock, Psychedelic rock, Film score, Television score |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Songwriter, Guitarist, Composer, Producer |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, Bass guitar, Vocals |
| Years active | 1964 – Present |
| Label(s) | Progressive Epitaph Records Alive Sonic MuscleTone Diesel Motor |
| Associated acts | MC5 Gang War Mudhoney |
| Website | www.waynekramer.com |
Wayne Kramer (born April 30, 1948 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and film and TV composer.
Kramer came to prominence as a teenager in 1967 as a co-founder of the Detroit rock group MC5 (Motor City 5), a group known for their powerful live performances and radical left-wing political stance. The MC5 broke up amidst drug abuse and personal problems, leading to several fallow years for Kramer, who battled drug addiction before returning to an active recording and performing schedule in the '90s.
Rolling Stone recognizes Kramer as one of the top 100 guitarists of all time.
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[edit] With the MC5
The MC5 often played at Detroit's famous Grande Ballroom 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.
[edit] Post MC5
Upon his release from prison, he moved to New York City and briefly teamed up with Johnny Thunders. They formed the band Gang War.
Kramer also spent much of the 1980s working as a carpenter in the city, where he co-wrote and regularly performed the R&B musical "The Last Words of Dutch Schultz" with Mick Farren at Tramps, among other NY clubs. He recorded with and produced punk rock bands throughout his 10 years on New York's Lower East Side, including the notorious singer GG Allin.
In 1979, he joined the acid funk band Was (Not Was) as their first guitarist. Kramer plays on the single "Wheel Me Out". He makes a guest appearance again on their 2008 release "Boo!" on Ryko Records.
Kramer, along with the other surviving members of MC5, reformed in 1991 in a memorial concert to raise money for the family of former lead singer Robin Tyner, who died from a heart attack.
In 2001, Kramer and his wife and manager Margaret Saadi Kramer launched MuscleTone Records, an independent label. MuscleTone and Levi's Clothing partnered to produce a live performance featuring the surviving members and guests Ian Astbury, Dave Vanian and Lemmy, which they filmed at London's 100 Club for Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. The event generated worldwide press coverage and prompted a world tour. The tour spanned several years and included dates in Europe, America, Australia, South America and Japan. They have performed together on and off since then with a variety of guests including:
Gilby Clarke (Guns n' Roses) Ian Astbury (The Cult) Lisa Kekaula (BellRays, Basement Jaxx) Handsome Dick Manitoba (Dictators) Marshall Crenshaw Nick Royale (Hellacopters) Johnny Walker (Soledad Bros) Mark Arm (Mudhoney) Deniz Tek (Radio Birdman) David Was (Was Not Was) Don Was (Was Not Was) Peter Wolf (J. Geils) Dave Vanian (Damned) David Thomas (Pere Ubu) Chris Ballew (Presidents of the United States of America) Kim Thayil (Soundgarden) Rob Younger (Radio Birdman) Charles Moore (Contemporary Jazz Quintet) Buzzy Jones (Contemporary Jazz Quintet) Crispin Cieo (Uptown Horns) Mick Collins (Dirtbombs) Mars Williams (Liquid Soul) Roy Loney (Flamin' Groovies) Dion (D4) Richard Gibbs (Oingo Boingo) Greg Dulli (Afghan Wigs) Lemmy (Motorhead) Sun Ra Arkestra
In 1994, Kramer signed to Brett Gurewitz's punk rock label Epitaph Records and began a solo career. He released solo records, including 1995's self-produced The Hard Stuff, which features the band Claw Hammer on most songs, along with appearances from members of The Melvins and The Vandals. In 1996 he released "Dangerous Madness". In 1997, he released "Citizen Wayne," co-produced by David Was. In 1999, he released the live record "LLMF". In 2002, he released the studio album "Adult World".
Kramer also recorded as bassist on the song "Inside Job" for the grunge band Mudhoney for the album he produced, "Beyond CyberPunk". In 2006 he was interviewed for the VH1 show The Drug Years and has been interviewed for nearly a dozen programs about the 1968 Democratic National Convention riots in Chicago, for recovery and addiction in rock and roll, and programs about social justice issues.
[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
- Mad for the Racket (2001) MuscleTone
- The Return of Citizen Wayne (2002) MuscleTone
- Adult World (2002) MuscleTone
- More Dangerous Madness (2004) Diesel Motor
[edit] Composer
Highlights from recent scoring work can be heard in the Will Ferrell comedies "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" and Summer 2008’s "Step Bros" for Sony Pictures. Kramer's solo track “Edge of the Switchblade” runs at "Talladega's" end title credits. He co-composed the score for HBO’s controversial 2007 documentary "Hacking Democracy", which also featured his song “Something Broken in the Promised Land” as its title track.
Wayne is currently working on the score for the ITVS/PBS documentary "The Narcotics Farm" about America’s decades-long failed drug war, as well as the accompanying soundtrack album entitled "Lexington". Kramer also composes music for television, including themes for Fox Sports Network's "5-4-3-2-1", "Spotlight", "In My Own Words" and "Under the Lights" and E!’s Emmy-nominated series "Split Ends" as well as the “Unlabeled” Jim Beam commercial.
[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
Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine often cites Kramer as a major influence and now performs with him at Axis Of Justice shows.
[edit] References
- Carson, David. Grit, Noise, and Revolution: The Birth of Detroit Rock 'n' Roll. University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor, 2005.
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