Wayne Kramer

Genres:	Pop / Rock
Descriptive "tags":	punk, rock, alternative, singer-songwriter, mc5, punk rock, heroin
Decades Active:	1990s, 2000s

Biography

30 April 1948, Detroit, Michigan, USA. The rise of Epitaph Records in the 90s was built largely on the success of bands such as the Offspring and Rancid, yet the label also signed a solo artist whose early involvement in Detroit’s MC5 had laid the foundations for the whole punk movement. The MC5 played their final gig on 31 December 1972. After a spell in prison for dealing cocaine, Kramer re-emerged in 1980 with Johnny Thunders in the abortive Gang War. A more fruitful partnership with Mick Farren of the Deviants led to the off-Broadway musical, The Last Words Of Dutch Schultz. Kramer collaborated with Farren and guitarist John Collins on his 1991 debut, Death Tongue. The following year he performed with former members of the MC5 at a tribute to their recently departed vocalist, Rob Tyner. However, it was only when he signed with Epitaph that his career once again hit an upswing. Brett Gurevitz, head of Epitaph, told UK paper Music Week how he managed to...

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