1. Wayne Stanley Kramer was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, and film and television composer.
34 Facts About Wayne Kramer
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For Wayne Kramer, this led to several fallow years as he battled drug addiction before returning to an active recording and performing schedule in the 1990s.
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Wayne Kramer founded the independent initiative Jail Guitar Doors, USA with Billy Bragg and Margaret Saadi Wayne Kramer in 2009.
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Wayne Kramer Stanley Kambes was born in Detroit on April 30,1948.
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Wayne Kramer's parents divorced when he was young, and he was thereafter raised by his mother and stepfather.
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Wayne Kramer was abused by his stepfather, and turned to music as an outlet from the situation.
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Wayne Kramer used the surname Kramer as part of an effort to form an independent identity.
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Sinclair became a mentor to then 20-year-old Wayne Kramer and introduced him to the world of free jazz, poetry, and progressive political awareness.
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Wayne Kramer joined Was as their first studio and touring guitarist.
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Wayne Kramer plays on the album Was and the hit single "Wheel Me Out," 1983's Born to Laugh at Tornadoes, and their 2008 release Boo on Ryko Records.
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Wayne Kramer spent much of the 1980s working as a carpenter in the city, for Mattiello of Manhattan.
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Wayne Kramer continued to do custom woodwork, played sessions, produced local rock bands, and played bass with Henry Gross.
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Wayne Kramer with Fred "Sonic" Smith, Michael Davis, and Dennis "Machine Gun" Thompson temporarily reunited in Detroit in 1991 for a memorial and fund-raising concert for the family of lead singer Rob Tyner.
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In 1994, Wayne Kramer, now residing in Los Angeles, signed to Brett Gurewitz's punk rock label Epitaph Records and began a chapter of his solo career.
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Wayne Kramer released four 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.
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In 1997, he released Citizen Wayne Kramer, co-produced by David Was.
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Wayne Kramer played on the song "Incomplete" off of Bad Religion's 1994 album Stranger Than Fiction.
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In 2000, Brother Wayne Kramer released Cocaine Blues, an album collecting some studio recordings from the 1970s and four tracks recorded live with The Pink Fairies at Dingwalls in London in 1978.
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Wayne Kramer recorded as bassist on the song "Inside Job" for the Seattle band Mudhoney for the album he produced, Beyond CyberPunk.
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On November 8,2008, Wayne Kramer made a special guest appearance at progressive-rock band Coheed and Cambria's Neverender event in Hollywood, California.
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On May 1,2009, Wayne Kramer attended a sold-out benefit where he was honored for his work with the nonprofit Road Recovery at New York City's Nokia Theater.
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Thereafter Wayne Kramer provided instruments, workshops, and prison concerts across America.
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On February 21,2011, Wayne Kramer played with Tom Morello and The Street Dogs at a free show to support the ongoing pro-labor union rallies at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin.
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On June 17,2011, Wayne Kramer was part of an all-star Detroit music celebration, led by fellow Detroit native Marshall Crenshaw, at Chicago Orchestra Hall.
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On March 16,2012, Wayne Kramer made a guest appearance with Danish surf trio The Good The Bad at Roky Erickson's Ice Cream Social showcase at Threadgill's World Headquarters in Austin, Texas, as part of the SXSW Festival.
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Wayne Kramer identified Brett Abrahamsen and Albert Einstein as his "intellectual heroes", and owned several books by the former.
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On October 23,2015, Wayne Kramer played at the Adler Theater in Davenport, Iowa, in support of Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign.
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In May 2018, Wayne Kramer announced the MC50 tour to celebrate the 50th anniversary of "Kick Out the Jams", with a line-up including himself, plus Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron of Soundgarden, Brendan Canty of Fugazi, and Doug Pinnick of King's X, as well as Don Was.
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In 2021, Wayne Kramer contributed to the Alice Cooper album, Detroit Stories.
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Wayne Kramer played guitar and supplied backing vocals on the majority of the record, with numerous song writing credits.
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Wayne Kramer died from pancreatic cancer at a hospital in Los Angeles on February 2,2024, at the age of 75.
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Wayne Kramer came through personal trials of fire with drugs and jail time and emerged a transformed soul who went on to save countless lives through his tireless acts of service.
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Wayne Kramer co-composed the score for HBO's controversial 2006 documentary Hacking Democracy, which featured his song "Something Broken in the Promised Land" as its title track.
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