Wayne Kramer of the MC5, RIP

[Element Zero]

Never heard of him, but he’ll be missed by many.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

 

[blacktocomm]

Underrated track of theirs.

 

[jeffb28451]

An Alien landed and he asked me, "What is Rock and Roll". I played "Kick out the Jams"... There were no follow up questions...

RIP Wayne.

 

[MCF]

Sad but cool thread. I wonder if @watt is around and could share a story….

 

[P. Aaron]

That's crazy cool. Did you happen to meet or know Mike Kelley? His art studio here in L.A. was very close to my house; within walking distance.

Maybe. Lotta bong conversations in those days. Can't say for sure.

 

[IPA]

In the early 2000s the garage rock revival was my thing, working backwards I got to MC5 quickly. RIP

 

[StayLow]

Lead guitarist and occasional vocalist for the band, he led their reunion/revival in the 2000’s with many guests from Lemmy to Marshall Crenshaw, then assembled a group featuring Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil and Faith No More’s Billy Gould to tour in 2019 to mark the 50th anniversary of Kick Out The Jams….
MC5’s Wayne Kramer Dead At 75


Many other great tunes besides the obvious one, this track exemplifies total rock’n’roll in attitude and execution…


Teragram Ballroom, L.A., August, 2019
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Love “Sister Anne”, and the MC50 tour was fantastic!

RIP brother Wayne Kramer. Your band changed the music world, and my life.

He lived an uncompromising life, same way he played guitar. True punk God.

 

[Ostie]

Mike Davis and Ron Ashton (Stooges) used to rehearse at our Ann Arbor house when they were in Destroy All Monsters. Mike & Ron were very nice to us and scored us great opening gigs at venues we'd never other wise gotten into. Davis and I used to have turntable wars at local keggers as he was dating a friend of my girlfriend's at the time. MD showed me the chords Fred Sonic Smith used when he first showed the band Shakin' Street. Very cool era of my life to have met those guys along with Scott Ashton (Stooges), Cheeta Chrome (Dead Boys), Johnny Thunders, Scott Morgan (Rationals) among other who often gigged at the same venues we played and hung out at.

RIP Wayne, a legendary GP from a legendary band.

I saw Destroy All Monsters at some dive bar in East Lansing back in the day. I was there with the (future) Tesco Vee, with whom I was playing in a punk band at the time. Tesco went on to form The Meatmen. I saw him last August at our HS reunion and we had a nice chat about the old days.

 

[6-3-2]

I got started in the Detroit rock scene and his influence was alive and well in the early 2000s. That raw, unbridled, groove-filled rock energy kept me dancing through my teens and early 20s. Time for me to turn my amp up and kick out the jams.

 

[mdlewis]

Made a huge impression me as a kid. We covered Shakin' Street and Kick Out the Jams back in 1976. I know it's probably hard for younger folk to appreciate, but nothing in my world sounded anything like the MC5 or the Stooges then. I still have all the lps and 45's I bought in the local Cincinnati discount stores. Spinning them now takes me back to when times were very, very different.

 

[P. Aaron]

RIP Wayne, a legendary GP from a legendary band.

I saw Destroy All Monsters at some dive bar in East Lansing back in the day. I was there with the (future) Tesco Vee, with whom I was playing in a punk band at the time. Tesco went on to form The Meatmen. I saw him last August at our HS reunion and we had a nice chat about the old days.

I think I was still in The State when we were on a bill with the Meatmen, Necros, a few others. Somewhere in metro Detroit. I didn't drive then so, I can't recall the location.

 

[Ostie]

I think I was still in The State when we were on a bill with the Meatmen, Necros, a few others. Somewhere in metro Detroit. I didn't drive then so, I can't recall the location.

The Necros were just teens when I met them via Tesco.

 

[ElectroVibe]

All I know about him is the one song Kick Out the Jams, and I listened to the entire album once years ago.
But this was just posted.

 

[P. Aaron]

All I know about him is the one song Kick Out the Jams, and I listened to the entire album once years ago.
But this was just posted.

Overall, Kick Out The Jams is poorly recorded, mostly sloppily played as the 5 has stated they were blitzed outta their own heads but, and it's a big BUT, it's one of the most rockin' records ever made. The guitar play alone between Fred Smith & Wayne Kramer is years ahead of its time. Tyner's vocals just work. Workin' class rock, just blisteringly played. Sounds like Detroit. Most touring acts dreaded The MC5 as an opener, out of pure respect. Just listening to the record in its entirety again or, for the 7000th time, it's just rock on a level of enthusiasm that has few parallels.

Yeah, I'm a bit sentimental about it because it's a great rock record and stuff like this isn't being done on a pop-consumer, heard it on the radio manner anymore.

 

[P. Aaron]

The Necros were just teens when I met them via Tesco.

The Process of Elimination EP is still one of my favorite listens. Just the raw, innocent (yes, innocent) impulsive nature of kids reading in to the world how they saw it is what makes it so special.