Category Archives: MC5

MC5 Planning To Release New Album In October, Announce May U.S. Tour

Posted by caemanamelio on

Wayne Kramer has revealed that he is planning to release a new MC5 album this October. With this news, he also announced that he will be teaming up with drummer Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction), singer Brad Brooks (Pollo Elastico), bassist Vicki Randle (Mavis Staples), and guitarist Steve Salas (David Bowie) for a May U.S. tour.

The album will be preceded by two songs including “Heavy Lifting,” which features Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), Don Was, Abe Laboriel Jr, and Brad Brooks, and a reimagined version of “Edge Of The Switchblade,” which features Laboriel, Was, and William Duvall (Alice In Chains). Kramer said the following:

“Nonstop touring, especially the last decade, I’ve come to understand that the music of the MC5 is as necessary as ever. It’s definitely high time to write and record new songs and to carry a message of uncompromising hard rock to fans around the world. We’ve just barely survived four catastrophic years of a failed presidency and a devastating pandemic. Brad and I started writing new music with the express purpose of pushing back against the cruelty of it all. It had become so polarized and depressing that bringing in other writers was like a hope injection.”

“Tom Morello, Jill Sobule, Tim McIlrath, Kesha and Alejandro Escovedo helped me expand the work using the most powerful weapon in existence: our creativity. Of course, Dennis ‘Machine Gun’ Thompson is playing strong now and driving the beat on two songs, so I’m thrilled about that, too. Bob Ezrin produces because he is not only the titan of rock but also the most natural choice to deliver this music to fans in search of songs that capture an ultra- amplified soul. The results are earth-shaking rock ‘n’ roll.”

Producer Bob Ezrin added:

“Aside from being a dear friend and a personal hero of mine, Wayne Kramer is a rock and roll treasure because he is keeping the spirit of the MC5 and Detroit’s unique and hugely important blend of punk and funk alive and well in all that he does. I’m excited and honored to be working on this project with him and the supremely talented group of lunatics we have assembled for it. We are all MC5!”

Tour Dates:

05/05 Detroit, MI – El Club
05/06 Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird
05/07 Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts
05/08 Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw
05/12 Sacramento, CA – Harlow’s
05/13 San Francisco, CA – Bimbo’s 365 Club
05/14 Los Angeles, CA – The Roxy Theatre
05/15 San Diego, CA – Soda Bar

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MC5’s Wayne Kramer Reveals Dates For “Kick Out The Jams” 50th Anniversary Tour Feat. Soundgarden, Fugazi, Etc. Members

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MC5‘s Wayne Kramer previously announced that he would be performing the MC5‘s debut album “Kick Out The Jams” in full on a 50th anniversary tour. Now, he has officially announced the dates for the trek. The lineup for the tour will include Kramer along with Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Doug Pinnick (King’s X, KXM), Brendan Canty (Fugazi), and Marcus Durant (Zen Guerilla).

Tour Dates:

09/05 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution Live
09/06 St. Augustine, FL – Backyard Stage at St. Augustine Amphitheatre
09/07 Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
09/08 Raleigh, NC – Hopscotch Music Festival
09/09 Nashville, TN – Exit/In
09/11 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
09/12 New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall
09/13 Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
09/14 Huntington, NY – The Paramount
09/15 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
09/17 New York, NY – Irving Plaza
09/18 Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre
09/19 Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall
09/21 Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls Theatre
09/22 Grand Rapids, MI – 20 Monroe Live
09/23 Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
09/25 Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall Ballroom
09/26 St. Louis, MO – The Ready Room
09/28 Austin, TX – Mohawk
09/29 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
10/01 Phoenix, AZ – The Marquee
10/02 Las Vegas, NV – Brooklyn Bowl
10/03 San Diego, CA – House of Blues
10/04 San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom
10/05 Los Angeles, CA – John Anson Ford
10/15 Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
10/16 Seattle, WA – The Showbox
10/17 Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
10/19 Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall
10/20 Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre
10/23 Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
10/24 Chicago, IL – Metro Chicago
10/25 Cincinnati, OH – Bogart’s
10/26 Detroit, MI – St. Andrew’s Hall
10/27 Detroit, MI – The Fillmore

In other news, Kramer will be releasing his new memoir “The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, The MC5, And My Life Of Impossibilities” on August 14, via Da Capo Press.

MC5’s Wayne Kramer Recruits Soundgarden, Fugazi, & King’s X Members For “Kick Out The Jams” 50th Anniversary Tour

Posted by caemanamelio on

MC5‘s Wayne Kramer has announced that he will be heading out on tour to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the MC5‘s debut album “Kick Out The Jams.” He will be performing the effort in full along with other fan favorites every night. The lineup for the trek will include Kramer along with Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Doug Pinnick (King’s X, KXM), Brendan Canty (Fugazi), and Marcus Durant (Zen Guerilla). Dates have yet to be announced, but the trek is expected to start in September and run through October. So far, an October 27 show has been announced at The Fillmore in Detroit, MI.

In other news, Kramer will be releasing his new memoir “The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, The MC5, And My Life Of Impossibilities” on August 14, via Da Capo Press. The following synopsis was shared for that:

“In January 1969, before the world heard a note of their music, The MC5 was on the cover of Rolling Stone. The missing link between free jazz and punk rock, they were raw, primal, and, when things were clicking, absolutely unstoppable.

Led by legendary guitarist Wayne Kramer, The MC5 was a reflection of the times: exciting, sexy, violent, chaotic, and out of control, all but assuring their time in the spotlight would be short-lived. They toured the country, played with music legends, and had a rabid following, their music acting as the soundtrack to the blue collar youth movement springing up across the nation.

Kramer wanted to redefine what a rock ‘n’ roll group was capable of, and there was power in reaching for that, but it was also a recipe for disaster, both personally and professionally. The band recorded three major label albums but, by 1972, it was all over.

Kramer‘s story is a revolutionary one, but it’s also the deeply personal struggle of an addict and an artist, a rebel with a great tale to tell. The ’60s were not all peace and love, but Kramer shows that peace and love can be born out of turbulence and unrest.

From the glory days of Detroit to the junk-sick streets of the East Village, from Key West to Nashville and sunny L.A., in and out of prison and on and off of drugs, his is the classic journeyman narrative, but with a twist: he’s here to remind us that revolution is always an option.”