Fifty years ago Wayne Kramer and his band The Motor City five released their debut album Kick Out the Jams high energy rock rock'n'roll roll that provided the soundtrack to a youth movement of social and political revolution. But rock stardom turned out to be a mixed bag for guitarist Wayne Kramer guns drugs and police confrontations led to addiction and prison after his share of hard time and hard times. Wayne Cramer is back on the road with a new version of the MC 5 and he's out with a new memoir The hard stuff dope crime the MC 5 and my life of impossibilities. Before his show tonight in San Diego Kramer spoke with CBS's Kurt coning back in 1967 Motor City was on fire literally. The Detroit race riots left 43 people dead over 1000 injured and more than 2000 buildings destroyed. Leading up to your legendary album Kick Out the Jams set the scene for us what was MC 5 up to. We were trying hard to put a performance together. It wasn't just about playing music it was about blowing people away. We wanted. We wanted to mesmerize audiences. We wanted to to to provide them with a cosmic experience that included you know driving rhythms and danceable music. And we developed a kind of almost Pentecostal atmosphere of encouragement and connection with our audience and we addressed our audiences concerns directly. How was the MC 5 involved in the politics and youth movement of the time. In the 1960s there was an unspoken agreement amongst all young people that our parents generation were blowing it that we couldn't justify this war in Vietnam. And I have no quarrel with the Warriors but I do have a quarrel with the policy makers. It was an illegal war. It was an undeclared war and we couldn't justify it. We had trouble with the idea that people of color didn't share the same rights as white people and certainly were not sharing in the prosperity of America. You know the framers were pretty bright in putting together this concept that if you disagree with government policy it's incumbent on you to say something to do something certainly to exercise your democratic rights and responsibilities to vote. And everything we did was out of a sense of patriotism after three albums and hundreds of performances. MC 5 eventually parted ways as a 24 year old. How did you make the transition from playing arenas in a large rock band to starting over the transition from playing arenas and big rock venues to starting over was a disaster. I was crushed emotionally spiritually physically. I'd lost my best friends lost my way to make a living lost my status in the community and it was a painful loss. You know I don't mean to make it maudlin or melodramatic but you know I was a young man and I worked really hard to make the MC 5 what it was. And to one day wake up and have it all go away was a terrible blow to me. And really I think was painful and and sadly I discovered the painkilling properties of Jack Daniels and heroin and that soothe the pain and it worked very well it was very dependable except it had terrible side effects the side effects ultimately being you know sickness poverty homelessness and ultimately a federal prison term. The Clash actually had a song about you and your experience that led to you being in prison in the federal penitentiary called Jail Guitar Doors. Tell us just briefly about about that. Well I was in prison a new music style emerged punk rock and there was a band in England very conscious band The Clash and in a show of solidarity from some brothers across the sea they wrote this tune called Jail Guitar Doors with the lyric. Let me tell you about Wayne and his deals of cocaine a little more every day. Hold for a friend till the band do well. But the DEA locked him away. CLANG CLANG go to the jail Guitar Doors. And I thought this was a terrific gesture on their part and it really appreciated it and then didn't think much more of it for about 30 years and finally ran into Billy Bragg. One night we were playing a concert together and I was talking about justice reform and and prison reform and he told me he had launched independent initiative in England to provide instruments for prisoner rehabilitation. And I thought this is a great idea. You're British you're doing it in her Majesty's prisons but I'm an American and I'm an American returns citizen. I'm an ex offender ex convict as we used to say. And I'm also a musician and I need to do something to mitigate the damage being done by hyper incarceration in America. And so I'm going to take this on for America. And that was about 10 years ago now. Today our instruments are in over 120 American prisons. We run songwriting workshop programs across the country. Here in San Diego out at the Donovan state prison we run a program there in the county jail here in San Diego and all across the country. You know education is important but it takes a change of heart. And we know that art is one of the few things that reach people on a deep enough level to bring about that change of heart. You know I can I can put an instrument in a prisoner's hand and task him with telling his story in a song and the process of doing that work is transformative MC 5 is often cited as the favorite band of other famous bands nominated to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame three times. And you've been named by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the 100 greatest guitarists in rock. You've got nothing left to prove. Why are you back on the road. Because I love what I do. You know I wondered for a while would the music hold up. You know it's 50 years that's half a century you know styles come and change and fashions change. And the first show we did this summer out in Scandinavia. By the second song we had won the crowd over. They understood exactly what we were doing that we were bringing the rock and it was this with the new lineup. MC 50 yes this was with them singing 50. Can you tell us a little bit about that lineup. Sure. I was able to call some good friends up guys like Kim Theil the great Soundgarden guitarist Billy Gould Faith No More as bassist wonderful Brendan Canty from Fugazi on drums and our secret weapon Marcus Durant from the guerrilla musicians that have been influenced by MC 5 and carry the torch and made their own unique sound from it. That's a feel good to be a part of that and so it's listen it's a it's an honor asked for and maybe an undeserving gift but it's a gift I accept. Wayne Kramer thank you so much for joining us on day. I'm happy to be here. Thank you. That was KGB Kurt Kohnen speaking with Wayne Kramer of the MC 5 his new memoir is called the hard stuff dope crime the MC 5 in my life of impossibilities. His new band the MC 50 is playing tonight at House Of Blues at 7.
Fifty years ago, Wayne Kramer and his band the Motor City 5 released its debut album “Kick Out the Jams,” high energy rock 'n roll that provided the soundtrack to a youth movement of social and political revolution.
But rock stardom turned out to be a mixed bag for guitarist Kramer. Guns, drugs and police confrontations led to addiction and prison. After his share of hard time and hard times, he is back on the road with a new version of the MC5 called the MC50 and he’s written a new memoir, "The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, the MC5, and My Life of Impossibilities."
Before his show Wednesday at the San Diego House of Blues, Kramer spoke with KPBS’ Kurt Kohnen.
