Kramer Report

October 23, 2006

Wayne Kramer — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 15:05:00 +0000

MY NIGHT AS A TONE SCIENTIST

In the half-between world,

Dwell they: The Tone Scientists

In notes and tone

They speak of many things...

The tone scientists:

Architects of planes of discipline

Mathematically precise are they:

The tone-scientists

(Sun Ra)

Brazilian percussionist Elson Nascimento called last week and invited me to sit in with The Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen. They were Saturday night's ArthurFest headliners, a four-day music festival held here in Los Angeles and curated by Arthur Magazine.

Was I thrilled? That's putting it mildly. I have had a long-time admiration for the work of Sun Ra and his merry band of intergalactic explorers. Still do today.

I was first exposed to them in the 1960s with their ESP Disc, The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra and others. Those records - and the fact that John Sinclair booked us on a concert co-headlining with them at the Community Arts Auditorium at Wayne State University in Detroit - changed the way I would think about music for the rest of my life.

We continued to perform on concerts with The Arkestra over the next few years and I came to spend some time with Sun Ra himself. His ideas about Art, Music and culture helped form my own. In the Modern Age, with the resurgence of interest in the MC5, we have been able to reconnect with The Arkestra for concerts in London, New York and Los Angeles.

Although Sun Ra and some of the other founding members have gone on to Saturn, the band continues to travel the space ways under the able leadership of alto genius Marshall Allen. Many of the players on the band have long-time membership and the spirit remains completely intact.

So when I got the call, it was as if I was at once being asked to enter into a fifth dimension of my own past and future.

When I arrived at the gig, I took some good-natured kidding from the musicians about the traditional black suit and tie I was wearing. (I had just come directly from a TV studio where my current project, The Lexington Artists Workshop Ensemble, had performed a couple of numbers for the Hep C Awareness Telethon.)

Part of the Lexington Artists Workshop Ensemble on October 21st, 2006.
(front) Phil Ranelin, Ralph Buzzy Jones, Wayne Kramer, Dr. Charles Moore
(back) Doug Lunn, Eric Gardner, Tigran Hamasyan

I was informed that, in order to perform with The Arkestra, I would need to be outfitted with the appropriate space uniform. No problem. I put on the dark blue sequined robe and matching headwear with joy.

When I asked Marshall what numbers I should play on he said, "Play it all. Just be ready, because there is no way to know what might happen." This has been my personal attitude for years and here it was being conferred on me by one of the masters. Was I ready? Yes, brother! I have been waiting for this night all my life.

I was talking in the dressing room with trumpeter Fred Adams about the music Sun Ra composed and left to them. He told me they have just scratched the surface on the mother load of unrecorded material. Marshall talked with me about the dilemma of having so much music and so little time to perform it.

I'm not someone who goes for the ritual of a group hug or prayer before a performance, but when I was told to "join-up" right before time to play I was honored to be included. This wasn't a religious rite, but an invocation to recognize together who we were and what we were doing right then and there. That we were about to "create music for a better world. On this planet and all other planets!" And that we were all, "Sun Ra".

I took the stage with the players and never felt more proud to be an artist punching in on the job.

Brother Wayne (foreground) as guitarist on stage in full regalia
with Juini Booth (left, stand-up bass) and the entire Sun Ra Arkestra.

The music was expansive. We played inside and outside the forms. Some tunes I could grasp the basic 16-bar II-V-I structure and others were way too difficult to attempt. I was standing next to bassist Juini Booth and could read some changes from his charts but often they came just too fast and furious for me. Other tunes were deep, deep space grooves that I locked into and worked as relentlessly as I could.

This kind of playing takes a great deal of concentration and my sore wrists reminded me of it later. Marshall was so gracious in granting me a few solo passages. For me, this was Heaven. Of course there were interludes of music that some might call "free music," although this is a misnomer. When and how you play in this context is anything but free. This is about discipline, not freedom, which was one of the principles at the core of Sun Ra's philosophy.

Marshall was a consummate bandleader in directing us through these sections. He was very clear and confident about what he wanted and when he wanted it. The Arkestra played, danced and sang and the audience enjoyed every minute of it.

Arkestra guitarist, David Hotep is a master chordist and I was trying to keep up, but it was like trying to catch a comet.

David Hotep and Brother Wayne just off stage and happy
after the Arthur Nights set at the Palace Downtown.

Dave Davis on trombone showed his great enthusiasm for music throughout the set, along with baritone saxophonist Rey Scott. As usual, drummer Luquman Ali drove the band with cosmic precision. The final notes played were a joyful exchange between Marshall Allen and tenor saxophonist Yahya Abdul-Majid.

Before I realized it, we had played for an hour and 30 minutes and it was time to go. We had traveled the space ways from planet to planet and returned to earth, all the better for it.

Sometimes it just doesn't get any better.

Check it out: http://www.elrarecords.com/band.html

Wayne Kramer, Los Angeles. 10.23.06

July 28, 2004

Wayne Kramer — Thu, 29 Jul 2004 04:33:00 +0000

What the hell kind of world do we live in?

This morning I went to breakfast down the street from my hotel here in Sydney, Australia. I picked up the local newspaper and read the headline: 6 SOULS LOST! It was the story of an Australian family killed in a small plane crash. I was encouraged that the headlines were not the usual American shock horror crime feature. Of course, it was a tragic loss and a heartbreaking story, but as I leafed through the paper I happened on a small blurb on page 16 at the bottom of the page.

There was a small story: VILLAGERS BURNED ALIVE. The story was a report from Darfur about the ongoing crisis in the Sudan. The story recounted how "Arab mercenaries" had herded villagers up and burned them alive. The story went on to say that thus far 30,000 people have been killed there.

30,000 PEOPLE. LET ME SAY THIS AGAIN. THIRTY THOUSAND PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED!

What the hell is going on here? I don't believe myself to be naive or Pollyannaish about the world we live in but this really hit me this morning.

Let me see if I got this right. America is turned upside down, wars are prosecuted in Iraq and Afghanistan, tens of thousands killed in the name of democracy and we're told it's because terrorists murdered 3,000-plus Americans on Sept. 11th. Who could deny the terrible losses of Sept 11th? This was an unspeakable crime, but check the numbers here: THIRTY THOUSAND. It's an epidemic in the Western World. Thirty thousand African lives are erased and it only rates a small blurb buried in the middle of the paper.

Are African lives worth less than American lives? Or, since I'm down here, Australian lives? Apparently so. Where is the outrage? Where are the champions of democracy? Is democracy only for oil-producing countries? Is it that the only countries that are strategically located deserve help?

Or is it that 30,000 African lives just don't fit into the neo-con ideology of Richard Pearle, Don Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and Dick Cheney and their shill George Bush?I just don't get it and I'm looking for answers. How do things like this happen in this world today and no one says anything?

I got back to my room and did a little research. The New York Times reports that Colin Powell is threatening sanctions against Sudan unless they stop the killing and let relief workers enter the area. This sounds good, but since when did anyone listen to Colin Powell? This is the guy that the administration trots out as the voice of conscience when they are too busy with their real business to bother with actually helping somebody in the world. Unlike his bosses, I think he cares, but he's powerless. Also, unlike his bosses, he is a soldier and knows what killing really means. But, so far this is all falling on deaf ears.

Where are the rest of the world leaders at a time like this?

Where are all the big mouth politicians proclaiming God is on their side?

Where is Tony Blair? Where are they all?

Faith without works is worthless.

Politicians can justify ignoring a genocide that is clearly in process because good men say and do nothing to hold them accountable.

Does an African husband grieve the murder of his wife and child less than an American? Does an African orphan need care any less than a European? Did the people who were burned alive in Africa suffer less than those in the World Trade Center? It just doesn’t add up.

One of my political idols Noam Chomsky says the best way to fight terrorism is "not to participate in it." If we allow what’s happening to the people of Darfur to happen, we are endorsing terrorism by omission.

Do we not have a say in any of this? Can something be done right now to stop what will surely get worse and worse? Of course something can be done, but will George Bush or Tony Blair or any of their partners do it?

Don't hold your breath. Self interest rules with these guys. Only when their jobs are threatened will they take action and I haven't seen any evidence that any of them are willing to put their careers on the line to help save African lives.

Call somebody, write some letters, and shout it from the rooftops.

This is wrong, this is horrible and worst of all it doesn't have to be this way.

Rise up, Rise up, and Rise up.

Wayne

September 28, 2005

Wayne Kramer — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 17:29:00 +0000

I struggle with cynicism.

It's an ongoing challenge to keep an open mind and not jump to conclusions before all factors are considered. It probably comes from an over-inflated sense of my ability to understand the world around me. It's certainly connected to my ego. I also tend to go to the worst-case scenario automatically.

Sometimes, though, I get it right.

Case in point:

I am returning to L.A. now on a flight from Washington D.C. where I participated in a colossal anti-war march and concert. By colossal I mean 150,000 people. I can call that number because I have seen enough of crowds of this size to recognize it and put a pretty accurate figure on it. In DKT/MC5 over the last two years we have played a dozen or so huge outdoor rock festivals and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to estimate crowd sizes.

The Thievery Corporation organized the event. Eric Hilton and his partner Rob Garza stepped up big time. It took a masterful piece of grass roots organizing to bring together Operation Ceasefire and United for Peace and Justice, two of the many groups in the D.C. area concerned with social justice. It really speaks to the power of the individual to make a difference. Social justice requires individual participation just as democracy itself requires individual participation. One committed person makes a difference. This is how things can change in the world. One guy (or girl) gets an idea and steps up. When he steps up another says, "If you'll fight, then I'll fight alongside you." Then another steps up and says, "Me too." And before you know it you have a dynamic force for change in motion.

This is what happed last weekend in our nation's capitol. There was no big corporate sponsor. Shamefully, there was no MTV. And there was no Sting, no Brad and no J-Low. No high-profile music or Hollywood mega stars. Underground artists created it. Bands that most folks never heard of came and played because they could. Not because it might be good for record sales or for image polishing. Bands and speakers that were outside the mainstream stepped up and it was beautiful. And it hu all happened because two young men named Scott Goodstein and his friend Adam Eidinger agreed that they could do it with Thievery Corporation's help and generosity.

Every artist that performed brought something unique to the event and the styles and forms of music were as diverse as the crowd. There were moments of sheer brilliance and power by the Bellrays and beautiful harmonic joy from Sweet Honey in the Rock, mad beats and rhymes from Head Roc and a house shaking set by The Coup. Ian McKaye unveiled his new duo The Evens and showed the throng that intensity does not come from volume, but from focus. Steve Earle sang alone and the Thievery Corporation had 100,000 people dancing like maniacs late into the night. I haven't mentioned every artist on the bill because I'm not writing a review, but trust me, everyone who played and danced did so brilliantly. The beauty of it was that this was all in service of a higher principle. It was regular people, and families of soldiers killed in battle and artists exercising their constitutional right to redress their government for what they believe it has done wrong.

Cindy Sheehan got the biggest laugh of the day when she observed that we were in the shadow of the monument named after the father of our county, George Washington, who "was a man who could not tell a lie, and the current president can tell nothing but lies." As it stands now, most of the American people feel this way too. The President's approval rating is the lowest in history. Most Americans now believe the war is wrong and that we were misled into it.

The most powerful moment of the day, for me, was when a delegation of Lakota Indians took the stage with Cindy Sheehan. They had driven to Washington from their home on the Lakota Reservation in South Dakota non-stop for three days to be here. Their leader told the crowd that "in the Lakota tradition, we honor bravery" and that they had made a blanket with a morning star on it for Cindy. Inside the blanket were prayers and they came to Washington to present this blanket to her and to wrap her in it as a symbol of their recognition of her bravery. Then their medicine man sang a song to her and to us.

The Indians brought a dignity and humility that was consistent with the gravity of the reason we were all together on Saturday. To tell those in power that it was time to stop the war. To truly honor our brave young soldiers by bringing them home.

It was one of the most powerful and moving experiences of my life.

Jello Biafra brought on speakers that ran the gamut from Rev. Al Sharpton to journalist Greg Palast. The speakers bracketed the musical artists and everyone rocked, and everyone listened.

Which brings me back around to the cynicism.

Here was an event full of deep, historical significance, but I have this nagging voice in the back of my head saying no one will ever hear about this day. Only the people here today will ever know it happened. I try to balance my enthusiasm for the efforts of regular Americans with the reality of political life in America today. It would be foolish to underestimate the powers of those in office today. The handful of men (and a few women) that reign America are serious about what they're doing. They have taken power both legitimately and arguably, illegitimately. Unlike the rest of us who do what we can, when we can, to participate in the democratic process, they're on it all day, everyday. 24-7. The people in power right now have been working at this positioning for decades. Karl Rove is indeed a formidable foe. Together they have created a completely symbiotic organism in which to grow even stronger.

Led by his insatiable appetite for glory, G.W. Bush reveals a naked, almost biblical, fixation on outdoing his father. In his case, emotional and intellectual depth is not only unnecessary, but would be an impediment. He needs only a pure belief that 1) he is right and 2) that his self will alone can force his agenda through. He receives affirmation in great torrents of adulation. It comes from the religious right, because they know that he is their man. And he is supported by the brainpower of Paul Wolfowitz and his Neo-Con think tank with an ideology of changing the face of the Middle East politics by force of arms.

I"m not an expert in any of this stuff, just an interested observer, but it smells suspiciously like an updated version of Churchill and Wilson's carving the territory up after WWII with imperialism cloaked in democratic rhetoric. We have made no efforts to wean ourselves from Arab oil dependence. As it stands today, we are paying for both sides of this war. I have kept an open mind to developments, but it just doesn't look like the Western-style democracy they're pushing is taking hold out there.

Maybe it's too soon to tell, but whatever time it takes, we should observe it and assist, but as Thomas Jefferson said, "from the water's edge." Sure, we can help if we are asked to help. And so far, we haven't been asked. These are grim people in the White House, and the fact that they sacrifice young American and Arab lives in the service of a personal agenda cannot be taken lightly. The cost in lives and dollars is much too high.

All we are saying is give us the exit strategy. Give us a date when we'll wrap this all up. You could even move the date if need be. Anyone that ever had construction done knows that things can take a little longer than planned. But let us join with those who are reasonable in demanding a date for the war to end. There is no honor in more young lives on either side being sacrificed. We are now at the end game. Changing the direction of this juggernaught is not easy. This is the not so glamorous part of democracy. Write your congressman, bring some pressure to bear. This is the power of the people.

My cynicism surfaces, too, when it registers that this is the most information controlling administration in American history. They are genius at spinning information to their benefit. In fact, they have done it so much that even average folks like those in the audience on Saturday are no longer swallowing the propaganda whole. So when I see 150,000 people protesting their policies, I start wondering just if and how this news will reach the information hungry people of our country.

Right now, media bosses and government regulators agree ideologically and it's a dangerous intersection. It's chilling that major media outlets are run by men (mostly) with political views which conform more to whatever will keep their licenses than the constitutional guarantee (and requirement) of a free press. Where are all those muckraking newspapermen that kicked the British out in the first place? Where are all those thorns under the saddle of the powerful and arrogant? Who's keeping them honest if not the press? Where is the coverage of this historic event?

I get back to my hotel about midnight and tune in C-SPAN (my favorite TV channel when I'm not watching "The Wire" on HBO) and what do I see? Coverage from the speaker's stand in front of the White House where 12 people remain from the throng of 100,000. The entire crowd had departed to participate in the march. Except for Ralph Nader, who kicked ass as usual, the speakers were talking to a dozen or so stragglers. It looked pathetic and it was misleading. I was disappointed, but not surprised. C-SPAN ran this in a loop over and over for the next day and a half, effectively distorting the perception of the event.

The newspapers the next day relegated the story to the middle of the first section saying "tens of thousands" marched. The network TV coverage likewise showed 5-10 seconds of marchers in the street and then another sequence of the "supporting our troops" folks. Let's see, a few dozen pro-Bush people versus 150,000 anti-war demonstrators, but on TV it looks about even. Hmnn. Fair and balanced? You bet! Now my cynicism has turned to sarcasm.

I am not a conspiracy nut, but it seemed just a little too convenient that the trains from New York were disabled for "maintenance" on the day of the event. If one wanted to control the size of an event and had the ability to do so... I guess you could say -- based on the track record of this administration -- I just don't trust them.

For me, the day was not without a few wonderfully surreal moments. Like standing backstage just before I played talking to one of my intellectual heroes, Dr. Cornel West. And having Julian Bond stop over to say Hi and remind me he testified for John Sinclair in front of Congress back in the day. Then looking over my shoulder and seeing Al Sharpton talking to Jello Biafra while Maxine Waters listened in. Then to hit the stage with the mighty BellRays.

Sometimes, in spite of my cynicism, I think my life just couldn't get any better.

March 22, 2005

Wayne Kramer — Wed, 23 Mar 2005 00:00:00 +0000

From time to time I am blessed with what I call peak moments. These are times when the truth of a particular instant registers with me clearly. When there is no confusion or ambiguity whatsoever. When all distractions are stripped away and the moment merges with the feeling. They are the times when I know it just doesn't get any better than it is right now.

Last month at London's Royal Festival Hall I had one of those peak moments.

The music and socio/spiritual/educational/political philosophies of Sun Ra have been a pillar of my thinking for almost four decades. I first was introduced to them in the late sixties by my friend John Sinclair. I had moved out of my mother's house on Detroit's northwest side and into an apartment down in the Cass Corridor around Wayne State University. Sinclair and I had become friends and he became a mentor for me. He was older, better educated and possessed a worldview that intrigued me. Sinclair had a way of seeing things that made a lot more sense to me than what I was able to put together myself up to that point. We discussed everything from God to the blues and all points in-between. He was particularly well informed about music and musicians and the problems that go along with this kind of life. These were subjects that I was drawn to in an almost obsessive way.

We talked about what music means to people and what role it plays in our lives. We discussed how the music we gravitate to informs our lives and reflects them at the same time. I questioned what the connection between the musician and the listener is and how does it work beyond just the surface level. We talked a great deal and he turned me on to some music that changed everything for me. Some of this music was Sun Ra's.

The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra on ESP Disc was the record that opened the door to a whole new life for me. It's peculiar that sometimes folks tell me a piece of music I made changed their life. I find it hard to believe, but this is exactly what happened to me. Time and time again.

Sun Ra was just what I was looking for. I have always been drawn to the next thing. The current thing only holds my interest for a short while. No matter what it is, could be trains or cooking shows. I think I'm a little better at staying in one place and enjoying the moment today but I am still inexplicably drawn to moving ahead.

Sun Ra was--and still is--way ahead of me. He has been another mentor of mine. He was also way ahead of most of the leading edge musicians of the day. These were not slackers either. In the day of Monk, Mingus and Coltrane, saxophonist John Gilmore chose Sun Ra's band as the most "stretched-out" of the lot. Gilmore had offers to join the others' bands and chose the Arkestra. This tells me, in effect, that Sun Ra was able to advance the entire context of western music into a larger more resonate expression. Personally, I place him in the pantheon of most important artists with da Vinci, Bach, Mozart, Picasso or Pollack.

I took dozens of acid trips with Sun Ra's music. I suppose one could say this undermines my credibility, but I don't care. I got deep, deep into what he and his fellows were doing. I heard what it was he was telling me. Us. That music can be limitless, that its expression is only limited by our own limited human thoughts and if we can get beyond self, then we can find a land "Where the sun shines eternally." That the message is to make it your message.

Sun Ra died in May of 1993 and a few of the center core players like the aforementioned tenor giant Gilmore and baritone saxophonist Pat Patrick, vocalist and dancer June Tyson have also died, but the band has carried on bravely under the able leadership of alto saxophonist Marshall Allen. Who, at 70, is blowing like a teenager from Mars, which I suspect he actually is.

When we first started DKT-MC5 it was with the understanding that the band was an experiment and would have to be considered a "work-in-progress" concept. Any old ideas of what our band was or how our band might operate would have to be jettisoned in favor of a more flexible and adventurous platform to work on...if it was going to work at all. I actually wasn't sure it could. It had been a long time since I played with Dennis Thompson and Michael Davis and a lot of water had passed under those bridges.

After the pleasant discovery that we could not only improve our ability to play together and even tour together quite successfully, I reached the conclusion: So what? Why are we doing this? To carry the message of the music of the MC5 to a new generation of fans? Sure, but the answer is ultimately bigger than that. It's because we need to continue to do something creative. Doing things that push the boundaries of what a band is, and what the art of performing music might become given a little encouragement, DKT/MC5 is just that kind of vehicle.

The concert at Royal Festival Hall was the realization of just such a plan. It doesn't come without a great deal of work by a lot of people. Once the idea had been hatched we were able to tie together some unfulfilled commitments from last summer's 66-city world tour.

I assembled a new line-up of the band featuring our old friend Handsome Dick Manitoba, guitar hero Gilby Clarke and the incomparable Lisa Kekaula. We set up a short European tour to bracket the event. We had five shows across Spain and France to get ourselves together for the London concert. Being in a band is not a destination, it's a process. The process takes a few runs-through to tune itself up for the performances. Five was a good number and by the time we hit London everyone felt pretty secure in their roles.

We were joined in London by my friend David Thomas. David and I put in some extra time in the dressing room working out the timing on the countdown section of "Starship." It is a complicated bit of vocalizing, and it took some effort to master.

The sound checks went down fine and we were all running around from task to task like chickens with their heads cut off. There was a considerable press commitment for the day and I kept up my end by sitting for two filmings and a handful of print interviews. One film, incidentally, is a new documentary film by Don Letts on Sun Ra.

The Arkestra's performance was a joy to my ears. The wonderful cacophony of multiple horns, bass, drums and electric guitar were fresh and sparkling. The Arkesta looked great too. The Sun Ra Arkestra doesn't often get credit for their contribution to the art of performance in dance and theater, which is considerable. I'm not sure who influenced whom, but back in the 60s when we were first playing with them in Detroit they wore afro/dashiki types of clothes. We had just begun to experiment with sequins and gold lame and other metallic types of materials, so I am going out on a limb here to say that Sun Ra saw these bright flashy clothes on these crazy boys in Detroit and incorporated them into his presentation. Did we get it from him? Did he get it from us? Doesn't matter. We all got it and tonight the Arkestra was shimmering and shining forth beautifully. The stage lighting really helped amplify the bright reds and blues of the sequins and bangles. The dancing was superb. Free and joyous.

We took the stage at our appointed time and played a focused set of straight down the center rock material from the MC5 book. We were closing in on the moment. As it approached, I started to feel a real excitement about what we were about to get into. All through the planning stages I kept calm and only allowed myself to be excited in an intellectual sense, as in, this a good idea among many other good ideas. But now it was real. It was palatable. I could feel it. I was giddy.

I said a few words to the audience about what Sun Ra meant to me and the band. I introduced Marshall Allen and the fellows. I introduced David Thomas and Dr. Charles Moore and we began playing "Starship." I had a simple outline for the performance which was to start easy and free. Start small and build gradually into the actual song portion of the performance and then let's just see what happens. What happened exceeded my wildest expectations. Each little sound I made with my guitar in the intro, someone in the Arkestra answered. I got a great exchange going with trumpeter Michael Ray.

When Dennis would lay down a rhythmic feel on drums, everybody joined in with him. The music was totally free and totally controlled at the same time. This is the lesson of freedom, its not free. For each freedom there is a responsibility, in music and in everything else. We explored theme after theme in a glorious and joyous fashion. I only wish we could have stayed with one rhythmic feel longer to see what's over the next hill. Across the next valley. Over in the next galaxy.

I realized that, because of the stage volume, David Thomas couldn't discern the timing on the opening chords, so I jumped in to sing the opening lines with him. "Starship...Starship take me..." All Aboard.

The Arkestra joined in with a spontaneous counterpoint to the rock chord changes and we rounded the corner to the countdown section. The thing that makes this part so difficult is that it is absolutely set and cannot be changed. It comes at an accelerated velocity and has a lot of rhythmical words to get out at a really fast clip.

"Ten. For the gravity. Checkpoint! Nine for polarity. Checkpoint! ..."

Made it! We're leaving the power of earth's gravitational pull and heading into zero G.

"Out there amongst the planets..."

Here the Arkestra were in familiar territory. After all, space is their place. We cruised the galaxies and generally enjoyed the view for a while.

Earlier I had discussed with Marshall the possibilities of us all singing, "We travel the spaceways..." or, "If you find Earth boring, it's the same old same thing, come on sign up with Outerspaceways Incorporated" together, and he was all for it.

We all sang together and I never felt so at home as I did in that moment. I have been singing variations of this tune for 30 years and right there in that moment it just all seemed to fit perfectly. Right there in that instant, it was all there. From way back then with John Sinclair in the kitchen of his apartment on Warren Ave. in Detroit to right now here in London England, in an instant, time was suspended. The peak moment.

We all danced outrageous party dances from space ballet to the funky chicken. It was a full body/spirit/mind celebration. Just then, David Thomas began his Tuvian cum Venusian throat singing. We soared and roared and clicked and clacked, binked and bonked our way through the night finally ending in a drone of feedback that segued into a funky New Orleans second line march from the stage for all the voyagers. Naturally, these moments do not last.

You can't hold on to joy. You just grab a kiss as it passes by.

I'm pretty sure the crowd went nuts but I was overwhelmed myself at the fun we just had. It wasn't the music or the lights or the crowd, it was the experience of being alive. The backstage scene was pandemonium with good friends old and new showing up to check in.

Blissful, we left London at four in the morning en route to Italy and the remainder of the tour.

Oh yea, we filmed and recorded it too. Can't wait to see what we got along with the hundreds of hours of footage from last year's tour. Who knows? More will be revealed.

But the best news is we will do it again soon.

"We came from nowhere here. Why can’t we go somewhere there?" -- Sun Ra

I couldn't agree more.

Best, w

December 17, 2004

Wayne Kramer — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 23:00:00 +0000

NYC. Back in New York this week for some business meetings and it's ass-freezing cold. I know it's been a few years since I've endured a real winter and this weather reminds me of one of the reasons I live in southern California.

I had some time to check in with our good friend and great producer Hal Willner. Hal told me about a protest that was happening downtown and did I want to go with him? Protest? Hell yes!

We met down on Leonard St. for a demonstration in front of the Knitting Factory. As I turned the corner up the block, I could hear the street echoing with the sounds of trumpets, trombones and drums. It was a joyful noise. It vibrated up the faces of Manhattans buildings and down the corridors of the Financial District. There were, maybe, 100 people carrying signs and marching up and down Leonard. The deal was that the Knitting Factory management sold the club and sold out the musicians who have worked there, many of whom recorded for their label.

Word was they also destroyed all the remaining inventory of CD's belonging to the artists who are the heart and soul of NYC's downtown experimental music scene and who have kept experimental music alive there. The Knitting Factory was the axis of a great creative sphere. As with most things, the center never holds and it had all come apart.

As is usually the case, the musicians got no consideration whatsoever for their contributions. All their recording contracts were cancelled in one fell swoop. This was wrong. Not unusual, but most definitely wrong. But they weren't taking this affront lying down. My old comrade Mark Ribot and his downtown partners pulled this event together to stand up for their rights. It was exciting to be there and to participate.

Mark had a giant rat out on the sidewalk in front of the club. When I say giant, I mean Giant--as in 20-feet tall--clearly representing the musicians' view of the true character of the Knitting Factory management. It was a funny editorial statement.

The cats on the protest line were playing some loose gospel and second-line tunes interspersed with speeches by the president of the NYC musicians Local Union #802. Many musicians and other city officials stood with the artists for justice and we demanded it. Ribot did a song or two and I was compelled to raise my own voice up in protest. I sang "Broken Promise" for the demonstrators. The lines "the deal is sold out, and the sidewalk's cold out in the Promised Land" hit home with the assembly. I was honored to be able to represent for all the Detroit and Los Angeles musicians and I told the crowd that we were all with them in total solidarity. There's power in unity.

As the event progressed, we started getting reports that, as a result of our being out there, the Knitting Factory management had entered into negotiations with the musicians and they were willing to work something out. We all dug in for a long afternoon. Everybody was carrying signs and enjoying each other's company. It isn't that often that you'll see a collection of cutting-edge musicians out on the street in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon in 20-degree weather. We all caught up on our news and exchanged numbers and sang along with the wonderfully powerful NYC vocalist, Dean Bowman as he improvised a field holler of protest. Syd Straw was there and she promised to sing on my new record. After a couple of hours in the brutal cold, the Union president announced that an agreement had been reached! It included a cash payout for all the musicians involved and a reasonable artist buy-back price of $2.00 per CD on the stock. Victory!

It was truly a sweet moment. Musicians had banded together and took it to the streets to protest getting fucked over. Getting the short end of the stick is nothing new for working musicians, but this was the first time I was ever involved in a real job action that got immediate results. My hat is off to all the NYC downtown brothers and sisters who stepped up.

Power to the workers.

Have a peaceful New Year.

Wayne
December, 2004
New York City

August 26, 2003

Wayne Kramer — Tue, 26 Aug 2003 17:01:00 +0000

The Wednesday night Baked Potato residency is an extraordinary experience for me. It's like playing in my living room for a bunch of my close friends. Throw in a few strangers for flavor and someone to bring you food and drink and it makes for a winning combination. It's such an intimate setting. I've grown comfortable with it. It's a throwback to what live music in nightclubs used to be. At this point in my fine, fine career, I prefer the environment of a small club to the big stage. Somehow the "Big Rock Show" feels awkward and disingenuous to me. Maybe it's because I don't do too many of them or maybe I don't feel the need to compete with the world of "Rock." In any event, I like playing at the Baked Potato.

These shows are completely outside the mainstream rock scene. This is pretty unique, considering this is Los Angeles, the epicenter of the music industry. We're like guerillas operating behind enemy lines. What we do on Wednesday nights has absolutely nothing to do with hit records or radio or MTV. It is the simple act of playing music for people who enjoy hearing music played.

The special guests all bring their own unique gifts to the music and the outcome is always unexpected and often wonderful. Don't get me wrong though. Sometimes we have some real train wrecks, but the good news is, no one is injured in them.

After all, what's the worst that could happen?

A vile ending to a song? Happened.

A botched chord change? Happened.

An ill-advised pairing of guests? I'm wild. I'll take the chance.

Greg Ginn played with us last week and I was so impressed with him. He is a most gracious man and much revered as a founder of Black Flag and his groundbreaking record company SST. I knew his style was unorthodox, and I thought it might be a good match up. We had a ball.

left to right: Freddie Kron, Hunt Sales, Wayne Kramer, Greg Ginn, Doug Lunn

I was told later, after the gig, that this was the first time Greg had ever joined a spontaneous session with musicians he had never played with. This, to me, is the sign of a true artist. He took a chance. This showed courage. He played passionately on every single tune. He took a risk with us. We played songs with form, and songs without form (or at least conventional form). You know that's going to be the case when you add David Was on harmonica and drummer Hunt Sales as surprise ingredients to the mix.

Working with these cats, Greg displayed a wide-open mind at work, which is a real anomaly in today's music world where bands rarely even play on their own records. And when they play live, they do the exact same set, same songs and same arrangements every night to avoid those ever-annoying "surprises." This assembly-line approach to live music is degrading the art of music performance. It sells the audience and the artist short and relegates live shows to the level of computer games and MTV. Actually, I take that back. Computer games may be more interactive than the average touring Hit Band.

I had the great pleasure of spending the weekend with Michael Davis. Michael and have been seeing more of each other lately. We had a ball in London last spring doing the Sonic Revolution gig and we may do some more. We attended the screening of MC5: A True Testimonial at Allison Anders' Don't Knock the Rock film festival.

Later that night I inaugurated the festival at the Knitting Factory. The band was reconfigured since Doug Lunn and Eric Gardner were on another engagement. Drums and bass were most ably filled by Brock Avery and Trent Stroh. This was Trent's first work with me and it was a delight having him on the band. He is not only a first-line musician and superb vocalist, but is also a genuinely admirable fellow. Brock remains a genius drummer and will join us at The Baked Potato in September. I had bass players in abundance that night. As a special treat, we were joined by Michael Davis for the MC5 song "The American Ruse." Michael rocked the house as only a hardcore Detroit bass player could.

As time goes on, I find myself further distanced from, and acutely aware of, The Great Lie of Rock and Roll.

I have a friend who is a screenwriter and we were talking about what kinds of jobs a person might be able to do that left time for writing or rehearsing or painting or whatever you're into. He turned me on to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics web site. If you're interested in any job in the world, it's in there. There are job categories for professional singer, musician, arranger, composer. But there is no job category for "Rock Star." This is because it doesn't exist. It's not a job. The number of people who reach the level of "Rock Star" is so small that the odds are far worse than reaching the NBA or NFL or professional baseball. I put it at a million to one. Of all the folks who chase the dream, how many achieve it? How many Bruce Springsteens are there? How many Eminems? How many Missy Elliots are there? And how many are trying? And trying and trying.

This is one component in the Great Lie. The other is that if you have a hit (fill in the blank record/book/movie/TV show) you will be delivered and your life will be ok. That somehow fame and success and money will fix whatever is wrong with you. It just ain't so. Not only will it not fix you, but it will make whatever is wrong with you worse. This has been my experience. I see it over and over again in the lives of young folks who get some recognition in their chosen field of music, TV, sports or movies. They lose their minds. The ego gets inflated and they don't even know it's happening. I have great empathy for folks who get into trouble with drugs and booze and sex and who try to get help. The problem is, they are surrounded by a world that tells them You are special! and The rules don't apply to you! Rules? They're for the little people.

There is nothing wrong with working in the entertainment industry. These are industries and the people who work in them are workers, no matter that they are on TV or in movies. It is labor.

But the lie is very powerful. It's sold to the public in very seductive ways and it's believed wholesale. Every day at LAX, hundreds of new hopefuls arrive here to chase that dream. Problem is, they don't have a clue of what is involved in the business of being a self-employed artist. But sure, they're going to "make it," whatever that might mean to them. It would be funny if the results weren't so tragic. The trail of dead is as long as the trail of damage.

But it doesn't matter what I say about it, or what anyone else says based on their own real life experience, because the dream is too strong. The lie is too powerful, the lure of deliverance too great for understanding.

This business of show is something to do only because you can't not do it. You do this because you love the actual work involved. It can be a living, but it's a tough living. Don't do it for security, or a steady paycheck, because those things are not here. Most of all, don't do it for stardom. That price is too high. There is nothing wrong with wanting--or getting--the respect of your peers, but to exceed that is inviting trouble. Do this because you love music and you love to write songs or you love playing your instrument or you get a kick out of singing and dancing and making a complete fool out of yourself in front of everybody. Do it because you're a natural born show-off.

But don't think it's any more than what it is. There are moments of transcendence and beauty. There are instants of joy. But those things are gifts to the artist, as they are gifts to the audience. They are fleeting. Beware of the lie.

Best, w

November 14, 2003

Wayne Kramer — Sat, 15 Nov 2003 01:02:00 +0000

It took a minute but things are definitely happening on this tour. Rick Nielson joined us onstage in Beaumont, Texas when we did "Kick Out the Jams". I don’t play the song often but we did that night by special request and when I saw Rick standing in the wings, I put him to work. It was big fun.

I've noticed that the audiences we're playing for are not as MC5-obsessed as the usual punk club crowd. Some folks seem to be aware that I used to be in the MC5, but most of the crowd never heard of me, and this is a great thing. It means that I get to present what I do to the crowd and they can decide right there and then whether they like it or not. So far, so good.

When I go out to the merchandise table during the intermission to talk with the fans, I’m meeting many people who say things like, "Who are you? Where did you come from? I never heard music like this in my life." It’s very humbling to be afforded such spontaneous appreciation. They’re asking, "Which records should I buy? Which one has those songs you sang tonight on them?" I’m getting to play for a whole new crowd and this is a good thing. Both Cheap Trick’s and our message boards are lighting up.

Last night in New Orleans at the House of Blues, Cheap Trick broke into a impromptu version of "Rambling Rose," complete with Rick singing in a falsetto. I loved it, as did our whole touring party.

Cheap Trick are truly one of the premier touring bands today. I love the fact that they operate with amazing success outside the world of MTV and KROQ-type radio. They give 100% every night, night after night, and enjoy a huge following. They are truly a great band. It’s all there: The solid, sexy bass, flash lead guitar, knock-out handsome and great-voiced lead singer and their deadly secret weapon; Bun E. Carlos on drums. A band is only as good as its drummer, and Cheap Trick have one of the best in the business. Great rock songwriting, and a few mega-hits, and they’ve built a brand that will continue to be important to their fans as long as they want to keep doing it. Their new record is outstanding. My favorite track is "Scent of a Woman." Both the band and the fans are having a ball.

I also must acknowledge the fact that they have shown a degree of courage in inviting me to join them on this tour. My work sometimes stretches beyond the "pop music" format and, in a sense, they are taking a risk putting me in front of their audiences. I believe they respect their fans enough to give them credit for being able to think for themselves and that they may enjoy what I’m doing. If you know me at all, you know I come to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

The Road crew that works for Cheap Trick are first class and have made going to work every night a pleasure. The sound is superb and everything goes with out a hitch. Real professionals.

Saw an alligator crossing the highway. I don’t see things like this often in my day-to-day life. I’m a city guy. I know a few sharks and weasels and a few true canines, but alligators are a rarity.

I’ve just relinquished the wheel to E-Rock Gardner. Eric is our champion driver and is steady as a rock on the highway, much like he is on the drums. I enjoy driving myself, after all I’m from Detroit. Today I enjoyed it a little too much. Heading out of Louisiana west on US-10 I was clocked at 81 mph in a 70 zone. The trooper was polite and business-like and set us on our way with out any extra hassle. I phoned the number on the back of the citation to see what the fine might be. $189.00! Ouch!

We were cruising along listening to a Charles Bukowski CD and I just lost track of my speed. I can’t say I hadn’t been told. Cheap Trick’s bus driver warned me at the beginning of the tour. But hey, what’s a tour without a little puking, speeding and general merriment amongst adults? Now we’re really touring.

The revelations in last week’s New York Times regarding the days before the war and the Iraqi efforts to avoid the invasion and the administrations failure to take a course of persuasion and diplomacy in favor of violence and destruction are chilling. If you ask a solider, he will tell you that war is the last thing you want to do. War means a complete failure of all other courses of action. Now we find out that there were alternatives presented to the White House and they dismissed them out of hand. At least they’re consistent in their pattern of ignoring the best plan and opting for the worst possible one.

None of this matters much now. The real question is can Bush be dethroned? Regime change indeed.

Just saw a roadside sign that read "Terrorists…Don’t mess with Texas. Remember the Alamo." I feel much safer now.

More news as it happens…

w.

June 27, 2003

Wayne Kramer — Fri, 27 Jun 2003 10:00:00 +0000

Arrived in Helsinki, checked into our hotel and started working immediately. The press reportage has been strong over the whole tour. I was greeted this morning with a giant feature on the front page of Finland's largest newspaper. I wonder how many trees had to die for this.

After a couple of interviews, I headed over to the venue for soundcheck and met up with my Finnish cousin Markus Nordenstreng. Markus is a Renaissance man. He writes about music in the press, is a radio deejay and a superb singer and songwriter. We hooked up with fellow maniac and drummer/producer Janne Haavisto and made plans for a true Finnish smoke sauna tomorrow. Janne and I also have been friends for a few years now and are members of an international (and intergalactic) band, The Farrangs. We had arranged to do a recording session during my visit and now was the time.

Hittsville IV is the studio that Janne and his regular group, Laika and the Cosmonauts run and is a fine facility. State of the art as any musician operated studio in LA. Funky, but chic.

The track he asked me to contribute to was a delicious slice of pineapple space funk. I wrote and recorded a spoken text and put a baritone guitar solo on the track in the hour we had to work in. Just the way we like it. Hit it and quit it. Working title: "A Vacation in the Islands." It's completely sick and beautiful.

Back to the hotel for a quick change of clothes and to the venue for tonight's show. Being the last show on a tour automatically makes it a special night and the sold out crowd of 800+ really made it a fitting finale.

We have a running joke in the band that we're rehearsing out here on the road and when we get back to LA we'll finally have it down. It's actually true that nothing gets a band together better than working every night and we really cut lose tonight. There are moments, and they are just moments, when things can not get any better. They are peak moments and at that moment, joy comes into my life. I can't hold on to joy. No one can. You just grab a kiss as it passes by. This was one of those peak moments.

Great crowd and we left them screaming for more. I returned to finish the night with the Sideburns on their all MC5 encore Let Me Try/Tuttie-Fruttie/Sister Anne. Eduardo Martinez and his brothers in the Flaming Sideburns showed a lot of class by insisting to do these shows with us and I appreciate it. Good guys and a hard-rocking outfit. They're touring the states in the fall and I hope to hook up with them when they hit the West Coast.

The next day I went with Janne and Markus and Cosmonaut guitarists McGiver as we drove out to the country to Janne's family cottage for a real Finnish smoke sauna and lunch. This was a real treat for your reporter. Janne comes from a whole family of musicians and I enjoyed talking with his father about music and the unique melancholia of traditional music in this part of the world. A superb meal prepared by Janne himself and then the sauna.

You heat the sauna with the smoke and hot rocks first then clear out the smoke, get naked and get in. This is a tradition that runs deep in the Finnish psyche. I think you can find a parallel in the sweat lodges of the American Indians and in other cultures. I stood the heat as long as I could (the Finns prefer to pour water on the rocks, increasing the heat to unbelievable levels) We then took a naked run to the lake and jumped in. WHOOOOOOO. Then back in the sauna to do it all over again. On the second trip to the lake, I was a little prepared for the shock to the system and really enjoyed the experience.

Of course, time was running out and another ferry had to be boarded for the next and final leg of the tour.

A funny thing happened while I was in Finland. Funny peculiar, not funny ha-ha. I may have missed some of the details but the basic story is this: The Prime Minister of Finland resigned while we were there.

Apparently she made a covert deal with the Bush/Cheney Junta to help rebuild Iraq after the war. This was a problem because it runs contrary to Finish national policy of not supporting any wars whatsoever. She then tried to cover it up ands was busted. She had lost the confidence of the people of her nation and the only proper thing to do was resign. Can you imagine an American politician resigning just because he or she got caught lying? Our political leaders get caught lying regularly and no one bats an eye. It's as if we've become numb to deceit and corruption and just accept it as business as usual.

Much love and respect to all my Finish cousins for the grand time in your country.

This last leg of the tour can give you an idea of how grueling touring gets sometimes. Check it out:

Depart Helsinki, Finland at 5:30 PM
Arrive Stockholm, Sweden 9:30 AM
Drive 12 hours to Hamburg, Germany
Catch flight at 11:30 PM for London Stanstead
Arrive 11:30 PM
Catch bus at 3:00 AM for Heathrow
Arrive and check in for 7:30 AM flight to New York
Arrive JFK at 10:20 AM
Depart JFK at 2:30 to LAX
Arrive LAX at 5:07 PM

That's 72 hours of traveling with the only proper sleep on the ferry to Stockholm.

I had some time to think while touring Europe, and I know this much. Europe is a society surrounded by history, where culture plays a more important role than in the United States. Being there, for what is probably the 100th time in my life, I have experienced an impetus to move ahead to do better work, better music and to live a better life. Many people on this planet do it every day. I am one of them.

I am most grateful to my band and dear friends, Doug Lunn, Eric Gardner and Freddie Kron for the camaraderie and mutual respect we have enjoyed this last month. Appreciation to our hardworking crew; Bertrand (BP) Perrot, tour manager and FOH mixer extraordinaire and Stephane Barde, our merchandiser, co-driver and all around good man.

And of course, thanks to all the good people who came to the shows and took the time out of their busy lives to come out to hear the music that brings us all together.

God bless you all.

A fine months work. We'll do it again next year.

That's it. w.

June 20, 2003

Wayne Kramer — Sat, 21 Jun 2003 03:20:00 +0000

After the drive and an hour ferry trip from Hamburg we arrived in Aalborg, Denmark for a show in a small venue that came up at the last minute. This gig basically covered our travel expenses to Sweden. We got a good recording and enjoyed the night thoroughly. Good folks to work with. The accommodations were interesting. One large room with mattresses on the floor. It was kind of a pajama party for grown-ups. Maybe these kinds of sleeping arrangements are cool for teenage rock bands, but at this point in my working life I'm not overjoyed with crashing on the floor.

I couldn't help but notice something so foreign and so unusual to my experience that it deserves comment.

In Denmark, people leave their bicycles unlocked. They go to the market or whatever and they just put the kickstand down and leave their bikes where they parked them. I was dumbstruck. We all were. The idea is so strange to us that you could leave your property in public and someone would not steal it just blows my mind. What is it in the American psyche that finds it strange that normal is stealing and odd is not stealing? Ours is a perverse national consciousness, utterly out of step with the rest of the world and ignorant of it. Merchants leave wares out in the open without security guards standing lookout.

Another example: I went looking for an Internet café this morning and couldn't find the one the desk clerk recommended. I stopped a young woman on the street and asked directions. She took it upon herself to go into a store and ask the owner if he knew of any in the neighborhood. Then, when he wasn't much help, she inquired where I was staying and I told her the hotel name. She made another recommendation and I thanked her and went about my biz. After a short walk through the neighborhood, I returned to the hotel where I was staying, only to find that she had gone there to offer to take me to her office around the corner to use her computer. Don't read the wrong thing into this. She was being helpful to a stranger in her town. What's the chance of something like that happening anywhere in America?

Michael Moore's film "Bowling for Colombine" touches on this a bit. There's an atmosphere of fear and mistrust in America so thick you can feel it. Maybe not without reason, but it's all out of proportion with the way life could be lived. We're out of whack.

Why does Sweden have the highest standard of living on earth? What are the social policies and leadership qualities that make Sweden what it is and America is not?

Europe has its woes, of course, but fear of your neighbor doesn't seem to be part of the fabric of society. Not to mention the long-standing fact that there's health care for all. In every nation in Europe there is a safety net for its citizens. If you're out of work the government will help pay your bills. This is not Pollyannaish. You must perform service work in return. But that's the point. Everybody contributes to the quality of life.

Everyone works at something and can make a living wage doing it. I've seen people whose job it is to sweep the streets. It's an honorable job. It contributes to a nicer city life. It's necessary, too. The word that terrifies American political leaders is "social." Social programs, social medicine, social security. God forbid: Social-ism. It's a word that Americans really have no understanding of and it's a pity. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Seems to be the American way today.

What's gone wrong in America? We are the richest, most powerful nation on the face of the earth? We can bomb you into oblivion with state of the art munitions but we can't educate our children. We can't feed our poor, we can't care for our elderly or mentally ill but we can mass-produce high fat, fast food to the degree that one of the nations leading health problems is obesity. We can't provide healthcare for all our citizens. There's a selfishness and arrogance that's really unattractive in the national character of America. Will we ever grow up?

Arrived in Goteborg, Sweden via ferry from Denmark and had a fine night's music. Had a great dinner and observed a club full of Swedes dancing their asses off to Latin music. Somehow salsa isn't the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Sweden. Go figure.

Got to see my friend Mattias Hellberg who used to be in the Nymphet Noodlers/Hellacopters. He's working on new music and gave me some discs to catch up on what he's been doing. We gave him a listen in the bus and it's great. Very original. I'm always happy to hear when artists come up with a new sound, their own voice in the music. I don't want to hear another version of the MC5. I want to hear your blues, your story. I enjoy being part of a musical community that covers the whole globe. We live on a very small planet.

On to another ferry trip down to Copenhagen for tonight's show. Good dinner tonight at Pussy Galore. Tru dat. It's the restaurant's name.

Another ferry to the small island community of Mariannhamn. This is an isolated place up near the top of the world. Population 25,000. Our show was on a Sunday night and we were the only game in town. The place was packed and they came to have fun. I'm pretty sure most of the crowd never heard of me. We were just a band from the US playing in their town and the only thing that mattered was that we rocked. And we did. The kids (and I mean kids, some were very young) danced their asses off all night long. It reminded me how much fun it is to play for a crowd that's dancing. It's way better than the concert audience that stands there looking at you. Took me back to my early days playing in the bars of Detroit.

It's been so very strange to have sunlight till 1:30 AM. We finished the gig and were getting into the bus and it was still light out! Up this high on the planet it never really gets dark out at night. This really played hell with our biorhythms.

Up all night to catch the next ferry to Turku, Finland for a day of rest then on to Tampere for the first of two shows with one of Finland's most popular bands, the Flaming Sideburns. These are the last two shows of the tour and we're all looking forward to returning to Los Angeles and our families and friends. The Tampere show was very good and I had a good time meeting the fans after and talking together. The venue had a sauna in the basement and I took a sauna with the Flaming Sideburns. It's mandatory when you visit Finland. You must sauna.

God bless, w.

June 17, 2003

Wayne Kramer — Wed, 18 Jun 2003 02:58:00 +0000

Eric Gardner's birthday today.

We departed Strasbourg, France today after the last two French shows of the tour. The night before in Nancy was a real pleasure with great fans and a smoking set from the gentlemen of the orchestra.

We've worked with some super promoters on this tour and here in Nancy our host, Jeannette was one of the best. A home-cooked meal and some time to spend just being regular folks was just what the doctor ordered for us. After the last couple of days of long drives, late gigs and early wake-ups, we were all more than a little fried. Sleep deprivation can wear your ass out.

The promoters we've worked with and for on this tour have been a new breed for me. The folks that put on these gigs are, for the most part, real music people. Good solid folks that are doing something they believe in. This is way different than my experience in the past where promoters are indifferent business people. It's reassuring that decent people can promote an artist and put on a good show in a professional and still humanistic way. I salute you all who have helped me on this tour.

The heat continues to be intense on the stages. We're all consuming enormous amounts of water over the course of a show. Nature's cooling system.

Last night's show was in Strasbourg, France on the German border. The venue was a community center that produces rock shows. This is a novel idea, but not unusual in Europe. The local government underwrites gigs for touring acts of all kinds. Local, regional and international bands of every description can come and perform. Imagine it: Government underwriting culture. Actually taking a role in providing something and somewhere for kids to do something positive, even if it's just having fun.

This is another example of how the European sensibility can be preferable to America, where arts funding is cut to nothing at every turn. No phys ed, no art, no music education in the schools, but you can get McDonald's and Pizza Hut in the lunchroom. In fact ,there's less and less education in the schools. The Bush Regime makes sure of that. Just check out his track record in Texas.

"The vision fails in the Promised Land/But they're building jails in the Promised Land."

On the night we played, we worked in the smaller of two rooms. In the larger one Sepultura, from Brazil, held their event. I hesitate to refer to it as a concert because it didn't strike me as a necessarily musical performance. It has musical elements in it, but, in a way, it was more advanced than traditional ideas of music. It was more like sound design. The musicians created a backdrop or soundtrack to the event where 600 or 700 young boys participated in the ritual of the heavy metal experience.

The ones in the front were slamming and throwing their hair and arms in the air, jumping up and down and generally having a ball. The older fans stood in the back and observed, kinda like the crowd that gathers around a car wreck. It was fun to be close to an event like this. It's not the sort of thing I see a lot of and it was cool to check it out.

Bye to France for now. It was grand being here. See you all again next time and thank you to all my French fans. God bless you all.

At the moment we're traveling up through Germany to Hamburg, where we'll spend the night on the way to the first of our Scandinavian dates. It's a long haul from central France to Denmark and, fortunately, we have a travel day to do it in. Not too tough.

Got hung up on the Autobahn for a few hours today. Traffic came to a complete stop as a squad of unmarked police cars screamed up the freeway head of us. Obviously, there was some heavy police action just up the road because traffic was stopped in both directions and then it was just all over. This delay put us 3 hours behind schedule but with no show tonight, no problem.

On the player today: Union Carbide Productions, Charles Mingus, Sonic's Rendezvous, Archie Shepp, and Black Keys.

God bless, w.

June 13, 2003

Wayne Kramer — Sat, 14 Jun 2003 05:55:00 +0000

After Scotland, we traveled down to the southwest part of Wales and played T.J.'s in the town of Newport. Another goodnight's work with good friends and fans. Then across the country to London.

London is another city that I feel completely at home in. I first came here in 1970 with the MC5 and I've maintained a connection to the city ever since. I have so many friends and partners who are English, that, on occasion I feel part British myself. This visit was a whirlwind of work with non-stop press meetings the day of the show and the day after.

Folks ask me if I tire of answering the same questions over and over, and sometimes I do, but I look at it as part of the job. Frankly, I'm grateful that journalists are interested enough in what I do that that they want to talk to me. Sometimes it can be engaging if the writer has his or her own perspective on things, and a real exchange of ideas takes place. Plus, it's not like it's always the same questions anyway. Everything changes and there's always something new to talk about. I think it's a good forum to get ideas out there to examine. It's really a matter of search and research, always with the open mind.

The London show was a delight, with many old and new friends showing up. The high point for me was a special visit from Kate O'Brien. Kate is the soulful vocalist who joined Michael Davis and Dennis Thompson and all our other guests and me for the Sonic Revolution gig a couple of months ago here in London. Kate sang Rob Tyner's great ballad "Let Me Try." The girl is hot. I kept her onstage to join us on the choruses of "Back when Dogs Could Talk." I see a direct connection from the MC5 to undiscovered artists like Kate, and am happy to be a conduit for it.

After the show we all trouped over to Alan McGee's Notting Hill Arts club for a late night soirée of hootchie dancing and hanging out. Eric Gardner and Freddie Kron both cut a mean swath on the dance floor. Met a lot of young musicians and had a festive evening. I'm always grateful to meet younger cats that cite the work I've done in the past as an important influence to them. Their sincerity is an honor to receive and I know that part of it goes to the memory of Fred Smith and Rob Tyner and my fellows from the MC5. I know they're looking across from another dimension with some amount of pride.

We left London and crossed over into France via the ferry from Dover to Calais and cruised into Rennes the next day.

No disrespect to the British people or the culture of England but the food (and in particular the coffee) was less than fulfilling. Being back in France was good.

Arrived at the venue in the afternoon. It's hard to tell what's evening and what's afternoon over here. It's still light out at 9:30 PM. I expect this will get even stranger when we head into the northern territories of Scandi navia.

This club, Mondo Bizarro, is a regular stop on the Euro Tour circuit and although it's small, it turned out to be the best gig on the tour yet. The stage and room were very modest. It reminded us of The Baked Potato, one of our regular gigs in Los Angeles. We felt right at home.

The house was packed with 200+ fans packed into a room that could hold about 70. The excitement was palpable when we hit the stage. It was a full moon night and strange and wonderful things can happen on nights like this. Again we had a room full of folks with open minds who listened to what we were doing and really connected with the music. Some of the improvising was really inspired and we played things that were completely new.

The excitement built and built until, at the end, a woman threw her bra at me on the stage and one lovely young woman was moved to remover her shirt and get truly free. This kind of response is a little unusual for me these days and it's fun to return to the sexy excitement of rock and roll that got me into this game in the first place. It's a little difficult to report on this without sounding lascivious, but it was all in good fun and truth is, a half-naked woman in the front row is not such a bad thing.

The fans were crazy for the music and we spent the remainder of the evening hanging out and talking.

Doug Lunn had an amusing exchange with a rather drunken fellow who complained about hpw "You musicians come over here and steal all our women and go to hotels and take cocaine all night." I think he's seen too many VH-1 "Behind the Music" specials. I know that stuff still happens in the rock world, but me and my crew are a long way from that behavior. Sorry to disappoint, bro. Like I said, full moon nights can be strange.

We have mobile digital recording gear with us on the tour and Freddie and I are trying to get some shows recorded for future release. It's proving difficult, because every venue has different sound equipment and the mixing consoles are always rigged differently. Sometimes there's just not time to get the system set up in time or the outputs are not there to patch into. We're working on it and hope to come out of the tour with an audio record of what is proving to be an amazing time in your reporter's working life.

We're cruising across France as I write this listening to a wide range of music. We stopped at one of the best record stores in France in Renne Music. I bought "Out of the Cool" by Gil Evans, "8 Mile" by Eminem and a rare Red Rodney CD. We're listening to John Coltrane, Archie Shepp and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Sun Ra is cooking right now with "Space is the Place." Heard a cool record yesterday by NYC's, Speed Ball Baby. We be grooving.

God bless, w.

June 11, 2003

Wayne Kramer — Wed, 11 Jun 2003 07:47:00 +0000

The trip over to Ireland was a good hump. Straight from Paris, across England onto the ferry in a blustering rainstorm traveling overnight and arriving in Dublin at the crack of dawn.

One's necessary requirements are focused down to a precious few when you're touring. Our booking in Dublin was a traveling musician's paradise. The hotel was one block over from the venue. The laundry next door. The all-important Internet café and international phone center on the next block. Hardware store, restaurants and newsstand within a block or two. A ten-minute walk to the mall with all manner of clothing and bookstores, record shops, music stores. Yes, Dublin worked out great from a logistical point of view.

The weather was fine, not unlike LA. Except for drizzle at night. The absolute high point of the tour for me, so far, was when I went around to visit historic St. Ann's church, home parish of Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker.

It was there, through mutual friends, I was blessed to meet Christy Moore, the great Irish troubadour. I have felt for a while that Christy's work and story ran a loose parallel with mine. At least in the love of a good lyric and a connection to your community. Meeting him was completely unexpected and a beautiful surprise to me. One of those gifts that can come into your life when you're in the right place for the right reasons. He was gracious and honest and we connected on many levels. We promised to write a song together. What an honor.

Made new friends and had a fine performance that evening at The Village. Sometimes I meet folks and feel like I've known them all my life. Or perhaps I'm finding the differences between us are less and the similarities are more.

The following day we drove up the Irish coast to Belfast and took the ferry across to Scotland.

I've seen more countryside, green hills and valleys on this trip than the whole of my days as a city boy. Scotland is all that it's advertised to be. Beautiful, lush country and good folks.

The show was good and the crowd got scary into it. It was a little hard to tell if they were enjoying the music as the set progressed. I know we ask a lot of an audience. We play some strange music sometimes and folks come to the shows with some preconceived ideas of who I am and what I should do. Fortunately, most of the people that come out to see and hear what I'm doing have an open mind, and when they give it a chance, they really connect with the music. My gig is very in the moment and not a calculated show-business type of performance. It's more like a jazz gig in that sense. The crowd kinda stood back with their arms folded and the lighting made it difficult to see their faces. The band played a smoking set and at the end the place just exploded in cheering and raving. It was as if a dam had burst and all the emotion of the whole set erupted all at once. I talked with the fans afterward and a good time was had by all.

We stayed at a classic Scottish bed and breakfast out in the country. More cows, sheep and chickens. And quiet. Lots and lots of quiet. Much discussion in the touring party about something being wrong with the air. We couldn't see it. Plus there was no advertising decorating the countryside. Very strange. Horses dogs and cats, birds and bees. Strange.

Off to England.

God bless, w.

June 9, 2003

Wayne Kramer — Mon, 09 Jun 2003 22:45:00 +0000

Bordeaux was sold out and hot, and not just in the musical sense, which was also true. The band is playing superbly. Doug Lunn, Freddie Kron and Eric Gardner are such beautiful musicians that they make it a joy and a pleasure to hit the stage each night. The songs are really coming alive and the improvisations are always different and challenging. As my Finnish friend Markus Nordenstreng says, "Good stuff." We've just about got the technical aspects of the gig worked out and the sound has been consistently good.

But "HOT" best describes this night's enterprise. We calculated that the temperature at floor level in the Cat Club this night was 95+ degrees. Up on stage, under the lights, it must have been at least 115. I hadn't played in this kind of heat since back when dogs could talk. It used to get this hot on a summer night in Detroit at the Grande Ballroom. The difference being, I was twenty then. At this point in my working life, I knew pacing was the key. I kept focused on what I was playing, listening to the fellows and concentrating on I was singing, and that's all. No dancing, no jumping around on this one. We played a nice long set of one hour and forty minutes. (With a short break to change a string). Eric Gardner was working so hard on the drums in the heat that he consumed 6 litres of water!

The crowd was really open to what we were playing and that makes it fun. Good company with the other bands on the show, who were The Hard Feelings from Austin, Texas and The Cool Jerks from Memphis, Tennessee. Both bands were genial people and there was good camaraderie. The Hard Feelings also supported us the next night in Paris. Schooley, the Hard Feelings leader, must be recognized as the prince of a man he is. In the heat of the night at Bordeaux he offered the solution to the problem of wearing glasses on the gig - the nerd strap. This became the subject of much discussion in the dressing room. Just how cool is it (or not) to wear a nerd strap to hold one's glasses in place? The conclusion was: Bo Diddley wears one, so it's acceptable. Long-time glasses wearers have been through things like this but I'm still new to wearing them. I've only been wearing glasses for just over a year now and I'm just learning the ropes.

(An aside: Our promoter for the Bordeaux show, Francis, told me when he joined the French army in 1969 they cut his hair off to the sounds of the MC5's "Kick Out the Jams." Strange where your music can show up in peoples' lives.)

Paris, as always, was outstanding. I feel at home in Paris. I am French/Greek, and in France I see people who look like me. The structure of their faces seems similar to me. Maybe it's my imagination, but we all come from somewhere and this is where half of my genetic roots are. When I came here on tour in 1995, there was a terrorist bombing in the subway that day and I wrote "Bomb Day in Paris." I have continued to perform the piece and, sadly, it is a song that continues to be relevant. It was only right to perform the song here, at the place of its inception. Even with the language difference, I believe the message of the song came through and the audience was wildly enthusiastic with the music. Big fun.

Freddie Kron played so hard he broke a key on his keyboard. Hopefully we can get it repaired in Ireland or England. Doug Lunn and I went out to dinner after the show with some old and new friends. Good talk over noodles and shrimp. Politics, art, history, war, music and a lot of general good humor. An Adult World indeed.

It's fascinating that the culture of Europe is so different from the US. In Europe it's so natural for people to be out late at night on the streets going to clubs and cafes, coming and going about their business without any fear of each other. People of all colors and nationalities, all living together side by side. It's so civilized. Something we know very little about in America. It's nothing unusual to see a young woman walking home at 3AM by herself in any country in Europe, without the fear that we get force fed from the TV news in the States. It shows what an immature and brutal nation America really is.

The European view of current events also has a broader perspective than that of the states. They've seen it all before and have a better grip on world affairs than most folks in our land. But then, most folks in America don't really have a clue what's going on today or their own national history or what the Bush/Cheney Junta is really up to. But we'll find out in the months and years to come. I don't think it will be nice. Not nice at all.

We're on our way to Ireland now for a show in Dublin and then 4 shows in England finishing up in London, another of my homes-away-from-home. We then return to France for 3 shows and then on to the Scandinavian countries.

More news as it happens.

God bless, w.

June 3, 2003

Wayne Kramer — Tue, 03 Jun 2003 21:36:00 +0000

After a frantic rush to get out of LA, the 24 hours on three different planes seemed like a something of a relief. It wasn't too bad considering it was 9 hours to London Heathrow, a 3 hour lay-over, two more hours to Madrid, another hour layover and then another hour to Bilbao, Spain to kick off our one month Adult World Euro Tour 2003.

Our friend and the champion of all things rock & roll Kike Turmix met us at the airport. Kike is one of the last true believers in the power of rock to overcome the evils of the world and is a great host and raconteur. He took us to a superb restaurant in the village of Bergara where we were to start the tour the following day. The cuisine can be an additional benefit of touring Spain and this first stop was a feast. Considering the fine, fine fare that passes for food on the airlines and highway rest stops, this was an authentic pleasure. They're not buying any of this American style-low-fat- watch-your-cholesterol stuff in Spain, not in all of Europe really, but most definitely not here in the Basque country. They also don't have the uniquely American hang up about smoking in bars and restaurants. Life is to live here.

After finally hitting the bed after much too long I was startled awake by a sound I could not identify. A clanging and then a loud mournful moo-moo-mooing. What the hell? Cows? Tru dat, me brovers. Cows! Right outside my window! I staggered up out of the rack opened the window to view a lush green valley and grazing cows and sheep. Pretty strange for a city boy, but nice in a picture postcard kind of way.

Of course reality is never too far away and down at the bottom of this beautiful, bucolic setting is& you guessed it, a factory. The scene was the kind of perfect contradiction that I enjoy so much. Here was, on the one hand, the beautiful Basque country in the north of Spain, green valleys and simple farm life juxtaposed with a pollution spewing industrial plant squatting right down in the center of it all.

The first couple of nights on tour are when you work out the kinks and start to get the feel of how to do this thing. Technical details and song selection and a million other bits and bobs. I'm trying out a new in-ear monitoring system and it's taking a little time to get it set up right but I believe when we get it right it will make everything even better.

After Bergara we head across the country to the north East Coast and the beautiful coastal town of Vigo.

Another superb dinner of Spanish seafood. Shrimp, three kinds of local fish and for your reporter a first: Stingray. Our host was local promoter Antonio Barreiros and his friends from the venue Dominus. Joining our touring group was Kike's wonderful wife, Margaret Turmix, who helped translating and merchandising on this leg of the tour. We got finished with dinner just in time to make the advertised set time and it was a good night's music with a great response from the fans.

We are quickly learning that Spain operates on a different time frame than we're used to. Everything seems to happen when it's supposed to but that's usually an hour or two after the schedule. Laid back as a way of life. It's not so bad, once you get used to it.

The travel from city to city has been fairly easy. We are in a Mercedes touring van. It's a real improvement over the American style van. Much larger with two rows of airline type seats and a bunk in the rear for napping. The gear goes in a separate compartment in the back. Video/DVD/CD all help pass the time. It's funny but it seems I hear more new music on the road than I do day to day living in LA. Our driver and FOH man, Bee Pee, (a Frenchman and a fine fellow) brought a case of his favorite CD's. So far I have heard a very cool record by an Australian artist,Tex Perkins. Yesterday we took a trip down memory lane with the Nuggets collection from Bomp/Rhino. It was interesting to hear the production styles of the day. They were so similar from record to record. Very thin guitar sounds, cheesy organs and very loud tambourines. The fuzztone was just appearing and every record had to have one. Eric Gardner brought a bunch of his current favorites and we grooved hard with Fela pulling out of Madrid on route to Barcelona.

There was a sublime moment when midway across the Spanish countryside Miles Davis's Sketches of Spain came up in the rotation and everything just fit together perfectly, the country, the people, the tour, the camaraderie of the fellows in the band and the music. Sometimes it doesn't get much better. Good shows in all four cities with the best being the last in Barcelona. Over 400 fans packed into the KGB club.

Attendance at the shows has been the largest I've ever played for in Spain. The Spanish are serious about their Rock & Roll and really follow their favorite bands closely. They also seem to be very open minded about the music we're playing. I know I ask a lot of an audience when we play songs that they don't know yet or improvise music that can get pretty far out. But they're right there grooving with us and it's a great feeling to be connected with the audience on such a deep level.

We departed Spain today with full bellies and happy hearts. Good music, good crowds and new friends. I think the only thing missing was sleep. Oh well, we'll sleep when we get home. On to France.

God bless, w.

March 17, 2003

Wayne Kramer — Mon, 17 Mar 2003 22:32:00 +0000

We came together. We played. We conquered.

What a great time the last week has been. For those of you living outside the sphere of all things MC5, I spent the last ten days in London working on a truly wonderful happening.

The back-story: Some months ago we learned of the licensing of some MC5 images by Levi's for a very limited run of vintage style shirts. This was done with our old friend Gary Grimshaw, the artist who designed much of the MC5's graphics back in the day. The trademark was inadvertently used without the permission of the whole band and it looked like trouble brewed on the horizon. Instead of taking the traditional music business approach of Threaten and Fight, we tried to find a way to turn a lemon into lemonade. Truth was, we all liked Levi's jeans and did a little research on their company. What we found was encouraging. They were open-minded. We agreed that the idea of a live show celebrating the artwork of Grimshaw and the music of the MC5 to bring the band's message to a larger, more contemporary audience might be within our power. To draw the connection between the music of the MC5 and today's music fans was one of our goals.

After a lot of brainstorming and an endless stream of international phone calls and e-mails, it actually came together. We would do it in a tiny and historic room in London, the 100 Club. Tickets would be given away by an alternative radio station and guests would include people who worked at Levi's stores across Europe selling jeans, journalists who thought this was an historic event, friends of the band and people literally coming in right off the street. We also wanted to film and record everything, so we would have to keep it small in light of the current tragedies at overcrowded clubs.

Getting together with Dennis and Michael to play the music we helped create so long ago was a formidable challenge, but one that I undertook with great enthusiasm. It's been a long time and much water under the bridge since we worked together. It was time.

The deaths of Fred Smith and Rob Tyner weighed heavy on my heart at the thought of presenting this music again. How do we do this with dignity to their memories and respect to their families? One answer came quickly. This would not be an MC5 reunion gig. This would not be advertised as an appearance of the MC5. That would be in fact, incorrect. There will never be another MC5. That would be impossible. What it could be is a celebration of the music and influence of the MC5. It was about the songs and the spirit of the group, and if we were to be true to the legacy of the band, then we would have to push ahead musically, trying to move past the place where we left off all those years ago. It was clear that, in order to do this correctly, we'd need help. Next call was to Dr. Charles Moore.

Charles was our horn arranger on "High Time" and a frequent collaborator dating back to the Grande Ballroom days of 1968. We did many special shows with Dr. Moore and other avant-garde jazz musicians in Detroit. I felt that having Charles on trumpet and fellow Detroiter Ralph "Buzzy" Jones on saxophone, the band could commit to pushing the sound. This was key. Charles and Buzzy were good to go. I started to get excited about the musical possibilities.

Now I faced the prospect of who was going to sing the songs. I sing a few of the tunes in my band today, but this was a much taller order. After some brainstorming and then talking it over with Michael and Dennis, I made a list of possible guests. This was an interesting exercise. Calling musicians worldwide and trying to arrange schedules at the last minute from a diverse number of folks (not to mention SXSW and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction conflicts) was a job I never realized could be so difficult. It brought me a whole new respect for people who do this kind of thing everyday.

I am happy to report that every single artist we invited sent great love and respect for the work of the MC5 and all left the door open to future collaborations. Little by little it started to come together. The excitement began to build when we arrived in London to start rehearsals. By then we had Dave Vanian from the Damned, Nicke Royale from the Hellacopters and Lemmy from Motorhead on board. We got right to work.

It was a trip learning these songs today in 2003. I've played a lot of music since I last played this material 30 years ago and I found that I had a fresh take on it. It was like learning someone else's music but it seemed kinda familiar. I had written many of these songs, but it felt like I was in a dream-state. On a few of the songs I was struck by what a creative bunch of knuckleheads we were back when we were kids. Like digging through old photographs and seeing that you actually looked pretty good when you were young!

The rehearsals ran counterpoint with promotional work for the event. We spent the days in the studio and the nights doing European press. This is standard procedure for any touring artist, but the interest in this show seemed to be rabid based on the number and intensity of the interviews we did. Some of the British music press was curious how this gig came to happen and tried to generate a scandal around the MC5/Levi's connection. The Guardian's cub reporter in particular gave it a nice try, but he ran out of steam. Rather than focus on the fact that he had the first interview with us all together for the first time in decades, he published a tired MC5-have-the-nerve-to-get-paid-for-their-work article. Yawn. Here we go again.

Speaking of scandal, I've been following the dialogue on the message board and enjoying the vigorous exchanges. There seems to be a lot of speculation and incorrect assumptions, so I'm gonna break this down for you all right now.

Artists have, from the beginning of time, used whatever means at their disposal to reach their audience. Moving musicians around the world, recording, promoting and distributing records and all related activities is an expensive undertaking. In the past, record companies covered the cost of much of this, but that's not the case today. In today's world music economy, the artist needs new resources. If you don't fit into the mega-hit formula of MTV/Clear Channel, you must find alternative ways to get to your audience. The Internet is one way, like we're doing right now.

You must also find a way to survive that is in harmony with your view of the world. All the anti-establishment sentiments in the songs don't mean a thing if you can't pay your rent. The pundits and fans wishing the MC5 were guerillas hiding up in the mountains and making raids down on the cities are way off the mark. For one thing, we dress better and we don't live in tents. We live in houses and apartments just like everyone else. We have bills just like everyone else. I love hearing about all the millions of bucks folks think I have. What a hoot. If and when I ever make big money, I'll let you know.

The dynamic goes something like this. If we put ourselves up as revolutionaries who are willing to say something in our music besides the usual rhyming blather, and we find acceptable ways to pay our rent, the critics attack us. There is no way around this and I accept it as the cost of doing something as opposed to doing nothing. This kind of mean-spirited slagging has been going on for 35 years with the MC5. The current class of mudslingers should have been around in the '60s when we were getting it from the Black Panthers, SDS, the Weathermen and The Motherfuckers. They would have eaten all those lightweights alive. The Radical Left found us not revolutionary enough for the revolution. The Radical Right tapped our telephones and harassed our families.

If I declare myself to be a messenger of change, to protest what I know is wrong in the world or in myself, then actually be the person I represent myself to be, my critics seem to be compelled to needle me for not being downtrodden enough, not oppressed enough. There's a perverse thing going on here with critics and fans. It's especially peculiar to me that, when I was rotting in Federal Prison, the British music press revered me. Maybe they'd be happier if I'd never work again and be a glorious petrified legend. True to form, rather than step up to the plate this time and explore the decisions made by us, they tried to make us look bad. I would be disappointed if they didn't. It's predictable and it's cheap and it's their usual lazy journalism not backed up by any political ideology or theory one way or the other. It's about filling column inches with as little effort as possible, and they have a right to do so. It's as if we were accountable to a different standard that anyone else. If you shine a light on injustice, you can't have a nice, clean house?

There is a distinction that could be made and this is it:

There is nothing wrong with success, as long as it doesn't come first.

There is nothing wrong with money, as long as it doesn't come first.

There is nothing wrong with having the respect of your fellows, as long as their opinions don't come first.

What is wrong is when prestige and status come before human concerns. When money comes before people, trouble follows. That's on a personal or corporate level and true for me as a person, for a band or a corporation. A corporation is not, inherently, an evil thing. Some are, to be sure. Companies that poison water and air for profit are wrong. The military-industrial complex is at the center of much that's wrong in the world today.

Everyone works for a company. What do you think record companies are? All your favorite artists from Rage Against The Machine on Epic to Bruce Springsteen on Sony, to Iggy Pop on Virgin record for major international companies. Do they slam Steve Earle for being on Artemis? Or The International Noise Conspiracy for being on Epitaph? These are all corporations. I own a corporation. It's MuscleTone Records.

There is no way to live outside the system. That is a complete distortion of real life. If you touch money, you are part of the system. This acknowledgement is consistent with the stance of the MC5 since its beginning. What do you think "by any means necessary" means? Shooting it out with the pigs? Wrong fantasy, dude. We always viewed the system as the way to reach people with our music. We always believed in co-opting the system. We wrote "American Ruse" when we were on Atlantic Records for Chrissake! Effect change from within. Do you think that we didn't laugh our asses off when we saw Justin Timberlake on the cover of Vibe wearing an MC5 shirt? How did that happen? Hell if I know, but it was a trip. It took us 35 years to get in deep and there it was, represented by Justin staring back at us. I figure he'd probably heard somewhere along the line about the "Mick-Five," but I merely speculate.

If artists don't want their music used in connection with other products or services, that's their right. It's their work. They decide what's best for them, but that doesn't mean their records aren't products and they don't deal in services. Artists have a right to make a living from their work just like anyone else does.

Where does it say in the revolutionary handbook that I'm supposed to starve to death?

People are constantly asking me if it rankles me that Iggy isn't lambasted for licensing Stooges music to Nike (who use foreign child labor) or his own stuff to Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. It absolutely does not bother me. I just read in the New York Times that "the conscience of a generation" himself, Bob Dylan, licensed a song to Victoria's Secret. These and other artists can do what they want with their own work. If they do or do not need the money is none of my business. Bless 'em all.

This is the point: The MC5 or any artist has a right to enter into any business relationship of their choosing. That's why we do what we do. It's our work and it's our lives. It's the music we share.

The other important point is this. I do not work for Levi's. My company, MuscleTone Records, entered into a partnership with them to produce this event. We control the film and audio rights of this event. And, just for the record, I personally did not negotiate a performance fee for my services from Levi's. If I make a dime from this event it will be because I worked hard to musically direct, produce and market this music. All of the artists who performed in this event will share in the profits, if there are any. There are no guarantees in this game, homeboy. It's an argument that will run outta gas on its own, but sometimes it's helpful to clarify the facts.

As I mentioned earlier, I did some research on Levi's. I found out that they are a 150-year old, family owned and controlled company. They have a record of standing up for their workers' civil rights going as far back as the South struggle during the Jim Crow era. They pay women equally. They do not use foreign child labor. Levi's Vintage Clothing is made in the USA. They are decent folks and a good company and I have no problem with them. In fact, I admire them for having the good taste and vision to take on a project like this. The MC5 is not exactly the kind of band that most companies would have the cajones to be identified with. They made a dream come true for fans who have supported us all these years. If it were Dow Chemical or another polluter of the planet, I would have had to decline, but Levi's are a good product. I've worn them all my life. What kind of jeans do you wear?

Back to the show.

The guest line-up grew right up to the last minute with the addition of a wonderful 21-year old London soul singer, Kate O'Brien. I really wanted to have a woman sing Rob Tyner's achingly beautiful ballad "Let Me Try," and Kate was perfect. And at the last moment, Ian Astbury called up to let me know he was in town and asked if we wanted to hang out.

We filmed the show with a four-camera shoot and live audio recorded to Pro Tools that I'm mixing now. If it comes out as good as I hope we'll have a CD, a TV show and a DVD to show for it.

The music was a joy to perform and everyone played their asses off. Playing with Dennis and Michael was a ball. Michael has been touring all over the world with Rich Hopkins and has recently set off on his own to do some solo work. He and Dennis mentioned in an interview that they plan to work together on a studio project in the near future. Dennis's drumming was as high energy as ever. Kate, Dave, Lemmy and my main man Nicke all sang beautifully. Nicke's guitar work was a living tribute to the artistry of Fred Smith. Ian Astbury's inspired performance of "KOTJ" was hypersonic.

Seeing the joy in the faces of the fans blew my mind. By singing every song along with us, word for word, had me floating through the whole set. Another high point was performing "Black to Comm." Charles and Buzzy brought their otherworldly brass sounds into focus with the screaming electric guitars and, together, we truly traveled the spaceways from planet to planet. Kate even joined in on some intergalactic vocals. It was some old songs played in a new way and some new music played in an even more immediate way. It was alive right then in the moment and it was good.

I'll keep you informed on progress with the CD/DVD and thanks for all the messages on the site. You folks amaze me with the level of passion you have for the music and artists you follow. I want you to know I appreciate all your ideas and support (and criticism). Thanks for caring.

God bless, w.