Wayne Kramer - The Hard Stuff (Dope, Crime, the MC5 & My Life Of Impossibilities)

Publisher: Da Capo Press; Year: 2018; Format: Hardcover Book

I had bought this book back in 2018 when it had come out and as per the price sticker on the back I only had to shell out fourteen bucks at Strand Book Store in NYC, a steal for a truly fantastic book. I remember reading it the same year or the year after so my memory as to the details contained in the book is shoddy to say the least. Hence this week I made it a little project to revisit certain chapters and by doing so I quickly realized why I liked the book so much in the first place. Just like the subtitle of Wayne's memoir suggests this book will take you on a wild ride around the U.S of A. starting off in Detroit where Wayne's story originates, and where of course the MC5 formed. From early childhood on Wayne is obsessed with Rock'N'Roll and after having discovered Chuck Berry he knows that one day he will be the badass on stage churning out mean riffs to hard and soulful music. Something I always enjoy about memoirs, and this book is certainly no exception to that, are the early chapters where readers are drawn into a world of the past, a world that is largely forgotten now. Detroit has a rich history when it comes to popular music as well as a history of a former economic powerhouse where many people could live comfortably on one family member's salary thanks to a good union job in the auto industry. It is hard to believe how bustling this city once was before the economic downturn has turned it into a crime ridden ghost town ultimately being forced into bankruptcy a few years back. Capitalism simply doesn't give a shit about people and Detroit amongst other cities in the rustbelt has been rebuilding for decades to gain back a little bit of its glorious past. Wayne's life in a way resembles Detroit in the sense that when it's good it's really good and when it's bad, it's really bad. I don't have to go into details when it comes to the MC5 as they are rightfully regarded as one of the most important Rock'N'Roll acts ever having walked this earth. The fact that they had a pretty significant impact on the '70s punk rock explosion definitely bypassed Wayne up to the point when he meets Johnny Thunders with whom he played in Gang War for some time. After the MC5 fell apart, so did Wayne's life and drug addiction and a career in petty crime and as a cocaine supplier eventually led him to serve a lengthy stint in Federal Prison where he befriends Red Rodney, a colorful jazz character. After life in prison Wayne's life is a steady up and down and takes him from Detroit to the Lower East Side of NYC, Key West in Florida, Nashville Tennessee and Los Angeles where he meets Brett Gurewitz of Epitaph Records who enables Wayne to have another go at a career as a recording artist. Anybody who has been following Wayne in recent years will know that at seventy five he is still very much active on stage, as a matter of fact I just saw this morning that last night he performed with Pere Ubu in New York City. Thanks to a collaboration between Billy Bragg, Wayne and his wife Margaret since 2009 Jail Guitar Doors has been a successful independent initiative to provide musical instruments to inmates locked up in prisons across the United Kingdom and the United States which just proves that Wayne has learned his lessons and wants to give back as much as he can. I understand that amongst die-hard MC5 fans Wayne is a divided figure as he for instance blocked the release of the MC5 documentary which is a true shame in case you are lucky to have been able to see it on a burned copy like myself. But, this book is not about who is to blame and for what but about redemption and a life lived on the edges of society while recording some fantastic tunes throughout the decades. If you haven't read this book yet then you should kick out the jams and get to it fast! 

Spread from the book with photos of Wayne with Mick Jones of the Clash, Johnny Thunders etc.

Update 2-3-24: Unfortunately brother Wayne Kramer passed away yesterday, February 2, 2024. Rest in Peace, Wayne. 

Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels - Wheels of Steel 10"

Label: PRT Records; Year: 1983; Format: 10" Vinyl

Today I've had a long and busy day at work so when I got home I just wanted to have a bite to eat and kick back for a little while. I promised myself that I would do another entry for the blog tonight but when it came to it I wasn't particularly in a punk rock mood so I opted for something lighter and more soulful so to speak. Mitch Ryder (nee William Lewis Jr.) is a Detroit Rock'N'Roll legend who recently turned seventy eight years young. From 1964 to 1967 Mitch Ryder used the Detroit Wheels as his back-up band releasing a number of Top 20 hits. This little 10" that came out in 1983 on PRT (Precision Records and Tapes, formerly known as Pye Records) in the UK collects some of the bands greatest hits such as "Jenny Take A Ride", "Sock it to Me Baby" or "Little Latin Lupe Lu" to name a few. It's a great little compilation when it comes to the music, but not so much when it comes to the packaging as there is absolutely no info about the recordings to be found. I suppose the people behind Precision weren't so precise and forthcoming about that and expected the music hungry consumers to make a trip to the library to find out about Mitch Ryder but in all fairness not much has changed to this day except that we have the intranet and can find everything with a few clicks. Well, goal achieved for tonight. I had a good twenty minutes of shaking my arthritis ridden knees to the soulful rock'n'roll smashers coming out of Motor City and that put a smile on my face. Keep on wheeling! 

Suzi Quatro - Your Mama Won't Like Me LP 

Label: Arista Records; Year: 1975; Format: Vinyl LP

A few months back I listened to an interesting podcast with Suzi Quatro. Now in her early seventies and based in the United Kingdom she seems to still be full of energy and I must say I have nothing but respect for her. Just like countless other Detroit born musicians of any genre she's a self-made woman and has prevailed in the music industry throughout the decades, something that's not easy at all. In that podcast I learned of Suzi's first band she was part of, the Pleasure Seekers, a '60s garage rock band she joined with her older sister Patti and about the years since, of which there has been many by now. I picked up "Your Mama Won't Like Me" not too long ago for a few bucks as it's just an old Quatro record, hence why not. This was Quatro's third LP and somewhat of a departure from the first two records which I don't own but am familiar with to a degree. The productions on this one is top notch and the songs on this full length are largely in the funk rock vein departing from the glam rock and '50s rock'n'roll informed first two LPs. Still, it's an interesting album that doesn't get boring and unsurprisingly has some real hits in my opinion. On Side A "Paralysed" and "Your Mama.." stand out whereas on Side B "New Day Woman" and especially "Michael" are the true winners. I believe back in the time this record came out some critics wrote it off as disappointing but at the same time it was the beginning of a new era for Suzi Quatro and is definitely worth getting for a few bob. I'll be looking for the Pleasure Seekers and Suzi's earlier material so stay tuned!

V/A - Fizzy Soul Cocktail Vol. 2

Label: Cheeky Monkey Records (Unofficial); Year: ?; Format: Vinyl LP

Just like the Killed By Death volumes for rare worldwide punk rock many other musical genres have their own various compilation series when it comes to hard to find records. This particular LP must have been pressed in the UK as I got it dirt-cheap while I lived in London and the few copies that are available through Discogs seem all to be from sellers in the UK. Anyway, this is a great compilation of hard to find soul/funk hits which all seem to have originally been recorded in the '60s. The packaging is typical for a bootleg in the sense that it lacks any information about the artists but the sound quality is good so I won't complain too much. In all fairness it truly is a great record as all twelve songs are above good with some being plain superb. Without wanting to go into all the songs I am going to give you a few teasers so maybe you would want to seek them out on YouTube or such. 'I'm in love with your Daughter' by '60s rhythm'n'blues band The Enchantments from Los Angeles is a beautiful track originally released on Faro Records as a single back in 1965. West Virginia born Turley Richards gets you dancing and grooving with the upbeat smasher 'I feel all right' originally released on Columbia in 1966 while Johnny Robinson's 'Funky Feet' from 1970 is exactly what the song title suggests. Maybe the best song on this compilation is 'Two sided thing' by Johnny Mae Mathews also known as the Godmother of Detroit soul. Miss Mathews founded the Northern Recording Company back in 1958 and many more record labels thereafter. Her song on this platter originally came out in 1968 on Big Hit Records. I will see if I can find the first volume of this compilation at some point as I imagine it'd be equally strong. If you are looking to dance your night away don't hesitate to grab a copy of this one. Have some Boogaloo!

Steve Miller - Detroit Rock City: The Uncensored History of Rock'N'Roll in America's Loudest City

Publisher: Da Capo Press; Year: 2013; Format: Book

I am glad to have found this book very recently for close to nothing at a place I've never been to before in Manhattan. Rest assured though that the price tag does not reflect the quality of the contents in this book. I have heard about Steve Miller's book a while ago, and I certainly wanted to improve my knowledge of Detroit based Rock'N'Roll so having to read this one book one day was definitely inevitable. Many of you will know Steve Miller as the vocalist for much famed Lansing, MI hardcore punk band The Fix, or as the editor of the Touch and Go book that was published a few years back. Some of you might not know that he's actually a veteran when it comes to investigative journalism, and author of several books outside the music genre covering real crime. Needless to say that for a massive project such as writing on the rich history of Rock'N'Roll out of Detroit he was the right person to succeed at it. There are not many books that manage to cover as much ground as this book does, and let's be honest which other book will give you the pleasure to read about bands and artists such as MC5, Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, Mitch Ryder, Destroy All Monsters, Negative Approach, Laughing Hyenas, The Gories or the White Stripes, all at the same time? My guess is as good as yours, ladies and gentlemen. What I find really fascinating about this book is the fact that Steve has not only found a way to describe many anecdotes for the reader to feel like one is right there in the middle of the chaos, but at the same time he has done an outstanding job when it comes to the chronology of the debauchery that took place in Detroit and its surrounding towns. The only part I didn't really enjoy in this book was about Bob Seger, and this was when he was already a well known act on the national circuit. I yawned a lot through that part only to be awaken by more crazy stories from Wayne Kramer and other luminaries that were fed up with the status quo, and were starting to form new bands. And believe me, that was the only slow part in this book as the rest of it will take you through clubs such as Bookie's and bands associated with that scene, the early '80s hardcore punk explosion with Negative Approach on the forefront, the aftermath of hardcore and some crazy drugged stories involving John Brannon and Larissa Strickland of Laughing Hyenas, and the start, or shall we say return to garage rock from Detroit with The Gories and bands and scenes that evolved out of that time including Bantam Rooster, White Stripes or Von Bondies. Have I told you this book covers a lot of ground? Okay, there are two omissions I was disappointed with. For whatever reason the bands Death and Cinecyde get very little to no mention at all, and members from those two bands contributed little to nothing for this oral history. That sucked but still, it takes very little away from what this book gives the reader, and that is a detailed and at times mind blowing account of what was happening in Motown. This is widely available, and even your local library has probably a copy of this book, hence I really don't see an excuse for any of you out there for not reading this!

GG Allin & The Jabbers - Occupation EP

Label: Blood2000 Records; Year: 2000; Format: Vinyl 7"

Who really needs an introduction to GG Allin, this true rock'n'roll legend from New Hampshire who would have turned 58 years of age yesterday. Many people will associate GG with his musical output and especially his antics from the latter stage in his career, the years leading up to his death in June of 1993 in New York City. A growing number of music fanatics will never the less know that in his early days GG produced some great '77 punk inspired punk'n'roll songs. This weird EP, apparently limited to 302 copies, is home to one rare track that was in the vault for nearly twenty years before this EP came out. 'Occupation' was recorded with MC5'ers Wayne Kramer and Dennis Thompson, and was originally planned to be included on the 'Gimme some head' EP. Needles to say that the song is an absolute scorcher, and testament to the greatness of the MC5. On the B-Side of this you'll find a decent live version of 'You hate me & I hate you' and a filler in the form of 'Pills', also live. Both sides also contain a few seconds of GG talking, but that's not what you need this EP for. 'Occupation' alone is worth tracking down this record, although it is scarce, and probably not cheap. I would presume though that the song can be found on another GG record...?