The legendary Wayne Kramer announced he'll hit the road later this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the MC5's Kick Out The Jams. Kramer will play the seminal album in full along with other songs from MC5's catalog. Kramer's all star band will include Kim Thayil of Soundgarden, Brendan Canty of Fugazi, Dug Pinnick from King’s X, and Zen Guerrilla's Marcus Durant. Kramer explained in a press statement why he's decided to tour:
"The message of the MC5 has always been the sense of possibilities: a new music, a new politics, a new lifestyle...Today, there is a corrupt regime in power, an endless war thousands of miles away, and uncontrollable violence wracking our country. It’s becoming less and less clear if we’re talking about 1968 or 2018. I’m now compelled to share this music I created with my brothers 50 years ago. My goal is that the audience leaves these concerts fueled by the positive and unifying power of rock music."
The tour wraps up with an October 27th stop at the Fillmore Detroit - the show is almost 50 years to the day Kick Out The Jams was recorded in 1968 (Kick Out The Jams was recorded live at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit on October 30th + October 31st). Pre-sales for the Detroit show kick off Thursday, March 8th and the general onsale is Friday, March 9th.
Meanwhile Kramer also announced he's releasing a memoir titled The Hard Stuff - Dope, Crime, the MC5, and My Life of Impossibilities. The 288 page book will be published August 14th and is available to pre-order here.
Published March 6th, 2018