The Hard Stuff, Wayne Kramer
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The Hard Stuff
Dope, Crime, the MC5, and My Life of Impossibilities

Author: Wayne Kramer

Narrator: Wayne Kramer

Unabridged: 11 hr 48 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Da Capo Press

Published: 08/14/2018

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

The first memoir by Wayne Kramer, legendary guitarist and cofounder of quintessential Detroit proto-punk legends The MC5

"Voyeuristically dramatic."

-THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW




In January 1969, before the world heard a note of their music, the MC5 was on the cover of Rolling Stone. Led by legendary guitarist Wayne Kramer, the band was a reflection of the times: exciting, sexy, violent, chaotic, and even out of control. The missing link between free jazz and punk rock, the MC5 toured the country, played alongside music legends, and had a rabid following, their music acting as the soundtrack to the blossoming blue collar youth movement. Kramer wanted to redefine what a rock 'n' roll group was capable of, and though there was power in reaching for that, it was also a recipe for personal and professional disaster. The band recorded three major label albums but, by 1972-it was all over.

Kramer's story is (literally) a revolutionary one, but it's also the deeply personal struggle of an addict and an artist, a rebel with a great tale to tell. From the glory days of Detroit to the junk-sick streets of the East Village, from Key West to Nashville and sunny L.A., in and out of prison and on and off of drugs, Kramer's is the classic journeyman narrative, but with a twist: he's here to remind us that revolution is always an option.


Author Bio

Wayne Kramer, as the leader of Detroit's incendiary rock band The MC5, helped form the White Panther Party in solidarity with other organizations working for racial and economic equality during the Vietnam War, making him a target of the FBI's counterintelligence program. After serving a federal prison term, he released ten solo albums. He is considered a pioneer of both punk rock and heavy metal, with Rolling Stone naming him one of the top 100 guitarists of all time. Alongside songwriter Billy Bragg, Kramer founded Jail Guitar Doors USA, a non-profit with a mission to help rehabilitate prison inmates by teaching them to express themselves positively through music.

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