Wayne Kramer Unveils ‘We Are All MC5’ Spring Tour
variety.comJem Aswad Senior Music EditorOn the heels of legendary punk progenitors the MC5’s nomination to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the group’s guitarist and co-founder Wayne Kramer has released two new songs and announced The Heavy Lifting Tour in May, all as a “reanimation” of the pioneering group, dubbed We Are All MC5.The tour begins with a special hometown show, celebrating the birthday of Detroit’s El Club, before moving on to the East Coast (Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Brooklyn) and West Coast (Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego).
Joining Kramer in the touring band will be singer Brad Brooks, drummer Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction), bassist Vicki Randle (Mavis Staples), and guitarist Stevie Salas (David Bowie). “Nonstop touring, especially the last decade, I’ve come to understand that the music of the MC5 is as necessary as ever,” Kramer said. “It’s definitely high time to write and record new songs and to carry a message of uncompromising hard rock to fans around the world.”Ahead of the tour, the band will release two singles — Kramer’s first new music as MC5 since 1972 — previewing a full album on Ear Music scheduled for October 2022.
The songs were produced by Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Kiss) and feature Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, bassist Don Was and Alice in Chains singer William Duvall, among others.“We’ve just barely survived four catastrophic years of a failed presidency and a devastating pandemic.
Brad and I started writing new music with the express purpose of pushing back against the cruelty of it all. It had become so polarized and depressing that bringing in other writers was like a hope injection.
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