Kramer (musician)

"Mark Kramer" redirects here. For other people with the name, seeMark Kramer (disambiguation).

Mark Kramer(bornStephen Michael Bonner,1958 inNew York City,United States)known professionally asKramer,is a musician, composer,record producerand founder of theNew York Cityrecord labelShimmy-Disc.He was a full-time member of the bandsNew York Gong,Shockabilly,Bongwater,has played on tour (usually onbass guitar) with bands such asButthole Surfers,B.A.L.L.,Ween,Half JapaneseandThe Fugs(1984 reunion tour), and has also performed regularly withJohn Zornand other improvising musicians of New York City's so-called "downtown scene"of the 1980s.

Kramer
Kramer in 2018
Background information
Birth name	Stephen Michael Bonner
Also known as	Mark Kramer
Born	1958 (age 65–66) New York City,U.S.
Occupation(s)	Record Producer,Composer,Director
Years active	1978–present
Labels	Shimmy Disc,Shimmy-500
Formerly of	Bongwater Half Japanese Ween Let It Come Down
Website	www.kramershimmy.com

Kramer's work as a producer has been with bands such asGalaxie 500(whose entire oeuvre he produced),Low(whom he discovered and produced),Bowery Electric,Half Japanese,White Zombie,GWAR,King Missile,Danielson Famile,Will Oldham,Daniel Johnston,andUrge Overkill,including their hit cover of "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon".

Early music career

Kramer's first experience in the New York music scene came when he played in the bandNew York Gong,led byDaevid Allen,in 1979 and 1980.Kramer played organ on one song on their 1979 albumAbout Time.

In 1980, Kramer joined the band The Chadbournes, led byEugene Chadbourne,which also includedDavid Licht,Tom CoraandJohn Zorn.They played together until Chadbourne, Kramer and Licht formed the bandShockabilly,which toured internationally from 1982 until 1985.The band dissolved while on a US tour early in 1985. That tour included a brief trip throughTexaswith the then-unknownButthole Surfers.Forging a close friendship with co-founding Butthole Surfers membersGibby HaynesandPaul Leary,Kramer was available when the band needed to replace their bassist later that year. Kramer bought aHöfnerBeatle bass and joined the Butthole Surfers' for a string of shows in the USA, and for the band's debut European tour in 1985. Prior to his purchase of Noise New York, he recorded several songs from the band's "Rembrandt Pussy Horse" LP there, including "Florida" and "Two Parter".

Production and studio

After touring, Kramer took over a New York recording studio named Noise New York, using a loan of $5,000 from an uncle.The studio was to serve as a mainstay for artists and bands both local and international, and Kramer became one of the busiestindie musicproducers in New York City. The first recording at Noise New York was the Buttholes' rendition of "American Woman".

Kramer formed the record labelShimmy-Disctwo years later in 1987 and enjoyed critical acclaim, releasing 105 albums before shutting down in 1999. Artists who recorded with Kramer at Noise New York or Noise New Jersey and released music on his label includeKing Missile,GWAR,Boredoms,Damon & Naomi,Daniel Johnston,Jad Fair,Tuli Kupferberg,B.A.L.L.andWeen,Lida Husik,Uncle Wiggly,Hugh Hopper,Daevid Allen,and others.

The label remained a favorite atcollege radiostations throughout the 1980's and 90's.

Bongwater

In the early 1980s Kramer metAnn Magnuson,New York Cityperformance artist,when he ran the sound for a band she was in,Pulsallama,during their frequent performances atClub 57.After Pulsallama disbanded in 1984, the two began to collaborate, and in 1986 they formedBongwater.Together they released five LPs, includingDouble Bummer,and culminating with their 1991 swansong,The Big Sell-Out.In 1991 they began a romantic relationship while Kramer was separated from his estranged wife.After several months, Kramer decided to end the romantic relationship and reconcile with his wife, and the end of the relationship also spelled the end of the band.Several months later, Magnuson sued Kramer for $4.5 million for breach of contract, among other charges, and Kramer responded with a counter-suit.The subsequent legal battle resulted in the financial crippling of the Shimmy-Disc label, which never recovered. The lawsuits were eventually settled out of court in 1997 for undisclosed terms.

Association with Penn & Teller

A pivotal moment in Kramer's early career came whenJad FairofHalf Japaneseintroduced him toPenn & Teller.[1]Kramer soon found himself working eight shows per week as Sound Consultant on Penn & Teller's 1987 Broadway show, and composing the music for theirCruel Tricks for Dear Friendsspecial. In 1992, Kramer formed the bandthe Captain HowdywithPenn Jillette,and together with guest artistsDebbie Harry(ofBlondie) andBilly West,they made two highly eclectic CDs together, both released on Shimmy-Disc. Following Penn's permanent relocation to Las Vegas in 1997, the group disbanded.

Collaboration with other artists

In 1988 Kramer &Jad Fairreleased the recordRoll Out the Barreltogether on Kramer's Shimmy-Disc label. They reunited in 1998 and published the recordThe Sound of Music. An Unfinished Symphony in 12 Partsthat year. In 2020, they released their 3rd collaboration, "The History of Crying" on Kramer's newly relaunched Shimmy-Disc label.

In 1990 Kramer first met the two-man bandWeenwhen they played a show at a small New York club, thePyramid Club.Kramer struck up a friendship with the two, who had already been fans of his Shimmy-Disc label. He signed them to Shimmy-Disc, and released their new double-LPThe Pod.In January 1992, THE WEEN went on a brief tour of England with Kramer on bass and Claude Coleman Jr on drums, culminating with the recording of 4 songs from THE POD for a John Peel Session at the BBC.

In 2023,Shimmy-Discreleased Kramer's duo collaboration with new-age pioneerLaraaji,entitled "Baptismal", and a remixed & remastered double-LP byAllen Ginsberg(originally produced byHal Willnerin 1989 as a single LP) titled"The Lion For Real",re-titled for this re-release as "The Lion For Real, Re-Born", featuringMarc Ribot,Arto Lindsay,Bill Friselland many other musicians hand-picked by Willner. The double-LP features 8 songs from the original recording sessions that were not included on the original 1989 LP, concluding with two 'undiscovered' poems set to music by Kramer himself.

Also in 2023,Shimmy-Discreleased a six-EP limited-edition wooden box set of 7 "vinyl featuringBritta Phillips(Luna),Paul Leary(Butthole Surfers),Rob Crow(Pinback),Jad Fair(Half Japanese) &Danielson,andDavid Grubbs(Gastr Del Sol).

In 2024,Shimmy-Discreleased Kramer's collaborations withPan American(Mark K. Nelson of Labradford, Anjou, etc) entitled "Reverberations of Non-Stop Traffic on Redding Road", and with Japanese composerKato Hidekientitled "The Walk", the latter having been inspired by the writings of Swiss prose masterRobert Walserand Japanese Haiku masterBasho.Both LPs jackets feature photography byRudy Royston.Among his numerous forthcoming collaborations for Shimmy-Disc are a spoken-word+music LP of poems byEdgar Allan PoefeaturingJoan As Police Woman,Thurston Moore,Teller,Anne Waldman,Lydia Lunchand others, and the debut LP from his newest live trio 'SQUANDERERS', withDavid GrubbsandWendy EISENBERG.

Changes in ownership of studio and record label

In 1992 Kramer sold his Noise New York recording studio and moved just across the Hudson River, where he'd found a house going into foreclosure with a state-of-the-art 24-track recording studio built in. He dubbed the studio Noise New Jersey, and continued to produce recordings there,including, most famously, Urge Overkill's cover of "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon".

Shortly following the sale of Shimmy-Disc and his recording facility to theKnitting Factoryin 1998 (in which he was contracted to play a continuing role in the label as producer and Director of A&R), Kramer sued the Knitting Factory for breach of contractand soon found himself without a creative base for the first time in his professional career. This experience left him emotionally devastated and looking to exit the music business without delay.

Film and theater

Kramer turned to his lifelong passion in film and theater, and in late 2000, he began studying directing under film and stage directorArthur Penn,whom he had met in 1989 when Penn directedPenn & Teller Get Killed.Kramer spent the better part of four years at New York'sActors Studio,where, in addition to learning directing, he didsound designand music for various productions at the Actors Studio Free Theater on 42nd street. This phase of Kramer's career culminated in 2002 when he composed the music forFortune's Fool,theTony Award-winning Broadway play directed by Arthur Penn. Kramer had been appointed assistant director on Arthur Penn's next Broadway play (Sly Fox) when his mother Rosalyn was stricken with a debilitating stroke, which drew him to Florida in 2003. She died 16 months later.

Work with the James Randi Educational Foundation

After moving to the Fort Lauderdale area, Kramer worked for theJames Randi Educational Foundationfrom 2004 until February 2006.His main job was to manage the foundation'sOne Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.Kramer also maintained the foundation's video library and oversaw the digital transfer of over 700 archival VHS tapes to DVD, comprising the most complete document of the life and career ofJames Randi.

Recent activities

Kramer is associated with the formation of the "slowcore"movement because of his production work forLowandGalaxie 500.

From 2003 to 2023, Kramer operated a private CD/LP mastering and mixing studio in Florida. In 2006, he announced the return of his record company under the name Second-Shimmy. The debut release in October 2006 wasI Killed the Monster - 21 Artists Performing the Songs by Daniel Johnston,featuring performances byDot Allison,Fair & Kramer,Daniel Smith&Sufjan Stevens,Kimya Dawson,R. Stevie Moore,Major Matt Mason USA,Jeff Lewis,Mike Watt,and many others. The label released 5 CDs and ceased operations.

In 2006, Kramer producedExaltation of Larks,a solo release from Dot Allison for which he acted as arranger and played most of the instruments. The LP was released in September 2007 on Cooking Vinyl in the UK and P-Vine in Japan.

Kramer premiered his composition "Things to Come" in Tokyo in 2007. Hoping to perform the piece annually, he performed it in Tel Aviv in 2008, Melbourne in 2009 and Paris in 2010. In January 2008, Kramer toured 14 cities in 14 days in Japan withMike WattandSamm Bennettin a "dueling bass" trio named Brother's Sister's Daughter.

In 2012 Kramer releasedThe Brill Buildingon John Zorn'sTzadiklabel, an album of cover songs written in theBrill Buildingin the early 1960s. In 2017, Tzadik followed that release with Kramer'sThe Brill Building, Book Two,featuring guitar performances byBill Frisell.

In January 2020, Kramer was named one of the 12 curators of theJoyful Noise RecordingsWhite Label Series,withDavid Lynch,Lydia Lunch,Son Luxand others.On April 29, 2020, Joyful Noise Recordings also named Kramer its 2020 Artist-in-Residence, and simultaneously announced a new partnership with Kramer for the rebirth of hisShimmy-Disclabel. The first release by the label was fromLet It Come Down,Kramer's recording project with U.K. vocalistXan Tyler.Their debut LP, titled "Songs We Sang in Our Dreams", was released on June 12, 2020. The A.I.R. series culminated in a five-LP box set of Kramer projects.

The A.I.R. box also includes "Words and Music", Kramer's spoken-word LP in which he sets music to the voices of poets and writers as diverse asAllen Ginsberg,Gregory Corso,Terry Southern,Tina May Hall,Christine Schutt,Scott McClanahanand others, and his first full-length 'ambient cinema' releases, "Music for Pianos and Sunflowers", and "Music for Films Edited by Moths", collaborating with Dutch multi-disciplinary artistTinca Veermanon a series of videos for each piece of music. Another collaboration with Tinca Veerman followed in 2024, when he was commissioned by her to compose the music for her Amsterdam installation at De Hallen, "We Are Passengers".

In November 2021, Kramer released "And The Wind Blew It All Away" (his first solo LP of original songs since 1998's "Songs From The Pink Death" ). All of the performances were recorded alone in his Florida studio.

In 2022, Kramer re-mixed the first demos recorded in 1994 byJosh Hadenfor his bandSpain,and released them on Shimmy-Disc as "World Of Blue", featuring many of the songs eventually included on Spain's debut LP, "The Blue Moods of Spain".

As a filmmaker, Kramer has created over 60 music videos and short films he refers to as 'Ambient-Cinema', following his lifelong quest to bring quiet music and cinema into a single artform.

As of January 2023, Kramer lives in a small town near Asheville, North Carolina, where he continues his activities as a composer/producer and maintains a modest recording/mixing/mastering facility in his home.

Discography

Main article:Kramer discography

• The Guilt Trip(1992)
• The Secret of Comedy(1994)
• Let Me Explain Something to You About Art(1998)
• Songs from the Pink Death(1998)
• The Greenberg Variations(2003)
• The Brill Building(2012)
• The Brill Building, Book Two w/Bill Frisell(2017)
• Songs We Sang In Our Dreams w/Let It Come Down(2020)
• Music for Pianos and Sunflowers(2021)
• Words and Music(2021)
• And The Wind Blew It All Away(2021)
• Music for Films Edited by Moths(2022)

External links

• Shimmy-Disc website
• KrameratAllMusic