MC5′s Wayne Kramer Supports Bernie Sanders at Iowa Fundraisers

Over the weekend, MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer was in Iowa to support Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders at a couple of fundraising events. On Friday, Kramer led “Bernie’s All-Star Band”, which also included Marshall Crenshaw, Jill Sobule, and members of Alice in Chains, Quicksand, the Bellrays, in a performance at a Sanders event in Davenport, Iowa. Kramer gave speeches about the necessity of changing the criminal justice system and performed songs like “The Auld Triangle” and the Clash’s “Jail Guitar Doors” (which was actually written about Kramer and his 1975 arrest for selling cocaine).

Watch a video below; his performances and comments occur at the 1:33, 1:58, 2:25, and 3:23 marks. He also introduces Sanders at the 2:56 mark. 

On Saturday, Kramer was Sanders’ guest at the Iowa Democratic party’s Jefferson-Jackson dinner, which took place in Des Moines. There, Sanders spoke alongside Hillary Clinton and Martin O’Malley, the other two Democratic candidates. Kramer sat in the crowd, and offered some quotes about the event to The Guardian. “I am supporting Bernie because he’s the only candidate that’s actually speaking to the actual challenges that the country faces,” he said.

He also critiqued Clinton’s guest: Katy Perry, who sat in the front row of the event. “If you look at Katy Perry’s music, she’s auto-tuned and about as unauthentic as its possible to be,” he said. “We, on the other hand, are sometimes out of tune, sometimes we sing flat, but we’re doing this with all our real heart and our minds.”

His best quote, though? “Bernie does kick out the jams.”

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