Best known as the in-house producer and proprietor of the Shimmy-Disc label,
Kramer (first name Mark) has also had an extensive career as a musician, mostly with other bands or collaborators, but occasionally solo as well. Born in 1958,
Kramer initially chose film school as his creative path, but wound up dropping out twice; instead, he worked as a sound engineer for several late-'70s New York bands and eventually joined the band that became
Eugene Chadbourne's Shockabilly as a bass player and sometime organist. Upon
Shockabilly's mid-'80s dissolution,
Kramer served a brief stint as
the Butthole Surfers' touring bassist, then decided to concentrate on running his Shimmy-Disc label and Noise New York (later Noise New Jersey) recording studio. As well as being a member of the twistedly humorous bands
B.A.L.L. (later
Gumball) and
Bongwater,
Kramer produced acts ranging from the label's own
GWAR and
King Missile to
Galaxie 500,
Urge Overkill,
Half Japanese,
Daniel Johnston,
Fred Frith,
Palace Brothers,
Low, and
Royal Trux, plus releasing albums by
Ween,
the Boredoms,
John Zorn's Naked City,
Damon and Naomi, and many more.
From the late '80s on,
Kramer was a highly active collaborator, releasing projects with
Jad Fair of
Half Japanese,
John S. Hall of
King Missile,
Ralph Carney and Daved Hild, ex-
Gong frontman
Daevid Allen, ex-
King Missile member
Dogbowl, ex-
Soft Machine bassist
Hugh Hopper, and
Captain Howdy, a band featuring magician
Penn Jillette on vocals and cartoon voice-over master
Billy West (Ren & Stimpy, etc.) on guitar. Kramer's solo career began in 1993 with the release of
The Guilt Trip, which was followed in 1994 with
The Secret of Comedy and 1995's Japanese-only Music for Crying; the albums combined Kramer's warped humor with his ample production skills and (sometimes) pop songwriting sense. In 1998,
Kramer returned to solo recording with
Songs from the Pink Death. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide