Wayne Kramer

“Punk rock is a verb. It's a way of doing things.”

“Rock and roll is a liberating art form. It's not a spectator sport. It's a full-contact sport.”

“I wanted to make music that was as exciting as the times we were living in.”

“Activism is my rent for living on the planet.”

“Creativity is the last frontier. It's the last human act that cannot be outsourced.”

“The problems of the world are not going to be solved by artists, but artists can make people think about them.”

“The MC5 was a musical, cultural, political, and spiritual enterprise.”

“We wanted to be the new thing. We wanted to be the future of rock and roll.”

“My job is to report from the front lines of the human condition.”

“You have to be willing to be a fool to get your heart's desire.”

“For us, the band was a gang, and the music was our weapon.”

“The message was: Kick out the jams, motherfuckers! Which means, give it everything you've got. No holding back.”

“I'm interested in the truth. I'm not interested in being polite.”

“You can't separate the music from the politics with the MC5.”

“I believe in the power of music to be a force for good in the world.”