An accomplished stage and studio musician and composer, Robert Kramer has been a mainstay on the midwest music scene for over 20 years. His vocal and compositional styles have been compared to such artists as Sting, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen & others. He is skilled in keyboards, guitars, vocals and composition from many styles of music from rock and pop to blues, jazz, classical, orchestral and folk. Kramer has independently produced and released a number of solo projects, and has performed on and produced other artists releases.
Although starting his career in the early 70's as a musician for other bands, he became involved writing avante-garde novelty rock/jazz music loosely based on the compositions of Frank Zappa & the early Mothers of Invention and toured with the theatrical show band "Dr. Bizarro & The Disgustos". Performing mostly for custom vanner festivals, playing in front of as many as 10,000 or more in outdoor venues, the act had an ever-changing line-up, and despite a growing fanbase among the vanner crowd, a mention of the band and its fanbase in Rolling Stone, and a brief re-union in the early 90's, the group dis-banded, but not before recording an unreleased series of albums.
After a serious neck injury and surgery halted his performing career in the early 90's, he continued to write music in his home studio, focusing his energy back to his original instrument, the keyboards. Fighting a series of personal health struggles, Kramer spent two years in recovery while beginning a whole new series of writing and recording projects, eventually leading him to expand his musical boundaries. In 2000, he went on to compose and record an all original classical renaissance album, "Songs Of Past Lives", a collection of beautiful instrumental music that continues to garner high praise and airplay on new age, soundscape and classical broadcast and internet stations around the world.
In 2001, Kramer composed "Remember Their Lives", the noted "basset rescue" soundtrack album for Guardian Angel Basset Rescues' documentary film, which has gone on to help the organization to raise thousands of dollars over the years to support the efforts of many basset hound rescue groups both in the US and overseas. The album, now a classic among basset hound owners and supporters of rescue efforts, contains the novelty tune "Lets Go To The Waddle", lyrics written by his wife Dona to which he wrote the melody in tribute to their basset hound "Flash". The song and the album has since taken its' place as a theme song used at many basset rescue events across the U.S.
It was during this period he also worked with singer-songwriter Val Leventhal, whos song "Little Brown Dog", a soulful blues track, made its debut on the album to the delight of basset lovers everywhere.
It was also during this period he wrote and released his first commercial pop/rock record, "Blood On The Full Moon". One of the songs on the album "Who Says?" (a song he wrote about his disillusionment with not becoming successful in the music business) represented an odd turning point for Kramers' career, becoming the first song ever published, ultimately used in an indie film "Monkey Love", which represented the debut film appearance of now A-list actor Jeremy Renner.Driving his love of music was his continued fascination with the technical recording process, and after graduating from a series of recording classes, he opened up his own project studio to further use as a platform to create and release his own compositions as well as assist other bands recording efforts. He spent the years 2003 to 2005 working on his next project, "Legacy Of Love" which features premiere performances by the legendary Napoleon Murphy Brock, former lead vocalist & saxophone player for Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention. Kramer met Brock at a Zappa tribute concert some years before, and the two became fast friends and began working together on two songs from the album, "Water Into Wine" & "Place In My Heart". The album, a combination of progressive rock, catchy upbeat pop, driving blues, acoustic, and soulful r & b, continues to break boundaries, attracting listeners from many age groups.
Singer-Songwriter Val Leventhal, whos vocal and music talents have appeared on numerous Robert Kramer tracks.
Napoleon Murphy Brock & Robert Kramer at the Legacy of Love album release party (2005)
From 2007 to 2013, he targeted his songwriting skills towards composing tracks for film and tv, having music placed in the popular CBS soap opera "The Young & The Restless", Byron Allens' Entertainment Studios and various video and independent film projects.
Following his release for 2017, "Shadow Logic" with styles ranging from pop/rock to pop to jazz, to rhythm & blues to reggae and stadium rock, Robert partnered with John Guerrini and is currently on a tour of the midwest with a power dueling piano act called "Double Treble".
Robert Kramer released his latest album, "KINGMAN STATION" IN 2021 - Now available on CD or download thru Apple, Spotify & on this website!