Guest Room Sessions: Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls With Wayne Kramer, ‘Jail Guitar Doors’
Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls aren't (April) foolin' around in their Guest Room Sessions clip for April 1. Together with Wayne Kramer, a former member of the legendary rock back MC5, the Americana band covers the Clash classic "Jail Guitar Doors;" press play above to watch.
This version of "Jail Guitar Doors" is a twangy riff on a political punk classic and was filmed at Kramer's Los Angeles recording studio, World HQ Studio. Kramer plays guitar and sings with Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls for this performance -- fitting, as he inspired the song.
"Let me tell you 'bout Wayne and his deals of cocaine / A little more every day / Holding for a friend till the band do well / Then the DEA locked him away," goes the first verse, a reference to the time Kramer spent in prison after he sold cocaine to an undercover police officer. The song now shares its name with a charity, established in the UK in 2007 by Billy Bragg to honor the Clash's Joe Strummer, that provides inmates with musical equipment; Kramer helped co-found the U.S. arm of the charity in 2009.
"I chose Wayne as our guest because he's a dear friend and co-founder of the charity as well as the protagonist of the first verse of the song," explains Heath (Kramer also appears on Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls' first album, The Vain Hope of Horse). "We recorded it in Wayne's studio since Wayne and I both work there."
In 2017, Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls released a new album, But There's Nowhere to Go. It was their second record on Kramer's label, Industrial Amusement, and was written as the band toured the country in the months following the 2016 presidential election. Fans can keep up with Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls at the band's website.