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Brian J., short for Brian James, hails from Waukesha, where he was raised in two houses, one across the street from a bowling alley, the other haunted. The bowling alley was the Sunset Bowl, where Cheap Trick were ‘discovered’ by Jack Douglas. Douglas also happened to be the name of the ghost: a seven-year-old boy, one of the previous owner's nine children, who fell off the roof of a neighborhood building. In the mid-nineties, Brian attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where it seemed like every other person he met had a great Cheap Trick story and was eager to tell it. The band were legendary in that town, icons already, and for Brian, an ardent rock fan and budding record collector, Cheap Trick pressed all the right buttons. Thirty years and thousands of records later, here we are: Brian is now the proud author of this, his first book, about his favorite band. Brian has lived in Queens, New York, and Austin, Texas, but now resides near Madison with his wife and daughter. He has been a featured host on the long running podcasts Cheap Talk (a podcast devoted to Cheap Trick) with Ken Mills; and Rock and/or Roll, a part of the Pantheon Podcast Network.
Brian Kramp dug deep for the details. After reading his book, my black-and-white memories are now in color. Great work Brian! - Bun E. Carlos Brian Kramp's amazing, forensic investigation into the band's prehistory and early days does for Cheap Trick what Mark Lewisohn did for The Beatles: unravel myths, pin down elusive details, reveal surprising facts, identify relevant characters, and put it all in historical context. I thought I knew the story, but I learned a lot. - Ira Robbins Brian has meticulously researched the band's history and reveals fascinating things that even the most ardent Trick fan couldn't know without this colorful and fact-filled chronicle. It's a definitive history of a unique and brilliant group - the most talented, clever, and entertaining band I experienced in my thirty years as an A&R man and producer. - Tom Werman Kramp skilfully constructs a gripping linear narrative that reads like a documentary, unearthing a wealth of local, national and international press quotes, review fragments, rare photos, set lists (from bar band days through the first three album/tour cycles), and weird fan mail, shading a vivid backdrop of postwar American history and culture ... Kramp's infectious love of the band is balanced with myth-busting objectivity. - Record Collector Kramp digs into their early days with forensic doggedness ... packed with such detail ... overflows with nuggets. - Classic Rock Brian J. Kramp's extensive tome on the history of America's most farcical and famous bar band provides the ultimate expose for those whose fascination with Cheap Trick verges on cult-like devotion. Kramp leaves no stone unturned in his sleuth-like diligence as it applies to tracking the band's origins around the rapid rise of both their personalities and prominence. - Goldmine So much information is in this book it will blow your mind. One of the best books about a band I've ever read. - Jim Thatcher, Know Good Music podcast Extremely readable oral history ... I couldn't put it down. - Bobby Tanzilo, OnMilwaukee Heavily detailed and expertly researched. - Houston Press The best researched book in rock history. - Michael Shelley, WFMU A very interesting in depth read of the band. - Joe Sundberg, The Grim Reapers/Fuse This book is unbelievable. - Ronnie Barnett, The Muffs The bottom line on This Band Has No Past is that it's an impressively detailed book that will thrill anyone interested in the formation and earliest years of Cheap Trick. - Psychedelic Baby Kramp also covers a lot of the more trivial stuff fans will want to know. What's the true first side of the Cheap Trick LP? What's the origin of that smeary, type-set Cheap Trick logo? Whose parents, exactly, are screwing on the sofa in 'Surrender'? - Psychobabble
