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, while also releasing albums by Ween, the Boredoms, John Zorn's Naked City, Damon & Naomi, and many more.