Philo Cramer is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist for the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

punk band

FEAR Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...

(Slash Records), from 1978 to 1993. He was a member of the band's classic lineup along with

Spit Stix Tim Leitch (a.k.a. Spit Stix, born December 29, 1955) is a Los Angeles-born drummer, producer and songwriter. He gained prominence as drummer for American punk rock band Fear and producer of the first Red Hot Chili Peppers demo tape. Early lif ...

Derf Scratch Frederick Charles Milner III (October 30, 1951– July 28, 2010), better known by his stage name Derf Scratch, was an American musician, best known as a former member of the punk rock band Fear and its original bass guitarist. Career Scratch pla ...

and frontman

Lee Ving Lee James Jude Capallero (born April 10, 1950), also known as Lee Ving, is an American guitarist, singer and actor. Ving is the frontman of the Los Angeles-based hardcore punk band Fear. As an actor, Ving played topless club owner Johnny C. ...

. He rejoined the group in 2018.

Early life

Hailing from

Canoga Park, California Canoga Park is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Before the Mexican–American War, the district was part of a rancho, and after the American victory it was converted into wheat farms and the ...

, he graduated from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

with a bachelor's degree in Physics.

Career

Aside from FEAR, he was also in the art punk band The Cigarettes (Carlysle Records) from 1978-1979. With FEAR, he appeared in

Penelope Spheeris Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945 or 1946; sources differ) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. She has directed both documentary and scripted films. Her best-known works include the trilogy titled ''The Decline of ...

' documentary, ''

The Decline of Western Civilization ''The Decline of Western Civilization'' is a 1981 American documentary filmed through 1979 and 1980. The movie is about the Los Angeles punk rock scene and was directed by Penelope Spheeris. In 1981, the LAPD Chief of Police Daryl Gates wrote a ...

'' and played on their first two albums, '' The Record'' (1982) and ''

More Beer ''More Beer'' is the second studio album by Fear, released in 1985 (see 1985 in music). Frontman Lee Ving spent over a year producing the album. Critical reception ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' wrote that ''More Beer'' "repeated the deb ...

'' (1985). FEAR performed "Beef Bologna", "New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones", and "Let's Have A War" on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' on October 31, 1981,Episode info at IMDB.com
/ref> with Cramer wearing a green dress; he also gave dollar bills to people in the crowd saying "I'll give you a dollar if you be my friend". FEAR was cut short to commercial on "Let's Have A War" because people in the crowd starting yelling "New York Sucks".

Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitaris ...

Ian Mackaye Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye (; born April 16, 1962) is an American musician. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label and the frontman of hardcore punk ...

can be heard screaming the phrase shortly after the song "New York's Alright if You Like Saxophones".

was the only original member of FEAR for many years; Cramer and drummer

left in 1993, but returned in 2018 (according to the FEAR Facebook page). Cramer also appeared in the movie ''

Get Crazy ''Get Crazy'' is a 1983 American musical comedy film directed by Allan Arkush, and stars Malcolm McDowell, Allen Garfield, Daniel Stern, Gail Edwards, and Ed Begley Jr. Plot It is December 31, 1982, and the Saturn Theater is preparing for i ...

'' as a band member. Briefly, in 1985, he formed a band with Agression drummer Mark Aber called King M'butu, also notable for containing Danny Dorman of Wasted Youth and Circle One. Cramer resides in Connecticut and plays in a band called The Fighting Cocks and occasionally plays FEAR cover songs with Connecticut post-punk group Red Temples.

References

American punk rock musicians Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-rock-musician-stub