A NEW KIND OF CRAMPS–UNLEASH THE WILD & UNTAMED PERFORMANCE OF THE CRAMPS
How a fearless tribute band is reviving the sleazy, spooky rock ’n’ roll legacy of The Cramps for a new generation of outsiders.
The Cramps didn’t just play rock ’n’ roll — they mutated it. With a wild and untamed mix of rockabilly, punk, horror movies, and pure sleaze, the band led by the amazing insanity of Lux Interior and Poison Ivy created a sound and style that still feels dangerous decades later. Their influence still runs wild in the veins of underground music, inspiring generations of garage punks, goth weirdos, and psychobilly diehards
Today A New Kind of Cramps — a tribute band that doesn’t just cover the songs, but resurrects the spirit of one of rock’s most twisted and electrifying acts. Rather than simply mimicking the originals, this group channels the raw energy, B-movie attitude, and swampy rockabilly swagger that made The Cramps legends of the underground.
To dig deeper into the twisted rock ’n’ roll world of A New Kind of Cramps, we caught up with the band to talk about their love for the legendary sound created by Lux Interior and Poison Ivy, the challenge of channeling that intense and raw energy, and that the music of The Cramps still matters today.
A New Kind of Cramps resurect the sound and power of the Cramps. The band includes Kris Sinister – vocals, Jess Furneaux on lead guitar, Adam Sandahl Rhythm guitar, Harrison Wonderland on bass and Kate Porter on drums..
Onstage, A New Kind of Cramps delivers a full-throttle sound of fuzzed-out guitars, pounding rhythms, and wild stage presence. It’s the kind of show where the ghosts of trash culture, vintage horror, and primal punk all collide under neon lights and distorted amplifiers.
A New Kind of Cramps isn’t just a tribute. It’s a revival of the filthy, feral spirit that made The Cramps one of the most unforgettable cult bands in music history.
Kris Sinister, the lead vocalist and new coming of Lux Interior of the band talked about the Cramps and how A New Kind of Cramps delivers the energy and intensity of the Cramps with their tribute. “The Cramps were the pioneers of the genre.It all started with a guy named Erick Purkhiser (Lux Interior), and a girl named Kristy Marlana Wallace (Poison Ivy) who decided to move from Sacramento, California, in 1972 to Ohio and finally NYC to start the band which named that mixture of punk and rockabilly, now called psychobilly. (The term psychobilly was originally conceived by Wayne Kemp, writer of the Johnny cash in the song “one piece at a time” in 1976).
“An example of the essence of The Cramps is when they played a concert for the patients at Napa State Mental Hospital in 1978- one could even describe that as a seminal moment in punk history.
The Cramps brought the term psychobilly to life in the truest sense of the word.And then, that frontman half naked in high heels…what’s more punk than that? The authentic raw energy (with soft spank on the butt cheeks) they transmitted every time they performed. We’re going to try our best to get our audiences to feel that same transmission and manic energy- a total Cramps immersive experience- so we hope to see you all there!”
“The Cramps were an unexpected sensation. When they started to play in the US in 1976, it was the golden age of punk, with bands like Ramones, Siouxie and the Banshees, Generation X, Blondie, and few years later with Gun Club, the Fuzztones… I think I was 15 or 16 years old when I first heard their music and it struck like a blast of lightning!I started to be into psychobilly, thanks to the revival of the 2000s and I was ingesting a massive ammount of music daily. I wanted to know, to discover new and old bands, I wanted to be part of it.The Cramps were immediately part of my favorite playlist. I hunted down all of their CD’s to add to my collection.Big Beat from Badsville was the first Cramps album I bought and still today probably my favorite- I say “probably” because the more I was digging into it, the more I was captivated the all the shapes they were able to show year after year, album after album. And Psychedelic jungle and Smell of Female were definitely fighting for top spot as well.”
"How do you impersonate the best performing punk band in the world? I guess by watching all of their music videos, assimilating every single move by their live performances, listening to the music and lyrics until you vomit it, hee hee…But it becomes part of you. Jokes aside, you can never be 100% someone you are not… (I remember Jim Carrey tried in the movie Man on the Moon about Andy Kaufman and he was about to lose his mind…).I imagine Lux would love to see a performer giving it his all trying sing his songs, of course with that particular wicked/fun/psycho gleam in his eyes. Although everyone in the band has played and performed hundreds and hundreds of hours of Cramps music on big and small stages over all over the U.K. and Europe, we’ll still need to get in there and get down and dirty for several days of sweaty rehearsals to make sure we’re giving the most immersive Cramps experience when August rolls around."
"To understand the Cramps you must fall and swirl into the vortex to the center of the bands’ soul, minds, music, and lyrics. Gems like “you ain’t no punk you punk…you wanna talk about the real junk?” or “Don't eat stuff off the sidewalk…You don't need it so don't eat it“ … I could go on all day. Not only a surrealist treasure trove, but perhaps a tongue-in-cheek way of expressing that the punk scene may have sometimes been taking itself too seriously.Lux was taking the piss; almost a cartoon, but with the great stage presence, killer music and words (or the perfect choices of obscure cover tunes) that cut through the thickest fog of the creepiest cemetery."
“One thing we’ve all learned over the years is that folks REALLY miss The Cramps, so if we can give them 90 minutes or 2 hours of being back in that moment- as close as possible to our beloved, fabulous, chaotic, wild and wooly heroes – our mission is complete. We will absolutely strive for that each and every rehearsal and performance.”
For anyone who is a Cramps fan and are looking for a great representation of the infamous Cramps performance, A New Kind of Cramps captures the energy and vibe of the original Cramps and are a band and performance you will want to see again and again. You can catch A New Kind of Cramps on tour this summer. A New Kind of Cramps will be touring in the UK in August.
Concocting Chaos Tour 2026 dates
Fri 21 Aug DERBY The Hairy Dog
Sat 22 Aug GLASGOW Òran Mór
Sun 23 Aug NEWCASTLE The Cluny
Sat 29 Aug NORWICH The Waterfront Norwich
Sun 30 Aug LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
Mon 31 Aug BRISTOL The Fleece
Full details and ticket links can be found at https://mutantmovement.com/new-kind-of-cramps
New Kind Of Cramps
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Kris Sinister
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/mistersinisterkris
Instagram – @mrsinisterkris
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@KrisSinister
Galloping Dick
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Mutant Movement –
Website – https://mutantmovement.com/