Steve Kramer Death and Obituary-Some people enter a room quietly. Steve Kramer wasn’t one of those people. He walked in swinging an accordion, cracking jokes, turning strangers into fans before they’d even heard a note. When news broke in January 2013 that Steve Kramer had died in his sleep at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, the Twin Cities music world went absolutely quiet. That silence hit hard — because Steve Kramer’s whole life had been noise, color, and movement.
This is the full story of Steve Kramer’s death, his obituary, and the remarkable life he packed into 59 years.
Who Was Steve Kramer? Understanding the Man Behind the Music
Born in Chicago, Raised in Minneapolis
Steve Kramer was born in Chicago but grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he’d eventually make his name. He graduated from West High School in the Twin Cities — the same place where friendships formed that would follow him all his life. Jim Clifford, who’d later become a founding member of the Wallets, had known Steve since sixth grade.
Minneapolis shaped him. The city’s independent, slightly rebellious music and arts scene gave someone like Steve Kramer exactly the kind of room he needed to grow into himself — creative, unfiltered, and completely original.
The Personality Everyone Remembers
You don’t hear many obituaries where people say the deceased made the bank teller laugh. Steve Kramer was that guy. His sister Jennifer told reporters he was warm to absolutely everyone — gas station attendants, strangers at a bar, whoever crossed his path. He had what his old bandmate Jim Clifford called an electric aura. You couldn’t bottle it. You couldn’t explain it. You just felt it when he was in the room.
People remembered him. Not in a celebrity way. In a human way.
How Steve Kramer Got His Start in Music
New York City and the No Wave Underground
After Minneapolis, Kramer did what a lot of ambitious young musicians did in the early 1980s — he moved to New York City. Not to play it safe. Not to do what everyone else was doing. He walked straight into one of the most challenging and confrontational music scenes in American history: the No Wave movement.
No Wave was exactly what it sounds like — a deliberate rejection of mainstream music norms. It was abrasive, experimental, and proudly uncommercial. It wasn’t music you put on at a dinner party. It was music designed to make you uncomfortable in the best possible way.
James Chance and the Contortions — A Radical Beginning
Kramer played keyboards with James Chance and the Contortions, one of the defining acts of that No Wave era. The Contortions blended free jazz, funk, and pure punk aggression into something that sounded like nothing before or after them. For a young musician from Minneapolis, playing in that group wasn’t just a gig — it was a masterclass in how far you could push sound before it broke.
He brought that philosophy home with him when he returned to Minnesota.
The Wallets: Minneapolis’ Most Gloriously Strange Band
How the Wallets Came Together
When Steve Kramer came back to Minneapolis, he didn’t waste time. He formed the Wallets with Jim Clifford, Max Ray, Rod Gordon, and Erik Anderson — a group managed by Bob Hest, a man who’d become one of the most important figures in Kramer’s life for the next three decades. From the beginning, the Wallets weren’t trying to sound like anyone else. They couldn’t have even if they’d wanted to.
The Sound That Made Them Impossible to Ignore
The Wallets played polka. They played new wave. They played synth rock and jazz and rhythm and blues. They threw it all together and somehow it worked — brilliantly, hilariously, and with a musical tightness that kept it from ever being a gimmick. The Minneapolis Star Tribune would later describe their style as a blend of polka, rock, R&B, jazz, and whimsy. That word whimsy mattered. The Wallets were always in on the joke, but they could play.
Steve was the center of it. He sang, wrote, and played accordion — an instrument that in the wrong hands can sound like a novelty act. In Steve Kramer’s hands, it was genuinely cool.
“Totally Nude” — The Song That Defined an Era
You want to understand why people still care about Steve Kramer ten-plus years after his death? Listen to “Totally Nude.” It’s catchy in a way that sneaks up on you. It got the Wallets a mention in Newsweek. It became one of those songs that fans held onto the way you hold onto something that reminds you a specific time in your life felt alive.
A second-grade girl in 1988 loved the Wallets so much she brought their demo tape to show-and-tell — and played “Totally Nude” for the class, not knowing that her teacher was Wallets member Jim Clifford. That’s the kind of reach their music had. Casual and profound at the same time.
Twin/Tone Records and the Albums That Built a Legacy
The Wallets released three full-length albums on Twin/Tone Records, the legendary Minneapolis independent label that also helped launch The Replacements and Hüsker Dü. Their debut, Take It, came out in 1986, produced by the great Allen Toussaint. Spin described it as urban soul and funk with a Cajun undertone. Their final studio album, Body Talk, came out in 1988 just before the band dissolved.
The Night David Byrne Sat In With Them
Here’s a detail that most obituaries glossed over: David Byrne — yes, that David Byrne, of Talking Heads — sat in with the Wallets during a performance at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis. That doesn’t happen unless the musicians on stage are doing something genuinely interesting. It was a testament to how the Wallets were regarded, not just locally but among people who knew good music when they heard it.
Why the Wallets Called It Quits in 1989
By 1988, Kramer had made the decision to dissolve the group. They’d been touring relentlessly — riding around in a converted ambulance, which tells you everything you need to know about their touring budget and their sense of humor. Tensions inside the band had grown. Steve waited until Body Talk was released before making the split official, and the Wallets played their final show at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis on January 23, 1989.
It was a clean ending. Not messy, not bitter in public. Just done.
Life After the Wallets — From Rock Star to Ad Genius
The Birth of Hest & Kramer
After the Wallets, Steve and Bob Hest — the band’s old manager — went into business together. They founded an advertising agency and made it work, which is harder than it sounds in the jingle world. Their company, eventually known as Hest & Kramer, Van House Weber, built a roster of clients that included Target, J.C. Penney, McDonald’s, Harley-Davidson, MTV, Budweiser, Samsung, and Buick. That’s not a small-time client list.
Jingles That You’ve Probably Heard Without Knowing It
Writing commercial music requires a completely different mindset than writing band music. You’ve got thirty seconds. You need to create a feeling, establish a brand, and stick in someone’s head — all without them consciously noticing what you’ve done. Steve Kramer was exceptionally good at this. The discipline of writing short, focused musical pieces made him, in Bob Hest’s words, a better songwriter in the long run.
“Erik the Bikeman!” and Other Local Legends
If you grew up in the Twin Cities, you know the voice. Steve Kramer is the one screaming “Erik the Bikeman!” in the local radio and TV ads for Erik’s Bikes. It became iconic in the Minneapolis market — the kind of jingle that lodges itself in your brain for decades. That voice, that performance, that commitment to even a fifteen-second spot — that was pure Kramer.
Steve Kramer’s Return to the Stage
Collaborating with Kevin Kling on “Of Mirth and Mischief”
In 2011, after years mostly offstage, Steve Kramer came back. He teamed up with Twin Cities playwright and storyteller Kevin Kling for a holiday stage show called “Of Mirth and Mischief.” It was a success — the right kind of creative reunion, with performers like Haley Bonar and James Diers rounding out the cast. Kramer’s musical instincts translated perfectly to a theatrical setting.
He and Kevin Kling hit it off in a way that creative partners sometimes do, where it feels almost accidental and inevitable at the same time. They’d meet every Monday to work. They’d make each other laugh. It was genuinely joyful.
Stepping In for A Prairie Home Companion
When longtime A Prairie Home Companion sound effects man Tom Keith passed away in November 2011, Garrison Keillor’s show needed someone to step up in the Twin Cities. Kramer did, performing sound effects work at the Fitzgerald Theater during the show’s fall 2012 run in Saint Paul. It was a behind-the-scenes role, but it spoke to his range — not everyone can make a radio audience hear a door slam convincingly.
The Musical That Never Got Finished
Steve and Kevin Kling were deep into work on a new show called “The Best Summer Ever,” intended for the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis. It was meant to be ambitious — R&B, Broadway, hip-hop woven together. Kevin Kling later said Kramer was the perfect composer for it. They were still meeting every week when Steve died.
That unfinished musical is the most quietly heartbreaking part of this story.
The Man Beyond the Microphone
33 Years Sober — A Quiet, Powerful Story
Most coverage of Steve Kramer’s death mentions his sobriety in passing — one line, maybe two. But 33 years sober is not a footnote. That’s a life choice made and renewed every single day for more than three decades. It shaped who he became after the Wallets. It’s part of why he was so health-conscious, so intentional, so present with the people around him.
Bob Hest mentioned it specifically in his statement after Steve’s death. It wasn’t accidental.
Surviving a Three-Story Fall in New York
At some point during his years in New York — the details aren’t widely documented — Steve Kramer survived a fall from three stories. He lived through it. Hest referenced it when speaking to the impossibility of losing him at 59, the kind of disbelief that comes when someone who survived something that dramatic dies quietly in a hotel room.
Bikram Yoga, Health, and a Life Lived Intentionally
In his final years, Steve Kramer had committed to Bikram yoga — the hot yoga practice that’s physically demanding and mentally rigorous. He wasn’t just going through the motions of a healthy lifestyle. People close to him described him as genuinely well, energetic, and excited about the creative projects ahead of him.
He was, by every account, healthy. That’s what made January 19, 2013 so impossible to process.
Steve Kramer Death — What Happened at Sundance 2013
The Night of January 19, 2013
Steve Kramer traveled to Park City, Utah, to attend the Sundance Film Festival — an event he was attending with his sister Jennifer, in whose home he was staying. Sundance 2013 was already underway, the festival buzz in full swing, when Steve went to sleep on Saturday night, January 19th.
He didn’t wake up.
Found in His Hotel Room: The Circumstances
Kramer was found dead in his hotel room. His business partner Bob Hest was the one who confirmed the news publicly. No signs of struggle. No indication of illness. He had simply gone to sleep — reportedly in good health, reportedly happy, reportedly looking forward to everything coming next.
Cause of Death and the Pending Autopsy
At the time of initial reporting, an autopsy was listed as pending. The cause of Steve Kramer’s death was not publicly confirmed in the immediate aftermath. What the coverage made clear was that nothing obvious pointed to a specific cause — no known illness, no alarming symptoms, no warning signs that the people around him had noticed.
He was 59 years old, sober for 33 years, doing yoga, and working on a musical he was excited about. And then he was gone.
How the Minneapolis Music Community Reacted
Bob Hest’s Statement — A Partner’s Grief
Bob Hest had been Steve Kramer’s business partner, his collaborator, his friend for decades. His written statement after Steve’s death was one of those rare public documents that manages to be both professional and genuinely human at the same time. He talked about Steve’s health consciousness, his yoga practice, his excitement about the Kevin Kling project. He said, simply: “I don’t know what I’ll do without him personally and professionally.”
That’s not a press release. That’s someone telling the truth.
Kevin Kling’s Words
Kevin Kling, the playwright who’d been working with Steve just weeks before his death, said Kramer was the spirit of the project they’d been building together. He talked about their Monday meetings, the laughing, the creative connection that felt rare. He wasn’t sure what would happen with “The Best Summer Ever.” He said simply that he was missing him.
Fans, Band Members, and the Outpouring Online
The Star Tribune’s guestbook for Steve’s obituary filled with entries that did something unusual — they weren’t generic condolences. They were specific. People remembered specific songs, specific performances, specific moments when Steve Kramer had made them feel something. The second-grade show-and-tell story. The 7th Street Entry shows. The advertising jingles. The guy who made every room warmer just by being in it.
Jim Clifford, his bandmate and childhood friend since sixth grade, put it about as perfectly as language allows: you could put a hat on that electric aura, but you couldn’t bottle it.
Steve Kramer’s Survivors and Family
Steve Kramer is survived by his longtime partner of 30 years, Cathy Young — the two had finally been planning to make their relationship official with a marriage, according to his sister Phyllis Dozier. He’s also survived by his stepdaughter Bobbie Young; his sisters Jennifer Kramer, Phyllis Dozier, and Jean Kramer-Johnson; his mother Margaret Shryer and stepfather Davis Shryer; and nephews Jonathan and Cutler Dozier.
It’s worth pausing on the detail about the marriage. Thirty years together. Plans being made. A future being mapped out. And then January 19, 2013.
The Memorial Service That Celebrated His Life
A public memorial service was held for Steve Kramer at 6 p.m. on Sunday, January 27, 2013, at Lake Harriet United Methodist Church, located at 4901 Chowen Avenue South in Minneapolis. The Twin Cities came out. Musicians, colleagues, fans, friends, strangers who’d never met him but felt like they knew him through his music. It was the kind of send-off that only someone who’d genuinely touched a community could receive.
Steve Kramer’s Legacy — What He Left Behind
His Influence on Minneapolis Music
Steve Kramer didn’t just make music in Minneapolis. He helped define what Minneapolis music could sound like — playful and serious, polished and weird, commercially smart and artistically uncompromising. The Wallets proved you could be genuinely strange and genuinely beloved at the same time. That’s not easy. Most bands have to pick one.
The Wallets’ Enduring Cult Following
The Wallets never became a national household name. They didn’t need to. Their Twin Cities following was intensely loyal — the kind of loyalty that doesn’t fade with time, that gets passed from older siblings to younger ones, that makes people still play “Totally Nude” at parties in 2025 with the same energy they brought to it in 1987. That’s the real measure of a band. Not chart positions. Sticking power.
Why His Story Still Matters Today
Steve Kramer lived a life that didn’t fit neatly into any one category. He was a No Wave punk, an accordion-playing bandleader, a jingle writer, a sound effects artist, a yoga practitioner, a sober man, a creative collaborator, a loyal partner, a funny stranger who made bank tellers laugh. He died with unfinished work on his desk and plans for the future in his head.
There’s something in that. Something about how a full life doesn’t necessarily end at a natural stopping point — it just ends. And what you leave behind says more about you than the circumstances of the leaving.
Steve Kramer left behind a lot.
Frequently Asked Questions About Steve Kramer’s Death and Obituary
How did Steve Kramer die? Steve Kramer died in his sleep on January 19, 2013, while attending the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. He was found in his hotel room. An autopsy was ordered, but his exact cause of death was not publicly confirmed in the initial reporting. He was 59 years old and was described by those around him as being in good health at the time.
Who was Steve Kramer? Steve Kramer was a Minneapolis musician, songwriter, accordionist, and advertising executive. He’s best known as the frontman and founder of the Twin Cities band the Wallets, which was active throughout the 1980s. After the Wallets disbanded, he co-founded the advertising agency Hest & Kramer, writing commercial music for major brands including Target, MTV, and Harley-Davidson.
What band was Steve Kramer in? Steve Kramer founded and fronted the Wallets, a Minneapolis band active from the early 1980s to 1989. The group blended new wave, polka, synth rock, jazz, and R&B into a distinctly original sound. Their most well-known song is “Totally Nude,” which gained national attention and earned a mention in Newsweek.
How old was Steve Kramer when he died? Steve Kramer was 59 years old when he died on January 19, 2013.
Did Steve Kramer have a family? Yes. Steve is survived by his longtime partner Cathy Young, stepdaughter Bobbie Young, sisters Jennifer Kramer, Phyllis Dozier, and Jean Kramer-Johnson, his mother Margaret Shryer, stepfather Davis Shryer, and nephews Jonathan and Cutler Dozier. He and Cathy Young had been together for 30 years and were reportedly planning to marry at the time of his death.
What happened to the musical Steve Kramer was working on when he died? At the time of his death, Steve Kramer was co-writing a musical called “The Best Summer Ever” with playwright Kevin Kling, intended for the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis. The project was unfinished when Kramer died. Kevin Kling expressed uncertainty about what would happen to the show, describing Kramer as the spirit of the entire project.
Where was Steve Kramer’s memorial service held? A public memorial service for Steve Kramer was held on Sunday, January 27, 2013, at Lake Harriet United Methodist Church at 4901 Chowen Avenue South in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
What was Steve Kramer doing at Sundance when he died? Steve Kramer was attending the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, as a guest. He was staying with his sister Jennifer Kramer when he died in his sleep on the night of January 19, 2013. He had been traveling and had no known health issues at the time of his death.