Born in the USA (Bruce Springsteen)

Happy Birthday Bruce Springsteen! 63. Wow.

Here's Bruce in 1985. My cousin was working for the big ticket company at the time, and would get me seats for Bruce, usually in the back. This time, my aunt Hannah asked to go, so Fred gave her 4 tickets up near the stage and my friends Ronnie and Panos came with us. The seats weren't as close as I like (yes, I'm very spoiled- I'm still never happy unless I'm right by the stage) but since I started going to Springsteen concerts after I stopped photographing professionally, this was the closest I got to Bruce. Probably not my best shots that night either - I was more interested in watching than shooting that day.

Not long after the show started, everyone was standing on their chairs. If you didn't, you couldn't see. I was really impressed when Hannah, with a little help, stood on her chair with the rest of us. She was probably around the same age then as Bruce is now. 

I miss going to those Bruce concerts. It's been a while now. I miss Hannah too.

Two Tickets to Paradise (Eddie Money)

So I'm watching the news this morning but not paying attention when the commercials come on. Then, all of a sudden I hear Two Tickets to Paradise so I look up. Eddie Money. Wow. I rewind it to the beginning and find it's one of those nonsensical commercials for GEICO, featuring the "Eddie Money Travel Agency." Two tickets to paradise. Of course. Nice to see he's still around.

Back in the day, Eddie Money was on Columbia Records, which wasn't one of the companies I did work for. But I liked his music and managed to get to see him and photograph him a number of times. (As I like to say, it's good to have friends in the castle- in this case, at the press gate of the Dr. Pepper Music Festival.) Never printed any of the photos, never got asked to submit these pictures to any magazines, but I still went to the shows when I could. 


So here's the first look at a couple of the photos. 

Central Park, July 1980

Playing the sax. Central Park, July 1979

Oh, and here's the GEICO video if you want to see it.

Highway to Hell

I've been going through all my files lately.  I was a bit of a pack rat when it came to rock and roll. If it had my name in it, I kept it. I've got magazines, tear sheets, check stubs and ticket stubs in boxes along with all the slides and negatives and prints. (Should have kept more of the tee shirts though) Trying to get it organized and I've set aside a bit of time each week for that purpose. Don't really want to hand it off to an intern, I like that it triggers lots of memories.

This morning I was scanning AC/DC tear sheets and found this one of Bon Scott. It was published after his death in 1980. I remember how upset I was when it happened, and I was still kind of upset today when I found this. He was a great front man. And so good looking.

I Wanna Thank You

 I've been looking at photos this week (what a surprise!) and out of the files came pictures of some of the behind-the-music people who were an important part of my rock and roll life. The record company publicists I worked with, the security guys at the shows who helped me out. Rock and roll is fun, but these were the people who made it even better. I may not remember all your names (hey, it's been a long, long time), but I certainly do remember you. And I thank you all. 

Don't Stand So Close To Me (The Police-part 2)

People are always asking me why I stopped shooting rock and roll. I had a lot of fun doing it, and I couldn't give you any one reason why I stopped. But there were a lot of little reasons, and one of them was connected to The Police.

Stewart Copeland on drums, Andy Summers in mid-air

As I said last time, I shot The Police at the Hotel Diplomat in New York with very few people in the audience. What I couldn't know at the time was that in just a couple of years they would become one of the biggest bands in the world. So imagine my surprise when I heard their demands just a few years later. Before they would let anyone shoot the show, they had to agree to let the band approve all the photos that would be printed. I usually worked freelance– I'd shoot whatever interested me, and then when the magazines needed a photo, I'd decide what work to submit. Had a lot of photos published that way. So the thought of showing the work to the band (more likely their management) and letting them choose what photos they would ALLOW me to submit... well that seemed just wrong. And it felt like the beginning of big changes. Which indeed it was. Now, of course, along with the 3 songs rule, and giving up your copyright to Lady Gaga, it's not unusual at all. Glad I was shooting then, and not now.

So Lonely (The Police)

I went to see The Police in 1979. It was kind of in the midst of the whole punk/new wave thing, and at that time, The Police were a punk/new wave band. And that was why they were playing at the Hotel Diplomat in Times Square.

Now for those of you who've been to Times Square lately, it was very, very different back then. Not exactly where you'd want to be late at night, or, for that matter, during the day. And The Diplomat was not exactly The Four Seasons. Or even a Days Inn. But it had a ballroom, with a stage in the middle (actually a platform that came up to about your waist) and they put on live shows.

Now in the early eighties The Police became one of the biggest bands in the world. Not when I saw them. Their first album, Outlandos d'Amour had come out in 1978, and when they played The Diplomat, Roxanne was getting some airplay. But that didn't mean people showed up. I think maybe there were about 50 at the show, milling around in that big space. So it was easy to stand by the stage and shoot, and that's what I did. No mosh pit, no photo pit. It was a great place to shoot.  I do wish I had photographed the audience but really, in those days, magazines only wanted shots of the band, not the crowd. And who knew that this band would go on to be that huge?

The Passenger (Iggy Pop)

Iggy Pop had a birthday this week. He turned 65. He is now eligible for Medicare. It boggles the mind.

I donated this photograph of Iggy taken in 1977 (yes, a much younger man) to Housing Works for their Design on a Dime benefit, which starts this week. A really good cause and I'm proud to be a part of it. I want to thank Julie Grahame for getting me involved. And if you are in the area, stop by and shop for a good cause.


From their website:
The VIP Opening Night Reception will take place on Thursday, April 26 at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, New York, NY. The shopping continues with a Free Public Sale, April 27-28. 


All profits from Design on a Dime help Housing Works "Get A Room" for homeless and low-income New Yorkers living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.