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.

Catch the Wind (Donovan)

Don't get me wrong, I love Donovan's music. Catch The Wind has been one of my top five favorite songs forever, maybe even number one. Even today. I have most of his early CDs (still have them as record albums too) and play them frequently via iTunes. But Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee? Really? Inducted by John Mellencamp (who'll always be John Cougar to me) Folk, jazz, that's what I hear when I listen to Donovan's music. So I am a little confused as to why he was inducted, especially when they skipped over Heart this year. Must be the season of the witch.

This photo is from the Schaeffer Music Festival in Central Park, July 1976. I actually got to see him twice that year. (so many pictures, so much scanning left to do...) And yes, I do have a lot of ticket stubs. This ticket might have cost me $3. That was the cost of tickets in Central Park in 1976. Donovan was on Epic, and they weren't really one of my clients, so I might have paid to get in. None of the usual magazines were interested. But for Donovan I would have paid. As I said, he was always a favorite.

Hello Again

We all need a break sometimes- to regroup and take care of all sorts of other things. Even offline things. (The horror!) I love my rock and roll, but it's my past, and sometimes the present takes priority. I'm juggling a number of projects right now, and if you know me, you know my motto is "Not enough hours in the day, not enough days in the week." So when I needed to let something go, this blog was it. I'm not saying I'm back now, but I am starting to think rock again.


So I've got some new photos on Photoshelter, (if you're a Peter Tosh fan- go here) and I'll have more stories here soon. Rock and roll!

Younger Girl

Last week I wrote about John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful, and those first rock photos I got to take. While I followed him down the street a couple of times before that as a teenager, I never had the nerve to talk to him. Too shy I guess (big crush). And yet that didn't stop me from going up to Joe Butler of the Spoonful and spending an hour or so with him (don't get your hopes up, this is not that kind of story. I was very young and it was totally, completely innocent.)


I was working in a photo studio on lower 5th Avenue for a month one high school summer and I always spent my lunch hour walking around the Village. I was in heaven, it was exactly the place I wanted to be. And then one day, on 8th Street I think, there was Joe. I recognized him immediately, of course, it was still the heyday of the Spoonful. And just like that I went over to him and we ended up talking and walking around the Village. (Too bad it was before I kept a camera in my bag.) It was so easy. So comfortable. We just wandered out there in the street until I had to go back to work. I didn't even ask for an autograph. Just a fan spending some time with one of her favorite musicians.


I look back at that perfect rock moment now, and I know that nothing like that could happen now. I was too young and it would be too dangerous (can't be seen, even in public, with an underaged girl!) or too sleazy (gotta live up to that rock and roll lifestyle!) or too public (paparazzi are everywhere!) And that's really too bad.  

Do You Believe in Magic? (John Sebastian)

Last night I was watching Legends of Folk: The Village Scene, a PBS special. The concerts they showed were a little before my time, but I was always into the music. Dylan. Peter Paul and Mary. Joan Baez. And then, all of a sudden, there was John Sebastian and The Lovin' Spoonful. I had been a big Beatles fan when I was young, but it really was the Spoonful who owned my soul. I'm not sure when it was that I got to see them perform at the New York Coliseum (which is now the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle) but it was way before I picked up a camera at a concert. The highlight that day wasn't the show (which I LOVED) but when we left the Coliseum we saw the band get into a white van. And we chased that van down the street. It was such a rock and roll moment. 

So it was really no surprise when I started looking for the first rock photos I ever took and found they were of John Sebastian.

John Sebastian at the Schaefer Music Festival
Central Park, 1973

At the time, I only had a little point and shoot film camera, an Olympus Trip 35 (still living in my closet). The 40mm fixed lens didn't get me anywhere near close enough, even though I was standing at the foot of the stage. But I have to admit, I loved it. Not long after, I bought an SLR and started taking photography classes. And a year later, the second show I shot in black and white (contact sheet file number 10005)  featured John Sebastian. The photos were better, but I don't seem to have printed any of them. 

So a few more classes, and another year's summer concert series, and I get to photograph Sebastian again. This time, I'm able to get backstage (though it was before Aztec Two Step and I'm pretty sure I didn't have a photo pass-- but hey, it was John Sebastian-- and if I could chase him down 59th Street in a van with the Spoonful, I could sneak backstage) and I got this shot of him rehearsing in his trailer.

And at this show, I got a little closer (ok, longer lens.)

My City of Ruins

Hard to believe it has been 10 years. I remember watching the benefit, and watching Bruce Springsteen sing this song. 

Rise up.

My Generation

I've been spending some time running around southwest England lately. Not doing any kind of rock and roll tour, mind you, but interested in rock history if I can find any around me. Which I can't, it seems. English rock history resides mostly in London, Liverpool and Manchester, places I haven't been to on this trip. I asked some locals, but no one seemed to know of anything that occurred in this area. I checked the internet, and found that the band XTC, Gilbert O'Sullivan, and Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues all came from Swindon. So I figured that last week's photo of a Beatles photo was as close to rock and roll that I would get (and yes, it's a stretch, I know.)

And then I found out that just a few miles away from where I'm staying is Ashdown House. A lovely estate and part of the British National Trust. Only a small portion of the house is open for visitors, and only for short periods of time. That's because Ashdown House has a tenant. It was closed when I got there, but I wandered a bit around the grounds. Didn't see Pete Townshend either. Yeah, he's the tenant. Purchased the lease from the National Trust in 2010. My guess is that he's probably not living there yet, as the house is undergoing major renovations. Still, nice house, don't you think?

She Loves You (The Beatles)

I never got to photograph the Beatles. I was way too young, though I did get to see them live once, and screamed my little girl lungs out, too. 

Saw this photo in an antiques store in Lechlade selling for £18. Didn't want to own it, just wanted to photograph the Beatles.

Rapture (Deborah Harry)

Nice article about Deborah Harry in this week's New York Magazine. Blondie's got a new album coming out, Panic of Girls. They're still touring too, but as she says, “the last thing I ever want to be is an oldies act, running through those same songs beat for beat...”  Good for her. Good for them. 

Yes, that's my photo on the second page. You've seen it here before. Live from the stage at the Palladium in 1977. The photo's bigger on nymag.com than it is in the magazine, but that's ok. And yes, they spelled my name right.

How Did I Get Here?

This week I saw that Aztec Two-Step is still around and they are performing at George Eastman House (Rochester NY, too far away). Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman have a special place in my heart because sometimes I think if it wasn't for them, I might not have really gotten into shooting rock and roll.

Aztec Two-Step, Schaefer Music Festival, Central Park, NYC, 1976

At that time, I was taking photography classes, and I wanted to photograph for myself and not just for class assignments. I wasn't really interested in doing street photography, so I'd take my camera to concerts. I'd use the photos to work on my printing in my tiny darkroom, in my tiny bathroom, in my tiny studio apartment. In June of 1976, Aztec Two-Step was opening for Jesse Colin Young in Central Park. A friend of my friend Sara knew the band and said we should definitely go see them, but it was the first summer Saturday of the Schaefer Music Festival and the concert was sold out. Since Sara's friend was living in St. Louis and couldn't really do anything at that point to get us in, he said we should hang out by the press gate and mention his name to Rex and Neal.

Neal Shulman of Aztec Twp-Step

So we're hanging out and of course, we can't get near Neal and Rex. But then Stu comes out with the list (which did not have our names of course). He's the publicist for Aztec Two-Steps' label RCA Records. We start talking, he sees my camera, asks if I have a portfolio (which I was starting to put together) and tells me to call and make an appointment to show it to him. And then he lets us in. Yay! It was a good show!

Rex Fowler of Aztec Two-Step

I finish the portfolio, make the appointment not long after, and Stu gives me my first official photo pass (Jefferson Starship- but that's a whole other story) Not long after that, he gives me my first paid assignment too, the first of many. (The Deadly Nightshade at The Bottom Line) And that's how I got here.

Oddly enough, while I photographed Aztec Two-Step six more times, I never actually got hired to shoot them.

Alphas

Okay, so who is watching Alphas, Mondays at 10 on SYFY? And why do I care? 

A scene from Alphas, episode 3

If you look closely, there on the wall of David Strathairn's office in the show (starting in episode 2), you'll see photographs. These photographs. (and sometimes more than once in an episode)

Lou Reed, Bottom Line, 1978

Set decoration. Interesting. I like this. A first for me, not a magazine or the internet or a fine art print on a gallery wall. You have to be open to all the places where the photos can end up. The difference here is usage rights. Editorial is fine even when there is no release, and fine art is allowed too (just don't put the image on a t-shirt if you don't have a release) TV is something else though, and the legal department had to get involved, but ultimately, it all worked out.


Oh, and if you look really quickly, you can see my name in the credits. But it's really fast, so I'll make it easier for you.

Don't forget to watch.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Pat Benatar 2)

Rory Gallagher and Pat Benatar

I liked working with Pat Benatar. From our first shoot together, backstage with the late, great Rory Gallagher in September 1979, through those backstage photos with John "Cougar" Mellencamp, to a couple of her own concerts in NY, I always found her to be easy to work with. I actually got to photograph her five times in less than a year, and went from seeing her good-looking husband Dennis backstage, to his being gone the next time, to finding that she was with her good-looking guitarist, Neil "Spyder" Giraldo (who she later married and is still with today)

Pat Benatar at The Bottom Line, November 1979

This shot was taken backstage at the Bottom Line after Pat's first performance there. Not only the band is in the photo, but the Chrysalis executives are joined by the owners of The Bottom Line, Pat's manager Rick Newman and more. Everyone just knew how big she was going to be, and they all wanted to have their picture taken with her.

Backstage at The Bottom Line, November 1979

But by the last show I did with her, I found that fame had taken over. I'm not blaming her at all, but I couldn't get near her. She was surrounded by her "people" and there was nothing I could do about it. They were controlling access and keeping her attention. I'm not saying that she and I had ever been friends (I tend to be low-key when I'm shooting- it's not about me, it's about getting the shot) and I doubt she'd even remember me at this point so many years later, but she knew me then, and I know we would have talked if she knew I was there, but she was surrounded. It was an interesting rock and roll moment.

In The Heat Of The Night (Pat Benatar)

Not many shows tempt me these days. Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo onstage after all these years, well that would tempt me. (Though I'm probably not tempted enough) They're playing Monday and Tuesday at B.B. King Blues Club. Yep, tempting. Shot them a lot back in the day. Especially Pat.

Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo at The Bottom Line, November, 1979

I first photographed Pat Benatar a couple of times just before her album In The Heat Of The Night came out, before her first tour. One time, Chrysalis Records sent us to The Bottom Line to see John Cougar (yes, that was his name then) since Pat had released a cover of his song "I Need a Lover" (a really good song, both versions-- and it still holds up) 

Pat Benatar and John Cougar (Mellencamp) at the Bottom Line, September 1979

This was my favorite shot from that night and it ran in CREEM. Now that was a magazine...

On The Road Again

I do try to keep up with this blog, one post a week. I know people who are posting every single day, and I admire them. But much as I love this rock and roll work, the year is 2011, not 1979 (which was a very good year I must say) and I have other work, other photo projects that keep me busy. I have an exhibition of Lucky Cats (another icon that poses with its fist in the air) at No Roses Gallery in Sherman Oaks, CA right now, and that's kept me pretty busy. 


So no stories this week, just some photos I like a lot which don't actually come with stories anyway. I needed an excuse to post them here without writing about them. Not every show came with interesting anecdotes. But they did come with visually and musically interesting performers. Most of them. And the performers I photographed were an eclectic group. Worked for me.

Ray Davies at the Palladium in 1978

Bonnie Raitt at the Dr. Pepper Music Festival in 1977

Richard Hell at the Palladium in 1978 

Bob Seger at Nassau Coliseum in 1978