Punk Turns 30

While Blondie were paying their dues in small clubs almost every day of the year, and while Pleasant, Randy and I were making Lobotomy in her bedroom and in my apartment...somewhere back in 1978, we spent a lot of time together. The Lobotomy crew made road trips to see Blondie all over California from San Francisco to San Diego, mostly in my little Honda hatchback. In 1978, just a few months before they hit the pop charts with "Heart of Glass," a surprise to everyone, we spent just about the whole month of April seeing Blondie play all over California. Above is a series of shots from an April show in Berkeley, CA, and below are some shots from the trip and hanging out. This crazy action hair shot was on one of the covers of Lobotomy. Clem Burke during soundcheck. Clem and Chris Stein during soundcheck, in a room so dark and with such particular light that only Clem is in focus - the depth of field was that narrow in the darkness that I couldn't get both men standing ...

This sweeping staircase, worthy of interiors for a Cecil B. DeMille movie, was actually the sweeping staircase inside the bungalow behind the Tropicana that Stiv Bators stayed in during one of his many Los Angeles sojourns. In the photo with him is record producer Thom Wilson, whose credits include: DOA, TSOL, and later Offspring, Bouncing Souls and many others...just let it be known that we broke him in! Thom recorded "Disconnected" for Stiv back in 1979. The Tropicana was the site and scene of many a fantastic punk rock photo opportunity - not just for me, but many other photographers from Los Angeles, and for those who came to LA for the photo opportunity. The Tropicana is a romantic memory to many people other than punk rockers and their friends. It is a taste of Old Los Angeles, and of a different time - a time when Los Angeles was the old film noir town of Raymond Chandler and James M. Cain characters like Phillip Marlowe or Mildred Pierce. Now that it is gone, ...

You may have seen this photo in 1978. It was in Lobotomy, The Brainless Magazine, created by Pleasant and Randy Detroit, and worked on by them plus Kid Congo, Brad Dunning, Anna Statman, and me. Randy and Pleasant in San Francisco We created our own opportunities in a time where a determined person actually could do so. These days, you HAVE TO create your own opportunities, as it once again seems like an "us versus them" thing going on in the media vis a vis bands we like getting ink, and writers, photographers, graphic artists and the like getting a break. So, the samizdat raises its head again. Back in the 70s and before, there were 'zines - photocopied, mimeographed, hand-collated & stapled, literally cut and pasted on bedroom floors around the world. Today, we've got computer aided desktop publishing and more importantly, the web. Please please look at the link on the right hand side of this page for "Cool blogs & sites" and actually go ...

Here they are, two of my oldest friends in the world... well, not oldest as in age - we're all about the same age, within a year or two... but Pleasant and birthday boy Kid Congo Powers are two people from my wild and misspent youth with whom I am still in touch on a regular basis, and are still the most dear of friends. Before he was the might Kid Congo Powers, young Brian Tristan of Los Angeles, CA was a most avid music fan. You can spot him in the shot below (I've highlighted him - he's on the right side of the frame) from the Jam's Los Angeles debut at the Whisky A Go Go in October 1977. I have so many fond memories of hanging with Kid and Pleasant. It seems we were always together...from the Easter visit to the Hollywood Cemetery in 1978 when we were chased by cholos with weapons through the park, to my car and across Melrose Ave., to the many parties held at the Famous Lobotomy Apartment... to shows, shows and more shows. When I was living in London in the 80...

Yes, these seemingly quiet men are indeed the Dickies. A quiet and unguarded moment before they started talking up a storm on KROQ. You can see Charlotte Caffey's hair behind Stan Lee, but she's not in any of the other pictures taken at KROQ...she was just there hanging out. Actually, she was probably the one who drove them there. You've seen this portrait of Leonard before, but this is an alternate take. Seated next to Leonard is Joseph Fleury, one-half of the Dickies management. Joseph, together with John Hewlett managed the Dickies, Sparks and Mumps. Mumps and the Dickies did a few shows together, and because both bands put on highly entertaining shows with a camp edge, had a common fan-base. Local favorites and power pop kings, The Quick were also part of the equation. A few members of the Dickies roadied for the Quick, and Quick band leader, Steve Hufsteter even played in the Dickies for a while. If you look closely, you can see that Joseph is reading no...

A Dickies show was sure to include chaos, pandemonium, bad taste, slam dancing, and band members flying, jumping or breaking their leg. Here's Leonard Graves Phillips unleashing some confetti on a happy and crazy crowd. And here's one of the Dickies' biggest fans: That's right, a pre- Go Go's Belinda Carlisle staring lovingly up at the stage. For a brief moment in time, Belinda and Dickies drummer Karlo Kaballero were a couple. And quite a handsome one, too. Even though they weren't yet in a band together, Charlotte Caffey who was then in The Eyes and Belinda were hanging out, as Leonard and Charlotte were known as the "golden couple of punk." Here's Charlotte under the super bright and blinding fluorescent Starwood backstage light. Backstage was never a great place to take pictures, so when you did get a great backstage picture, it was so dear. One doesn't want to pop a flash when hanging in a band's inner sanctum, and more often...

They look almost camera-shy here, but the incredible class clowns of punk rock, The Dickies weren't posing! I was just snapping away like crazy backstage at the now long-gone Starwood before they went onstage. You are probably quite familiar with the magnificent and highly stylized band photos of the Dickies shot by the late Jules Bates. I never much cared for being any kind of ringmaster, so I just captured the Dickies when they were unawares... This is from that same night. I rarely used flash (and now I refuse to), so the overhead fluorescent light was all the illumination I had to work with. Behind Billy Club (in his fabulous polka dot trench coat) is punk rock's favorite roadie/tour manager/crew ace: Kent Smythe, who's leaning against the wall. Carlos Caballero grins for the camera and shows off his Dickies button. Earlier that same day, the late Bob "Chuck Wagon" Davis and Billy Club talk with then-Dickies manager, John Hewlett outside the Starwoo...

The Wildcats were fronted by one Gerard Taylor, (top right of the photos) who was also in a punk band before the Wildcats called The Brothel Creepers. I saw the Wildcats a few times, but don't remember a whole lot about them. In the beginning, there was a big buzz about them as young Gerard's dad was the famous Derek Taylor, who was the PR man for the Beatles, Byrds, Mamas & Papas, and others. Gerard also shares another bit of classic rock pedigree with Pink Floyd, of all bands.... both he and Floyd drummer, Nick Mason attended the same boarding school - Frensham Heights, in Surrey. They're both listed as "famous former pupils." Ah, the British Middle Class! I've asked quite a few pals from back in the day if they remember the Wildcats, Gerard or anything else about them...and unfortunately, no one I've asked can tell me anything I didn't already know. This photo was taken backstage when the Wildcats opened for the Dickies at the Whisk...

Over the past couple of years, since Punk Turns 30 went online, I've received so many comments and compliments about this photo of the beautiful Penelope Houston of the Avengers at KROQ with Rodney Bingenheimer. Here are some more photos from that day Before heading out to the station, Pleasant and I hang with Avengers Jimmy Wilsey and Danny Furious, and Rory Johnston, a friend of ours who had many cool band gigs, the coolest of which was as a road manager for the Sex Pistols. He also worked with Blondie. Jimmy Wilsey, bass player for the Avengers, who went on to play with Chris Isaak as part of the Silvertone band. In this shot, the man closest to Danny Furious the Avengers drummer, over to the right side of the frame, is Billy Bishop, (wearing glasses) an all-around cool guy in the LA Punk Scene. You'll hear more about him soon here, I'm sure. Rodney on the ROQ gave not only Pleasant, me and by extension, Lobotomy many breaks in what turned out to be our ca...