Punk Turns 30

Lee Greenfeld, the man behind Magnetic Field photographed in the Magnetic Field photo booth Magnetic Field, the bar / rock club on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn Heights closed their doors after five years. The last week of March was a non-stop rock n roll extravaganza of local luminaries who graced the stage for a final time to go out in style and to tip their hats and hands to the house that Lee and Will (his partner in the bar) built. Read about it in the Village Voice by clicking this sentence. TK photo from the recording sessions for DANGEROUS GAME (2006) Brooklyn, NY Legendary Girl Group icon, Mary Weiss was one of the many performers hosted by Magnetic Field. She made one of her first "come back" appearances on the Field's stage during the annual Atlantic Antic. AND... Greg Cartwright ( Compulsive Gamblers, Oblivians, Reigning Sound ) not only led the Reigning Sound in backing her, he too has performed at Magnetic Field - doing those rare solo acoustic things that ...

Tom Potter, 2:30 AM over a burger in East Lansing, Michigan... cel phone camera shot. I do wear my heart on my sleeve and people who know me know that I bow to the punk rock greatness of anything musical to come out of Tom Potter's head... The man who brought forth Seger Liberation Army, Bantam Rooster, Detroit City Council, the man who brought fuzz and humor to the Dirtbombs now brings you Chrome Spiders. On Friday night, I saw them for the first time, although I have been playing the life out of the one track they've got on their myspace jukebox - Bobcat in a Briefcase. Coincidentally... that's a pretty apt description of all musical sounds that originate with Tom Potter. Friday's rock n roll + photo show with the Gore Gore Girls and Chrome Spiders at Macs Bar in the big college town (and capital) of Lansing, Michigan had the energy of... well... a bobcat in a briefcase... If you like your music punk, keep an ear and eye out for Chrome Spiders . I would like t...

The installation of Punk Turns 30's traveling photo exhibit, Unguarded Moments: Backstage and Beyond that will hang at Mac's Bar in East Lansing, MI this Friday, March 28 is dedicated to the punk rock girls who carry the Girl Group torch... And also because The Gore Gore Girls are rocking the house, it seemed like a no-brainer to salute the Ladies of Punk Rock. I don't think that will bother the gentlemen of Chrome Spiders too much... they will be there to rock you too! What can you expect? How about seeing the visual transformation of Belinda Carlisle ? How about stylish It Girls like Pleasant and Pat Bag ? Or ground-breaking punk icons like Debbie Harry and Lorna Doom ? And of course there's superstar Chrissie Hynde and Los Angeles's favorite punk queen, Alley Cat Dianne Chai. If you're anywhere near East Lansing, Michigan, you will not want to miss this. There's such a great surprise.... Just some of the Los Angeles punk rock ladies you wil...

AS you know by now, I am taking a selection of images from my punk rock archives on tour as Unguarded Moments: Backstage and Beyond . There's a lot more to the "unguarded moment" than just catching someone off guard or out of the spotlight's glare when they can present to the camera an image with which the audience is comfortable and familiar. I have been privy to so many behind-the-scenes events throughout my life and career that I take it all in stride... but most people never see the machinations, so I present them in exhibit form, hoping to give audiences something a little out of the ordinary. Its not easy being recognized... whether its because you are famous, or because you just don't look like every body else, it is a bit strange to be accosted by strangers who believe they know what you're all about based on some superficial observations. The photograph above, of Billy Idol in LAX, on his way to the plane that will take him back home to London sums...

To me, Easter Sunday and Patti Smith will always remind me of the other. It was Patti Smith who punk'd me... in 1975 with the release of her John Cale -produced album Horses. I embraced the record for its French symbolist poetry references, its homage to rock n roll, beatniks and philosophy... for its iconic photography (by Robert Mapplethorpe )... for it being a record by a woman who wrote her own songs, marched to her own beat and spoke her mind regardless of whether or not her opinion would win friends or enemies. When I started at UCLA, it was in the Spring quarter (rather than the Fall), as I had graduated early from high school and wanted to get that little head start on my college credits. I moved in to the dorms during Spring Break and since there was no one there, blasted my stereo and blasted Horses. Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine... opens the album... Patti's Gloria with her version of Land of a 1000 Dances and Van Morrison/Them 's Gloria...

Pleasant and Kid Congo In 1978, Easter fell on March 26. What was going on? Mumps Kevin Kiely and Paul Rutner Well, in Los Angeles, Mumps were at the tail end of a prolonged stay, where they were recording the single, Muscle Boys b/w Rock N Roll This, Rock N Roll That and That Fatal Charm. Pleasant and I spent probably 99% of our time with the Mumps during the first part of 1978 - in the studio, and traveling around California with them as they played shows around the Southland and in San Francisco. Kevin Kiely and Pleasant The constant companionship made for great copy in our fanzine, Lobotomy... not to mention, they were cover boys of our very first issue! We saw dozens of shows, and I took hundreds and quite possibly thousands of photos Lance Loud and Rob duPrey But what continues to stick with me about that time is how, on the holiday that recognizes a season of birth and of resurrection... Pleasant, Kid Congo and I nearly got ourselves killed by pipe-wielding low-riders in t...

Punk Turns 30 has devoted a whole (growing) gallery to The Cramps! You can buy your favorite Cramps images Right here! Even if you aren't going to make a purchase just yet... visit the Gallery and see some pix of the Cramps that you may not have seen before.... all from the World Famous but now long gone Tropicana Motel. Of course, you can get the Punk Rock Motel picture book full of Cramps pix too.... visit that store HERE. Remember that in the month of March and March only, we are having a Gun Club special - in honor of the release on DVD of the Gun Club documentary by Kurt Voss entitled Ghost on the Highway. Scroll down to the bottom of This Page and see what images are included in this offer - special pricing ends on March 31. Because in March, we are doing a special Ladies Only night of the Unguarded Moments: Backstage and Beyond tour, we are offering special prices on prints of punk rock ladies, like Belinda Carlisle, Chrissie Hynde, Joan Jett, Penelope Houston...

The Elks Lodge Auditorium was at 607 South Parkview in Los Angeles, across from MacArthur Park. On Saturday March 17, there was scheduled an All Ages show with a cover charge of a big $5. The following bands were booked to play: Alley Cats (pictured above) X, Go Gos, Plugz, Zeroes and, according to the flyer, "another group." But as every punk rock aficionado knows, the cops brought that show to a grinding hault. Here's the poster for the gig where the famous/infamous Elks Lodge Riot happened - image courtesty of Flipside Fanzine online. The Go Gos got a chance to play before the melee broke out. Belinda and Karlos from the Dickies seen here at the Masque: And this link is another Punk Turns 30 memoir about the night... complete with links to other memoirs. X is on tour right now... in 2008... tour dates are here I believe that Ann Summa and Ed Colver have the best photographic coverage of this event. This is Ann Summa's Punk Archive. Enjoy your green beer t...

Years before the birth of MTV, artist Joe Rees, together with Jill Hoffman and Jackie Sharp formed the organization Target Video and began taping and editing what would become some of the first conceptually and aesthetically driven music videos. Now, the venerable Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California includes the works of Target Video in the exhibition called CALIFORNIA VIDEO, which runs from March 15 through June 8, 2008. Visit the Getty online for more details. Just when the show at the Getty is set to come down, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) will present a special outdoor screening of Target Video's legendary club show Underground Forces, featuring rare footage of West Coast punk and New Wave bands; their East Coast, Canadian, and European counterparts; and a healthy sampling of the artists, groupies, punk rockers, and weirdos that populated California's underground scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Saturday, June 7, 2008 The Geffen Contemp...

Clem Burke They are one part Blondie, with punk rock Most Valuable Player, drummer Clem Burke and one part Plimsouls with guitarist Eddie Munoz playing bass, forming with Clem a rhythm section with the purest power pop/punk pedigree ever. On the front lines, Paul Kopf and the legendary Flamin' Groovy, Cyril Jordan. "They" would be Magic Christian, who are filling the weekend days and nights at SXSW with their expertly crafted tunes. Eddie Munoz Here's the schedule of the hardest working band from California: Magic Christian Mar 14 2008 3:00P Cheapo Records, In-Store Appearance! Mar 14 2008 5:00P The Ginger Man - The Dogfish Head Brewery Showcase Mar 14 2008 11:00P B.D Riley’s, SXSW Festival, With Muck And The Mires, Downbeat 5 and The Chevelles!! Mar 15 2008 1:00P Dog and Duck Pub - Pop Culture Press! Mar 15 2008 4:00P SpiderHouse Day Party! Mar 16 2008 4:30P Headhunters, John Warner’s Celebration Party! Billy Bragg is another old pal who's making an appea...

Every musician I know is bound for Austin, Texas right about now. The annual SXSW music conference is taking place and while I quit going after 2003... there's no reason you shouldn't attend. If you ARE there, or you live in Austin, let me draw your attention to these fine bands... Frank Secich, 1979 Frank Secich is a member of The Deadbeat Poets, and a lifelong friend of mine. We met when he was playing bass in the Latter Day Dead Boys which morphed into the Stiv Bators Band which resulted in the recording of Stiv's only solo album, the pop gem Disconnected . Frank was also a member of the power pop legends Blue Ash . From the Blue Ashes and the fertile musical playground of Northeastern Ohio come The Deadbeat Poets. The Deadbeat Poets were formed in Youngstown, Ohio in the summer of 2006. The band consists of veteran Ohio musicians with eclectic credentials: Frank Secich (Blue Ash, Club Wow, Stiv Bators Band), Terry Hartman (Backdoor Men, Napoleon In Rags, Terry & ...