Punk Turns 30

The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame museum complex opens in Cleveland, Ohio. The city is argued to be the birthplace of rock beginning in the rooms of radio station WMMS, where disc jockey Alan Freed coined the term "rock 'n' roll" in the early 1950s. The Sex Pistols were inducted into this year's "class," but true to form, they scoffed the dubious honor and proceedings. They were no-shows. However, punk rock and its sympathetic siblings and influences have been inducted over the last few years.... They are: The Pretenders The Ramones Blondie The Velvet Underground Not a punk, but broke onto the scene during punk rock years, Tom Petty once said something like "call me a punk and I'll cut you." And that is so punk rock, isn't it? I long for the day when someone like Miriam Linna, and her husband, band-mate and label-co-owner, Billy Miller will be recognized for all they do to keep rock n roll true...

Here's a recent photo of Plimsouls guitarist, Eddie Munoz rocking out at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville (my second home!), taken by my lifelong friend, Joanna Spock Dean, herself quite the photographer and punk rock heroine (she was the bass player in Backstage Pass, an all-girl band at the dawn of LA punk rock). Well, tonight, Eddie is playing in the Wednesday night house band at the Vine Street Loung in Hollywood. This all-star house band consists of: Clem Burke (Blondie) Coz Canler (Romantics) Eddie Munoz (Plimsouls, Phantom Chords, Kool Guy) Bruce Witkin ( Bassist to the Stars) Rhett Frazier (Soul Shoutin' Texan) Also, DJ Sue spins her boss groove of everything cool. If you are in LA or Hollywood, you should go -- it's free and a groovy hang for those who need a place to go that isn't gross. The Vine Street Lounge 1708 Vine Street Hollywood, CA 90028 Vine Street Lounge I am excited to see Clem, as the last time I saw him, it was a great big outdoor roc...

Its the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina... that bitch of a storm that wiped away New Orleans's levees and put most of the city under water.... King Louie was one of the people from New Orleans who was affected by this storm. He and his girlfriend, Rebecca, and their dog literally swam out of it...ending up in Memphis, like so many other people. Both Mike Hurtt and Matt from the Royal Pendletons lost everything and had to leave... Mike Hurtt Matt And if Katrina wasn't enough, a month later, Hurricane Rita did some additional damage. This photo of King Louie and Harlan T. Bobo and Jack Oblivian was taken during some rainshowers Memphis was getting from Rita... but nothing stopped them from recording some tunes as Loose Diamonds. Nothing keeps the music spirit down. Don't forget what happened; don't forget that all the aid that was promised hasn't yet been delivered and hurricane season is at its zenith, with "Ernesto" threatening Florida.... don...

On this date in history, 1963, Martin Luther King made his famous "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial. His death, a mere seven and half months later in Memphis, TN was one of a spate of senseless assassinations that spurred the iconic invocation of King as well as two Kennedy brothers and others in pop culture. Don't know if you remember the pop/folk hit "Abraham, Martin & John" from the 60s, but that may have been among the first to invoke multiple "martyrs." Of course, the Byrds had "He Was a Friend of Mine," and decades later, U2 wrapped themselves in the cloak of America by visiting Memphis, Sun Studios and singing about MLK in their anthemic "Pride, In the Name of Love." Memphis hasn't been the same since MLK was gunned down there... even those musicians who appear in the short film that begins the Stax Museum tour swear by that. Back then, even though culture was segregated, music seemed to be int...

This weekend in Los Angeles's uber hip neighborhood of Silverlake, The Cramps, Redd Kross and Dave Alvin play the 26th annual http://www.la.com/events/specialevent/sunsetjunctionstreetfair/31420">Sunset Junction Street Fair. (click for address/time/full line-up, etc) That music fest has been going on for much longer than Silverlake has been hipster heaven, although when I first went to a Sunset Junction function - in about 1983, with one of the "artists" who was on the label I worked for (Island - and it was Malcolm McLaren ), Silverlake seemed plenty hip and forward thinking even back then. Of course, back in 83/84, because Malcolm McLaren was doing an early version of hip hop, I thought that trend/genre was gonna die an early death. I couldn't have been more wrong! If you're in New York City, in the uber hip borough of Brooklyn, in the even hipper neighborhood of Williamsburg, stop on by Passout Record Shop for an afternoon/early evening of all o...

Back in 1979, when Stiv Bators "convinced" a teenaged drummer from Toronto to join him in the last vestige of the Dead Boys, that young man already had some rock n roll credibility under his 18-year-old belt. David Quinton was the drummer in the Mods, and they were one of a few bands that played a legendary Toronto show known as The Last Pogo. It was the last time punk rock was played at that venue. Luckily, it was all captured on film! And now, all these years later, punk rock and its life cycle is so interesting to people outside our world-view, that the filmmaker, Colin Brunton has (like filmmaker Michael Apted ("Seven Up") ) followed up on all the bands that played and is putting it all on film in The Last Pogo Jumps Again CHACHA CHA CHA. Click on the link and read all about it - and follow all of Colin's links as he fills you in on "where they are now." Here's a then and now of young David Quinton in the studio with Stiv and later w...

You've heard that phrase thousands of times, "It's only rock n roll." Its famously followed by the tag, "but I like it." And you do - you know you do! Join me and a whole bunch of other photographers and some bands and DJ's in San Francisco on September 9 to celebrate yet another instance of "It's Only Rock N Roll." This event is a ONE NIGHT STAND people! If you're in the area, it will be your ONLY CHANCE to see this. I owe my inclusion in this fantastic event to one man. Kim Fowley. Say what you will about this man - he will tell you that he is a visionary, hustler, con man and / or genius. And he is all of the above. Fall and Winter 2005 found me working as director of photography, co-producer and co-director on Kim's second and third indie feature films. He presented a couple nights of live musical entertainment, as only he can, at the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles. While we were filming backstage, I met a young man, D...

If you are a fan of Blondie, then you owe it to yourself to visit quite a comprehensive gallery of Blondie photos on the web. Deborah-Harry.com has so much stuff, I just don't know where to begin. Just give it a visit and have a good time. These dedicated fans also run the Blondie Forum where fans can talk amongst themselves and trade info, links, mp3s, videos and all that good stuff that collectors and completists do. I found them on myspace. Like it or not, myspace is quite the place to meet others with common interest. Blondieforum's myspace is www.myspace.com/blondieforum and yours truly is maintaining the following Sybil-like myspace pages for various interests: Theresa K on myspace Dead Punk Rockers Analog Visioneer(general photography) That ought to keep you click happy for awhile.... if you want to BUY some great photos of Blondie and Debbie Harry... all you have to do is visit: www.punkrockgiftshop.com

For those of you who live in the Los Angeles / Southern California area, you've got two chances this weekend to see Peter Case! On Friday night, he's doing a solo thing at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, and Saturday, its a Plimsouls rock n roll show at Safari Sam's in Hollywood. You can click the link to Peter's website above or visit his myspace page or the Plimsouls myspace page. This photo of Peter and Denise Sullivan was taken at the Ponderosa Stomp, the annual New Orleans rock, blues, soul, roots & garage festival - only this year, it was held in Memphis, TN. Here are some nostalgic Plimsouls photos for you, which were included in my presentation at the Don't Knock the Rock Film Festival. Enjoy and enjoy your weekend!

August 16, 1974, a club on the Bowery in NYC called CBGB hosted the very first gigs of two bands we would come to know and love. The headliner, four boys from the borough of Queens who called themselves The Ramones, and supporting them, a band of scruffy New York/New Jersey musicians and a lovely, blonde-haired former Playboy Bunny who called themselves Angel and the Snake. They would later change their name to Blondie. All these photos are from a Ramones/Blondie gig performed 2 1/2 years later in Los Angeles at the renowned Whisky A Go Go, but the players are the same. Happy Birthday New York Punk Rock Scene! Gabba Gabba Hey

Writing about Kid Congo reminded me that there was another guy in the Cramps named Bryan.... Bryan Gregory. He was the original second guitarist in the band - in the words of Ivy Rorshach, Gregory was a true Detroit motherfucker. Bryan Gregory indeed had a strong personality and a lot of style. I love that polka-dotted Flying V and the way he rolled lit cigarettes in his mouth while playing. So, enjoy the photo and soak in the inimitable style of the Cramps.

The lovely and talented, the kind and koo-koo, one of my life-long friends, someone I've known since we were teenagers.... Kid Congo Powers and his Pink Monkey Birds are going on tour this fall! Because Kid's like a brother to me, I will remind you relentlessly when a tour date approaches. Here are the dates. Don't lose them. In fact, just open a new window with your calendar and write these in pen: Thu 9/7/06, Arlington, VA, Iota Cafe Fri 9/8/06, Charlottesville, VA, Gravity Lounge Sat 9/9/06, Baltimore, MD, Talking Head Festival Fri 9/15/06, New Haven, CT, Cafe Nine Sat 9/16/06, Cambridge, MA, Middle East Upstairs Sun 9/17/06, Providence, RI, AS 220 Space Thu 9/21/06, Albany, NY, Valentine's Fri 9/22/06, Buffalo, NY, Mohawk Place Sat 9/23/06, Rochester, NY, The Bug Jar Thu 9/28/06, Dayton, OH, Pearl Fri 9/29/06, Cleveland, OH, Beachland Tavern Sat 9/30/06, Toledo, OH, Vamps Thu 10/5/06, Akron, OH, Lime Spider Fri 10/6/06, Cincinnati, OH, Comet Tavern Sat 10/7/06,...

Every time I scroll through my archive and see this photo of the B Girls with Debbie Harry and Nigel Harrison of Blondie, I remember something different about the night I shot this photo. Suffice it to say that this show was THE show of the night, and probably the week. Besides members of Blondie, Rodney Bingenheimer was there, as was a fresh-faced Jeffrey Lee Pierce. Stiv Bators was doing double duty with the ladies, as Cynthia B-Girl was his girlfriend and earlier in the year, he had squired her around town, helping to set up this very successful B-Girls gig by his presence. Then there was super groupie Sabel Starr who was hanging out - she was friends with Debbie...but she and Stiv posed for photos that ended up in Playboy, of all places. not that I object at all to having a photo in Playboy - it was my first REAL editorial inclusion. Rolling Stone, Creem, Music Life, Circus, Rock Scene, and the trades were niche magazines at the time.... Playboy was the bi...

I remember reading Johnny Ramone's obituary, where he was quoted as saying that the Ramones music was all dorky white guy stuff without a trace of soulful influence. Sure, the Ramones power-chorded their way through punk and pop music... but was Johnny right? Today, Billy Miller of Norton Records dropped by my NY hosts, Pass Out Record Shop to drop off some records for the store - Thee Midnighters, and Billy and I began to talk about the difference in old skool garage and current garage rock. And the difference was horns, and a little bit of soul. We discussed the clear generational rift between music fans who either loved or were indifferent to The Alarm Clocks, who played in Brooklyn a couple weeks ago. It got me to thinking about the presence - or lack thereof - of soul in punk rock. The New York Dolls always referenced a little bit of soul, Motown, Stax or R&B - and especially in his solo career, David Johansen drew from the well of soul music - with ...

Matt Pendleton and Amy "Gore Gore Girl" Surdu at the Ponderosa Stomp Record Fair Now I think we are all record collecting geeks. I worked in a record store when I was 17 - and chances are you did too While I have been in NYC, I have been spending about 80% of my time in a record store, hanging out and listening to records. This guy is Memphis Mike and he operates Pass Out Record Shop in Brooklyn and his 20-something super clerk and psych music guru, Chris Teenager keeps me very happy with the musical selections he plays during the day. For those of you who don't know who Memphis Mike is --- he was in a legendary and mysterious hardcore-punk band called Man With Gun. Their record is hard to find and if you do find it, just buy it! Record collecting has always been a competitive sport, but for me it reached new heights with the motion picture, Diner. One of the characters gave his fiancee a test about his record collection as the final step in the pre-nuptial...