Punk Turns 30

Jack Oblivian's porch, rock n roll guys assembled... that's what I had in my head last night, so I thought I would share it with you today. This group of well respected men about town, in this line-up, are known as Brand New Love Affairs. They're an international supergroup, and last time I checked my site statistics, people from all over the world are Googling this particular photo. So I'm bringing it front and center today. Each of the members of Brand New Love Affairs is a great singer and songwriter in his own right. And that's why it is a rare and momentous occasion when they are actually assembled. While three of these guys are within the Memphis/Oxford environs, one of them is way over in Europe. Is this the face of punk rock today? I think so. You know what I always found interesting about the old punk rockers from LA's Golden Age? Some of the people who have become the most iconic representations of punk rock dressed like regular people. They ...

Kristian Hoffman is the essential other half comprising Mumps' genius. In fact, I think he is the genius half. On the one hand, there's Lance, the handsome, personable and gregarious wild front man. And then there's Kristian, the music master and sophisticated songwriter in league with both Ron Mael and Cole Porter, and yes, I do believe that! Kristian was given to some interesting stage presence, too. Notice the shirts pictured below! And how about the Halloween mask? While you could count on Lance to sing, dance and sweat the heart & soul of a song, you could count on Kristian for the perfect accompaniment and counterpoint, musically and performance-wise. You could definitely take Kristian out from behind the piano and put a guitar in his hand, too. In the Summer of 2001, before the world changed...I was filming Kinks brother #2, the inventor of electric guitar feedback himself, Dave Davies performance. Much to my surprise, as I was loading the camera, I h...