Dannys Says doc funding ends on 11/17

Danny Says, a documentary about Danny Fields which I mentioned back in October, has its funding drive on Kickstarter end on Saturday, Nov. 17. I just wanted to remind you about it, and use this as an excuse to run this cute video of Danny doing a rock & roll tour of NYC for MTV in 1994. Enjoy:

Danny Says on Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/654487791/danny-says-a-documentary-series-on-danny-fields

Andrea, Jackie, Candy, Danny, Jason, Taylor, and Mickey

Live and in color! This is Max's Kansas City video shot by Anton Perich including Andrea Feldman, Jackie Curtis, Candy Darling, Danny Fields, Jason Holiday, Taylor Mead, Mickey Ruskin, and a plethora of others. At 14 minutes & 15 seconds, there isn't any sound until about the 13 minute mark, but it's worth going through for the you-are-there-ness of it. Color photographs from this scene are difficult enough to come by, never mind color film!

This is the edited version of a series of short clips by Perich, and currently being shown at the Steven Kasher Gallery from September 15, 2010-October 9, 2010. See more images from the show here.



Speaking of color, lets give another plug to the other Max's-related exhibition happening now as well at the Loretta Howard Gallery. Click this link or the JPEG below for more info.

Fields added to All Hopped Up event

This just in: Rock 'n roll hero, Danny Fields, has been added to Tony Fletcher's event at Barnes & Noble as originally reported last Wednesday.

Friday November 13
Barnes & Noble, Lincoln Triangle,
1972 Broadway, Manhattan, 7:30pm.
Panel discussion with Arlene Smith (The Chantels), Peter Stampfel (Holy Modal Rounders) and Seymour Stein (Sire Records).

Here are a couple of snaps from last Saturday in Woodstock. Judging by the packed room (maybe 150 attendees?) it was a huge success. Besides the author, all guests made themselves available for autographs & conversation following the main event:


Author Tony Fletcher warms the crowd up.


Tommy Ramone, Elda Gentile, Tony Fletcher, Eric Weissberg and Fred Smith discuss NYC in Woodstock.

More Bande à part plus Bob Gruen speaks

As mentioned this summer, the Bande à part book is out & available now. Just as a reminder, it features photos by featuring photography by Roberta Bayley, Leee Black Childers, Stephanie Chernikowski, Danny Fields, Godlis, Bobby Grossman, Gerard Malanga, Maripol, Billy Name, Anton Perich, and Marcia Resnick

As a part of the festivities, the Clic Gallery in Soho will be hosting an exhibition to highlight the photographers featured in the book from November 10 thru January 3. There is an opening reception on November 14.

November 10, 2009 - January 3, 2010
Opening Reception: Sat., Nov 14, 6-9pm

Clic Bookstore & Gallery
424 Broome Street, New York, NY 10013
Tue-Sun 12 pm - 7 pm
212-219-9308


(J. Rotten courtesy of BobGruen.com)

Also, this Saturday, as part of the Brooklyn Museum's Who Shot Rock & Roll? exhibit, none other than Bob Gruen will be appearing & talking about his life & career in photography. Details as follows:

Saturday, November 7th at 5:30 PM
Tickets are available free at the visitor center in the museum lobby at 5 PM
200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, New York (718) 638-500
(NY Subway # 2 or 3 train to Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum of Art)

Andy Warhol's Index & Nico letter to Danny Fields

An extremely rare & wonderful book published in December 1967, a copy is currently available on eBay. As the description states, it's even rarer to find this with the Velvet Underground flexi, as well as most of the pop-ups intact. Click on the images for a closer look.



"Andy Warhol's Index is a rare 1960's art book featuring many photos of the Velvet Underground and other Warhol Factory associates, and a paper record of the Velvet Underground's unreleased track "Noise." It is rarely found with the disc and all the elements present, as is the case here; all pop ups, fold outs, and other gimmicks are present and in good condition save for a broken (but easily replaceable) rubber band in the pop up cube, and a balloon melted between it's 2 pages (every copy we've seen has these flaws, which occur with the passage of time.) Only one of the 8 "tear out" strips on the second to last page is present, and the Velvet Underground disc is detached, as is commonly found. In VG+ condition, with some light impressions on the foil front cover. A great artifact of Warhol, the Velvets, and the 60's."



Also available from the same seller, is a handwritten letter from Nico to Danny Fields, dated March 1st, 1974.

Here's an extraordinary Velvet Underground rarity--a handwritten letter from former Velvets lead singer Nico to Danny Fields, her longtime friend and A&R man (who signed her to Elektra Records.) Dated March 1, 1974 Nico asks Fields for help in locating two posters she particularly liked and wanted to reprint to advertise concerts she was giving in France. She goes on to say she is "drowning in the melting snow," mentions that her old friends Paul (Morrissey) and Andy (Warhol) are acting "kind of hostile" towards her, "because I do not see myself running around like a doll. I look more like a prehistoric figure with rags hanging around her & worn out boots." She mentions "I was busted last September" and "how it is interesting how one likes to react to violence. Somehow ones ability does not remain so limited."





Lastly, hands up for how many folks knew the Velvets played with Sly & the Family Stone...I don't see any hands. Well, they did.

Bande à part: New York Underground 60’s 70’s 80’s

Originally published overseas a couple of years ago, and touring internationally since as a gallery exhibition, the wonderful photography collection Bande à part will finally see the light of day here in the US in September thanks to Gingko Press.

A comprehensive expose of the New York Underground in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, Bande à parte is a collection of photographs taken by those who were the eyes in the darkness, the insiders among the outsiders of art.

What distinguishes this group is that they are not professionals in the sense that taking pictures wasn’t really a job, it was a compulsion, something they had to do. Billy Name was a major domo at the silver Warhol Factory, Gerard Malanga was a poet and Warhol’s painting assistant, Danny Fields was a mover and shaker in the record business, responsible for the management of such talents as Iggy and The Stooges, The Doors and The Ramones. Even those who were photographers by trade were not the kind who waited for assignments, they were self-taught anthropologists who wanted to document their time, their place. And clearly, these pictures tell their stories better than words ever could.

Features photographs by Lee Childers, Billy Name, Anton Perich, Maripol, Roberta Bayley, Godlis, Bobby Grossman, Danny Fields, Stephanie Chernikowski, Marcia Resnick, and Gerard Malanga.

It can be pre-ordered from Amazon right here.
See more photos here.

208 pages, Paperback, 9'' x 11 ¾'' (230 x 280 mm)
120 color and b/w illustrations, English
ISBN: 978-1-58423-272-8
$ 35.00

Danny Fields Interview

I'm very pleased to announce that my Danny Fields is up & available to read in the brand new June-July issue of Perfect Sound Forever. The table of contents can be accessed here. The interview was done during the summer of 2007, and for various reasons was delayed. Special thanks to Jason Gross for pushing me to finish it. I'm glad I did.

Just in case you have no idea who Danny Fields is, lets just say he was a Warhol/Factory regular, did PR for Elektra Records and was responsible for the label signing the MC5 & the Stooges, edited classic teen rags like Datebook and Sixteen, and was the first manager of the Ramones. If that doesn't pique your interest, I don't know what will.

My other interviews for PSF can be found at:
- Artist & Lounge Lizards leader John Lurie
- Writer/activist Michael Patrick MacDonald
- Dave Ruffy and Segs Jennings of the Ruts and Ruts DC

Fields on Asheton

Click over to the Hound blog to read the legendary Danny Fields comments on the passing of Ron Asheton. As far out a crowd as Danny has always run with, he has always struck me as having an alarming level headed, fair & realistic take on things.

P.S. Hound - thanks for the great sleeve scan.

South By Southwest, Part 1

Last Wednesday thru Sunday, I had the pleasure of attending South By Southwest (or SxSW) for the 5th or 6th time. If you've been, you know about it already. If you haven't been, its definitely worth a visit at least once. Take about 10,000 attendees, and about 1700 bands, stick 'em into the coolest town in Texas (Austin to be exact), give 'em about 4 or 5 days to do their thing & see what happens.

During the day, day parties & barbecues, gigs, and music business panels on everything from the future of the business to 16 Magazine. At night, it's pretty much all shows at every venue they can fit a band into, and even some places that aren't even venues (see photo at top). You're pretty much going from 9 or 10 in the morning until 1 or 2 in the morning for 4 or 5 straight nights. Feels more like 4 weeks once you get home.

Panel highlights for me:
- Lou Reed being interviewed by Hal Wilner
- Seymour Stein being interviewed by David Katznelson
- Danny Fields and the panel on the history & importance of 16 Magazine
- Daryl Hall being interviewed by Ann Powers (don't ask - I went for my wife but actually enjoyed it)

DISCLAIMER: I'm going to be posting some photos from the trip, but please keep in mind that all I have to work with is an iPhone. A few of the pix came out great. Most came out so so, and several are just plain crap, but at least I tried.

Photos from the Daryl Hall panel:





With my friend, Kandia Crazy Horse: