Looking For Johnny (Thunders): Trailer & DVD Pre-Order

 The recently screened doc about Johnny Thunders (Looking For Johnny: The Legend of Johnny Thunders) will be released on DVD on Oct. 7. I've heard mixed reports about it, but if you're so inclined you can pre-order it here. Check out the trailer below.

More on Marty Thau

Just in case you don't know anything about Marty Thau, I wanted to share some info about him here. Since word about his death got out last night, a whole lot has been forthcoming. Former New York Rocker editor, Andy Schwartz, had the following to say about him:

Today, many friends and acquaintances (both on Facebook and in the so-called "real world") are mourning the loss of MARTY THAU, who died 2.13 of renal failure (initially reported as a heart attack) in Petersburg VA at the age of 75. Although we were not close friends or in regular contact, I had known Marty since 1977. My magazine New York Rocker gave a lot of ink to the acts on his Red Star Records, a streetwise, seat-of-the-pants operation that gave entrée into the music business to folks like Roy Trakin and Miriam Linna. In addition to offering sincere condolences to Marty's family and friends, I'd like to add a few thoughts of my own:

-> A Bronx native and NYU alumnus, by the end of the Sixties Marty Thau was an experienced and valued promotion man, first for Cameo-Parkway and then at Neil Bogart's Buddah Records. He then became one of three partners in Inherit Productions, another being Lewis Merenstein who (on behalf of Inherit) produced the seminal Van Morrison albums ASTRAL WEEKS ('68) and MOONDANCE ('70) as well as John Cale's VINTAGE VIOLENCE and LPs by Mama Cass Elliot, Glass Harp, and Biff Rose. (Bob Schwaid was the third partner in Inherit.)

-> In 1972, Thau became head of A&R for Paramount Records. With just one or two successful signings, he would've been well-positioned to land a major-label senior vice-presidency and carve out a lucrative career in what we used to call "corporate rock."

-> Instead, Thau experienced a Damascene conversion upon seeing the New York Dolls at the Mercer Arts Center. He resigned from Paramount, assumed personal management of the Dolls, and never looked back.

-> In the first years of the NYC punk/new wave scene, Marty Thau was one of the very few seasoned record-biz veterans to enthusiastically connect with the sounds emanating from C.B.G.B. and Max's. If we're talking not ex-hippie musicians or rock critics turned a&r men, but old-school hustlers with Brill Building and indie-label roots, only Marty, Seymour Stein, and Richard Gottehrer readily come to mind.

-> Thau played a largely unheralded role in the earliest recordings by Blondie, the Ramones, and Richard Hell & the Voioids. “He is far more important in the scope of New York music of the ‘70s than the majority of the pseuds and avaricious record execs who take credit for various 'discoveries' who actually did their discovering much later than he did.” – Craig Leon, co-producer of Suicide with Marty Thau.

-> The Fleshtones, Suicide, and Real Kids were Red Star's "marquee" acts. None of them got rich, but then again, neither did Marty Thau. I can't remember any of these musicians ever having a bad word to say about the man -- and to me, that speaks volumes about his honesty and integrity.

-> Remarkably, well past age 70 and after having undergone major surgery in 2010, Thau was still in the game. In July 2012, he organized the "Red Star Rocks It!" festival as an outgrowth of what local journalist Tad Dickens called Marty's "big interest in Roanoke's small and under-appreciated but vibrant indie scene."

-> Something I haven't seen mentioned in other Facebook tributes is that Marty Thau left behind an unpublished memoir entitled THE RED STAR CHRONICLES (KEEPING THE ROCK ‘N’ ROLL DREAM ALIVE). I have only a synopsis, from which the above Craig Leon quote is taken -- but *that* is a book I'd like to read in full. Meanwhile, there's a Red Star rising in the heavens tonight. Thank you, "Chairman" Marty Thau.

Also, Roy Trakin, mentioned in Andy's piece above, wrote a nice obit for Billboard. It can be read here.

Documentary Alert: Looking For Johnny - The Legend of Johnny Thunders

I'm not sure when this is going to be released, but it's getting close...Hopefully it will happen at some point this year. Featured in the movie will be Marky Ramone, Sylvain Sylvain, Lenny Kaye, Walter Lure, Frank Infante, Terry Chimes, Alan Vega, Leee Black Childers, Marcia Resnick, Peter Perret, Sami Yaffa, and Alison Gordy, amongst others. Here's a trailer, as well as a music video for "Alone In A Crowd" by the doc's director, Danny Garcia.

Follow the film on it's official Facebook page.

Before & After: Johnny Thunders

Before (1968):

During (mid 70's):

After (1990):

Movie of the Week - The New York Dolls Lookin' Fine On Television

 

Sometime in 2011, I had posted the original version of the amazing Bob Gruen films of the New York Dolls, All Dolled Up, as MVD, the company who had released the DVD, had posted it on their YouTube channel. I was promptly asked to remove it as I guess there was some misunderstanding between Gruen & the film company.

Now, the films have been rereleased as Lookin' Fine On Television, and once again, its available to watch on YouTube. These are amazing. I don't know what extras the DVD release includes, but I would definitely recommend searching out either physical version - the extras on the original release were just as compelling as the main feature.

Collectors take note - rare Velvets & punk memorabilia sales

Two sales of music related ephemera & memorabilia recently came across my radar, and I wanted to share them with you. Maybe if we pool our money we can buy some of this stuff:

VU setlist, circa 1970

The folks at Record Mecca recently announced the acquisition of a serious collection of Velvets' related ephemera from none other than the family of Velvets guitarist, Sterling Morrison. It's an insane batch of everything from show fliers & bills, to receipts from Max's Kansas City, to guitar strings used on the 1993 reunion tour dates. For a complete listing & all the necessary information click over to Record Mecca's Velvet Underground Memorabilia.

Ramones promotional t-shirt, circa 1976

Secondly, the UK-based Dig Gallery has made a plethora of 70's punk related items available courtesy of photographer Eileen Polk. Items include the scarf worn by Jerry Nolan on the back of the Dolls second album, an original Blitz Benefit t-shirt, and a shirt designed by Richard Hell and meant to be sold at Manic Panic. Visit the Dig Gallery for all of this, and more.

NYNS - Old farts preaching poetry

Originally posted at The New York Nobody Sings: Rifts, and a general love/hate vibe, between the New York & London sectors of the early punk scene have existed for years. The influence of the New York Dolls, as well as the first Ramones album, on London can't be underestimated. However, a certain member of the Dolls, along with his merry band of Heartbreakers and a certain groupie that followed them over to London from NYC, was blamed for the introduction of heroin to the London punk scene - specifically to Johnny Rotten's best friend, John "Sid Vicious" Ritchie.

As you'll notice at the start of the clip below, Rotten, calls out the entire early NYC punk scene as "old farts preaching poetry." With references to Max's Kansas City, "Pills" (by Bo Diddley recorded by the Dolls), and "Looking For A Kiss" (a Dolls original) in "New York," an angry Johnny Rotten can be articulate, quite funny, and poetic himself.

Think it is well playing Max's Kansas
You're looking bored
And you're acting flash
With nothing in your gut
You better keep yer mouth shut
You better keep yer mouth shut
In a rut

NYNS - Subway Train

"Ever since I been ridin', right on the subway train. You can hear the whistle blowin'. You might think I'm goin' insane." Everyone knows that New York subways don't have whistles (and the captains don't shout), but what the hell...it gave Johnny Thunders the excuse to squeeze those guitar strings for the best train sound recreation I've ever heard. When he was good, he was very good...

Before and After: Bad Detective

Before - the Coasters:


After - New York Dolls:

In Brief - Items of Interest

- Acute Records release "This Is Still It" by Athens, GA, post punk legends, Method Actors. Visit the Acute blog for more info including a couple of free MP3's, and ordering.
- The Candy Darling documentary will be screening in London on March 18.
- Cheetah Chrome (Dead Boys) and Sylvain Sylvain (New York Dolls) have formed a new band called Batusis. They make their debut at SxSW, and that will be followed by the release of an EP.
- Modculture teases us with very neat Two Tone mugs - too bad they're not available for shipping to the US!
- The Spin magazine complete archive is now available for perusing on Google. Hat tip to Cerysmatic Factory for pointing that out.

Arthur Kane: I, Doll

I, Doll: Life and Death with the New York Dolls by Arthur "Killer" Kane
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3 stars for the curiosity factor alone. Enjoyable enough but it could have used much better editing, and overall thought to the whole presentation.

One overriding thought struck me while reading most of the book - that I've never read a memoir like this where the protagonist(s) seem to lack any responsibility for themselves at all. Kane seems to hold everyone else responsible for the failure of the band. It was a revelation as well as to how much he claimed to hate David Johansen. For hardcore Dolls fans only.

The Blank Generation

Trailer:


Part 1 (Patti Smith, Television):


Part 2 (Ramones, Talking Heads):


Part 3 (Tuff Darts, Wayne County):


Part 4 (Blondie, Harry Toledo):


Part 5 (Marbles, Miamis, Shirts, CBGB’s New Year’s Party):


Part 6 (New York Dolls, Heartbreakers):


Visit the official Blank Generation film website.

Sable Starr update

A lot of folks are showing up here looking for news on Sable Starr. As soon as I see an "official" obit I'll run it. Until then, the closest thing seems to be the following, from Laist.com.

Sable Starr has Left the Scene 1958-2009

According to her friends Phillipe Marcade, Bebe Buell, and Legs McNeil, Sable Starr passed away in her sleep last Friday of cancer. She was 51 years old. Her death has not yet been confirmed by official sources, but those closest to her have been posting tributes to her since yesterday on the internet. Most people learned the sad news in a posting on Legs McNeil's Facebook, which was in response to an email sent to him from Phillippe Marcade. McNeil has given LAist permission to reprint the email, which said, "Hi Legs, Sweet Sable died of cancer, in her sleep, last friday night. I (sic) taledk to her boyfriend Bill this morning....We'll miss her dearly. Phil"

Sable Starr was born Sable Shields in Palos Verdes in 1958 (some sources say 1957). She has been known as a scenester and a socialite, but she is most often referred to as a supergroupie. Hanging out at Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco, she got to know musicians such as T-Rex and Mott The Hoople. It is rumored that she dated Keith Richards, Richard Hell, and Iggy Pop. Probably her most well-known romance was with Johnny Thunders of The New York Dolls. She moved out to New York with Thunders in the 70s, but soon returned to Los Angeles. Their ill-fated love story is told in the Iggy Pop song, "Look Away".

Bebe Buell posted this tribute on Facebook;

She has several brain tumors- small ones. It was too late to do anything once she found out. She was not alone- she had her BF and her daughter. Her attitude was good and she went peacefully. Just went to sleep on Friday night- April 17th- and never woke up.

I will always remember this 15 year old girl running up to me at The Hyatt House in 1973 screaming "you are Godhead!!" I said "what's that?". Her reply was "Supreme Itness".
I'll never forget her. That whole time inspired the first song on my new album "When We Were Godhead"....I wish she was here to hear it.

According to her fan site, Sable Starr has been most recently living in Nevada with her two children. Starr has been quoted as saying, " It was so hard to talk about things. My life has been so normal for the last 20 years....its was fun. Although, when I left the scene, I left it for good."

Sable Starr RIP

Sable Starr - RIP. Thanks to Lindsay & the Hound for the news.

36 Years Ago Today In NYC - Dolls 'Revive' Rock In An Uptown Debut

Step back in time to Feb. 3, 1973 at This Ain't The Summer of Love.

NY Rocker 1976-78

NY Rocker

Nick Cave show pix, Bob Gruen book signing

Our friend Randy has been at it again. This weekend he attended the Nick Cave show, and has the pictures to prove it. See them here.

Meanwhile, while I was up in Woodstock, I was lucky enough to find out that our friend Bob Gruen was doing a booksigning at the Golden Notebook. The occasion was for his smashing new, pink spandex covered book on the New York Dolls. All I can tell you is to buy the book! Chock full of never-before-seen & candid shots of the Dolls at their peak and then some. Fantastic!



p.s. He was kind enough to sign mine, "Do you think you could make it with Frankenstein?"

Bob Gruen - New York Dolls book signing

Bob Gruen will be signing copies of his new book New York Dolls: Photographs by Bob Gruen at the International Center of Photography on Friday, October 3rd, at 6-8 pm.
The ICP is located at 1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street.