RAY MANZAREK R.I.P.

Keyboardist of The Doors, producer of alternative acts such as X, and platinum class act for staying up to date with burgeoning pop culture Ray Manzarek passed away today at age 74. 'Very sad to learn of his death. All the UCLA film school stories with his hellraiser bud Jim Morrison were still fresh there when I attended, like in what locker they kept weed, and antics at nearby ironically named Pancho's Family Restaurant (which actually more resembled a bar which just happened to serve Mexican food at its one table) on Santa Monica Blvd. next to primo '60s student destination Papa Bach Bookstore (geddit?)

At top, Ray with superbassist Mike Watt and playwright Michael McClure at McCabe's Guitar Shop in 1985. Ray and infamous McClure (once arrested every single night that his play "The Beard" ran for obscenity) often collaborated; bottom, Ray with Scott Richardson, your humble photojournalist and also sadly late Ron Asheton (of The Stooges, Destroy All Monsters and Dark Carnival) at Richardson's recording session for Tornado Souvenirs, a cd collection of poetry with music by the aforementioned. The photo by someone who wishes to remain anonymous appeared in Music Connection Magazine over two decades ago.

  Fellow L.A. musician Steve Tetsch correctly summarized, "Ray was very intelligent and recognized unique talent when he saw it. He was also a really humble, nice and positive man whom everybody loved."

Somewhere there's a photo I took of Ray at his keyboard at a Shrine Auditorium Doors gig in 1967. Having over 40 years of archives through which to excavate occasionally has its drawbacks.

WEEGEE's BEST

Fair use of photograph by Arthur Fellig (Weegee.) To me, this is Weegee's best photograph because it taught me to view images differently forever. I hitherto had thought his work exploitational, but this shot makes any viewer a better human. Why? Acknowledging the true horror on the faces of a mother and daughter watching the rest of the family burning to death in a tenement fire FORCES the viewer to be a more empathatic person. I get weepy every time I see it anew...

For more on Weegee, go to LINK for both his own filmed explanations of style and my ruminations on same.

TATRAMANIA! @ Petersen Museum car show + new acquisition

WTF? A small jet-engine-mimicking, air-cooled motor in a mass-produced Czech vehicle with a pronounced dorsal fin? It's a car I always wanted to espy in person and heretofore never had until the 5.5.13 car show at Petersen Automotive Museum, Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California. This Tatra is one of perhaps only seven in the USA. TV's Jay Leno reportedly owns the bigger version with its concomitantly larger dorsal fin.

The world's third oldest car manufacturer after Daimler and Peugot, Tatra succeeded in one of the first ever attempts at streamlining production cars, from about 1936 - 48. After WW2 post-war Communist upheavals, it now only manufactures industrial/ commercial/ military trucks. Below, my better half Mr. Twister points to godhead salient Tatra feature.
 

Below left, Porsches as colorful as the Disney/Pixar movie "Cars;" right, yours truly eludes a flock of gullwings (guest photographer Kurt Ingham.)

 

 Mr. Twister, Kirk (former bandmates in Christopher Milk) and I admire our mutual friend Rico's vintage, matte black Corvette, an invitee to the show.
 

While I was preoccupied with the Tatra, my better half was busy photographing a Facel Vega saying "THIS emblem says 'PARIS'."

With all these car shows under his belt (LINK,) my better half then acquired a spankin' new (used) vehicle of his own, a turbo-charged luxury station wagon. These two last photos were taken at dusk without flash with my "purse camera" Panasonic the second that this most happy fella drove aforementioned auto home; bottom pic- dogs inspecting new purchase for human remains or at least some leftover food...

R.I.P. RAY HARRYHAUSEN

R.I.P. stop action maestro, filmmaker Ray Harryhausen. Below, 43 seconds of uncharacteristic cuteness in his oeuvre, an eohippus (hyracotherium) prances to celeste music. Other obituaries recall his horrific monsters, I go straight to the paleolithic horsie...

NOTE: link directly back to http://fastfilm1.blogspot.com if all elements such as photo layouts or videos aren't here.

AHAB/REHAB live at Palladino's 5.3.13

 Ahab/Rehab in full flight at Palladino's, Reseda, Calif. May 3, 3013: oldskool repertoire with energized conviction played with facile expertise. They cherry-pick unusual tracks by mutual favorites. You've never heard a cover of Bad Co.'s "Gone, Gone, Gone" sound so fresh yet arena-heavy in a club like Palladino's!

Ahab/Rehab are guitarists Apache (formerly of Little Caesar and the Etta James Band,) and Jim Altman (sporting glasses,) bassist Clackers Kay and drummer ToneDog a.k.a Tony Matteucci. The name derives from addenda to nascent band Ahab and occasionally transmogrifies to 3Hab, a power trio. 'Love em all. 

PHOTO OP:

L-R: ToneDog, Dean Ortega formerly of Neverland and fellow onetime Geffen signee Loren Molinare of Little Caesar and THE DOGS  (the latter shared with Tony and Mary Kay. See LC LINK and Dogs LINK.) Singer Dean jammed a few songs with Ahab/Rehab making it 5Hab.

SIGHTHOUNDS in HAPPY VALLEY

Top: Lord and Lady Erroll in Kenya Highlands residence, 1925 with Scottish Deerhound; bottom, 1930s stylin' in Kenya on the Lake Navaisha shores of the "Djinn Palace" making "white mischief" with a Borzoi, ?, soon to be murdered Lord Erroll and even sooner to be overdosed next wife Mary...

INFLUENTIAL PHOTOGRAPHERS

Photographers whose work I tried to understand from my get go: there's actually very few of them... (fair usage of samples below)

MARIE COSINDAS, below, portrait of author Tom Wolfe, for painterly perfection, commercial photography as fine art photography
 

 

 









Above, DAVID GAHR, (LINK for expanded ruminations)

Above, IRVING PENN covers of 2 of his photography books, fine art sensibility, unerring technical perfection for reproduction

 

Two images above, HIRO (only fair usage ones located on web) for unusual lighting choices and compositions, always

 

Above right and left, RICHARD AVEDON, directional light, easy finesse

 Below, DAVID BAILEY for prolific life work, high key contrast, and British chutzpah.

Above, KURT INGHAM, self-portrait with 4x5 view camera, 1970; below, nature study 43 years later.  Boundless creativity and expert experimentation

Addenda: lest readers deem yours truly mired in the miasma of retro fashion photographers (see juvenilia work LINK,) the most recent influence that changed in my visual style choices came via the movie The Social Network. It just plain looked different, with all possible light visible in low light situations, background, foreground, whatever, and I thought to self, I must have that look for my own work, all the light. The film was the first widely seen mainstream movie shot with RED One digital cinema cameras with low light capabilities of ISO 4,000 from a native base of ISO 800 (previously a high limit for cinema cameras!) From then on I saved for the Nikon D3S, the still photographers' equivalent with its ISO 100,000 (wherein 6400 - 12000 hitherto was considered the equivalent of Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier in The Right Stuff.) It's essentially the cost of a very reliable used car, but I now have all the light. And oh yeah, did I mention how much a cinematic look has informed my work since I first snapped a camera's shutter? 

RARE FOOTAGE unearthed of CHRISTOPHER MILK

This is my beloved, in whom I am well pleased (profane description of my better half Mr. Twister) in his first band Christopher Milk, 1970, about the time I met him, my photo above of the band performing at UCLA. They were signed to two major labels, performed theatrical rock against the grain of the times, and were reputed to have influenced Cheap Trick and The Tubes, for those outside the know.

 

Something personal and hitherto thought non-existent emerged a few minutes ago: the only extant film footage of Christopher Milk, with Mr. Twister himself bursting out of a false-front amplifier at 0:51 and nastily intimidating the audience through 1:09. Hey, you take what you can get! Unearthed by John Mendelsohn, shot by Janis Hendler, circa 1970, originally silent.

As I wasn't there, until otherwise corrected it's believed to have been the Long Beach Arena, rather a large venue. At this juncture their set featured myriad highlights/set pieces with different singers--in the above video, Mr. Twister, John Mendelsohn and Surly Ralph-- like an oldskool R&B Revue. 

If you're drawing a blank regarding this influential American cult band of the late 1960s/early 1970s go to LINK for the best shortcut to my Paraphilia Magazine photofeature on Twister's groups Chainsaw and Christopher Milk, with the most online copy showcasing the latter outside of its website.  

NOTE: link directly back to http://fastfilm1.blogspot.com if all elements such as photo layouts or videos aren't here.

We TURN TO CRIME in LOS ANGELES!

TURN TO CRIME, newest sonic assault from acclaimed Michigan guitarist Derek Stanton (pictured above left on classic Epiphone Wilshire guitar) and Ian Saylor (above right on bass and additional guitars, reverse order below) played the Pehrspace gallery, downtown L.A. Apr. 4th on their tour across the U.S. with Protomartyr and others. They were a blast of fresh air with a sui generis sonic signature, in front of film montages they provided to accompany their set. 

Like fellow noisesmiths NIN, TTC sounds always are rooted in rock music structure, so no matter how music concrete they fashion the overall racket, these recognizably are songs, lead vocals by Derek.

It makes perfect sense that Derek's sonic preferences with their echoplexes, delays and weird beats mixed and derived from an oldskool videotape recording backing the duo onstage would have evolved from his former band Awesome Color. Even in that Detroit-style/noise-power trio he experimented live, seen below utilizing a tiny practice amp as slide for his guitar. It indeed sounded as fun as it looks.

I

Smelly Tongues, 
with two guitarists trading off lead vocals amidst interesting lighting were one of the opening acts.

Bauhinia 2013

The Bauhinia Orchid Tree in our front yard produced its normal abundance of blossoms despite this year's arid winter. Blooming lasts for at least three months. Happy visitor amidst foliage seen below...

READY TO DIE by IGGY and THE STOOGES

I haven't played and replayed a release like I have Ready To Die by Iggy and The Stooges and still obtained enjoyment anew since... well, the Age of The Titans a la Sticky Fingers or Exile on Main Street by The Rolling Stones.

Fond as I am of the title tune with its lyrics' innate simplicity contrasting over the noisily complex, hardest rockin'  Stoogesound, the final two songs, multi-guitar-textured slow ones "Beat That Guy," and "The Departed," the latter a military melancholia evolved from "Ron's Tune" first heard at Ann Arbor's Tribute to Ron Asheton in 2011 (photo of its debut below with an emotional Iggy Pop  and guitarist James Williamson on Weissenborn steel guitar) are the ones looping in my head for infinite hours. There are musical parts that sound like acoustic guitar layered upon steel guitar interspersed with electric. Sublime. 

To quote In the Hands of the Fans filmmaker Edwin Samuelson, "I think James Williamson went to the same crossroads as Robert Johnson. There's just no other way to explain it. I don't know how someone could be away from the guitar and music biz for 30 years and just pick up where he left off. Amazing."

Actually, Ready To Die by Iggy and The Stooges remains a home run for all its players, Iggy Pop, Scott Asheton, James Williamson, Mike Watt, Steve Mackay, Scott Thurston, Petra Haden on violin plus background vocals, Toby Dammit on percussion and all three members of Toronto band Three Metre Day on lap steel, pump organ and violin. 

Forty years after Pop, Asheton, (the late) Asheton and Williamson roared into music history with "Raw Power," 3/4 of the same crew has followed it up spectacularly with modern but signature sound production by Williamson. Fresh, fun, crazed, inspirational, loud or contemplative, they've all defied every categorization imaginable with this work, even that of being my own superannuated age...

Also, check out Ken Shimamoto's excellent ruminations on Ready To Die here: LINK and LINK.

                          Back cover of Ready To Die with band photograph by David Raccuglia

Preview listen: LINK 

BRITISH CAR SHOW, Van Nuys, Calif., 2013

Top photo: Sunbeam Imp; below left, beloved of Sarah Palin-- a Bristol; right, my brother ogles a SoCal surfer-styled woodie sidecar coupled with a Triumph motorbike: room atop only for a boogie board in this instance.

April 14, 2013 proved an appropriately  overcast day to best showcase assorted Britmobiles in this year's Queen's English All British Car Show and Automobile Jumble (organization- LINK) at leafy Woodley Park, Van Nuys Calif, event free to the public. My better half Mr. Twister, my brother Randall and I were there with cameras amongst the throngs thrilling to assorted U.K. rides, racing cars and motorbikes amidst piped in British Invasion rock.  

Below, two Lotuses, (Loti?) the right one similar to that of The Prisoner's KAR 1. (Patrick McGoohan is still missed...)

Above left, beloved of Richard Thompson balladry although his song highlighted the Lightning, a Vincent Black Shadow motorbike; right, me bro and I and I, photo by Kurt Ingham.

Above left, reflective Lotus closeup; right, an iridescent Mini Cooper sure to bring smiles.

Below, my better half Mr. Twister, right, with our automobile insurance agent, an MG enthusiast. 

Left, Triumph Sprite; above- royal British Pembroke Corgi kisses, photo by Kurt Ingham