1967

Full service autobiographical shot of your humble photojournalist in April, 1967. I appear in a post-Mod black and white striped formal frock (actually a ballgown purchased at Le Droguestore that I chopped off to minidress length,) ever-present camera (cheapo Instamatic, wellspring of my live Buffalo Springfield and Doors pics,) eyes wide shut, and in front of posters of teenage lust and angst that I had painted for this tented outdoor party.

Also seen are longtime schoolchum Blaire Simpson chatting with yours truly, and sporting the Vidal Sassoon haircut, my Beatlemaniac/Stones fan, fellow music enthusiast Sally McMahon uncharacteristically turning away from the live band.

I resurrected this shot while looking for an entirely different one. It serves to remind me of select, rare bright spots in that difficult period of my life, my entire childhood and adolescence. I am NOT one who nostalgically covets the past. And there's too much to do right here, right now.

STOOGEWEAR! Pt. Deux

Get all this hot fashion right here! LINK!
Your Stoogewear wardrobe soon will feature this fabulous Rock Action logo (designed by talented Kim Baise, fulltime artist as well as fulltime mom) T-shirt in appealing and cool colors, plus assorted accessories.

The surly Stoogechild featured in the Youthwear Division photos is Ruby Matheu, daughter of the Iggy and The Stooges' staff photographer, pictured outside of sullen model mode in the third photo from the top with promoter/marketer Leanna Asheton (actual daughter of the band's drummer Rock Action) who graciously performed stylist duties for the session. Leanna's brother Aaron Wallis also modeled. Ruby's own illustrations of this clothing line adorn the seamless backdrop behind the two, and it's my own skull ring in this last photo.

Fashion: 1960s cool- BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD and 1970s "SUNSET STRIP"

My above photos of Buffalo Springfield (one third of the trifecta of the best 1960s players live along with Moby Grape and The Jeff Beck Group. Few others could duplicate their complex recorded sounds effortlessly) in action were shot in 1967 at the Shrine Auditorium (which later helmed the Academy Awards/ Oscars Ceremony.)

Bolstering my contention that the best place to spot rockstars (accompanied by their tailors/clothing designers) in the mid to late 1960s in Los Angeles was Home Silk Shop, domain of exotic fabrics, it's representative of what cool rockers wore to be cool: custom threads. Richie Furey's (far left) Nehru-collared, paisley-patterned frock coat appears to have been made from a contemporary cotton Indian bedspread; in those pre-diversity days some domestic artifacts but little clothing made its way to our shores from India.

Stephen Stills' leather jacket was an unusual choice at the time, as was Neil Young's Native American suedewear with long beaded fringe, perhaps purchased at a reservation store in his Canadian homeland.

The costuming ideas may have originated via the burgeoning young rock stylists of the era such as Genie the Tailor, a popular young woman who died young in a auto crash with members of the band Fairport Convention (which at least spared future stars Richard Thompson and Sandy Denny.) She is fictionalized into the character "Tammy" in the film in the trailer below, a fascinating, unheralded movie depicting our regional Hollywood music scene of the early 1970s.

"Sunset Strip" should be viewed as a character study companion piece to "Almost Famous" with far more accurate verisimilitude. "Famous" is a wondrous pastiche, lotsa entertaining bang for your buck. But "Sunset Strip" represents the real shit. I know. I was there. And here's why you should take my anonymous online word for it.

When I first saw this movie I was astonished that I didn't recognize the name of its writer, for I recognized every one of the personnel depicted, literally as well as figuratively. The writer obviously was exactly the same age I was, worked in the exact aspects of the entertainment industry that I did, at the exact same time in the early 70's at the exact same spots in Hollywood and knew the exact same people I did (or knew of.) Anna Friel portrayed Genie the Tailor. The geeky manager was seemingly an early Geffen-esque clone. The dissolute songwriter was a Warren Zevon-alike, while Jared Leto became, dare I say, a completely interchangeable popstar type of the era. My own future better half, rockstar of that era himself, lived in the exact same Laurel Canyon mountaintop aerie depicted in the film (replete with benevolent landlord), while I worked as a music photographer amongst the scene of the main protagonist's doppelganger. And I did know who he was. He was one of the names you'll recognize on photo credits of the era, who now owns a major restaurant here. But he didn't want his name on the writing credits, so I'll respect that.

"Sunset Strip" remains a highly entertaining ensemble depiction of souls on the perimeter or the earliest stages of ascent of the music scene in Los Angeles in the early 1970's. It's all true. And we did go out there every night. . .

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

Fashion: GLAM ERA SURF REVIVAL

photo (C) 1973 Heather Harris

Dick Dale and the Del-tones, The Surfaris, Jan & Dean and GLITTER? Yes, I took this photograph in 1973 at the First Surf Revival at the Hollywood Palladium featuring the above artists during the original era of Glam in Hollywood. I remained impressed with the juxtaposition of the correctly trendy couple versus the genuine surfing accoutrements (my pics of Dick Dale leaping a piano at that very show here LINK.)

The trendy young lady sports a smart suit, Art Deco accessories and the latest perm as popularized by the nascent Bette Midler and assorted Rocky Horror Show (pre-film) characters, and quite the sea change from long hippie tresses and dresses. The young gentleman proffers the proverbial perfect haircut of the times, then known as a shag (see Rod Stewart and Faces, #9 at LINK.) The contingent at the surfboard table evinces looks more popular with those immune to what's now termed Glam but then was Glitter (which is to say the rest of the world save nano-portions of L.A., NYC, London and Paris) during the early to mid 1970s. Notable here is the fluidity with which all musical, fashion and lifestyle mindsets intermingled in 1973, unlike, say, today.

STOOGEWEAR

A
lucky
attendee of the May 2010 Hammersmith Apollo gigs in London by Iggy and The Stooges brought me back a commemorative t-shirt sporting Stooge staff photographer Robert Matheu's classic 1973 pic allied with brand new graphics by "Obama-Hope" artist Shepard Fairey. On the back it proclaims Hammersmith Sold Out. Thank you Natalie! The one on the right is my original Glam era Wild Thing shirt by the very same designer of the notorious Leopard jacket, one of five made, adorning the 1972 Raw Power LP cover as worn by Iggy Pop (story, provenance and present day whereabouts here and here .) Yes, I can still get into it (barely, abetted with strategic vest) but people remain credulous as hell that it truly is original, since this lively design spawned a cottage industry of retro knock-offs throughout the intervening decades, and I've always cut all tags off my clothing since time immemorial as they challenge my overly sensitive skin (to me, the fairy tale of the princess and the pea had no fantasy element to it whatsoever. With a pea sticking out several mattresses below, this woman had a genuine problem on her hands.)

THE WHO live at the Super Bowl, DICK DALE live 1973 and 1994, FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY and THE MEANING OF LIFE

The interweb's gone viral with excoriations of The Who's appearance at the Super Bowl 2.7.10, hoisting them on their own petard of "'hope I die before I get old." When my niece's friends tweeted that the band reminded them of their grandparents dancing inappropriately at a party, I countered with "...only if your grandparents wrote all the music for that party."

Elsewhere, someone no doubt my age suggested "Give them their victory lap already" in response to a fairly personal blog about same (considering he has been friends with Pete) http://johnmendelssohn.blogspot.com/2010/02/so-sad-about-us.html
Above, here's my classic (unPhotoShopped) (we didn't have those contraptions then) shot of all four original members of The Who in 1970, end of their Tommy tour, in all their extravagant, powerful, savage glory. I didn't feel compelled to go find my more recent shot of Townshend playing live, because he comes off exactly the same in intensity, windmill arms akimbo mid-power chord. Except he's not leaping, has far less head hair and two of his buds are no longer with us. So what are we to do about the most venal enemy of rock and roll, the passage of time?

A: we should be glad when there's something to see and hear. My two aligned shots above are Dick Dale (King of the Surf Guitar) and the Del-tones at the first Surf Revival at the Hollywood Palladium, 1973, an interesting intersection of surf and original era Glam styles at the time. Observant readers will note the presence of Mr. Dale atop the band's piano, with the second photo recording his daring leap from same. My third photo was shot twenty-one years later at the Santa Monica Pier in 1994. Response to a press/photo pass invite to see the sexagenarian play outside at the beach at night? "Misirlou" from "Pulp Fiction" aloud? You betcha! despite little likelihood that that he'd leap tall pianos in a single bound again. I wanted the sound, even if time had abridged the fury. Oh, and by the way, my lost-in-my-files photo of Pete Townshend looks remarkably like the latter day one of Dale, except right-handed.

It seems the loudest protesters are intolerant of change, with the terrified vain and the unscarred young at the forefront. We shouldn't have one demographic banning another, even if it's topsy turvy to whichever generation feels slighted. The Stooges reunion with James Williamson in Brazil last November sounded rock hard, balls-out terrific, even if the band is no longer twenty and prone to physically assaulting itself for the audience's entertainment and delight. They play way better than any of today's twenty-year-olds! (or thirty-year-olds, forty-orfifty-year-olds.)

I myself have no qualms about the process except for the severe physical pain from multiple damage (one copes.) It's the natural order. But it's practically against the law to reveal one's true age in Hollywood so I don't, since I want to continue working. As artists indeed change, improve and stay fresh over their lifespan, one should bestow upon the artist himself or herself the same tolerance of latitude. But that's only in Cloud Cuckoo Land.

Here on Earth, consider my two fashion photos below as a pop quiz in The Meaning of Life, and assessment thereof. What do they have in common, besides the fact that I shot both of them in exchange for free clothing from their respective fashion designers, the first photo actually depicting one, Laure Mire? A: they are both very, very attractive females, albeit at very different stages of life, both having honed their personal styles to look their best as models and beyond in life. When all of us accept that answer, then rockstars won't seem to be embarrassing themselves like dancing grandparents.


all photographs (C) 2010 Heather Harris. All Rights Reserved.