CHLOE WEBB and TIM CURRY

Chloe Webb (brilliant as the latter in "Sid & Nancy") reading a Patti Smith poem at the Rock and Roll in Literature series at The Met in Hollywood, 7/7/95. This spoken word festival also featured a 7/7/85 Tim Curry ("Rocky Horror Picture Show," below) performance intoning the whimsical John Lennon writty (as the late Beatle termed them) "Deaf Ted, Danoota and Me" with a reading replete with dramatic emphases and pregnant pauses worthy of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Anonymity and Anomie amidst DESTROY ALL MONSTERS/DARK CARNIVAL

Niagara and Ron Asheton in Dark Carnival

#1. My only photograph to adorn the cover of a New York Times Top Ten Non-fiction book, "Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire" by Rafe Esquith was miscredited to a "Heather Harron."
#2. My above photograph was credited to a "Heather Thomas" in the new Destroy All Monsters/Dark Carnival "The Night That Never Ends."

#3. My professional name is in fact a construct, but apparently a highly obfuscatable one for New York publishers and mischievous punk types in Detroit bands. People have seen my photos for decades but no wonder no one knows who I am!

#4. Despite the above, I highly recommend all of you who love driving Detroit hardest rock purchase the Destroy All Monsters/Dark Carnival "The Night That Never Ends" 6-disc box set, of which one is a live performance dvd, definitely an asset insofar as its singer Niagara is credited with "vocals, body." She also possesses quite the dry wit in her moaning, measured delivery as if Nico had had a more extroverted and surreal sense of humor.

Both bands in this definitive compilation feature Niagara and the late guitar icon Ron Asheton of The Stooges on all tracks, with a revolving cast of Detroit notables for the Monsters/Carnivals including Stoogean sibling Scott Asheton, Michael Davis of the MC5 and Greasy Carlisi. Several of the discs record live shows for posterity and your overall delight. Then buy a giclee of one of Niagara's wicked women at LINK. Your inheriting children will thank you for this solid art investment.

Vienna, 3.20.94

In Vienna, Austria, 3.20.94, not-so-innocents abroad Mr. Twister and yours truly. Twister gets the feel of old Vienna while I clear the streets.

MIKE WATT, WAYNE KRAMER, STEPHEN PERKINS ROCK HELLRIDE!

From left: Wayne Kramer, Stephen Perkins, Mike Watt roar with HELLRIDE.

In between his bassist duties touring scores of bands including Iggy and The Stooges, his radio show broadcast and his diarist blogging (LINK,) Mike Watt reignited his jazzpunk Stooge-esque power trio Hellride, this time with the mighty Wayne Kramer (guitars as assault weapons for Detroit's legendary MC5, note star-spangled example here) and Jane's Addiction/Porno For Pyros' drummist Stephen Perkins. All Santa Monica CA rejoiced 2.12.11. Behold:

Mike Watt
works
the bass
and
emotes
the face.

Wattitude!
Photo Op below: a candid of rock&roll couture designer Evita Corby flanked by Wayne Kramer and Mike Watt.

I personally think Wayne's sidelong glance is what makes this photograph. Its appearance on Facebook sparked much ribald banter, but let's give Evita the last word. Her verbatim quote: "I'm a lucky girl to be between two amazing Rock Icons."

True Youtube testimonial (note excited crowd's shrieks of "Fuckin' Wayne Kramer! and fuckin' Mike Watt!"):

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

POST SCRIPT to TENNESSEE DEATH TRIP

Newly acquired addenda visual images to Tennessee Death Trip (LINK) depicting the sunken garden/childrens' wading pool as it was in the early 1960s, compared to its present status (below.) Inhabiting same are your truly (as an actual children) on the right; my much missed, late cousin Lee center; my cousin and talented music photographer in her own right Virginia on the left; my mother in bizarre headgear; and canines Tip the Beagle (whom i first mistook for Ava Gardner, Harris' family Beagle, so named because she had bedroom eyes and would sleep with anybody) and one of my grandfather's successions of Fritz the dachshunds (see LINK for story of both.) Thank you Virginia for sending me these snapshots out from the fog of decades long ago and far away.

CHOSEN STOOGE

James Williamson, Iggy and The Stooges guitarist
photo (C) 2009 Heather Harris

All back to her place! Check out Retrokimmer's exclusive piece on Scott Richardson and the Chosen Few's roots in the creation of The Stooges via guitarist James Williamson's personal recollections. Go here LINK ASAP

WESTMINSTER BEST IN SHOW WINNER (of 2008)

Westminster Kennel Club 2008 Best In Show winner "Uno" the Beagle. Yes, really. Uno stood in his "stack" (primo showing off position) superbly, bayed at the Westminster crowd and wagged his tail ferociously at the judge the night he won. Yeah, he knew he had it in the bag. A mensch of a dog character and a truly gracious champion, he was lending his support to oppose a measure in Los Angeles that requires every single dog in that city to be sterilized, no exceptions, no exemptions. (Yes, there were impossible ever to attain so-called exemptions that required documents that don't exist in real life, plus punitively expensive fees for multiple business licenses mandated to accompany the request were these exemptions to exist.) Uno let every true dog lover there pet and photograph him

The measure, mandatory sterilzation at the egregiously unhealthy age of 16 weeks in puppies, (which guarantees that the slow-maturing, large dogs will die of osteosarcoma by an increased factor of 40% due to hormonal interruption of bone growth; i.e., your large dog will die at age 6 instead of age 10) insured no new generations of purebred dogs in Los Angeles ever could exist again, by law.

Defying all veterinary evidence and public outrage presented to the deaf ears of the city council, this travesty passed. Now the only dogs bred in L.A. are illegal dog-fighting pitbulls and pitcrosses, (L.A. animal services sites will confirm 70% are these) and the kill-rate in L.A. dog pounds changed from 12% to 23% with all the unsterilized dogs newly seized (unrelated to the concurrent recession, wherein neighboring California counties' rates only rose 3 to 5%.)

Hey ladies! GRETCHEN BONADUCE and NOEL LAUNE let it rip !

Gretchen Bonaduce and her band Ankhsenamen tore through an all retro set of '70s and '80s fare Jan. 30th at the Whisky A GoGo while ever so appropriately attired in VH-1 Classic Devo-wear, The Cure makeup, punk-shredded high style and Walk Like An Egyptian headdresses (with a sober aside from onstage to that country's current turmoil.) Notable in the Ankh-etc. band were the talents of Alyson Montez, its purple-tressed electric violinist.

Photo op, right: Gretchen's business partner in Countess Couture, rock threads designer Evita Corby shown with her good friend John Barrymore.

Pictured below, letting it rip at a public-invited showcase Jan. 29th for Warner Brothers Music, singer/songwriter/keyboardist Noel Laune fronting her band at Beverly Hills' elite Aqua Lounge Night Club. Noel maintains an all-out emotional approach and writes her own pop/rock material (unusual for her demographic) with her band, a sufficiently solid rock ensemble to keep her forever rock & roll honest in a pop music scene that otherwise pushes formula conformity.

My friend since 1966 Rico Cardinale (A-List Beverly Hills hairstylist) and I loved what we called her Boom Boom Song which actually was entitled "808 Drum", a concoction of almost unthinkably appealing catchiness. Of course absolutely everyone else there, even the band's non-blood relations, loved it too, it just can't be helped. For more info on this artist, go to LINK.

FAVORITE LIVE SHOWS OF ALL TIME

Iggy and The Stooges, The Whisky A Gogo, 1973. See # 8.

Bakers' Dozen of my favorite ever live shows that I attended and/or photographed in no particular order. Shout out to Sue Langland LINK for this suggestion. Note that lesser known locals are deemed just as worthy as the superstars in this regard.

1. Parliament Funkadelic at Maverick's Flat, Crenshaw District, mid-1970s (and me without my camera!) Crazed beyond all comprehension. With the band dressed as Village People From Hell while pissing in great arcs aimed right at the audience and George Clinton wearing longjohns split at the crotch, P-Funk clearly was determined to terrify those on the dance floor...

Mott The Hoople, Hollywood Palladium (note exposed, uncircumsized hoople)

2. Mott the Hoople (original) at Hollywood Palladium. Yeah, they were great. Yeah, once upon a time. 

3. July, 1968 double bill of Moby Grape and the Jeff Beck group (original, with Rod Stewart and Ron Wood, etc.) at the Fillmore (at the Avalon...? Fillmore? 'can't remember, too much mind expansion.) Undocumented, my worst technical screw-up ever with a camera, not due to mind expansion at all but due to my first ever SLR, a newly acquired, used Edixa with horrid pre-set lenses and no instructions whatsoever except in German, which I didn't and to this day don't understand. A teen's eternal regret...

4. Rolling Stones at Inglewood Forum, 5th row (in front of Peter Fonda!) 1969. My first freebie ever as a journalist and due to its ad hoc invite, camera-less. My future better half sure got spectacular shots from there though!

She Rok, Club Lingerie (left, Mary Kay (also of The Dogs); right, Emi Canyn later of Motley Crue Nasty Habits)

5. H*O*T triple bill of The Pandoras see LINK for set highlight and pic, She Rok (best female metal band ever, just not as well known as Girlschool etc.) and "The Lousy Bummers," a jam band of Little Caesar and their chums in L.A.'s metal scene playing sterling covers (Edwin Starr, Thin Lizzy, Montrose, Big Brother & the Holding Co. etc.) all with the magnificence of Ron Young's vocals. Performers VERY oddly attired, most in their jammies, one clad only in a cabbie's hat and diapers with suspenders. The Bummers' set was equal parts chaos and majesty. I created their flyer with Mad Magazine's figurehead Alfred E. Newman as an acid-soaked hippie on it for this show. (Bummer!)

The Lousy Bummers mid-chaos, Club Lingerie; my flyer for same

 

6. Chainsaw in Naples, Italy, 2003. Triumphant L.A. punks' 28-years-after-the-fistfight-that-broke-up-the-band reunion versus amok Niapolitan Italian youths. Win-win!

Chainsaw, Slovenly Rock and Roll Bar, Napoli, Italy 2003

7. The Doors, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Hugh Masekela, Peter Paul & Mary all for one Yankee dollar ($1), Valley Theatre in the Round, the San Fernando Valley, 1967. Some benefit, acronym CAFF sponsored by Elliot Mintz, hence the high wattage. One of the earliest photos you'll catch on "Fastfilmblog," below, photo and caption appearing later in the book "Gram Parsons, A Music Biography" by Sid Griffin and John Delgatto, for which I did the art direction.

8. Iggy and The Stooges, Whisky A Gogo, 1973 way too much to convey, just go here: LINK Photo at top for the terminally lazy.

  9. The Faces, Hollywood Palladium, 1973 (see #3., Stewart and Wood.)

The Faces, Hollywood Palladium, Rod Stewart and Ron Wood (when we were Glam)

 

The Black Crowes (Chris Robinson) at the Greek Theatre, 2002

10. Oasis, the Black Crowes, Spacehog, "Brotherly Love" tour of battling siblings at the Greek Theatre, 2002. A Kinks' reunion at same would have made this show just so very complete. Oasis at the Greek Theatre, 2002

11. The Dogs, The Motels, The Pop, The Whisky A Gogo, 1977.  DIY punk trifecta sublimeness. I reviewed this for Performance Magazine so no pix, responsibility of others.
Sample DOGS' publicity of the era.

  12. The Who, end of the original Tommy tour, 1970, San Diego

  13. UPDATE! Jan. 16, 2015, solo gig of James Williamson and assorted artists, see LINK for entire rundown. Some of the best and yet lesser known Stooges' songs penned by Williamson and Iggy Pop ever, sung by some of the most passionate right now singers extant. Whew....

Lisa Kekaula (The BellRays) and James Williamson, J.W. and Jello Biafra, Alison Mosshart (The Dead Weather, The Kills) and J.W., Carolyn Wonderland and J.W., Ron Young (Little Caesar) and J.W., Joe Cardamone (The Icarus Line) and J.W.  Other singers included Jesse Malin, Cheetah Chrome and Frank Meyer!

To quote the seminal rock 'n' roll film Still Crazy, I await new thrills with bated breath...