By Roberta Bayley There have been so many books about the New York punk scene, and not nearly enough about the era that preceded it, and sowed the seeds of what was to follow. Yes, there have been great books by Nina Antonia and Bob Gruen about the New York Dolls, and Jayne Countys Man Enough to Be a Women, but this is the first one Ive seen that is written by someone who watched the whole glitter glam scene from the front row (and later the stage) participated in its every moment, and also had a camera in hand and a great eye. Thank you Paul Zone! In addition to wonderful early shots of the Dolls and Blondie, Paul writes about the musicians as friends, because thats what they were to him, as a young teenager coming of age with two older brothers in the thick of glam rock with their band The Fast. Because the glam rock bands (Milk n Cookies, Another Pretty Face, Ruby & the Rednecks, etc.) did not achieve mainstream success, they have been relegated to name check status in most rock histories. Paul Zone brings the scene alive in this first hand, I-was-there history and with his wonderful photos, and amusing anecdotes. While some of the images may lack in technical perfection, that is totally made up for by their immediacy. Many of the minor characters are major (Linda Daneille was later to become Mrs Johnny Ramone, Abbijane became a successful fashion designer, and Anya Phillips became a designer and manager of James Chance), and the stars (Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, the Ramones, the Dolls) are transformed into regular people (which they were), like when Joey Ramone shows up at Pauls for the sumptuous breakfast his mother would prepare for the young rockers at 5 a.m. when they straggled in from the clubs! Fantastic true stories about a time (unfortunately) long gone. My name is Roberta Bayley, and I endorse this book! It showed me details about a period in New York that I missed - I arrived in 1974, which as you can see from reading this book, was the middle - not the beginning - of the New York underground! -Roberta Bayley Roberta Bayley Paul Zone PLAYGROUND Lethal Amounts Gallery Show Downtown Los Angeles / June 28-July 31 2014
Posted on: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 02:44:20 +0000
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