Monday, March 26, 2012

Originator of rock journalism @ Montgomery Mall

Rolling Stone magazine's first chief photographer, Baron Wolman, was in the right place at the right time a lot during the classic rock era.
A story from my conversation with him is coming to The Reporter soon.
Wolman will be signing copies of his remarkable book "The Rolling Stone Years" from 1-5 p.m. Saturday March 31 and Sunday April 1 at the 102.9 WMGK Classic Rock Art Show & Sale at the Montgomery Mall, Routes 309 and 202, Montgomery Township. It's by the Sears lower level entrance, in the spot where Eastern Mountain Sports used to be.
The show opened March 23 and is on view free during mall hours through Sunday. Warning: it's a feast for the eyes, but the merchandise is (of course) pricy.
Here's a sample of how awesome Wolman's work is. There are prints of many of these images for sale.
AC/DC's Angus Young (COPYRIGHT Baron Wolman)


Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane/Starship ... in Girl Scout attire? (COPYRIGHT Baron Wolman)

Ike & Tina Turner (COPYRIGHT Baron Wolman)

Wow! Johnny and June Cash in a candid moment (COPYRIGHT Baron Wolman)

Miles Davis (COPYRIGHT Baron Wolman)

The Who's Pete Townshend in deep thought with a beer (COPYRIGHT Baron Wolman)

Thursday, March 8, 2012

They Made a Monkee out of Me

That was the title of Davy Jones' tell-all autobiography from the '80s.



Shortly after Jones died from a heart attack at the age of 66 on Feb. 29, Peter Tork bade a fond farewell to "the Manchester Cowboy" in a statement on Facebook.
Micky Dolenz had a sleepless night the previous night, which he took to be a sign that something very bad was going to happen.
Heck, even Maureen "Marcia Brady" McCormick had something to say.


Mike Nesmith - who's looking especially grandfatherly these days - posted a very thoughtful and heavy metaphysical response on Facebook:
All the lovely people. Where do they all come from?
So many lovely and heartfelt messages of condolence and sympathy, I don’t know what to say, except my sincere thank you to all. I share and appreciate your feelings.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
While it is jarring, and sometimes seems unjust, or strange, this transition we call dying and death is a constant in the mortal experience that we know almost nothing about. I am of the mind that it is a transition and I carry with me a certainty of the continuity of existence. While I don’t exactly know what happens in these times, there is an ongoing sense of life that reaches in my mind out far beyond the near horizons of mortality and into the reaches of infinity.
That David has stepped beyond my view causes me the sadness that it does many of you. I will miss him, but I won’t abandon him to mortality. I will think of him as existing within the animating life that insures existence. I will think of him and his family with that gentle regard in spite of all the contrary appearances on the mortal plane.
David’s spirit and soul live well in my heart, among all the lovely people, who remember with me the good times, and the healing times, that were created for so many, including us.
I have fond memories. I wish him safe travels.

Check out this equally interesting e-mail conversation that Nez had with Rolling Stone.
While it's a no-brainer to pick "Daydream Believer" as one's favorite Davy song, what's kind of amusing in this video is Nesmith's indifferent body language. Maybe the rock hipsters that he mentioned in the interview were getting to him at the time?


But even the holier-than-thou hipsters don't have a discouraging word to say about Davy Jones, who had homes in both Florida and Beavertown, Snyder County.