Punk History: Lobotomy's 15 Minutes of Bandwith...

This is one of my favorite photos, and from the mail I get, its one of yours also... its The Avengers' Penelope Houston in her youthful prime together with Mayor of the Sunset Strip Rodney Bingenheimer in his prime as well. If you want to hear the interview that's being done while I snapped away, click on the title of this post. You'll be transported through the magic of http to Punk Not Profit, and while there, you can read about The Avengers and they offer a link to downloads of the actual broadcast of Rodney on the ROQ the very night the Avengers were there, and that Billy Idol did a phone interview! Oh - and Rodney interviews Pleasant and me as well... keep listening and you'll hear Penelope interview Billy Idol!

I recommend that you open another browser window, listen to the show and look at these pictures of that very night in Pasadena, California in 1978...


Avenger Jimmy Wilsey, Pleasant with Danny Furious and in the foreground, Rory Johnston


Avengers drummer Danny Furious


Avengers bassist Jimmy Wilsey


Avengers live


Pleasant on the phone


Pleasant and Billy Idol

RIP Brendan Mullen

I have sad.... no... devastating news to report.

Brendan Mullen, one of the pillars of the LA punk rock community, its greatest fan and documentarian passed away today.

It was reported by Media Bistro today that he suffered a stroke that he did not survive.

The news came to me from my Trusted MOG friend, Brittany

Rest in Peace Brendan... say hello to our good friends.

All About Iggy

Iggy Pop is enjoying a renaissance… and has been since the late 70s when David Bowie produced a couple albums for him in Berlin, which catapulted the inadvertent co-inventor of punk back into the stratospheric level of pop culture in which he belongs.

This last quarter of 2009 brings forth not one but two books where Iggy is a subject matter.



On November 1, Dave Thompson’s Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell, which examines the relationship between Bowie, Iggy and Lou Reed is published.

But right now, Detroit-born and bred photographer, and CREEM Magazine revitalizer and its current publisher, Robert Matheu’s book, The Stooges: The Authorized and Illustrated Story is on book shop shelves.

Robert Matheu is a fellow photographer whom I met when he came West to LA from Detroit in the late 70s. We had then, and still do, have pretty much an identical circle of friends, and common musical interests.

CREEM Magazine was something we had in common – both as readers/fans and contributing photographers. Robert has the great honor of being photographed by the late Lester Bangs - below, at the last Stooges show in 1974. Robert is in the middle, with his friends, the late Lenny Gupa and Mark McHenry (whom Robert says I actually met at the Starwood - so - Hey Mark! rock on, dude).



In the words of Robert Matheu

I started to take photos of The Stooges when I was 14 years old and didn't have a clue as to what I was doing with a 35mm camera, which was perfect since The Stooges didn't know how to play their instruments either. Not sure how it happened, but even after I found myself working professional, I had to go see Iggy every tour, I continued to go back to Detroit for almost every show he did there, not sure what or why. Even after The Stooges got back together in 2003, of course I saw the first show at Coachella and later when they announced a Detroit show in August of that year, there wasn't a question that I had to be there. I continued in the years since, the book grew out of that and my growing friendship with the band, what more could I add to it.

There’s a great feature in Detroit’s Metro Times about Iggy, the Stooges and this book. Read Bill Holdship’s Metro Times piece, which features an extensive, in-depth chat with Iggy here.

In New York City on Tuesday night (October 13), Robert will be signing his book at the Barnes & Noble store in Tribeca…. And with him, none other than Iggy Pop himself! Check the details at Barnes & Noble if you are in the area. It’s a not-to-be-missed event!



Thanks to Robert Matheu for letting me share his personal photos.

News, Tours and Music From Veteran Punks Letting Their Roots Show & Shine

Good news for fans and followers of two of my favorite people to have made punk rock music, who are now playing the music of their (and our American) roots - Tommy Ramone and Peter Case. There are tour dates and new records to report!

Tommy Ramone, the first man to produce that band whose name he still proudly goes by, and Nerves/Plimsouls guitarist and singer/songwriter, Peter Case are just two veteran punk legends who have spent their "solo" careers playing in the genre some call Americana, some call alt.country, some call contemporary folk... just like some of other veteran punk legends with whom they've shared stages in the past - X / Knitters bassist and singer John Doe, and Blasters / Knitters guitarist and singer Dave Alvin.

This fall and winter, fans of Ramone's bluegrass outfit, Uncle Monk, the duo with Claudia Tienan will get to enjoy them live and in person --- here it is, lifted straight from Chuck Monk's informative email -- the tour dates for Uncle Monk's Fall Tour:

Uncle Monk Fall Tour --

Thursday, October 15th, 2009
8:00 PM
Rachael's Cafe

300 E 3rd St
Bloomington, IN 47401-3541

Saturday, October 17th, 2009
TBA
Knuckleheads Saloon

2715 Rochester
Kansas City, MO 64120

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
8:00 PM
Oskar Blues

303 Main Street
Lyons, CO 80540

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
7:00 PM
SALIDA CAFE

300 W. Sackett
Salida, CO 81201

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
8:30 PM
Steve's Guitars

19 N 4th St
Carbondale, CO 81623

Friday, October 23rd, 2009
9:00 PM
Bar SS

3311 W County Road 54G
Laporte, CO 80535

Saturday, October 24th, 2009
8:00 PM
Swallow Hill Music Association

71 E Yale Avenue
Denver, CO 80210

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
9:00 PM
Bottleneck

737 New Hampshire
Lawrence, KS 66044

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
8:00 PM
Off Broadway

3509 Lemp Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63118

Thursday, October 29th, 2009
TBA
Zanzabar

2100 South Preston St
Louisville, KY 40217-2118

Friday, October 30th, 2009
9:00 PM
Norm's River Road House

7695 River Road Pike
Nashville, TN 37209

Cheers,

Chuck Monk

http://www.unclemonk.com

http://www.myspace.com/unclemonk

Peter Case, who last year was nominated for a Grammy Award in the contemporary folk category has some news too.

Believe me, it would behoove you to read/subscribe to his blog at petercase.com! Here's the link to the PC blog where I go to keep up with what my life-long friend, Peter Case is up to.

Fans of the Nerves, Plimsouls and Breakways will delight in the upcoming releases of those bands' "Lost" and rare recordings, which will be available soon on Alive / Natural Sounds -- the label run by Patrick Boissel and Suzy Shaw (of Bomp!).



But some of the best Peter Case news I save for last! The Songwriters' Workshop that he conducts is set to start again, (after a forced year layoff) in early January, 2010, at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. Info is available at 310 828 4497, or check the McCabe's website.



Peter's return to McCabe's as a performer is set for December 4. This is the long postponed 'petercase 25th anniversary show.' Tickets are already on sale. 310 828 4497.

Happy Birthday North Fork Sound!

North Fork Sound is 3 years old today.

The best way to wish them a Happy Birthday is to LISTEN! Easiest way to listen is to visit their site and click on the PLAY icon while you read the playlists and what not.

Where else can you hear Social Distortion and all things Lemmy on the same playlist?

This is free form radio the way it ought to be.

Happy Birthday North Fork Sound!