YALE ACQUIRES DANNY FIELDS’ ARCHIVES!
Calling Danny Fields’ West Village apartment a rock ‘n’ roll treasure trove is accurate, but doesn’t really do it...
Gillian McCain is the author of two books of poetry, Tilt and Religion and co-author of Descent of the Dolls. With Legs McNeil she co-wrote Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk and co-edited Dear Nobody: The True Story of Mary Rose. She is the former Program Coordinator and Board President of The Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church. She lives in New York City.
Clips from German TV Show Beat Club, circa 1971, of the original Alice Cooper band playing Ballad of Dwight Frye, posted on Youtube by drummer Neal Smith.
IF YOU ARE IN NEW YORK, CHECK OUT HER EXHIBITION AT STATION INDEPENDENT PROJECTS ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE
Not a supporter of the royal family: "My father worked very hard and had a lot of tax taken off to support what I'd seen as a bunch of lazy good-for-nothing inbreds. And I think time has proved me right. The British now completely agree with me on that. So my attitude would be about them now to sell them off to Disneyland. I think that they would be wonderful next to the Epcot Centre! And that would solve a lot of Britain's economic problems."
Interview by Chris Ziegler
There's no single definitive history of punk, just like there's no single definitive punk record. (Although trying to find one is lots of fun!) But Leg's McNeil's book Please Kill Me has probably pulled in at lease as many people toward the Ramones and Iggy Pop as the music itself. Published with co-author Gillian McCain in 1997 Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk has become McNeil's best-known work, a touchstone of music history that's even taught in certain universities, where good students get to learn in detail just how depraved rock 'n' roll could be.
SHEENA IS A PUNK ROCKER EMBROIDERED WALL ART
