DAVID AMRAM: ON KEROUAC, GINSBERG, MINGUS, SPIRIT AND FAMILY
Composer David Amram, now 90, has worked with some of the jazz greats, including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins,...
Cool People
LEONARD COHEN, PHIL SPECTOR: DEATH OF LADIES’ MEN
Leonard Cohen and Phil Spector were an unlikely pairing, to say the least. And yet, there they were,...
ALLAN SHERMAN: WEIRD AL’S FOUNDING ‘FADDAH’
Allan Sherman, a pudgy TV game show producer, dominated the pre-Beatles record charts with a string of hit...
WHEN HENRY MILLER MET GEORGE ORWELL: A CLASH OF TITANS
George Orwell and Henry Miller, two of the most influential writers of the 20th century, had a single...
LAURA NYRO: THE MIRACULOUS MAGIC OF HER MUSIC
Though Laura Nyro’s songs are familiar to millions of people–through hit versions by Three Dog Night, the 5th...
BILLIE HOLIDAY: LADY DAY’S ENDURING LEGACY
Few major musical artists faced the obstacles Billie Holiday had to face, but then few can match her...
WAYNE KRAMER TALKS DRUGS, PRISON, MUSIC, SURVIVAL
Wayne Kramer of the MC5 was sent to ‘The Narcotic Farm’ in 1975, the same federal facility—part hospital/part...
VIN DIESEL, ARTHUR RUSSELL AND ME
Mixmaster Arthur Russell meets wannabe rapper Mark Sinclair (aka Vin Diesel). What could possibly go wrong? That’s what...
AUTOMNE ZINGG: THE MANY STRINGS OF HER ART
Automne Zingg is an artistic force. The New York City-based visual artist creates funny, surreal, psychedelic portraits and...
HUBERT SUMLIN: HOWLIN’ WOLF’S SECRET WEAPON
As Howlin’ Wolf’s longtime guitarist, Hubert Sumlin (1931-2011) kept to the shadows, but his sweet, subtle, sophisticated leads...
RICHARD HELL: THE PAST AND PRESENT OF DESTINY STREET
Richard Hell and the Voidoids are best-known for their debut album, the masterful Blank Generation (1977). Before completely...
FRED NEIL: THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS LIFE
In 1969, as his most famous song, ‘Everybody’s Talkin’”, was dominating pop charts, Fred Neil (1936-2001) was working...
KID CONGO POWERS: DREAMING ABOUT LUX & POISON IVY, JEFFREY LEE PIERCE AND SEAN DELEAR
The genial former member of the Gun Club, the Cramps, Nick Cave’s Bad Seeds and a collaborator with...
BECOMING TWIGGY: THE FASHION MODEL AS POP STAR
Hers was a face (and body) that launched a thousand quips but also made her the first fashion...