Danny Fields Reflects On The Passing of David Peel
Music industry legend Danny Fields recently reflected on the beginning of his friend’s career, Lower East Side anarchist...
Todd McGovern
Patti Smith Buys Childhood Home of Arthur Rimbaud
What is it about Rimbaud that strikes a chord with so many in the world of rock ‘n’ roll? Is it his reputation as a libertine? A scruffy rebel? The archetypal “L’Enfant terrible”? Perhaps no performer in rock music has been more influenced by Rimbaud than Patti Smith
I Was Kidnapped by Patty Hearst: The Tom Matthews Story
On a Thursday afternoon in mid-May 1974, in the small city of Lynwood, California, 18-year-old high school senior Tom Matthews answered a knock on the door.
Outside stood a short-haired brunette in her twenties, who inquired about the Ford Econoline van for sale. In a matter of minutes, “Emily” was behind the wheel, with Tom sitting shotgun in the front passenger seat. It was then that Tom Matthews’ life took a turn.
TAV FALCO – MAKE ME KNOW YOU’RE MINE
Some questions are easier to answer than others. If your question is, “Who is Tav Falco?” there is no easy answer. Todd McGovern asks filmmaker JP Olsen.
POKIN’ AROUND WITH THE MUFFS
LA's Favorite Power-Pop Trio on the Secrets of Longevity - by Todd McGovern - I’ve been a fan of The Muffs since their eponymous release in 1993, drawn by the power of their staccato pop songs, catchy lyrics and of course, Kim Shattuck’s sweet voice and guttural trademark scream.
NIAGARA: DETROIT ROCK ROYALTY ON MUSIC, ART, & RON ASHETON!
NIAGARA: DETROIT ROCK ROYALTY ON MUSIC, ART, & RON ASHETON! - The True Story of Niagara, Destroy All Monsters & the Desecration of Detroit
“TROUBLE BOYS: THE TRUE STORY OF THE REPLACEMENTS”
Bob Mehr, author of the new biography, “Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements,” was only 11 years old at the time, but the ‘Mats [the band’s nickname, short for Placemats] performance that night left quite an impression on his young mind.
THE GOSPEL OF BOB DYLAN
It’s been said that it happened in a Tucson hotel room in 1978, when Jesus first visited Bob Dylan. Dylan later said that he “sensed a presence in the room that couldn’t have been anybody but Jesus…the glory of the Lord knocked me down and picked me up.”
Crispin Hellion Glover: Clowny, Clown Clown
by Todd McGovern - In the early 1990s, I became obsessed with Crispin Hellion Glover. It was not so much his legendary appearance on Late Night With David Letterman, when he (or his alter-ego, Rubin Farr) came close to kicking Dave in the face with his black stacked boots.
A SAD AND BEAUTIFUL LIFE. MY CONVERSATION WITH JOHN LURIE!
By Todd McGovern - No one epitomized the melding of music and art that took place in downtown Manhattan of the 1970s and early 1980s more than John Lurie. He didn’t so much burst onto the scene as help create the scene itself. To this day, John Lurie escapes categorization – Lurie is a self-taught musician, painter, actor, director and storyteller.
PROTO-PUNK PIONEER: AN INTERVIEW WITH RADIO BIRDMAN’S DENIZ TEK
by Todd McGovern - Power and high-energy are two of the more accurate descriptors of Radio Birdman and the music of Tek’s childhood in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “It was an amazing place to grow up. Talk about being spoiled! It’s 1968 – 1969, you know. I’m only sixteen-years-old and I can’t go to bars, but I could see all this great music in the parks. Free concerts every Sunday afternoon in the summer with great local bands like the MC5 and the Stooges.
CHILLER IN CHOWCHILLA!
by Todd McGovern - The Chowchilla kidnapping was one of those crimes that could have only happened in a certain place during a certain period: California in the Seventies.
AN INTRODUCTION TO CHARLES NELSON REILLY
by Todd McGovern - A performer who broke into the entertainment business with an uncredited role in Elia Kazan’s 1957 film, A Face In The Crowd, Charles Nelson Reilly got his big break (along with fellow comic genius, Paul Lynde) in the 1961 production of Bye Bye, Birdie. In 1964, he was in the original cast of “Hello Dolly,” alongside Carol Channing.
But the Charles Nelson Reilly we know and love was from the game show, “Match Game” from 1973-1982.
1974 – BRINGING THE FUNK!
by Todd McGovern - No doubt about it, 1974 was a funky time.