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moonfestival in fredrikstad. I saw this amazing band, rudi protrudi and the fuzztones. kick ass motherfuckin' cool band.
Declare the pennies on your eyes - from "Taxman" by the Beatles, released on Revolver, August 5, 1966
Taxman
One, two, three, four
One, two
Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
Should five percent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
(If you drive a car) I'll tax the street
(If you try to sit) I'll tax your seat
(If you get too cold) I'll tax the heat
(If you take a walk) I'll tax your feet
Taxman!
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
Don't ask me what I want it for
(Ah, ah, Mr. Wilson)
If you don't want to pay some more
(Ah, ah, Mr. Heath)
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
Now my advice for those who die (taxman)
Declare the pennies on your eyes (taxman)
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me (taxman)
Songwriters: George Harrison
Taxman lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
If you are a fan of either 1960s style Psychedelia, Fuzz tone guitar, and/or Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, you will love this song . There is a rambling monologue at the beginning so its best to just fast forward to about the 2:30 minute mark for a really excellent rendition of this clssic.
I did a series of photos for Soho News to promote the Psychedelic Weekend event at a club called The Cavern. It was a wild weekend of various psychedelic/garage bands and go-go dancers. Some of the bands and people involved are featured here. I recognize some of the bands and people here. I see Rudy Protrudi and Deb O'Nair from The Fuzztones, Wendy Wild and members of her band The Mad Violets, Tom Scully, who organized the event and DJed at it and the lovely Viva. She inspired everyone to new psychedelic heights at the event or maybe it was the punch they were serving that weekend. Does anyone recognize any of the other people?
Once upon a time little Deb O'Nair and Rudy Protrudi came to New York with their band Tina Peel and played at Max's and then they somehow morphed into the legendary garage pioneers, The Fuzztones. They also were playing in assorted Club 57 madness. They went their own ways, Deb in bands such as Das Furlines a psychedelic polka band. She still pounds a mean organ and lives in the East Village. Rudy went on to form Link Protrudi and the Jaymen, played with lots of legends, has had a solo country music career, braved it in L.A. and now lives in Berlin with a reformed Fuzztones. Not the end. I took this photo at the psychedelic building on East 4th Street. I really do not think it is painted like that anymore. It doesn't fit with the gentrification.
The New York Dolls are an American glam punk band formed in New York City, United States in 1971. In 2004 the band reformed with three of their original members, two of whom, David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain, continue on today and released a new album in 2006. The original bassist, Arthur Kane died shortly after their first reunion concert.
The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later spawned the Ramones, Blondie, Television, and Talking Heads.
Sylvain Sylvain and Billy Murcia, who went to junior high school and high school together, started playing in a band called “the Pox” in 1968. After the frontman quit, Murcia and Sylvain started a clothing business across the street from a doll repair shop called the New York Doll Hospital. Sylvain claimed inspired them to come up with the name for their future band. In 1970 they formed a band again and they recruited Thunders to join on bass though Sylvain ended up teaching him to play guitar, they called themselves the ‘Dolls’. When Sylvain left the band to spend a few months in London, Thunders and Murcia went their separate ways.
Thunders was eventually recruited by Kane and Rivets who had been playing together in the Bronx. At Thunders' suggestion, Murcia replaced the original drummer. Thunders played lead guitar and sang for the band known as Actress. An October 1971 rehearsal tape recorded by Rivets was released as Dawn of the Dolls. When Thunders decided he no longer wanted to be the front man, Johansen joined the band. Initially, the group was composed of singer David Johansen, guitarists Johnny Thunders and Rick Rivets (who was replaced by Sylvain Sylvain after a few months), bass guitarist Arthur "Killer" Kane and drummer Billy Murcia. The original lineup's first performance was on Christmas Eve 1971 at a homeless shelter, the Endicott Hotel.
The band was influenced by vintage rhythm and blues, the early Rolling Stones, classic American girl group songs, and anarchic post-psychedelic bands such as the MC5 and the Stooges, as well as then-current glam rockers such as Marc Bolan. They did it their own way, creating something which critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote "doesn't really sound like anything that came before it. It's hard rock with a self-conscious wit, a celebration of camp and kitsch that retains a menacing, malevolent edge.". Despite their impeccable rock/punk/glam credentials, the band`s sound was also formed by blues and soul influences, as evidenced by Johansen`s bluesy harmonica and their choice of cover versions - their version of Bo Diddley`s `Pills` appears on `New York Dolls` and The Drells `There`s Gonna Be a Showdown` and Sonny Boy Williamson`s `Don`t start Me Talking` are among the four cover versions on `Too Much Too Soon`. Their previously unreleased covers of Otis Redding`s `Don`t Mess With Cupid` and Muddy Water`s `Hoochie Coochie Man` later surfaced on `Lipstick Killers` and `I`m a Human Being` respectively. The black music influence was particularly important for Johansen, whose subsequent career included work with jazz man Big Jay McNeely and blues man Hubert Sumlin.
As a frontman, Johansen's aggression, wit and energy made up for what was a slightly one-dimensional singing voice, while Thunders's lead playing was compared to the slashing of a knife-fight. Their repertoire was mostly written by Johansen (he used the name David Jo Hansen at the time) and Thunders and occasionally by Johansen and Sylvain. The songs were a series of vignettes about life in the New York underground. After getting a manager and attracting some music industry interest, the band got a break when Rod Stewart invited them to open for him at a London (then glam rock's capital city) concert. Shortly thereafter, Murcia died of accidental suffocation at age 21 after he passed out from drugs and alcohol.
Once back in New York, the Dolls auditioned drummers, including Marc Bell (who would go on to play with Richard Hell and Ramones under the stage name "Marky Ramone") and Jerry Nolan, a friend of the band. They selected Nolan, and after US Mercury Records' A&R man Paul Nelson signed them, they began sessions for their debut album. New York Dolls was produced by former Nazz guitarist Todd Rundgren. In an interview in Creem magazine, Rundgren says he barely touched the recording, everybody was debating how to do the mix. sales were sluggish, especially in the glam-resistant middle US, and Stereo Review magazine reviewer in 1973 compared the Dolls' guitar playing to the sound of lawnmowers.
The Dolls still polarised America's mass rock audience (a Creem magazine poll landed them wins as the best and the worst new group of 1973), but at the 'large capacity club' level, they toured the US to some satisfaction. The Dolls also toured Europe, and whilst appearing on UK TV, host Bob Harris of the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test famously derided the group as "mock rock", comparing them unfavourably with the Rolling Stones in the same way The Monkees had been with the Beatles, as their unoriginal, upstart clones. Though Harris and much of the 'old guard' of rock journalists and critics were unimpressed, young rock fans throughout the UK disagreed, and the New York Dolls' straightforward music and outrageous attitude were later cited as key influences on punk rock.
For their next album the quintet opted for producer George (Shadow) Morton, whose productions for the Shangri-Las and other girl groups in the mid-1960s had been among the band's favorites, for 1974's Too Much Too Soon. Mercury dropped the Dolls not long after the second album. In 1975, foundering in drug abuse and interpersonal spats as the opportunities dried up, the band briefly recruited Malcolm McLaren as their new manager. The kind of provocative stunts McLaren later made work for the Sex Pistols blew up in the Dolls' faces. Dressing the band in red leather for performances with a Soviet flag backdrop was no substitute for the original sex-drugs outrage of glam rock.
Break-up
Thunders and Nolan left in 1975 while on tour in Florida. They formed The Heartbreakers with bassist Richard Hell who had left Television the same week. After a few shows they added guitarist Walter Lure and few month later replaced Hell with Billy Rath. They participated in the “Anarchy Tour” with the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned in Britain in 1976, while the other Dolls recruited replacements (including Blackie Lawless a childhood friend of Kane's who replaced Thunders for the remainder of the Florida tour) and continued until 1977. The Heartbreakers recorded one British-only studio album and a few odds-and-ends live sets (including a memorable set from a Max's Kansas City show) before splintering into an on-and-off concern.
Thunders continued to tour and record throughout the 1980s, releasing one solo album (So Alone on which Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook played) and several sets of covers and a few originals. He died in New Orleans in 1991, of an alleged heroin and methadone overdose, although there are signs that he may have been murdered over a drug-related dispute, and that the police didn't properly investigate what appeared to just be the death of another junkie. It has also come to light that he suffered from leukemia. Nolan died a few months later in 1992, following a stroke, brought about by bacterial meningitis.
Johansen started a solo career after the Dolls broke up, and Sylvain was a member of his band for much of this time. Several Johansen-Sylvain songs never made it to vinyl until Johansen's solo albums: e.g., "Funky But Chic", "Girls", and "Frenchette". His fourth solo album, a concert set called Live it Up, contained a medley of The Animals' "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," "Don't Bring Me Down," and "It's My Life."
Johansen had his greatest commercial success portraying the fictional lounge lizard/singer Buster Poindexter, who mixed comedy with a kitschy hybrid of soul and tropical pop. Under Buster Poindexter's name, Johansen finally made a chart-topping single: one of the 1980s' biggest dance hits, "Hot Hot Hot." He also hosted a variety show on VH1 as Poindexter, then moved on to folk and blues with David Johansen and the Harry Smiths through the '90s. A posthumous New York Dolls album (made up of early demo tapes of the Murcia-Sylvain line-up) was released in a cassette-only edition on ROIR Records in 1981, and subsequently re-released on CD, and then on vinyl in early 2006.
Syl Sylvain formed his own band, The Criminals, then cut a solo album for RCA, while also working with Johansen. He later became a cab driver in New York, which he later described as the worst job on earth. In the early 1990s he moved to Los Angeles and recorded one album called "Sleep Baby Doll", on Fishhead Records. His bandmates on that record were: Brian Keats on drums (Dave Vanian's Phantom Chords), Speediejohn Carlucci on bass (ex- Fuzztones), & Olivier Le Baron on lead guitar. Guest appearances by Frankie Infante of Blondie and Derwood Andrews of Generation X were also included on the record. It has been re-released as "New York's Au Go Go".
Influence
The band influenced a whole era of musicians and bands such as Kiss, Hanoi Rocks, Blondie, The Clash, Ramones, Dead Boys, Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, The Damned, The Smiths, and Japan. They were also a large influence on various members of the Sex Pistols, especially guitarist Steve Jones, who later said that on looking back at his movement on stage, felt embarrassed at how much he copied Johnny Thunders' style. The Pistols' manager, Malcolm McLaren, briefly managed the Dolls towards the end of their career.
They were also a major influence on the rock music scene in New York City, having accumulated a devoted cult following during their career. By the time the New York Dolls had disbanded, Ira Robbins writes that they "singlehandedly began the local New York scene that later spawned the Ramones, Blondie, Television, Talking Heads and others. A classic case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, the Dolls were much more than just a band. Their devoted original audience became the petri dish of a scene; they emulated their heroes and formed groups in their image."
It should be noted that their influence was not confined to the legions of soundalikes - Morrisey of The Smiths and REMs Michael Stipe and Peter Buck are noted for their Dolls enthusiasms, Stipe being one of the guests on the re-union CD and Morrissey (as `Steven Morrissey` having written a book about them in his pre-Smiths days.
Reunion
UK singer-songwriter Morrissey organized a reunion of the three surviving band members (Johansen, Sylvain, and Kane) for the Meltdown Festival in 2004. Morrissey is a long-time fan of the band; in the 1970s, he headed their fan club in the UK. The reunion led to a live LP and DVD on Morrissey's Attack label, and a film, New York Doll, showing Kane's point of view of the genesis of the reunion contrasted against the backdrop of his conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, future plans were affected when the news came of Arthur Kane's unexpected death on July 13, 2004 from leukemia. During 2004 they played several festivals in the UK, and just like the old days, they were as notable for their extravagant behavior as their raucous performances.
In July 2005, the two surviving members announced a tour and a new album, titled One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This. Released on July 25, 2006 the album features guitarist Steve Conte, bassist Sami Yaffa (formerly of Hanoi Rocks), drummer Brian Delaney and keyboardist Brian Koonin, formerly a member of David Johansen and the Harry Smiths. On July 20, 2006, the New York Dolls appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, followed by a live performance in Philadelphia at the WXPN All About The Music Festival, and on July 22, 2006, a taped appearance on The Henry Rollins Show. On August 18, 2006, the band performed in a free concert before some 9,000 fans at New York's Seaport Music], on a bill with the Brooklyn-based indie band Tralala.
In October 2006 the band embarked on a UK tour, with Sylvain Sylvain taking time while in Glasgow to speak to John Kilbride of STV. The discussion covered the band's history and the current state of their live show and songwriting, with Sylvain commenting that "even if you come to our show thinking 'how can it be like it was before', we turn that around 'cos we've got such a great live, rock n'roll show".[3]
In November 2006 the Dolls began headlining "Little Steven's Underground Garage Presents the Rolling Rock and Roll Show", about 20 live gigs with numerous other bands. These shows have been very well-received and well-attended as well. The band plays a mix of their newest album as well as older favorites. In April 2007, the band played in Australia, appearing at the V Festival with Pixies, Pet Shop Boys, Gnarls Barkley, Beck, Jarvis Cocker and Phoenix. On September 22, 2007, New York Dolls was removed from the current artists section of Roadrunner Records' website, signifying the groups split with the label. The band are scheduled to play the O2 Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, London on July 4, 2008 with Morrissey and Beck and the Lounge On The Farm Festival on July 12, 2008.
Lounge On The Farm - Kent’s bestest festival, ‘Lounge On The Farm’ returns for it’s third outing on the weekend of 11-13th July 2008, even bigger and bolder than ever before, and with an increased capacity. 2007’s event established LOTF as a heavyweight festival with a uniquely local twist and 2008 is set to take the extravaganza to the next level. Set in the idyllic surrounds of Merton Farm in Canterbury, ‘Lounge On The Farm’s rustic charms will play host to 160 bands spread across 6 stages, from local heroes and cutting edge acts to renowned heavy hitters.
What's new:
* Lovepedal Eternity
* Lovepedal Black Beauty Balance
* Lovepedal Toxic II
* Lovepedal COT50
* Subdecay Blackstar
Already sold, but pictured in this photo:
* Lovepedal Black Magic
* Subdecay Blackstar
‘The Modern Lovers’, 1976. Proto punk. Jonathan Richman was the main man here. Ernie on drums later joined The Cars and keyboardist Jerry joined Talking Heads. Richman loved the Velvet Underground and John Cale produced these recordings, done 1972/3 but not released until 1976. Jonathan was anti-hippy, with short hair, singing songs with titles like ‘I’m Straight’ and ‘Dignified and Old’ in an adenoidal, off-key voice. Vietnam, long hair and pot was the norm then. A contrary bod.
‘Roadrunner’ kicks this off. A two-chord classic about the joys of cruising with the radio on. A softer version was re-recorded, released and charted in 1976. This is the original punky, Velvets riff fest. A desert island disc. ‘Astral Plane’ is a chugging riff with keyboard wash and stabbing guitar. The guitars all over this album sound punk years before the name was given. ‘Old World’ is a deep bass throb with moody keyboards and Fender strum, a love poem to the old ways, of parents, of innocence. More Hug It than Smash It Up. The middle eight swells and bursts open like sunshine. Another desert island disc. ‘Pablo Picasso’ is a slow chug bass with freaked out guitars about, yep, Picasso. It’s funny. John Cale still covers it in concert. ‘She Cracked’ is a fast one chord thrash rocker about unhinged, modern girlfriends. Great lyrics too. ‘Hospital’ follows, probably about the cracked girlfriend. A slow, sad piano with Richman’s plaintive croon. One of my fave lyrics: ‘I go to bakeries all day long/there’s a lack of sweetness in my life’. ‘Someone I Care About’ another fast rocker with fuzztone keyboards and flailing riff, hand claps too. ‘Girlfriend’ slows it down with sparse guitar, pretty piano and heartfelt vocal. It’s gorgeous. Happy sad. ‘Modern World’ ends it with another relentless riff, tight drums, raging keyboard.
This stuff is nearly 50 years old but sounds fresh. Richman went to Bermuda and mellowed out before this album was released. He came back a different person and effectively disowned it. Don’t matter. Sharp, tight, funny. This is a classic set of songs. ‘Roadrunner’ especially was a big influence on UK punks.
The New York Dolls are an American glam punk band formed in New York City, United States in 1971. In 2004 the band reformed with three of their original members, two of whom, David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain, continue on today and released a new album in 2006. The original bassist, Arthur Kane died shortly after their first reunion concert.
The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later spawned the Ramones, Blondie, Television, and Talking Heads.
Sylvain Sylvain and Billy Murcia, who went to junior high school and high school together, started playing in a band called “the Pox” in 1968. After the frontman quit, Murcia and Sylvain started a clothing business across the street from a doll repair shop called the New York Doll Hospital. Sylvain claimed inspired them to come up with the name for their future band. In 1970 they formed a band again and they recruited Thunders to join on bass though Sylvain ended up teaching him to play guitar, they called themselves the ‘Dolls’. When Sylvain left the band to spend a few months in London, Thunders and Murcia went their separate ways.
Thunders was eventually recruited by Kane and Rivets who had been playing together in the Bronx. At Thunders' suggestion, Murcia replaced the original drummer. Thunders played lead guitar and sang for the band known as Actress. An October 1971 rehearsal tape recorded by Rivets was released as Dawn of the Dolls. When Thunders decided he no longer wanted to be the front man, Johansen joined the band. Initially, the group was composed of singer David Johansen, guitarists Johnny Thunders and Rick Rivets (who was replaced by Sylvain Sylvain after a few months), bass guitarist Arthur "Killer" Kane and drummer Billy Murcia. The original lineup's first performance was on Christmas Eve 1971 at a homeless shelter, the Endicott Hotel.
The band was influenced by vintage rhythm and blues, the early Rolling Stones, classic American girl group songs, and anarchic post-psychedelic bands such as the MC5 and the Stooges, as well as then-current glam rockers such as Marc Bolan. They did it their own way, creating something which critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote "doesn't really sound like anything that came before it. It's hard rock with a self-conscious wit, a celebration of camp and kitsch that retains a menacing, malevolent edge.". Despite their impeccable rock/punk/glam credentials, the band`s sound was also formed by blues and soul influences, as evidenced by Johansen`s bluesy harmonica and their choice of cover versions - their version of Bo Diddley`s `Pills` appears on `New York Dolls` and The Drells `There`s Gonna Be a Showdown` and Sonny Boy Williamson`s `Don`t start Me Talking` are among the four cover versions on `Too Much Too Soon`. Their previously unreleased covers of Otis Redding`s `Don`t Mess With Cupid` and Muddy Water`s `Hoochie Coochie Man` later surfaced on `Lipstick Killers` and `I`m a Human Being` respectively. The black music influence was particularly important for Johansen, whose subsequent career included work with jazz man Big Jay McNeely and blues man Hubert Sumlin.
As a frontman, Johansen's aggression, wit and energy made up for what was a slightly one-dimensional singing voice, while Thunders's lead playing was compared to the slashing of a knife-fight. Their repertoire was mostly written by Johansen (he used the name David Jo Hansen at the time) and Thunders and occasionally by Johansen and Sylvain. The songs were a series of vignettes about life in the New York underground. After getting a manager and attracting some music industry interest, the band got a break when Rod Stewart invited them to open for him at a London (then glam rock's capital city) concert. Shortly thereafter, Murcia died of accidental suffocation at age 21 after he passed out from drugs and alcohol.
Once back in New York, the Dolls auditioned drummers, including Marc Bell (who would go on to play with Richard Hell and Ramones under the stage name "Marky Ramone") and Jerry Nolan, a friend of the band. They selected Nolan, and after US Mercury Records' A&R man Paul Nelson signed them, they began sessions for their debut album. New York Dolls was produced by former Nazz guitarist Todd Rundgren. In an interview in Creem magazine, Rundgren says he barely touched the recording, everybody was debating how to do the mix. sales were sluggish, especially in the glam-resistant middle US, and Stereo Review magazine reviewer in 1973 compared the Dolls' guitar playing to the sound of lawnmowers.
The Dolls still polarised America's mass rock audience (a Creem magazine poll landed them wins as the best and the worst new group of 1973), but at the 'large capacity club' level, they toured the US to some satisfaction. The Dolls also toured Europe, and whilst appearing on UK TV, host Bob Harris of the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test famously derided the group as "mock rock", comparing them unfavourably with the Rolling Stones in the same way The Monkees had been with the Beatles, as their unoriginal, upstart clones. Though Harris and much of the 'old guard' of rock journalists and critics were unimpressed, young rock fans throughout the UK disagreed, and the New York Dolls' straightforward music and outrageous attitude were later cited as key influences on punk rock.
For their next album the quintet opted for producer George (Shadow) Morton, whose productions for the Shangri-Las and other girl groups in the mid-1960s had been among the band's favorites, for 1974's Too Much Too Soon. Mercury dropped the Dolls not long after the second album. In 1975, foundering in drug abuse and interpersonal spats as the opportunities dried up, the band briefly recruited Malcolm McLaren as their new manager. The kind of provocative stunts McLaren later made work for the Sex Pistols blew up in the Dolls' faces. Dressing the band in red leather for performances with a Soviet flag backdrop was no substitute for the original sex-drugs outrage of glam rock.
Break-up
Thunders and Nolan left in 1975 while on tour in Florida. They formed The Heartbreakers with bassist Richard Hell who had left Television the same week. After a few shows they added guitarist Walter Lure and few month later replaced Hell with Billy Rath. They participated in the “Anarchy Tour” with the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned in Britain in 1976, while the other Dolls recruited replacements (including Blackie Lawless a childhood friend of Kane's who replaced Thunders for the remainder of the Florida tour) and continued until 1977. The Heartbreakers recorded one British-only studio album and a few odds-and-ends live sets (including a memorable set from a Max's Kansas City show) before splintering into an on-and-off concern.
Thunders continued to tour and record throughout the 1980s, releasing one solo album (So Alone on which Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook played) and several sets of covers and a few originals. He died in New Orleans in 1991, of an alleged heroin and methadone overdose, although there are signs that he may have been murdered over a drug-related dispute, and that the police didn't properly investigate what appeared to just be the death of another junkie. It has also come to light that he suffered from leukemia. Nolan died a few months later in 1992, following a stroke, brought about by bacterial meningitis.
Johansen started a solo career after the Dolls broke up, and Sylvain was a member of his band for much of this time. Several Johansen-Sylvain songs never made it to vinyl until Johansen's solo albums: e.g., "Funky But Chic", "Girls", and "Frenchette". His fourth solo album, a concert set called Live it Up, contained a medley of The Animals' "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," "Don't Bring Me Down," and "It's My Life."
Johansen had his greatest commercial success portraying the fictional lounge lizard/singer Buster Poindexter, who mixed comedy with a kitschy hybrid of soul and tropical pop. Under Buster Poindexter's name, Johansen finally made a chart-topping single: one of the 1980s' biggest dance hits, "Hot Hot Hot." He also hosted a variety show on VH1 as Poindexter, then moved on to folk and blues with David Johansen and the Harry Smiths through the '90s. A posthumous New York Dolls album (made up of early demo tapes of the Murcia-Sylvain line-up) was released in a cassette-only edition on ROIR Records in 1981, and subsequently re-released on CD, and then on vinyl in early 2006.
Syl Sylvain formed his own band, The Criminals, then cut a solo album for RCA, while also working with Johansen. He later became a cab driver in New York, which he later described as the worst job on earth. In the early 1990s he moved to Los Angeles and recorded one album called "Sleep Baby Doll", on Fishhead Records. His bandmates on that record were: Brian Keats on drums (Dave Vanian's Phantom Chords), Speediejohn Carlucci on bass (ex- Fuzztones), & Olivier Le Baron on lead guitar. Guest appearances by Frankie Infante of Blondie and Derwood Andrews of Generation X were also included on the record. It has been re-released as "New York's Au Go Go".
Influence
The band influenced a whole era of musicians and bands such as Kiss, Hanoi Rocks, Blondie, The Clash, Ramones, Dead Boys, Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, The Damned, The Smiths, and Japan. They were also a large influence on various members of the Sex Pistols, especially guitarist Steve Jones, who later said that on looking back at his movement on stage, felt embarrassed at how much he copied Johnny Thunders' style. The Pistols' manager, Malcolm McLaren, briefly managed the Dolls towards the end of their career.
They were also a major influence on the rock music scene in New York City, having accumulated a devoted cult following during their career. By the time the New York Dolls had disbanded, Ira Robbins writes that they "singlehandedly began the local New York scene that later spawned the Ramones, Blondie, Television, Talking Heads and others. A classic case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, the Dolls were much more than just a band. Their devoted original audience became the petri dish of a scene; they emulated their heroes and formed groups in their image."
It should be noted that their influence was not confined to the legions of soundalikes - Morrisey of The Smiths and REMs Michael Stipe and Peter Buck are noted for their Dolls enthusiasms, Stipe being one of the guests on the re-union CD and Morrissey (as `Steven Morrissey` having written a book about them in his pre-Smiths days.
Reunion
UK singer-songwriter Morrissey organized a reunion of the three surviving band members (Johansen, Sylvain, and Kane) for the Meltdown Festival in 2004. Morrissey is a long-time fan of the band; in the 1970s, he headed their fan club in the UK. The reunion led to a live LP and DVD on Morrissey's Attack label, and a film, New York Doll, showing Kane's point of view of the genesis of the reunion contrasted against the backdrop of his conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, future plans were affected when the news came of Arthur Kane's unexpected death on July 13, 2004 from leukemia. During 2004 they played several festivals in the UK, and just like the old days, they were as notable for their extravagant behavior as their raucous performances.
In July 2005, the two surviving members announced a tour and a new album, titled One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This. Released on July 25, 2006 the album features guitarist Steve Conte, bassist Sami Yaffa (formerly of Hanoi Rocks), drummer Brian Delaney and keyboardist Brian Koonin, formerly a member of David Johansen and the Harry Smiths. On July 20, 2006, the New York Dolls appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, followed by a live performance in Philadelphia at the WXPN All About The Music Festival, and on July 22, 2006, a taped appearance on The Henry Rollins Show. On August 18, 2006, the band performed in a free concert before some 9,000 fans at New York's Seaport Music], on a bill with the Brooklyn-based indie band Tralala.
In October 2006 the band embarked on a UK tour, with Sylvain Sylvain taking time while in Glasgow to speak to John Kilbride of STV. The discussion covered the band's history and the current state of their live show and songwriting, with Sylvain commenting that "even if you come to our show thinking 'how can it be like it was before', we turn that around 'cos we've got such a great live, rock n'roll show".[3]
In November 2006 the Dolls began headlining "Little Steven's Underground Garage Presents the Rolling Rock and Roll Show", about 20 live gigs with numerous other bands. These shows have been very well-received and well-attended as well. The band plays a mix of their newest album as well as older favorites. In April 2007, the band played in Australia, appearing at the V Festival with Pixies, Pet Shop Boys, Gnarls Barkley, Beck, Jarvis Cocker and Phoenix. On September 22, 2007, New York Dolls was removed from the current artists section of Roadrunner Records' website, signifying the groups split with the label. The band are scheduled to play the O2 Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, London on July 4, 2008 with Morrissey and Beck and the Lounge On The Farm Festival on July 12, 2008.
Lounge On The Farm - Kent’s bestest festival, ‘Lounge On The Farm’ returns for it’s third outing on the weekend of 11-13th July 2008, even bigger and bolder than ever before, and with an increased capacity. 2007’s event established LOTF as a heavyweight festival with a uniquely local twist and 2008 is set to take the extravaganza to the next level. Set in the idyllic surrounds of Merton Farm in Canterbury, ‘Lounge On The Farm’s rustic charms will play host to 160 bands spread across 6 stages, from local heroes and cutting edge acts to renowned heavy hitters.
The New York Dolls are an American glam punk band formed in New York City, United States in 1971. In 2004 the band reformed with three of their original members, two of whom, David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain, continue on today and released a new album in 2006. The original bassist, Arthur Kane died shortly after their first reunion concert.
The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later spawned the Ramones, Blondie, Television, and Talking Heads.
Sylvain Sylvain and Billy Murcia, who went to junior high school and high school together, started playing in a band called “the Pox” in 1968. After the frontman quit, Murcia and Sylvain started a clothing business across the street from a doll repair shop called the New York Doll Hospital. Sylvain claimed inspired them to come up with the name for their future band. In 1970 they formed a band again and they recruited Thunders to join on bass though Sylvain ended up teaching him to play guitar, they called themselves the ‘Dolls’. When Sylvain left the band to spend a few months in London, Thunders and Murcia went their separate ways.
Thunders was eventually recruited by Kane and Rivets who had been playing together in the Bronx. At Thunders' suggestion, Murcia replaced the original drummer. Thunders played lead guitar and sang for the band known as Actress. An October 1971 rehearsal tape recorded by Rivets was released as Dawn of the Dolls. When Thunders decided he no longer wanted to be the front man, Johansen joined the band. Initially, the group was composed of singer David Johansen, guitarists Johnny Thunders and Rick Rivets (who was replaced by Sylvain Sylvain after a few months), bass guitarist Arthur "Killer" Kane and drummer Billy Murcia. The original lineup's first performance was on Christmas Eve 1971 at a homeless shelter, the Endicott Hotel.
The band was influenced by vintage rhythm and blues, the early Rolling Stones, classic American girl group songs, and anarchic post-psychedelic bands such as the MC5 and the Stooges, as well as then-current glam rockers such as Marc Bolan. They did it their own way, creating something which critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote "doesn't really sound like anything that came before it. It's hard rock with a self-conscious wit, a celebration of camp and kitsch that retains a menacing, malevolent edge.". Despite their impeccable rock/punk/glam credentials, the band`s sound was also formed by blues and soul influences, as evidenced by Johansen`s bluesy harmonica and their choice of cover versions - their version of Bo Diddley`s `Pills` appears on `New York Dolls` and The Drells `There`s Gonna Be a Showdown` and Sonny Boy Williamson`s `Don`t start Me Talking` are among the four cover versions on `Too Much Too Soon`. Their previously unreleased covers of Otis Redding`s `Don`t Mess With Cupid` and Muddy Water`s `Hoochie Coochie Man` later surfaced on `Lipstick Killers` and `I`m a Human Being` respectively. The black music influence was particularly important for Johansen, whose subsequent career included work with jazz man Big Jay McNeely and blues man Hubert Sumlin.
As a frontman, Johansen's aggression, wit and energy made up for what was a slightly one-dimensional singing voice, while Thunders's lead playing was compared to the slashing of a knife-fight. Their repertoire was mostly written by Johansen (he used the name David Jo Hansen at the time) and Thunders and occasionally by Johansen and Sylvain. The songs were a series of vignettes about life in the New York underground. After getting a manager and attracting some music industry interest, the band got a break when Rod Stewart invited them to open for him at a London (then glam rock's capital city) concert. Shortly thereafter, Murcia died of accidental suffocation at age 21 after he passed out from drugs and alcohol.
Once back in New York, the Dolls auditioned drummers, including Marc Bell (who would go on to play with Richard Hell and Ramones under the stage name "Marky Ramone") and Jerry Nolan, a friend of the band. They selected Nolan, and after US Mercury Records' A&R man Paul Nelson signed them, they began sessions for their debut album. New York Dolls was produced by former Nazz guitarist Todd Rundgren. In an interview in Creem magazine, Rundgren says he barely touched the recording, everybody was debating how to do the mix. sales were sluggish, especially in the glam-resistant middle US, and Stereo Review magazine reviewer in 1973 compared the Dolls' guitar playing to the sound of lawnmowers.
The Dolls still polarised America's mass rock audience (a Creem magazine poll landed them wins as the best and the worst new group of 1973), but at the 'large capacity club' level, they toured the US to some satisfaction. The Dolls also toured Europe, and whilst appearing on UK TV, host Bob Harris of the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test famously derided the group as "mock rock", comparing them unfavourably with the Rolling Stones in the same way The Monkees had been with the Beatles, as their unoriginal, upstart clones. Though Harris and much of the 'old guard' of rock journalists and critics were unimpressed, young rock fans throughout the UK disagreed, and the New York Dolls' straightforward music and outrageous attitude were later cited as key influences on punk rock.
For their next album the quintet opted for producer George (Shadow) Morton, whose productions for the Shangri-Las and other girl groups in the mid-1960s had been among the band's favorites, for 1974's Too Much Too Soon. Mercury dropped the Dolls not long after the second album. In 1975, foundering in drug abuse and interpersonal spats as the opportunities dried up, the band briefly recruited Malcolm McLaren as their new manager. The kind of provocative stunts McLaren later made work for the Sex Pistols blew up in the Dolls' faces. Dressing the band in red leather for performances with a Soviet flag backdrop was no substitute for the original sex-drugs outrage of glam rock.
Break-up
Thunders and Nolan left in 1975 while on tour in Florida. They formed The Heartbreakers with bassist Richard Hell who had left Television the same week. After a few shows they added guitarist Walter Lure and few month later replaced Hell with Billy Rath. They participated in the “Anarchy Tour” with the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned in Britain in 1976, while the other Dolls recruited replacements (including Blackie Lawless a childhood friend of Kane's who replaced Thunders for the remainder of the Florida tour) and continued until 1977. The Heartbreakers recorded one British-only studio album and a few odds-and-ends live sets (including a memorable set from a Max's Kansas City show) before splintering into an on-and-off concern.
Thunders continued to tour and record throughout the 1980s, releasing one solo album (So Alone on which Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook played) and several sets of covers and a few originals. He died in New Orleans in 1991, of an alleged heroin and methadone overdose, although there are signs that he may have been murdered over a drug-related dispute, and that the police didn't properly investigate what appeared to just be the death of another junkie. It has also come to light that he suffered from leukemia. Nolan died a few months later in 1992, following a stroke, brought about by bacterial meningitis.
Johansen started a solo career after the Dolls broke up, and Sylvain was a member of his band for much of this time. Several Johansen-Sylvain songs never made it to vinyl until Johansen's solo albums: e.g., "Funky But Chic", "Girls", and "Frenchette". His fourth solo album, a concert set called Live it Up, contained a medley of The Animals' "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," "Don't Bring Me Down," and "It's My Life."
Johansen had his greatest commercial success portraying the fictional lounge lizard/singer Buster Poindexter, who mixed comedy with a kitschy hybrid of soul and tropical pop. Under Buster Poindexter's name, Johansen finally made a chart-topping single: one of the 1980s' biggest dance hits, "Hot Hot Hot." He also hosted a variety show on VH1 as Poindexter, then moved on to folk and blues with David Johansen and the Harry Smiths through the '90s. A posthumous New York Dolls album (made up of early demo tapes of the Murcia-Sylvain line-up) was released in a cassette-only edition on ROIR Records in 1981, and subsequently re-released on CD, and then on vinyl in early 2006.
Syl Sylvain formed his own band, The Criminals, then cut a solo album for RCA, while also working with Johansen. He later became a cab driver in New York, which he later described as the worst job on earth. In the early 1990s he moved to Los Angeles and recorded one album called "Sleep Baby Doll", on Fishhead Records. His bandmates on that record were: Brian Keats on drums (Dave Vanian's Phantom Chords), Speediejohn Carlucci on bass (ex- Fuzztones), & Olivier Le Baron on lead guitar. Guest appearances by Frankie Infante of Blondie and Derwood Andrews of Generation X were also included on the record. It has been re-released as "New York's Au Go Go".
Influence
The band influenced a whole era of musicians and bands such as Kiss, Hanoi Rocks, Blondie, The Clash, Ramones, Dead Boys, Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, The Damned, The Smiths, and Japan. They were also a large influence on various members of the Sex Pistols, especially guitarist Steve Jones, who later said that on looking back at his movement on stage, felt embarrassed at how much he copied Johnny Thunders' style. The Pistols' manager, Malcolm McLaren, briefly managed the Dolls towards the end of their career.
They were also a major influence on the rock music scene in New York City, having accumulated a devoted cult following during their career. By the time the New York Dolls had disbanded, Ira Robbins writes that they "singlehandedly began the local New York scene that later spawned the Ramones, Blondie, Television, Talking Heads and others. A classic case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, the Dolls were much more than just a band. Their devoted original audience became the petri dish of a scene; they emulated their heroes and formed groups in their image."
It should be noted that their influence was not confined to the legions of soundalikes - Morrisey of The Smiths and REMs Michael Stipe and Peter Buck are noted for their Dolls enthusiasms, Stipe being one of the guests on the re-union CD and Morrissey (as `Steven Morrissey` having written a book about them in his pre-Smiths days.
Reunion
UK singer-songwriter Morrissey organized a reunion of the three surviving band members (Johansen, Sylvain, and Kane) for the Meltdown Festival in 2004. Morrissey is a long-time fan of the band; in the 1970s, he headed their fan club in the UK. The reunion led to a live LP and DVD on Morrissey's Attack label, and a film, New York Doll, showing Kane's point of view of the genesis of the reunion contrasted against the backdrop of his conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, future plans were affected when the news came of Arthur Kane's unexpected death on July 13, 2004 from leukemia. During 2004 they played several festivals in the UK, and just like the old days, they were as notable for their extravagant behavior as their raucous performances.
In July 2005, the two surviving members announced a tour and a new album, titled One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This. Released on July 25, 2006 the album features guitarist Steve Conte, bassist Sami Yaffa (formerly of Hanoi Rocks), drummer Brian Delaney and keyboardist Brian Koonin, formerly a member of David Johansen and the Harry Smiths. On July 20, 2006, the New York Dolls appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, followed by a live performance in Philadelphia at the WXPN All About The Music Festival, and on July 22, 2006, a taped appearance on The Henry Rollins Show. On August 18, 2006, the band performed in a free concert before some 9,000 fans at New York's Seaport Music], on a bill with the Brooklyn-based indie band Tralala.
In October 2006 the band embarked on a UK tour, with Sylvain Sylvain taking time while in Glasgow to speak to John Kilbride of STV. The discussion covered the band's history and the current state of their live show and songwriting, with Sylvain commenting that "even if you come to our show thinking 'how can it be like it was before', we turn that around 'cos we've got such a great live, rock n'roll show".[3]
In November 2006 the Dolls began headlining "Little Steven's Underground Garage Presents the Rolling Rock and Roll Show", about 20 live gigs with numerous other bands. These shows have been very well-received and well-attended as well. The band plays a mix of their newest album as well as older favorites. In April 2007, the band played in Australia, appearing at the V Festival with Pixies, Pet Shop Boys, Gnarls Barkley, Beck, Jarvis Cocker and Phoenix. On September 22, 2007, New York Dolls was removed from the current artists section of Roadrunner Records' website, signifying the groups split with the label. The band are scheduled to play the O2 Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, London on July 4, 2008 with Morrissey and Beck and the Lounge On The Farm Festival on July 12, 2008.
Lounge On The Farm - Kent’s bestest festival, ‘Lounge On The Farm’ returns for it’s third outing on the weekend of 11-13th July 2008, even bigger and bolder than ever before, and with an increased capacity. 2007’s event established LOTF as a heavyweight festival with a uniquely local twist and 2008 is set to take the extravaganza to the next level. Set in the idyllic surrounds of Merton Farm in Canterbury, ‘Lounge On The Farm’s rustic charms will play host to 160 bands spread across 6 stages, from local heroes and cutting edge acts to renowned heavy hitters.
The New York Dolls are an American glam punk band formed in New York City, United States in 1971. In 2004 the band reformed with three of their original members, two of whom, David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain, continue on today and released a new album in 2006. The original bassist, Arthur Kane died shortly after their first reunion concert.
The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later spawned the Ramones, Blondie, Television, and Talking Heads.
Sylvain Sylvain and Billy Murcia, who went to junior high school and high school together, started playing in a band called “the Pox” in 1968. After the frontman quit, Murcia and Sylvain started a clothing business across the street from a doll repair shop called the New York Doll Hospital. Sylvain claimed inspired them to come up with the name for their future band. In 1970 they formed a band again and they recruited Thunders to join on bass though Sylvain ended up teaching him to play guitar, they called themselves the ‘Dolls’. When Sylvain left the band to spend a few months in London, Thunders and Murcia went their separate ways.
Thunders was eventually recruited by Kane and Rivets who had been playing together in the Bronx. At Thunders' suggestion, Murcia replaced the original drummer. Thunders played lead guitar and sang for the band known as Actress. An October 1971 rehearsal tape recorded by Rivets was released as Dawn of the Dolls. When Thunders decided he no longer wanted to be the front man, Johansen joined the band. Initially, the group was composed of singer David Johansen, guitarists Johnny Thunders and Rick Rivets (who was replaced by Sylvain Sylvain after a few months), bass guitarist Arthur "Killer" Kane and drummer Billy Murcia. The original lineup's first performance was on Christmas Eve 1971 at a homeless shelter, the Endicott Hotel.
The band was influenced by vintage rhythm and blues, the early Rolling Stones, classic American girl group songs, and anarchic post-psychedelic bands such as the MC5 and the Stooges, as well as then-current glam rockers such as Marc Bolan. They did it their own way, creating something which critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote "doesn't really sound like anything that came before it. It's hard rock with a self-conscious wit, a celebration of camp and kitsch that retains a menacing, malevolent edge.". Despite their impeccable rock/punk/glam credentials, the band`s sound was also formed by blues and soul influences, as evidenced by Johansen`s bluesy harmonica and their choice of cover versions - their version of Bo Diddley`s `Pills` appears on `New York Dolls` and The Drells `There`s Gonna Be a Showdown` and Sonny Boy Williamson`s `Don`t start Me Talking` are among the four cover versions on `Too Much Too Soon`. Their previously unreleased covers of Otis Redding`s `Don`t Mess With Cupid` and Muddy Water`s `Hoochie Coochie Man` later surfaced on `Lipstick Killers` and `I`m a Human Being` respectively. The black music influence was particularly important for Johansen, whose subsequent career included work with jazz man Big Jay McNeely and blues man Hubert Sumlin.
As a frontman, Johansen's aggression, wit and energy made up for what was a slightly one-dimensional singing voice, while Thunders's lead playing was compared to the slashing of a knife-fight. Their repertoire was mostly written by Johansen (he used the name David Jo Hansen at the time) and Thunders and occasionally by Johansen and Sylvain. The songs were a series of vignettes about life in the New York underground. After getting a manager and attracting some music industry interest, the band got a break when Rod Stewart invited them to open for him at a London (then glam rock's capital city) concert. Shortly thereafter, Murcia died of accidental suffocation at age 21 after he passed out from drugs and alcohol.
Once back in New York, the Dolls auditioned drummers, including Marc Bell (who would go on to play with Richard Hell and Ramones under the stage name "Marky Ramone") and Jerry Nolan, a friend of the band. They selected Nolan, and after US Mercury Records' A&R man Paul Nelson signed them, they began sessions for their debut album. New York Dolls was produced by former Nazz guitarist Todd Rundgren. In an interview in Creem magazine, Rundgren says he barely touched the recording, everybody was debating how to do the mix. sales were sluggish, especially in the glam-resistant middle US, and Stereo Review magazine reviewer in 1973 compared the Dolls' guitar playing to the sound of lawnmowers.
The Dolls still polarised America's mass rock audience (a Creem magazine poll landed them wins as the best and the worst new group of 1973), but at the 'large capacity club' level, they toured the US to some satisfaction. The Dolls also toured Europe, and whilst appearing on UK TV, host Bob Harris of the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test famously derided the group as "mock rock", comparing them unfavourably with the Rolling Stones in the same way The Monkees had been with the Beatles, as their unoriginal, upstart clones. Though Harris and much of the 'old guard' of rock journalists and critics were unimpressed, young rock fans throughout the UK disagreed, and the New York Dolls' straightforward music and outrageous attitude were later cited as key influences on punk rock.
For their next album the quintet opted for producer George (Shadow) Morton, whose productions for the Shangri-Las and other girl groups in the mid-1960s had been among the band's favorites, for 1974's Too Much Too Soon. Mercury dropped the Dolls not long after the second album. In 1975, foundering in drug abuse and interpersonal spats as the opportunities dried up, the band briefly recruited Malcolm McLaren as their new manager. The kind of provocative stunts McLaren later made work for the Sex Pistols blew up in the Dolls' faces. Dressing the band in red leather for performances with a Soviet flag backdrop was no substitute for the original sex-drugs outrage of glam rock.
Break-up
Thunders and Nolan left in 1975 while on tour in Florida. They formed The Heartbreakers with bassist Richard Hell who had left Television the same week. After a few shows they added guitarist Walter Lure and few month later replaced Hell with Billy Rath. They participated in the “Anarchy Tour” with the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned in Britain in 1976, while the other Dolls recruited replacements (including Blackie Lawless a childhood friend of Kane's who replaced Thunders for the remainder of the Florida tour) and continued until 1977. The Heartbreakers recorded one British-only studio album and a few odds-and-ends live sets (including a memorable set from a Max's Kansas City show) before splintering into an on-and-off concern.
Thunders continued to tour and record throughout the 1980s, releasing one solo album (So Alone on which Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook played) and several sets of covers and a few originals. He died in New Orleans in 1991, of an alleged heroin and methadone overdose, although there are signs that he may have been murdered over a drug-related dispute, and that the police didn't properly investigate what appeared to just be the death of another junkie. It has also come to light that he suffered from leukemia. Nolan died a few months later in 1992, following a stroke, brought about by bacterial meningitis.
Johansen started a solo career after the Dolls broke up, and Sylvain was a member of his band for much of this time. Several Johansen-Sylvain songs never made it to vinyl until Johansen's solo albums: e.g., "Funky But Chic", "Girls", and "Frenchette". His fourth solo album, a concert set called Live it Up, contained a medley of The Animals' "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," "Don't Bring Me Down," and "It's My Life."
Johansen had his greatest commercial success portraying the fictional lounge lizard/singer Buster Poindexter, who mixed comedy with a kitschy hybrid of soul and tropical pop. Under Buster Poindexter's name, Johansen finally made a chart-topping single: one of the 1980s' biggest dance hits, "Hot Hot Hot." He also hosted a variety show on VH1 as Poindexter, then moved on to folk and blues with David Johansen and the Harry Smiths through the '90s. A posthumous New York Dolls album (made up of early demo tapes of the Murcia-Sylvain line-up) was released in a cassette-only edition on ROIR Records in 1981, and subsequently re-released on CD, and then on vinyl in early 2006.
Syl Sylvain formed his own band, The Criminals, then cut a solo album for RCA, while also working with Johansen. He later became a cab driver in New York, which he later described as the worst job on earth. In the early 1990s he moved to Los Angeles and recorded one album called "Sleep Baby Doll", on Fishhead Records. His bandmates on that record were: Brian Keats on drums (Dave Vanian's Phantom Chords), Speediejohn Carlucci on bass (ex- Fuzztones), & Olivier Le Baron on lead guitar. Guest appearances by Frankie Infante of Blondie and Derwood Andrews of Generation X were also included on the record. It has been re-released as "New York's Au Go Go".
Influence
The band influenced a whole era of musicians and bands such as Kiss, Hanoi Rocks, Blondie, The Clash, Ramones, Dead Boys, Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, The Damned, The Smiths, and Japan. They were also a large influence on various members of the Sex Pistols, especially guitarist Steve Jones, who later said that on looking back at his movement on stage, felt embarrassed at how much he copied Johnny Thunders' style. The Pistols' manager, Malcolm McLaren, briefly managed the Dolls towards the end of their career.
They were also a major influence on the rock music scene in New York City, having accumulated a devoted cult following during their career. By the time the New York Dolls had disbanded, Ira Robbins writes that they "singlehandedly began the local New York scene that later spawned the Ramones, Blondie, Television, Talking Heads and others. A classic case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, the Dolls were much more than just a band. Their devoted original audience became the petri dish of a scene; they emulated their heroes and formed groups in their image."
It should be noted that their influence was not confined to the legions of soundalikes - Morrisey of The Smiths and REMs Michael Stipe and Peter Buck are noted for their Dolls enthusiasms, Stipe being one of the guests on the re-union CD and Morrissey (as `Steven Morrissey` having written a book about them in his pre-Smiths days.
Reunion
UK singer-songwriter Morrissey organized a reunion of the three surviving band members (Johansen, Sylvain, and Kane) for the Meltdown Festival in 2004. Morrissey is a long-time fan of the band; in the 1970s, he headed their fan club in the UK. The reunion led to a live LP and DVD on Morrissey's Attack label, and a film, New York Doll, showing Kane's point of view of the genesis of the reunion contrasted against the backdrop of his conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, future plans were affected when the news came of Arthur Kane's unexpected death on July 13, 2004 from leukemia. During 2004 they played several festivals in the UK, and just like the old days, they were as notable for their extravagant behavior as their raucous performances.
In July 2005, the two surviving members announced a tour and a new album, titled One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This. Released on July 25, 2006 the album features guitarist Steve Conte, bassist Sami Yaffa (formerly of Hanoi Rocks), drummer Brian Delaney and keyboardist Brian Koonin, formerly a member of David Johansen and the Harry Smiths. On July 20, 2006, the New York Dolls appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, followed by a live performance in Philadelphia at the WXPN All About The Music Festival, and on July 22, 2006, a taped appearance on The Henry Rollins Show. On August 18, 2006, the band performed in a free concert before some 9,000 fans at New York's Seaport Music], on a bill with the Brooklyn-based indie band Tralala.
In October 2006 the band embarked on a UK tour, with Sylvain Sylvain taking time while in Glasgow to speak to John Kilbride of STV. The discussion covered the band's history and the current state of their live show and songwriting, with Sylvain commenting that "even if you come to our show thinking 'how can it be like it was before', we turn that around 'cos we've got such a great live, rock n'roll show".[3]
In November 2006 the Dolls began headlining "Little Steven's Underground Garage Presents the Rolling Rock and Roll Show", about 20 live gigs with numerous other bands. These shows have been very well-received and well-attended as well. The band plays a mix of their newest album as well as older favorites. In April 2007, the band played in Australia, appearing at the V Festival with Pixies, Pet Shop Boys, Gnarls Barkley, Beck, Jarvis Cocker and Phoenix. On September 22, 2007, New York Dolls was removed from the current artists section of Roadrunner Records' website, signifying the groups split with the label. The band are scheduled to play the O2 Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, London on July 4, 2008 with Morrissey and Beck and the Lounge On The Farm Festival on July 12, 2008.
Lounge On The Farm - Kent’s bestest festival, ‘Lounge On The Farm’ returns for it’s third outing on the weekend of 11-13th July 2008, even bigger and bolder than ever before, and with an increased capacity. 2007’s event established LOTF as a heavyweight festival with a uniquely local twist and 2008 is set to take the extravaganza to the next level. Set in the idyllic surrounds of Merton Farm in Canterbury, ‘Lounge On The Farm’s rustic charms will play host to 160 bands spread across 6 stages, from local heroes and cutting edge acts to renowned heavy hitters.
The New York Dolls are an American glam punk band formed in New York City, United States in 1971. In 2004 the band reformed with three of their original members, two of whom, David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain, continue on today and released a new album in 2006. The original bassist, Arthur Kane died shortly after their first reunion concert.
The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later spawned the Ramones, Blondie, Television, and Talking Heads.
Sylvain Sylvain and Billy Murcia, who went to junior high school and high school together, started playing in a band called “the Pox” in 1968. After the frontman quit, Murcia and Sylvain started a clothing business across the street from a doll repair shop called the New York Doll Hospital. Sylvain claimed inspired them to come up with the name for their future band. In 1970 they formed a band again and they recruited Thunders to join on bass though Sylvain ended up teaching him to play guitar, they called themselves the ‘Dolls’. When Sylvain left the band to spend a few months in London, Thunders and Murcia went their separate ways.
Thunders was eventually recruited by Kane and Rivets who had been playing together in the Bronx. At Thunders' suggestion, Murcia replaced the original drummer. Thunders played lead guitar and sang for the band known as Actress. An October 1971 rehearsal tape recorded by Rivets was released as Dawn of the Dolls. When Thunders decided he no longer wanted to be the front man, Johansen joined the band. Initially, the group was composed of singer David Johansen, guitarists Johnny Thunders and Rick Rivets (who was replaced by Sylvain Sylvain after a few months), bass guitarist Arthur "Killer" Kane and drummer Billy Murcia. The original lineup's first performance was on Christmas Eve 1971 at a homeless shelter, the Endicott Hotel.
The band was influenced by vintage rhythm and blues, the early Rolling Stones, classic American girl group songs, and anarchic post-psychedelic bands such as the MC5 and the Stooges, as well as then-current glam rockers such as Marc Bolan. They did it their own way, creating something which critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote "doesn't really sound like anything that came before it. It's hard rock with a self-conscious wit, a celebration of camp and kitsch that retains a menacing, malevolent edge.". Despite their impeccable rock/punk/glam credentials, the band`s sound was also formed by blues and soul influences, as evidenced by Johansen`s bluesy harmonica and their choice of cover versions - their version of Bo Diddley`s `Pills` appears on `New York Dolls` and The Drells `There`s Gonna Be a Showdown` and Sonny Boy Williamson`s `Don`t start Me Talking` are among the four cover versions on `Too Much Too Soon`. Their previously unreleased covers of Otis Redding`s `Don`t Mess With Cupid` and Muddy Water`s `Hoochie Coochie Man` later surfaced on `Lipstick Killers` and `I`m a Human Being` respectively. The black music influence was particularly important for Johansen, whose subsequent career included work with jazz man Big Jay McNeely and blues man Hubert Sumlin.
As a frontman, Johansen's aggression, wit and energy made up for what was a slightly one-dimensional singing voice, while Thunders's lead playing was compared to the slashing of a knife-fight. Their repertoire was mostly written by Johansen (he used the name David Jo Hansen at the time) and Thunders and occasionally by Johansen and Sylvain. The songs were a series of vignettes about life in the New York underground. After getting a manager and attracting some music industry interest, the band got a break when Rod Stewart invited them to open for him at a London (then glam rock's capital city) concert. Shortly thereafter, Murcia died of accidental suffocation at age 21 after he passed out from drugs and alcohol.
Once back in New York, the Dolls auditioned drummers, including Marc Bell (who would go on to play with Richard Hell and Ramones under the stage name "Marky Ramone") and Jerry Nolan, a friend of the band. They selected Nolan, and after US Mercury Records' A&R man Paul Nelson signed them, they began sessions for their debut album. New York Dolls was produced by former Nazz guitarist Todd Rundgren. In an interview in Creem magazine, Rundgren says he barely touched the recording, everybody was debating how to do the mix. sales were sluggish, especially in the glam-resistant middle US, and Stereo Review magazine reviewer in 1973 compared the Dolls' guitar playing to the sound of lawnmowers.
The Dolls still polarised America's mass rock audience (a Creem magazine poll landed them wins as the best and the worst new group of 1973), but at the 'large capacity club' level, they toured the US to some satisfaction. The Dolls also toured Europe, and whilst appearing on UK TV, host Bob Harris of the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test famously derided the group as "mock rock", comparing them unfavourably with the Rolling Stones in the same way The Monkees had been with the Beatles, as their unoriginal, upstart clones. Though Harris and much of the 'old guard' of rock journalists and critics were unimpressed, young rock fans throughout the UK disagreed, and the New York Dolls' straightforward music and outrageous attitude were later cited as key influences on punk rock.
For their next album the quintet opted for producer George (Shadow) Morton, whose productions for the Shangri-Las and other girl groups in the mid-1960s had been among the band's favorites, for 1974's Too Much Too Soon. Mercury dropped the Dolls not long after the second album. In 1975, foundering in drug abuse and interpersonal spats as the opportunities dried up, the band briefly recruited Malcolm McLaren as their new manager. The kind of provocative stunts McLaren later made work for the Sex Pistols blew up in the Dolls' faces. Dressing the band in red leather for performances with a Soviet flag backdrop was no substitute for the original sex-drugs outrage of glam rock.
Break-up
Thunders and Nolan left in 1975 while on tour in Florida. They formed The Heartbreakers with bassist Richard Hell who had left Television the same week. After a few shows they added guitarist Walter Lure and few month later replaced Hell with Billy Rath. They participated in the “Anarchy Tour” with the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned in Britain in 1976, while the other Dolls recruited replacements (including Blackie Lawless a childhood friend of Kane's who replaced Thunders for the remainder of the Florida tour) and continued until 1977. The Heartbreakers recorded one British-only studio album and a few odds-and-ends live sets (including a memorable set from a Max's Kansas City show) before splintering into an on-and-off concern.
Thunders continued to tour and record throughout the 1980s, releasing one solo album (So Alone on which Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook played) and several sets of covers and a few originals. He died in New Orleans in 1991, of an alleged heroin and methadone overdose, although there are signs that he may have been murdered over a drug-related dispute, and that the police didn't properly investigate what appeared to just be the death of another junkie. It has also come to light that he suffered from leukemia. Nolan died a few months later in 1992, following a stroke, brought about by bacterial meningitis.
Johansen started a solo career after the Dolls broke up, and Sylvain was a member of his band for much of this time. Several Johansen-Sylvain songs never made it to vinyl until Johansen's solo albums: e.g., "Funky But Chic", "Girls", and "Frenchette". His fourth solo album, a concert set called Live it Up, contained a medley of The Animals' "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," "Don't Bring Me Down," and "It's My Life."
Johansen had his greatest commercial success portraying the fictional lounge lizard/singer Buster Poindexter, who mixed comedy with a kitschy hybrid of soul and tropical pop. Under Buster Poindexter's name, Johansen finally made a chart-topping single: one of the 1980s' biggest dance hits, "Hot Hot Hot." He also hosted a variety show on VH1 as Poindexter, then moved on to folk and blues with David Johansen and the Harry Smiths through the '90s. A posthumous New York Dolls album (made up of early demo tapes of the Murcia-Sylvain line-up) was released in a cassette-only edition on ROIR Records in 1981, and subsequently re-released on CD, and then on vinyl in early 2006.
Syl Sylvain formed his own band, The Criminals, then cut a solo album for RCA, while also working with Johansen. He later became a cab driver in New York, which he later described as the worst job on earth. In the early 1990s he moved to Los Angeles and recorded one album called "Sleep Baby Doll", on Fishhead Records. His bandmates on that record were: Brian Keats on drums (Dave Vanian's Phantom Chords), Speediejohn Carlucci on bass (ex- Fuzztones), & Olivier Le Baron on lead guitar. Guest appearances by Frankie Infante of Blondie and Derwood Andrews of Generation X were also included on the record. It has been re-released as "New York's Au Go Go".
Influence
The band influenced a whole era of musicians and bands such as Kiss, Hanoi Rocks, Blondie, The Clash, Ramones, Dead Boys, Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, The Damned, The Smiths, and Japan. They were also a large influence on various members of the Sex Pistols, especially guitarist Steve Jones, who later said that on looking back at his movement on stage, felt embarrassed at how much he copied Johnny Thunders' style. The Pistols' manager, Malcolm McLaren, briefly managed the Dolls towards the end of their career.
They were also a major influence on the rock music scene in New York City, having accumulated a devoted cult following during their career. By the time the New York Dolls had disbanded, Ira Robbins writes that they "singlehandedly began the local New York scene that later spawned the Ramones, Blondie, Television, Talking Heads and others. A classic case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, the Dolls were much more than just a band. Their devoted original audience became the petri dish of a scene; they emulated their heroes and formed groups in their image."
It should be noted that their influence was not confined to the legions of soundalikes - Morrisey of The Smiths and REMs Michael Stipe and Peter Buck are noted for their Dolls enthusiasms, Stipe being one of the guests on the re-union CD and Morrissey (as `Steven Morrissey` having written a book about them in his pre-Smiths days.
Reunion
UK singer-songwriter Morrissey organized a reunion of the three surviving band members (Johansen, Sylvain, and Kane) for the Meltdown Festival in 2004. Morrissey is a long-time fan of the band; in the 1970s, he headed their fan club in the UK. The reunion led to a live LP and DVD on Morrissey's Attack label, and a film, New York Doll, showing Kane's point of view of the genesis of the reunion contrasted against the backdrop of his conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, future plans were affected when the news came of Arthur Kane's unexpected death on July 13, 2004 from leukemia. During 2004 they played several festivals in the UK, and just like the old days, they were as notable for their extravagant behavior as their raucous performances.
In July 2005, the two surviving members announced a tour and a new album, titled One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This. Released on July 25, 2006 the album features guitarist Steve Conte, bassist Sami Yaffa (formerly of Hanoi Rocks), drummer Brian Delaney and keyboardist Brian Koonin, formerly a member of David Johansen and the Harry Smiths. On July 20, 2006, the New York Dolls appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, followed by a live performance in Philadelphia at the WXPN All About The Music Festival, and on July 22, 2006, a taped appearance on The Henry Rollins Show. On August 18, 2006, the band performed in a free concert before some 9,000 fans at New York's Seaport Music], on a bill with the Brooklyn-based indie band Tralala.
In October 2006 the band embarked on a UK tour, with Sylvain Sylvain taking time while in Glasgow to speak to John Kilbride of STV. The discussion covered the band's history and the current state of their live show and songwriting, with Sylvain commenting that "even if you come to our show thinking 'how can it be like it was before', we turn that around 'cos we've got such a great live, rock n'roll show".[3]
In November 2006 the Dolls began headlining "Little Steven's Underground Garage Presents the Rolling Rock and Roll Show", about 20 live gigs with numerous other bands. These shows have been very well-received and well-attended as well. The band plays a mix of their newest album as well as older favorites. In April 2007, the band played in Australia, appearing at the V Festival with Pixies, Pet Shop Boys, Gnarls Barkley, Beck, Jarvis Cocker and Phoenix. On September 22, 2007, New York Dolls was removed from the current artists section of Roadrunner Records' website, signifying the groups split with the label. The band are scheduled to play the O2 Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, London on July 4, 2008 with Morrissey and Beck and the Lounge On The Farm Festival on July 12, 2008.
Lounge On The Farm - Kent’s bestest festival, ‘Lounge On The Farm’ returns for it’s third outing on the weekend of 11-13th July 2008, even bigger and bolder than ever before, and with an increased capacity. 2007’s event established LOTF as a heavyweight festival with a uniquely local twist and 2008 is set to take the extravaganza to the next level. Set in the idyllic surrounds of Merton Farm in Canterbury, ‘Lounge On The Farm’s rustic charms will play host to 160 bands spread across 6 stages, from local heroes and cutting edge acts to renowned heavy hitters.
The New York Dolls are an American glam punk band formed in New York City, United States in 1971. In 2004 the band reformed with three of their original members, two of whom, David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain, continue on today and released a new album in 2006. The original bassist, Arthur Kane died shortly after their first reunion concert.
The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later spawned the Ramones, Blondie, Television, and Talking Heads.
Sylvain Sylvain and Billy Murcia, who went to junior high school and high school together, started playing in a band called “the Pox” in 1968. After the frontman quit, Murcia and Sylvain started a clothing business across the street from a doll repair shop called the New York Doll Hospital. Sylvain claimed inspired them to come up with the name for their future band. In 1970 they formed a band again and they recruited Thunders to join on bass though Sylvain ended up teaching him to play guitar, they called themselves the ‘Dolls’. When Sylvain left the band to spend a few months in London, Thunders and Murcia went their separate ways.
Thunders was eventually recruited by Kane and Rivets who had been playing together in the Bronx. At Thunders' suggestion, Murcia replaced the original drummer. Thunders played lead guitar and sang for the band known as Actress. An October 1971 rehearsal tape recorded by Rivets was released as Dawn of the Dolls. When Thunders decided he no longer wanted to be the front man, Johansen joined the band. Initially, the group was composed of singer David Johansen, guitarists Johnny Thunders and Rick Rivets (who was replaced by Sylvain Sylvain after a few months), bass guitarist Arthur "Killer" Kane and drummer Billy Murcia. The original lineup's first performance was on Christmas Eve 1971 at a homeless shelter, the Endicott Hotel.
The band was influenced by vintage rhythm and blues, the early Rolling Stones, classic American girl group songs, and anarchic post-psychedelic bands such as the MC5 and the Stooges, as well as then-current glam rockers such as Marc Bolan. They did it their own way, creating something which critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote "doesn't really sound like anything that came before it. It's hard rock with a self-conscious wit, a celebration of camp and kitsch that retains a menacing, malevolent edge.". Despite their impeccable rock/punk/glam credentials, the band`s sound was also formed by blues and soul influences, as evidenced by Johansen`s bluesy harmonica and their choice of cover versions - their version of Bo Diddley`s `Pills` appears on `New York Dolls` and The Drells `There`s Gonna Be a Showdown` and Sonny Boy Williamson`s `Don`t start Me Talking` are among the four cover versions on `Too Much Too Soon`. Their previously unreleased covers of Otis Redding`s `Don`t Mess With Cupid` and Muddy Water`s `Hoochie Coochie Man` later surfaced on `Lipstick Killers` and `I`m a Human Being` respectively. The black music influence was particularly important for Johansen, whose subsequent career included work with jazz man Big Jay McNeely and blues man Hubert Sumlin.
As a frontman, Johansen's aggression, wit and energy made up for what was a slightly one-dimensional singing voice, while Thunders's lead playing was compared to the slashing of a knife-fight. Their repertoire was mostly written by Johansen (he used the name David Jo Hansen at the time) and Thunders and occasionally by Johansen and Sylvain. The songs were a series of vignettes about life in the New York underground. After getting a manager and attracting some music industry interest, the band got a break when Rod Stewart invited them to open for him at a London (then glam rock's capital city) concert. Shortly thereafter, Murcia died of accidental suffocation at age 21 after he passed out from drugs and alcohol.
Once back in New York, the Dolls auditioned drummers, including Marc Bell (who would go on to play with Richard Hell and Ramones under the stage name "Marky Ramone") and Jerry Nolan, a friend of the band. They selected Nolan, and after US Mercury Records' A&R man Paul Nelson signed them, they began sessions for their debut album. New York Dolls was produced by former Nazz guitarist Todd Rundgren. In an interview in Creem magazine, Rundgren says he barely touched the recording, everybody was debating how to do the mix. sales were sluggish, especially in the glam-resistant middle US, and Stereo Review magazine reviewer in 1973 compared the Dolls' guitar playing to the sound of lawnmowers.
The Dolls still polarised America's mass rock audience (a Creem magazine poll landed them wins as the best and the worst new group of 1973), but at the 'large capacity club' level, they toured the US to some satisfaction. The Dolls also toured Europe, and whilst appearing on UK TV, host Bob Harris of the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test famously derided the group as "mock rock", comparing them unfavourably with the Rolling Stones in the same way The Monkees had been with the Beatles, as their unoriginal, upstart clones. Though Harris and much of the 'old guard' of rock journalists and critics were unimpressed, young rock fans throughout the UK disagreed, and the New York Dolls' straightforward music and outrageous attitude were later cited as key influences on punk rock.
For their next album the quintet opted for producer George (Shadow) Morton, whose productions for the Shangri-Las and other girl groups in the mid-1960s had been among the band's favorites, for 1974's Too Much Too Soon. Mercury dropped the Dolls not long after the second album. In 1975, foundering in drug abuse and interpersonal spats as the opportunities dried up, the band briefly recruited Malcolm McLaren as their new manager. The kind of provocative stunts McLaren later made work for the Sex Pistols blew up in the Dolls' faces. Dressing the band in red leather for performances with a Soviet flag backdrop was no substitute for the original sex-drugs outrage of glam rock.
Break-up
Thunders and Nolan left in 1975 while on tour in Florida. They formed The Heartbreakers with bassist Richard Hell who had left Television the same week. After a few shows they added guitarist Walter Lure and few month later replaced Hell with Billy Rath. They participated in the “Anarchy Tour” with the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned in Britain in 1976, while the other Dolls recruited replacements (including Blackie Lawless a childhood friend of Kane's who replaced Thunders for the remainder of the Florida tour) and continued until 1977. The Heartbreakers recorded one British-only studio album and a few odds-and-ends live sets (including a memorable set from a Max's Kansas City show) before splintering into an on-and-off concern.
Thunders continued to tour and record throughout the 1980s, releasing one solo album (So Alone on which Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook played) and several sets of covers and a few originals. He died in New Orleans in 1991, of an alleged heroin and methadone overdose, although there are signs that he may have been murdered over a drug-related dispute, and that the police didn't properly investigate what appeared to just be the death of another junkie. It has also come to light that he suffered from leukemia. Nolan died a few months later in 1992, following a stroke, brought about by bacterial meningitis.
Johansen started a solo career after the Dolls broke up, and Sylvain was a member of his band for much of this time. Several Johansen-Sylvain songs never made it to vinyl until Johansen's solo albums: e.g., "Funky But Chic", "Girls", and "Frenchette". His fourth solo album, a concert set called Live it Up, contained a medley of The Animals' "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," "Don't Bring Me Down," and "It's My Life."
Johansen had his greatest commercial success portraying the fictional lounge lizard/singer Buster Poindexter, who mixed comedy with a kitschy hybrid of soul and tropical pop. Under Buster Poindexter's name, Johansen finally made a chart-topping single: one of the 1980s' biggest dance hits, "Hot Hot Hot." He also hosted a variety show on VH1 as Poindexter, then moved on to folk and blues with David Johansen and the Harry Smiths through the '90s. A posthumous New York Dolls album (made up of early demo tapes of the Murcia-Sylvain line-up) was released in a cassette-only edition on ROIR Records in 1981, and subsequently re-released on CD, and then on vinyl in early 2006.
Syl Sylvain formed his own band, The Criminals, then cut a solo album for RCA, while also working with Johansen. He later became a cab driver in New York, which he later described as the worst job on earth. In the early 1990s he moved to Los Angeles and recorded one album called "Sleep Baby Doll", on Fishhead Records. His bandmates on that record were: Brian Keats on drums (Dave Vanian's Phantom Chords), Speediejohn Carlucci on bass (ex- Fuzztones), & Olivier Le Baron on lead guitar. Guest appearances by Frankie Infante of Blondie and Derwood Andrews of Generation X were also included on the record. It has been re-released as "New York's Au Go Go".
Influence
The band influenced a whole era of musicians and bands such as Kiss, Hanoi Rocks, Blondie, The Clash, Ramones, Dead Boys, Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, The Damned, The Smiths, and Japan. They were also a large influence on various members of the Sex Pistols, especially guitarist Steve Jones, who later said that on looking back at his movement on stage, felt embarrassed at how much he copied Johnny Thunders' style. The Pistols' manager, Malcolm McLaren, briefly managed the Dolls towards the end of their career.
They were also a major influence on the rock music scene in New York City, having accumulated a devoted cult following during their career. By the time the New York Dolls had disbanded, Ira Robbins writes that they "singlehandedly began the local New York scene that later spawned the Ramones, Blondie, Television, Talking Heads and others. A classic case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, the Dolls were much more than just a band. Their devoted original audience became the petri dish of a scene; they emulated their heroes and formed groups in their image."
It should be noted that their influence was not confined to the legions of soundalikes - Morrisey of The Smiths and REMs Michael Stipe and Peter Buck are noted for their Dolls enthusiasms, Stipe being one of the guests on the re-union CD and Morrissey (as `Steven Morrissey` having written a book about them in his pre-Smiths days.
Reunion
UK singer-songwriter Morrissey organized a reunion of the three surviving band members (Johansen, Sylvain, and Kane) for the Meltdown Festival in 2004. Morrissey is a long-time fan of the band; in the 1970s, he headed their fan club in the UK. The reunion led to a live LP and DVD on Morrissey's Attack label, and a film, New York Doll, showing Kane's point of view of the genesis of the reunion contrasted against the backdrop of his conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, future plans were affected when the news came of Arthur Kane's unexpected death on July 13, 2004 from leukemia. During 2004 they played several festivals in the UK, and just like the old days, they were as notable for their extravagant behavior as their raucous performances.
In July 2005, the two surviving members announced a tour and a new album, titled One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This. Released on July 25, 2006 the album features guitarist Steve Conte, bassist Sami Yaffa (formerly of Hanoi Rocks), drummer Brian Delaney and keyboardist Brian Koonin, formerly a member of David Johansen and the Harry Smiths. On July 20, 2006, the New York Dolls appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, followed by a live performance in Philadelphia at the WXPN All About The Music Festival, and on July 22, 2006, a taped appearance on The Henry Rollins Show. On August 18, 2006, the band performed in a free concert before some 9,000 fans at New York's Seaport Music], on a bill with the Brooklyn-based indie band Tralala.
In October 2006 the band embarked on a UK tour, with Sylvain Sylvain taking time while in Glasgow to speak to John Kilbride of STV. The discussion covered the band's history and the current state of their live show and songwriting, with Sylvain commenting that "even if you come to our show thinking 'how can it be like it was before', we turn that around 'cos we've got such a great live, rock n'roll show".[3]
In November 2006 the Dolls began headlining "Little Steven's Underground Garage Presents the Rolling Rock and Roll Show", about 20 live gigs with numerous other bands. These shows have been very well-received and well-attended as well. The band plays a mix of their newest album as well as older favorites. In April 2007, the band played in Australia, appearing at the V Festival with Pixies, Pet Shop Boys, Gnarls Barkley, Beck, Jarvis Cocker and Phoenix. On September 22, 2007, New York Dolls was removed from the current artists section of Roadrunner Records' website, signifying the groups split with the label. The band are scheduled to play the O2 Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, London on July 4, 2008 with Morrissey and Beck and the Lounge On The Farm Festival on July 12, 2008.
Lounge On The Farm - Kent’s bestest festival, ‘Lounge On The Farm’ returns for it’s third outing on the weekend of 11-13th July 2008, even bigger and bolder than ever before, and with an increased capacity. 2007’s event established LOTF as a heavyweight festival with a uniquely local twist and 2008 is set to take the extravaganza to the next level. Set in the idyllic surrounds of Merton Farm in Canterbury, ‘Lounge On The Farm’s rustic charms will play host to 160 bands spread across 6 stages, from local heroes and cutting edge acts to renowned heavy hitters.
The guts of my Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1, made in 1962. I also have an FZ-1A. from 1966. Ironically, the FZ-1A sounds much more like "Satisfaction".
Also note the HUGE Germanium transistors.
If you didn't know, the Maestro Fuzz-Tone was the first transistorized guitar effect.
The New York Dolls are an American glam punk band formed in New York City, United States in 1971. In 2004 the band reformed with three of their original members, two of whom, David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain, continue on today and released a new album in 2006. The original bassist, Arthur Kane died shortly after their first reunion concert.
The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later spawned the Ramones, Blondie, Television, and Talking Heads.
Sylvain Sylvain and Billy Murcia, who went to junior high school and high school together, started playing in a band called “the Pox” in 1968. After the frontman quit, Murcia and Sylvain started a clothing business across the street from a doll repair shop called the New York Doll Hospital. Sylvain claimed inspired them to come up with the name for their future band. In 1970 they formed a band again and they recruited Thunders to join on bass though Sylvain ended up teaching him to play guitar, they called themselves the ‘Dolls’. When Sylvain left the band to spend a few months in London, Thunders and Murcia went their separate ways.
Thunders was eventually recruited by Kane and Rivets who had been playing together in the Bronx. At Thunders' suggestion, Murcia replaced the original drummer. Thunders played lead guitar and sang for the band known as Actress. An October 1971 rehearsal tape recorded by Rivets was released as Dawn of the Dolls. When Thunders decided he no longer wanted to be the front man, Johansen joined the band. Initially, the group was composed of singer David Johansen, guitarists Johnny Thunders and Rick Rivets (who was replaced by Sylvain Sylvain after a few months), bass guitarist Arthur "Killer" Kane and drummer Billy Murcia. The original lineup's first performance was on Christmas Eve 1971 at a homeless shelter, the Endicott Hotel.
The band was influenced by vintage rhythm and blues, the early Rolling Stones, classic American girl group songs, and anarchic post-psychedelic bands such as the MC5 and the Stooges, as well as then-current glam rockers such as Marc Bolan. They did it their own way, creating something which critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote "doesn't really sound like anything that came before it. It's hard rock with a self-conscious wit, a celebration of camp and kitsch that retains a menacing, malevolent edge.". Despite their impeccable rock/punk/glam credentials, the band`s sound was also formed by blues and soul influences, as evidenced by Johansen`s bluesy harmonica and their choice of cover versions - their version of Bo Diddley`s `Pills` appears on `New York Dolls` and The Drells `There`s Gonna Be a Showdown` and Sonny Boy Williamson`s `Don`t start Me Talking` are among the four cover versions on `Too Much Too Soon`. Their previously unreleased covers of Otis Redding`s `Don`t Mess With Cupid` and Muddy Water`s `Hoochie Coochie Man` later surfaced on `Lipstick Killers` and `I`m a Human Being` respectively. The black music influence was particularly important for Johansen, whose subsequent career included work with jazz man Big Jay McNeely and blues man Hubert Sumlin.
As a frontman, Johansen's aggression, wit and energy made up for what was a slightly one-dimensional singing voice, while Thunders's lead playing was compared to the slashing of a knife-fight. Their repertoire was mostly written by Johansen (he used the name David Jo Hansen at the time) and Thunders and occasionally by Johansen and Sylvain. The songs were a series of vignettes about life in the New York underground. After getting a manager and attracting some music industry interest, the band got a break when Rod Stewart invited them to open for him at a London (then glam rock's capital city) concert. Shortly thereafter, Murcia died of accidental suffocation at age 21 after he passed out from drugs and alcohol.
Once back in New York, the Dolls auditioned drummers, including Marc Bell (who would go on to play with Richard Hell and Ramones under the stage name "Marky Ramone") and Jerry Nolan, a friend of the band. They selected Nolan, and after US Mercury Records' A&R man Paul Nelson signed them, they began sessions for their debut album. New York Dolls was produced by former Nazz guitarist Todd Rundgren. In an interview in Creem magazine, Rundgren says he barely touched the recording, everybody was debating how to do the mix. sales were sluggish, especially in the glam-resistant middle US, and Stereo Review magazine reviewer in 1973 compared the Dolls' guitar playing to the sound of lawnmowers.
The Dolls still polarised America's mass rock audience (a Creem magazine poll landed them wins as the best and the worst new group of 1973), but at the 'large capacity club' level, they toured the US to some satisfaction. The Dolls also toured Europe, and whilst appearing on UK TV, host Bob Harris of the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test famously derided the group as "mock rock", comparing them unfavourably with the Rolling Stones in the same way The Monkees had been with the Beatles, as their unoriginal, upstart clones. Though Harris and much of the 'old guard' of rock journalists and critics were unimpressed, young rock fans throughout the UK disagreed, and the New York Dolls' straightforward music and outrageous attitude were later cited as key influences on punk rock.
For their next album the quintet opted for producer George (Shadow) Morton, whose productions for the Shangri-Las and other girl groups in the mid-1960s had been among the band's favorites, for 1974's Too Much Too Soon. Mercury dropped the Dolls not long after the second album. In 1975, foundering in drug abuse and interpersonal spats as the opportunities dried up, the band briefly recruited Malcolm McLaren as their new manager. The kind of provocative stunts McLaren later made work for the Sex Pistols blew up in the Dolls' faces. Dressing the band in red leather for performances with a Soviet flag backdrop was no substitute for the original sex-drugs outrage of glam rock.
Break-up
Thunders and Nolan left in 1975 while on tour in Florida. They formed The Heartbreakers with bassist Richard Hell who had left Television the same week. After a few shows they added guitarist Walter Lure and few month later replaced Hell with Billy Rath. They participated in the “Anarchy Tour” with the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned in Britain in 1976, while the other Dolls recruited replacements (including Blackie Lawless a childhood friend of Kane's who replaced Thunders for the remainder of the Florida tour) and continued until 1977. The Heartbreakers recorded one British-only studio album and a few odds-and-ends live sets (including a memorable set from a Max's Kansas City show) before splintering into an on-and-off concern.
Thunders continued to tour and record throughout the 1980s, releasing one solo album (So Alone on which Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook played) and several sets of covers and a few originals. He died in New Orleans in 1991, of an alleged heroin and methadone overdose, although there are signs that he may have been murdered over a drug-related dispute, and that the police didn't properly investigate what appeared to just be the death of another junkie. It has also come to light that he suffered from leukemia. Nolan died a few months later in 1992, following a stroke, brought about by bacterial meningitis.
Johansen started a solo career after the Dolls broke up, and Sylvain was a member of his band for much of this time. Several Johansen-Sylvain songs never made it to vinyl until Johansen's solo albums: e.g., "Funky But Chic", "Girls", and "Frenchette". His fourth solo album, a concert set called Live it Up, contained a medley of The Animals' "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," "Don't Bring Me Down," and "It's My Life."
Johansen had his greatest commercial success portraying the fictional lounge lizard/singer Buster Poindexter, who mixed comedy with a kitschy hybrid of soul and tropical pop. Under Buster Poindexter's name, Johansen finally made a chart-topping single: one of the 1980s' biggest dance hits, "Hot Hot Hot." He also hosted a variety show on VH1 as Poindexter, then moved on to folk and blues with David Johansen and the Harry Smiths through the '90s. A posthumous New York Dolls album (made up of early demo tapes of the Murcia-Sylvain line-up) was released in a cassette-only edition on ROIR Records in 1981, and subsequently re-released on CD, and then on vinyl in early 2006.
Syl Sylvain formed his own band, The Criminals, then cut a solo album for RCA, while also working with Johansen. He later became a cab driver in New York, which he later described as the worst job on earth. In the early 1990s he moved to Los Angeles and recorded one album called "Sleep Baby Doll", on Fishhead Records. His bandmates on that record were: Brian Keats on drums (Dave Vanian's Phantom Chords), Speediejohn Carlucci on bass (ex- Fuzztones), & Olivier Le Baron on lead guitar. Guest appearances by Frankie Infante of Blondie and Derwood Andrews of Generation X were also included on the record. It has been re-released as "New York's Au Go Go".
Influence
The band influenced a whole era of musicians and bands such as Kiss, Hanoi Rocks, Blondie, The Clash, Ramones, Dead Boys, Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, The Damned, The Smiths, and Japan. They were also a large influence on various members of the Sex Pistols, especially guitarist Steve Jones, who later said that on looking back at his movement on stage, felt embarrassed at how much he copied Johnny Thunders' style. The Pistols' manager, Malcolm McLaren, briefly managed the Dolls towards the end of their career.
They were also a major influence on the rock music scene in New York City, having accumulated a devoted cult following during their career. By the time the New York Dolls had disbanded, Ira Robbins writes that they "singlehandedly began the local New York scene that later spawned the Ramones, Blondie, Television, Talking Heads and others. A classic case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, the Dolls were much more than just a band. Their devoted original audience became the petri dish of a scene; they emulated their heroes and formed groups in their image."
It should be noted that their influence was not confined to the legions of soundalikes - Morrisey of The Smiths and REMs Michael Stipe and Peter Buck are noted for their Dolls enthusiasms, Stipe being one of the guests on the re-union CD and Morrissey (as `Steven Morrissey` having written a book about them in his pre-Smiths days.
Reunion
UK singer-songwriter Morrissey organized a reunion of the three surviving band members (Johansen, Sylvain, and Kane) for the Meltdown Festival in 2004. Morrissey is a long-time fan of the band; in the 1970s, he headed their fan club in the UK. The reunion led to a live LP and DVD on Morrissey's Attack label, and a film, New York Doll, showing Kane's point of view of the genesis of the reunion contrasted against the backdrop of his conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, future plans were affected when the news came of Arthur Kane's unexpected death on July 13, 2004 from leukemia. During 2004 they played several festivals in the UK, and just like the old days, they were as notable for their extravagant behavior as their raucous performances.
In July 2005, the two surviving members announced a tour and a new album, titled One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This. Released on July 25, 2006 the album features guitarist Steve Conte, bassist Sami Yaffa (formerly of Hanoi Rocks), drummer Brian Delaney and keyboardist Brian Koonin, formerly a member of David Johansen and the Harry Smiths. On July 20, 2006, the New York Dolls appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, followed by a live performance in Philadelphia at the WXPN All About The Music Festival, and on July 22, 2006, a taped appearance on The Henry Rollins Show. On August 18, 2006, the band performed in a free concert before some 9,000 fans at New York's Seaport Music], on a bill with the Brooklyn-based indie band Tralala.
In October 2006 the band embarked on a UK tour, with Sylvain Sylvain taking time while in Glasgow to speak to John Kilbride of STV. The discussion covered the band's history and the current state of their live show and songwriting, with Sylvain commenting that "even if you come to our show thinking 'how can it be like it was before', we turn that around 'cos we've got such a great live, rock n'roll show".[3]
In November 2006 the Dolls began headlining "Little Steven's Underground Garage Presents the Rolling Rock and Roll Show", about 20 live gigs with numerous other bands. These shows have been very well-received and well-attended as well. The band plays a mix of their newest album as well as older favorites. In April 2007, the band played in Australia, appearing at the V Festival with Pixies, Pet Shop Boys, Gnarls Barkley, Beck, Jarvis Cocker and Phoenix. On September 22, 2007, New York Dolls was removed from the current artists section of Roadrunner Records' website, signifying the groups split with the label. The band are scheduled to play the O2 Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, London on July 4, 2008 with Morrissey and Beck and the Lounge On The Farm Festival on July 12, 2008.
Lounge On The Farm - Kent’s bestest festival, ‘Lounge On The Farm’ returns for it’s third outing on the weekend of 11-13th July 2008, even bigger and bolder than ever before, and with an increased capacity. 2007’s event established LOTF as a heavyweight festival with a uniquely local twist and 2008 is set to take the extravaganza to the next level. Set in the idyllic surrounds of Merton Farm in Canterbury, ‘Lounge On The Farm’s rustic charms will play host to 160 bands spread across 6 stages, from local heroes and cutting edge acts to renowned heavy hitters.
There has been much confusion about this circuit, as the schematics on the patent, and on the original Ieaflet that came with the pedal are both wrong. I photoshopped this up from Philip Bryant's incorrect schematic at Fuzz Central and posted it on the Freestompboxes forum in 2009. then corrected one last small error in 2010!
Deb and Rudy psyching out getting ready for The Fuzztones to play at the Psychedelic night at The Cavern in Tribeca 1981.
Legendary guitar effects – the Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1, FZ-1A and FZ-1B (with sound clips).
Left-to-right: FZ-1, FZ-1A, FZ-1B
De las paredes del Fuzztone. Yo la he probado con alguna imagen en ByN y me ha gustado el resultado. Ya la subiré.
texture FREE for use...
please credit me with a link back to this texture...
I would love to see what can you do with this, please leave a link or a sample of your work in the comments
Well, I woke up and I was all alone
Looked for the girl but she must have gone
Then I saw her name on that ol' tombstone
Now I know my lover ain't flesh and bones
UH-OH!
FUZZTONES - Going to a graveyard
Lots of fresh stuff.
The Kimbara Fuzz Box is currently for sale on eBay.
Missing is my Subdecay Blackstar (had it disassembled at the moment I took this picture) and my Hermida Mosferatu (currently on loan).
The 2010 Steve Terrell Spooktacular.
Fe fe, fi fi, fo fo fum, it's a Monster's Holiday! Halloween is here again and it's the second anniversary of The Big Enchilada! Sit back with a cold glass of your favorite blood type and enjoy the ghoulish sounds of Stud Cole, Roky Erikson, Johnny Dowd, Deadbolt, The Monsters, The Fuzztones, The Scrams, Electricoolade, The Electric Mess, The Hydeouts, Marshmallow Overcoat and so many more. Rock your rockin' bones!
Here's the playlist
(Background Music: Zombie by The Big Guys)
You've Become a Witch by The Electric Mess
Monster's Holiday by The Plainsmen
Creeps at Night by The Hydeouts
Voodoo Moonshine by Deadbolt
The Witch by Stud Cole
La Llorona by The Scrams
Witchcraft in the Air by Bettye LaVette
(Background Music: Spooks-a-Poppin' Theme by The A-Bones)
Don't Shake Me Lucifer by Roky Erickson & The Resurectionists
I'm the Wolfman by The Fuzztones
Coffin Nails by Coffin Nails
The Zombie Stomp by Danny Ware
Breathing With the Dead by Organs
I Got the Creeps by Big John Bates
Frankenstein Meets The Beatles by Dickie Goodman
(Background Music: Zombie March by Dirtbag Surfers )
Spookie Boogie by Cecil Campbell's Tennessee Ramblers
Werewolf Dynamite by Kim Fowley
Zombiefied by Electricoolade
13 Ghosts by Marshmallow Overcoat
I Was a Teenage Werewolf by The Monsters
Demons and Goats by Johnny Dowd
Want More Spooky Tunes?
Check out my previous Halloween podcasts
Big Enchilada 15 CLICK HERE
Big Enchilada 1 CLICK HERE
Listen to this podcast 7 p.m. Mountain Time Tuesday October 26 on Real Punk Radio
I did a series of photos for Soho News to promote the Psychedelic Weekend event at a club called The Cavern. It was a wild weekend of various psychedelic/garage bands and go-go dancers. Some of the bands and people involved are featured here. I recognize some of the bands and people here. I see Rudy Protrudi and Deb O'Nair from The Fuzztones, Wendy Wild and members of her band The Mad Violets, Tom Scully, who organized the event and DJed at it and the lovely Viva. She inspired everyone to new psychedelic heights at the event or maybe it was the punch they were serving that weekend. This photo was taken at St. Marks Church. Does anyone recognize any of the other people?
I have known Tom Scully for quite some time. I remember Tom back in the daze/days of New York in the '80s. I remember him having wild roof top parties on top of his building on Chrystie Street in Chinatown with films being shown, bands playing and Tom DJing all with the background of the glittering Manhattan skyline. Things always seemed about to go out of control, but somehow when the sun started to rise, it calmed down and everyone was pleased that the roof did not collapse. I recall that there were several casualties at those parties. One person fell off the roof and another walked into the elevator on the 12th floor. The elevator was not there and he fell all 12 flights down the elevator shaft. Surprisingly, both people survived. Tom organized the Psychedelic Weekend Parties at The Cavern. I had my own small bar in the basement. Tom gave me the name of The Reverend (Or The Rev) and named my small bar The Confessional Booth. I was given a punch bowel with a glowing blue liquid in it. I was instructed to give a glass to anyone who gives me a bell. This special brew was spiked with an unknown quantity of acid/LSD. The night got stranger and stranger with bands like The Fuzztones and Certain General playing as crazed painted day-glo blue go-go girls danced out of control. People did not confess at my confessional booth that night because most of them could not speak or were too busy bouncing off the walls and dancing. At the end of the last night, the blue go-go girls kidnapped Tom. He woke up the next morning to find himself painted all blue and had to find his way home. He could not get the blue off his skin for a week.
Tom was a premier revolutionary DJ throughout the clubs in New York and he eventually started to DJ in Europe. Tom in his day, was a true mover and shaker in New York. In my opinion, he has not been given proper credit for what he accomplished during his time in New York. In 1978, he and Susan Hannaford created and produced the New Wave Vaudeville show at Irving Plaza. Ann Magnuson was the director of the show. This one of a kind vaudeville show was a cultural changing point in New York. It eventually gave birth to the new creative clubs that mixed performance with art, film, music, theme parties and went onto inspire so many creative souls of that time. It was Klaus Nomi's premier performance at the New Wave Vaudeville Show, that amazed people with his other world visuals and sound. From this point, Tom, Susan and Ann went onto to create the infamous Club 57 in the basement of a Polish church at 57 ST. Marks Place in the East Village. It mutated into a warped creative playground for wacked-out kindred artistic spirited funsters. Tom and Susan created the weekly Monster Movie Club and Ann Magnuson was the manager of the club. Ann was able to experiment and develop her ideas and performances. Susan was at the entrance accepting the donations for entrance, looking very much like Morticia Addams from another planet. Tom took his role very serious as the Monster Movie Club curator. He would organize all screenings and was the projectionist. Tom would organize low budget B monster/horror films to be shown to an eager East Village audience. He would organize the filmmakers to come and speak about their films. If I am not mistaken, he even got Russ Meyers to appear, speak and answer questions. Tom was the Monster Movie Club professor whereas Susan encouraged people to talk back to the films, laugh, have fun and create scenes. This upset the professor side of Tom, but after a few drinks he even got into the fun of it. Tom inspired and encouraged lots of people on the scene at that time to be true to who they are and not be afraid to perform and look silly. He always said, "If you can't be silly and idiotic sometimes, what is the sense of it all?"
Tom eventually moved out of New York with his french wife Sybille. They lived in Paris and then Montpellier. They created two beautiful and talented daughters named Camille and Charlotte. Tom and Sybille live with Camille in Berlin. Charlotte lives in Paris and is a make-up artist for films and photo sessions. She is also pursuing her interest in film and photography. Sybille is a photographer. Camille is presently completing her studies in Berlin and is active in photography with the help of her mother. Tom is involved in numerous art projects and plays in a fun punk band called (what else?) Monster Movie Club! The photo above is Tom after a Monster Movie Club performance in Berlin and the photo below is Tom with his daughters Camille and Charlotte.