The
first section is from Alice
Bag's website and punkblog.
Alice is considered by many to be the very first "hard
core" singer with her radical band, the Bags, who first
hit the streets in 1977. Their riotous show at the Troubadour,
known for folk singers and laid-back rockers, is still talked
about today. I always considered Alice a sweet, thoughtful,
beautiful woman and never realized this side of her. She was
and is a true style icon, a woman whose inner beauty is matched
by her outer beauty, which you will see as I post some of the
many shots I took of this amazing woman. I am so blessed to
be her friend!
From her website and punkblog:
"Denied
her rightful place,
The historians have ignored her
You never see her face..."
-Vaginal Davis,
"Essays de la Mujer"
"This website exists
today only because courageous, intelligent and daring women
back in the 1970's decided to break the rules of society. They
rallied together under the banner of the punk movement. Many
of them are no longer with us. This page is dedicated to their
memories.
I am VERY pleased and excited to announce
that we have just opened a new section at www.alicebag.com,
dedicated to the women who were involved in the early L.A. punk
scene. One of the goals of this website is to expose the important
and too-often overlooked contributions of female artists in
the late seventies punk movement. The Women In L.A. Punk section
aims to address that by allowing interviewees to share their
recollections and opinions in an unrestricted forum.
I am sending out e-mail interviews to women
who were actively involved in the late seventies L.A. punk scene.
Everyone gets the same eight questions. No space or time limitations.
Since I think that women's voices have already been over-edited
by others, I reserve the right to refuse to edit these women's
responses. Instead, I intend to publish them in their entirety,
raw and unexpurgated. LET THE WOMEN SPEAK!
I had the good fortune to have as my first
interview Ms. Jenny Lens, the legendary punk photographer
who shot some of the most iconic images of Patti Smith, The
Ramones, The Screamers and so many others. I've considered Jenny
a friend for well over twenty years now and believe
me when I say that the stories she shares in
her interview are not even the tip of the iceberg.
She is one of the unsung
heroines of the movement. Enjoy! Alice."
WOMEN IN L.A. PUNK
INTERVIEW WITH JENNY LENS INTERVIEW CONDUCTED IN NOVEMBER 2004
1. What was/is your contribution
to the punk community?
I took some of the most iconic shots in punk. Ever. Most of
the following performers told me they loved the shots. Blondie's
Debby Harry on the floor, an early crotch shot (which not only
got them incredible world-wide coverage, but I was banned from
ever shooting them again. Their management never believed I
called to clear the shot first. C'est la fucking vie). Patti
Smith, on her knees with glowing Strat, who "still dares
other photographers to take better photos than I." Doesn't
stop her from crediting my shots to "Jenny Stern,"
although I've been "Jenny Lens" in print since 1978,
having been anointed that name late summer 1977. Nude Captain
Sensible of the Damned, which their manager, Jake Riviera, turned
into a button and I made zilch from the shot, not one penny
ever.
Live Ramones at the Whisky. Dee Dee Ramone
in a bath towel. Joey with fist in the air, standing next to
a life-size transformer, also fist in the air. Spin mag used
those for their obit, paid me and treat me very well. November
Spin, with Johnny's last interview with them, opens with a full-page
close-up of Johnny smiling in San Francisco, their first West
Coast tour, August, 1976.
Screamers on the bus bench!! Oh that is
an all-time fave! Totally spontaneous. I included "666"
spray-painted on the wooden fence, not knowing what it meant!!
What does a nice Jewish girl know about the sign of the devil?
We found this little old lady, sitting on the bench, with a
neck brace, reading some rag, after Tomata purchased his fave
mag, the soon-to-be-banned, "Violent World." The Screamers
sat next to her, a man in Bermuda shorts (how LA is that) walking
in the background, next to the obligatory palm tree, and my
Alfred Hitchcock touch, my shadow. We asked her if we could
shoot her, gave her the mag, I stood back and took one shot.
From then on, Tomata kept laughing cos he thought she was so
cute. One chance and it was perfect!! Now that's when the magic
happened!! What a great shot! None of it planned. I will never
cease to be amazed how that all came together. That happened
quite often, but that was the best of the best.
Iggy Pop at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium,
April 15 or 16, 1977. He told me he liked my photos better than
his photographer! I was sitting on two folding chairs with Mary
Rat and Hellin Killer, with no flash and a coupler that turned
my wide angle into close up, but cut the light down, so I could
only take a few shots because he was bathed in dark light, plus
it was so hard cos we all were bouncing around. No flash meant
having to shoot when he was standing still. Let's see, no light,
Iggy standing still, three bodies on two chairs, two of them
bouncing up and down constantly. And everyone thinks it's so
easy to take rock pix!!
Cherie Curry of the Runaways, when they headlined Santa Monica Civic, April Fool's Day,
1977, in fishnet stockings and a white merry widow corset, legs
spread, torn knee, her curvilinear silhouette shadow on drum
kit behind her, pointing to herself as "Cherry Bomb."
The first Germs shots ever published, at
Pleasant Gehman's demand for Slash magazine in 1977. Johnny
Rotten and Joan Jett in a Whisky booth, 1978 (also thanks to
Plez). First Blasters in Slash (who lost my negs). My 1977 Weirdos
for a Slash magazine benefit at Larchmont Hall, with the guard's
fingers in his ears, was called a "Classic" by Johnny
Whiteside in the LA Weekly, a couple of weeks after CityBeat
ran the photo with David Jones' Weirdos El Rey preview, November,
2003. The LA Weekly won't use my photos because I refused to
sign their contract, submitted after they published my Dee Dee
obit shot, June 2002. Their contract violates a recent Supreme
Court decision regarding free-lance work. I fight for my rights,
no matter the consequence. They can fuck themselves. I don't
sell my soul for the almighty buck.
I also have tons of unpublished photos of
the performers and fans wearing amazingly creative clothes,
at parties, shows, on the street. I documented the natives in
their element. I rarely shot studio shots cos I was so shy.
I wanted to be invisible and "capture" a moment of
reality, people being themselves, being the artists most of
us were. We created our own lifestyle, the look, the music,
the graphics, everything. I had to document it for history.
I began to photograph the emerging LA music
scene in early 1976. Zolar X rehearsed in my home but I threw
out the live shots. Silly me -- they were so weird, who knew
Jonesy would play them after Jello Biafra released a CD of theirs?
I regard shooting the Ramones at the Roxy, the second night
I saw them, August 12, 1976, as the beginning of my life as
a rock photographer. The show, the group, the shots that changed
my life.
2. Which artist, band concert and/or
show had the most impact on your life?
This question has three answers: X, Ramones, Clash (with Patti
Smith and the Screamers coming close). X is by far the most
important band in my life. Their songs speak to me in ways no
artist, whether in music, books, poetry, movies, paintings,
etc comes close. For once, women's voices — passionate,
articulate, strong, sensual, intelligent, angry, hurt, demanding,
needing, are heard, along men's voices with the totality and
tonality of real adult issues. Black humor, film noir, street
life, eroticism, exorcism, lyricism, musical heights that reach
and transcend words, passions, feelings. I could write a book
about each of their songs, especially the earliest, that I witnessed
as they performed for the first times and their constant variations
from show to show as they continued to explore the many meanings
behind the words and ways of expressing the music.
I was there before there was X was a band,
knew and lived their lifestyle, and photographed them and others
who continue to have such a major impact on so many lives. To
see X transform from a rather slow, awkward noisy band, not
pleasing to look at because Exene wore the ugliest clothes with
such horrible expressions to the tightest, most exciting band,
never knowing exactly how they'd deliver each song is among
the highlights of my life. Like making love, not knowing exactly
how one will feel, which new sensation and re-awakening those
feelings long dormant or bubbling up to the surface, explosive
and life-affirming, anticipating those breath-taking moments
and what/where will they lead to and feeling one's body become
electric and vibrant while being turned on by one's lover whose
body is radiating mine and mine his. We keep feeling and exploring
and coming alive, hallucinating, reaching new heights or revisiting
those exquisite sensations — that's X and that's only
the tip of the iceberg. White heat, top of the world, mom!
I saw Patti Smith on January 30, 1976. I
stood in line in that cold winter eve, dismayed people got out
of their car and walked right in, while I couldn't even see
her by the time I got in. I made a promise to myself, while
in line, that somehow I'd be able to do that. I wasn't pretty,
young or thin, so being a groupie was out, I can't sing or play
or write songs. I had no idea what I could do, but I was going
to live this lifestyle, even though I had no idea what it was.
I read all I could, which was "Back Door Man," "New
York Rocker," some articles in "Creem," went
to some shows and bought "The Ramones" as soon as
it hit the streets. I was among that elite group on August 11,
1976, witnessing the transformation not only of our culture
but our lives that fateful first Roxy night. I was totally enamored
of Dee Dee's cheekbones. I grabbed my camera, went to the Hooper's
Camera in Granada Hills, in the valley where I lived, the salesman
put the film in, told me what setting to use, and shot unbelievably
beautiful shots of dear, sweet, tormented Dee Dee and a few
of Joey, Johnny and Tommy.
A girl I'd seen at other rock shows asked
if I wanted to go to the hotel where the opening act, the Flaming
Groovies, were staying. It was 2 AM, so why not? Imagine my
shock and delight when da brudders from Forest Hills walked
in. Their manager, Danny Fields, invited us up to the room.
I photographed and followed the Ramones down to the Golden Bear
in Huntington Beach and up to the Savoy in San Francisco. Creem
magazine described me as a "250 pound cherub." Considering
that was about 90 pounds more than I weighed, it was a back-handed
compliment, but wow, I was in Creem, never dreaming that my
name would be on the masthead throughout those early punk years,
from 1977 to at least 1980. I didn't put my camera down from
August 12, 1976 until summer 1980, when I was burned out financially,
emotionally and physically (a lot thinner due to drugs and little
sleep or food), from 4 years of constant sex 'n' drugs 'n' rock
'n' roll. The Ramones forever changed my life. Would I have
ever become a rock photographer if not for Dee Dee's cheekbones
and then meeting them? I doubt it.
The most incredible, exciting, vibrant,
always brilliant live act was the Clash. Their energy, clothes,
songs, group dynamics guaranteed the most heart-pumping, thrilling
awesome shows of my life. X comes close, but the Clash had a
mission and all of us who ever saw Joe, Mick, Paul and Topper
know what I'm talking about. I saw them not only up and down
California, but also in England, June – July 1980. The
ironic part is at different times, I was intimately involved
with 3 of their road crew, hung out back stage, but was so intimidated
by them I have few off-stage shots. I just couldn't shoot them
offstage and who can explain that? Their magic just paralyzed
me. Don't ask me why.
Patti's Roxy show was amazing, transcendent,
magical, never-to-be repeated. That's the sad part – other
bands got better or if the Ramones or Clash, were always consistently
amazing. Others enjoy Patti even now, I just don't react as
I did and that could be a reflection as to who I am now.
The Screamers show on my birthday, July
20, 1978, at the Roxy. I just came home from Houston after shooting
the Rolling Stones, took some mushrooms and shot the best Screamers
and among the best live shots in my life. How I focused, let
alone got a shot of Tomata du Plenty (their lead singer) and
Sheila, punkette and perfect foil for Tomata, both looking EXACTLY
like Edward Munch's famous "Scream" painting is like
a miraculous comet, one of those art moments where everything
lights up in alignment and mysticism. How could they look like
that painting and be called the Screamers and I don't think
it was planned? How did I focus – all I remember was hallucinating
outta my mind. I also took a shot of Tommy Gear, their brilliant
songwriter, backup singer and keyboardist, looking exactly like
Antonin Artaud as a priest in Danish director Carl Dreyer's
great silent masterpiece, "La Passion de Jeanne d' Arc,"
(1928). Earlier I told Tomata that Tommy always reminded me
of Artaud, so Tomata told me to tell Tommy cos he loved Artaud.
Tommy stood in the Roxy backstage door, facing in, with a blank
expression when I told him. That's Tommy! Then I took that shot!
3. What was the role of women in
the early punk scene?
The analogy is that of the early days of the movie industry.
In both cases, the men in power dismissed punk and the "flickers."
That enable women to do anything they wanted to do. Perform,
write songs, write reviews, create fanzines, manage, photograph,
book shows, be fashion plates, lovers and muses but with our
own power. We decided what we wanted to do and were treated
as equals to the men. We set our own agenda, our own goals.
Nothing could hold us back except ourselves. And because so
many of us were young and wild, the drugs, booze, sex and frantic
lifestyle guaranteed some of us would not participate for long.
I am really sick and tired of hearing how drugs and booze destroyed
the scene. Look at any art movement, any rock revolution
and see they are all like comets: blazing across the sky, memorable,
but short-lived and influential. So why not live fully and explore
all of it? Drugs did not destroy the scene. Lack of recognition
by the rock industry and constant denigration by the media destroyed
our initial burst of energy and creativity. If anything, women
kept it going.
Mary Pickford was the very first star as
well as the first woman to co-own/found a movie studio (United
Artists) and often directed. She was much more than "Little
Mary" and "America's Sweetheart"-- bigger than
Madonna at her most famous. Her frequent collaborator, Frances
Marion, was the most powerful female screenwriter in movie history.
Lois Weber and Alice Guy, were noted film directors who added
humanity and social, personal issues to the lexicon of movie
making. So many others lost to history but whose impact affects
culture to this day. "Anonymous was a woman." But
in punk, we had our say and wow, what a great time! Even with
all the crap, we had our place in the sun, I mean, moonlight!
4. What is the legacy of punk in
your life?
Punk is my life. I denied it for two decades and was miserable.
I missed so many great shows and people. Only when I listened
to people who constantly told me my photos have value did I
start to come to life. My biggest regret is losing all that
time. Things are so expensive and I have minor but irritating
health issues that limit the time and energy I can put into
my archive. I'm working on it. If not for punk, I would have
jumped off the bridge over the freeway across the street 2 years
ago. Punk is an attitude, it's the way some of us are hard-wired
and there's lots of us. Even if I never fulfill most of my dreams,
I lived a life many envy. I am proud of my legacy and participation.
5. What are you listening to now?
Ramones "Anthology," X's "Los Angeles" and
"Live at the Whisky," Dangerhouse CDs (unfortunately
out-of-print, but amazing stuff!), Kristian Hoffman (especially
"&"), Iggy's "Brick by Brick," Electricoolade's
"Taste Me" (produced by the Kessel Brothers), Talking
Heads "Sand in the Vaseline," disc 2, Patti Smith's
bootleg, "Teenage Perversity and Ships in the Night"
(taped the night I first saw here while I was in line) and "Land,"
disc 1 (two is crap), "The Clash," Sex Pistols' "Bollocks,"
Elvis Costello's "Armed Forces," Screamers releases
from Xeroid, Cole Porter original recordings, and tons of indie
103.1, especially Henry Rollins, Joe Sib and Steve Jones. Yeah,
Steve was an asshole when I was his guest on the show. I said
I had a question from Alice, but he threw me out cos he doesn't
know early LA punk. But he plays a wide variety of music, so
I try to catch it every day. I can't stand hearing the same
crap all the time, especially when they don't have the DJs on.
I am totally addicted to Rhino's boxed set
of rebel music from the 1950's: "Loud, Fast and Out of
Control, Wild in the Streets." They've got tons of originals
later covered by so many punk bands who reintroduced those songs
to other rockers who covered later them. Tons of energy with
real punk spirit! Thanks Rhino!
6. Do you have any funny or interesting
stories to share?
Oh Alice, where do I begin? It's 1 AM, I'm watching a melodramatic
film, "Frenchmen's Creek," a great romantic fantasy
about a pirate lover and rich, bored, married woman carrying
on. Phone rings and voice says, "Do you have any ludes?"
I sat up and said, "Who is this?" It was IGGY
POP downstairs in a neighbor's apartment. I grabbed
my slides, mounted in plastic holders, 20 to a page, and ran
downstairs. He grabbed me and I left my precious slides with
his manager and my neighbor Laura. We went back upstairs and
all I can say is: he has the biggest tongue! I wanted him to
autograph my "Raw Power" LP, but he said later. Of
course he never came back up, but I went down to get my slides.
Iggy Pop seduced me [schtupped, ok, we fucked] in my own apartment! Iggy Pop? ME? Yep! Then
a couple of years later I casually mentioned to Laura and her
friend, Dimita, my Clash black and white shots, which I took
while standing on the side of the stage at the Santa Monica
Civic, were at a lab. That night they broke into the lab and
stole my work. I have the color slides, but as many times as
I shot them, nothing compares to those black and white shots.
Which I'm sure they lost or traded in a drug deal. That still
hurts. A lot.
How about how I got my name? "She started
to hate the niggers and Jews and the Mexicans who gave her a
lotta shit, and the homosexuals and the idle rich, she had to
get out, get out . . ." This Jew was all too happy to see
Faye Hart, aka Farrah Faucet-Minor, leave. She would taunt and
torment me, stopping me on the street, standing so close to
me, saying, "Hitler was right. Jews should be burned .
. ." beyond that, I couldn't listen. I could only look
at Exene, staring at me and watching my reaction, which was
stunned shock and tears. But they let me hang out at their apartment
and I took some awesome party shots. One night Farrah was attacking
me, maybe trying to hurt me or take off my clothes. I remember
screaming and leaving. Later the police arrived because someone
reported a woman in trouble! I wish I had stayed to see the
looks on their faces!! I laugh thinking about that! Another
night, drunk as usual, Farrah called me a barrage of names.
Holding chicken in one hand and a constant bottle of beer in
the other, she screamed "Jenny chicken breast! Jenny Lens!"
My face lit up and from then on I was Jenny Lens, to her everlasting
dismay. Ha ha, you never know where something good will
come from someone hateful.
And to those who read, "We Got the
Neutron Bomb," Farrah meant it. The book debated if she
just said things to get a reaction. She didn't taunt Jews, including
getting into a fight with the New Yawk girlfriend of the Dictators'
lead singer, Handsome Dick Manitoba, and being 86'd (thrown
out) of the Starwood (or was it the Whisky?) just cos she wanted
the attention. The Dictators, who started as early as the Ramones
at CBGB's, were primarily Jewish and proud of it. Farrah was
as anti-Semitic as they come. Take it from someone who knows.
There were tons of Jews in punk, more than people admitted in
those days. But Jews are rebels and under-dogs who never stop
believing in their dreams. Art and music kept us alive during
the Holocaust. One stupid woman wouldn't deter us. No one could,
although many tried.
I remember reading a music mag around the
time the Go-Go's released "Our Lips are Sealed." Bigwig
record execs were so aghast this all-girl band, who wrote their
own songs, played their own instruments, were managed by a woman,
and were having such a hit! They put them down! But that didn't
stop the girls I hung out with and shot from shooting to the
top! I am so proud of them!! I remember telling Jane earlier
to save her receipts for guitar strings and things for her taxes.
She thought I was nuts. I saw her at Tangiers summer 2004 and
she gave me several big hugs. I am always so pleased people
remember me fondly.
Oh, late the life I led, the most amazing
memories. Never in my wildest imagination did I think fat, shy
me would get laid all the time, dance all night long, take amazing
shots, see the best bands, party all the time, take tons of
drugs and live this lifestyle for 4 years! That's when living
in LA was cheap, when the scene was small and tight.
Yes I cried all the time. It was hard to
get photo passes, bands who I helped get a gig cos of my published
photo(s) would give me such a hard time and give their friends
not only passes, but promo items. I missed out on a lot, I was
teased, I felt belittled by record company personnel and fellow
punks. I was too thin-skinned, too gullible and vulnerable.
But I never gave up. I hated taking photos, lugging the heavy
equipment and the flashes that took too long to go off, the
cameras that over-exposed or didn't work. Having to roll my
own film, often double-exposing or developing my own film and
prints, often wrong. Or driving to both a color and black and
white lab when everyone was going to sleep as the sun came up.
Sending off so many photos that were credited to someone else
or not at all and getting paid was rare and being ripped off
was common. The technical aspect was awful.
But I persevered because the music, the
scene, the ability to live on our own terms while creating and
enjoying something so lasting and influential and important
and I was in the middle of it all, propelling it along while
being swept along with it. The tidal wave of a rare cultural
revolution, something I dreamt about when reading so much art
and movie history. It was certainly the most vibrant and defining
moments of my life. Was I supposed to waste my energy and youth
on some stupid job? Buy a house for $50,000 worth $2 or 3 million
now? Naw, I couldn't do the 9 to 5 required for that. I had
to do what I did. As they sang in "Chorus Line": "what
I did for love."
7. Are there any punk women from
the early scene that you feel have not been adequately recognized?
Photographer Melanie Nissen, but that's her choice. Her photos,
so unique, thrilling and stunning, were better than anyone from
America or England and that includes some famous names as Annie
Liebovitz, Lynn Goldsmith or anyone, male or female. British
Pennie Smith, well known for her Clash shots, is another incredible
photographer.
LA punk scene: Marina del Rey and
Genny Body from Backstage Pass. They have incredible stories!
Jade Zebest, who created the fanzine, "Generation X."
Redheaded Natasha, and blonde, sometimes violet haired Mary
Rat. I was so very shy that I didn't know the names of many
of the people I hung with and shot. Brian Grillo and Kristian
Hoffman, who spent many more evenings at the Masque than I and
elsewhere, would know. They have great stories!
8. What is something we should know about you that we
probably don't know?
I have a BA in Art from CSUN and a Master of Fine Arts Degree
from California Institute of the Arts in Valencia. I was an
exhibiting artist and college teacher when I rejected my boring,
safe life to take photos. I was involved with Judy Chicago's
"Dinner Party" and my name has traveled around the
world with that project. I left it cos I preferred Patti over
Judy. I wanted to go out on my own! I never had a normal teenage
life – all I did was study and keep house, so this was
my chance to finally live! I studied modern art history on my
own and jumped into punk cos I knew this was comparable to the
great art movements, be it Surrealism, the Ballets Russe (Stravinsky's
"Rite of Spring" debut in Paris and subsequent riot
was nothing in comparison to what we did nightly), Impressionism
and other movements. I knew what I was doing. I had
no doubt punk would change our world, not just music. That's why I shot so much fashion, both men and women. I just
wish I kept more flyers. But looking back, it is truly a miracle
I'm still living, still have my photos and my mind. Now to do
something with them. I still dream too much.
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