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Devo drummer Alan Myers R.I.P.
06.26.2013
08:49 am
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Alan Myers, Devo’s drummer from 1976 to 1985, has died of cancer.

Devo’s Gerald Casale praised Myers on Twitter:

... the most incredible drummer I had the privilege to play with for 10 years. Losing him was like losing an arm. RIP!! I begged him not to quit Devo. He could not tolerate being replaced by the Fairlight and autocratic machine music. I agreed. Alan, you were the best – a human metronome and then some. A once in a lifetime find thanks to Bob Mothersbaugh. U were born to drum Devo!”

Myers laying down his indelible and deeply quirky groove:
 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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06.26.2013
08:49 am
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A Door closes: Ray Manzarek dead at 74
05.20.2013
05:07 pm
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Sad to hear this.

Via The Doors’ Facebook page:

Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and founding member of The Doors, passed away today at 12:31PM PT at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany after a lengthy battle with bile duct cancer. He was 74. At the time of his passing, he was surrounded by his wife Dorothy Manzarek, and his brothers Rick and James Manczarek.

Manzarek is best known for his work with The Doors who formed in 1965 when Manzarek had a chance encounter on Venice Beach with poet Jim Morrison. The Doors went on to become one of the most controversial rock acts of the 1960s, selling more than 100-million albums worldwide, and receiving 19 Gold, 14 Platinum and five multi-Platinum albums in the U.S. alone. “L.A.Woman,” “Break On Through to the Other Side,” “The End,” “Hello, I Love You,” and “Light My Fire” were just some of the band’s iconic and ground-breaking songs. After Morrison’s death in 1971, Manzarek went on to become a best-selling author, and a Grammy-nominated recording artist in his own right. In 2002, he revitalized his touring career with Doors’ guitarist and long-time collaborator, Robby Krieger.

“I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my friend and bandmate Ray Manzarek today,” said Krieger. “I’m just glad to have been able to have played Doors songs with him for the last decade. Ray was a huge part of my life and I will always miss him.”

Manzarek is survived by his wife Dorothy, brothers Rick and James Manczarek, son Pablo Manzarek, Pablo’s wife Sharmin and their three children Noah, Apollo and Camille. Funeral arrangements are pending. The family asks that their privacy be respected at this difficult time. In lieu of flowers, please make a memoriam donation in Ray Manzarek’s name at www.standup2cancer.org

Below, a post-Jim Morrison Doors do “Love Me Two Times” on Germany’s Beat Club TV show, with Manzarek taking over the vocal duties:
 

Posted by Richard Metzger
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05.20.2013
05:07 pm
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Warhol Superstar and Beatnik poet, Taylor Mead RIP
05.09.2013
05:21 pm
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Sad to hear that Taylor Mead, underground movie star, Lower East Side fixture, bon vivant, Warhol Superstar, poet, feeder of stray cats, teller of funny stories and sweet and charming old guy died yesterday in Colorado at the ripe old age of 88.

A gay icon who was never in the closet, Mead was the subject of a documentary Excavating Taylor Mead, which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2005. Mead had been in the news recently over his travails with his landlord.
 

Above, Marcel Duchamp, Ultra Violet and Taylor Mead, 1967
 
Below, Taylor Mead, Craig Vandenberg and Candy Darling in Anton Perich’s short film Candy and Daddy:
 

Posted by Richard Metzger
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05.09.2013
05:21 pm
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Ray Harryhausen: The film-maker who made the impossible possible has died
05.07.2013
05:38 pm
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The legendary visual effects master Ray Harryhausen died today at his London home, he was 92.

A statement was issued on behalf of The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation:

The Harryhausen family regret to announce the death of Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects pioneer and stop-motion model animator. He was a multi-award winner which includes a special Oscar and BAFTA. Ray’s influence on today’s film makers was enormous, with luminaries; Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, George Lucas, John Landis and the UK’s own Nick Park have cited Harryhausen as being the man whose work inspired their own creations.

...

Harryhausen’s genius was in being able to bring his models alive. Whether they were prehistoric dinosaurs or mythological creatures, in Ray’s hands they were no longer puppets but became instead characters in their own right, just as important as the actors they played against and in most cases even more so.

If it wasn’t a monster movie, then it wasn’t worth watching. That was my narrow view of films when I was a child. There was the usual list of werewolves, and vampires, and stitched-together cadavers from Frankenstein’s lab, but there was nothing quite as thrilling as seeing Ray Harryhausen’s name on a film.

Harryhausen’s name on a movie meant unforgettable special effects that made any average film extraordinary. Before VHS or DVD recorders, we memorized those key scenes to replay in our heads, and discuss at our leisure. The ghoulish, resurrected skeletons that fought Jason and the Argonauts; the Rhedosaurus that tore up New York in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms; the Terradactyl that terrorized Raquel Welch in One Million Years B.C.; the sinewed goddess Khali that fought Sinbad; these were memories that made many a childhood special - mine included.

It was seeing the original version of King Kong that started Harryhausen off on his career. His ability to duplicate some of Willis O’Brien’s groundbreaking effects led the young Harryhausen to meet and then work with his idol on Mighty Joe Young, in 1949. Their collaboration won an Oscar, and set Harryhausen off on his career.

Today, tributes poured in from across the film industry praising Ray Harryhausen‘s genius:

“Ray has been a great inspiration to us all in special visual industry. The art of his earlier films, which most of us grew up on, inspired us so much.” “Without Ray Harryhausen, there would likely have been no STAR WARS”  —George Lucas.

“THE LORD OF THE RINGS is my ‘Ray Harryhausen movie’. Without his life-long love of his wondrous images and storytelling it would never have been made – not by me at least”   — Peter Jackson

“In my mind he will always be the king of stop-motion animation”  —-  Nick Park

“His legacy of course is in good hands because it’s carried in the DNA of so many film fans.”  — Randy Cook

“You know I’m always saying to the guys that I work with now on computer graphics “do it like Ray Harryhausen”  — Phil Tippett.

“What we do now digitally with computers, Ray did digitally long before but without computers. Only with his digits.”  —Terry Gilliam.

“His patience, his endurance have inspired so many of us.” — Peter Jackson

“Ray, your inspiration goes with us forever.” — Steven Spielberg

“I think all of us who are practioners in the arts of science fiction and fantasy movies now all feel that we’re standing on the shoulders of a giant.
If not for Ray’s contribution to the collective dreamscape, we wouldn’t be who we are.” — James Cameron

A sad loss, and a sad day, but what movies he has left us!

R.I.P.
Ray Frederick Harryhausen
1920-2013

 

 
With thanks to NellyM
 

Posted by Paul Gallagher
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05.07.2013
05:38 pm
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‘Prick Up Your Ears’: Kenneth Williams and John Lahr talk Joe Orton in 1978
04.29.2013
12:18 pm
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John Lahr discusses Prick Up Your Ears, his superb biography on playwright Joe Orton, with actor and friend, Kenneth Williams and theater critic, Michael Billington, on the book’s release in 1978.

The cherubic Orton was arguably the most exciting and original playwrights to break through in the 1960s—his first play Entertaining Mr. Sloane was an influence on Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming, while his last What the Butler Saw led to political controversy and questions being raised in parliament—in reference to the size of Winston Churchill’s cock. Sadly, Orton’s life was cut short by murder—he was working on a film script for The Beatles (Up Against It) when he died (the Fabs made Magical Mystery Tour instead)—and one can only imagine what works of brilliance he would have concocted had he lived.

The quality of this interview is iffy, but it is a marvelous and important piece of cultural history for those with an interest in Orton (or even Williams). It’s also fascinating to hear some of the “politically correct” language used by presenter, Valerie Singleton, and interviewer Billington, where Orton is described as a “practicing homosexual”—as if he was in training for an examination. All jolly good fun.
 

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds

Because We’re Queer: The LIfe and Crimes of Joe Orton


Book-jackets defaced by Joe Orton in 1962


 
With thanks to NellyM
 

 

Posted by Paul Gallagher
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04.29.2013
12:18 pm
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RIP P-Funk bass whizz Cordell ‘Boogie’ Mosson
04.29.2013
10:36 am
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Boogie Mosson in some awesome ‘Motor Booty Affair’ garb
 
Thanks to commenter Daniel Kalmann for alerting me to this sad news last week via Facebook. On April 18th, Cordell ‘Boogie’ Mosson, bassist and integral player in the Parliafunkadelicment Thang, funked off this mortal coil and ascended to that Mothership in the sky.

Mosson was originally introduced to Parilament-Funkadelic by way of the band Untied Soul, who were signed to Detroit label Westbound in the early 70s, and ended up being produced by George Clinton. Clinton poached both Mosson and Gary “Daiperman” Shider from United Soul, and even re-recorded some of United Soul’s tracks on later Funkadelic albums. Bootsy wasn’t the only bass whizz in the band(s), from the mid-70s it was Mosson who became Bootsy’s permanent replacement. That’s another very important tentacle of the funktapus now gone.

Over at George Clinton’s official website, P-Funk keyboardist Danny Bedrosian has left this tribute:

CORDELL “BOOGIE” MOSSON, the ultimate FUNK theologian, one of P-FUNK’s most pivotal and vital musicians (bass, guitar, drums and vocals), Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, and one of my teachers, has passed away today. We lost more information, lessons, and vast rare funk knowledge today, then most learn in a lifetime. Much like the last of the samurai, the end of the era of the pyramid builders, and the passing of an age, vast sums of knowledge are now lost. For those few of us to have studied under him (Boog’s tenure with P-funk starts in 1971, and his Plainfield NJ roots go back much further, giving him preponderance in the P-Funk histories), we must go on with the knowledge we have been imparted by Boog’s far seeing vision of funk theory. Boog’s knowledge and understanding of Rhythm, the ONE, the Pocket, and the FEEL of P-FUNK, was UNMATCHED. We in Parliament-Funkadelic, wish to send our prayers to Boog’s family, and with extreme sadness, we say our worldly goodbye to our brother, our uncle, our friend, our teacher, our valued, trusted, master of musical expression: CORDELL “BOOGIE” MOSSON (October 16th, 1952 – April 18th, 2013)

Funk in Peace brother!

Cordell “Boogie” Mosson on Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Hazel and Michael Hampton (2004):

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds:

‘One Nation Under A Groove’: a crash course in the history of Parliament-Funkadelic

Mothership Connection: Paliament-Funkadelic live in Houston, 1976 (full show)

 

Posted by Niall O'Conghaile
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04.29.2013
10:36 am
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RIP disco legend Vincent Montana Jr, King of Vibes
04.15.2013
08:33 am
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We lost one of THE heavy hitters of the disco/soul era on Saturday, a man who helped birth some of the greatest anthems of the 70s and 80s, but whose name will mean very little to the average Joe on the street.

Vincent Montana Jr was vibraphone player and band leader for both Philadelphia International’s MFSB and New York’s Salsoul Orchestra, outfits that, just between them, could rack up a near-definitive “Hits Of Disco” compilation. But that’s not even taking into account the hits he played on or produced for others…

“La La Means I Love You”, “TSOP (aka Theme from Soul Train)”, “Love Train”, “Me & Mrs Jones”, “Disco Inferno”, “Runaway”, “Be Thankful For What You’ve Got”, “Love Is The Message”, “Armed and Extremely Dangerous”, “Backstabbers”, “People Make The World Go Round”, “I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun” (with Nuyorican Soul), the list goes on and on.

He also had some success with his own acts Montana Sextet and the Goody Goody Orchestra, including “It Looks Like Love”, which remains one of the keystone records in the vast cannon of disco. Like Loose Joints “Is It All Over My Face” or “For The Love Of Money” by the Disco Dub Band, “It Looks Like Love” has been responsible for turning subsequent generations onto the underground/dancefloor disco sound, and rehabilitating the genre from the sea of plastic crap that almost engulfed it.

In fact, it could be argued that “It Looks Like Love” is THE definitive “disco” record, as its stylish, graceful, sexy vibe is everything disco patrons aspired to be, and the perfect soundtrack to the time machine ride back to those clubs of the late 70s and early 80s. Others may disagree, but this is the track that does it for me. I can close my eyes and I am THERE.

For that, if nothing else (though there was of course LOTS more) we salute you Vincent Montana Jr! Play those vibes, once more time…

Goody Goody “It Looks Like Love”
 

 
For more info on Vince Montana, check out this great article by the British DJ Greg Wilson.

Posted by Niall O'Conghaile
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04.15.2013
08:33 am
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‘Vampyros Lesbos’ director Jess Franco, RIP
04.02.2013
11:35 am
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Jesús “Jess” Franco (real name Jesús Franco Manera)  the Spanish cult film director known best for his horror/sex/schlock fare such as The Awful Dr. Orloff, Vampyros Lesbos and The Blood of Fu Manchu has died. Franco passed away at 11:00 AM local time from complications related to a stroke in Malaga, Spain. The director was just a month shy of his 83rd birthday.

The news was posted on the El Franconomicon Facebook fan page, by Frank Munoz, a friend of Franco’s, who had been with him since the stroke, which occurred last week:

“Estoy en el hospital. Acaba de fallecer. Se lo han llevado ahora mismo. Lo siento.” (“I’m at the hospital. He has just passed away. They are taking him right now. I am sorry.”)

Franco is known to have directed 199 films (at least), many that he wrote, shot, edited, and sometimes acted in. His wife and longtime cinematic muse, actress Lina Romay died last year on February 15, 2012. Franco’s final feature is the newly completed Al Pereira vs the Alligator Women.

Below, the trailer for Franco’s Venus in Furs starring Klaus Kinski:
 

 
Thank you Steven Otero!

Posted by Richard Metzger
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04.02.2013
11:35 am
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‘Deep Throat’ XXX porn actor Harry Reems has died
03.20.2013
09:31 am
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As announced by his close friend, Don Schenk, the well-known 70s porn actor and successful real estate broker Harry Reems (real name Herbert Streicher)  passed away yesterday afternoon, March 19, at the Salt Lake City V.A. Hospital.  He was 65.

Harry Reems came to pop culture notoriety as the male star of Gerard Damiano’s Deep Throat, the 1973 porno film that is the biggest XXX money earner of all time. Reems co-starred as the manic doctor who discovers that Linda Lovelace’s clitoris was located in her throat. He was the only actor ever tried and convicted of pandering obscenity for being in a porno movie.

By the 1980s, Reems had become a serious alcoholic and ended up homeless on the streets of Los Angeles, before turning his life around and becoming a very successful real estate broker in Park City Utah. He married his wife of 22 years, Jeannie, in 1991.

Reems appeared, as himself, in the 2005 documentary, Inside Deep Throat.

Via Don Schenk:

A few years ago Harry’s health began to deteriorate due to peripheral neuropathy and emphysema, forcing him to retired from real estate. This past summer he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which the doctors discovered during a routine test for something else, and Harry went through months of chemo and radiation treatments.

On March 5th, Harry entered the VA Hospital due to jaundice. His liver was failing. Next his kidneys began to fail as his body started to shut down. My wife and I have been driving from Park City down to the Salt Lake City VA Hospital to visit with Harry and Jeannie every afternoon.

Harry slipped into a coma 4 days ago, and passed this afternoon.

Harry went from living a bizarre lifestyle, through a 180 degree, almost miraculous change to find a Higher Power he called God, and become a truly nice guy who cared for others, and helped a lot of people in Park City, UT.

 

 
Below, Al Goldstein interviews Harry Reems on Midnight Blue, 1982.
 

 
Thank you Steven Otero!

Posted by Richard Metzger
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03.20.2013
09:31 am
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Jenna Pope: Photographs of NYPD brutality at vigil protesting the killing of Kimani Gray
03.15.2013
07:40 pm
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This week, Brooklyn has seen a community come together for vigils and demonstrations in protest over the shooting of Kimani Gray by the NYPD.

16-year-old Gray was shot by 2 officers patrolling East Flatbush in an unmarked car around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday night.

The autopsy report, released Wednesday, said 7 bullets were removed from Gray’s body, 3 of these had entered his body form the rear. Police claim they shot Gray after he had allegedly pointed a .38-caliber Rohm revolver in their direction.

The police allegations have been contradicted by the only civilian eye-witness account that claims Gray was “unarmed.”

From this it is apparent that the NYPD have the power to kill who they want, when they want, without interference or sanction.

This can not and should not be tolerated.

The shooting deepened tensions between the Community and the NYPD, with the police response to the local vigils and marches criticized as being insensitive, over-the-top and brutal.

While a Brooklyn community comes to terms with the unfettered violence of the NYPD, one mother still waits for her teenage son to come home.

We send sincere condolences to Kimani’s mother, Carol Gray and her family.

Kimani Gray R.I.P.

The activist and freelance photographer Jenna Pope attended a vigil for Kimani on Wednesday night.

Jenna was there to show respect for Kimani, support the community, and to photograph the vigil.

The night ended in a police riot, with Jenna badly injured and in need of hospital treatment.

This is part of her account and some of her photographs from that night, and I ask you check out Jenna’s photographic report over at her blog site.

This week, there have been vigils and marches in response to the NYPD shooting and killing Kimani Gray in Brooklyn. I was there on Wednesday, and although the vigil and march started out peacefully, the cops decided to block us from using a crosswalk while we were on the sidewalk, and continued agitating the whole night. I believe that’s what we call a “police riot.”

I was only able to photograph the beginning of the march since there was a quick end to my night when I was hit by a thrown object. An arrest was happening to my left, and I was hit on the right side. I received a concussion and was driven to the hospital in an ambulance where a doc put 5 stitches in my head. I have no idea what it was, or who threw it. If it was one of the many young, rightfully angry friends of Kimani Gray, then I honestly can say I would not be angry with them. Instead, I am angry that the NYPD shot 11 rounds at 16 year old boy, hitting him the back and killing him – which is what cause this outrage in Brooklyn.

If we want to seriously change the world, then we need more activists and photographers like Jenna Pope to bear witness to the truth, to give a damn and make a difference.

If you want, you can support Jenna Pope fight for justice, one photo at a time, by donating here. Thanks.
 
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More of Jenna Pope’s photographs, after the jump…
 

READ ON
Posted by Paul Gallagher
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03.15.2013
07:40 pm
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