‘The Two Faces of Patti Smith.’ photograph by Guillemette Barbet and art design by John Holmstrom.
Over the weekend I was yet again getting in some good quality time with my lovely copy of The Best of Punk Magazine and came across an amusing and highly entertaining interview by a musician and performer that undeniably embodies the word “hero” the multi-talented punk powerhouse Patti Smith.
In the interview that appeared in Punk (Volume One, Number Two from March of 1976) Smith agreed to talk to the magazine in the backroom of legendary Long Island club My Father’s Place where she sat on the grungy floor before her gig later that night. Of the many highlights and wide variety of topics covered in the lengthy chat include her love of comics, Bob Marley, her vivid dreams about Jimi Hendrix and her not-so-secret plan to hijack The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (who Smith very much admired) and turn it into “totally stoned TV every night.” If you are at all a fan of Patti Smith (who was 30 at the time of this interview), prepare yourself to adore her even more. Here’s Smith on her love of two things that go great together—comics (or “comix” as Punk likes to spell it) and rock and roll:
I was a painter. All I cared about was art school and painting. I used to be an artist before I became an artist. You know the French love comic strips. Comix are considered art. Comix are art. I mean the only two arts—comix and rock n’ roll are the highest art forms.
If that last passage got you daydreaming about what it would be like lounging around with Patti Smith in France in some cafe reading comic books and while listening to Alain Kan belting out David Bowie’s “Life on Mars” then get in line. As the interview progresses Smith talks a fair amount about Bob Marley while lamenting the current “grass shortage” in New York (never forget!) and her dream of opening a pot cafe that pretty much sounds like the best plan ever:
I’m gonna have a cafe when I grow up where it’s just gonna feature coffee and dope and mint tea and great music. What I’m gonna do is work to legalize marijuana and hashish. We’re gonna start a string of cafes where you smoke, drink coffee and listen to great music—like McDonald’s.
This interview is so jammed packed with anecdotes, philosophies and revelations from Smith that I could quite honestly fill many pages with them. But since I can’t do that here’s a few more of my favorites. Back in 1976 Patti Smith’s favorite band was the mighty Blue Öyster Cult, she often dreamed about sleeping with French poet Rimbaud and Bob Marley (who in one of Smith’s dream were actually her twin sons), and how great it was to be able to experience hearing bands like the Doors and Jimi Hendrix when they were first starting out when she was a teenager for the first time. Fantastic stuff.
If you don’t yet own a copy of The Best of Punk Magazine then you really should pick one up and start diving into a few of its endlessly entertaining 372 pages as I have done countless times since it came into my possession. If you’re more of a magazine collector copies of Punk (including the one we’re talking about today) can be found on eBay.
Below, Smith doing a cover of the Velvet Underground song “We’re Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together” that kind of sums up this cool exploration of one of our most precious rock and roll resources. And since I clearly had a lot of fun putting this post together for you I’ve also included footage of Smith’s exuberant appearance on The Late Show with Conan O’Brien in 1998 during which she tells one of Boston’s favorite sons that she has previously dreamed of taking over his show as well while gushing about her own hero, Johnny Carson.
Patti Smith performing a cover of the Velvet Underground’s ‘We’re Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together.’
Patti Smith on ‘The Late Show with Conan O’Brien’ in 1998.
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Revolting Teens Lose Their MINDS! The awesome illustrated covers of ‘Punk Magazine’
Patti Smith’s review of ‘The Beach Boys Love You’