Scowl Series Introducers' Bio Notes


Danny Fields is a veteran of the New York music scene, and has been primarily and proudly associated with artists labeled -- at least early in their careers -- as "difficult" or even "transgressive." He was a manager of the Stooges, Lou Reed, the MC5, the Modern Lovers, the Ramones, Steve Forbert, and Paleface; publicist for Nico, the Doors, Led Zeppelin, and Loudon Wainwright; editor-in-chief of 16 magazine; and dedicatee of Please Kill Me, as "forever the coolest guy in the room."

Richard Hell's first record album was Blank Generation (1977) by Richard Hell and the Voidoids. His novel Go Now was published by Scribner in 1996. His most recent releases are the "shadow retrospective" double CD Time (2002), and a large anthology of his essays, poems, lyrics, notebooks, drawings, and fiction, Hot and Cold (2001). He's just completed a new novel.

Jim Jarmusch's film Stranger Than Paradise (1984) won new respect for American independent film when it was awarded the Camera d'Or for best first film at Cannes. Two of its leading actors, John Lurie and Richard Edson, were young downtown musicians. He's continued to make groundbreaking movies -- which incidentally often give important roles to rock & roll musicians and music -- such as Down By Law (1986), Mystery Train (1989), and Dead Man (1995).

Richard Kern's violent and sex-crazed Super-8 films include "Submit to Me" (1985) and "Fingered" (1986) starring Lydia Lunch. He has directed rock videos for Sonic Youth and Marilyn Manson. Recently, he's worked primarily as a photographer, producing gorgeous and endearingly perverse pictures of post-naked downtown girls in such books as New York Girls (1997) and Model Release (2000).

For thirteen years (1984-1997) James "the Hound" Marshall hosted the funniest and scariest show on WFMU, the radio station regularly named the best in the U.S. He mostly played the original American race and hillbilly raunch that was wiped out by the advent of the Beatles. Currently Jim runs the East Village's Lakeside Lounge, as well as one in New Orleans, and is working on a book about organized crime and the record industry.

Thurston Moore is in Sonic Youth, the most influential of interesting bands to emerge in the last two decades. They flourished for years on a small home-made scale out of the Lower East Side; since 1990 on a large international home-made scale with records released by Geffen. Thurston publishes a poetry magazine, Ecstatic Peace, too and is always involved in many projects in many media.

Among Nick Tosches's first books were two of the best ever written about rock & roll: Hellfire (1982), on Jerry Lee Lewis, and Unsung Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll (1984). His books since then include the acclaimed Dean Martin biography, Dino (1992), novels Cut Numbers (1988) and In the Hand of Dante (2002), and The Last Opium Den (2002), a non-fiction account of his quest for same.

As the originator of the "Cinema of Transgression," Nick Zedd has been making ultra-provocative movies on the Lower East Side since the late '70s. His many films include "The Wild World of Lydia Lunch" and Geek Maggot Bingo (both 1983). Most recently he co-directed "Electra Elf" (2003) with Saint Reverend Jen. His books include Bleed (1992) and Totem of the Depraved (1997).

top







[TO "Scowl" schedule at UPDATES]
[TO Hell's "Scowl" program notes]
[TO "Scowl" poster art]

Merch Links Site Index Forum Lyrics 1st Page Bio Core Updates







Contents of site © 1998-2012 by Richard Meyers & Roy Suggs. All rights reserved including right of reproduction in any form.