Over many years of being an idiot fanzine collector, I’ve thankfully amassed a fairly substantial stash of New York Rockers, so many now that I’d have to really cut out some life management time (exercising, eating, bathing etc) in order to find the hours to write about each one here. But I totally want to – they’re really fun to dissect and write about. I’ve been able to do so here, here, here, here, here, here and here so far. This particular one is one of the earliest issues I’ve procured, because March 1976’s New York Rocker #2 is, in fact, one of the very earliest issues.
If a more note-perfect representation of the New York rock underground at its absolute most exciting stage exists, I certainly have never seen it. Everything was coalescing at this time: Amos Poe’s Blank Generation film; Talking Heads, Television, Blondie, Ramones, Heartbreakers, Richard Hell & The Voidoids and every known CBGB band of that very early era. They’re all recording demos, partying with each other, gathering at Max’s and CBGB, and basically laying the groundwork for it all. The photographers – Leee Black Childers, Roberta Bayley, Guillemette Barbet – are assembling and documenting. The writers of this fanzine are getting their very first bylines.
Speaking of Amos Poe, at this point in history the now-seminal Black Generation doc capturing all of this on film that he did with Ivan Kral is still coming together – but hey, did you guys know about a 1974-75 film those two did together called Night Lunch?? With Television, Roxy Music, NY Dolls, Ramones, Patti Smith etc? Dude, neither did I. It’s all a nice reminder of the scene segue happening at this moment, March ‘76, where glam is definitely passé and the Dolls themselves come in for a little bit of ridicule for still sort of being a “thing”. There’s a great piece in here about the three phases of the NY Dolls, celebrating the first two and then pooping on this current, post-red leather phase, where it’s only David Johansen and Sylvain Slyvain play-acting as the Dolls, and are mostly playing in Japan.
The action, of course, is at CBGB and with unsigned bands, and that’s all New York Rocker #2 wants to talk about. This is a 100% “local scene” magazine at this point; there’s not even any Bowie or Roxy Music or Stones gossip. No one has a record out save for the Patti Smith Group – even the Ramones’ debut was still a month away, but there are cool photos of them in the studio recording it. Things seem to be so closely knit that the Blondie and Talking Heads articles are actually first-person pieces by Gary Valentine and David Byrne, respectively. The Byrne piece is a pretty funny one by an idealistic but still less-than-formed young man, musing about his place in culture; whether he’ll be able to make a career of this; his lack of dance moves, and how he really digs “Love To Love You Baby” “except for the groans”. Weren’t the groans kind of the whole point?
Max’s – whose location I went and worshipped at in person just this past January – is having an “Easter Rock Festival” over a long weekend in April with Heartbreakers, Wayne County, Ramones, Talking Heads, Blondie, Mink DeVille, Marbles and…..Pere Ubu! (among many others). Artwork for the full-page ad is by Duncan Hannah, whose autobiography I just purchased but haven’t read yet. There’s a piece called “Clothes Nose: Sniffing Out NY Rock Dress Sense” that rates every band in the scene on their clothing game on a 1-10 scale, with explanations. Television score a 7, but only for “Tom Verlaine’s cheekbones” and “Tom Verlaine’s eyes”. The Fast get a low 3/10 and a rejoinder “What Sparks wore in 1974, Fast wear in 1976”. Mink DeVille ekes out a 5/10 but then gets hammered with “Name does not fit appearance. Mink is sort of a convict Springsteen/Presley/Lofgren, and looks okay if you can’t see Springsteen/Presley/Lofgren”. Presley would die on the toilet less than eighteen months later. Admittedly, Nils Lofgren looked pretty cool in 1975, though I’d probably huck apples at him if he was tooling around town in those clothes today.
And Fredda Lynn’s column “Excuse Me, Are You In It For The $$$?” might be the best thing in here. She’s at CBGB on a Thursday night, and proceeds to ask every attendee in a band or who has published photographs the titular question. Chris Frantz of Talking Heads and later Tom Tom Club is in it to win it, as they say: “I’ve always wanted to accumulate some money…it would be nice to have a big bundle”. Jerry Nolan, true New Yorker, says (and you have to imagine the accent and the attitude here), “Let’s put it like this – I’ve been in this business for seventeen years, and I haven’t made a dime yet. That should answer your question”. Ian Hunter (Mott The Hoople) is a big “NO. All I can say is no.”. Whom to believe?
It’s all stellar source material for an inflection point that even the folks putting together New York Rocker #2 seem to recognize it as such, and are furiously documenting it all with the necessary excitement and droll coolness required.
Fanzine Hemorrhage 