Monday, March 13, 2006


Until I came to Canada in 1975 I had no real knowledge of rock and roll. In Mexico my high school students had asked me if I had ever heard of Alice Cooper. My answer of, "No, who is she?" didn't help improve my rating as an uncool teacher. So I tried to like some of the stuff. My favourite was the Allman Brothers Band Live At The Fillmore West. Through working with Les Wiseman at Vancouver Magazine from the late 70s on I began to get my education. Les wrote a column on rock music called In One Ear. He called me Lenso the Argentine Lensman and would talk to me beginning with the expression, "As your attorney ...." I had no idea who Hunter S. Thompson was. I remember the day Les told me, "We critics are really not supposed to like heavy metal. So as your attorney I suggest you listen to Motorhead. I like Motorhead."




One day in the 80s Les called me and told me we had to do something important. So we drove all the way to Boston Bar and back listening to Lou Reed. By May 1982 when I photographed the Cramps(above,left) backstage at the Commodore I was well on my way to becoming a rock snob. One of the best pieces Les ever wrote was on them. I remember going backstage with Les for the interview. A very large tray was passed that had strawberries and pineapple slices on the edges. In the middle was the largest mound of what look like an overturned sugar bowl I have seen outside of the movies. But it was Buck Cherry and Mary-Jo Kopechne's Modernettes that left a lasting influence for me. This circa 1980-83 Vancouver punk band had a motto that they painted sometime in 1979 on the back door of the Smilin' Buddha. It has been my inspiration in helping me stay competitive in this digital revolution. Here you can see the motto behind that other seminal Vancouver punk band, the Dishrags. From left to right it's Jade, Scout, Sue and Kim