THE BEAT GOES ON

THE BEAT GOSE ON

Stones Take To The Streets

NEW YORK-Two hundred of New York’s finest fourth estaters, from Screw to the New York Times to CREEM gathered in Feathers Restaurant in the fashionable Fifth Avenue Hotel awaiting word from the Rolling Stones about their summer tour. After 45 minutes of lunchnibbling and cocktailing, the press corps was ushered to a conference room, which had five empty chairs and five silent microphones.

Finally, the master of double talk, Prof. Irwin Corey, stepped up to a podium and began to lecture the collected scribes about Nixon, Wallace, and the Fred Clark Five, and the fact that “time and history will prove that the Rolling Stones were what they are;” Or something. The reporters giggled mirthfully, but then uneasily. What about the tour? While Corey was circumventing the issue with his verbal essay, an aide ran in with a megaphone.

“The Stones are in the street! The Stones are in the street!”

The usually jaded press corps ran to the windows. One of our usually restrained correspondents jumped to a table, screaming for a better view. The street, ironically, belonged to the people; those non-credentialed members of the human race who’d been standing in the rain, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Stones, were the first in line.

In fact, the street was so jammed that the scene makers couldn’t get out the door. Everybody got a lot more than a glimpse: the Stones were pulling up on a flatbed truck, axes in hand. At the signal, the power went on: the Rolling Stones were singing “Brown Sugar.” The band’s lineup—for this onesong free concert and for the massive tour to follow—was pretty much as expected, with Ron Wood on guitar and Billy Preston on keyboards joining J agger, Richard, Watts and Wyman as temporary fifth and sixth Stones.

No More T&A Jokes

Meet Tamiko Jones. .Nice belt buckle, Tammy.

The Stones were dressed informally. Wood, in fact, was" the only Stone who looked the least bit glittery. Jagger, looking like a street punk, wore faded bluejeans, sneakers, a white shirt, and a beat-up bluejean jacket. His hair was longer than it’s been in awhile, the line extending below his chin. Charlie Watts, on the other hand, sported grey hair cut very Short. Keith was his usual blowzy self, in dark blue shirt and white denim pants. Predictably one hardly noticed Bill Wyman in his fifties-ish satin jacket.

As "Brown Sugar” ended, Jagger threw leaflets into Jhe crowd with information about the first Stones tour since 1972. “The Rolling Stones Tour of the Americas ’75,” as it’s officially called (its logo is a spread eagle with jets under its arms) is expected to play before 1.5 million people in 58 concerts: 42 in the U.S. and Canada, 16 in Mexico and South America. It began June 1 in Baton Rouge, La., and will end the last day of August in Caracas, Venezuela. In late August, the Stones will play to both the largest and smallest crowds on the tour in Sao Paolo, Brazil: at Convention Hall, which seats 3500 (three shows), arid at Anhembi Hall, the largest indoor arena in the world, which seats 150,000.

Before one could finish reading the release, the Stones were gone. The flatbed truest pulled around the corner, where the Stones, no doubt, made their escape into the subway.

Marylou Capes

The T-Shirt Comes In From The Cold

SAN DIEGO—If you remember your James Bond, you know that KGB are the( initials of the Soviet Secret Police. But KGB also happens to.be the call letters for a San Diego radio station. When program director Ron Jacobs of that radio station recently had some new “Official KGB” t-shirts printed up, he decided to send one to the CIA, asking that it be forwarded to the Russians.

He has now recieved a reply from John Blake, a deputy director of the CIA in Washington. Said Blake, “While We are aware that you requested that we assist you in forwarding this shirt to the Russian KGB, we really have developed a great attachment for it and would like to retain it for our modest historical intelligence collection.”

6 years ago: Boy Howdy! and Mr. Dream Whip bow.

Still Alive And Well

BIRMINGHAM, MI.-A ridiculous idea. Less than a grar\d in the kitty, just a dingy basement on Detroit’s notorious Cass Corridor as an office, and these guys were gonna put out a magazine.

Ha, ha, ha.

But, in the typical kick-ass rock ‘n’ roll fashion that they believed in, it happened. And when Robert Crumb, the legendary underground comic artist, walked in and announced, “I’d like to do a cover,” the package was complete. (What’s that? Strains of “Auld Lang Syne” from the MC5) The first issue of CREEM appeared in late Spring, 1969. Inside the paper was rock and revolution (remember the revolution was expected any day), and on the cover of the second issue Was R. Crumb’s Mr. Dreem Whip and Boy Howdy!, those lovable little creatures that have since adorned CREEM t-shirts, beer cans, belt buckles, and, now . . . frisbees?? frisbees??

Yeah, frisbees. Little did the small but dedicated staff know, six years ago, That they were building a veritable American institution and that their bi-weekly local tabloid would turn into a monthly magazine with distribution nationally and in 18 countries. The revolution may never have arrived, but we feel CREEM has. (We pat ourselves on the backs.) Happy sixth anniversary to us!

Look At Grammy Run

"Maybe if I wish hard enough as I rub this statue," says Bar Mitzvah boy Harvey Steinbaum of Forest Hills, N.Y.,"lcan get to meet some of the Beatles .. .or at least David Bowie.,rWell aware that such things happen only in dreams, we have on the left, men's club president Ziggy Talent (hands clapped) and his former partner Jerry Capezio. With Harvey are his proud parents, Kyoto and Rock Steinbaum, with their arms around the family cleaning lady, Elizabeth, who Harvey says "taught me dll I know about race music." (In all seriousness — congratulations to all the Grammy givers.)

Candid Camera Crops Finger Crooners

It started out as a perfectly ploaSapt if somewhat superficial chat over cocktails. 16 martinis later. Page and Walsh are engaged in the kind of profound discussion that rock stars seem uniquely prone to when they get together away from the interminable toil or touring and the relentless demands of fame. Joe: "Lookeyl Lookeyl It's a camera I" Jimmy (cryptically, In the style of a true star): "So what."

TV-Eye

NEW YORK - Hey kids, wanna be in pictures? Now you can be Monty Hall, Linda Lovelace, Captain Kangaroo, or Queen For A Day, as easy as A-B-C-V. V? No, your alphabet soup hasn’t gone askew, V is for video, and Uncle Ricky is going to teach all of us low-tech toddlers how to make our own TV show, with what he calls “future toys (as supplied by Sony and Panasonic).” Uncle Ricky is actually Richard Robinson, CREEM’s audio video editor as well as noted media mongul who lives somewhere between his 5’ by 6’ color TV screen and his portable color TV camera. Robinson is often credited with midwifing Lou Reed’s solo career, but now has abandoned his vinyl fetishes for video.

“TV isn’t NBC, CBS, or ABC,” he says. “Its like the speakers in your hi-fi system; what you put into them is what you get out. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t take advantage of the available technics to do with television and rock and roll, what we did with sound and rock and roll. Ray Davies, David Bowie, Jimmy Page, Mick Jagger, and Chuck Berry are among the artists who have turned their attention towards the video using these electronic tools to perfect and preserve their performances. Ignoring the commercial ground rules of network broadcasting, these artists have begun to experiment with visuals the way they experimented with electronic sound and electric guitars.

Robinson takes us through the electronic looking glass, diagramming and schooling us in the lingo of electronics with the aid of his latest book, 1 The Video Primer: Working with portable video equipment since 1970, Robinson’s tape files include footage of David Bowie, the NY Dolls, Rick Derringer, the Beach Boys, Nico, John Cale, and the Winter Brothers, to name a few. “In the very beginning, I used video to document rock events whether it was Lou and Ray having it out in a hotel room or David Bowie’s birthday party. I tried to capture the behind the scenes element of rock with video. Since then I’ve expanded in an attempt to produce a visual that’s as exciting as a good rock and roll record. Someday someone is going to make a video disc as exciting as Phil Spector’s Ronnettes album; I hope it’s me.”

So go thou and do likewise. The tools are all there, The Video Primer is the whole-tube manual, and if you really get on it maybe you’ll even beat Richard to the next Panasonic punch.

Jaan Uhelszki

What Jingles When You Shake It?

TOWSON, MARYLAND -They’ve found a way to put back that jingle in your step. The owners of the Merrit

5 YEARS AOO

ALICE COOPER MAKES COVER!

How can you ignore a band that wears three-inch false eyelashes, gobs of pancake make-up, painttight leotards* microskirts and grosses out the jaded folk of Los Angeles? CREEM thinks you can’t. So, in the first cover story anywhere on the subject, CREEM presents Alice Cooper, “the phantom spirit of a leering Artaud hissing through the veins of an amphetamine age, gushing forth his geysers of grotesque gargoylerie.”

STONES TO SPLIT WITH LONDON TO FORM OWN LABEL!

JOHNNY WINTER JOINS THE McCOYS!

House in Dundalk, Maryland, have been featuring male go-go dancers. The topless lads, clad only in bikini briefs, find female patrons1 only too .eager to slip loose change into the boys’ shallow underwear. The Baltimore County liquor commission has ruled that the change does not represent bonafide tips, with no pun intended. The boards chairman, Joseph Hess (no relation to Herman), further ruled that the fellas have got to cover up their nipples. In Hess’ words, “have them wear a bra or/something.” Maybe plungers would work; that way the dancers could double as coat racks.

Harvey Zuppke

Contest Winner Needs Transfusion?

BIRMINGHAM, MI—Where is David Lee, CREEM’s Rock Dreams Contest winner? All CREEM knows is that David’s last address (the one he supplied on his entry) was in Pittsburgh. If he doesn’t turn up by July 15th, his first prize will be awarded to the top runner-up.

The following is an impassioned letter from a bewildered and distraught magazine to their elusive winner, David Lee:

“Dear David,

“How could you do this? We run a classy contest with some dynamite prizes; you put in some serious effort towards winning our contest, and, then, POOF!, you’re gone, Are you some kind of creep? Are you trying to screw us up and make us look bad? Well, it won’t work. You won’t be able to run far enough, pal. By the way, did you know that you’re in desperate need of a transfusion? Yeah, the doctor’s report just came in . For your own sake, please contact us.

“Love,

CREEM

America’s Only Bewildered and Distraught Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine.”

T-Shirt Or Not T-Shirt That Is The Question

DETROIT, MI — It was an event without equal and to think that it took place at the Detroit Art Institute. The Rolling Stones were there with Paul McCartney, George Harrison and both the brothers Allman and Doobie. Flashbulbs popped' and champagne flowed. Dr. John Neff, curator of contemporary art, mixed with his guests in an elegant ensemble of black tux and tshirt. It was a night to remember.

As unlikely as this sounds, it happened, but a few of the guests mentioned were not exactly there in person. The event was Detroit’s first and, what we hope to be, annual, T-Shirt Art Display. There were t-shirts from 'all walks of life, portraying the stars, the arts, the absurd, and the unique. The gala gathering of cotton was sponsored by the FM station WWWW and the Art Institute (with a little hesitation). The idea was originally prompted by Dan Carlisle of W-4 and the entire show was put together faster than you can say Leonardo Da Vinci.

Elton John Mugged! Exclusive Photo!

Three hundred able-bodied passers-by ignored the pixie popstar's tortured cries for help, yet remarked afterwards to reporters that Elton had managed a winning smile throughout the losing battle with two muggers over an antique silver bowl which he had inherited from his great-grandmother. A hospital spokesman reports that E.J. is recovering nicely from the surgery required to remove a white baby grand piano from his abdomen and a Hohner Marine Band harmonica (in the key of B-f lat) from his left ear. His assailants remain at large.

The t-shirt, as an art fbrm, Dr. Neff instructs us, was started by record companies, not as an art form, but as a way to move their merchandise. Of course, anyone who has worn a t-shirt knows that they are comfortable, cheap and, these days, a respected part of any wardrobe. Even though it initially, seemed sort of strange to see the walls of the Art Institute lined with silk-screened and heattransferred reproductions of rock stars and radio station call letters, it made the whole place kind of homey. For the first time I can remember one could move through the usually austere halls and see people having a good time. When was the last time you smiled at a Rembrandt?

The show, besides being a totally successful and enjoyable experience ^ was a good opportunity to expose some sub-culture . art to the museum and the public at large. Special thanks to anyone who in the smallest way helped the show and especially to the boll-weevil for sparing the crop.

Rob Tyner and Harvey Zuppke