bettie page blog

A slightly cloying article about the "high end" discovering "lowbrow", courtesy of the LA TIMES. Still, it name-drops Oceanic Arts, Shag and the always fun Tiki Central forum.

Noted Los Angeles uber-kool "designer toy" artist, julie b., has a sale posted on her myspace page. Make her bad luck your good luck and pick up a piece of amazing original art fer cheap!

Note: "mother" is sold.




Interested in buying?

Contact her on her myspace page or email her at juliebossinger@hotmail.com.

Dave Alvin’s THE BEST OF THE HIGHTONE YEARS is the stark, lonesome soundtrack to a desert roadtrip of the mind’s eye. Put it on, and the slide guitars, folk rhythms and nuanced lyrics will have a listener in a classic Cadillac, nursing a broken heart, somewhere between the Inland Empire and the Texas panhandle, staring down a dusty ribbon of empty highway that stretches into the horizon.

What Alvin, an original member of the legendary Blasters, does brilliantly in his solo work is imbue the century-old country blues that obviously inspire him with the dexterous songwriting of a honed craftsman. In track after track, on songs such as “Dry River”, “King of California” and “Fourth of July”, Alvin uses a specific, blue-collar Los Angeles that is never mentioned in US Weekly and a metaphor for loneliness and longshots, giving transitory, sometimes frivolous Los Angeles a touch of pathos and, perhaps, stoic dignity.

Pick up this release if you want to hear what Country radio would sound like if they gave a damn. Dave Alvin expressed a desire to mix “blues, folk, rock and roll, R&B and country”, grow as a musician and not be messed with too much. By the sound of it -- mission accomplished!

THE BEST OF THE HIGHTONE YEARS culls from a decade of Alvin’s output: 1990-2000. It offers a solid overview of albums in this period, as well as some surprises: an amazing unreleased studio various of “Dry River”, an original blues tune, “Dixie Highway Blues” and a few rarities, such as a duet with Katy Moffatt. As with any collection, THE BEST OF THE HIGHTONE YEARS faces the conflicting tasks of appealing to neophytes and purists, both. It speaks to the continuing quality of SHOUT! Factory packages that it succeeds so well. Both “newbies” and longtime fans should wear this one out.

THE BEST OF THE HIGHTONE YEARS hits shelves October 28th.

Buy on Amazon.

It is with great sadness that we report the passing of one of Norton Records' premier stars, the incredible Rudy Ray Moore-- world famous movie star, recording artist and comedian, known throughout the world as the bad, bad Dolemite. We pass along some in-house memories here, adding to umpteen accumulating accolades.

BILLY REMEMBERS: THE CAT NAMED DOLEMITE

It's so hard to imagine that Rudy Ray Moore is gone. The phrase "larger than life" seems to have been coined just for him. The Dolemite character of his movies and comedy routines became part of his every day persona. I remember one time years ago, when Miriam and I drove over to pick up Rudy at his sister's place in West Orange, New Jersey. When we arrived at the address, I realized we had no apartment number so I went to use the pay phone outside to call him. There were two characters leaning against the phone booth, one drinking out of a paper sack. They gave me some grief about using “their” phone and a little uneasy banter was exchanged until Rudy strolled out the front door, resplendent in a long black coat with white ermine fur trim and a massive matching chapeau. The guy with the beverage's eyes popped out like in the cartoons. “DOLEMITE!" he cried out. “IT'S DOLE-FUCKIN'-MITE!” I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall the next morning when that cat tried to sort out his hangover.

Rudy may well have been the single most respected person I've ever met-- admired and revered by people from all walks of life. Once I was driving Rudy to the airport and he was jockeying two calls on his cell phone. He had a hip hop big shot on one line confirming Rudy's appearance at a Player's Ball, while he had a priest on hold. Rappers in particular all cited Rudy's groundbreaking films and records as an influence. One day while I was hauling records in and out of Coyote Studio basement here in Brooklyn, rap star Nas was shooting a video upstairs on North 6th Street. It was obvious that I was in the way, constantly coming in and out of the front door while they were trying to film. A crew member brought my interference to the attention of Mike Caiati, the owner of Coyote Studios. Mike told them to cut me some slack, that I was a friend of Dolemite. Suddenly everyone was my best pal and I was swapping Dolemite posters for delicious gourmet sandwiches.

Nathaniel Mayer, a major fan of Rudy's, pointed out after having his photo snapped with Rudy, “Where I live, if you show anybody a picture of you with Dolemite, you got gold…”

We had the great pleasure in recording Rudy along with Andre Williams on a cover of the Crawford Brothers' I Ain't Guilty, the pair belting out the duet like none other. Rudy arrived in the company of the immortal Jimmy "Mr. Motion" Lynch. Those guys were a non-stop riot! (Rudy climbing the three flights of stairs to the studio: "Jimmy, ain't they got an elevator?" Jimmy: "Sure, Rudy. You elevate one foot and then you elevate the other.") While in the studio, we asked Rudy if he would record a Public Service Announcement on the topic of his choice. He immediately chose AIDS as his topic, and proceeded to cut an excellent, informative off-the-cuff PSA. He then asked to cut another version with "hard words" for FM, and proceeded with a belligerent, hi-octane anti-AIDS rant that took even his saltiest "party records" one better.

When I told him I was booking him room at the Marriott Hotel when he emceed our Norton Soul Spectacular a couple of years ago, he refused to stay there, accusing me of overspending. “Billy, you're just like Busta Rhymes!” Rudy was total class on that show, bringing to the stage one star after another with the same fiery delivery he brought to the screen in DOLEMITE or PETEY WHEETSTRAW. A bad motherfucker to the end and indeed, much, much larger than life.

MIRIAM REMEMBERS: GENTLEMAN RUDY RAY MOORE

Billy's always goofing on me for calling things "Old School". For me, that means the good stuff, better ways, the real deal-- as defined by Rudy Ray Moore! The man defined the limits of taste, humor, and style and left everyone around him agog with his regal personality. And you know, he wasn't pompous-- he just naturally oozed total class. Just gliding through a door, you knew with Rudy that you were in the presence of a true V.I.P. And when he spoke, in that astonishing baritone, he could make a simple sentence an awesome, lyrical pronouncement.

We first met Rudy many years ago at a comedy show. The Great Gaylord called and told us Rudy was going to be doing a show in Jersey City with Wild Man Steve. None of us really knew what to expect-- we loved the Dolemite movies and were crazy about his old 45s, but we didn't know how approachable he'd be with a bunch of goofy greenhorn fans. We needn't have worried. Rudy strode in from the shadows after Wild Man, a tall, insanely handsome man with a dazzling smile, and immediately the audience erupted into enthusiastic screams and applause, particularly from the women! From a ladies point of view, let me assure you girls (and Rudy had a delectable way of says "GIRLS" that could make a 90 year old blush and giggle) that when he started cat calling the big bottom dolls, baiting them with what might be considered insults to the uninitiated, it became obvious that this was a man whose craft was making everybody feel like part of the show. Even when he engaged various ethnic, overly-proportional, overtly interesting, and well, plug ugly, people, it was like a hazing into a esteemed club. Getting called out by Rudy was a badge of honor, a matter of pride. Rudy wrapped up the show by personally presenting the ladies in the audience with battery-operated, light-up, scented roses while reciting his Legend of Dolemite, which is as close to the Rime of The Ancient Mariner as rockin' folk care to teeter. We all jumped up for a standing ovation that went all for some time, and afterwards, we all bought Dolemite back scratchers and got autographs and pictures with the man.

It was obvious that Rudy wanted to reach everyone the world over with his talents. He was not content with being a Black icon in film, or heralded as the first Rapper. It was back at an early WFMU record show in a church basement in the East Village, that Billy and I started speaking with Rudy about his early musical days. He was somewhat shocked that anyone thought there was interest in his early R&B recordings. He was instantly on it, digging for scrapbooks, tapes, and any ephemera to help us document his early pre-comedy career. We started seriously pulling together old recordings, and began interviewing Rudy for biographical notes. Rudy told the stories with great relish. We had the tape recorder going in the car during a snow storm while Rudy was belting out Rally In The Valley and remembering the amateur shows in Cleveland, St Louis, New York, Los Angeles--- every city where there was a venue and audience for Black entertainers. Another time we were eating dinner with him at a hotel restaurant, again over a tape recorder, when Rudy pulled out one of his impromptu, gemaceous nonsequiturs. An airline pilot, evidenced as so by the uniform and hat, was eating alone at another table. Quite suddenly, Rudy called out to him, "Excuse me, young man!" and the pilot looks around and says, "Me?" "Are you flying to Dayton, Ohio this evening?" he asked with great pomp and circumstance, with an elegant English accent. Puzzled, the pilot shook his head, no. Rudy went back into his story with us, without missing a beat. Trust me, it was one of funniest moments, ever. Totally out of the blue, unexplained and OLD SCHOOL. Well, the R&B collection ended up as a double LP set called HULLY GULLY FEVER, the first collection of his early records, and the first thorough telling of his early days from the R&B chitlin circuit to his first moments in standup comedy. He said it reminded him of how much he loved to sing, and he took to including some musical numbers amongst his comedy routines.

The world will remember Rudy as an entertainment genius, as a man with great vision and daring, as a man who would continue working his craft until the end of his life. He will also be remembered as the last of the true gentlemen, a veritable Human Tornado whose work will never be forgotten and whose spirit will forever affect and inspire anyone who follows their heart, no matter what. We love you and miss you, Mr. Rudy Ray Moore.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/movies/22moore.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-moore21-2008oct21,0,5052090.story?track=rss

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1597502/story.jhtml

http://www.shockingimages.com/dolemite/main.php

With rockabilly, the Stray Cats wrote great songs. Most bands just had that "1,4,5 Go Cat Go". They didn't break out of that. - Brian Setzer

This article's a few months old at this point, but its always great when musicians interview other musicians. Here, you have THE LIVING END's Chris Cheney interviewing his childhood hero, Brian Setzer about the end of the STRAY CATS and his next moves.

One of the most interesting bits is a discussion about how to be true to rockabilly, but not a slave to it. To a certain extent, the entire scene is about "authenticity", but using the past as a springboard for self-expression is just as important. The Living End left rockabilly behind a long time ago. Their early EPs rate as some of the best 90's era rockabilly, approaching REVEREND HORTON HEAT in energy. As they matured, they seemed to reach for 80's UK power pop influences and the rock/punk melange of the Clash. Now, you can barely hear the rockabilly in their increasingly complex sound.

Setzer crumbing on people's desire "to make it sound like it was done in 1955" is rich, considering the Stray Cats have always relied heavily on covers with similar arrangements to the originals and Setzer produced two albums consisting entirely of covers (STRAY CATS ORIGINAL COOL and solo effort, ROCKABILLY RIOT: A TRIBUTE TO SUN RECORDS - both are great!) Still, it's worth thinking about: is retro lifestyle really liberating our imaginations or is it a crutch... a uniform... that allows us to lazily avoid originality while still donning the cloak of "alternative" and "outlaw"?

Thoughts?

JASON GELT recently listed his "Top Ten Old Time Memphis Records" in the LOS ANGELES EXAMINER:

1. Johnny Ace, "Pledging My Love." Romantic, haunting, creepy. This ballad from the tragic R&B star (he died in a Russian Roulette accident in 1954) has been used in many a movie, including Abel Ferrarra's "Bad Lieutenant."

2. Rufus Thomas, "Memphis Train." The clown prince of Memphis soul recorded for Sun Records and more famously, Stax Records. This raging R&B ode to love and trains is hard to beat.

3. Charlie Feathers, "That Certain Female." Why Mr. Feathers is only appreciated by a cadre of die-hard roots music enthusiasts and rockabilly nuts is beyond me. Check out the LPs available from Norton Records.

4. Billy Lee Riley, "My Gal is Red Hot." With a raw, gravely voice and a manic stage presence, Riley cut his best material for Sun Records, both as a front man and as a session musician. This song, covered by many a retro rockabilly, is one of his finest offerings.

5. Booker T. and the M.G.s, "Green Onions." Recorded at Stax Records, otherwise known as Soulsville, U.S.A., this is one of the best brooding, strutting instrumentals of the '60s from one of the South's first interracial music acts.

6. The Prisonaires, "Just Walkin' in the Rain." Just one of the many great groups obscured by Elvis Presley's tenure at Sun Records, the Prisonaires were actual Tennessee state prisoners that the warden allowed out -- accompainied by armed gurads -- to record at Sam Philips' burgeoning R&B studio. The 45 went on to sell over 250,000 copies.

7. Bill Justis, "Raunchy." Another killer instrumental from Sun Studios, this catchy and kooky number features the warbly-yet-wonderful sax work of Justis himself, who took over blowin' duties when the session player assigned the instrument failed to show up to the recording date.

8. Jerry Lee Lewis, "Whole Lotta Shakin.'" His personal foibles have been the subject of movies, documentaries and books, but the important thing to remember is that the Killer recorded some of the most energetic, foot-stomping songs of the '50s. This is just one of them.

9. Sam and Dave, "When Something is Wrong With My Baby." They may be best remembered for "Soul Man," but this hot buttered ballad, penned by Isaac Hayes and his Stax writing partner, David Porter, is a beautiful, juicy slice of classic '60s soul.

10. Carl Mann, "Mona Lisa." A love song penned around the famous portrait, this is yet another sadly underappreciated Sun Record, featuring smart lyrics, precise playing and a bouncy energy that can't be denied.

Frankie, Drac and Wolfie are partying down in the DVD player! Sort of the "goth Archies", this Filmation cartoon is available from Ink and Paint, in its entirety - 16 "groovy" episodes of catchy, goofy tunes and monster-themed "Laugh-In" style joke fests that will have you grinning even as you're groaning!

Anyone else remember Groovie Goolies?

Carlene Carter sings the song her mamma, June, wrote and her step-daddy, Johnny, made famous (thanks to a dream in which he heard "Mexican trumpets" and, upon waking, told his producer, Jack Clement, to work up an arrangement).

Listen to Carlene Carter On Mountain Stage, courtesy of NPR.

Set List:
"The Bitter End"
"Bring Love"
"Me and the Wildwood Rose"
"Ring of Fire"
"Stronger"

Buttressing "Ring of Fire" are new originals from Carlene's fresh record. The album reflects the "quadruple loss" Carlene recently weathered...

In February 2003, Carlene's long-time partner Howie Epstein died. In May of that same year she lost her mother, June Carter Cash. Stepfather Johnny Cash died that September. Her little sister Rosey passed away in October.

Stronger [is] album that explores the power of love to hurt, to bring laughter, to change the heart and, most of all, to heal. "Just bring love, that's all you're gonna need," a redeemed Carlene sings in [key track] "Bring Love."

Buy her new record, "Stronger", via Yep Roc.

Deke Dickerson is one of the finest and most highly regarded guitarists on the rockabilly circuit. Too bad he's not a straight-up rockabilly guitarist. His songs and his guitar leads, thrilling and full of joy, ebb and flow though surf rock, country, western swing, rhythm and blues, garage rock and yes, rockabilly. The result is something acutely American, technically dazzling and truckloads of fun to listen to and watch.

READ THE REST of this fine article about one of the standard-bearers of the scene, DEKE DICKERSON.

Hosted by the irrepressible Rosie Flores, WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN' offers, for free, a 10 part streaming radio show that covers all of the basics of Rockabilly. Segments are as follows (make sure to click on "listen now!" at the top to hear the programs):

1. Good Rockin' Tonight: Elvis, Carl Perkins and the rise of Sun Records
2. Get Rhythm: The story of Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Two
3. Fujiyama Mamas: The women of rockabilly stake their claim
4. Rebels with Guitars: Borrowing from Brando: the music's most notorious rebels
5. The Cradle of the Stars: The rise and fall of radio's The Louisiana Hayride
6. Real Wild Child: The story of Jerry Lee Lewis
7. Shake This Shack: Cat Music from the Lone Star State: rockabilly in Texas
8. Rockin' Bones: Suzy Q and rockabilly's one hit wonders
9. Rave On: The life and music of Buddy Holly
10. Summertime Blues: Sunglasses after dark, rockabilly California-style

There isn't a Rockabilly compelation this complete on the market for ANY price... and here, you get to hear an illustrative cross-section of the genre for nuthin'!

OC WEEKLY just interviewed a very deserving Rockabilly band. I don't know how popular they are in other parts of the country, but they've long proved themselves to be talented and authentic stalwarts of live Rockabilly.

Check 'em out:
OC WEEKLY interview
MYSPACE
Hot Rod Trio

Ditch the dime store wigs and pick yourself up an Official "Bettie by Olivia" Halloween Costume by those geniuses at Pinup Girl Clothing!

Each item is OFFICIALLY LICENSED AND APPROVED by BETTIE PAGE AND OLIVIA!

Choose from Sexy Cat Girl, Sexy Devil Girl, Sexy Bronco Buster Cowgirl, Substitute Teacher or Sexy Nurse Bettie. Each costume comes with an insert featuring a reproduction of the original Olivia pinup that inspired the costume!

This is what YOUR space age bachelor pad should look like! If you've ever seen Brian DePalma's BODY DOUBLE, you saw the definition of LA retro-future swank livin' -- even if living in uneasy proximity to a drill killer wasn't disclosed in the lease.

An encounter with the deliciously deadly legs of "Bambi" and "Thumper" may have left Sean Connery's James Bond shaken, the cool-as-a-cucumber interiors of their coctail-hour crash pad may have left him stirred.

What most don't know is that these two dwellings that defined the "party under the mushroom cloud" lifestyle of atomic-aged sophistication were the work of Frank Lloyd Wright protegee (and, in turn, inspiration to Frank Gehry) JOHN LAUTNER. The Hammer Museum at UCLA has an appreciation of his work (including designs and scale models), placing his outrageous and ever-evolving architectural style in proper (and respectful) context.

Maybe you can't transform your duplex into a spaceship of glass and steel perched elegantly on a Hollywood Hills cliffside, but looking into Lautner's philosophy of egalitarian elegance that emphasizes free-flowing, open spaces may inspire the canny cat or kitten to modernize his or her space!

More:

Hammer Museum Exhibit

John Lautner Homepage

NY Times SLIDESHOW

NY Times article

arcspace article

SHOPPIN'


More fun with LA architecture:

As has been widely reported, Jerry Reed has passed at age 71 after fighting emphysema. Most others are concentrating on his pop-culture high-water mark, his portrayal of "Snowman" in the SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT series.

What most are missing is that, underneath his "good ol' boy" image, Jerry Reed was a country SHREDDER, who's intense fingerstyle fretwork was rivaled only by Chet Atkins, himself!

From THE TENNESSEEAN:

“If (Merle) Travis’ thumb and index finger picking style was first generation, and Chet Atkins’ use of thumb, index and middle finger was second, Reed’s use of his entire right hand to pick (the famous “claw” style) was the wild, untamed and dauntingly complex third generation,” wrote historian and journalist Rich Kienzle.

Mr. Reed switched from a steel-stringed acoustic guitar to a nylon-stringed Baldwin model, with an electronic “pickup” that allowed the guitar to be heard above a full band. He signed a Columbia Records contract in 1961, but that deal yielded no hits. His songwriting and session playing proved more lucrative, as he performed on hits for Bobby Bare and he penned Porter Wagoner’s 1962 No. 1 hit, “Misery Loves Company.” And Mr. Reed attracted a high-powered fan in Chet Atkins, the guitar star who ran Nashville’s branch of RCA.

Need more proof of cool?

No less than GENE VINCENT became the first major artist to cut one of Reed's compositions, "Crazy Legs", in 1958.

ELVIS PRESLEY, who, along with MERLE TRAVIS and RAY CHARLES, inspired Reed, collaborated with the guitarist on four compositions. Unfortunately, in keeping with the Colonel's "cut his nose to spite his face" style of management, the amazing session was interrupted, in favor of an attempt to strong-arm Jerry Reed out of his publishing royalties on Reed's songs, despite the fact that Elvis was merely trying to "cover" Reed's previous released originals.

Reed details it, with some charity, in a recent interview, although the second volume of Peter Guralnick's Elvis bio, CARELESS LOVE, has it in more detail.

He had just been fishing, he recounted, the first and only time he met Elvis Presley. That was in 1967. Presley had come to Nashville to record, and one of the songs he was working on was "Guitar Man," which Reed had written and recorded. "I was out on the Cumberland River fishing," he recalled, "and I got a call from Felton Jarvis (then Presley's producer). He said, 'Elvis is down here. We've been trying to cut 'Guitar Man' all day long. He wants it to sound like it sounded on your album.' I finally told him, I said, 'Well, if you want it to sound like that, you're going have to get Reed in there to play guitar, because these guys (you're using in the studio) are straight pickers. He picks with his fingers and he tunes that guitar up all weird kind of ways.'" So Jarvis hired Reed to play on the session.

"I hit that intro," Reed said, "and boy, [Elvis's] face lit up and here we went. Then after he got through that, he cut [my] 'U.S. Male' at the same session. I was toppin' cotton, son." There's an outtake from that session that still circulates on Music Row in which you can hear the King and the Alabama Wild Man (one of Georgia-born Reed's nicknames) joking with each other. (link)

Reed and Elvis cut rollicking versions of "What'd I Say?" and "Big Boss Man" before "Reed was hit up for the publishing rights to his song. He refused, and left; and so did the spirit of the session." These four songs, two of them only available on the Elvis box set released in the 1990s, rank among Elvis' best post-Sun work. Imagine an album or two of these gems?

Although that was not to be, Elvis later covered Reed's compositions "Talk About the Good Times" and "A Thing Called Love". Reed was proud that the song, never a hit, became a standard. "(Johnny) Cash cut it. (Glen) Campbell cut it. Elvis cut it. I cut it."

In the 90's Reed joined a "supergroup", consisting of Waylon Jennings, Mel Tillis, and Bobby Bare.

If you want to peruse his discography or filmography, hop over to Wikipedia.

Follow the link to a FANTASY MAGAZINE article about the portrayal of women in comics, then come back here and let us know what you think! To paraphrase SPINAL TAP, there's a fine line between "sexy" and "sexist". Certainly, comics are a haven for pin-up art... but also for insulting stereotypes. Check out the article to dig deeper!

---

Hat Tip to Rick Klaw!

Rick Klaw is the author of Geek Confidential: Echoes from the 21st Century
NOW AVAILABLE from MonkeyBrain, Inc.

To be alerted about all things Klaw, join the Geek Confidential mailing list.

Read more Rick Klaw at the Dark Forces Book Group blog and SF site.

Hat tip to JIMBO

Jerry Finn, producer of albums by Blink 182, Green Day, Rancid, The Offspring and Morrissey, has been taken off life support after suffering a brain haemorrhage last month.

A posting at prosoundweb. com announced the news, stating "the doctors have done everything possible for Jerry. Even though he did make snail like improvement these past 31 days he is not any better for words and has not had any consistency in the tests that the medical team have done for him. At his time the hemorrhage has done massive damage to his body, which will leave him severely disabled, and in need of acute care for the rest of his life. We know Jerry wouldn't want to live like this in a vegetative state. The family has made the decision to speak Jerry's wishes and withdraw life support. I am truly devastated don't know what else to say. Thank you all for your support through this terrible time. Please keep Jerry in your prayers".


The 38-year old producer is regarded as one of the best in the business.


Albums he has worked on include 'Dookie' and 'Insomniac' for Green Day, 'The Living End' by The Living End, blink-182 'Untitled' and 'Take Off Your Pants and Jacket', AFI's 'Decemberunderground' and 'Morrissey's 'You Are The Quarry'.


Jerry's last piece of work will be Morrissey's next album 'Years of Refusal' that will be released in early 2009.


Discography:

* Green Day - Dookie (1994) (mixed)
* The Muffs - Blonder and Blonder (1995) (engineered and mixed)
* Pennywise - About Time (1995)
* Rancid - ...And Out Come the Wolves (1995)
* Jawbreaker - Dear You (1995) (mixed)
* Green Day - Insomniac (1995) (mixed)
* Fastball - Make Your Mama Proud (1996)
* The Daredevils - Hate You (1996)
* Smoking Popes - Destination Failure (1997)
* Coward - Self-Titled (1997)
* Superdrag - Head Trip in Every Key (1998)
* Rancid - Life Won't Wait (1998) (mixed)
* The Vandals - Hitler Bad, Vandals Good (1998) (mixed)
* The Living End - The Living End (1998) (mixed)
* blink-182 - Enema of the State (1999)
* Madness - Universal Madness (1999) (mixed)
* Fenix*TX - Fenix*TX (1999)
* blink-182 - The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show: The Enema Strikes Back (2000)
* MxPx - The Ever Passing Moment (2000)
* The Marvelous 3 - ReadySexGo! (2000)
* Fenix*TX - Lechuza (2001)
* Sum 41 - All Killer No Filler (2001)
* Alkaline Trio - From Here to Infirmary (2001) (mixed)
* blink-182 - Take Off Your Pants And Jacket (2001)
* Green Day - International Superhits! (2001) (co-produced)
* Bad Religion - The Process of Belief (2002) (mixed)
* Box Car Racer - Box Car Racer (2002)
* MxPx - Ten Years and Running (2002)
* Sparta - Wiretap Scars (2002)
* Vendetta Red - Between the Never and the Now (2003)
* AFI - Sing the Sorrow (2003) (co-produced and mixed)
* Alkaline Trio - Good Mourning (2003) (co-produced and mixed)
* blink-182 - untitled (2003)
* Morrissey - You Are the Quarry (2004)
* Marjorie Fair - Self Help Serenade (2004)
* The Vandals - Hollywood Potato Chip (2004) (mixed)
* Eisley - Room Noises (2005) (mixed)
* The Offspring - Greatest Hits (2005)
* Alkaline Trio - Crimson (2005)
* blink-182 - Greatest Hits (2005)
* AFI - Decemberunderground (2006)
* +44 - When Your Heart Stops Beating (2006) (co-produced and mixed)
* Tiger Army - Music from Regions Beyond (2007)
* Morrissey - Greatest Hits (2008)
* Morrissey - Years of Refusal (set for September 2008)

The NPR program ALL THINGS CONSIDERED recently aired an appreciation for an African-American female newspaper cartoonist, JACKIE ORMES. The piece positions Jackie and her work on TORCHY BROWN as an underappreciated trailblazer... and certainly nobody at the Bettie Blog had ever heard of her! And if WE don't, chances are, few others do, either.

Head over to NPR and get to know a forgotten hero of comics!

Rick Klaw is the talented author of Geek Confidential: Echoes from the 21st Century and grandson of Irving Klaw, the man responsible for every bondage-themed and a large portion of the "cheesecake"-themed photos of Bettie Page. Rick kindly consented to an interview, attempting to clear up some nagging questions about his grandfather's dealings with Bettie Page.

Thanks for the interview, Rick. Clearly, you have a love of books and comic books, especially "fantastic" fiction. You are a prolific writer and a person who has a real love and understanding of the cult of fandom... befriending the creators who cater to that fandom and the fans themselves.

Bettie Page exists in just such a space. Given the iconic photos and her decades of "mystery", Bettie is more of a fictional character than a person to most of her fans (unlike, say, Madonna, who's personality and politics, for better or worse, are inseparable from her art).

I agree. Bettie falls more in the iconic status of say Wyatt Earp, where the fiction has become reality and vice versa.

How has your own life, work and passions been shaped by experiencing the "cult" audience of Bettie Page?

The cult of Bettie enabled me to learn more about a part of my family history that I thought lost. I didn't learn about my grandfather's famous history until I was 21 and at the 1992 San Diego ComicCon. I remember the event clearly.

"Are you related to Irving Klaw?"

I stood dumbfounded. I knew the name but never expected to hear it at 21 while attending a comic book convention. Irving Klaw was my grandfather.

Irving died about 16 months before I was born. His death is the stuff of family legend.

The grey-haired man in front of me was Ray Zone. As a comic book and magazine publisher, Zone was single-handedly responsible for the 3-d boom of the late 80's.1

"He was my grandfather. Why?"

Zone proceeded to show me examples of my grandfather's work: Images of Bettie iin black leather and leopard print bathing suits bound in a variety of positions. Some of the pics had Bettie with a whip. In some she was spread in doorways or suspended from a ceiling, bound and gagged. A few even had other women, but none had any nudity at all.

So you could say the "cult of Bettie" changed my life but not in the way most expect. I became curious and over the years and learned as much as I could abut his life and work. It's enabled me to re-establish a relationship with my Uncle Arth. Turns out we have a lot more in common than Irving.

The current understanding is the "Little John" story... a New York lawyer/judge bought out all the women in bondage stills Irving could dig up from B-movie stills. The customer offered to underwrite a photo shoot with bondage themes, in exchange for a set of photos. MSN would own the negatives and the right to sell prints, so Irving and Paula did, through their mail order business. Is this true?

To the best of my knowledge. I have yet to uncover anything that contradicts that story.

Assuming this is true, was Bettie the original model for the original shoot, or was she brought in later?

Klaw's first bondage model was Lili Dawn. She was photographed in midtown studios by various freelance photographers. Eventually, Klaw rented the third floor over Movie Star News and turned it into a photography studio. Around this time, Irving bought new furniture for his home. The old furniture made its way into the bondage shoots.

If Irving's dealings with "Little John" was the birth of Movie Star News shooting their own photos, when did bikini/cheesecake pictures (which, presumably, Little John would not be interested in) enter the "original photos" mix?

Since Irving was already selling cheesecake photos, I'd presume this was a natural progression to shoot their own "good girl" pics. As to when they started shooting them, I have no idea.

When was the last photo session for MSN/Nutrix?

Irving/Paula continue to produce original pictures (but no bondage after the 1955 Kefauver Hearings) into the 1960s. Klaw would publish "adventure" books with the pics and Klaw-written descriptions/dialog under the Nutrix name. He even rented studio space in Florida from David Friedman in the early 1960s. (Irving loved Florida and at the time of his death was making plans to retire and move there.)

Review after review of THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE have reduced Paula and Irving to "nice, normal, unexceptional" people. I'd love to counter that with some context. In interviews I've seen Paula displays a sharp sense of humor. Can you tell us about Irving, Paula and Jack Kramer? What were their personalities like?

From most accounts, the personalities were right on. Remember, I was born some 16 months after Irving's death.

What was the relationship like between them (Irving, Paula and Jack) and Bettie? There are some photos of them socializing, but also quotes suggesting there was little interaction outside of a handful of Saturday shoots.

Irving was a family man (he had no interest in bondage beyond the moneymaking aspects and there are absolutely no reports of inappropriate behavior between him and the models), so beyond the occasional dinners, I doubt he socialized much with Bettie. I do know that Irving use to like to go out with my grandmother Natalie and they favored night clubs with transvestite performers. Starting the mid-60s, my maternal grandparents often accompanied the Klaws on their club visits.

There is a story about a Filipino merchant marine who originally tied the knots for the bondage photos, but that Paula quickly assumed those duties. Likewise, initially, Movie Star News paid photographers, but at some point Paula took over these duties as well. Is this accurate and is there any information you can add?

I can add nothing about knots, but Ira Kramer told me that his mother (Paula) took the pictures because Irving was allergic to the photographic fluids. When I asked Arth about it (who is some 20 years older than Ira), he said he had never heard that. So who knows?

I've read that Paula destroyed 80% of the photos, but, at great peril to herself, Irving and Jack, she kept some of the negatives hidden, including many of the Bettie negatives. Is there any more information you can provide on this matter?

Irving surely didn't know about the surviving negatives. He was a scrupulous man of his word and if said they were all destroyed, he believed so.

And a bit of a correction... the negative destruction had nothing to do with Kefauver.

In 1963, following the suggestion of his lawyer, Irving destroyed his photographs and movies in an effort to placate the courts on yet another obscenity charge. The effort initially failed and Irving was found guilty of conspiracy to send obscene material through the mail, but the verdict was eventually overturned on appeal. Paula saved thousands of those images.

Thanks for your time and insight, Rick!

Rick Klaw is the author of Geek Confidential: Echoes from the 21st Century
NOW AVAILABLE from MonkeyBrain, Inc.

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Read more Rick Klaw at the Dark Forces Book Group blog and SF site.

For more on Rick's life as a professional geek and more insight on Irving Klaw, read his interview over at Enter the Octopus.