NYC, May 9, 2013

photo by Bruce Pross

JUST CHAOS
Met lots of punk rockers last night - ahem… maybe I shouldn't have started with the word "MET".
There's been so many divided reviews of the Gala this week from the Metropolitan Museum's annual fundraiser Costume Ball.
I thought it was a bit bizarre when a presenter on TV actually asked Vivienne Westwood who she was wearing, and they didn't mean her Bradley Manning jewellery.

I read about the Gala in the Costa Coffee lounge at Heathrow.
They have free newspapers.
The Times of London loved it "Crowns are the new Tiara's" they wrote.
The Daily Mail hated it (probably because Lady Diana is dead and couldn't be there).

I was a bit confused about the fuss.
What I understood was some people thought the designer clothes weren't punk. But don't designers use an idea and move forward from there? It's not like the designers were meant to re-create 1976, were they? I thought Madonna's outfit with her signature crucifix on her bottom was trying hard, and please, someone, give Sarah Jessica Parker something to eat.

Anyway - I digress. Thursday 9 May I went to BOOK MARC.
Book Marc is a clean and bright corner bookshop owned by Marc Jacobs.
Yes the Fashion Designer.

He used to work for Louis Vuitton.
Now there's 200 Marc Jacob stores in 80 countries.


JUST CHAOS was organised by Roberta Bayley who invited these fabulous Photographers:
Janette Beckman
Stephanie Chernikowski
Laura Levine
Julia Gorton
Eileen Polk
Marcia Resnick
Leee Black Childers
Danny Fields
Godlis
Bobby Grossman
Bob Gruen
Chris Stein
and Joe Stevens
to put a few of their punk rock era photos each in the store windows and amongst the punk rock literature inside.

Because I had been a little thrown by the torrential rain in the morning but decided to visit the local thrift shop to see if they had anything interesting, $15 got me a pair of red tartan trousers.
Perfect!
I didn't see a pair of converse at the show but I did have a wonderful time - this included:
John Leyland (nee SPIN now NYT): We chatted about going to the punk show at the Met.
We both hoped the Gala was successful even if the punk exhibit fails.
John with Andy Schwartz

I saw Leee Black Childers (another Warhol Factory man) but we couldn't chat because he was being interviewed all evening pretty much.

I admired Laura Levine's photographic career and she told me how she organises events at her shop upstate called The Mystery Shop, www.lauralevine.com/mystery-spot and how much she liked the voice of the singer in Alessi's Ark.
Me Too.
Randy Haecker (Virgo) told me he's working on a Clash Box Set (i forget how many discs but there are quite a lot).
He had a Marc Jacobs bag and when asked to show-and-tell he didn't produce a shirt or a tie, but a book, nicely wrapped.

He'd bought Sheila Rock's photography book.
Sheila just had a book launch in London.

I met a real-life Ball Catcher for the Phillies baseball team: Ms Ronnie Norpel (right).
She's even written a book called BASEBALL KARMA (the book the Phillies don't want you to read!)
see: www.smashwords.com/books

I met Howie Pyro who told me his punk rock flyer collection is still up in the Bowery Electric and will be for a few more weeks.



I love Puma Pearl in her lovely t-shirt.

I stood with Jahn Xavier who could name most of the people on the sidewalk from his youth - and I mean YOUTH. He was 16 when he played bass for Richard Hell.. he named the CBGB's waitresses amongst others...
I met a Jewish Norwegian man who had given up smoking three days ago. WELL DONE.
I may have said, it's a bit of a mystery why we smoke, isn't it - and he produced a typed - on a TYPEWRITER - paper - why he liked smoking..

This is Huff Post TV's Mark Sax with Roberta fresh from the studio where were on the sidewalk.


Handsome Dick Manitoba and Handsome son Jake were present.

Just as Roberta was leaving, a young man in a beanie approached her with a clipboard said, "I'm casting for a commercial and looking for interesting people, would you be interested?"
Roberta said yes.
Man: What's your name?
RB: Roberta Bayley
I wrote it down for him as Roberta was holding flowers and so on.
Me: What's the commercial for?
Man: Levi's Jeans.
I thought that was funny since Roberta took that photo of the Ramones on the cover of their first album in their, now iconic, ripped at the knees jeans.

It was warm. It got dark.

Godlis took a last look at the window before heading off to his neighbourhood.

I hopped the uptown train with a good friend. We talked about dylan and people we knew and how we are going to raise some funds of our own, without mentioning google, internet, like it was 1976.