ETHAN RUSSELL
S.F.-Based Photographer Ethan Russell to Unveil Over 90 Previously
Unshown Images of Music Icons Including John Lennon, Mick Jagger,
Linda Ronstadt, Santana, The Who and Audioslave in his new
Exhibition Being There 1967-2005, Opening July 11 at the San
Francisco Art Exchange Tuesday June 28, 10:00 am ET
A Multiple GRAMMY(R)-Nominated Photographer - The Only One to
Create Album Covers for The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The
Who - he was Also One of the Original Pioneers of Music Video
SAN FRANCISCO, June 28 /PRNewswire/ - Ethan Russell's photographic work is immortalized on some of rock 'n' roll's most iconic album covers, and in images of legendary music stars that are both timeless works of art and extraordinary artifacts from a specific and memorable era in pop culture history. Fellow photographic artist Annie Liebovitz has said, "Ethan Russell is the photographer I always wanted to be. He held onto his ideals. And in the world of entertainment, that is very hard to do." ADVERTISEMENT - That ethic comes through clearly in many world famous photographs including ones of the Beatles on a London rooftop, the Rolling Stones at Altamont and the Who surrounding the stark, solitary monolith from the cover of Who's Next. Next month, Ethan Russell will premiere upwards of 90 never- before-exhibited images at the San Francisco Art Exchange in a new show entitled "BEING THERE 1967-2005." From Russell's archives, these previously unissued works are every bit as powerful and eye-opening as the now-familiar ones that have captured the imagination of so many for so long. Many of the pieces have never even been previously seen, including intimate shots of John Lennon and Russell's latest work from the beginning of this year, photos of Audioslave for their current hit CD. Russell commented, "A lot of my work is very well known, but when you isolate an image from a session, there's so much that's left behind, and some of it is just wonderful. I want to have people see this material. And as I have just returned to shooting, seeing the new work take its place in what is now a pretty lengthy historical line, and to see it fit, is all very exciting to me." The new images, both color and black and white, will be exhibited in varying sizes, some as large as 3 x 4 feet, and all will be available for sale in limited editions. In addition to Lennon and Audioslave, subjects include the Who, the Rolling Stones, Cream, Stephen Stills, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Santana, Rickie Lee Jones, Linda Ronstadt, Eric Clapton, Yoko Ono, Bill Wyman and San Francisco's own Blue Cheer (from '67), who were managed by Russell's brother. Once again a San Francisco area resident after years in London, New York and Los Angeles, Russell has also chosen for this show previously unseen photos taken at his family's ranch in Carmel Valley, including one of Mick Jagger crossing a stream on horseback. The exhibition opens July 11, with an opening event slated for Saturday, July 16, and runs through the end of August. Born in New York and raised in San Francisco, Russell first moved to London in '68 with the intent of becoming a writer-photography was at that point a hobby. Soon after, chance encounters-come- photo sessions with John Lennon and Mick Jagger almost instantly transformed Russell into one of the world's foremost rock photographers. All the images for the Beatles' Let It Be and his documentation of the Stones' Rock 'n Roll Circus were two of Russell's earliest projects. Russell went on to travel with the Stones on two tours, and Bill Wyman has commented, "Ethan has taken some of the greatest pictures in rock 'n roll, maybe the greatest ever." Nominated for GRAMMYs multiple times for work that helped elevate album design to "art", Russell was also a pioneer in the advent of music video in the pre-MTV era. In the '70s, realizing that music was virtually unrepresented on television, Russell conceived musical narratives for the screen, beginning with efforts to bring a version of Quadrophenia to prime-time, and with films for Leon Redbone and Rickie Lee Jones. Since then, he's produced and directed videos for artists including Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, k.d. lang, Hank Williams, Jr. and John Lennon. After over two decades in video, film and web design, Ethan Russell's return to still imagery launches an important new era in his career as this master photographer returns to his original medium. Marking it with BEING THERE 1967-2005 offers an opportunity to experience what's always set Russell's work apart- the sense that the person behind the lens was a participant in the moment, offering an insider's view far beyond that of just a keenly observant professional photographer. Co-founded in 1983 by Theron Kabrich and James Hartley, SFAE is a leader in international fine art sales and publishing, with a global reputation as premiere purveyors of world-class pop culture imagery. SFAE has long represented the art of Alberto Vargas and Ronnie Wood, famed album cover artist Roger Dean, fantasy-genre master Boris Vallejo, and many noted rock/celebrity photographers including Terry O'Neill, Mick Rock, Jerrold Schatzberg, Joel Brodsky, Pattie Boyd and many others. Their gallery is at 458 Geary Street in downtown San Francisco. For more information, log on to www.sfae.com. Jerry Russell †
Jerry Russell has passed away, March 8th 2005, 1:30 AM, Tucson Arizona, after a long battle with Myelodysplasia, MDS (a bone disease). Ethan and wife Anne present.
Jeremy’s home base for his 60 years of life was mostly in San Francisco. I met Jeremy in San Francisco in 1964 and unknown to either of us we had shared a few girlfriends in our high school years. Jeremy attended the San Rafael Military Academy and also the San Diego Military from where he graduated in 1962. Jeremy had enlisted in the National Guard in the early years of Viet Nam. To fulfill a life long dream of Jeremy’s and mine in 1965 we decided to do our service to music and since we were living the dream of San Francisco in the 60’s. We hand picked the musicians for the band called "BLUE CHEER" which had a top ten national hit record called "Summertime Blues". Rolling Stone Magazine has branded Blue Cheer as the first truly Heavy Metal Band. Because of Jeremy’s gift of suburb intelligence and his refusal to accept the word "NO", Blue Cheer had quite a bit of success and is now considered a classic early San Francisco Band. Shortly afterwards Jerry moved to London, England and worked in many of the best known recording studios of the day. Jeremy was lucky to have worked on sessions with The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Sly Stone, Steve Winwood and other greats. Jeremy would sometimes practice mixing songs after they were recorded and after hours. Once he called me in San Francisco from London, Island Studios and said "Eric, You gotta hear what we just did today in the studio .... 22 minutes later I had listened to an unreleased personally mixed by Jeremy version of .... "Stairway to Heaven" .... what a thrill for me. When Jeremy returned to the United States in the mid seventies he went to work on his families Horse Ranch in the Carmel Valley. The double H Ranch as it was called was built by Jeremy’s Grandfather and his wife Helen Crocker, from a well known San Francisco Family. After the death of Jerry’s Father, Charles H. Russell the most beautiful of homes and ranch land that I have ever seen was sold and Jeremy returned to live in San Francisco. Jeremy was recruited by the Arizona Inn because of his natural charm and class and loved working there for several years. In this time period Jeremy met and married his beautiful and gracious wife Anne. Jeremy felt a need to give back to society and he and Anne struck out on an adventure in Costa Rica where they both taught English, Jeremy loved the natural setting and beauty of Costa Rica and the relatively peaceful lifestyle that he and Anne enjoyed for a few years. After again returning to the United States Anne and Jeremy bought a coffee Cart and toured the United States mostly doing Dog Shows. The lifestyle agreed with them and In the recent past I would say Jeremy was the happiest in these years. In 2003 Jerry was diagnosed with Myeloid dysplasia (MD): a hematological disorder preceding acute and chronic myeloid leukemia. This disease took my best friend from me on the 8th of March 2005. I miss you Jeremy. I do believe Jeremy has contributed to the cultural growth of San Francisco and most certainly his family as well. Therefore, I would believe his story to be of wide appeal to San Franciscans and beyond. Kindest regards, Eric Albronda
Jeremy "Jerry" Russell's heavy metal band rode the crest of the Haight-Ashbury era. Jeremy B. Russell, who co-founded the heavy metal San Francisco rock band Blue Cheer at the height of the Haight-Ashbury era, died at his Arizona home Tuesday of complications from blood and liver diseases. He was 60. Mr. Russell, who was known as Jerry, was born on Aug. 31, 1944, in New York, but his family moved to San Francisco when he was a youngster. On his father's side, Mr. Russell was descended from the Harriman railroad family and California's Crocker banking clan, according to his brother, Marin County photographer Ethan Russell. In 1965, after a stint in the National Guard, Mr. Russell and his close friend Eric Albronda, both music aficionados, decided to form a rock band. The result was Blue Cheer, whose heyday was the latter half of the 1960s, when they were known as a premier heavy metal band from San Francisco. In the early 1970s, Mr. Russell moved to London, where he worked for several music studios, and then returned to the United States a few years later, settling in Carmel Valley, where he worked on the family's sprawling thoroughbred horse-breeding Double H ranch, which had been built by Mr. Russell's grandfather. The ranch eventually was taken over by Mr. Russell's father, Charles H. Russell, but was sold in 1981, after Charles Russell died. Soon after, Mr. Russell moved to Arizona, where he met and married his wife, Anne. Mr. Russell worked as a bartender and maitre d'hotel at the Arizona Inn. In addition to brother Ethan of San Anselmo, and his wife, Anne, of Tucson, Mr. Russell is survived by another brother, Adam Russell of Minnesota, and a sister, Linda Matson of Carmel Valley. The family suggests donations to a fund for recovering addicts called First Step, c/o Sonja Stupel, 4110 W. Sweetwater Dr., Tucson AZ 85745. A memorial service for Mr. Russell was held at 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm St., Tucson. Tuesday, March 15, 2005, Michael Taylor, Chronicle Staff Writer ©2005 San Francisco Chronicle
ARAB †
Arab who painted the second album cover "OUTSIDE INSIDE" died on Saturday, April 3rd 2004, in the afternoon, at his home - a rented apartment - in Santa Monica, where he lived for several years with his mother. He had spinal cancer for the last 2 years and suffered greatly. His real name was Gary Barent Finnoe. . . . this information is from Gut's brother. Blue Cheer Albums & CDs
Blue Cheer Photos
Some great Blue Cheer shots live on stage are available through PhotoFlashbacks - The Doug Hartley Collection
Ethan James †
Musician Ethan James, whose career spanned the psychedelic 1960s to the punk 1980s and ended as
a performer of medieval folk music, has died. He was 56.
Ethan James, a member of the '60s heavy metal band Blue Cheer who shifted in the 1980s to a behind-the-scenes role as producer and engineer on dozens of recordings, has died. He was 56. James died June 19 in San Francisco after a nine-month battle with liver cancer, said a longtime friend, Lisa Mitchell Silverman. "Very few people knew he was ill", she said. "He didn't want people to worry." After leaving Blue Cheer, James became a trusted mentor of a younger generation of emerging punk, alternative and roots-rock bands before changing careers yet again in the late 1980s to focus on playing and promoting medieval music. James was born Ralph Burns Kellogg in 1946 in Pasadena and moved with his family in 1957 to Sacramento, where he taught himself to play piano, guitar, bass and drums. To pursue a life in music, he moved to San Francisco after high school and became a member of the band Mint Tattoo. He later joined pioneering heavy metal band Blue Cheer just after the group charted its biggest hit, a remake of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues." James toured and recorded with Blue Cheer into the '70s, then decided to build a recording studio of his own in Los Angeles, creating Radio Tokyo Studio in Venice. James' studio quickly became a popular hangout for such bands as the Bangs (later the Bangles), Black Flag, the Minutemen, Jane's Addiction and numerous others. "He was very interested in hearing different bands and seeing what people came up with, rather than trying to mold something", Greg Ginn, guitarist with Black Flag and founder of SST Records, home to various acts that worked with James, said recently. The Plimsouls' Eddie Munoz said James "stood tall in a scene that needed focus." Former Minutemen bassist Mike Watt said James was the person who recorded and mixed the Minutemen's "Double Nickels on the Dime" album. "He mixed all 45 songs in one night", said Watt, who also worked with James in post - Minutemen bands Firehose and Dos. "Ethan had much respect for another's music and was never dominating or controlling." During this period, James assumed his new name because, according to Silverman, "He never liked the name Ralph, and after he researched it, he said he found that the most successful people had two first names." James sold the Radio Tokyo studio in 1989 to concentrate on a newfound infatuation with the hurdy-gurdy, a medieval instrument that sounds like a cross between a violin and bagpipes. He spent much of the 1990s playing and recording medieval music and released a series of albums of hurdy-gurdy music. "He became the hurdy-gurdy guy in L.A. for a while", Ginn said. James also performed a piece Mozart composed for the instrument with the San Francisco Mozart Festival Orchestra. "He was really dedicated to the instrument", said multi-instrumentalist David Lindley, who played with James a number of times in recent years in concerts in San Francisco. "It's a wonderful, disturbing instrument, but can be really beautiful too. He could do anything with it. It just blew us away the sound he got out of that thing." James later took up the Swedish nyckelharpa, a multi-stringed instrument played with a bow, and traveled to Sweden to further study the instrument. James is survived by a brother and a sister. By Randy Lewis, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, July 7, 2003 ©2003 Los Angeles Times Wir trauern um Ethan James. Ethan James begann seine musikalische Karriere in den 60er Jahren, er kannte Jimi Hendrix und Janis Joplin, spielte mit Cream und Kim Fowley und war jahrelang Keyboarder der legendären Acid-Rock-Band Blue Cheer (später als Mutter aller Grunge-Bands gefeiert). Mühelos schaffte Ethan James später den Sprung zum "Paisley Underground"-Sound der Post-Punk-Periode. Anfang der 80er Jahre richtete er sich in Hollywood sein "Radio Tokyo"-Studio ein und produzierte dort Nachwuchsbands, u.a. The Bangles, Sonic Youth, Minutemen, Black Flag, Jane's Addicxtion, fIREHOSE, L7, Henry Rollins. Mitte der 80er Jahre entdeckte Multiinstrumentalist Ethan James die Drehleier. "Mittelalterliches Herz, ausgedrückt von einem modernen Geist" beschrieb er den Sound, der ihm vorschwebte und den er mit wechselnden musikalischen Mitstreitern kreierte. Zur Vertiefung seiner Studien traditioneller europäischer Musik der Frühzeit stöberte James in Bibliotheken und baute Instrumente nach, die er in Büchern fand. Im Sommer 1993 veröffentlichte Ethan James seine erste Soloplatte, "Shaking Hands With Kafka", der zwei Jahre später "What Rough Beast" folgte (beide hierzulande bei Moll erschienen). Die ZEIT schreib seinerzeit über "What Rough Beast": "I am the witness / I am the watcher / I am the doer / I am the talker, singt Ethan James mit unfolkloristisch scharfer, klarer Stimme. Seine Texte bergen wahre Bilderfluten, schwanken zwischen mystischen Traumsequenzen voller mittelalterlicher Symbolik und der drastischen Darstellung urbaner Wirklichkeit im heutigen Amerika. Dichtkunst auf hohem Niveau mit dem sprachlichen Reichtum des Minnesangs, kleine Geschichten und Szenerien, Philosophisches hinter pittoresker Kulisse. (. . .) Zurück bleibt ein starkes Gefühl von Wärme, um das sich andere, vermeintlich so authentisch singende Zeitgenossen manchmal vergeblich bemühen." Mitte der 90er Jahre haben wir für Ethan James eine Europatournee organisiert. Wir haben Ethan James als einen profunden Musiker und eine schillernde, dabei aber stets bescheidene Persönlichkeit kennengelernt. Ein wirklicher Gentleman, sehr warmherzig, auf der Bühne wie im richtigen Leben. Der Kontakt mit Ethan James riss nie ganz ab, er erzählte von neuen Projekten, schickte sein Album mit mittelalterlicher Weihnachtsmusik. Von seiner Krankheit erzählte er niemandem, "Very few people knew he was ill -- Ethan didn't want anyone to worry about him.", heisst es in der Todesnachricht, die wir heute erhalten haben. Am Abend des 20.Juni 2003 starb Ethan James im Kaiser Permanente-Hospital in San Francisco an Krebs. Eine Trauerfeier wird am 28.Juni um 11 Uhr im Eckankar Centre in Los Angeles/Hollywood stattfinden. Wir gedenken eines grossen Musikers und Produzenten und eines sympathischen Menschen. By Berthold Seliger, Konzertagentur Berthold Seliger, July 3, 2003 ©2003 Konzertagentur Berthold Seliger
Jerre Peterson †
Via George, via Marlene, via Dickie - sad news - Jerre Peterson passed away August 9th, 2002.
Jerre Peterson & Mother Ocean
Jerre Peterson with Dickie Peterson & Mother Ocean live at the Blue Shell, Cologne, March 25th, 2002. George Michalski - San Francisco
George Michalski's new CD San Francisco - a Soundtrack to the City of San Francisco - is available now. Music Production assisted by Eric Albronda. Captures the Spirit of the San Francisco Sound from the early Charlatans days right up to now.
Gadsby & Skol
Gadsby & Skol
is available now on
Woronzow Records.
A Heavy Rock trio formed in the late 60's in Toronto. This is a re-recording of their original
unreleased album containing a version of Just A Little Bit.
Dieter Saller & Mystic Eyes
Regensburg based band The Mystic Eyes with Dieter Saller on lead guitar have just finished recording their second album Flashback. It's available through The Mystic Eyes.
The Peddicord - Stephens Band
. . . is currently working on a new CD which contains some really good songs !
Randy Holden
Randy Holden's new CD Guitar God 2001 is available now at www.randyholden.com. ". . . the new album, the album I've pretty much finished, was really fun. I've got a 23-minute guitar instrumental that is just incredible."
The acoustic Hank Davison Band with Dickie Peterson
CDs from the Hank Davison Band are available at: Hank Davison
Jerre Peterson - Tumbleweed
Jerre Peterson - Tumbleweed released June 2000. Norman Mayell - Mortal Loom
I'm in the business again. Go to
Sopwith Camel / CD Update and read.
Mortal Loom is my latest project and the European Release is for sale now . . . .
NormGENERIC TYPE: Phone: (510) 428-9200 Fax: (510) 428-9251 5865 Doyle Street, Suite 112 Emeryville, CA 94608 Blue Cheer - Live
13. - 16. 7. 2000 Hof Huhnstadt, Breitenbach am Herzberg (Alsfeld - Bad Hersfeld) Blue Cheer, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Steppenwolf, Mitch Ryder, Rufus Zuphall, Kraan, Birth Control, Them, Blues Power, Ole Lukkoje, Argile, Hypnotix, Human Brain Circus, . . . 13.7. - "Free Culture" - Bands from St. Petersburg 14.7. - Blues Power, Them, Steppenwolf, Ole Lukkoje 15.7. - Human Brain Circus, Blue Cheer, Birth Control, Mitch Ryder, Kraan, Big Brother 16.7. - Argile, Hypnotix, Rufus Zuphall
Blue Cheer - Tribute Album
Blue Explosion - Tribute To Blue Cheer (2LP / CD) with:
K A K
K A K - OLA. 20 track compilation on Big Beat/Ace Records. Contains 1969's K A K, plus unissued material, including some tracks featuring Gary Yoder with members of Blue Cheer and Oxford Circle.
Leigh Stephens Live At Patti and Otto's
Leigh Stephens is currently working on a new instrumental guitar cd along with Kelly Stephens (keyboards) and Bobby Eisenberg (drums).
Blue Cheer - Live In Japan 1999
Blue Cheer - Live In Japan 1999 was released July 26.
Blue Cheer - Hello Tokyo, Bye Bye Osaka (7/99)
Leigh Stephens - Chronic With A K
The Taxim Records "Fourth Wave of Bay Area Blues" was released in Europe.
A Fourth Wave Of Bay Area Blues (2/99) Chronic with a K is on track #15 with the song "We Gotta Get Out of this Place". The version is totally different than on the "Ride the Thunder" CD. If you are interested in ordering a CD, you can through the Taxim Records Web Page. Thanks, Leigh.
Blue Cheer meets Godzilla
Dickie Peterson - Tramp
A new CD is out now !
Dickie Peterson - Tramp (2/99) Jerre Peterson will be doing a solo CD together with Dickie this year . . .
Dickie Peterson - Hank Davison Band - Dos Hombres
Dickie Peterson has teamed up with some members of the Hank Davison Band to do some
acoustic gigs around Germany during the winter months. The band is called Dos Hombres.
Hank Davison & Friends - Real Live
Leigh Stephens (Chronic With A K)
Chronic With A K have finished recording their first CD in late '98. The title is Ride the Thunder.
Chronic With A K - Ride The Thunder (11/98) At this time available by mail order only from Leigh Stephens. Leigh Stephens interviewed by Scott Guitars.
Randy Hammon - Savage Resurrection
". . . the band is reissuing our album ourselves, and it will be distributed through a local record label called Mod Lang in Berkeley, CA. The reissue will have their label name on it, but it is a band reissue. It should be back from the pressing plant within 3 weeks and all ready to go. Also, it will be available from Mod Lang Records in Berkeley as mailorder. We have a 12 page booklet included with photos, bio material, and we also have included 3 bonus tracks." Randy Hammon is Paul Whaley's cousin and their one and only album was produced by Abe 'Voco' Kesh.
Randy Holden
Randy Holden's new CD (recorded 2/97) has been mixed 3/98 at Electric Randyland. |
