 2006
November
Issue 156
Pimp My Ride
ZAPPA, JOHNNY CASH, PINK FLOYD AND MORE
STAR IN THE ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY OF BARON WOLMAN. BY CLIVE PRIOR
AT THE time we were working, we were pretty much alone in the
profession," muses Baron Wolman, who between 1967-70 was the main
photographer for Rolling Stone magazine. "Now the field is flooded
with shooters and their images, the profession is less honoured, and
the fun is gone."
Next month a new Wolman exhibition at London's Blink Gallery aims
to recall those times. Photos of Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Johnny
Cash, Janis Joplin, Sun Ra, Mick Jagger, Joni Mitchcll, B.B. King
and more will be seen, as will this impromptu shot of Frank Zappa
messing about on a bulldozer: "We had complete access," adds Wolman,
who is president of photography publishers Squarebooks. "We could go
backstage, we could go on-stage – in the wings, of course – we could
go right up to the front of the stage!" Another salute to Zappa comes in the form the bottled beer,
Lagunitas Freak Out! Ale. Its label is the cover of the 1966 Freak
Out!. SoCal bewers Lagunitas will mark other Zappa LP anniversaries
with Absolutely Free, Lumpy Gravy and Hot Rats ales.
Behind the CAMERA Frank Zappa on a bulldozer, Laurel
Canyon, Los Angeles, from the cover shoot of the May 1968 Rolling
Stone. By Baron Wolman.
Baron Wolman: "Up the hill and behind Zappa's rented house, there
was this collection of rusty earth-moving equipment. We just walked
over to the machines and he started goofing around and I started
shooting photos. It was one of those wonderfully spontaneous photo
moments, relaxed and informal and fun – his 'outside the box'
behaviour was infectious. We took pictures for about half an hour,
before the interview, which was rare. Seldom did I have the subject
alone for so long in advance of the sit-down. Though truthfully, his
music was pretty much an unknown to me." |
