Jenny Lens Punk Archive

Highlights, V. 1 August 11-29, 1976

Ramones First West Coast Tour

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) When are you doing a follow-up to Punk Pioneers, your rst solo hardcover photo book? I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to create Punk Pioneers. Spent 2.5 years on that book. You cant survive nancially nor creatively doing that, especially if you prefer doing it yourself via eBooks instead! Can I give these away to my friends, for gifts and fun? Why should people pay for each book they download? Do you want to keep seeing more photos? More eBooks? More online photos? More photos in books, magazines and documentaries? Simple: pay for each eBook and youll see more photos. Give them away or steal them and the archive dies. Do you want to be a killer? Its your choice. HELP ME get more photos and stories into the world! Or I have to walk away from it. When you post links online, or forward the link, or post or forward the actual document, you are hurting yourself more than me. You could also be subject to prosecution in various ways, in courts and online. Lets just not go there, ok? I rather spend my time making more eBooks. Play nice, please, ok? If you do want to buy several copies for gifts, please write and well work out a quantity discount. Why eBooks: Freedom! Write anything without editorial comments, censorship, revisions, or removing of essential information. Whatever photos I want (or you want, write me!), any size. An eBook every month or two. Timeconsuming: I do it all: more time, work, equipment, skills and focus than is readily apparent. I spend 24/7 on my photos. Why is your signature on every photo? Been to an art gallery or museum lately? Seen any paintings, drawings, prints without a signature? A Picasso, Van Gogh or Dali? Artists sign their work. Doesnt every song at end of movies list songwriter and singer credits? A photo is art created by an individual and subject to the same laws and courtesies of every other art form. I used a small handwriting font Plus, if you want to post these, just use the whole photo and its watermarked. Now youve respected the laws of the land as well as doing the right thing and helping to keep the Jenny Lens Punk Archive alive. What are the sources of your text: I work very hard to compiling various memories, points of view and conclusions based on so many elements, input and feedback. I research what I write. My text from memories, notes or my vast photo archive, but also emails, phone calls and in-person conversations with others who were there or have thoroughly researched this era. Ive read many print books, in print and online, plus magazine and documentary interviews. Very few people accurately discuss or analyze what my friends and I experienced. We dont all have the same memories and we certainly dont agree all the time. But its time to hear from those who were there but silent all these years. Why are photos and pages both Portrait and Landscape oriented? Usually print books are laid out so you never have to turn a book sideways. I dont agree with that thinking because the images suer. Just click a button to rotate left or right (or try Ctrl or Cmd + L or R) while viewing a digital document, or turn a piece of paper sideways if you print. Negatives on the proofs are laid out the way I shot them: landscape and portrait. Sometimes portraits face the top, sometimes the bottom (huh, did I turn my camera upside down or what?). I moved negs around so all the portraits face one direction. at took a lot of time and work! But how to label them? Well, lifes not perfect . . . I want you to enjoy the photos as large as possible, rather than make it easier and faster for me. ats the point. is is not about making my life easier. I work extra hard FOR YOU to see the largest photos possible in this format. ENJOY!

FAQs

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My rst eBook dedicated to Joey, Dee Dee and Johnny (and Tommy, Mickey, Danny and others . . . ) A Little Intro . . . I created this with love for not only the Ramones, but all us fans who love them. Da brudders were so nice, accessible, honest, enthusiastic and enjoyed the excitement as much as us fans. Not jaded like so many people, but curious about the future, hopeful and youthful. I love the shots of them smiling, or being vulnerable, expressing a variety of emotions while being on their rst long tour away from home. Youll see some of the people around them, their road crew, family, and fans. is is just a sample of my rst shots. If I can sell enough, Ill do more volumes, not just this tour, but three 1977 tours and two 1978 tours. I was one lucky lady. My search for meaning, art, fun and a more exciting life led me to punk. I wont go into that history here, other than to say now its my job to share what I experienced. Not an easy job, but I do it for you. I hope that by sharing some of these photos you feel some of the excitement and thrills I felt hanging out with the Ramones. ey say a photo or picture is worth a thousand words. ats why I took photos. I wanted to share what I was seeing and feeling, so others might nd out about what was going on and start going to shows. I also knew that 30 years down the road, people would pay attention to these people and these photos. I didnt realize how dicult all this would be, but it never stopped me. Ive been to hell and back to work on my archive, and its not getting any easier.

If you enjoy this, then its been worthwhile.

I was a shy, yet outspoken, strong, creative, intelligent, MFA-degreed artist, who never felt accepted anywhere. I remember telling my neighbor Tim I couldnt believe the Ramones let me follow them around. I was so happy I lost 13 pounds in 14 days, just eating a few teaspoons of peanut butter each day. I couldnt eat. I was oating. I took better onstage shots when the Ramones returned and performed with Blondie at the Whisky, February 1977. Wow, now those are great live shots (of both bands)! During the Ramones rst West Coast tour, in 1976, they played either small places which didnt allow me to stand far enough back to shoot the group or larger venues without access to shoot the whole group. I loved the Whisky in 1977/1978 because I could stand on the stairs and get great live shots! As great as their shows always were (I saw them over 50 times), my o-stage and backstage shots from this rst tour are especially poignant. I focused on them in this volume. Few were photographing them, and certainly not as much as I was, so my archive is very rare, compared to other times the Ramones came to town. Wait til you see the all live volume, which will only happen if I sell enough to keep going. You want to see more photos? Tell people to buy my eBooks! ank you. e more that people buy this, the more I can create! Write me at jenny@jennylens.com and tell me what you want me to do next! Tell your friends!

REad this: Please HELP the Jenny Lens Punk Archive!

Please do not distribute online or any form. Please do not edit, scan, copy or use online in such sites as myspace, Facebook, your site, any site nor any blog or any other media, (print, electronic or ANY usage). You may take watermarked, credited images from jennylens.com and post on non-commercial sites. You may use if you do not nancially or creatively prot or benet in any manner. Please use authorized posted images from jennylens.com because the photos can be traced to their correct owner. Congress is passing laws enabling photos without watermarks/credits to fall into public domain. If and when that happens, the archive will be worthless and abandoned. Additionally, international copyright laws are quite strict regarding using images you did not create. Serious legal and nancial problems for my photos if you disregard current laws. Plus its bad karma. Bottom line: if these images or this document are given away, sold or used without watermarks/credits, you wont see more photos. Which is worse: paying for my work or never seeing anything new again? ank you and enjoy! Jenny Lens, December 2008, (c) Jenny Lens Punk Archive I am asking you to please help me get more photos into the world. I am also working on photo preservation, more eBooks, exhibits, merchandise and . . . the more you help me, the more I can do!

Intro, Copyright and Contact information

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76-08-16-ramcarsw1-r 1a Joey bleach 2a Joey standing by washer 14 Dee Dee outside 15 Joey by Jenny Lens car

0a Joey drinking Tide soap powder

3a standing by washer

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16 Ramones Starwood 17 Ramones Starwood 18 Ramones Starwood Ramones hanging out: Joey in the Laundromat. Dee Dee outside. Joey leaning against Jenny Lens blue Chrysler New Yorker, which Dee Dee loved. e Ramones at the Starwood, August 16, 1976. I shot from the balcony. I preferred the Whisky when the Ramones debuted their the following February, 1977. ose were better live shots. I mostly took individual live shots during their rst tour, which were my rst live shots.

76-08-16-ramcarsw2-r 20 Ramones Starwood 20a Ramones Starwood 23 Dee Dee backstage 24 Joey backstage

19 Ramones Starwood

22 Dee Dee backstage

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e Ramones at the Starwood, August 16, 1976. Shirtless Dee Dee sitting backstage. Joey surrounded by young female fans.

Dee Dee hanging out during a sound check. 76-08-16-ramcarsw14dd Page 6

Joey leaning against photographer Jenny Lens blue Chrysler New Yorker before a sound check. 76-08-16-ramcarsw15joey Page 7

76-08-19-rampodi1-r 1a Johnny, Joey eating 2a Mickey Leigh (Joeys brother) 4a Tommy eating, Big Mike 5a Johnny reading 7a Joey eating 8a Joey sitting in pool

0a Johnny Joey eating

3a Johnny reading, Joey

6a Joey eating

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Ramones at the diner in the hotel, then Joey sunning and eventually swimming. People keep writing I shot this at the Phoenix, but it doesnt resemble that hotel. According to manager Danny Fields, it was a cheesy dive hotel on Van Ness. August 19, 1976, San Francisco.

76-08-19-rampodi2-r 10a Joey lying by pool 11a Joey closeup 14a Joey swimming 15a Joey swimming 17a Joey closeup swimming 18a Joey swimming

9a Joey sitting in pool

13a Joey swimming

16a Joey swimming

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e brick wall behind the pool extended next door. I thought it was a site for Chinese herbs. e wall had painted Chinese characters on the wall. But I didnt keep notes where I shot the Ramones for most of my o-stage shots. I shot Joey swimming and sunning at other hotels, sometimes with Dee Dee. August 19, 1976, San Francisco.

76-08-19-rampodi05ajohn

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76-08-19-17a-rampojoey

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Joey Ramone, swimming in hotel pool. Photographer Brad Elterman owns one of these prints. I met Brad while shooting the Ramones. It was great to see Joey spending some time by himself, enjoying the California sun. August 19, 1976, San Francisco.

Johnny, Savoy, San Francisco, August 20, 1976. 76-08-20-2-27-rams ohnhair Page 12

Joey, Golden Bear, Huntington Beach, Orange County, August 23, 1976. 76-08-23-ramgbjoeyst Page 13

Dee Dee and Joey backstage, Golden Bear? August 23, 1976. 76-08-23-ramjoeyddbs Page 14

Johnny smiling backstage, Golden Bear? August 23, 1976. 76-08-23-ramjohnsmile Page 15

A few of us threw a backstage party for the Ramones on their last night in LA, August 28, 1976. I printed the sign behind Tommy. I used dierent markers for each phrase, or dierent colors in each letter. I thanked them for the fun times, and used quotes from their songs. We put up colored crepe paper across the ceiling. Someone baked a cake, and put the Ramones rst album behind the cake. Dee Dee put on a pointed red hat and ate chocolate cake and played with the party favors. I love this great shot of Tommy, their rst drummer. I have shots of their manager, Danny Fields, their road crew including Joeys brother, Mickey, Big Mike and Monte Melnick, later author of On the Road with the Ramones. A few days earlier, at the Golden Bear in Hungtington Beach, Orange County, I saw a small group of fans dancing. Everyone else was just standing around. I shot them, and continued when I saw them backstage. ey later were some of the core group who were very inuential in early LA punk: Trudie, Hellin Killer, Mary Rat, Michael Wilcox and Kid Congo (aka Brian Tristan). I shot Arturo Vegas, the Ramones art director, standing next to Sue Sawyer, the Ramones record company publicist who later worked with the Clash. 76-08-28-ramtompartybs Page 16