Killer Born Man: A Series
From time to time, I'll be launching a series of interviews with people I admire greatly. These folks may range from artists who fall outside the realm of what AP covers to writers whose work I've enjoyed to individuals whose lives may have significantly intersected with mine to people who I just think are cool as hell. It is my hope that you become enlightened, entertained and/or enraged by some of the folks featured under the heading Killer Born Man.
MIKE LAVELLA is the man who practically drafted the cars-and-rock axis known as Gearhead. Frequently imitated (and co-opted by people with lots of cash and no clues) but never equaled, Gearhead was the first periodical to focus on the "Kustom Kulture" of car enthusiasts and underground rock. The mag's success stems from a creative mindset where automotive journalists coexist with punk rockers and respected auto photographers are featured alongside A-list underground visual artists. In addition to the mag and the apparel line, LaVella also founded Gearhead Records, a label that made waves with a full-on roster that included the New Bomb Turks, the Hellacopters, the Wildhearts, Riverboat Gamblers amongst many others. (Check it out: The label was the first to release music in this country by a bunch of Swedes calling themselves the Hives.) Ultimately deciding to focus on journalism, he severed ties with the record label in 2006, but LaVella is still a voracious music enthusiast that keeps tabs on what's happening in various genres.
LaVella, now 43, knows a couple things about punk rock. He was a big figure in hardcore culture in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the early 80s, first as frontman for the city's first hardcore band, Real Enemy, and later as bassist in Half Life. When that band ran its course, he moved out to San Francisco and ended up following his bliss in a universe where Mopar parts and Misfits singles loom large.
School my bitch ass: Isn't Gearhead considered the first mag to align the worlds of automobile enthusiasts and underground hard rock?
Yeah. Gearhead is the first ever so-called "Kustom Kulture" magazine, which has been imitated so many times now that it's easy for folks to forget that it came first by a good five or six years, no less. Before Juxtapoz, before Garage, before everything. That's not my ego [talking], just a fact.
What accomplishments in the mag are you most proud of running?
Well, the interview I did with [underground art avatar] Robert Williams in 1999 directly lead to my writing The Hot Rod World of Robert Williams and then the Cole Foster interview in #14 lead to my writing Cole Foster and Salinas Boys Customs. Style. Substance [both for Motorbooks]. I guess you could say when I do a piece on someone, I like to go so deep, I'm essentially considered an expert on the subject, kinda like writing a dissertation for a doctorate degree. The fact that my articles have been expanded into books twice is the ultimate feather in my cap, I suppose.
What do you feel were the label's high points?
Well, let me just say we went from absolutely nothing to having the Hives, the Hellacopters, New Bomb Turks, the Dragons, the Wildhearts, "Demons", Riverboat Gamblers, Turbo A.C.'s and Electric Eel Shock on the roster in just a few short years. As a roster goes, that's pretty rock solid.
Are you offended by alleged "punks" wearing classic-rock t-shirts as some sort of gesture toward irony, or am I just a grumpy old man projecting onto you?
I really, honestly, gave up trying to understand what kids like or do about 10 or 12 years ago. I look at AP and am just baffled. If you have to pick something annoying [it's that young people] don't realize they are all into music that’s been regurgitated so many times now. Hot Hot Heat = XTC, whatever hip-at-the-moment "funky-punk" band is just a Gang Of Four rip-off, etc.
If I was a kid, I think, at least I hope I'd be into whatever my generation was actually creating at the time. I know I was lucky to be 16 in 1981: I got to play with Husker Du, Bad Brains, Samhain, Minutemen, GBH, etc--like pretty much all the best bands of the era--and then came to San Francisco in 1988 at age 23 and saw Nirvana, Mudhoney, Soundgarden et., in tiny clubs. I put myself into the best spot to see all those things as they were happening the first time around, and I'm glad I did. Would I trade it for a college degree and a good-paying job? No fucking way, because I'm now realizing that my experiences themselves are valuable. In the last year, I've been interviewed for books that are coming out about Agnostic Front, Gilman Street, Husker Du and Eric Davidson's magnum opus about the "lost years" of rock 'n' roll that are never covered in documentaries, roughly the time between Minor Threat and Nirvana, which was probably the best time ever when you look at bands from the era like the Wipers, the Devil Dogs, etc.
As an proponent for hardcore in Pittsburgh during the 80s, commercial FM rock was the culture you were fighting against.
Actually I just heard Life With The Enemy [Real Enemy's 1983 self-released cassette] for the first time in over 20 years this week. The main thing that shocked me was just how angry we were. About what? I guess the fact that we lived in a world where it was perfectly fine to shave your head and paint it like a Steelers helmet, but if you wrote the word "Discharge" on your jeans, you were taking your life into you own hands. Just the simple injustice of being so persecuted for looking/acting/being different. In hindsight, that's what fueled my fire. Of course now, green hair and mohawks are as common as crew cuts, probably more so. We won, I guess.
What was the impetus for starting Gearhead? I don't remember you being way into cars in your days in Hermine, Pennsylvania.
Well, I was actually, very much so. You are a big part of the reason I gravitated away from that. I had older friends who could turn a wrench, and for a while there, they were the center of my universe. I remember being taught to rattle off each of the Big 3's engines in order from smallest to biggest. "Mike, do Mopar" "Okay, let's see... Slant 6, 273, 318, 340, 360, 392, 400, 426, 440" like that. In fact, a lot of what I know about makes and models of cars dates directly to that era. But then you and [Pittsburgh scene fixtures like] Eric Bauer and Bill Slam came along. How could I concentrate on cars when this whole new world of creative and aggressive music was being opened up to me? You would play me the Sex Pistols one week, the Damned another, make me an XTC tape, whatever. Eric Bauer got me into the Ramones and Stranglers. The first tape Bill Slam ever made for me had the Meatmen and Necros on one side, Red Cross and the Gun Club on the other! I mean, to a kid into Rush or whatever, it really was so exciting. Also, it was never lost on me that I was the only kid in my entire school district who even knew that this stuff existed. It was like being initiated into a secret society, and I ate it up. In short, anyone could save up for a car, but I was buying every punk record I could afford, and seeing that I was picking up Misfits singles for $3 each, I think I made the right choice.
But yeah, the car thing did cool off until I got to California, where you could actually see people driving muscle cars, hot rods and customs on a daily basis. Just yesterday, I guy in a '32 five-window Ford coupe passed me on the Bay Bridge. The culture is actually bigger now than when I got here 20 years ago, and that--combined with my love for the imagery of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, Robert Williams, Stanley Mouse, etc--really fired my imagination.
When you're dealing with younger contributors to the Gearhead franchise, do you get the vibe there is a sense of entitlement?
Actually some people--The Hypnomen come to mind, instantly--were really great to work with. Other bands--the Pink Swords, for instance--broke up after playing only one show after we sunk $30,000 into them. And they didn't even bother calling to let us know they broke up. It's shit like that which made me run for the exit.
What things excite you today, musically and otherwise?
It's a cliche, but I really am all over the map. I love the new soul bands like Lefties Soul Connection from Holland, Osaka Monaurail from Japan, the Bamboos from Australia, and Nick Rossi Set from here. Lots of Parliament/Funkadelic, Sly and the Family Stone, Tower Of Power... I do live in Oakland after all! I also actually love glam, bubblegum, power pop, all kinds of, shall we say, more listenable stuff than one might imagine I'd dig. But mostly I constantly revisit what I consider the golden era of around 1978 to 1982: Bands like Devo, the Birthday Party, Buzzcocks, Joy Division, the Jam, the Rezillos, the Boys, Gang Of Four, Killing Joke, the Pretenders, Wall Of Voodoo, the Cramps, the Runaways, the Clash, Wreckless Eric, the Saints, Real Kids, Mission Of Burma, Radio Birdman, Motorhead, the Dickies, the Stranglers, the Slits, the Undertones... I could go on for hours; I guess I'll never get over how much incredible stuff came out of that five-year period. Then, I guess it's all the better stuff that comes right after that like the Scientists, Lime Spiders, the Necros, Naked Raygun, Big Black, etc. Let's see, I love Lee Hazlewood and Serge Gainsbourg. Current stuff though, I love Fabienne Delsol, Lightning Beat-Man and pretty much anything that Billy Childish does. Like I said, all over the map.
Check out the world of Gearhead right here.
MIKE LAVELLA is the man who practically drafted the cars-and-rock axis known as Gearhead. Frequently imitated (and co-opted by people with lots of cash and no clues) but never equaled, Gearhead was the first periodical to focus on the "Kustom Kulture" of car enthusiasts and underground rock. The mag's success stems from a creative mindset where automotive journalists coexist with punk rockers and respected auto photographers are featured alongside A-list underground visual artists. In addition to the mag and the apparel line, LaVella also founded Gearhead Records, a label that made waves with a full-on roster that included the New Bomb Turks, the Hellacopters, the Wildhearts, Riverboat Gamblers amongst many others. (Check it out: The label was the first to release music in this country by a bunch of Swedes calling themselves the Hives.) Ultimately deciding to focus on journalism, he severed ties with the record label in 2006, but LaVella is still a voracious music enthusiast that keeps tabs on what's happening in various genres.
LaVella, now 43, knows a couple things about punk rock. He was a big figure in hardcore culture in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the early 80s, first as frontman for the city's first hardcore band, Real Enemy, and later as bassist in Half Life. When that band ran its course, he moved out to San Francisco and ended up following his bliss in a universe where Mopar parts and Misfits singles loom large.
School my bitch ass: Isn't Gearhead considered the first mag to align the worlds of automobile enthusiasts and underground hard rock?
Yeah. Gearhead is the first ever so-called "Kustom Kulture" magazine, which has been imitated so many times now that it's easy for folks to forget that it came first by a good five or six years, no less. Before Juxtapoz, before Garage, before everything. That's not my ego [talking], just a fact.
What accomplishments in the mag are you most proud of running?
Well, the interview I did with [underground art avatar] Robert Williams in 1999 directly lead to my writing The Hot Rod World of Robert Williams and then the Cole Foster interview in #14 lead to my writing Cole Foster and Salinas Boys Customs. Style. Substance [both for Motorbooks]. I guess you could say when I do a piece on someone, I like to go so deep, I'm essentially considered an expert on the subject, kinda like writing a dissertation for a doctorate degree. The fact that my articles have been expanded into books twice is the ultimate feather in my cap, I suppose.
What do you feel were the label's high points?
Well, let me just say we went from absolutely nothing to having the Hives, the Hellacopters, New Bomb Turks, the Dragons, the Wildhearts, "Demons", Riverboat Gamblers, Turbo A.C.'s and Electric Eel Shock on the roster in just a few short years. As a roster goes, that's pretty rock solid.
Are you offended by alleged "punks" wearing classic-rock t-shirts as some sort of gesture toward irony, or am I just a grumpy old man projecting onto you?
I really, honestly, gave up trying to understand what kids like or do about 10 or 12 years ago. I look at AP and am just baffled. If you have to pick something annoying [it's that young people] don't realize they are all into music that’s been regurgitated so many times now. Hot Hot Heat = XTC, whatever hip-at-the-moment "funky-punk" band is just a Gang Of Four rip-off, etc.
If I was a kid, I think, at least I hope I'd be into whatever my generation was actually creating at the time. I know I was lucky to be 16 in 1981: I got to play with Husker Du, Bad Brains, Samhain, Minutemen, GBH, etc--like pretty much all the best bands of the era--and then came to San Francisco in 1988 at age 23 and saw Nirvana, Mudhoney, Soundgarden et., in tiny clubs. I put myself into the best spot to see all those things as they were happening the first time around, and I'm glad I did. Would I trade it for a college degree and a good-paying job? No fucking way, because I'm now realizing that my experiences themselves are valuable. In the last year, I've been interviewed for books that are coming out about Agnostic Front, Gilman Street, Husker Du and Eric Davidson's magnum opus about the "lost years" of rock 'n' roll that are never covered in documentaries, roughly the time between Minor Threat and Nirvana, which was probably the best time ever when you look at bands from the era like the Wipers, the Devil Dogs, etc.
As an proponent for hardcore in Pittsburgh during the 80s, commercial FM rock was the culture you were fighting against.
Actually I just heard Life With The Enemy [Real Enemy's 1983 self-released cassette] for the first time in over 20 years this week. The main thing that shocked me was just how angry we were. About what? I guess the fact that we lived in a world where it was perfectly fine to shave your head and paint it like a Steelers helmet, but if you wrote the word "Discharge" on your jeans, you were taking your life into you own hands. Just the simple injustice of being so persecuted for looking/acting/being different. In hindsight, that's what fueled my fire. Of course now, green hair and mohawks are as common as crew cuts, probably more so. We won, I guess.
What was the impetus for starting Gearhead? I don't remember you being way into cars in your days in Hermine, Pennsylvania.
Well, I was actually, very much so. You are a big part of the reason I gravitated away from that. I had older friends who could turn a wrench, and for a while there, they were the center of my universe. I remember being taught to rattle off each of the Big 3's engines in order from smallest to biggest. "Mike, do Mopar" "Okay, let's see... Slant 6, 273, 318, 340, 360, 392, 400, 426, 440" like that. In fact, a lot of what I know about makes and models of cars dates directly to that era. But then you and [Pittsburgh scene fixtures like] Eric Bauer and Bill Slam came along. How could I concentrate on cars when this whole new world of creative and aggressive music was being opened up to me? You would play me the Sex Pistols one week, the Damned another, make me an XTC tape, whatever. Eric Bauer got me into the Ramones and Stranglers. The first tape Bill Slam ever made for me had the Meatmen and Necros on one side, Red Cross and the Gun Club on the other! I mean, to a kid into Rush or whatever, it really was so exciting. Also, it was never lost on me that I was the only kid in my entire school district who even knew that this stuff existed. It was like being initiated into a secret society, and I ate it up. In short, anyone could save up for a car, but I was buying every punk record I could afford, and seeing that I was picking up Misfits singles for $3 each, I think I made the right choice.
But yeah, the car thing did cool off until I got to California, where you could actually see people driving muscle cars, hot rods and customs on a daily basis. Just yesterday, I guy in a '32 five-window Ford coupe passed me on the Bay Bridge. The culture is actually bigger now than when I got here 20 years ago, and that--combined with my love for the imagery of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, Robert Williams, Stanley Mouse, etc--really fired my imagination.
When you're dealing with younger contributors to the Gearhead franchise, do you get the vibe there is a sense of entitlement?
Actually some people--The Hypnomen come to mind, instantly--were really great to work with. Other bands--the Pink Swords, for instance--broke up after playing only one show after we sunk $30,000 into them. And they didn't even bother calling to let us know they broke up. It's shit like that which made me run for the exit.
What things excite you today, musically and otherwise?
It's a cliche, but I really am all over the map. I love the new soul bands like Lefties Soul Connection from Holland, Osaka Monaurail from Japan, the Bamboos from Australia, and Nick Rossi Set from here. Lots of Parliament/Funkadelic, Sly and the Family Stone, Tower Of Power... I do live in Oakland after all! I also actually love glam, bubblegum, power pop, all kinds of, shall we say, more listenable stuff than one might imagine I'd dig. But mostly I constantly revisit what I consider the golden era of around 1978 to 1982: Bands like Devo, the Birthday Party, Buzzcocks, Joy Division, the Jam, the Rezillos, the Boys, Gang Of Four, Killing Joke, the Pretenders, Wall Of Voodoo, the Cramps, the Runaways, the Clash, Wreckless Eric, the Saints, Real Kids, Mission Of Burma, Radio Birdman, Motorhead, the Dickies, the Stranglers, the Slits, the Undertones... I could go on for hours; I guess I'll never get over how much incredible stuff came out of that five-year period. Then, I guess it's all the better stuff that comes right after that like the Scientists, Lime Spiders, the Necros, Naked Raygun, Big Black, etc. Let's see, I love Lee Hazlewood and Serge Gainsbourg. Current stuff though, I love Fabienne Delsol, Lightning Beat-Man and pretty much anything that Billy Childish does. Like I said, all over the map.
As a guy who's been there, done that, sold the shirt on eBay, what piece of philosophy would you impart to young people who are (or think they are) pursuing any kind of counter-cultural, artistic juncture?
Study everything that came before you! As my SF homeboy Jim Jones said, "Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it." You'll look like a very unoriginal loser unless you have a working knowledge of everything significant that came first. I did my homework, and so should they. The difference is, everything is now at their fingertips via the internet, so they have no excuse.Check out the world of Gearhead right here.
posted by Jason Pettigrew at
5:17 PM
2 Comments:
I saw the Kustom Kar Kommandos film in one of my film classes recently, so reading an interview about someone who that film was based on was interesting. I have a question that was never really answered, if we should be listening to what our generation is really doing musically, then well, what IS it we're doing?
Nothing, your generation is doing nothing but throwing up the predigested pap fed to you. Then again, I did the same thing when I was young.
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