This show was a double bill. John Eddie And The Front Street Runners opening for Mink DeVille at the Fast Lane in Asbury Park … some summer night in 1981. The exact date escapes my aging brain cells. Don’t remember if anyone went with me to see this show. But for those who might remember … you now what to do … write about it in the comments. Makes me wish I would have written in my journal a bit more back then. And so it goes ….

When I get my Mink DeVille negatives scanned … they will go up as a separate post.

Hope you enjoy the photos. Click the “Continue Reading” link below. And if you know anything about this show … leave a comment.

Thanks … Joe Continue Reading > > >

“For The People. By The People.”

I came to the Clash as a fan. I heard the British import of their first self titled album when it first came out … and I was hooked! When I went to the Palladium to see them for the first time in 1980, I went as a fan, who happened to bring his camera. And even as I gained access to get back stage at Bonds (thanks Brenda!) or got guest listed to the three Asbury Park shows in 1982 (thanks Kosmo!) I was still going as a fan … really. A very FORTUNATE fan.

It’s been over thirty years since I took my first live and street photos of The Clash at the Palladium in New York City. And in the following two years I’d have more chances to photograph them live and backstage. Since first publishing my photos on my blog go2jo.com, I have had many people ask me … ‘so Joe … when will you make a book of your photos?’ It’s taken me a while to get here. But here I am. I’m in the process of working on said book.

Here’s the twist. Continue Reading > > >

It seemed like an eternity. A multitude of events started, seemingly, so long ago. An accident. The slow recovery. A ten year relationship gone missing. Never to return. Waiting for a payoff, literally, that never reaching the zenith of its promise. Trips back east, that seemed more a tease, with only short term pleasures. It was the loss that brought things into focus. The loss of self. The loss of youth. The loss of love. The loss of home. These were the things that drove me to this place … and my Soul.

Each one of these things informed the other. In a vortex of circumstances, not unlike Dorothy, and her damn little dog, my psyche, my heart and my home were ripped up by their shallow roots and transported to a former place of glory, creativity, peace and prosperity, so many miles away.

Leaving the Emerald City, after a sixteen year adventure, was difficult. Even at its worst moments, in every dark valley of each of those seven magnificent hills, there was something that made me crawl back up and out. Maybe it was my survival instincts. But in the end, with nothing left to lose, I took a three-thousand mile leap of faith. And I landed back in Asbury Park, NJ.

I lived in Asbury Park in 1986. I lived in a storefront on Bond Street, which, by the way, is only blocks from my new apartment on 6th Ave. There are a lot of good memories here that will help feed the ones yet to be made. Asbury is in another “Phoenix … rising from the ashes” phase, like so many times before. But somehow this one seems different. Much more committed. A place for second chances. I’m up for that! Continue Reading > > >

It’s been a whirlwind few weeks.

I knew I needed to move. I knew I needed a new place to live. A new home to replace the one I owned and had to short sell. Not only was a long term relationship ending, so was the security they both afforded.

After a year on the market, finally, an offer. Months pass. A seeming eternity. We are in the home stretch to closing on November 31st.

I flew back to Asbury Park, New Jersey last Saturday (10/15). I was on a mission. Find a place to call home. I had one week to do it in. Thankfully my friend Geoff Hoover & his wife Tatiana let me stay at Chez Hoover for the week.

Sunday was spent combing Craig’s list, the Jersey Shore edition, and Rent.com again. Looking for new rentals. Made a few calls to try to set up appointments. Was really interested in a high rise apartment building called Munroe Towers. These apartments and the entire building were being renovated. One bedrooms were around $950.00 including all utilities except electric. Not bad! But in the end … no go… a firm No Pets policy. I did get a lead on a local real estate company, John Conover Agency. Continue Reading > > >

Rest in peace Clarence.
Rest in peace Big Man.

Last week we all found out that Clarence Clemons had a stroke in his home in Florida. It took us all by surprise. We all thought he was invincible. Indestructible. Super-human. He’s the BIG MAN! Then comes that moment of terrified realization. Our heroes are only flesh and blood. They are susceptible. They are fallible. In a word. Human.

We prayed. We negotiated. We denied. We poured out or hearts and our feelings in support of the Big Man. And they were met with the greatest of all inevitabilities. Death. Yesterday our hero, our friend, our dad, our guru, our mentor, our sax player, shuffled off this mortal coil. Is he in a better place? Who’s to say. Until we shuffle off to Buffalo ourselves. Continue Reading > > >

It took place in a matter of hours. Six to be exact. But each second of this event was a joy to be part of. So much planning. So much work and so much love went into the event, and it went off without a hitch. Okay maybe one visit from the Asbury Park Police … but that was to be expected towards the end of the night. But even that didn’t put a damper on the fun that was had, and the joy that was shared. Friends and family playing music, singing songs, or at least trying to … for each other … at the Hoover Hootenanny.

The idea of this event was actually rather smart. It wasn’t some attempt at a night of bad Karaoke … no pre-made soundtrack to warble over. It was a opportunity for a collision of history, past and present. A chance for all to meet in one place at one time. It was a night of reunions, rusty chops, jitters, and dreams, with both newly minted and seasoned musicians. Where past intersected with present forged future friendships and the seeds of new ideas were planted … waiting to flourish. Continue Reading > > >

This past Memorial Day weekend marked the 29th anniversary of the Clash shows in Asbury Park, NJ, that started the U.S. tour for Combat Rock. I wrote about it in a previous post The Clash @ Asbury Park Convention Hall 1982.

Over the weekend a couple of friends of mine linked to that post from Facebook. I also commented about it in AP Boardwalk, and In! Asbury. Both Facebook groups about … Asbury Park, NJ. In a private note someone sent me. they relayed a story of how they too were there at one of the shows and the private party at the Casino. They also asked me if I had any other photos, because she was hoping tat she might be in the background of some of the party shots not currently on the aforementioned blog post. I said that was all I had. Which then made me think …. was it? I had to have taken several rolls. Even if I took only four 36 exposure rolls, that would have been 144 slides. Did I ditch all the “bad” shots or were there more someplace that I never scanned. A conundrum indeed! Continue Reading > > >