As some of you may have noticed … there’s a new page added to my blog. If you look at the menus above you will see a new button named “joMusic“. This is the place I am going to be posting my own music. As I explain on the new joMusic page, I’ve been a musician for a good part of my life. You may have read my previous post about my old band “The Human Element“. In that article I said I’d eventually post some of my own music. And now I have. I will continue to post more music as I record it, and post older music as I digitize it.

Most of the things I will post will be demos of things I’ve worked on or am currently working on or finished. They may not be the best mixes in the world … but I just thought it was time to put some of this stuff out there in some form or another.

So come back often and check for new music, photos, and news about what’s going on in my life.

In 1980 I was attending school at  CW Post Center of Long Island University. I was also sharing an apartment in Oyster Bay Long Island with 3 women: Cande Roth, Ellyn Solis, and Dorothy (Orant) Morrison. The night I moved into this insane asylum I ended three years of being a non-smoker. I purchased that pack of Newports … and torched up the first smoke, and didn’t quit again until the early 90′s.

In my years at Post I was a communications major and later film major. I also did radio shows on the college station WCWP 88.1 on the FM dial. I also was a photographer for an NYC club magazine called Non-LP B-Side. Those were some exciting times. Musicly there was the whole UK & US punk explosion that brought so much amazing and exciting music. I use to spend a lot of my extra cash either at Bleaker Bob’s in NYC or a few of the independent music stores on Long Island that specialized in British imports. Buying the latest import singles & LPs my radio shows were something to hear. I loved bands like The Clash, The Jam, The Sex Pistols, XTC, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury And The Blockheads, Fashion, Richard Hell And The Voidoids, Tom Verlaine with or without  Television, Graham Parker, The Undertones, Ultravox, The Ramones, Talking Heads, all the assorted Stiff and Two-Tone bands and so much more. And what money I didn’t spend there I was spending on photographing some of these bands and paying to have the film processed at professional color labs, in NYC or on “Lonkisland”.

Dorothy was also an avid musicologist and fan girl of so many of those bands. That was one of our many connections. She also turned me onto a lot of stuff that she loved too. We influenced each other. Hell … when I met this girl she was “sittin’ on the hood of a Dodge” in the parking lot at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. A friend of mine and I were waiting to buy Springsteen tickets. We drove in from southern NJ the night before and slept in  my car. Early the next morning, before “the line formed”, I was wandering around the parking lot and here was this beautiful blond wild child, sitting on the hood of that car (but no soft summer rain) and asking me … “hey you like Costello too?” I was wearing an Elvis Costello t-shirt at the time. And that was that. We talked and that started the long slow process of friendship … and years later … a bit more.

Dorothy and I were in L. O. V. E. with the Clash. There was always something about their music, attitude and politics that resonated with us, and the world. They were so much less nihilistic than the Pistols. Plus they had huge hearts. You could see it in the passion they showed onstage and off.

“In the beginning the gods created the Pony (or the Poney to some) … they saw it was good. Maker and breaker of many a hopeful lot. Time passed and many a legend was born and sent out into the world to make good. Some did. Some didn’t. But time is a funny thing …. ha! Just when you expect just another R&B clone, fate deals you a joker. Enter … “The Human Element.” Why the Pony? And why such a place for their very first gig? These and many other questions can only be answered … in time!”

First entry in The Human Element scrapbook … Joe Streno 1986

Post Updated: 06/07/2009 added photo of The Human Element T-shirts.

It’s funny … I was searching my negative files for photos of my band, The Human Element. I’m working on a huge post about T.H.E. But while I was searching for group promo photos that my friend and artist Dorian LaPadura took, I stumbled upon black & white promo photos I took of the Smoots band at the old Wall Township, NJ house. They even include new trombone player Tommy Meares.

To my amazement, I also found the few photos I took of the Smootsters, well at least Gary, Judy, Kenny (see Kenny I DID take photos of the drummer!) and the engineer/producer, who’s name escapes me right now, at the NYC recording studio where they recorded these three songs. I also don’t remember the studio name either. I’m sure someone out there will remeber those details. And I’m almost positive there might be more studio photos … but then again that could be my mind playing tricks again.

I’m feeling horribly sad. Pain welling up. Like having the crusty brown crackling scab of a deep wound ripped from my flesh. Feeling the pain and discomfort, but realizing, I was only feeling a pea under the mattress of time, poking me in my minds eye. Hey you! Wake up! Wake the fuck up! Joe is gone. Joe? Joe who? Joe Streno? No! Joe Strummer.

I’m back stage at Bonds, NYC. It’s 1981. I’m seeing it though the eyes of another. Out of body? Am I still dreaming? I am the camera. I’m on one side of the curtain divider, tagged by others before me. He’s on the other side. They … are on the other side. Dorothy is next to me. “I’ll pull it back …” she said “… be ready.” Was I? Could I? Should I? Suddenly the curtain is drawn. He turns, looking into my eyes, dead on. There is a blinding flash. He doesn’t blink. He knows what is needed. He knows what is required. Focused like a laser. Peering into the elements of time, space and visual acuity. His essence has been received. His likeness captured. In a microsecond, the curtain returns to its place. Both of them. Light levels return to normal. Did that really happen?

This is a public service announcement.
With guitar …
You have the right to free
Speech as long as you’re not
Dumb enough to actually try it …

Strummer/Jones

In 1982 while most of the first-gen punk bands withered on the vine and died, The Clash were starting a world tour behind their fifth album “Combat Rock”. As a long time Clash fan … it’s not one of my faves. But it’s certainly not their worst. It did yield some hits with “Rock The Casbah” and “Should I Stay Or Should I Go?” Like it’s predecessor “Sandinist” it was another verba-sonic experiment in the Clash recording laboratories. Both albums at least yielded a few nuggets. And now they were ready to play it all live.

Long ago and far far away there was a punk “power-pop” band called Generation-X. From the ashes of that British band came the solo career of Billy Idol. When he saw it was time to ready, steady, go go go … Billy did. To some, Billy Idol was just a poser in a leather frock. With his Elvis-Presley-like sneer, pumping rhythms and hand gestures to match he took America by storm with his leather gear and debut EP “Don’t Stop”. With a remake of the Tommy James and the Shondells‘ “Mony Mony” and another monster hit in “Dancing With Myself”, Billy was able to catapult himself from the smell of the rotting post-punk-band graveyard. His brand of straight up rock-power-pop-with-an-attitude won over the hearts and ears of many fans.

As I promised in my previous post … more photos of the A’s. This gig was at the Fast Lane in Asbury Park, NJ. Ms Dorothy was not in attendance … hence the dressing room over the shoulder shot of Richard creating the set list for that night. There are a few people in the dressing room that I don’t remeber. Richard … Rocco … a little help please? I know Donnie Demarco … but there are others that escape me.

I always liked shooting in the Fast Lane. I saw many local and national bands here. The stage was one step up from ground level and I could get some great close shots without a telephoto. Lighting usually sucked which forced me to use a flash … but a man has to do what a man has to do.

In my many incarnations as photographer, documenter, and fan boy, I attended quite a few shows of the local Philidelphia band … The A’s. Don’t know if I would have ever discovered them on my own, but I can thank friend and X-gFriend Dorothy for that introduction.

The toughest part about all this is trying to recollect times, places, and faces from back then. I certainly remeber Richard Bush (vocals), his songwriting partner Rocco Notte (keyboards), Rick DiFonzo (guitar), Terry Bortman (bass) and Mike Snyder (drums) … but the dates of some of these gigs are a little fuzzy. I know the year … I documented that on my negative sleeves along with the venue. Other than that … if you remember anything about the gigs … leave it in the comments.

(Edited on 05/26/2008)

Well … I couldn’t wait for Kenny to get me “Six Million Dollar Man” so I decided to put up the two tracks that I have. I don’t think Gary would mind. When I get the “Six Million” I’ll re-post all three to one post.

Drummer man Kenny Douyotas sent me a present today … it was a “Six Million Dollar Man.” Well … at least the Smoots band studio recording of it. It was appropriate for this Memorial Day. We can all listen and remeber. Remember all those summer nights we saw the Smoots band and had fun fun fun! Yah man! Skankin’ and rankin’ until the wee wee hours.

Okay. Since I started writing about Gary and company I’ve been getting mondo hits on my blog. One of those hits was from Kenny Douyotas (Smoots band drummer) himself. He left a comment.

Wow, I can’t believe I found this, why no pictures of me? The drummer never gets any respect…..

Oh Kenny … we all respect you. 

I eMailed him back and he sent me his phone number. So we chatted and played catch-up. One of the things he told me was he had a mix-down of the three songs that Smoots recorded in the studio. Plus he had some other tunes from a sound check, taped direct from the soundboard. The studio tunes he had already digitized, and the other tape he still had to digitize.

I almost forgot about this show. Shows what a little digging in my slide archives and a little Internet searching will do. The show was REM opening for The English Beat at Fountain Casino, Aberdeen, NJ in 1983. I saw the slides before me and I knew I was there, I also had some vague recollection that REM ‘might’ have played but all these years later it was a bit foggy.

As I was scanning the first batch of 12 slides, images of Dave Wakeling, check. Images of Rankin Roger, check. Even one of the keyboard player. All well and good. So while these are scanning I’m racking my brain to figure out where this show was at. I Googled “English Beat shows 1983″ got hits but no real detail. Then I figured I’d try “REM English Beat 1983 NJ.” Bingo! Sometimes you just have to admire how some people out there record every detail of bands they love. The hit came from an REM fan page listing show dates for REM in 1983. REM opening for The English Beat at Fountain Casino, Aberdeen, NJ, April 24, 1983. Amazing!