JAY ADAMS from 1977 on my IG

JAY ADAMS 1977, doing what he did best, in West Los Angeles. Personification of RADICAL an inspiration to all skateboarders for attitude and ability on a skateboard. 4 years ago today he died. He was not perfect, he was a trouble maker in the purest sense... and he sometimes went too far, his lifes mistakes did not inspire so we don’t dwell on them. His style, his attitude, his instinct and integrity made him and help made us. Jay was a work in progress like many of us. I knew him for many years through thick and thin. My first ever published photograph was of him when he was just 15 and i was 14. The OG Z-Boy, Zephyr Team rider. He helped, inadvertently of course, make skateboarding what it is today. We honor him today for that. Jay Adams Rest In Peace. #Skateboarding #JayBoy #JayAdams #ZBoy #Zephyr #DogTown #Legend #style #aggression #ZFlex #BlueTileObsession #WLA #BackYardPool #FuckYouHero #MyRules (yes this photo is huge in the MY RULES book and was one of my favorites in Fuck You Heroes too) one of my all time favorite skateboarding style photos, old school surf style on vertical like few others.

A post shared by glen E. friedman Ⓥ (@glenefriedman) on Aug 15, 2018 at 2:19pm PDT

Adolescents Steve Soto R.I.P. story from my instagram

(These two images above are the only two I made of Steve Soto when we did the photos for the Adolescents 1st album cover)

the ADOLESCENTS - Tony B. (Cadena) and STEVE SOTO when you swipe. The photo of Tony is at one of their very first shows, it was in a bowl at the Marina Del Rey skatepark, you can even see the TurningPoint ramp in the background. They were one of the great bands to first emerge from Orange County, certaily NOT where they wanted to be from, and that angst came out incredibly in most of their songs. When i heard their first demo on “RODNEY on the ROQ” i was blown away. It was at least five or eight songs and Rodney would play the tape all the way through at once (i wish i could find THAT exact tape he would play - the one released is NOT the same, it’s missing WORD ATTACK). After i heard that they were working on an album i reached out to Lisa Fancher at FRONTIER Records who was putting out the LP, i told here i had amazing photos of the band that should be used on the LP, she loved what i had and asked me/hired me to shoot a band photo for the back cover! My first LP cover, i was 18. Well getting that group photo would not be easy or even possible that night after the Black Flag show they opened. Casey the drummer was wearing a swasitka spray painted on his red turtleneck (pure shock value, nothing else) Tony was so disgusted he refused to pose with him, so i had to make individual portraits of each of them and hope Lisa would go for it, she and everyone loved them, more personality in the individual photos. Sadly STEVE SOTO one of the original members of the ADOLESCENTS passed over the weekend. I dug through my old proof sheets to scan this photo from that 1st LP shoot, only one or two frames of each guy, maybe a couple more of Tony. I was hanging out with Tony back in May, he’s really an incredible person. Besides still doing the band thing every once in a while he’s a school teacher. (The most noble profession!) #Adolescents #SteveSotoRIP #WordAttack #KidsoftheBlackHole #PunkRock #OC #WreckingCrew #Frontier #TonyCadena #MarinaSkatepark #MarkAlva #SlamDancing #inspiration #integrity #Abandoned #1980

A post shared by glen E. friedman Ⓥ (@glenefriedman) on Jul 3, 2018 at 3:30pm PDT

R.I.P. Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called Quest (on my instagram)

PHIFE DAWG may he rest in peace. A TRIBE CALLED QUEST circa 1993. I had just found this previously unpublished gem of mine just last night, and was not planning to post to IG until friday. Then i woke to the very sad news. Phife had some of the best one liners in Hip Hop in my opinion, wildly entertaining. He will be missed by many for his enthusiasm and wit among other things. You know i actually helped tribe get their first record deal... Very creative ground breaking crew... ✌🏾️ #aTribeCalledQuest #phifedawg #PhifeRIP #hiphop #innovator #lyricist #5footer #bustanutinsideyoureyetoshowyouwhereicomefrom #nativetongues #bugginout #classic #whosgotthejazz

A photo posted by glen E. friedman Ⓥ (@glenefriedman) on Mar 23, 2016 at 7:00am PDT

Jay Adams would have been 55 Today

Today would have been Jay's 55th birthday.

He was the Original, there is no other like him and there never will be.

Jay Adams was radical, he was an inspiration to many and that is why we celebrate him.

Although he was not perfect by any means, i personally feel its a disservice to all to dwell on the negative, because that did not inspire anyone. We want to remember the best that this man or boy was. in hopes to inspire the best in ourselves. It's happy birthday Jay, not unhappy birthday.

Lotsa love to brother Jay Boy and his memory.

DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET: IN CONCERT, GERMANY 1966

Dave Brubeck claimed he had 2 ambitions when he first started out as a Jazz musician - “to play polytonally and polyrhythmically.”

He also said his inspiration for rhythm was the heart beat, for this was what we heard first, and last.

Brubeck was a giant of Jazz, whose passing at the age of 91, brings an end to one of the greatest eras of American Jazz.

He popularized Jazz like few other composers/musicians of his day, becoming a household name and the first million-selling Jazz musician, who also made the cover of Time magazine in 1954. The purists didn’t like him, and many classed his brand of Jazz as “easy listening”, but this is to do him and his music a great disservice.

Take a listen to the Dave Brubeck Quartet (Brubeck - Piano, Paul Desmond - Alto Saxophone, Joe Morello - Drums, Gene Wright - Bass), filmed in concert in Germany, November 6th, 1966.

Track LIsting:

01. “Take the ‘A’ Train”
02. “Forty Days”
03. “I’m in a Dancing Mood”
04. “Koto Song”
05. “Take Five”

R.I.P. Dave Brubeck 1920-2012

TOM SIMS R.I.P.

Tom Sims was one of the originals of this whole thing (skateboarding) we all love. He was always positive and always supportive and inspirational, as well as serious. Before I was even accepted at the magazine as someone serious Tom encouraged me and let me know that i was doing something special that others were'nt. That meant a lot at 15 years old. He was a real photo buff too! And remember all the early blood he had riding his boards once urethane was being made by people other than Nasworthy and Roller Sports, with precision.


Before the twin style robots, of Bowman and (his miniature) Lamar, there was the outrageous Lonnie Toft, Steve Monahan, just after Zephyr, Biniak, Wentzle, and Muir, Arthur Lake, Tom "Wally" Inoyue, Doug DeMontmorency, Mike Folmer (sorry for the poor spellings) and many more incredibly original riders.... Tom was a real dude, no one else like him in this field, one of the good ones, an innovator and a passionate leader of this whole deal. I haven't seen him in many many years, and most have never even met him, but if you're reading this, he has certainly touched your life as well. RIP

GEF


P.S. Did i mention he pretty much invented Long board skateboarding, at least dominated it in the mid-seventies, and oh yeah, ever hear of SNOW BOARDING? He pretty much invented that too!

Dick Clark w/ RunDMC & Jam Master Jay (1985)

Believe it or not, Dick Clark, when we all met him, was incredibly cool.

R.I.P.

The photo above was taken backstage, just after Run-DMC's 1st ever performance (and in fact the 1st Hip-Hop performance ever) on Dick Clark's American Bandstand.

Below is another photo I took, of L.L. Cool J a couple of years later,


And here's a classic shot of Dick Clark, Run DMC, Jam Master Jay, Rick Rubin, Bill Adler and Russell Simmons taken that same 1st time in 1985:



* thanks to Bill Adler (Hip-Hop's O.G. publicist and archivist) for digging these out of his own files quicker than i could find them in mine!