The Passion Of Wanda Jackson

photos: Alan Mercer assisted by: Eric Venturo

Wanda Jackson signed her first contract with Decca Records when she was 16 years old. By the time she graduated from High School in 1955 she had two country songs on the Billboard charts. Then Elvis Presley convinced her to sing a new kind of music, eventually called rock-a-billy, and changed the course of her destiny and our cultural appreciation of music.

In April of 2009 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Her fans today include another Elvis, this one Costello, and Bruce Springsteen. She continues to pick up new fans every day. A Wanda Jackson concert is not an ‘Oldies show’ in any way. Her audience is largely under thirty with tattoos and creative haircuts. Her songs are as relevant today as they were fifty years ago.

I looked forward to this day for about a month before it happened so I was ready to make the most of my time with the beautiful Miss Jackson. Like all exceptional people…there is something so unique about her. I fell in love with her vivacious energy and her up front approach to living. Along with Husband/Manager Wendell Goodman, she travels the world performing and making personal appearances. Wanda Jackson is a National Treasure and I will always be grateful we had the chance to work together.

AM: I think of you as two different artists. Do you know what I’m talking about?

WJ: Yes I am two different artists, Country and Rock-a-billy.

AM: Are you comfortable with the legend title?

WJ: Oh I LOVE it! I’d like to wear it on the side of my back. (Laughing)

AM: Do you feel like the mother of it all?

WJ: Of the rock scene? Yes and some of the kids have gone bad! (Laughing) I have to round them up and do something with them! I hadn’t thought of it in that terminology but sure. I was the first one to try it at Elvis’s insistence and challenge. It was my music because I was a teenager when I started doing all this. I was seventeen so I wanted to do it. I didn’t think I could but he said, ‘Certainly you can. You have the voice for it.’ So I decided to take him at his word.

AM: That is amazing. I’m glad you did!

WJ: Yes me too. I found out things about my voice that I didn’t know anything about. When I had the right lyric and a gutsy song then the growly part came out.

AM: Do you understand or recognize the drive that set you apart?

WJ: My livelihood.

AM: Do you mean money?

WJ: No not money, it is my job. I didn’t ever plan for anything else. I didn’t take any courses in school for any back up. I’ve never done anything in my life to make a penny except sing. The drive was definitely there. I just had to make it. I had so much help it made it easy for me. If I hadn’t had the help and I had to work in the daytime and play clubs at night I am not so sure I would have made it. I see why so many of them don’t. My parents helped me in every way. It was a family business. Hank Thompson was a big help and of course Elvis was.

AM: So people liked you aside from your talent?

WJ: Yes, I’m easy to get along with.

AM: Were or are you anything like the songs about partying? Were you a wild child?

WJ: No I really wasn’t. My image is more of an alter ego type of thing. I could be the girl in the song. I liked parties and dancing and having fun. I wouldn’t have been considered wild I don’t think.

AM: What made the Opry a bad experience? Were you too wild at that time?

WJ: (Laughing) I wasn’t wild. I had already changed my way of dressing. I wanted to be glamorous like Marilyn Monroe, Mamie Van Doren, and Elizabeth Taylor and it didn’t fit well with country music but I changed it anyway. At the Opry I was ready to go on and had my guitar and Ernest Tubb came back and said, ‘Are you Wanda Jackson?’ and I said, ‘Yes sir.’ Then he said, ‘Well you are up in five minutes.’ I said, ’I’m ready, I got my guitar.’ And he then said, ‘Honey you can’t go out there like that.’ And I thought, like what? He continued, “You can’t show your shoulders. You will have to cover up.’ I was just starting to wear these dresses with spaghetti straps so I was in tears.

AM: What did you do?

WJ: I went back to my dressing room and put my jacket on, which was white with long fringe, so I probably looked fine but it broke my heart to cover up my new dress. Then when I got out on stage and tried to sing my serious song, my brand new record, everybody behind me was cutting up and upstaging me something terrible. I turned my eyes around and Minnie Pearl would be doing something funny and the dancers would be doing something else. I couldn’t stand it. I learned stage manners the first thing. So when I got off stage I grabbed my Daddy by the hand and said, ‘Let’s get out of here. I am never coming back.’ Elvis said the same thing happened to him but they booed him. They didn’t boo me.

AM: Do you know the vastness of your influence?

WJ: I’m beginning too, most definitely. It’s very thrilling. My greatest accomplishment is to inspire other artists. Now they are saying that I have inspired strong women. I’ll take some credit for it but I don’t know.

AM: Was becoming a musical legend your goal?

WJ: No I just wanted a hit record. I wanted to travel the world and make my living singing.

AM: Did you think you would sing for a while and then become a housewife?

WJ: Yes, that was the mindset, so I thought I want to do all I can now before all that happens and I get married and have to stay home. I thought maybe I would play locally.

At this point Wanda’s husband and manager Wendell Goodman steps in and says, ‘I want you to know that Wanda gave me the choice when we were married to either continue working or to quit.’

AM: You have been good for her. Everyone thinks of you as a team. You are almost as well known as she is.

WJ: I know it! You really are honey.

Wendell now says he going to run for governor and we are all laughing.

WJ: He has kept me laughing for forty-seven years.

AM: What makes this team work so successfully?

WJ: Mutual respect and the fact that he takes care of the business. He directs my career, always with my approval of course. He always allows that. I take care of the performing but he even helps me with that. We just do it all together because we both work for the same boss! Another factor is we both became Christians. We are together twenty-four hours a day so you have to like that person as well as be in love with them. When we both gave our hearts and lives to Christ we realized that before we were like two entities. Who is going to get their way in this matter? Once we got saved we bowed to Christ. He is the one that gets the final say and how we feel in our hearts about the final decision. It made all the difference. Our priorities got lined up. Jealousy blew out the window.

AM: So you both noticed a dramatic shift?

WJ: Wendell was a bit jealous and I sure couldn’t blame him. He wasn’t in show business. He was not used to sharing his girl with everybody else. He grew up in West Texas. Now he had to share me with the whole world, my time, my energy, everything was about this other Wanda, not his wife. It caused a few problems here and there. It was our lifestyle of one-nighters and clubs with a band. We carried a lot of stress. Our children were being reared by nannies and our parents. They were well taken care of. We had our share of problems but once we gave our hearts to Christ all of a sudden the jealousy that he had was gone. It was a shock to me so I noticed it right away.

AM: It sounds like you lost your fears.

WJ: I had a confidence I had never had before in anything I did. It changes your heart. I realized how wrong I was in so much of my thinking.

AM: What is an average non touring day like?

WJ: I don’t do anything. For one thing I relax and I really look forward to that part. I sleep in, run errands, go to appointments, doctors, dentists, get my hair and nails done. I usually have a ten day period to get all this done.

AM: Do you run into fans on the street in Oklahoma or is everybody used to seeing you?

WJ: I can tell when they are noticing me. I made a pledge that I would not go out into public anymore with my make-up and without looking decent. I’m all over the paper and the internet not to look as good as I can.

AM: Do you listen to contemporary artists?

WJ: I pretty much just listen to my music collection at home. If something is real popular I will try to listen to see what the talk is about. I listen to MY music at home too because then I know it’s a song I like! (Laughing) If I recorded it I liked it. I do like Pink. She is pretty cute. She is different but she isn’t in-your-face different.

AM: Did you enjoy working with Ruth Brown?

WJ: I was very thrilled to be on the same stage as Ruth Brown.

AM: Do you think the internet revitalized your cultural relevance?

WJ: Absolutely. I’m picking up new fans as we speak because of it. I get letters now from everywhere. It’s amazing to be this far along in my career and still be getting fan mail. I come home from a tour and I have all these letters and emails that I like to answer. A lot of times I will send along a little drawing. That’s something I used to do a lot of was painting.

AM: Do you have any of your paintings?

WJ: Yes I have them. They are not all that great but it was a good diversion.

AM: You should put them on your website so we can all see them.

WJ: I love being with young people for their ideas and energy.

AM: What is at the center of Wanda Jackson?

WJ: Wendell Goodman and Jesus Christ, but not in that order.

AM: Did you think you would turn into an icon?

WJ: Heavens no. I never even thought about getting older. As a kid you don’t think that way. So all of a sudden I wake up one morning and I didn’t know who was looking back at me in the mirror. I just try to keep going. I think it’s so great that the kids still want to come out and see me. To be seventy-one and still have all these people of all ages enjoy my music.

AM: That is the power of the music. I want to say you are ageless.

WJ: In that sense I am. The music has proven it hasn’t it? If you get together with another person that likes the same music as you do, you have a friend and you can listen to music and talk all night.

Eric Venturo with Wanda Jackson

To learn more about Wanda Jackson visit her web site http://www.wandajackson.com/main.html

Del Shores Redefines His Faith

I first became aware of Del Shores in 1990 with the release of the film version of his play ‘Daddy’s Dyin’: Who’s Got The Will?’ His best known play is his fourth, "Sordid Lives", which debuted in 1996 in Los Angeles. The comedy centered around the Texan Ingram family and touched on LGBT themes.

In 1999 Shores wrote and directed the screen version of ‘Sordid Lives.’ The film won many film festival awards including thirteen ‘Audience Awards.’ This version was released on DVD in 2002 and has since sold over 200,00 units. The movie also became the longest running film in the history of Palm Springs Camelot Theater running a total of 96 weeks and on October 5, 2005 Shores was given a star on the Palm Springs ‘Walk of Stars.’ Eight years later Shores produced 12 prequel episodes of "Sordid Lives: The Series" which aired on US cable channel Logo. The show has proven to be very problematic for Shores who has not been paid by the producers to the tune of several thousand dollars.

He is also known for his plays “Southern Baptist Sissies’ and “The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife.’ These plays have won countless awards.

Del Shores has also written for a number of television shows including ‘Touched By An Angel’, ‘Dharma and Greg’ and ‘Family Ties.’ Shores also produced the last three seasons of the highly acclaimed and ground-breaking Showtime Series ‘Queer As Folk’ for which he wrote many of the episodes.

He is currently traveling across the country touring in his sold out one man show, ‘Del Shores The Storyteller.’ He often has special guests show up like Leslie Jordan, Caroline Rhea, and Rue McClanahan for ‘A Sordid Comedy Affair.’

I had already worked with many of Shores family of performers including Leslie Jordan, Ann Walker, Newell and Rosemary Alexander, and Shores husband Jason Dottley, so it seemed natural that one day I would work with the man himself. My favorite creative partner Eric Venturo was able to give us some great reflected lighting. We took these shots right before Del embarked on his latest cross country tour. I have seen the show and it is so entertaining. Del Shores proves himself to be a master stage performer. Go see him when he comes to your area. You will not be disappointed. I was able to visit with him for a few minutes after our shoot.

AM: First I want to say you are very famous for your quotable lines. Was that a goal for you?

DS: What’s really weird about that is that while writing the series I had to not think about it. I never anticipated that ‘O-Kay’ would be the most quoted. That was a true collaboration with Leslie Jordan. He delivers it perfectly. I never thought the stuff like ‘sweet baby Jesus’ would be so popular. I did know when I wrote ‘heads are gonna roll’ that it would be one of the ones.

AM: Did you ever imagine that your personal life would be splattered all over the internet?

DS: You make choices and the one thing I have always chosen to do is to connect with my fans. At a very small level in my early career I answered every single letter and I vowed that I would always do that because I get so much back.

AM: That sounds like so much work!

DS: It does get hard though. The other day I sat and answered 50 emails. That’s part of it.

AM: But now with the problems that the series has had it seems like you had to lay it on the line.

DS: This last little bit I have kept silent for a long time, as far as what was going on with the series, our financial situation as a result of the series and not being paid by the producers, not Logo. Logo does not owe us any money; it’s the producers of the show.

AM: Why did you start opening up about all this?

DS: I got tired of lying for Logo because they kept saying there is a possibility it’s going to come back. At that point they did not have the rights to the show anymore. The rights were gone. They picked up the second season contingent on my financial partners coming in. For them to have the first right to air it in the United States they had to pick it up officially by Feb. 31 so they lost the rights to the show.

AM: Do you own the rights to the show?

DS: The show doesn’t even belong to me. It belongs to ‘Once Upon A Time’ the producers that owe us the money. Right now it’s in limbo. I’m being very smart by keeping the fan base informed because I want them to know that I am still here whether it’s ‘Sordid Lives’ or another project, I will be there for them and give them something else.

AM: Do you have a plan B? Could you make the second season into a feature?

DS: You could. I would have to get the lawyers to look at everything and see if I can take the story thread from the series. It’s very complicated, but let me tell you something. You can do anything if you cut people in. The one thing that I do own is all publishing so I could always novelize it. I will do that if I have to. People WILL know what happens to all these characters.

AM: You are so prolific I wonder how you write so much. Now you have written all these back stories for the characters. Does it just pour out of you?

DS: Those back stories are so easy for me because I know most of them already. I don’t have to fabricate too much. I let the fans dictate who the next back story will be. They wanted Vera, so I did have to start thinking, what was her childhood like? Most of them do pour out of me. I can do a back story in an hour.

AM: What made you decide to do this?

DS: I stumbled on all this on Facebook. Somebody wrote and asked me how Sissy is able to afford those cigarettes? I just told them she had five husbands and saved every nickel and sold eggs! People said they wanted more so I started formalizing them more and more.

AM: I think you are just in the middle of all these characters. There will be more.

DS: Well they have been thriving since 1996. I always say as long as I’ll write them, the actors will play them. I can see Ann Walker in that yellow outfit with a wheelchair.

AM: I think it’s because you mostly write about real people instead of cartoon characters.

DS: The most extreme character I have is Dr. Eve. We don’t know many people that are so completely insane. Even Brother Boy is grounded in reality. He is not a cartoon, especially in the hands of Leslie Jordan, who approaches the brim and never spills over. That’s what I love about his work.

AM: Are you happy with your position in the pantheon of Pop culture?

DS: I am. I like where I am. I would like my financial security to be back on path like it was. I went through a period of intense anger, so I got back on stage to tell my stories and to connect with the fans and feel this enormous amount of love, and to be so well received. I have been on the other side of the camera for so long I wondered if anyone would come see me.

AM: You are such a good performer! Honestly you have a great stage presence.

DS: Thank you. That’s where I started. You have to look at life and go OK I got knocked down and it was not my fault. I wouldn’t have gotten back on stage if this hadn’t happened. I’m literally working in Comedy Stores and making good money.

AM: That sounds great. What do you think your lesson has been?

DS: Life is a journey, it really is. Now what was my lesson here? My lesson is I need to be more responsible and grateful for the success and the money that I have had and will have. It also taught me a lesson to be more generous, and I have always been generous, but I want to be even more now. I don’t want anyone to have to go through what I have gone through.

AM: What are you doing to make this happen?

DS: Right now I have to do this and get my creative mojo back and it’s happening. I have had a great ride. I have been working since 1987 consistently.

AM: Do you enjoy being a celebrity?

DS: I do like the celebrity aspect of it. I never get tired of hearing, ‘I love your work!’

AM: What do you think happened along your journey with the show?

DS: I don’t know how this could have happened with this beautiful project because there was so much love put into it. I did have a network who supported my project and I gave them my best. I really did. I gave them my best. I brought them stars. They are not taking responsibility at all for what happened, but they have to.

AM: Do you know why LOGO didn’t buy a second season?

DS: They had the opportunity to buy the show before it went bad with the producers. They could have owned the show. Instead they used the money to pick up reruns of the Sarah Silverman Show and I’m not supposed to say a thing about it. I do think there are a lot of people at Logo who do like us and fought for us internally, but I don’t think we were important to Viacom and that makes me think Logo isn’t important to Viacom. It’s unfortunate because they don’t give enough money to make quality programming.

AM: Can you tell me about your faith? Has it altered or faltered over the past couple of years?

DS: My spirituality, my faith, yes, has altered, had faltered, but now has been redefined. I feel that I am a spiritual person, on a journey, connected to this universe through love and humanity. I don't pretend to know the answers. I don't pretend to know if there is a hereafter... I live my life daily, striving to be good and hopefully make a difference. In the words of Madonna, "I'm not a Christian, I'm not a Jew."

photos: Alan Mercer lighting: Eric Venturo

To learn more about Del Shores visit his website http://www.delshores.net/

Andy & Me

Dallas, TX October, 1985….Pop Artist Andy Warhol releases a book titled “Andy Warhol’s America.’ Andy does a short book tour that includes Dallas, Texas where I am living at the time. The line of people goes around the bookstore and around the block. Hundreds of admirers are waiting for the chance to say hello to an Icon and get an autograph. I am one of the lucky few who do not have to wait in line. I have not started taking photographs at this time yet. I do a lot of drawings and find great artistic fulfillment.
My dear friend writes for the ‘Dallas Morning News’ and he gets to interview Andy before the signing and lets me accompany him. I have done a pencil sketch of Andy and I want to show it to him and get his approval. I am very young at this time as evidenced by the photograph. It means everything to me to get to meet Andy as he is one of my biggest influences. We are both born under the sign of LEO. I have read all the ‘Interview’ magazines and studied all the great photographs of the coolest people. The interviews on this blog are actually based on the Q & A format from those magazines.
Andy is warm, cordial, and exactly the way he has been portrayed by actors in recent movies. He is surrounded by his entourage which includes Bob Cocacello. Everyone is very nice and Andy is extra sweet with me. He asks me to sit down right next to him and he tells me over and over how talented I am. (I learn a few years later that he told that to everyone) He asks everyone in the room to look at the drawing I did of him. He tells me I should keep going as an artist and encourages me to come to New York and visit him. It is all a bit much.
After about thirty minutes my friend has his interview and we leave looking at the hundreds of young people waiting in line. I walk out thinking I will get to know Andy Warhol over time, but less than a year and a half later he dies suddenly in the hospital while recovering from gallbladder surgery. I never saw or spoke with him again. I count my blessings that I was able to have this wonderful opportunity to meet such a legend. His influence on my life and work is undeniable. Thank you Andy wherever you are for being so kind to a young guy.

Blake Lively Hot wallpapers | bikini galleries | Hot Photoshoots

Tags:Blake Lively Hot wallpapers ,bikini galleries,Hot Photoshoots,bikini galleries,Hot Photoshoots,Hot Modelling,Western hot celebrities,car wash girls,hot england actress,celebrities,hot photoshoot,wallpapers,best celebrity wallpapers, hot spicy sexxy south Actress images, Hot Photo 

Candye Kane Is Our Superhero!

photos: Alan Mercer Lighting & Styling: Eric Venturo

Candye Kane is a one of a kind performer, entertainer, singer, sage, and inspirational leader. You can say she is an exceptional human being. You can also call her a cancer survivor. Less than a year after a very complicated and risky surgery she has recorded her ninth full length CD entitled ‘SUPERHERO.’ The music shimmers with bluesy passion thanks to a pairing with Laura Chavez as a co-producer.
I had the pleasure to photograph Candye’s last CD cover ‘Guitar’d & Feather’d’ so I wanted to work with her again. Fortunately she felt the same way. We were lucky enough to get Eric Venturo, who’s also a big fan of Candye’s music, to help us style and light these shots. This interview is slightly different than most of the others because I don’t even ask Candye a question until the end. This was just our conversation being recorded.

AM: Tell me about your new CD!

CK: Well of course I’m really excited about it. A year ago I didn’t know if I was ever going to record again. This is the first album I am producing myself (with Laura). All the other albums had outside producers. This is my ninth recording. I just wanted to produce myself this time. This is a special album since I didn’t know if I would be here.

AM: You must believe in a higher power.

CK: I was talking to my good friend Penn Gillette the other day. He is an atheist. He always gets mad when I say my life is blessed. I was trying to explain to him that blessings don’t have to come from an external source. You can create your own blessings by your attitude.

AM: More people need to know this.

CK: I talk to people about these things all the time. We have a tendency to plant a seed and then when it doesn’t grow as fast as we want… we think it won’t ever work. But if you keep watering that seed and giving it what it needs to grow eventually something comes up, and that’s the thing. We give up too quickly because we are all so used to everything fast. We use the drive through Starbucks!

AM: You have a lot of wisdom.

CK: I believe everyone has this thing inside them that they can draw on and capitalize on it when they really need it. We’re just all too busy looking for a quick fix and that will not help us. So I really think it’s a combination of all these things, a positive attitude, being really determined enough to radically change my diet and lifestyle.

AM: You look simply amazing.

CK: Thanks I am wearing jeans. I haven’t worn them since junior high.

AM: You look like you are in high school now.

CK: Oh thanks. I feel really good. It’s a little odd because I loved my big body. It feels so stable. That’s the only real reason I liked it. Sometimes I don’t feel as strong as I was.
If I was somewhere walking down a dark street all 280 pounds, and there was a guy, I didn’t worry because I knew I could just sit on him. I never felt vulnerable, so that has changed. I am smaller so I feel vulnerable, but I don’t really live in fear.

AM: What do you enjoy the most about being smaller?

CK: It’s fun to be smaller and be able to sit in an airplane seat and not feel the person next to me freaking out.

AM: You are a phoenix rising from the ashes.

CK: Everyone tells me that because I am a Scorpio and we either rise to the challenge or get caught up in our own quagmire of shit. I’ve always been the kind of person who reinvented herself. That’s what I’m doing now.

photo: Alan Mercer Lighting & Styling: Eric Venturo


To learn more about Candye Kane and her music visit http://www.candyekane.com/

Judy Tenuta is so glamorous!

Photo: Alan Mercer Lighting & Styling: Eric Venturo

Judy Tenuta has always been this offbeat personality known as ‘The Love Goddess.’ She built a name for herself in the early 80’s while wearing Greco-Roman goddess gowns, holding an accordion, which she studied as a child, on New York stand-up stages. She became the first comic to win "Best Female Comedian" at the American Comedy Awards.

Her high profile came from a series of TV ads for MTV in the mid-1980s, which became popular and gained her a loyal following. She has appeared regularly on game shows like ‘Hollywood Squares’ and the 1998 revival of ‘Match Game.’ In 1991, she published her first book, ‘The Power Of Judyism.’

She keeps busy with voice-over work in several animated programs and touring all over the country in her stand-up act. One of nine siblings, she was born to an Italian father and Polish mother in Oak Park, Illinois. She credits growing up in a family with seven brothers and one sister, with giving her the ability to be funny.

I love Judy! She is GREAT fun to work with. She has an open spirit and lots of energy as you can see in the photos. I wanted to create a real glamorous look with Judy since she looks so amazing and appealing. We set about to capture her soulfulness as well as her high energy. Once again Eric Venturo styled and threw around the light for this session. We had a great time working with each other and got Judy the shots she needed.
She talked to me about her family, her gay fans, and her style of teen-age rebellion.


AM: How do you explain Judyism?

JT: Judyism is my religion. I’m Judy and my religion is JUDY-ism. In my religion only I get to whine. Everybody can keep their own religion and still worship me. It’s all about worshipping me!

AM: What possessed you to become an ordained minister?

JT: As you know Prop 8 passed so my Gay faction of Studcicles and female U-Haul drivers couldn’t legally get married. I wanted to make sure they could at least have a marriage in Judy-ism.

AM: What is your take on this Prop 8 problem?

JT: Eventually everything will go the way it should and Gays will be allowed to be married legally but until then you can be married by the Goddess in Judyism. They can tailor it to anything they want. If they need a disco wedding or whatever it is!

AM: Can you describe growing up with 8 siblings?

JT: My Mom was the original Octomom, except she had the decency to have us a month apart. I really enjoyed having a large family. There was a lot of chaos but at the same time it was really fun. Mostly I remember having a lot of fun and energy.

AM: Are you close?

JT: Yes, there was…kind of a rift, in my family recently. My sister and brothers decided to have a fight. Not good. They had to wait until they were fifty to disagree. Really sharp Poptarts! I don’t know what’s up with that. It is really stupid.

AM: When did you know you were funny enough to go pro?

JT: It was more like I decided…I have to do this. When you decide and put yourself into it full throttle, you find out. The audience tells you. Guess what? The audience told me they think I am funny!

AM: Did you do anything else before standup?

JT: Oh my God! Did I do anything else before!?! Excuse me I was a bouncer in a Nursing Home. I was a Butchers Assistant when I was eighteen. I used that money to go to Europe which was the smartest thing I have ever done.

AM: Why was that the smartest?

JT: I learned so much. You see all the beauty and the culture. There’s nothing like it. I would advise that for anybody.

AM: How much influence did your family life have on your act?

JT: I think a lot. I grew up in a large family where you had to scream to get heard and to get noticed. I think it had a lot to do with it.

AM: Did your family think you were funny?

JT: My Mom had so much stress. I had seven brothers who were as loud as you can possibly imagine. So it was like living in a locker room. To counter act that I was naturally quiet. I have always said I was a petite flower because I really was.

AM: When did you grow out of it?

JT: I rebelled after I got out of High School and decided to get into acting. I didn’t rebell like some kids who start smoking, drinking, and taking drugs. No, I decided I had to express myself, so I became ‘the Goddess.’

AM: What would you be doing if you hadn’t gone into comedy?

JT: This is so obvious. I would be a Fashion Designer. I love clothes. I would somehow work in fashion. I just love it. I was trying to do art but nobody praises you. You spend seventy hours on something and people go, ‘Nice.’ I need instant gratification.

AM: How has your audience changed over the last 20 years?

JT: I have to think about that. Of course unlike me, my audiences have gotten older. I have a very diverse audience because I do a lot of voice over for cartoons so kids know me too. I would say they have gotten a little older and a little crankier because of the economy, but you know what? I think they really appreciate whatever you can do to make them laugh and cheer them up. Forget we have a fifty trillion dollar deficit and no more Pontiacs. That’s a big sacrifice!

Photo: Alan Mercer Lighting & Styling: Eric Venturo

To learn more about Judy visit her website http://judytenuta.com/

RIP David Carradine

photo: Alan Mercer

As everyone knows by now, David Carradine passed away in Bangcock earlier this week. There seems to be some controversy involving the details of his death at 72 years of age. It doesn’t really matter at this point. We lost a great actor and a good guy.
I had the distinct pleasure of photographing Mr. Carradine about seven years ago. We shot on the CBS Radford lot in Studio City. He was quiet and unassuming. His wife Annie Bierman is one of the nicest people I have ever met. They both loved the portrait I came up with. I knew at the time he was somebody special and I treasure the memory I have of working with him. Good-by Mr. Carradine. Thanks for the pleasure.

Gregg Allman

photos: Alan Mercer Lighting & styling: Eric Venturo

Gregg Allman has been a Rock and Roll God most of my life. He still sells out tours all all over the world. When he isn’t playing with the Allman Brothers Band, he fronts his own band, where he takes center stage and delivers what his fans want and expect. His style of blistery blues mixed with his soulful singing, never stops being appreciated. Artists like Tom Petty and Bruce Willis are long-time fans who love to jam with him.

Gregg Allman’s rise to fame occurred in the early1970’s. After losing his brother Duane in 1971 in a motorcycle accident, he went on to record his first solo album, ‘Laid Back’ on Capricorn Records. The album has long been considered a solid ‘classic.’ For a time in the late 70’s he was on the cover of ‘Rolling Stone’ and ‘People’ magazine while being married to Cher. They had a son and even recorded an album of duets called ‘Allman and Woman.’ Unfortunately they were divorced by the time the album was released so it floundered. Nevertheless, Gregg went on to bigger success with hit albums like “I’m No Angel’ and ‘Searching For Simplicity.’

A five acre ranch in Savannah, Georgia is home when not touring. He enjoys the benefits of his artistry with plenty of royalty checks from his back catalog when the songs are used in films, television, and commercials.

When the opportunity to work with Gregg Allman came up I was extra excited. I knew he wouldn’t have much time with his busy schedule so we had to work fast! Eric Venturo was on hand to style and add this distinctive lighting to the photo session. After a few minutes of shooting, Gregg talked to me about what it’s like to live ‘the life.’


AM: Rolling Stone magazine ranked you at 70th out of 500, best singer of all time. What do you think about that?

GA: Well I don’t know how the voting went, but just to be on that list, because there are so many good singers in America. To be on the list itself, even if you were the last, would be an honor so I feel very good about it.

AM: Do you know you set the bar higher for musicians?

GA: It’s not one of the things I keep in the front of my mind because 99 and a half beats it. That’s what my brother always used to say.

AM: So you have to give 100% every time.

GA: You just get up there on stage every night and you think about last night and go, I think we can do better than that. You try to do it better. You don’t do the same songs in the same way two times or it becomes routine. Some bands play the same songs in the same order night after night and man that ain’t nothing but a J-O-B.

AM: Are you comfortable being a legend?

GA: I wear it very proudly. A lot of times I don’t think I’m worthy. That’s just a natural human humility.

AM: Do you consider yourself a cultural leader?

GA: I don’t know. I think we might have had an influence on other bands, but any other part of culture I’m not sure.

AM: Do you enjoy playing all your instruments equally?

GA: In my solo band I play a lot more guitar so that satisfies my guitar playing needs. I play electric and acoustic. I write mostly on the acoustic guitar and the acoustic piano. I like them both equally.

AM: What was your experience of life if 60’s LA? I heard you didn’t love it?

GA: Oh God no! How could you love it? Back then they had cross collateralization. That means they stuck us in our own apartments while charging it all back to us. This was Liberty Records at the time. When the money from the record came in they would take the publishing, writer’s royalties, they could take everything. That is all against Federal law now.

AM: You must do well with your song writing royalties.

GA: Song writing is almost like a life insurance policy, well in my case, and I don’t know how I drew that card but I did. All five of my Publishing Companies are on fire. They use my music for commercials, movies, and TV shows. I make a lot of my income like that. It’s incredible. I have kids you know.

AM: Are all your children musicians?

GA: No, three out of four. One is a registered nurse and she is going back to school to become a Physicians Assistant for an Anesthesiologist.

AM: Do you remember how it felt to record Laid Back? That was a difficult time in your life. Did recording the album bring you peace?

GA: It really did. It really did. I went in with a song called ‘Queen Of Hearts’ and they didn’t like it. I said well let’s just try it. The worst thing that can happen is we will get a good laugh because it is bad. I worked on this song for a year and a half. One of the guys in the band said, “Man it just ain’t saying nothing.’ I didn’t like hearing that.

AM: How did you handle it?

GA: I walked out of the studio in a rage. I went straight to Miami and realized that was the best thing he could have ever said. He did me the biggest favor in the world because I was cutting my first solo record. Then I was open to anything I wanted to play whether it was bluegrass, country, blues, anything.

AM: You are an amazing actor in the film RUSH. Do you want to do more films?

GA: Thank you, I owe it all to Sam Elliott. He held my hand through the whole thing.

AM: Do you not have an interest in doing anymore films?

GA: Well yeah I would like to do more films and if the right one comes along I’d do it. They send me scripts all the time but the dialogue is always filled with cuss words. RUSH only had one f word. I just don’t choose to say this in a movie. Then producers ask me why. I said my Mother might watch this film. They were all stunned.

AM: Can you remember recording ‘Allman and Woman?’

GA: Oh Christ. It’s a lot of time wasted. It started off alright but toward the middle of the recording the divorce started. So she would come the first part of the day and record her part and I would come in the second part of the day and do my part.

AM: Are you close?

GA: We are still real good friends. She is the only one of my ex’s that we are still good friends. She is a very nice lady. She really is.

AM: Are you writing anything now?

GA: I’m close to finishing my life story as a book. I’m going to finally set the record straight on a lot of things.

AM: Can you recall most of your life?

GA: Yes I can remember everything. I see a lot of my contemporaries can’t remember much from their past.

AM: You have a gift…for memory, music, and voice.

GA: Gift!?! I have a recording from the third time I ever sang and I sound awful. The ‘GIFT’ is the passion to go after it and get better.

photo: Alan Mercer Lighting & styling: Eric Venturo

To learn more about Gregg Allman visit his website http://www.greggallman.com/