For many of us suburban teenagers in 1978 that had loved the NY Dolls, the first Johansen solo record was an epiphany. He was our poor-man's Mick; a guy we could see perform practically every night of the week in the tri-state area for a while.

On my radio show, his guitar player Thomas Trask breaks down that magical era with tales of Sylvain, Tyler, Perry, Thunders, Petty, the Clash and more-

[www.voiceamerica.com]

Hi HBwriter: big fan of David and the NY dolls. Always love to bring back that video of David and Keith jamming in a NYC club in 1985.
Rockandroll,
Mops
[youtu.be]

Like him a lot, his album "In Style" from 1979 has very strong songs, "Swaheto Woman", "Flamingo Road" two great songs he wrote with Sylvain Sylvain.

Bye
Fernando

.... yeah loved them
early Johansen solo albums ... Still got 'em somewhere



ROCKMAN

I never saw the Dolls, but after Johansen's first album, I saw the David Johansen Group perform many times.

In '78, at the Santa Monica Civic, where they opened for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, just before the band started "Lonely Tenement", David put on a Soviet-worker style cap and said, "This next song requires a hat of a Socialist nature..."

How great Writer!! I'm gonna launch right into your piece. Really excited.
I had that album right off the bat.
Steve Paul from "The Scene" NYC nightclub had that Indi label.
I never knew who played on it and I'm going to eat your article like food.
"Girls" and other cuts were Super.
I guess it's a matter of taste tho.
I loved it. Very good players!

His live album "live it up" (1982) is among the very best of any NY Dolls band members.

Only the Heartbreakers "DTK" and "Live at Max's Kansas City" come close.

I saw him open for The Who and The Clash at Rich Stadium, outside Buffalo in September 1982. I was not a Dolls fan, and knew little of him, but I remember him covering some The Animals' "We Gotta Get Outta This Place' though I may be wrong. Memory a little foggy with the passage of time...and booze we snuck-in.

Interviewer:
Do you like Mick Jagger?

David:
Yeah, I think he's good.
Do you think I really look like him?
People in Japan think so, no matter who they see.
No, that is a joke. I'm just kidding.
Very much, Jodan.


At Hanzomon Hotel Tokyo in 1975.
The woman on the left is their manager at the time. She is photographer Bob Gruen's wife.