The Ramones: Rockets Or Rubberbands?
Interview by Roy Trakin, New York Rocker, November 1977
I. Punk rock’s charter band will be your mirror. ...

AC/DC Hit California
Report and Interview by Howie Klein, New York Rocker, November 1977
AC/DC PLAYED their West Coast debut at the legendary Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles, with the club fully living up to its legend of ...

The Jam: Environmental Music
Profile and Interview by Howie Klein, New York Rocker, November 1977
LAST MONTH the Jam travelled to America for a short promotional tour, playing dates in established new wave centers, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and New ...

West Coast Waves: The Dils
Interview by Howie Klein, New York Rocker, 1978
THE ENGLISH NEW WAVE appears to be firmly rooted in the politics of frustration. It should be no shock that the acutely class-conscious British have spawned ...

The Nuns: Whisky a Go Go, L.A.
Live Review by Howie Klein, New York Rocker, 1978
SOMEHOW THE NUNS manage to transcend the traditionally (like in "traditionally moronic") rivalry between San Francisco and LA. Perhaps that’s because the Nuns are as much ...

Sex Pistols: Tour Notes
Report by Howie Klein, New York Rocker, February 1978
In case you were incommunicado for the last month, the much-ballyhooed Sex Pistols American tour has come and gone. ...

Boomtown Rat: A Cup of Instant with Modest Bob Geldof
Interview by Howie Klein, New York Rocker, April 1978
THE LINE IN front of the 100 Club snaked endlessly down Oxford Street. The idea of standing on it — and for a Rich Kids concert ...

The Cars: The Bottom Line, New York
Live Review by Roy Trakin, New York Rocker, September 1978
ONE THE face of it, one is forced to admit that the Cars, Boston’s latest pop machine, are an entirely unwelcome corruption of any new wave ...

New Wave Goodbye? Some Thoughts On The Economic State Of The New Wave Industry In America
Overview by Greg Shaw, New York Rocker, September 1978
LET ME BEGIN by saying that I’ve written many articles on New Wave, most of which have dealt with the exciting possibilities of making permanent changes ...

Road To Ruin: One Small Step For Man, One Giant Step For The Ramones
Review by Roy Trakin, New York Rocker, September 1978
AS THE NEW WAVE bubble bursts and explodes into a thousand tiny particles, the Ramones remain as true survivors, one of few punk acts to have ...

Rock'n'Roll Made Me A Mensch: The Dictators Reach Maturity
Profile and Interview by Roy Trakin, New York Rocker, September 1978
The Introduction

WHEN THE Dictators proudly declared themselves the "next big thing" on their rock ‘n’ roll-icking debut album Go Girl Crazy!, they were not, as almost ...

Television (1974-1978)
Obituary by Alan Betrock, New York Rocker, September 1978
SO TELEVISION has broken up and most people want to know why. ...

The Return of the Flamin' Groovies
Report and Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, September 1978
IT ALL BEGAN on a slow summer afternoon with a frantic phone call from Miriam Linna. The Flamin' Groovies (or someone speaking for them, perhaps a ...

The Clash: The Fillmore, San Francisco
Live Review by Howie Klein, New York Rocker, March 1979
EXCEPT FOR THE fact that they're probably the best performing band around, there's something almost superfluous to Clashness about the band's shows. Wait a minute – ...

The Cars
Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, July 1979
AFTER THE FIRST 500,000 albums, you kind of stop rooting for a band. It's a familiar feeling of having discovered something ahead of the pack, watched ...

David Bowie: From Low to Lodger
Retrospective by Paul Yamada, New York Rocker, July 1979
THE LAST TWO studio LPs by David Bowie seem to make up some sort of unit. The release of a third album in collaboration with Brian ...

Tom Verlaine Without TV: The New Season
Review and Interview by Roy Trakin, New York Rocker, September 1979
I. ...

The Resurrection of Stiv Bators
Report and Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, September 1979
STIV BATORS is just about the easiest interviewee I've ever met. Just push "Record" and he'll talk for hours about anything that might make good ...

The Clash/Undertones/Sam & Dave: The Palladium, NYC
Live Review by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, November 1979
THIS REVIEW is being turned in weeks late, and I know why. After all these years and all these bands, all the disappointing second albums and ...

NRBQ: Desperados, Washington DC
Live Review by Paul Yamada, New York Rocker, January 1980
AFTER A quarter-century of rock 'n' roll, it should be obvious that the idiom (if it can be classed as such) must be maintained by certain ...

Live In NYC: The Specials
Live Review by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, March 1980
IF THE REACTION of the New York rock press is any indication (and it usually isn't), the Specials are going to be Very Big In America. ...

Lydon In New York: The Image Goes Public
Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, May 1980
IT IS TWO O'CLOCK in the afternoon, and John Lydon has just popped his third or fourth Heineken of the day. ...

The Dils Disband
Report by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, May 1980
THE DILS, ONE of California's premier new wave bands, have broken up for keeps after three years ...

Suicide Commits Itself
Profile by Roy Trakin, New York Rocker, May 1980
EVERY NOW and then, we critics drop our objectivity – believe it or not – become emotionally involved with a band. For slightly over a year, ...

ZE Night: Hurrah, New York City
Profile by Roy Trakin, New York Rocker, June 1980
THE RICH ARE different from you and me, my friends. While we content ourselves with free promos and an occasional "plus-one" at a local bistro, the ...

The Go-Gos Go!!
Interview by Don Snowden, New York Rocker, June 1980
THE GO-GO’S are a great rock ‘n’ roll band, pure and ...

Captain Beefheart: If It Weren't For Bad Luck
Report by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, January 1981
NEW YORK – Did ever a man suffer such unrelenting abuse, incomprehension, and just plain bad luck at the hands of the American record industry as ...

The Dictators: Back From The Bronx
Report by Gary Sperrazza!, New York Rocker, February 1981
NEW YORK– "You know how Teddy Pendergrass only lets women into his concerts? Next time we play here, we're only gonna allow 300 Ib. men in!" ...

John Lennon: My Brilliant Career
Obituary by Simon Frith, New York Rocker, March 1981
'Death Of A Hero' it said in big black letters across the front of the Daily Mirror, and if I hadn't known already I'd have expected ...

The Blasters: Down Home with The Blasters
Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, New York Rocker, March 1981
FIRST THINGS first: I love roots music but I'm no great rockabilly fan. The part I like best – the beat – is pure black rhythm ...

The Jam: Sound Affects (Polydor)
Review by Don Snowden, New York Rocker, March 1981
SOUND AFFECTS finds the Jam stretching out, once again successfully staying off the (seemingly) inherent limitations of a three-piece lineup. ...

The Chick Side of Blondie
Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, June 1981
...AND SO IT came to pass, in the first months of 1981, that the white rock and roll band called Blondie appeared in the Top Ten ...

Echo and the Bunnymen/Insect Surfers: The Blitz, West Hempstead, NY
Live Review by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, June 1981
THE TIME: DAWN, a few weeks after the police raid on and the closing of Danceteria. The Place: The entrance to the Queens Midtown Tunnel, where ...

Prince: A Dirty Mind Comes Clean
Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, June 1981
WHO IS THE REAL Prince, anyway? The flashy, high-energy black pop star with the Stratocaster wearing Iggy Pop's underwear? Or the pleasant, soft-spoken fellow who slumps ...

The Go-Go's: Beauty And The Beat (I.R.S.)
Review by Don Snowden, New York Rocker, October 1981
THE DIFFICULT thing here is reconciling expectations based on long-time familiarity with the vinyl reality. For you, the Go-Go's are the all-female L.A. quintet behind one ...

Magazine Article!
Interview by Jon Savage, New York Rocker, 1982
"Well I say what I mean/I say what comes to my mind" – 'Boredom'
"Whatever makes me tick/It takes away my concentration" – ...

The Cars
Interview by Annene Kaye, New York Rocker, 1982
SHAKING IT UP WITH DAVID (THE ARTISTIC ONE) AND RIC (THE TALL ONE) ...

The Cars: Shake It Up
Review by Roy Trakin, New York Rocker, 1982
THE CARS have achieved success the-way Henry Ford build autos – by creating interchangeable, streamlined riffs that are assemble to mass-produce pop hits. In 1982, through ...

Johnny Otis
Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, New York Rocker, February 1982
IT'S BECOMING readily apparent that one salient characteristic of the first batch of Los Angeles bands (let's leave those lovable beach punks out of this) is ...

Midwest's Mighty Morells
Profile and Interview by Gary Sperrazza!, New York Rocker, May 1982
WHO? THE MORELLS are/were the Skeletons are/were the Symptoms, also known as the Original Symptoms. They have 4 singles, an EP, an LP, and have been ...

Thinking Aloud: The Individuals Discuss Their Fields Of Expertise
Interview by Roy Trakin, New York Rocker, November 1982
VOCALIST/GUITARIST Glenn Morrow you already know about: former managing editor of the rag you hold in your hands, all-around nice guy, and one of the more ...

Teenage Head, Diodes, Segarini: Toronto Punk Albums
Review by Gary Sperrazza!, New York Rocker, January 1984
Teenage Head: Frantic City
Diodes: Action/Reaction
Segarini: On The Radio ...

On The Street With The Alley Cats
Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, New York Rocker, March 1990
THE ALLEY Cats may play a bad set some night but I'll probably be long dead and gone before it happens. Sure, some sets are hotter ...