Even before joining the Fast Paul Zone was at the heart of this
scene, being a “celebrity” deejay before that concept
existed, doing hair and styling for his countless friends, and
snapping photos that captured the glamour and goriness of early
Max’s Kansas City and CBGBs scenes. Though technically one
could call Zone a professional photographer (he had a handful
of pictures in Punk magazine and a couple in Creem & Rock
Scene), he was really a hobbyist, and in some ways he was a prop.
He acted as the paparazzi for the New York Dolls and Blondie before
anyone cared about taking pictures of them. He was the fantasy
fashion photographer for the hopelessly unfashionable Ramones,
the transgendered diva Wayne/Jayne County, and the parade of dangerous
girlfriends that kept the musicians on their toes. Though untrained,
using a cheap camera, and often un-sober behind the lens, Zones
photographs not only capture a vibrant scene, but also reveal
a profound sense of style and and showmanship that Zone had been
developing since his pre-teen years, when he and his brothers
found themselves aghast at the shoddy couture of the Woodstock
nation, and gravitated to the freak out, proto-glam of early Iggy
and Alice Cooper, and the androgyny of the English mods.
Zones omnipresence in the scene and his fashion sense culminated
in photographs no one else could have taken. Because his ubiquity
and sincere schmoozing made him friends with nearly everyone,
Zone could capture moments of realness even in posed photos. Chris
and Debbie challenge anyone to try to usurp their glamorous urinal.
Dee Dee Ramone and his bloodthirsty girlfriend Connie Gripp share
lipstick and distant gazes. And in one of his greatest images,
Zone takes what should be a hokey shot (fashion model perfect
singer/writer/proto-reality TV star Lance Loud posing against
the New York City skyline featuring the World Trade Center) and
turns it into a loving portrait that conveys intimacy, lust, youth,
and the magic of living for the moment. Though he drew from the
conventions and clichés of fashion and rock music magazines,
Zone’s genuine relationships with his subjects made these
captured moments magic...
Jake Austin |
