Text © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2018
Video from the Internet unless indicated
Stranded in the Jungle: Jerry Nolan’s Wild Ride – A Tale of Drugs,
Fashion, the New York Dolls, and Punk Rock
Written by Curt Weiss; forward by Chris Stein
Backbeat Books; Hal Leonard LLC
294 pages, 2017
ISBN: 9781495050817
In my opinion, the punk rock that is generally
acknowledged by the mainstream as Punk Rock officially started with the
Ramones. However, the role of both
the proto-punk New York Dolls and paradigm-changer the Heartbreakers cannot be
under-appreciated for bands like the Ramones to have existed, and more
importantly, to succeed.
The first time I saw the Dolls play,
it was just after guitarist Johnny Thunders and drummer Jerry Nolan had left the
band, I’m sorry to say (I started in the scene in Spring of 1975). For me, my
love affair of the music of Johnny and Jerry started at CBGBs in early ‘76, at
the premiere of Amos Poe’s film, Blank
Generation. The band that opened that night, with the tiny stage still on
the left side of the club, was the Heartbreakers, when the “lead” was still
Richard Hell. I found the musicianship kind of rattling and lovingly sloppy. Johnny
style of guitar and Hell’s bass playing was all over the map, but they could do
that because of the consistency of Jerry’s drumming.
After Hell was ousted, I saw Jerry in
many different incarnations, including the revamped Heartbreakers with Thunders
and Walter Lure up front (probably the band I’ve seen live more than any other),
the Rockats, and the final time at Johnny Thunders’ memorial just a few short
months before it was Jerry’s turn to join Johnny one more time.
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| Johnny and Jerry, pic (c) Robert Barry Francos |
It’s true that Johnny received more
relative fame than Jerry. Hell, Walter was technically a better guitarist and
just as enjoyable onstage as Johnny, but Johnny had that danger element that Walter lacked (not meant as an insult; I’m
looking forward to someone doing a book about him as I find Walter fascinating),
and Jerry was so consistent and
excellent, that it almost worked against him for standing out. However, other musicians
knew how good he was, including the author of this book, Curt Weiss, a drummer
in his own right.
There are definitely some themes that
flow through the Jerry Nolan story, such as style,
women, music, temperament, and especially drugs. It’s hard to underestimate
just what a lynchpin hard drugs were to the New York scene on the Lower East
Side, which is one of the reasons why I would go see these bands and write
about them, but did not hang out with them very much; they scared the shit out
of me. This book does not shy away from it, and rightfully so.
Depending on whom you talk to, Jerry
Nolan was either a really nice guy or a complete self-absorbed shit. Johnny had
a reputation of being more on the asshole side, but Jerry could be either, depending
on what his needs were, what he could get out of you, or what condition his
state of fix was in at the moment.
The term “Wild Ride” is appropriate
for Jerry’s life, and there was so much about him I did not know, such as his
being a member of the Suzi Quatro band early on (I saw them in 1975, after
Jerry left, opening for Alice Cooper at Madison Square Garden), his relationship with Bette Midler, and that’s only
the tip of the story.
Told in mostly chronological order, right
from birth, Curt manages to avoid many of the traps of biographies (and
autobiographies) that seem to follow the same path: troubled youth, find an
instrument, bunch of bands, hit the big time, and then fun and trouble brings
it all down. Yeah, there is some of all of that here, but it’s kept
interesting. I like how rather than quoting people by saying “Joe Blow recalls
that…” and similar passages, Weiss breaks it down to simple “Joe Blow: quote”. It may not be as literary, but it’s certainly more
effective. My one complaint about this, though, is that after the person is quoted
later, even if it’s dozens of pages than being introduced, he just uses the
first name. As someone familiar with the scene, I usually knew who he was
quoting, but a casual follower, with this many people interviewed, it’s easy to
get lost in the names of who is who. My rule of thumb would have been if the
person isn’t mentioned in 10 pages, give both names as a reminder. Perhaps I’m
nitpicking?
Still, the book and especially the
story kept me drawn all the way through. There is no doubt in my mind, and
Weiss also makes this pretty clear that he holds the same belief, that Jerry
tended to blame others for his own lack of success, but that falls straight into
his own lap. Or vein, anyway. Jerry hated sloppy drug users, but he did not see
past his own blinders. Sure, he could play under the influence better than,
well, just about anyone in his bands, but that does not mean when he wasn’t on
stage he wasn’t sabotaging himself at every turn. That’s why managers of his
bands always warned other managers about him, another consistent theme in the
book.
One of the more powerful and
interesting motifs here is the relationship between Jerry and Johnny. Someone
mentions near the end of the book how they were like an old married couple, and
that’s pretty accurate. Johnny was always his best when he was backed by Jerry –
but I want to add that Johnny was especially effective when he shared a stage
with Walter more than anyone else, in my opinion; their verbal putdown
exchanges were part of the reason to go see them perform. With Jerry and Johnny
though, it was more their between gigs interactions that made them the best of
friends and the worst of enemies, sometimes at the same time. Walter has told
stories about how Jerry would beat the hell out of Johnny if he was acting up
or sloppy-drugged. Yet, it was obvious when they worked together in front of any
crowd, it was a bond that was hard to break. Even at times when they despised
each other, they would still find a way to play. And it was a joy to watch.
As enjoyable as the book is, there is
some controversy about it, such as questions about the means Weiss used to get
some of the information. He made some of the people mentioned and quoted in the
book not too happy, one in particular threatening to take legal actions. The
question here is one of whether the ends justify the means. I’m not going to
judge one way or another.
My other issue with the book is that
there is a certainly level of assumptions, with Weiss stating things like “Jerry
felt that…” or “Jerry thought that…” That’s solid Victor Bockis territory. Second
hand “feelings” are untrustworthy, and I would have preferred if he had more
often used the style on page 231, where he has the direct source of Swedish
musician Hank Eriksson quoting Jerry saying, “Don’t worry about it. It’s rock ‘n’
roll.” Other people quoting him is not the same as assuming what Jerry was
thinking or feeling, unless a direct source is given.
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| Jerry at Johnny's memorial concert, pic (c) Robert Barry Francos |
Towards the end of Jerry’s life – and
the book – is where Weiss makes the most assumptions, mostly about his
relationships and his means of death. I’m not saying Weiss is right or wrong, I
don’t know as I do not have the direct sources, but in this case when he states
on page 256, “There was no doubt…”, it is still an assumption on his part,
unless someone in the medical field or someone close to him told him directly,
and he can use that person as a citation.
To be fair, I have read an “Advance
Uncorrected Reader’s Proof,” so I’m not sure what has been changed between this
and the final printing. Heck, I don’t even know if there are photos added. What
I do know is despite all the possibly rightful controversy over this biography
of arguably one of the best drummers to every hit the rock’n’roll skins, it is
an enjoyable read, and an important piece about someone, under different
circumstances, would (and should) be on everyone’s list of important musicians in
his field.
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