Sydney – The Rolling Stone Years

Photo Review

Jimi Hendrix, New York City, 1970

Australian magazine Photo Review just published an interview they recorded during the Antipodean leg of the Rolling Stone Years Cosmic World Tour. Some of the highlights:

PR: You’ve said that often you’d come away from shooting a concert and remember almost nothing of what had happened. Why is that?

BW: You had to be totally involved in the photographic moment. There was no autofocus, no auto-exposure, no auto-winders. Everything was done manually and you had to think it out in advance before you did anything. On stage the lights were always changing, and that meant the correct exposure was always changing too. I had a spot meter that looked like a machine-gun almost. I’d point it at the musician hoping that the reading I got then would kind of stay that way for awhile, you know. That was before there ever was a meter in the camera itself.

PR: So your mind is filled with the technical challenges while you’re shooting, then you come out of it and discover what you’ve done?

BW: Well, I knew that I could turn it on and off. I had to actually stop thinking actively about what I was doing and just let it come to me. You know, I felt like I was a conduit for these images to come through – wherever they were coming from – through me to the camera. I felt like I didn’t play a major role in it – obviously I did – but I felt somehow disconnected… I didn’t feel like I was responsible for the pictures; although obviously I was.

Last Call!

Little Devil Baron Wolman sporting his AC/DC horns in honor of Angus Young (pictured here on the left in 1977.) The photo was taken at the Blender Gallery in Sydney during Baron’s Cosmic World Book Tour, 2011. Photo © Tali Udovich

We have good news and bad news:

The good news is there are only two copies of the Premium edition left to sell.
The bad news is there are only two copies of the Premium edition left to sell!

Who will be the lucky two buyers? Get aboard the Rock and Roll Train and let it be you!

About The Premium Edition
The Premium edition is the 176-page book in an elegant cloth slipcase with foil stamping on the front. Each copy is signed and numbered by Baron; there will only be a total of 600 copies of the Premium edition available, never more. The Premium edition will not be available in bookstores. The cost of the Premium edition of The Rolling Stone years is $60 plus $10.00 shipping and handling to addresses in the continental US. For the cost of shipping to other destinations, please inquire.
Click here to buy the book.

The AC/DC audience of little devils, 2011, in matching horns

Cosmic World Book Tour, Sydney Day 5!

A lazy morning in bed – laptop, Bella’s book, and my beloved sleep-mask.

“Had the morning off; you can’t imagine how much that means after endless hours of “performing” for the media and book buyers. Spent the morning in my oh-so-comfy hotel room in downtown Sydney, lounging in bed with a cup of Starbuck’s VIA instant coffee (you travelers out there, always take a few “tubes” of VIA along). Had time to do my nails, sew a button back on, read a bit of bad girl Bella’s autobiographical novel, answer some email, and just generally kick back. After signing about 50 books in the offices of Music Sales at noon I appeared on two rock radio stations and was interviewed by the Australian version of the AP.”

Waiting in a radio station “green room” that actually was green. © Norm Lurie

“This evening I gave my “soon-to-be-famous” illustrated talk at a local bookstore to a most appreciative audience. You should have seen (and I should have photographed) the young woman in the blue shoes – she was stunningly beautiful. Tomorrow on to Melbourne for more of the same including a scheduled appearance on a national TV show similar to “The View” in the US. They days are literally flying by. Stop the world, I wanna get off…”

The girl in the blue shoes. Photo © Tali Udovich

Cosmic World Book Tour, Sydney Day 4

Media 101: Do not eat a poppy-seed bagel before a TV appearance!

“There I was, ready to appear on TV with little black seeds between my teeth. Couldn’t dislodge them with my tongue or my fingernail or by sloshing water around in my mouth. Fortunately, a roll of dental floss magically appeared and, voila, no more poppy-seeds. My guest appearance on RAGE, the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) long-running weekend music show is considered an honor. “You’re programming Rage? Wow, that is so cool – can’t wait to see your show.” With its large reputation I expected to find myself in a high-tech studio with all the bells and whistles of contemporary television broadcasting. Not the case. The RAGE set, such as it is, is in one of the ABC windowless offices and kind of looks like a teenager’s bedroom. One low-tech video camera, a sound boom, a wireless microphone and a single light comprised the show’s equipment. In advance I had been given a list of literally thousands of music videos, told to pick 63 of my favorites, and of those, to select 13 which I would personally introduce on camera to the audience wherever they happened to be throughout Australia. It was a memorable experience…

Then back to Blender for an afternoon of more video taping and sound recording, a full day of media appearances on behalf of my book. At the end my brain was fried, I was all talked out. Still, in its own way it’s a singular experience, especially noting how the various interviewers approach the same subject, namely, my classic rock photos and my new book. I’m not complaining, just sayin’…

Tomorrow more media and the first of three illustrated presentations, my “soon-to-be-famous” talk about living in the Haight-Ashbury during the Summer of Love and the early days of Rolling Stone. Pictures and stories coming to a bookstore near you; lots of pictures, lots of stories.”

Cosmic World Book Tour, Sydney Day 3

“Goodbye jet lag, hello fun! Last night, Saturday, Tali (Blender Gallery) treated us to a delicious dinner at the Bootleg, her boyfriend chef Rob Gal’s bistro. Great food and conversation and, of course, a few informal photos. This morning, Sunday, I appeared on the Channel 9 morning show, chattering away as usual and signing a book for the host. Spent the afternoon walking around the harbor area with my new friend Bella taking random pictures of the Opera House and boat activity on the water.”

Why we tour! Baron, Sofia, Melinda

The four Graces: Tali, Debbie Harry, Baron, Melinda

Channel 9 News

Baron only needs a touch as he prepares for his interview

“This morning, Sunday, I appeared on the Channel 9 morning show to talk about some of the musicians in the book, including The Who, AC/DC, and Johnny Cash (“…he was a complex human being.”) Tomorrow, Monday, more TV (a show called RAGE, huge in Australia) then media media media in the afternoon. The PR we’re getting here for the book is amazing. Fact is, Australia is amazing – why did it take me so long to “discover” this country…???”

Interview time with Cam Williams on the Channel 9 morning show

Signing Cam’s copy of “The Rolling Stone Years”

Cosmic World Book Tour, Sydney Day 2

Jimi Hendrix, Sam Cutler, Baron,and Miles Davis pose for Blender Gallery director, Tali Udovich

“It’s a bit strange to see the leaves popping out on the trees here in Sydney’s spring, all fresh and bright green, while knowing those at home in Santa Fe are starting to show fall’s colors and will soon be dropping.

Sam Cutler, of the Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead and Altamont fame, showed up for the book signing at Blender Gallery. I’d not seen Sam in ages – it was a delightful reunion. We traded books – he signed his for me, I signed mine for him. Sam has been living in Australia for several years; believe it or not, his home is a large bus. We reminisced and reminded one another that it was nice to both have lived in the sixties and to have survived them.”