Regular readers — again, if they exist — might remember my posts about the photographs of Brooke Smith (yes, she of “Silence of the Lambs” fame, among myriad other roles). Just in case you don’t know what I’m talking about, back in 2011, a clutch of photographs of the nascent New York hardcore scene started making the rounds on the internet (I posted about it here) and they were a remarkable encapsulation of the community, showcasing a warmth and humanity largely absent in the more established accounts of the era.
The pictures in question were captured by the teenaged Brooke Smith who, prior to becoming an actor, became ensconced in the New York punk scene from the early to mid `80s. Not only did Brooke’s photos evoke the energy and atmosphere of the venues and the rough-n’-tumble pageantry of the sartorial and tonsorial trappings of the subculture, they also presented it all as it genuinely was — essentially a congregation of similarly disenfranchised kids who found solace and sanctuary in a welcoming community that thrived well outside of the high school cliques, troubled family dynamics, mind-numbing malls and suburban doldrums they all sought refuge from. As such, even if you weren’t versed in the oeuvres of bands like Murphy’s Law, the Cro-Mags, Warzone, Agnostic Front and Bad Brains, these photographs resonated on countless other levels. Put simply, they acted as a telling glimpse of a time, a place, a neighborhood, a sensibility and a tribe that basically no longer exists.
In an weird way, Brooke Smith's photos established her celebrity beyond her career in film and television, making her something of local punk rock legend. Were that not enough, Brooke was also later the roommate of singer/songwriter Jeff Buckley, and one can’t help but suspect it was her that turned him on to the music of the Bad Brains (whom he’d go on to fleetingly cover). She addressed all of the above in a great episode of Damian Abraham’s podcast, “Turned Out a Punk,” which I wrote about last year. During the course of that conversation, she mentioned that she had it in her head to put a book together of her photographs from the period. I’m very happy report that said book is shortly to be released.
I found this out, incidentally, from the great lady herself. Either she stumbled upon one of my posts or some likely character like my friend Drew Stone might have hipped her to them, but she reached out to me, out of the proverbial blue, to see if I’d like to help spread the word and evangelize the project. Of course I said yes, and posited the notion of a quick e-mail interview. Gamely, she complied. While she quite understandably brushed aside my dumb questions about “Silence of the Lambs” (honestly, can you blame her?), she was thoughtful, candid and forthcoming in her answers. The book’s official website can now be found here, and you can pre-order the book here. Additionally, Smith will be doing a book-signing at Generation Records at 210 Thompson Street on December 3, from 6 to 8pm.
And now, Brooke Smith now unwittingly joins the ranks of Big Paul Ferguson of Killing Joke, Chris Egan of Missing Foundation, RB Korbet of Even Worse, Erik Sanko of Skeleton Key, Fran Powers of Modern Clix and J Yuenger of White Zombie as being the latest installment of the Flaming Pablum Interview. Here we go….
These photos started making the round on the internet some years back, and — in certain circles — are now sort of the stuff of legend. What prompted you to finally get this book together?
It’s taken me 10 years to put the book together. I was moving 12 years ago and found a box of old photos I’d taken. A friend saw them and asked if he could show them to a curator friend of his and the next thing I knew, I had a solo show at Primary Gallery in NYC! I wanted SUNDAY MATINEE to be a love letter to those people and that world, and it took time to arrange the photographs in a way that that made sense to me.
Kind of a ridiculous question, but what kind of camera were you using to capture these shots? It sounds quaint now, what with everyone being able to capture crystalline images via their phones, but back in the day, taking sharp photographs required a capable bit of photographic hardware. What was your weapon of choice, in this capacity — and was it a drag to be carrying a camera around (especially in these particular circumstances)?
I had my mother’s old Minolta and one of the only classes I liked in high school was photography. It wasn’t that easy to carry it around with me at first but then it just became second nature. Recently I got a photo pass to shoot AF and Sick Of It All at The Roxy in LA and IT WAS SO HARD! Like you said; the low light and the fast action… It made me think of all the lost rolls of film I had back in the day because I wasn’t very good with the technical side of things, so everything was blurry.
What’s ironic is that now when I’m at concerts I feel conflicted. I see an audience full of phones shooting the show and I feel bad for the bands and the audience. It feels like the audience should be experiencing it in the moment rather than trying to capture it. But I also relate because when I love something I want to try to capture it as well.
How did you first get involved with the whole Bowery/hardcore scene? What first drew you to engage?
I was an outsider growing up in my hometown, in the suburbs of Rockland County. I didn’t relate to most of the kids I went to high school with. I had a lot of anger and felt disillusioned about the world and what I felt was ‘expected' of me. I listened to WFMU and got Maximum Rock N Roll and started going to the east village when I was 13.
All these years later I can see that one thing we all shared was that we had all experienced some kind of childhood trauma. We didn’t talk about it at the time but I find it interesting now to realize that trauma seemed to be a common denominator for all of us. We were the children of alcoholics, divorced parents, and all different types of abuse.
How receptive were your subjects? Obviously, you were taking pictures of your friends in the context of hanging out, but had you any concept, at the time, that you were genuinely capturing a time/place/scene that was something fairly special?
Well, I thought the NYHC scene was something special and you shoot what you know, right? People got used to me having a camera all the time so I think they were more relaxed about it around me.
Of the bands around, at the time, who were your favorites?
Bad Brains, Agnostic Front, Murphys Law, The Cro-Mags, The Mob, Cause For Alarm, Warzone, Underdog, Sick Of It All, Nausea, Scab, PMS…Depending on whose accounts you read, there is a pervasive thread that suggests that, as time went on, the whole NYHC became less inclusive, especially towards female members of that community. In your experience, did you find that to be true?
Well I was pretty much fully out of the scene by the end of 1986, about a year after my younger brother died in a surfing accident. So if that happened, it was after 1986, because that wasn’t my experience at all.
Are you in touch with any of these individuals today?
Oh yeah! Some of them are still my closest friends who I never lost touch with, and others I found and reunited with more recently on social media. I still feel a deep connection to those people, and I feel like we all still have each other’s backs!
Could a community like the one you captured in these photographs happen again in New York City, in your opinion?
Well I hope that young people will always be starting their own communities. One thing that was very different back then was that we didn’t have cell phones and computers so we really had to get out and go find the action ourselves. It was also possible to live in the city and not pay a fortune for your apartment. There were squats, and rents were cheaper, etc…
For a long time I thought of New York City like it was my ex-husband who was now only into rich people!! LOL. I hated the corporatization and homogenization of everything. Times Square became like Nike-town or something. But then I saw the city change after covid. So I guess it’s always changing, and I somehow take comfort in knowing that NYC was here before me and will be here after me. One of my daughters is at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and when I follow her on the sidewalk (she walks much faster than me, just like I walked much faster than my mom,) it’s obvious that it’s her city now. And I like that.
Do you still listen to Punk Rock?
I never stopped listening to Bad Brains, Agnostic Front and a few others. I’ve been a huge Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds fan for years. It’s always exciting when you hear music that sounds completely fresh and different. And you know who I find totally punk rock? Kendrick Lamar.
Once again, get a sneak peek at Brooke's book here.
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