Michael Grecco "Punk Post Punk New Wave" Book (2020)

Details: "Punk, Post Punk, New Wave: Onstage, Backstage, In Your Face, 1978-1991" photography book, featuring photos by Michael Grecco, a foreword by Fred Schneider (The B-52's), and an introduction by pop culture writer Jim Sullivan. Hardcover, 10" l x 8.5" w x 1.1" h, 240 pages. New stock.

Description: "The ultra-descriptive title of Michael Grecco’s latest bound collection of photographs published by Abrams, Punk, Post Punk, New Wave: Onstage, Backstage, In Your Face, 1978-1991, exists in subtle contrast to “Days of Punk,” the compact domain of its companion virtual experience. The former spans over a decade, traveling through comma across genre and venue, while the latter suggests a more indistinct and fleeting moment. In 162 photographs, mostly black and white, Grecco offers a snapshot of both a specific historical period and an enduring state of mind, rendering numerous the ways in which spectators and performers alike have shown up to the spirit of punk in Boston. Wendy O. Williams, for example, of Plasmatics eminence, is pictured on the frontispiece taking a sledgehammer to a television, gashing the screen. Stickers for WBCN, a local radio station, are affixed to the surrounding furniture. Title and contributor details appear similarly pasted to the cover in a Sex Pistols palette (yellow, white, and hot pink) in false collage, such as on a photocopied zine or album cover. Contemporaneous newspaper clippings wrap the endsheets and book block. Fred Schneider, of The B-52s, and Jim Sullivan (music journalist, not disappeared psych-folk musician) contribute candidly to the foreword and introduction with fond remembrances of the time documented. 

Organized approximately by stage, each grouping of photographs is awash in a localized memory captioned further by Grecco in occasional text blocks detailing gritty and inviting gossip from the ground. Personal highlights include images of Siouxsie and the Banshees and Lene Lovich and, too, the general feeling of rolling in the vibrant wake of a crowd that emanates from much of the book."--Cori Hutchinson, White Hot Mag

Grade: M (new stock)

Full Description: "In the late 70s, prolific photographer and filmmaker Michael Grecco was in the thick of things, documenting the club scene in places like Boston and New York, and getting shots on- and backstage with bands such as The Cramps, Dead Kennedys, Talking Heads, and many others. This book features stunning, never-before-seen photography from this iconic period in music. It is a quintessential piece of music history for anyone looking for backstage access into the careers of punk and post-punk’s most beloved bands."

Photographer: Michael Grecco is an award-winning commercial photographer and film director noted for his iconic celebrity portraits, innovative magazine covers, editorial images, and advertising spreads for NBC/Universal, GE, Pfizer, HBO, Kodak, ABC, IBM, Yahoo!, ESPN, WIRED, TIME, Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, Premier, and more. His distinguished work is regularly featured in prestigious galleries such as Louis Stern, G. Ray Hawkins, Stephen Cohen, and Fahey Klein. 

Fred Schneider: "Arguably the biggest party band of the late-'70s punk/new wave era was the B-52s, which featured a total of three singers: bouffant wig-wearing frontwoman Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson, as well as the just as quirky Fred Schneider."--AllMusic

Jim Sullivan is a former Boston Globe arts and music staff writer who contributes to WBUR, Best Classic Bands, Rock and Roll Globe, the Cape Cod Times, WHERE Boston, and Rock's Backpages. He has hosted the monthly music/interview show “Boston Rock/Talk” on Xfinity On Demand.

Press: "A photographic document of a critical pocket of the American punk scene in all its brash and seedy glory."
Kirkus

“Whether an action shot from the stage wing or a quiet backstage portrait, the photographs provide another perspective on the bands and musicians that defined the energy, chaos, grit, and creativity of punk, post-punk and new wave.”
Cool Hunting

“…a heavyweight, gorgeously visual tome for the coolest of coffee tables.”
WickedLocal

“Acclaimed photographer Michael Grecco brings us back to the chaotic energy of punk rock era in the late 70s to early 90s…”
WGBH

“…like so many great eyes of his time, the punk rock scene of the late 70s and 80s, on both coasts, helped formulate his artistic individualism. Now that heady decade and a half are collected not only in his camera but in the lavish new coffee table book…”
LA Weekly

“You can feel the intensity in every shot collected…”
The Boston Globe

“In 162 gorgeous color and black-and-white photos, Grecco takes readers back to a vibrant bygone era as his camera captures the performers' raw energy and outrageousness both onstage and off.”
Newsday