- Included in the Under Appreciated Rock List.
- DEAD HIPPIE, an ingenious and inventive Los Angeles punk rock band from the early 1980’s.
- The Original Facebook Post about DEAD HIPPIE is at: Original Facebook Posts / Jul 2012 / DEAD HIPPIE.
Martin Winfree published a note.
July 1, 2012
UNDER-APPRECIATED ROCK BAND OF THE MONTH FOR JULY 2012: DEAD HIPPIE
Picking up on the discussion from last month, you would think that picking a name for your band (or yourself) would be a most personal choice. Sometimes though, an artist doesn’t have a choice – and I am not just talking about a birth name. Lou Christie had hit after hit beginning in the early 1960’s and continuing t . . .
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Martin Winfree
July 1, 2012
The Under-Appreciated Rock Band of the Month for July 2012 is DEAD HIPPIE, an ingenious and inventive Los Angeles punk rock band from the early 1980’s. Details are available in my Notes, along with info on rock artists who got stuck with names they didn’t want, and other bands with “Dead” in the name.
Bob Friedman
Simon [Smallwood] was a close friend, foremost, and I miss his cosmic humor, wisdom, silly/wacky clowny/trickster /prankster ways. I did have the pleasure of drumming 2 shows , and am mentioned on the liner-notes of the album. RIP Simon. Bob Mann, has an Official Dead Hippie page on his Myspace (remember that !?) w/pictures and more info and comments. Thanx for this good tribute, Martin!
Martin Winfree
My pleasure, Bob; I have been writing these monthly posts since late 2009, and it is always a genuine pleasure to hear from someone in the band who likes what I have to say. Wish Simon was around to hear about it as well, but those of us who love his work can carry his name forward as best we can.
Bob Friedman
I remember seeing Simon and Jackie [Fritz] working on the cover art-work collage , and Simon bending over it , on the floor, sticking it together, he was really proud of the artwork for that album, was a little dissappointed in the final mix, but, hell, he was set in his ways, and, lived life really hard-core, did everything full -on, was an intense performer, and gave his all . . . . . he always gave everything in his life, always lived BIG , everything was BIG . . . . when he partied, hosted a barbeque party at his house, when we went to the beach, to party, play volley-ball in the park, man, he put the party in full gear, and went all the way, and he was generous, kind, wild and freaky, and the best host of any party or musical performance. His hosting of the concert with Sky Saxon, which I did some of the the light-show for, was fucking great! Dead Hippie played, Fright Wig backed Saxon, and the whole place was pulsating , and Simon, dressed in a jump-suit, gave homage to Wavey-Gravy , and punks and hippies were dancing and laughing that night , Simon’s tour of various clubs and venues under the banner of , “Acid Test” , a nod to earlier times in the Summer of Love. I had never known anyone like Simon. He lived life BIG with passion, like nobody else, and was a free-bird . . . big -mouth, big -mind, lively and funny as hell . . . . . . why did you die, Simon!?
Martin Winfree
I remember that cover collage very well – I was so impressed with how professional it looked: It was right up there with the best I have ever seen (from Sgt. Pepper on down). It was on the front cover and the back cover as well as I remember; even the black and white collage was fantastic looking. I lost my record collection (2,600 LP’s and a couple of hundred CD’s, though most of my CD’s were at the office and survived just fine), but most of the discs actually came through in decent shape, amazingly. I have already cleaned up over 1,000 albums and have close to that many more sitting around the house in liquor store boxes ready to clean up.
Martin Winfree
I only ever saw Dead Hippie on New Wave Theatre and of course what I heard on the album. What I wouldn’t give to have heard him perform live. How you are describing sounds just like what I would expect. Even among the NWT bands, Simon was one of the most intense performers I have ever seen on the show.
Bob Friedman
his speach on NWT is great. Sorry about your record loss! yikes, fire?
Martin Winfree
No, Hurricane Katrina (August 2005) – lost the house and everything else, too. But my wife Peggy and I have recovered, more or less. I was delighted to find the speech that Simon gave on NWT on YouTube!
Bob Friedman
I rememmber he told me he was featured in a new magazine called , Spin . . . . . and that they did a lame story about a supposed , “death-rock” scene, like they did a tabloid type stupid story with that stupid label, and he hated that story, and yet, there he is in that fist issue, . . . whatever!
Bob Friedman
oh……Katrina. shit. glad you’re ok now.
Martin Winfree
Yeah, thanks, I am for the most part. I am not sure that I really understand what “death metal” or “death rock” is supposed to be; surely it is all gloom and doom and really dark – that has always been my impression at least. But I don’t find Dead Hippie’s music to be that way at all: Even when the band is being really serious in their lyrics, there is an underlying joy and optimism to what I hear. When I first saw Spin magazine, I was hopeful that they would be a good alternative to Rolling Stone; but from what I could tell, they basically never even measured up, so I just quit reading the mag after a while.
Bob Friedman
Yeah . . . . Simon’s thing was drama and theatrics and performance. it was what it was . . . it’s all in the music and lyrics . . . Simon was hard-core on stage and in real life. everything he did was hard-core full-on living life to the fullest . . . . he embraced life , and think he lived every day as if it was his last. he was one of the funniest people I ever knew.
Robert Mann
Bravo Martin. You’ve been able to capture the essence of Dead Hippie that nobody else has ever come close to. Thanks for this article, the tribute to Simon and his vision. He was indeed “terribly gut-wrenchingly funny” and we miss him. Nice to know someone actually gets it.
Robert Mann
http://www.myspace.com/originaldeadhippie
Bob Friedman
Robert . . . . Simon’s speech on New Wave Theater is chillingly fantastic, and relevant as ever !
Bob Friedman
great article, Martin . . . . . . . . !