SPIN DNA
Photographer Loren Haynes on Tori Amos: ‘She Was Going to Be a Star’
It was December 1991, in Santa Fe when I ran into Arthur Spivak. I had been living in L.A. since ‘85 and met Arthur at the Sunset Marquis when I met Steven Van Zandt to go over a photo shoot. Arthur was managing Steven at that time and Arthur knew I was working as a staff photographer with SPIN. He mentioned this new artist that he was representing with Michael Ameen and was clearly very excited about–and whose record was about to be released. I offered to see if I could get SPIN interested in doing a small piece for the magazine. First shot after the show. There would be no need for a hard sell or any sell: “I want to smash the faces/ Of those beautiful boys / Those Christian boys / So you can make me cum / That doesn’t make you Jesus.” [“Precious Things,” Little Earthquakes, 1992] I don’...
SPIN DNA: James Greer
There was a time period, let’s call it 15th century Europe, where a select group of men made their bones in a variety of different occupations. Leonardo da Vinci, just to pull one name out of my hat, was not only a famous painter, but also a sculptor, scientist, philosopher, and mathematician. Apparently there’s some evidence that he was also a pretty good dancer. There were others, too. There are always others. Fast forward 400 years: Not content with just proving relativity, Albert Einstein was also a classically trained violinist. Sort of like how Axl Rose is some hayseed with chops like Chopin. We labeled these individuals Renaissance Men. Or, to use the parlance of our times, Idea Birthing Persons. I first met the writer, musician, and surprisingly nimble dancer himself, James Greer, ...
Our Lollapalooza Guide from ’92 Was A Tribute To An Age of Grunge Innocence
On January 11, 1992, the gilded ramparts of the music establishment were certifiably leveled as Nirvana’s Nevermind knocked Michael Jackson’s Dangerous from the Billboard No. 1 album spot. Big-budget fashion also got grimy in ’92: Marc Jacobs unveiled a runway grunge collection, (painfully ironic considering the style is all about thrift store clothing). Kmart catalogs in Australia featured grunge-centric fashion offerings, with “Get into Grunge!” advert headlines. In September Cameron Crowe’s Seattle-set, flannel-ized Singlespacked movie theaters, selling millions of copies of its grunge soundtrack. And 1992 saw Perry Farell’s Lollapalooza festival barnstorm the nation again. What had begun the year prior as an epic farewell tour for his band Jane’s Addiction, inspired by a...
