Tribute to Syl Sylvain – New York Dolls
Trash, is what I guess we are considered to be, relegated to the margins of society far away from the mainstream.
Our feelings, our thoughts, our ideas- merely just debris, meant to be thrown away, swept up and tossed at the end of the night.
All our passionate art- negated. All our truths, all our creativity- not fit to see
the light of day.
“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”- Oscar Wilde.
“Trash! Don’t pick it up. Don’t throw your life away.”
The New York Dolls released their first album in the summer of 1972. I was a teenager at the time and addicted to Creem Magazine, a nationwide rock publication out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Their main writer was Lester Bangs, he’s portrayed in the movie, “Almost Famous”, and he’s a huge influence on me.
He’s also Andy’s father.
(Editor’s note: This is untrue, I have never even read that magazine).
During those days, every Saturday afternoon, I’d take the subway to downtown Boston to buy records. The only record stores then were in Boston and Cambridge.
I’d go to Woolworth’s, which was mainly a clothing store, much like a mini-Target in it’s day, and I’d first eat some chicken parts at the cafeteria, before buying a couple of current rock records in their record department.
I only remember a few times where I bought a particular album. I do remember buying the Clash as an import at Discount Records in Harvard Square, maybe five years after.
But I also recall, prompted by the positive reviews in Creem, of purchasing from Woolworth’s one sunny, summer Saturday afternoon- my first Iggy & The Stooges record, “Raw Power” and the first New York Dolls album at the very same time.
I don’t remember if I had a wing and a thigh that day, or maybe it was a drumstick and breast for lunch. But I distinctly remember buying just those two albums the same day and those purchases, in a lot of ways, shaped my life.
I took right away to The Stooges. I feel Iggy Pop is the most underrated artist of the twentieth century. I felt pleased when Andy told me once that I had turned him on to The Stooges. But I acknowledge that he first turned me on to AC/DC and Motorhead, as well.
Maybe it was The Dolls in drag album cover that put me off, but I still feel their second album was better. But I do know that in a few short years, I was fully into David Bowie, Roxy Music and the whole English glam/glitter scene.
Glitter led directly to punk for a lot of people and that’s how it was for me. The Ramones were into Glitter before they formed and for nearly, all the early British punkers it was the same.
And thinking about it now, I believe The Dolls and The Stooges were the biggest impetus for punk, not disregarding all the many influential proto-punk bands.
The Dolls like a lot of musicians during those days were victims of their times. Which is a nice way, is an elusive way of saying that drugs did them in. Their singer, David Johansen may have not “come here looking for a fix,” but half his band was.
David Johansen is now the only surviving member and Syl worked with him, almost continuously, once The Dolls broke up. David remarked about Syl after his death-
“He was very important for the band and their “success”. You know what I mean by “success”? Not so much the charts and all that bullshit. It was what we were creating. He was integral
to all that.”
“If it hadn’t been for him, the band would’ve sounded crappy. He knew what he was doing and he could play guitar. He came up with really, great rhythms. He was very accomplished. He was a natural player. He loved playing.”
In other words, he was a perfect foil to Johnny Thunders who had a great, but unorthodox style of lead guitar.
Syl Sylvain died after a tough bout with cancer and I feel sorry he had to depart this way.
But the life he led, the music he played will live on in glorious fashion.
And it’s true, fashion was his first love. He had a clothing company called Truth & Soul before he helped create The New York Dolls. A great name for a company.
And, oh yeah! Coming out of a practice place once with Johnny Thunders he noticed a sign across the way. It said “New York Dolls Hospital.” It was a toy repair shop.
He told Johnny he thought that was a great name for a band.
Johnny replied, “Whattaya some kind of (derogatory name for a gay man)?
And Syl said, “No, New York Dolls!”
Syl’s performances were always filled with good humor, humbleness and fun. Looking at some old videos I can now see what a hell of a rhythm guitar player he truly was.
Fashion comes and goes, I guess clothes mean something to some people but passion means much more so, to me.
Yeah, fashion comes and goes but heart, determination and desire- to create music, to create art is not easily accomplished. Maybe not until they become fully embedded, so struck hard into your brain, so important that they become like air, water and food is to everyone.
And though society might think we’re trash, I think there’s a lot of diamonds in the gutter.
People will die but what they represented and believed in, what made them great lives on and inspires others to match their greatness, which often- they do.
Yeah, Syl died last week but the music he helped make lives on and will continue to inspire, will live on forever, that should and will not- ever go out of style.
(Slimedog)
