here - Lisa Baker Associates Limited

the last untouched rock archive
Published October 2016
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TOTAL EXCESS
PHOTOGRAPHS BY MICHAEL ZAGARIS
These were the days when rock giants strode the earth. Z-Man
was present at the creation, and he got it all on film” – David Talbot
Michael Zagaris’ photographs have been dubbed the “last untouched rock archive.” An explosive
collection of unforgettable images, Zagaris was responsible for shooting everyone in the rock
music scene in San Francisco in the 1970s, including The Clash, The Who, The Rolling Stones,
Grateful Dead, Blondie, The Sex Pistols, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Led
Zeppelin, and many more.
Michael’s images are some of the best rock & roll photographs of their kind. Much of this
archive was taken at a time when it was still possible to show up at a gig and actually get close to
the performers, not just to take pictures of them but to talk and connect. Because a lot of his
work was taken for pleasure rather than pay, the vast majority of his archive has remained unseen
until now. Total Excess is the complete anthology of his incredible rock photography.
The electrifying photographs are accompanied by the most unbelievable tales of debauchery and
bad behaviour, with a cast of characters spanning the cultural, political, musical and sporting
worlds of the ’70s. This book is a fascinating glimpse into the rock and roll scene, ‘warts and all’.
From a bleached blond Lou Reed simulating shooting up on stage using his mic wire as a
tourniquet, Jim Morrison falling off stage and vomiting over Michael’s shoulder onto the crowd,
Keith Moon too high on LSD to continue playing and a local teenager stepping in as the
replacement drummer, this, truly, is total excess.
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Michael’s style is the same backstage at a small club or onstage at a huge stadium, it puts you
right in the middle of the action. Taken at a truly seismic cultural moment, Michael’s amazing
pictures tell these extraordinary stories and perfectly capture the raw excitement, energy and
atmosphere of this unforgettable time.
Michael Zagaris began his career as a photographer almost by accident. Focused on football and
baseball, law school and politics, a respectable future lay ahead, working on Capitol Hill for
Senator Robert Kennedy. In 1968 he called in sick from work, bought a camera and two rolls of
film and attended the Northern California Folk Rock Festival in Santa Clara. On the bill were
The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Eric Burdon and Country
Joe and many others. Michael shot one frame of each band. This was his first official foray into
rock and roll photography.
The assassination of Kennedy only weeks later had a profound effect on Michael who had been
standing just a few feet away and in the aftermath Zagaris immersed himself in the blooming San
Francisco counterculture. A year later, Eric Clapton was looking at some of Michael’s photos and
proclaimed, ‘This should be your gig’. Michael was on his path.
‘The time we went through in the ’60s and ’70s was way beyond control, unless you were there
you don’t get the whole picture, we thought we were changing things but we were really
channeling, globally, music, fashion, sex, drugs, film, we were part of all of it and all part of it and
I was really caught up in it, it was all fresh,’ says Zagaris. ‘For a photographer like me there were
no restrictions. Good music, beautiful women and no rules. It pretty much stayed that way right
up to the end of punk when things got way too corporate.’
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Michael Zagaris (b. 1945) grew up in the central valley of California. In 1967 he entered
law school and also started working for Senator Robert Kennedy. The trauma of witnessing
Kennedy’s assassination at close quarters propelled Zagaris away from politics and into
photography, and he began covering rock music in San Francisco. He also captured some of the
most vital counterculture figures of the period, including Billy Bowers, Divine, Peter Berlin, The
Cockettes and Jim Carroll, who used one of Michael’s portraits for the cover of his book
Basketball Diaries. In 1973 he became a team photographer for the San Francisco 49ers, and the
Oakland A’s in 1981, both of which he continues to shoot today. Zagaris lives in San Francisco
with his partner Kristin Sundbom.
Reel Art Press R|A|P stands for exceptional style and a unique curatorial eye. It stands
for luxury and class, the highest production values, and a sensitivity to an eclectic selection of
subject matter and material. It stands for rare, unpublished and unusual work including subjects
with mass appeal and limited editions with unlimited potential. The company has made headlines
around the world with its previous releases, which include: The Rat Pack, Hollywood and the Ivy
Look, The Kennedys by Mark Shaw, Unseen McQueen and Billy Name: The Silver Age.
Michael Zagaris is available for interview
Book Information:
£40 / $60; ISBN: 978-1-909526-40-2
272pp; Hardback; 200+ photographs; 304 x 245 mm / 12 x 9.5 in.
Exhibition USA:
Milk Gallery, New York, Nov 16 – Dec 22 2016
Worldwide Press Enquiries
Lisa Baker Associates Ltd
Tel: + 44 (0)7768 310038 | Email: [email protected]
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Praise for Reel Art Press
“Reel Art Press is a publishing cult” Esquire
Disco: The Bill Bernstein Photographs
“Stunning Coffee Table edition.” Love magazine
The 2001 File
“Beautiful new book ... a veritable feast for design and film geeks.” Creative Review
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band 1975
“Showcases a wealth of super-rare photos from the pivotal year” Rolling Stone
Billy Name: The Silver Age
“Billy's book will go down in history as the best book about Warhol.” - Gerard Malanga
The Kennedys: Photographs by Mark Shaw
“Extraordinary photos ... beautifully done.” CBS News
Hollywood and The Ivy Look
“A sumptuous and lovingly collated visual collection.” Port
The Rat Pack
“The Rolls-Royce of Sinatra Memorabilia” LA Times
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