L: Promotional Graphic for Aug. 27 event (Artwork Courtesy The Punk Rock Museum); R: The B-52s. (Photo Credit: Michael Grecco/Daysofpunk.com)
THE PUNK ROCK MUSEUM TO HOST BOOK-SIGNING WITH MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHER MICHAEL GRECCO, FRED SCHNEIDER OF THE B-52s AUG. 27
The Punk Rock Museum announces it will host a book-signing and meet-and-greet with internationally renowned music photographer Michael Grecco, author of “Punk, Post Punk, New Wave: Onstage, Backstage, In Your Face, 1978-1991” (Abrams Books, 2020). The event will take place Sunday, Aug. 27, from 5 to 7 p.m. Fred Schneider, a founding member of The B-52s, who authored the book’s forward, will co-host the event, and both he and Grecco will be on hand to autograph copies of the best-selling book, which is available for purchase in the museum’s gift shop.
Guests who purchase a book in the museum’s retail store will receive free entry to the entire museum and its exhibits (paid museum guests may also attend the signing).
About the Book:
From the late ‘70s through the early ‘90s, Grecco documented the nightclub and concert scenes in New York and Boston as punk music roared into the United States. He was working as an Associated Press photographer, photojournalist for the Boston Herald and lensman for legendary rock station WBCN-FM; he was also a self-described “club kid” who had a unique opportunity to embed himself into this revolutionary scene as both a chronicler and a participant. Grecco’s negatives from that heady time had been dormant in his file cabinets until his archivist suggested revisiting this previously unseen body of work. Their efforts lead to Grecco’s best-selling book Punk, Post Punk, New Wave: Onstage, Backstage, In Your Face, 1978–1991 (Abrams Books, 2020), which introduced these images to the public for the very first time. In addition to the 162 photographs, the book features a foreword by Fred Schneider of the B-52s, an essay by veteran rock journalist Jim Sullivan, and Grecco’s pithy personal anecdotes from his times hanging out with the musicians he was shooting. The book then spawned the multimedia-exhibition “DAYS OF PUNK,” which premiered at Photo London in 2021 and is currently touring the world.
About Michael Grecco:
Michael Grecco is an award-winning photographer and director based in Los Angeles. He is recognized internationally for his high concept imagery, mastery of lighting, and powerful connections with his subjects in an extensive body of work that encompasses fine art, celebrity portraiture, music, commercial, and editorial photography.
Born in New York City, Grecco attended college in Boston, where he began his professional career shooting for the Associated Press, the Boston Herald, and covering the music scene for the legendary FM radio station WBCN. Previously unseen photographs from his time as a music photographer comprise his latest book, “Punk, Post Punk, New Wave: Onstage, Backstage, In Your Face, 1978–1991 (Abrams),” and the accompanying multimedia exhibition DAYS OF PUNK.
Grecco moved to Los Angeles in the late 1980s when he was invited by People Magazine to come west to be a celebrity photographer for them. He has continued to create new work ever since, and his images have also appeared in publications including Time Magazine, Vanity Fair, Esquire, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, and Rolling Stone, among many others. He is represented by Atlas Gallery and Iconic Images in London, The Anderson Yezerski Gallery in Boston, Modern Rocks Gallery in Austin, Texas, and The Photo Gallery, Halmstad, Sweden.
About The B-52s:
It is well known that The B-52s are The World’s Greatest Party Band. Nearly 40 years and over 20 million albums into their career, there can be no doubt as to why they remain one of rock music’s most beloved and enduring bands. Any mystery concerning the band’s longevity and ongoing appeal is immediately solved when exposed to a B-52s concert experience. From groundbreaking songs like “Rock Lobster,” “Dance This Mess Around,” “Private Idaho,” “Roam” and “Deadbeat Club” to chart-topping hits like “Love Shack,” to their thrilling reemergence on the pop scene with their 2008 CD Funplex, which bowed at No. 11 on the Top 200. The B-52s’ unforgettable dance-rock tunes start a party every time their music begins.
Formed on an October night in 1976 following drinks at an Athens, Georgia, Chinese restaurant, the band played their first gig at a friend’s house on Valentine’s Day 1977. Naming themselves after Southern slang for exaggerated ‘bouffant’ hairdos, the newly christened B-52s (Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Keith Strickland, Cindy Wilson and Ricky Wilson) began weekend road trips to New York City for gigs at CBGB’s and a handful of other venues. Before long, their thrift store aesthetic and genre-defying songs were the talk of the post-punk underground. A record deal soon followed and their self-titled debut disc, produced by Chris Blackwell, sold more than 500,000 copies on the strength of their first singles, the garage rock party classic “Rock Lobster,” and “52 Girls.” The album placed at No. 152 on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” and No. 99 on VH1’s “Greatest Albums of All Time.” The B-52s began to attract fans far beyond the punk clubs of the Lower East Side — galvanizing the pop world with their ‘stream-of-consciousness’ approach to songwriting and outrageous performance. They had clearly tapped into a growing audience for new music that was much larger than anyone could have anticipated.
The B-52s recently wrapped an acclaimed multi-city farewell tour. Following on the heels of the tour’s success, the band will take over The Venetian Theatre in Las Vegas for an exclusive residency. https://www.ticketmaster.com
ABOUT THE PUNK ROCK MUSEUM:
The Punk Rock Museum is the world’s most comprehensive attraction dedicated to the history of the music, culture and absurdity of punk rock. Located in Las Vegas, it houses artifacts and memorabilia from across the world’s punk scene—such as handwritten lyrics, instruments, clothing, photos, flyers and artwork. Encompassing 12,000 square feet at 1422 Western Ave., between the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown, the museum celebrates the genre’s substantial cultural impact over the last half-century. For more information about The Punk Rock Museum, go to thepunkrockmuseum.com and follow on Facebook and Instagram @thepunkrockmuseum.