antiMusic is excited to welcome Lonn Friend as a contributor. Before we get to Lonn's first article for us, Anthony Kuzminski has this introduction and tribute to his friend and mentor. 

I can't help but feel so blessed by how many people are in my life by accident. My beautiful wife goes to the top of that list, but those whom I've bonded with over our mutual love of music are not far behind. One table at my wedding was dedicated just to music friends I've accumulated over the years. Of all these music friends, none are as colorful or eccentric as the guy I used to watch on the Headbangers Ball and whom I would read monthly in RIP Magazine the one and only Lonn Friend. 

I'm a writer by accident. I always talked about writing, even took some film classes with Roger Ebert, but nothing evolved from all of it. But a chance encounter at a Bon Jovi concert in November of 2000 changed the course of my direction forever. Lonn caught the show, took it in and composed one of the most brilliant missive's on ever on the art form we call rock n' roll. Through a series of events I found myself becoming friends with the writer whose prose I admired and found to be nothing short of cinematic. In the seven years I've known Lonn we have both gone through a number of growing pains and life changing events. Combined we've seen more ups and downs then the Dow Jones. I got married, he got divorced. I became a home owner and Lonn has had more addresses than Prince has released albums. Despite the obstacles we encountered, we always had the written word, the music and a most importantly a friendship. I found myself in the middle of helping shape, edit, proof, fact check and offering advice on his first book; 'Life on Planet Rock' which was largely a three-plus year process from beginning to end. 

Excavating the stories was no easy process, but I loved each and every minute of it. I was blessed to read some odd 3,000 pages of rock debauchery, insight and spiritual renewal about artists whom Lonn had rocked the mile with over the last few decades. Editing down those 3,000 pages was no simple feat and when he settled on eighteen artists/stories to focus on, the process became that much more intense and demanding. I wasn't the only one involved with the book, but we were constantly discussing which artists and stories to include. This is incredibly tricky because when you begin to talk about editing personal stories you may as well be telling the artist that you think their first born would look better without any limbs. Even during the darkest moments we always had a mutual respect for one another because we knew at the end of the day that we both wanted to best for each other and for the respective writing to reach the largest possible audience why still maintaining integrity. When he showed up at my wedding with a Publisher's copy of the book, not only did I feel a great sense of relief and accomplishment, but I was proud of my friend. He leaped a huge hurdle by unearthing and sharing his tales with the world and I was honored to be a small part of the process. 

Since the book has been published, I've been encouraging him to pick that pen back up again and it now appears he's ready to reemerge. As Lonn heads down the lost highway of life, he'll make appearances here on antiMusic from time to time. How often? I know Lonn better than to guess or set expectations. It may be once a week, once a month and twice a year. Regardless of how often he writes, we'll cherish each word.

The power and enjoyment of music is only as good as the person you share it with. I have been, and will continue to be blessed to share further adventures on planet rock with one Lonn M. Friend…my mentor, my hero, my Lester Bangs, my Cameron Crowe, my spiritual and relationship advisor, my Gandalf, my Yoda, my eccentric philosopher, my yogi…and most importantly…my FRIEND who I am now proud to say is a contributor to the antiMusic Network. - Anthony Kuzminski
 
 

Tony K said to write about music. Sometimes I forget that's why I am who I am. So yes this will be about music and not the dropping of names begetting fortune and fame and more often than not shame. This is about gratitude. I was telling Katie the story over dinner post our HAIR experience at the tiny old theater in Hollywood. The revival is on, big time. Forty years later, resurrected on the stage by the new kids on the sociocultural block, the songs remain the same and then some. They let the sunshine in and each one of the packed house was a hippie again. Sara Mann is one of the many tie dyed braless power throated sirens in the production. I met her when she was 21 singing background vocals for Harry Belafonte New Year's Eve 1999. In Vegas. The last performance at the Bally's Showroom before they built Paris and turned the venue into a hallway connecting the two properties.

One point, act two; Sara has the 'great gig in the sky' Pink Floyd wail spotlight. Like Lisa when the Stones launch into the final ride home on "Gimme Shelter." Woman in the throes of vocal orgasm, nothing finer. Gives me chills from the second chakra on up. Anyway, Katie worships Tori Amos and I gently relate my 16-year relationship with the red head faerie seeking ivory diddler. With humility of course, I recall the night we drank in my office at RIP after dinner at the Palm. I extorted her presence because I had the advance cassette of the new Jimmy Page/David Coverdale project. And Tori cut her masturbatory teeth while listening to Led Zeppelin. In the interview Cameron Crowe conducted with me (this an act of love not extortion) for the Album Network tip sheet in 1993, I called Tori 'the other gender Peter Gabriel.' She has not left L.A. on any tour stop since without seeing my smiling face. In recent years, her star has swelled to so supernova bright, face time is not exactly easy to come by. Add to that the evolution of her myth, radio and MTV ignored since inception, she is the epitome of an organic musical miracle. 

Okay, as I'm writing this the iPod is on shuffle and 'Cornflake Girl" comes on. Synchronicity, the kind I experience daily, evidence of my own miracle in musical manifestation. "You bet your life it is!" She's talking to me. I told Katie I bought Tori a hand carved wooden gnome at the Strawberry Festival in Oxnard, mid 90s I think it was. That night, when I had my post show audience, I gave it to her. Prompted the only kiss on the lips I ever received. But this brother is not complaining. Cheek pecks from an avatar are just as ethereal. The tour she finally went 'electric' and hired a band after three world sojourns where it was just her, the Boesendorfer and the silence, I hit the dressing room vibrating. "This is your Metallica period," I chortled. "Lonn, what do you expect?" she shot back. "I'm f***ing the sound man." Tori married him, f***ed him again, and they made a girl. Now that's music.

Katie is long, wiry, model sexy in a Christy Turlington sort of way. Yeah, that rocks. She's managing editor of a magazine in the south bay area of So Cal, you know, where MTV goes to find vapid, affected inspiration for their teen reality experiments. She digs her job, stresses over deadlines, struggles with anxiety, can't keep a boyfriend due to mood issues…and loves Tori. I mean, loves her. "Will you take me to see her?" she asked with modest sincerity. The woman who rides a piano stool like no other regardless of sexual inclination is passing through angel city mid December. "Well, I don't know, Katie," I respond with equal tepid sincerity. "Let's see what's up in December." Staying in the moment is all that's kept me going since me and Jonah went on that boat ride almost a decade ago. When Tori was making Under the Pink with her then boyfriend/producer Eric Rosse, they were holed up in a secluded studio in Taos, New Mexico, across the bridge made semi-famous in weird homicidal movie that starred Woody Harrelson. 

"Can you find me those honey and oats granola bars," came the request. "They don't sell them here." I sent Tori and Eric a case. I lost the hand written thank you card somewhere in the archival morass I have accumulated and can't seem to let go of. "The ones in the green box," commented Katie. "Those are my favorite granola bars, too!" I signed a copy of my memoir, Life on Planet Rock, to Katie and sent her back to Newport Harbor. Then I wrote emails of gratitude to several individuals including Sara. And then this came out. Guess I should send a note to Tony, too. 

--Lonn Friend

Copyright 2007 Rumi Enterprises

Lonn Friend is Los Angeles based writer who is the former editor of RIP Magazine, a television personality from numerous VH-1 shows and is a published author whose most recent publication is a rock n' roll memoir; 'Life On Planet Rock'. 

Lonn can be contacted here.

Buy 'Life on Planet Rock here.

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