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CONTENTS

InformationPageCreditsEditorsNoteIntroduction

AndyWarhol,Up-Tight(19651966)WhatWasTheMusicalSensibilityOfTheVelvetUnderground?MakingAndyWarhol,Up-Tight,ContinuedTheDomOnTheCouchAtTheFactoryNo.1AShortEssayInAppreciationofNicoTheVelvetUndergroundOnTourTheBalloonFarmDespiteAllTheAmputations1.1967TheBananaYear2.1968TheBlackYear3.1969TheGreyYear4.1970TheWhiteYear

TheCultOfTheVelvetUndergroundTheVelvetUnderground1993Update1983

TheNakedAndTheDeadTheVelvetUndergroundDiscography

Credits

We would like to specially acknowledge the contributions of the following people: PhilipMilstein was President of The Velvet Underground Appreciation Society when we beganwriting this book and his untiring and generous assistance helped usmore than any othersingle factor. He gave us free access to his archives, allowed us to quote at will from hismagazineandgavehistimetoadviseusthroughouttheproject.Healsoreadandcriticizedthe finishedmanuscript. Phil is no longer publishinghis excellentmagazineWhat Goes On,TheVelvetUndergroundAppreciationSocietysnewsletterwhichheissuedthreetimes.Heisnow inaband tentativelycalledDisneyland.SterlingMorrisoncontributedhisarchivesandadvicethroughouttheprojectandreadthemanuscriptforaccuracyaswellascontributingtheintroduction. We could not have written this book without his aid. Andy Warhol kindlyallowedustoquotefromhisbookPOPism,whichcoverstheSixtiesandhiscollaborationwithThe Velvet Underground extensively. Most Warhol quotes come from this source. NigelTrevenas pioneering book on The Velvet Undergroundwas an invaluable aid to us at thebeginning of this project. We salute him for his groundbreaking research. Nat FinkelsteinreturnedtoNewYorkinthemiddleoftheprojectandassisteduswithhisvitalityandvisualmemory.PriceAbbott supportedoureffortswithher constant careandpresence.We thankherforhergreatmeals,encouragementandpatience.Milescontributedthroughoutwithhisencouragementandclarity.Hiswasthethirdmindonthisproject.AllenGinsbergblessedus.DannyFields,MaureenTucker,HenryGeldzahler,Billy Linich,TonyConrad,AlAronowitz,John Wilcock, Betsey Johnson, Ed Sanders, Wayne Kramer, Chris Stein, Debbie Harry,Jonathan Richman, Jim Condon, Pinkie Black, Allen Reuben, Leslie Goldman, Karen Rose,PaulBang,RalphPerri,FayetteHickox,JedHorne,StevenSesnickandMarkSaundersweremosthelpful.Wethankthemallfortheirtimeandmemories.

In our research on this book we have drawn on interviews with or about The VelvetUnderground by JimCondon, Allan Richards,Nigel Trevena, JohnWilcock, GlennOBrien,MaryHarron,PhilipMilstein, LesterBangs, LennyKaye,RichardGoldstein,NatFinkelstein,GiovanniDadomoandJeanStein.Weacknowledgeandthankthesepioneersfortheirreportswhichwerepublishedinthefollowingmagazines:WhatGoesOn,LittleCaesar,HighTimes,NewMusicalExpress,MelodyMaker,Sounds,RecordMirror,TrouserPress,NewYorkRocker,andfromthe followingbooks:POPism byAndyWarhol (NewYork,1980),Edie by JeanStein, editedwithGeorgePlimpton (NewYork,1982),TheSexLifeandAutobiographyofAndyWarholbyJohnWilcock(NewYork,1971),andNoOneWavedGoodbye(London,1974).

Theupdate sectionof thiseditionofUptight drawson interviewsby the following:DavidFricke(RollingStone),LisaRobinson(NewYorkPost),RogerMorton(NME),AdamMcGovern(Cover),JonPareles(NewYorkTimes)andMattSnow(Vox).

ThediscographyforthiseditionwascompiledbyPeterDoggettin2001.

Dedicated,withgratitude,toSterlingMorrison,AndyWarholandChristopherWhent.

Editorsnote

ThiseditionofUptightTheVelvetUndergroundStorycontainstheentiretextfromtheoriginaledition,firstpublishedbyOmnibusPress in1983andrepublishedasa Royalpaperbackin1996.TheoriginaleditionwasdesignedbyNevilleBrodyandliberallyillustratedthroughout,and some text referred directly to photographs or illustrations reproduced in adjacentpositions.Wherethisoccurredthetext inthiseditionhasbeenslightlyre-editedinordertoavoidconfusion.

TheupdatechapterattheendVelvetUnderground1993waswrittenbyVictorBockrisduring1994.Itreplacedaninitialupdatepagewhichclosedtheoriginaledition(apartfromaWhereAreTheyNow?appendixanddiscography)inwhichBockrisbrieflyputTheVelvetUndergrounds achievements into perspective by quotingNMEwriterMaryHarron and thelateLesterBangsonthesubjectofthegroup.Thistexthasnowbeenre-instatedafterthe1994update.

Since the first publication ofUptight, Victor Bockris has amongst many other works written an acclaimed biography of LouReed and a book about JohnCales life andmusic,doneincollaborationwithCale.

Introduction

IlikeVictorBockrisandGerardMalangasbookandamimpressedbythescopeofit.WhatIwouldchange,andclearlywhichcannotbechanged,istheoveralltoneofthework,startingwithuptightinthetitle,andproceedingtorecountthedisintegrationoffirsttheshow,andthen of the band. It becomes a chronicle of doom (sort of). What has been buried is thelaughterandhappiness thatattendedallof this; the jokes; theparties; thezanyadventures.Wewereseriousaboutwhatwedid,butnotgrim(veryoften).

Improbablypicturingsomethingotherthanafactualaccountofwhatwenton,andwhathappenedlater.Isuspectthatmymainfearconcernsmyfinalcommentabouttheexperiencebeing fun. In the light of all that is described,my comment seems insensitive and shallow.Nevertheless,asseriousasIwasasacrusader,Ihadnodesiretobecomeamartyr.Thefunand enjoyment of the people and things we were caught up in sustained me in no smallmeasure.Iwashaving,shallwesay,thetimeofmylife,andIsavoredit,knowingfullwellitcouldntlast.Infact,exploding,plastic,andinevitablesumitallupfromanapocalypticperspective the origin of the universe and its contents, the mutability of form, and theinescapabledecline,entropy,theend.

Againstthisbackdrop,howcanahandfulofartists,dancers,andmusicianshopetofareanybetter?

SterlingMorrison,Dept.ofEnglish

TheUniversityofTexasatAustinMarch10,1983.

ANDYWARHOL,UP-TIGHT(19651966)

TheFormationofTheExplodingPlasticInevitable

FREDERICK VIGNERON: If youwere to compareTheVelvetUnderground to an icecreamflavour,whichonewoulditbe?

ANDYWARHOL:Aaaahwhite.

MAKINGANDYWARHOL,UP-TIGHTIf youhadbeen inNewYorkCity inFebruary1966,youmighthavebeenoneofathousandpeoplewhoreceivedaflyerinthemailadvertisingAndyWarhol,Up-TightattheFilm-MakersCinemathequeonWest41stStreet.Ifyoudgone to thenew locationof theFilm-MakersCinematheque,you

would have been about to see a multimedia rock show formed out of acombination of films byAndyWarhol, lights byDannyWilliams,music byThe Velvet Underground and Nico, dancing by Gerard Malanga and EdieSedgwick, slides and film projections by Paul Morrissey and Warhol,photographs by Billy Linich and by Nat Finkelsteinwho hada show of hissuperenlargedcontactsheetsofTheVelvetsattheFactoryinthefoyeroftheCinemathequeallweek,moviecamerasbyBarbaraRubin,andtheaudienceby themselves. Donald Lyons and Bob Neuwirth (Dylans roadie andconfidant),listedinthead,cameasEdiesescorts.TheCinemathequewasasmallavant-gardemoviehouse.Theshowbegan

witha filmcalledLupe starringEdieSedgwick.The second to last film sheandAndymadetogether,itdetailsthelastnightoftheMexicanHollywoodstar Lupe Velez, who planned the perfect suicide by dressing up, lightingcandlesallaroundherbedandtakingabigdoseofbarbiturates,butendedupdrowninginherownvomitinthetoiletbowlthatnauseahadmadehercrawlto.TheparallelsbetweenVelezandSedgwickareinescapable.After two 35-minute reels of Lupe, The Velvet Underground and Nico

walkedontothestageinfrontofthemoviescreenandbegantotuneupinthedark.Andy,whowasworkingonemovieprojector,nowtrainedasilentversion ofVinyl, his interpretation ofA Clockwork Orange, starring Gerard

Malanga as a juvenile delinquent, on the screen. Superimposed on this byanothermovieprojector runbyPaulMorrisseywereclose-up shotsofNicosinging Ill Keep It With Mine by Bob Dylan. Looking ghostly in theflickeringmovielights,NicoonstagepickedupthesongfromNicoonscreenand theband joined inbehindher.Then,asTheVelvetUndergroundwentinto Venus In Furs, Gerard Malanga and Edie Sedgwick moved to centrestageandbegangyratinginafreeformdancepattern.ThewholeensemblewasnowplayinginfrontoftwomoviesVinylandTheVelvetUndergroundandNico:ASymphonyofSoundbeingshownsilentlynexttoeachother.While Nat Finkelstein circulated taking Up-Tight photographs (Maybe I

workedsowellwith theUp-Tight seriesbecausepartofmyowntechniquewastomoveinascloseaspossiblesoeverybodyknewtherewasacamerathere), Danny Williams, the Factorys Harvard grad electrician, began toprojectcolourslidesoverthebandandthefilms.Suddenlyandunexpectedly,ahugespotlightcamecrashingdownandshonedirectlyontheaudience,asBarbaraRubinrusheddowntheaislewithhersun-gunglaringintotheirfacesscreamingquestionslikeIsYourPenisBigEnough?andDoesheeatyouout? Itwas Barbarawho had suggested theAndyWarhol,Up-Tight nameanddevelopedtheconceptofmakingpeopleuptightratherthanrelaxedbyfilmingtheirresponseswithhermoviecamera.AsTheVelvetswentintoRunRunRun,Louleanedintohisguitargrinningmaniacallyinblackdungarees,a rumpledblack jacketoverablackT-shirt andhigh-heelboots. JohnCalewashunkeredoverhisviolainablacksuitwitharhinestonechokenecklacedesignedbyKennyJayLane in theshapeofa snake,whileNico, tall, thin,hauntingly beautiful, stood silhouetted alone in a chic white pants suit.MaureenTucker,theinnocent lookingdrummerwhosesexnobodycouldatfirstdiscern,stoodbehindherbassdrumusingtomtommalletstohititwitha machine-like precision, while rhythm and lead guitarist extraordinaireSterlingMorrison, all in black, stood rock still in themidst of this terriblediscordant-chaotic-flashing commotion of light, sound, and sight. For themostparttheaudiencesattheretoostunnedtothinkorreact.Themusicwassupersonicandveryloud.TheVelvetsturnedtheirampsupashighastheycouldgo.Theeffectvibratedallthroughtheaudience.Tosomeitseemedlikeawholeprisonwardhadescaped.Othersspeakof it todayashypnoticandtimeless.

HENRYGELDZAHLER:AsfarasIcanrememberthepresentationwasthrillingbutthemusicwas tomemuchmore romantic andmelodic.AndyWarhol, Up-Tight was explosive and abrasive but I kept finding the traditional, almost

folksubstructureofTheVelvetsmusic.Iwasmoreimpressedwiththemusicthanwiththeothereffects,butitwasenhancedbythecombination.Loubegan to sing Heroin.Gerard slowlyunwound, came to rest on the

floorofthestage,andproceededtolightacandleand,inakneelingposition,slightlybentover,undidhisbelt.Hepulledoutaspoonfromhisbackpocket,rolleduphissleeve,heatedthespoonovertheflameofthecandle,touchedthe spoonwithwhat appeared to be a hypodermic needle (actually a leadpencil),wrappedthebeltaroundhisarmtightly,andbegantoflexhisarminasweepingup-and-downmotion.Thenhepressedtheneedleintohisarm,slowlyroseandbegantowhirl franticallyaroundthestage.Louwas inthehigh-pitchedmiddleinstrumentalsegmentofthesong.Behindtheprojectorin the audience PaulMorrisseywas explaining to a reporter that this is acompletely different kind of rocknroll. Behind the other projector in theprojectionboothAndyWarholwas explaining the simultaneous showingofthemovies to another reporter: On theone screenyouhave amovie thattakesanhourandahalf.Ontheotherscreenyouhaveamoviethattakesanhourandahalf.Exceptthatittakeslongerthananhourandahalf.Belowthem, Gerardwas lying full length on the stage staring blankly up at LouReed.This was the beginning of a one-and-a-half-year collaboration between

Warhol and The Velvet Underground that would shortly result in TheExploding Plastic Inevitable, a twelve person group (or team, as they sawthemselves)thattouredtheStatesfrom1966halfwaythrough1967changingthewaypeoplesaw,heardandfeltrocknrollintheUSandsubsequentlytheworld.This first half of ourbookAndyWarhol,Up-Tight is the story of theformation of The Exploding Plastic Inevitable, which introduced The VelvetUnderground in the States, and constitutedWarholsmajor contribution torocknroll. Before delineating its details, lets step back and take a look atwhere the different members of the group came from and how they gottogether,sincewhateachbroughttotheprojectputstheoveralleffectoftheteamintoperspective.Inthewinterof1965AndyWarholwasworkingveryfastandaccurately

throughaseriesofchangesthathadmadehimintoamediasuperstar.Therewasntaweekthatwentbythatthenewspapersormagazinesdidntcarryastoryabouthim.Alreadyfamousforhispoppaintingsandhisrevolutionarymovies, hewas reaching awatershed in his highly successful collaborationwithEdieSedgwick.TheyhadmadeeightmoviestogetherandEdiewastheenvy of every girl in town, but the pressures of the life she was leading

weighed heavily upon her exotically unstable character. A growinginvolvementwithBobDylanscircle,wherethemanipulativeuseofacidandamphetaminedid little tobolsterherego,was furtherdebilitatingher, andWarhol was finding it hard to continue the collaboration, even though hewanted to. JonasMekas had offered him aweek at theCinematheque andtheyddecided todoanEdieSedgwickRetrospective.MeanwhileAndyhadtemporarilystoppedpaintingandwaslookingfornewsourcesofincometosupport themovieswhichwerentmaking anymoney yet. PaulMorrissey,whohadjustjoinedthefactory,workedthesoundandlights.

PAULMORRISSEY:DoyourememberthedetailsofwhyTheVelvetUndergroundwasbroughttotheFactoryandweboughtthemamplifiers?Fortherecord,afamous Broadway producer called Michael Myerberg, whod just doneWaiting ForGodot, invitedAndy and I over to Sardis one night tomake adeal.Hewasgoingtoopenupthefirstdiscothequewithanenormousdancefloor in an airplane hangar inQueens.Andhe said hewould payAndy tocomeout thereeverynight,withasmanypeople likeEdieSedgwickashewanted,tobringitpublicity.Iimmediatelysaid,Ihaveabettersuggestion.Theresnorealreasontojustcomeoutandsitthereandgetpaid.(Itwasntmuchmoneyanyway.) Theonly reasonAndywillgo is ifhecouldbe likeBrianEpsteinandpresentagrouphemanaged.MyerberglikedthisideaandsaidifwedidthathemightevenuseAndys

nameinthetitleofthediscotheque.Itturnedouthewasbullshittingusbuthe seemed sincere at the time and Andy said, Why dont we call it AndyWarholsUp.AndIsaid,NotonlywillAndyspresencebejustifiedbecausehis group is there, but behind the group well be projecting two or threeimagesoffilmfootage,becauseweweremakingallthesemoviesthatwedbeen showing at the Cinematheque that had no commercial value, and Ithought thiswouldbeagoodwaytohavethemgeneratesomemoneytoo.ThiswasagreeduponandIwassettogooutandfindarocknrollgroup.Ididntknowwhatgroupitwasgoingtobe.As Morrissey began his search, Barbara Rubin, a boyishly attractive,

precocious 21-year-old art groupie, came to the factory and invitedGerardMalanga,whowasAndysPrimeMinisterwithoutportfolio,togowithhertoseeagroupcalledTheVelvetUnderground.MalangahadbeenadanceronAlan Freeds Big Beat TV showwhen Freed got busted in a payola scandal(thatalsoaffected,amongothers,DickClark)andtheshowgotcloseddown.Rubinwasanintimateof,amongothers,AllenGinsberg,WilliamBurroughs,Bob Dylan, Jonas Mekas and Andrei Voznesenskv, who had, according to

Ginsberg, dedicated her life to introducing geniuses to each other in thehope that theywould collaborate tomake great art thatwould change theworld.ItwasthemiddleofDecember1965.

GERARDMALANGA:SheaskedmetobringmywhipandsuggestedIdancewhilethegroupperformed,asBarbaraknewhowmuchIenjoyedit,havingalreadyseen me dance to Martha and The Vandellas in Andys film Vinyl. On thefollowing day, Barbara and I enteredCafe Bizarre to the glaring sounds ofwhatappearedtobearocknrollgroup,butthereallresemblanceended.Thestagewaslevelwiththerestofthefloor,sothegroupwasrightupagainstthe tables and chairs. I waited for about 20 minutes before getting up todance.Iwastentativeatfirstbecausenooneelsewasonthedanceflooratthe time and I thought my participating would be an intrusion since themusicianswereinsuchcloseproximitytotheaudience.Idid,finally,makemywaytothefrontoftheaudienceafewscatteredcustomersandwasjoinedminuteslaterbyayounggirlwhoquicklyretreatedbacktoherseat.DuringtheintermissionBarbaraintroducedmetoLouReedandJohnCale.Lousaidhowmuchheenjoyedmygettinguptodancetothemusic. I toldhimIfeltalittleself-consciousbecauseIwasintruding,butheassuredmeIwasnt,andbothheandJohnsaidIshouldcomebackanddanceagain.Theyreallywantedpeopletodancetothemusicandnotjusttositandlistentoit.Themusicwasveryintimidating.

MORRISSEY:ThenextdayyoutoldmeTheVelvetswereinteresting,youandBarbarawanted to film some footage of them, and you askedme to comealong to help with the lighting. I thought they were fascinating. The firstthing that registered to me, and I think to Andy later, was the drummerMaureen,becauseyou couldnot tellwhether shewasaboyor agirl.ThiswasafirstwithinrocknrollbecauseTheBeatlesalllookedlikelittlegirlsbutyouknewtheywereboys.YouhadnoideawhatMaureensgenderwas.ThesecondthingwasJohnCaleselectricviola.AndthethirdthingwastheysangasongcalledHeroin.ForsomereasonwhenImlookingforsomethingthefirst thing I see always works out for me. When I take an apartment itsalways the firstone.Andusuallycastingactors inmovies Ialwayscast thefirstonethatcomes in frontofmymindandIsay thats right. Inever foolaroundandchangeaperson.Ineversawanyotherrocknrollgroups.TheywereauniquegroupandtheywerecalledTheUnderground.ThatsanotherreasonIwentdownbecauseyoutoldmethenameofthegroup.AndthiswasthetermalwaysconnectedwithAndy,too.Ididntsayanythingatthetime,but the next day I said, Andy, I found the group to play at Michael

MyerbergsUP.SoAndycamedowntheverynextnight.TheCafeBizarrewasalongnarrowroomwithsawdustontheflooranda

number of tables with fish-net lamps ranged along the walls. The Warholparty,includingSedgwick,Morrissey,MalangaandRubin,satatacoupleoftables against the wall in front of and to the left of the band. It was aThursdaynight.Nobodypaidanyattentiontotheirarrival.Theartandrockworldswerestillquiteseparateandthetenorfifteenpeoplescatteredamongthe tables didnt recognize the new arrivals. The silver-hairedman in darkglassesandablackleatherjacketwithhischinrestingonanelegantlyslimhand listened to theanimatedconversationofhiscompanions,occasionallyinterruptingwith a short, playful comment but remained for themost partsilent. As soon as The Velvet Underground started to play however, Andybecamequite animated, because he immediately recognizedhe couldworkwith thisband.Themusicwasso loud itwas impossible to talkwhile theywereplaying,butinabreakbetweensongsheaskedEdiewhatshethoughtabout having the band play in front of the movies during her upcomingretrospective.Shewasunderstandablyunenthusiasticaboutasuggestionthatwould clearlyhavedrawna gooddeal of attention away fromher starringrole and got uptight. ButwhenGerard got up anddanced in black leatherpants with his whip, eerily mirroring The Velvets style with his sinuous,mesmeric movements, which resembled a cross between the Frug and anEgyptianbellydance,AndysawGerardbecomeapartofTheVelvetsandhadevenmore reason to feel that here was a rock bandwithwhom he couldreallyconnect.TheVelvetUndergroundwaslittleknownoutsidetheirsmallcirclebutactiveonthesameleveloftheundergroundmoviescenethatAndywaschampioning.Workingmoreintunewithhisownartisticapproachthanany other rock group hed seen, they refused to accept any form of pre-conditionedorderorrestraint.

LOUREED:Thatwasaveryfunnyperiodwithaveryfunnygroupofpeople.Everybody in a certain section was doing almost exactly the same thingwithoutanyoneknowinganybodyelse.AfterthesetBarbarabroughtTheVelvetsovertoAndystable.Theywere

allintheirearlytwentiesanddressedfromheadtofootinblack.JohnCalessonorousaccentanddreamydeportmentbespokehisWelshbackgroundandclassical music training. Curly haired Lou Reeds shy gum-chewing smileidentified him most closely with Andy, with whom he shared a similartemperament.Theysatnexttoeachotherandimmediatelyhititoff.SterlingMorrisonandMaureenTuckerwerequietatthisfirstmeeting,butthevibes

were good. They were all aware of who Andy was and gratified by hisinterestandcompliments.

MORRISSEY:OnthenightAndycametotheBizarreGerardhadinvitedNico,whohad justcome to town,and thatswhen Imether. I thinkGerardhadalreadybrought the record IllKeep ItWithMineup to theFactory. I feltthat theonethingTheVelvetsdidnthavewasasolosinger,becauseI justdidnt think thatLouhad thepersonality to standin frontof thegroupandsing. The group needed something beautiful to counteract the kind ofscreechinguglinesstheyweretryingtosell,andthecombinationofareallybeautifulgirl standing in frontof all thisdecadencewaswhatwasneeded.Thatverynight,rightawayIsaid,Nico,youreasinger.Youneedsomebodytoplayinbackofyou.Youcanmaybesingwiththisgroup,iftheywanttoworkwithusandgointhisclubandbemanaged.

ANDYWARHOL:ThePopidea,afterall,wasthatanybodycoulddoanything,sonaturally we were all trying to do it all. Nobody wanted to stay in onecategory,we allwanted to branch out into every creative thingwe could.ThatswhywhenwemetTheVelvetUndergroundattheendof65,wewereallforgettingintothemusicscene,too.Before leaving Andy invited The Velvets and Nico to come up to the

Factorywhenevertheyfeltlikeit.Heleftbeforethesecondset,butatdinnerafterwardskeptsayingtohisfriends,Wehavetothinkofsomethingtodowith The Velvets. What can we do? What could it be? WE HAVE TO THINK OFSOMETHING!Hehadalwaysbeeninterestedinrockmusic.ThegreatSallyGoesRoundTheRosesbyTheJaynetteswashisfavouritesong,heplayeditnon-stop.HewasexcitedaboutthepossibilitiesofcombiningTheVelvetsmusicalwithhisvisualsensibility.

WHATWASTHEMUSICALSENSIBILITYOFTHEVELVET

UNDERGROUND?

JOHNCALE: I had a classical education in classicalmusic playing the viola inyouthorchestras.IheardrocknrollontheradiointheAlanFreeddays,anditwasexciting,butIneverthoughtofplaying.JohnCalewasbornonDecember5,1940inCrynant,SouthWaleswhere

hewenttoschooluntilhewasseventeen.AccordingtoNico,Calesfatheristotallydeafandhismotheristotallymute.John studied at LondonUniversityGoldsmiths College from 19601963.

WhenIwasstudyingcompositionIwascompletelyoblivioustothefactthatThe Rolling Stones were playing in some nearby club. At Goldsmiths hespent his time ostensiblyworking on amusicological dissertation, butwasnot oblivious to the latest trends in avant-garde classical music andperformance art. He got involved with electronic music and performanceswith theBritish composerHumphreySearle.Oneofhis teachers,CorneliusCardew,wasanimportantboosterofJohnCage,LaMonteYoungandotheravant-gardeAmericancomposers.JohnCagewasthefirstmajorinfluenceonJohnCale.

CALE:Mostclassicalmusiciansarereallyinsecureaboutself-expression.Theconductoralwaystellsyouhowtoplayapiece.ThenCagecomesalongandgivesyouasheetwithdotsanddiagrams,andgivesyouthefreedomtoplaywhatyoudlikeandmostpeoplegoofoff.Cages music can sound like anything Mozart, Beethoven, Bach

anyone.Itcansoundlikewhatanyoneindividualwantsittosoundlike.Youcan find your own riff and do exactly what youwant. Classicalmusicianshoweverarenotgiventhisfreedominthesystemtheyplay.LaMonte Young, the second major influence on Cale, is an important

American composer whose work has been infrequently heard by his ownchoice. His 1958 Trio For Strings, which inspired composers like PhilipGlassandSteveReichhas,forexample,neverbeenrecorded.In1963,under theaegisofAaronCopland,CalewasawardedaLeonard

Bernstein scholarship to studyModern Composition with the Franco-Greek

composer, Iannis Xenakis in the Eastman Conservatory at Tanglewood, inLenox,Massachusetts.According toCopland theyoriginallymet inEnglandwherehesawCaleperformandsubsequentlymadepossiblehisarrivalintheStates for that summer of study at Tanglewood. However, Copland laterdecided Cale couldnt play his work at Tanglewood because it was toodestructive. He didnt want his pianos destroyed. So John went to NewYorkCityand foundLaMonteYoung,whowaswritingpieces inwhich themusician talked to thepianoor, inonememorable incident, screamedat aplantuntilitdied.

CALE: LaMonte was perhaps the best part of my education and myintroductiontomusicaldiscipline.We formed The Dream Syndicate, which consisted of two amplified

voices,anamplifiedviolinandmyamplifiedviola.Theconceptofthegroupwastosustainnotesfortwohoursatatime.LaMontewouldholdthelowestnotes,Iwouldholdthenextthreeonmyviola,hiswifeMarionwouldholdthenextnoteandthisfellowTonyConradwouldholdthetopnote.Thatwasmyfirstgroupexperienceandwhatanexperienceitwas!It was so different. I mean the tapes are art objects. Some peoplewho

cametoourconcertsknowwhatitwaslike,butitistheonlyexampleofthatkindofmusic in theworld.The Indiansuse thedronealso,but theyuseatotallydifferenttuningsystemandthoughtheyattemptascientificapproach,theydontreallyhaveitbuttoneddownlikewedid.The members of The Dream Syndicate, motivated by a scientific and

mystical fascinationwith sound, spent long hours in rehearsals learning toprovidesustainedmeditativedronesandchants.Their rigorousstyle servedtodisciplineJohnanddevelopedhisknowledgeofthejustintonationsystem.Healsolearnedtousehisviolainanewamplifiedwaywhichwouldleadtothe powerful droning effect that is so strong in the first two VelvetUndergroundrecords.

CALE: When we formed The Dream Syndicate I needed to have a strongsound.Idecidedtotryusingguitarstringsonmyviola,andIgotadronethatsoundedlikeajet-engine!Playingtheviolainthejustintonationsystemwasso exciting. The thing that really amazedme about it was that we playedsimilarly to theway The Everly Brothers used to sing. Therewas this onesong which they sang, in which they started with two voices holding onechord. They sang it so perfectly in tune that you could actually hear eachvoice.Theyprobablydidntknowtheyweresingingjustintonation,butthey

sangtherightintervals.Andwhenthoseintervalsareintune,astheywereinTheEverlyBrothersandourgroup,itisextremelyforceful.WhileheworkedwithLaMonteYoung,JohnCalesharedaflatwithfellow

DreamSyndicatememberTonyConradonManhattansLowerEastSide.TONYCONRAD:IntheFallof1964,JohnCaleandIweresharinganapartment

at 56 Ludlow Street, which is now sealed up.We had been working withLaMonte for some time doing very austere regimented things which werepretty intense.Wehadbeen talkingabout serious things like intervals,andIndianmusicandtheoryandavant-gardemusic,butwhenJohnmovedintomyplaceonLudlowStreetitturnedoutthatwhenIwenthomeIsataroundlistening to HankWilliams records and was blasting a huge 45 collection.John started getting interested in rocknroll, although there was a greatambiguityinhismindabouthowsomebodycouldbeinterestedinbothrockandclassicalmusic.Buttherewassomethingveryliberatingaboutthewholerockthing,andinasense56LudlowStreetcametostandforalotintermsofsomekindofliberatingmusicalinfluence.TherewasaguynextdoorcalledDavidGelber,whowasplaywrightJack

Gelbersbrother(hewroteTheConnection),andhehadalotof friendswhowere weird, dumpy, pasty, party chicks from Queens. He went to theirparties,andonedayhetoldusthatweshouldcomeandmeetthesepeoplebecause they owned a record company and they were looking for somepeoplewithlonghairtoformarockband.Wehadhairthatwouldnowlooksuitableforbusinessdress,buttheythoughtweweretheweirdestthingsintheworld.Theupshotofitwasthatwewenttothischickspartyandtherewerethesecreeposwhowewereintroducedto.Theyaskedusifweplayedguitarandwerewe interested inrock.Theseguys lookedsoalien touswecouldntbelieveit.ImeanthiswastheothersideoftheQueensLifeCentral.ThisguyTerryPhillips,whohadslicked-backhair,apencil-thinmoustache,arealflaccidmannerandweirddistancefromlife,wasinterviewingusaboutwhetherwere interested in rocknroll andwenaturally felt like rocknrollstarsalready.HewasconnectedtothisrecordcompanyPickwick,whichisabigrecordcompanythatwoulddore-issuealbumslikeBobbyDarinandJackBorgheimerwheretheredbeoneBobbyDarinsongandtenJackBorgheimersongs. They said did we have guitars and we said no. Did we know adrummer, andwe saidyeah, sowegotWalterDeMaria,whosdone somegreat, great drum work, on this thing and we went out to this weirdcinderblockwarehousewhichwastheheadquartersofPickwickRecords, inConeyIsland.Theplacewaspackedfloortoceilingwithrecordsandinthe

backthesesleaze-ballsandweirdoswearingpolyestersuitshadalittlehole-in-the-wall room with a couple of Ampex tape recorders in it. What hadhappened was theyd got back there with one of their staff writers, gonecrazy one night and recorded a couple of his songs. Theyd decided theywantedtoreleasethem,butneededabandtocover,becausetheexecutivesandcreeposhadmadetherecordsotherewasntanybanditwasastudioshot.Thefirstthingtheywantedtodowassignusuptoseven-yearcreativecontracts.Werealizedafteranarrowreadingofthecontractsthattheywouldmake

allourartisticworkactuallyownedbyLeeHerridonProductions,whichwastheparentcompanythatownedPickwick,soweallrefusedtosign.Butwewent over and listened to the record. It was called The Ostrich. Theydgottentogetherwiththisguyandspentthenighttaking,intheirownwords,everything,gottenreallywiggyanddonethisweirdmix-down.Werefusedtosignthecontracts,butweagreedtotheirproposalthatweplaysomegigstopromotetherecord.NextweekendtheycamearoundandpickedusupinastationwagonandJohnCale,WalterDeMariaand IbegangoingoutonthesegigstryingtobreakthisrecordintheLehighValleyarea.Therewereactually four people in the group because there was also the guy whodactuallywrittenandrecordedthesongthatwasLouReed.Hewas22.BythetimeLouenteredhighschoolhedalreadyformedhisfirstbandand

wasplayingprofessionallyonweekends.Atagefourteen,hereleasedhisfirstrecordSoBlue(1957)inahighschoolgroupcalledTheShadesontheTimelabel.TheflipsidewascalledLeaveHerForMe.

REED:OurbigmomentcamewhenMurrayTheKplayedit,buthewassickandsomeoneelsestoodin.Heplayeditonce.Igotroyaltiesof780.Wewerestill in school.Wed open supermarkets, shopping centers, things like that.Wehadglitterjackets.Itwaswhatwascalledstylelateronpeoplewouldcallitpunkbutatthattimewhatwemeantbypunkwasapusher,yknow,Hesjustafuckingpunk!So Blue sunk into oblivion but has since been re-released on a bootleg

collection of early Velvets material. Lou Reed always wanted to be arocknrollsinger,arocknrollstar.HewasbornMarch2,1942inFreeport,LongIsland,theelderoftwochildren(asister,Elizabeth)toamiddle-incomefamily. His father was an accountant. Ironically his first practical contactwithmusic came from his parentswho paid for him to have five years oftrainingasaclassicalpianist.Theywantedmetodoascholarshipandall

thatbutnonothankyou this isnotmy ideaofwhats exciting.Hebegan toamassavast collectionof rocknroll45s. Louwasanaturalbornrocknrollanimal.AlthoughitshouldbenotedthathistastesinmusichavealwaysbeenveryCatholic:WhenIstartedoutIwasinspiredbypeoplelikeOrnetteColeman.Hehasalwaysbeenagreatinfluence.Heseemedquitenormaltohishighschoolacquaintances,whoremember

him as a good basket ball player and occasionally accompanied him ondouble dates or went along with him to one of his week end shows. Hisparents, however, seem to have taken a very dim view of the direction inwhichtheirunfathomablesonwasdeveloping.Iwentoutanddidthemosthorrifyingthingpossibleinthosedays.Ijoinedarockband.And,ofcourse,Irepresentedsomethingveryalientomyparents.Soalienthatattheageofeighteentheytookhimtoahospitalwherehewasadministeredaseriesofelectro-shock treatments. I didnt have the bad oneswhere they dont putyoutosleepfirst. Ihadthefunoneswheretheyputyoutosleepfirst.Youcount backwards, then youre out. It was shocking, but thats when I wasgettinginterestedinelectricityanyway.In1960ReedlefthometoattendSyracuseUniversityinupstateNewYork.

HiscareeratSyracusedoesnotseemtohavechangedthecoursehewasbenton,althoughhepickedupsomeinfluences,themajoroneundoubtedlybeingthelegendaryAmericanpoetDelmoreSchwartzwhobecamehismentoranddrinkingpartner:IwasfriendswithDelmore.Hewrotegreatpoetryandwasanincredibleman.Oncewhenhewasonadrunkenbingewithme,hehadhis arm aroundme and he said, You know, Im going to die one of thesedays.HewasoneoftheunhappiestpeopleIeverknew.Youcanwriteandifyouselloutandtheresaheavenfromwhichyoucanbehaunted,Illhauntyou. In fact Delmore Schwartz did return to haunt Lou on a Reed soloalbum called The Blue Mask released twenty years later, but in anaffirmative,encouragingvein.SterlingMorrisonfirstmetLouwhentheywerestudentsatSyracuseliving

inthesamedormitory.ThefirstsoundIeverheardfromLouwaswhentheROTC(ReserveOfficersTrainingCorps)weremarching in the fieldbehindthedormintheiruniforms.FirstIheardear-splittingbagpipemusicfromhishi-fi,andthenhecranked

uphiselectricguitarandgavea fewblastson that.So Iknewtherewasaguitarplayerlivingupstairs.LouhadbeenthrownoutoftheROTCProgramwhenhedputaguntotheheadofhiscommandingofficer.Hehadhisown

showon the campus radio stationwherehewouldplayold rocknroll andR&Brecords,butLouwasthrownoutofthatpositiontoo,whenhemadefunofacommercialonmusculardystrophy.HolmesSterlingMorrisonJrwasbornonAugust29,1942atEastMeadow,

LongIslandtoamiddle-class,two-car,small-townatfirstbutlatersuburbanfamilyofScotsancestry.Hehadtwoyoungerbrothers,RobertandWilliam,andthreeyoungersistersDorothy,KathleenandMarjorie.

STERLINGMORRISON: I began studying trumpet at seven, and continued until Iwas12,whenmyteacherwasdrafted.Unabletofindanothergoodone,andinspiteofmypromiseontheinstrument,Iswitchedtoguitar,inspiredbyBoDiddley and Chuck Berry. I liked the rockabilly form that wasaround(rockabillywas rocknroll in thebeginning)butwasmore interestedintheguitarworkofblackmusicians.ListenedtoAlanFreedandJockoallthetime;keptmyhonkyearsopen.Doo-wahmusicimpressedmemightily.Later on liked Mickey Baker and T-BoneWalker; Jimmy Reed. Eventuallycaught up with acoustical blues aces like Lightn in Hopkins, but alwayspreferred electric guitarmusic and special effects. I got a flyer in themailfromSamAshMusic inHempstead invitingme tohear ademonstrationofnewlyinventedfuzz-tone.Ididnthavetogobecausemyampalreadywasdoingthatonitsown.IgraduatedH.S.withveryhighnumbersandmatchinglowesteemfor justabouteverythingbutmusic. IwasacceptedatSyracusealong with Maureens brother Jim, a friend since eighth grade. RegentsScholarshipsforusboth.Hewent,butIheadedwesttoU.ofIllinois(major:Physics).LeftthereatrequestofDeanofMenaftertwosemesters,mostlyfornotattendingclassand forhavingbeendrummedoutofROTC,whichwascompulsory.Goodgrades,badattitude,3.2beer.TransferredtoCityCollegeof New York but left after twoweeks due to no place to live. Headed forSyracuse with intent to attend in January. Stayed the Fall term with JimTuckeratSadlerHallbeneathLou.Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison were both great admirers of Delmore

Schwartz,whodhadatremendousearlysuccessmarredbydeepdepressions,pills, booze and subsequent failure. Delmore was a brilliant poet, saysMorrison, buthehada clinical caseof paranoia.He thoughthewasbeinginvestigatedat thebehestofNelsonRockefeller, andeventuallyhedecidedthatLouandIandeveryonearoundhimwereRockefellersspies.There was a good music scene at Syracuse with Felix Cavalieri (of The

YoungRascals),MikeEsposito (of TheBluesMagoos) andGarland Jeffreys

amongother fellowstudents.MorrisonandReedplayedearly IkeandTinaTurnernumbers together inbandswithnames likeMosesandhisBrothers,PashaandTheProphets,L.A.andTheElDoradoes.L.A.standsforLouAllen,thenameLouplayedunderatthetime.

MORRISON: Ihadgonehome to the IslandaftermeetingLouatSyracuse toraisesomemoney,andwentbacktoCityCollegeintheFall(major:EnglishLit).Visited Syracuse frequently andplayedwith Louwhen I could; springbreak; summers. Iwasalwaysabout to enrolbutneverdid. Louand Ihadsomeoftheshittiestbandsthateverwere.Theywereshittybecausewewereplayingauthenticrocknroll.Iwasaverysensitiveyoungpersonandplayedvery unsensitive, uncaringmusicwhich isWam Bang Pow! Lets rock out!What I expectedmyaudience todowas tear thehousedown,beatmeup,whatever. In theSixties IhadKingHatreds. Iwas abiker typeand Ihungaroundwithnastyblackpeople andnastywhitepeople and Iplayednastywhiteandblackrock&rollmusic.AfterhegraduatedLoumovedback inwithhisparents inFreeport from

where he began to commute to a job as a factory songwriter at Pickwickrecords, a company specializing in quickie albums, cashing in on populartrendssuchashotrod,surfandMerseyBeatmusic.

REED:Therewerefourofusliterallylockedinaroomwritingsongs.Theywouldsay,WritetenCaliforniasongs,tenDetroitsongs,thenwedgodownintothestudioforanhourortwoandcutthreeorfouralbumsreallyquickly,whichcameinhandylaterbecauseIknewmywayaroundastudio,notwellenoughbutIcouldworkreallyfast.OnedayIwasstonedand(afterreadinginEugeniaSheppardscolumnthatostrichfeatherswerebigthatseason)justforlaughsIdecidedtomakeupadance.SoIsaid,Youputyourheadonthefloorandhavesomebodysteponit!Itwasyearsaheadofitstime.Andanother thingcalled SneakyPete.Andwhen theyheard it they thought itcouldbeasingle,soweneededpeoplewhocouldbeagrouptogooutandpromoteit.

CONRAD:See,bythetimetheyapproachedus, theyhadpressed the recordalready. TheOstrichwas theA-side and SneakyPetewas theB-side.Wehadnothing to dowithmaking the record,wewere just stringers hired topromote it.The impression Igotwas thatLouhadaclose relationshipwiththesepeopleatPickwickbecausetheyrecognizedthathewasaverygiftedperson. Therewas something really authentic about their understanding ofhis talent. He impressed everybody as having some particularly assertive

personal quality, and its certainly to their credit that they hung out andpoppedpillsandgoofedinthestudiowithhim.Anyway,theymadeupthisnameforusThePrimitives,andtheythoughtTheOstrichwouldbeanewdance craze, Do the Ostrich! They said, Dont worry, its easy to playbecause all the strings are tuned to the same note,which blew ourmindsbecausethatwaswhatweweredoingwithLaMonteinTheDreamSyndicate.Itwasprettyamazing,wecouldntbelieveit.Theysaid,AllyoudoisgoDunde Dun Dun/Dun de Dun Dun, and then we learned the breaks. The firstcoupleoftimeswedidthiswehadntevenrehearsed,wejuststeppedoutonstage.Itwasbizarrebecausetheywouldsay,Andnow,fromNewYorkCityThePrimitives!ThekidswouldstartscreamingYAAAAAAAAAAandrunupandwedgoDundeDunDun.IrememberwedidaradiointerviewinRedding,Pennsylvania,playeda

high school gig inNew Jersey, a supermarket and taped a TV showwithShirleyElliswhodidNameGameandClappingSong.Louwaspreparedtoassumetheroleofdirectorbecauseheknewthetunes,sohetolduswhatwehadtodo,buttherewasalsotheoddthingthatWalterandJohnandItookall thiswithagrainofsalt,especiallyatfirst,becauseweknewtheydidntreally know who we were in the sense that we actually did have someparticularpowersandwerenotcomplete ingenues,which iswhat theyhadbeenlookingfor.Theydidntknowshitaboutwhowewere.Thosegigswerecompletelymind-blowing toWalter, John andme. I meanwewere ridingaroundinastationwagongoofingontheideathatweregoingtobeplayingrocknrollmusic,thenwereonthisstageandwedontknowwhatsgoingonandnoneofushavereallyplayedthiskindofmusicbefore,andthentheresallthishypeandscreamingkidsandmeetingothergroups.Thewholethingwas absolutely unexpected and hypnotizing.We did it about half a dozentimesonweekends.Itwasfun.Therewasevenaflutterofinterestincludinga photo in Vogue, but the record died. After a point we said, Were notgettinganywherewiththis,werenotmakinganymoney,andtherecordisntgoingtobreak.Theyalsokeptpressingthesecontractsonusanditbegantobekindofaturn-off,sowejustdidntdoitanymore.The thing is, Johnwas really impressedwith Lou because Lou had this

uniqueabilitytosinglyrics.Hewouldgoouttherewithoutanythinginhisheadatallandjustsingsongs.Lyricswouldjustcomeoutofhismouth.Youdidntknowwheretheycamefrombutsuddenlyhewasdoingrocknroll.Itwas obvious that Lou really authentically loved rocknroll, but he waswrestlingwith some kind of problems in his personal life and hewas also

livingwith hismother out on Long Island, so hewas vanishing into LongIslandatthispointandnotreallyfurtheringhissceneverymuch.ThenJohnstarted getting together with Lou. He was really attracted to Lous wholeapproach.

CALE:WhenImetLou,hewasastaffwriterforsomepublishingcompany.Heplayedmethesongshedwrittenforthem,buttheywerenothingneworterriblyexciting.Theywerejustlikeeveryothersongontheradio.Butthenhe played me several which he claimed they wouldnt publish. He playedHeroin first and it totally knockedme out. Thewords andmusicwere soraunchyanddevastating.Whatsmore,hissongsfitperfectlywithmymusicconcept.

CONRAD:SoLoubegancomingintothecityandbegangettingtogetherwithJohn.Itookoff,sotherewasmoreroominthepadandLousoonmovedin,whichwasgreatbecausewegothimoutofhismothersplace.Louwaslikearocknroll animal and authentically turned everybody on. He really hadadeep fixation on that and his lifestyle was completely compatible andacclimatizedtoit.HewasdefinitelyaliberatingforceforJohn,butJohnwasanincrediblepersontoo.Hewasveryidealisticinthesenseofputtinghimselfbehindwhathewas

interestedinandbelievedininatremendousway,andanytimeyoudothatyou wind up with fantastic abilities and experiences, so there was atremendous amount of resonance going on there musically. Lou wasdefinitely possessed by rocknroll. He was definitely a rocknroll punkstraightfromthebooks,butthebookswereonlywrittentwentyyearslater.Ontheotherhandtherewasnogroupofpeopleinmusicmoresophisticatedthanthegroupwewereinvolvedwith.Thiswasanunbelievablyalertgroupofpeoplewhowereengagedinawaywhichwaspartofandintouchwitheverything,open to everything,particularly John theway thathe soughtoutLaMonteandengagedhimselfdirectlywiththegroupandthewaythathelived,whichwasextremelyasceticandbarrenandweird.Johnwasaveryinteresting person in terms of his personal aura and the kind of creativepresence that he brought about, and inventive in terms of ideas abouttechniques. In terms of musical influence what John was doing with theviola, which had grown out of the kinds of things we were doing in ourgroup,wasobviouslytremendouslyimportantandyet itwasextremelyoddthatwewanderedintothisgroupofpeoplewhotunedtheirguitarsalltoonenote.

RatherthansuggestingthattherewasaninfluencethatflowedonewayoranotherImtryingtosuggestthatitseemedlikeaverypowerfulencounterinasense,eachofthemmovinginadirectionwhichwasdaringandaudaciousfortheotheraswellasthemselves.Johnwasmovingataveryveryfastpaceawayfromaclassicaltrainingbackgroundthroughtheavant-gardeandintoperformance art and then rock. Itwas phenomenal for Lou considering hisinterestinwhatwouldbereferredtotodayaspunksomebodywhoisreallylivingrockandisinterestedinanextremelyaggressiveassertivepositiontodiscoverthatclassicalmusiciansandavantgardeartistswerealsoengagedinthat.TherewasarealbondingthatoccurredbetweenJohnandLouinthatparticularrelationship.

TOMWILSON:YouandJohnweretheoriginalmembersthen.WheredidyoufindSterling?

REED: Imet himon the subway. I hadnt seen him in three years andhedidnthaveanyshoesonandIhadbootsonandwetookhimhome.

MORRISON: Thisaccount, thoughamusing, ispreposterous. Idid indeed runintoLou(andJohnforthefirsttime)onthesubwayontheDtrainattheSeventhAvenuestopor thereabouts. Iwasonmywayup toschoolatCityCollege. I have never, ever, gone shoeless on the dogshit streets ofManhattan. And, since it was January, I may be supposed to have beenwearingmywintercoattoo.Butmeetwedid.IhadntseenLouforalmostayear.He invitedmeover to thisguyRicksplace togethighand talk/playmusic.Thethreeofuskeptgoingfromthatmoment.Bythenthewholethingwith Pickwick had fallen through, sowe sat around and said, Well,wereretired. Theres nowaywe can put a band together that canwork in thiscity. Because all thatwas goingon inManhattan in the early Sixtieswerethoseslickmidtownclubacts likeJoeyDeeandTheStarlighterswhoworematchingsuits.Sowedecidedtoforgetaboutcompetingandjustplaysongsweliked.

CONRAD: By then, Id stoppedplayingwith themandWalterDeMariahadmoved so John, Lou and Sterling started playing with Angus MacLise ondrums. He lived in the same building and had also worked with LaMonteYoung.A lotofpeoplewent throughthatbuildingonLudlowStreet.MarioMontez (one of Jack Smiths and AndyWarhols original Superstars) liveddownstairs, Angus was living upstairs. John and I were there and PieroHeliczer(apoetandundergroundfilm-makerwhowouldplayamajorroleinthedevelopmentofTheVelvets connectionwithmultimediapresentations)

hadtheapartmentnextdoor.TheyusedaseriesofdifferentnameslikeTheWarlocks and The Falling Spikes. Angus had some unique percussionequipment.Whenheplayed thebongos, itwas just likepoetry.HemadeanumberoftapeswithPiero,JohnandmyselfwhenwealllivedinthesamebuildingonLudlow.

REED: I first started thinking about MetalMachineMusic as far back aswhenJohnusedtoworkwithLaMonteYoung.Ittookalonglongtime.Itswaymorecomplexthanpeoplerealize,butthatsallright.Iwasntgoingtoputitouteven;Imadeitformyself.JohnandIwerealwaysmakingtapes.Alotarestillcirculatingaround.Wemadesoundtracksforundergroundmoviesofthetime.Wealwaysencouragedbringingtaperecorderstoourjobs.

CONRAD:Thefirst thingIheardofwhattheyweredoingwerethosetapes.Angususedtomaketapessotherewouldbethesegreattapeslyingaroundina pile and some of them would get erased. Who knew what happened tothem.IwishIhadcopiesbecausesomeofthestufftheydidwasverynice.The things theywere intowereetherealandornamental,veryvery free. InthatsensetheinfluenceofAngusspersonalitywasmuchmorevisibleduringthatperiod.Anyway,Angus,John,LouandSterlingstartedcallingwhattheyweredoingagroup.Itwas1965.TheydecidedtofollowMaupassantsdictumtoDosomething

beautiful in the form that suits you best according to your owntemperament, and began composing some of the music that wouldeventuallywindupontheirfirstalbum.Theyalsocontinuedtoevolvewithinthe milieu of the downtown New York art scene which was developingrapidly. Angus had introduced them to Piero Heliczer who had been hisclassmateatForestHillsHighSchoolinthemid-fifties.PierohadmovedfromLudlow to a gigantic fifth floor walk-up at 450 Grand Street and wasconductingaseriesofmultimediahappeningsinvolvingfilms, lights,poetryandmusic at JonasMekas Film-Makers Cinematheque in the basement ofthe Colonnades building, a New York Historical Land mark on LafayetteStreet.

MORRISON:WheneverIhearthewordunderground,IamremindedofwhenthewordfirstacquiredaspecificmeaningformeandformanyothersinNYCintheearlySixties.Itreferredtoundergroundcinemaandthepeopleandlifestyle that created and supported this art form. And the person who firstintroducedme to this scene was Piero Heliczer, a bona fide undergroundfilm-makerthefirstoneIhadevermet.

On an early Spring day in 1965 John and I were strolling through theEastside slums and ran into Angus on the corner of Essex and Delancey.Angussaid,LetsgoovertoPieros,andweagreed.ItseemsthatPieroandAnguswereorganizingaritualhappeningatthe

timeamixed-mediastagepresentationtoappearintheoldCinematheque.Naturally,thiswaswellbeforesucheventsbecamealltherage.ItwastobeentitledLaunchingtheDreamWeapon,anditgotlaunchedtumultuously.Inthecentreofthestagetherewasamoviescreen,andbetweenthescreenandthe audience a number of veils were spread out in different places. Theseveilswere litvariouslyby lightsandslideprojectors,asPieros filmsshonethroughthemontothescreen.Dancersswirledaround,andpoetryandsongoccasionallyroseup,whilefrombehindthescreenastrangemusicwasbeinggeneratedbyLou,John,Angusandme.Forme thepathaheadbecame suddenly clear I couldworkonmusic

thatwasdifferentfromordinaryrocknrollsincePierohadgivenusacontexttoperformit in. Inthesummerof1965weweretheanonymousmusicianswhoplayedatsomescreeningsofundergroundfilms,andatothertheatricalevents, the first ofwhichwas for Pieros films (I think that BarbaraRubinshowed Christmas on Earth and Kenneth Anger showed a film also). Pierotaped themusic, and later played it at the other screenings of his films especiallyforTheNewJerusalem.In July they recorded a tape which included Venus In Furs, Heroin,

Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams and The Black Angels Death Song anddistributed it as ademo to a fewpeople including rock entrepreneurMilesCopelandinEngland.

MORRISON:ThistapewasoftenreproducedandwidelycirculatedinEngland.Itevidentlyarousedsomeinterestinus,andJohnwasgoingbackandforththroughout1965toseewhathecouldgetgoing(andtopickuprecordswewere very impressed by the singles he brought back. Of course Johnspeculiar tastes determined what he brought back for us to hear, but wecouldntescapetheconclusionthattheseobscureEnglishbandswereclosertooursensibilities thanthe popgroupshere intheUS).At thetimewhenwemetAndywehadallbutactuallypackedupandgonetoLondon.I feelcertainthatwewouldhavebeeninLondonbyspring1966,comewhatmay,hadnotTheEPIhappened.Caleknewhiswayaround,hadspokentomanypeopleover there inpreparation forus, andbyhisdailypresence lessenedany culture shockwemight have experienced. If we could deal with him,

therewasnothingforbiddingabouttheEnglish.They were basically in limbo and looking for connections, believing

strongly in their music, thriving on their collaboration and the milieu inwhichtheyfoundthemselvesappreciatedbyasmallintelligentaudience,butfeltthechancesoftheirbreakingthroughintheUSwereminimal.OnedayTonyConrad,whowasnolongerlivingatLudloworplayingwiththembutmaintained a collaborative friendshipwithCale,whowas still peripherallyinvolvedinTheDreamSyndicate,foundapaperbacklyingonthesidewalkoftheBoweryandbroughtitbacktoLudlowStreetwherehewasstillkeepingalotofhisstuff.ItwascalledTheVelvetUnderground.

MORRISON: We had a name at last! And itwas adopted by us and deemedappropriatenotbecauseoftheS&Mthemeofthebook,butbecausethewordundergroundwassuggestiveofourinvolvementwiththeundergroundfilmandartscenes.Around this time, somehow, CBS News decided that Walter Cronkite

should have a feature on an underground film being made. By whateverselectionprocess,Pierowasabletobetheundergroundfilm-maker;sincehehad already decided to film us playing anyway, we got into the act (andbesides,we had underground in our name, didntwe?Maybe someone atCBSreadsPirandello).Very shortly after this momentous event Al Aronowitz, the legendary

journalistwhosewritingsonpopmusicfeaturingTheBeatles,TheRollingStonesandBobDylan,allofwhomhewaspersonallyacquaintedwithwerehelpingtobreaknewgroundintheculturalclimate,heardaboutTheVelvetUndergrounds performances behind the screens at the Cinematheque andLouReeds claim that hewas the fastest guitarist alive, and tookRobbieRobertson of The Band to inspect one of Heliczers happenings. Robertsonquicklygrewboredand,turningtoAronowitz,dismissedReedsperformancewitha heaintnothin,butAronowitz,whohadexceptionallygood tasteand was interested in getting involved in the music business from anentrepreneurspointofviewinthehopesofmakingabuckhewasalreadymanagingabandcalledTheMyddleClassdecidedtoapproachTheVelvetswithanoffer.Hewent to the5th floorGrandStreetapartmentwhereSterlingandLou

werenowlivingandhada15minutemeetingwiththem,leavingBrianJonesandCaroleKingwaitingforhiminalimousinebelow.

MORRISON:AlhadbroughtBrianJonesaroundtoLudlowStreetonanearlier

occasiontoscoresomeacid.BrianstayedinthelimowithtwobabeswhileAlcameuptogetus.Weallwantedtomeethimbutsincetherewasnoroomforthethreeofus inthecar,andsinceJohnhadtheconnection,hegottorideinthefrontseat.LouandI followedinLousmotherscarsowecouldgetJohnandheadelsewhere.Wewereinterestedinaguitar/organmadebyVox. The Stones endorsed Vox and Brian played a Vox Phantom, so wewantedJohntoaskhimaboutit.John:HaveyoueverplayedoneofthoseVoxGuitar/Organs?Brian:Yes.John:Doesitwork?Brian:No.Endofconversation.Aronowitz offered The Velvets a spot opening for The Myddle Class at

Summit High School in Summit, New Jersey for $75.00. Angus said, Youmeanwestartwhentheytellustoandwehavetoendwhentheytellusto?Icantwork thatway.Theothermemberswereeager toaccept the jobandexpand their audience, so he withdrew from the group. Desperate for adrummer to play the Summit gig, Sterling andLou rememberedoldbuddyJim Tuckers sister Maureen, who always liked to play drums. MaureenTuckerwasbornin1945inNewJersey.

MAUREEN TUCKER: I alwayswanted to play drums. You knowwhen youre infourthgradeandtheysignyouupformusic lessons?Well, Ipickeddrums,butIneverwent.ThenrocknrollcamearoundandIreallywantedtogetinonthecreativeendofthat.Iplayedguitarforawhile,thentambourine,butthatwasntmakingit,soIgotareallycheapdrumset.MaureenremembersLouvisitingherparentshousewhenhewasastudent

atSyracuseandshewasinthe12thgrade,sohewasntacompletestrangerwhenhecameoverthistimetoauditionherfortheposition.

TUCKER:LoucameoverandwewentuptotheroomwhereIkeptmydrumsandhedsay,Canyouplaythis?whichIcould,soIwasin.ItwasntasifIwasa full-timemember though. Johnwasadamantaboutnotwantinganygirlsintheband.

WILSON:AndwhataboutMo?REED: Weneededanamplifier and shehadoneplus shes anoutof sight

drummer. She worked as a computer key-puncher and when shed come

homeatfiveshedputonBoDiddleyrecordsandplayeverynightfromfivetotwelve,sowefiguredshedbetheperfectdrummerandshewas.

MORRISON: Maureen had been playingwith a band on the Island. She hadrecentlyquitwhentheguitarplayerintheotherbandonthebillwasshotonstageatagiginSyosset.

WILSON:Shehasgreat time.And, likemost things thatwe foundoutdontmatter,sexdoesntmatteranymoresofarasmusicianshipisconcernedandsofarastheloveofgroovymusicisconcerned.

REED:Idsecondthat.TheSummitHighSchoolgigtookplaceonNovember11,1965.Itwasthe

firsttimetheyusedthenameTheVelvetUnderground,playingafterabandcalled40FingersandbeforeTheMyddleClass.

MORRISON: AtSummitweopenedwith ThereSheGoesAgain thenplayedVenus In Furs and ended with Heroin. The murmur of surprise thatgreetedourappearanceasthecurtainwentupincreasedtoaroarofdisbeliefoncewestartedtoplayVenusandswelledtoamightyhowlofoutrageandbewildermentbytheendofHeroin.AlAronowitzobservedthatweseemedtohaveanoddlystimulatingandpolarizingeffectonaudiences.Aronowitz recognized they had a future, but felt they lacked experience

andneeded,ashesaystoday,toacquiresomechops.LikeTheBeatlesgotchopsplaying till3a.m.eightnightsaweek inHamburg.To this end,heacquired a residency gig for them during December at the Cafe Bizarre, arelativelydeadclubonWest3rdStreet justeastofMacdougalStreet intheheartofGreenwichVillage.

CALE:WhenwefirstputTheVelvetstogetherweformedagrouparoundtheguitar, bass, drums and my electric viola. We wanted The VelvetUnderground to be a groupwith a dynamic symphonic flair. The ideawasthat Lous lyrical andmelodic ability could be combinedwith some ofmymusical ideas to create performances where we wouldnt just repeatourselves. We used to do Sister Ray Part Seven in which Lou wouldpersonify this southern preacher along with a series of different roles allmadeuponthespot.InthebeginningwhenAlAronowitzwasmanagingusandwewereplayingattheBizarre,wepractisedalotandwereprettytight.

MAKINGANDYWARHOL,UP-TIGHT,CONTINUED

By the timeAndyWarholmet them at the Cafe Bizarre, The Velvetsweredoing a number of covers like Carol and LittleQueenie, aswell as theirown unmistakablematerial, some ofwhich the Bizarremanagement foundtoo disruptive for their establishment. The band were pretty much fed upplaying therehavingbeen forced toworkonChristmasDayandwanted toget fired, so when the manager told them that if they played The BlackAngelsDeathSongonemoretimetheydbeaskedtoleave,theycrankedouttheir best version ever. Theywere fired two days after theymet Andy. AtleastMaureengainedtenureasafull-fledgedmemberbecause,althoughtheowners had refused to let them use drums saying theyd be too loud, theothershadchosentokeepheronplayingtambourine.

TUCKER: It was really a regression, but thats when it became kind ofapparentthatIwasintheband.

MORRISSEY: Afterwemet them they came to the Factory and right away Iproposed thatwewouldsignacontractwith them,wedmanage themandgive them a place to play. They said yes Andy immediately bought themsomenewamplifiersandtheystartedrehearsingattheFactory.New Years Eve 1965. The Velvets, Edie Sedgwick, her friend from

Cambridge Donald Lyons, Andy and Gerardwent to the Apollo Theater inHarlemtoseeJamesBrown.AfterleavingtheApollothewholecrowdwentinEdieslimousineovertoDannyFieldsapartmenttowatchtheCBSWalterCronkite show on Pieros filmVenus In Furs featuring The Velvets playingHeroin then journeyed on to Sterling and Lous apartment at 450 GrandStreetwheretheyjustsataround.Andywasbitinghisfingernailsandlookingat a magazine. There was no heat and everybody had coats on. It wasfreezing. Ediewaswearing her leopard skin fur coat. The atmospherewasweird.Hardlyawordwasspoken.GerardseemstorememberthatJohnCaleand Edie were already involved in some kind of problem that may havecontributedtotheuptightfeelingintheroom.Thiswasacomplexgroupofpeoplebetweenwhomtherewasimmediatelyalotofintrigueandrivalryforeachothersattentions.MostcomplexofallperhapswasNico,whohadcometoNewYork from

London,where shed recordeda singleonRollingStonesmanagerAndrew

Loog Oldhams Immediate label, hung out with Brian Jones and attractedDylans attention in Pariswhere hed given her the song Ill Keep ItWithMine. Nico was born of Spanish and Yugoslavian parents in Budapest,Hungary,March15,1943, although theres nowayof confirming this date(shemay,infact,havebeenbornasearlyas1940).IntheSecondWorldWarshetookshelterduringair-raidsinthefamilybathtubinCologneandalwaysrememberedthesoundofthebombs.Nicohasbeenverycarefultoconcealher real age. Educated first in France and then in Italy, she spoke sevenlanguages.At15whilevacationingatafriendsvillainRome,Nicowasintroducedto

someyoungactors fromCinecitta (ItalysHollywood),who invitedher tothe set of a movie they were making with an eccentric director namedFedericoFellini.Claimingtobesomebodyscousin,shewasadmittedontheset with instructions to keep to the sidelines. A party sequence was to befilmed in the exquisite remains of aRenaissance palazzo. The directorwaslateanditwasthecocktailhour. Itwas impossibletodistinguishcast fromcrew.Her friendwasdancingwithadistinguishedman inanelegantlycutsuit(MarcelloMastroianni).SlightlybewilderedbythenoisyconfusionNicotookshelterinacobwebbycornerandleanedagainstacarvedmarbletable.The music died suddenly. A man in shirtsleeves, probably the prop man,yelled,Portemilacandale.Realizinghewasaddressingher,Nicopickedup the largebaroque silver

candelabra fromthe tableandwalkedslowly towards thismanwho tookastepbackwitheachstepNicoadvanced.Silenceslowlyovertooktheroomaspeople cleared a path. The jadedsophisticateswere enchanted by the aloofelegance of the naive schoolgirl, as was Fellini, the man gesturing hertowardshimfromacrossthesilentroom.Themovie?LaDolceVita.Nicogotasizeablerole.Herparents,enragedby

a film inwhich their daughter certainly didnt do anythingmore offensivethanwalk up a staircase, preventedNico from signing a contractwith thegreatdirector.NicowenttoaprivateschoolinGermanywhereshesays,Theygavemea

veryhard time. She alsoworked as a childmodel and studied acting andsinging at the Lee Strasberg Method Studios. When she auditioned for asingingjobatthefamousBlueAngelinNewYorkin1964shegotsowoundupshefaintedimmediatelyaftertheaudition.Shewokeuptofindshehadgotthejob.

NICO: I have a habit of leaving places at the wrong time, just whensomethingbigmighthavehappenedforme.Persuading The Velvets to playwithNicowas not as easy as onemight

imagine.Firstofall shereallywantedabackingbandsoshecouldsingallthesongs.Themulti-talentedVelvetshadnointerestinbeingabackingband.Anyway, someof theirbest songs, like Heroin and WaitingForMyMan,werent as well-suited for Nicos voice as they were for Lous. However,everybodywas eager to do something andAndywas in a position to offerthem a chance to become famous at his upcoming discotheque. Nico hadalreadytakenashinetoLou,sotheyallagreedtoAndyandPaulsproposalthatNicobeallowed to sing some songs, andwhen shewasnt singing juststandonstagelookingbeautiful.AndythenpersuadedLoutowritesomenewsongs,likeAllTomorrowsPartiesandFemmeFatale,specificallyforNico,and he even, indicating just how strong a will Andys enthusiasm carries,persuaded them to change thename toTheVelvetUnderground andNico,althoughthatdidntsitsowellwithLouandJohn,whosawtheirimagesasrock stars and positions as leaders of the group rapidly evaporating.However,theywereallintuitiveenoughtorealizethat,atleastforthetimebeing, the direction he was pulling them in was basically right and theyagreed towork together. The first evidence of this collaborationwas a 70-minuteblackandwhitefilmWarholshotofthemrehearsingattheFactoryinJanuary1966.CalledTheVelvetUndergroundandNico:ASymphonyofSound,it was broken up by the New York City Police, who came in response tocomplaints about theamountofnoise thebandwasmaking, andwas laterusedasasilentfilmbackdroptoanumberoftheirperformances.

MORRISSEY:WeusedtheweekattheCinemathequetoexperimentwithwhatweweregoingtoputintotheMichaelMyerbergdiscothequewiththemoviesbehindTheVelvets.

MALANGA:EverybodyinvolvedwiththeweekattheCinemathequewasveryexcitedaboutwhatweweredoingtogether,althoughitwasstillmoreofanart than a rock event and there were a number of kinks to be ironed outbefore Andy Warhol, Up-Tight would bloom into The Exploding PlasticInevitable. We all went out to dinner after each show. Andys question toeverybodywasalwaysthesame,Howcanwemakeitmoreinteresting?

GLENNOBRIEN:HowdidyoumeetLouReed?WARHOL:HewasplayingattheCafeBizarre,andBarbaraRubin,afriendof

JonasMekas,saidsheknewthisgroup.ClaesOldenburgandPattiOldenburg

andLucasSamarasandJasperJohnsandIwerestartingarocknrollgroupwithpeoplelikeLaMonteYoung,andtheartistwhodigsholesinthedesertnow,WalterDeMaria.

OBRIEN:Youstartedarockband!?WARHOL:Oh,yeah.Wemettentimes,andtherewerefightsbetweenLucas

andPattioverthemusicorsomething.OBRIEN:Whatdidyoudo?WARHOL:Iwassingingbadly.ThenBarbaraRubinsaidsomethingaboutthis

groupandmixed-mediawasgettingtobethebigthingattheCinematheque,sowe had films and lights, andGerard did some dancing and TheVelvetsplayed.

OBRIEN:WasthatalightshowbeforetheSanFranciscolightshows?WARHOL: Yeah, it was, sort of. Actually, the Cinematheque was really

combiningalltheartstogether.REED:WeworkedwithlightsandstuffbehindusbeforewemetAndy.We

did it in the old Cinematheque on Lafayette Street. It wasnt his originalconception.Itwasalotofpeoplesconception.ItwasanaturalsteptomeetAndyandsay,OhyouvegotaweekatthenewCinematheque,soobviouslysince we combinedmusic withmovies and everything it was just such aneasysteptosay, Wellplayalongwithyourmovies.Thenwesaid, Youvegotallthesethings.Whydontweshowlights?Itdoesntmatterwhoseideaitwas. Itwas just soobvious. ItwasntAndyputting itall together. Itwaseverybody.ItwasjustAndyhadtheweekattheCinematheque.ThatswhatAndyhadtodo,andtheneverybodyputittogether.Thethingwasthatthebasicideawassoobviousthatyouwouldhavetobeafoolnottothinkofit.Soeverybodythoughtofit.

MORRISSEY: What really happened is I had this idea that Andy couldmakemoneynotonlyfromundergroundfilmsbutfromputtingthemoviesinsomesort of rocknroll context. Discovering The Velvets, bringing them up theFactoryandworkingwiththemwasdoneforpurelycommercialreasons.After theirweek at theCinemathequewordaboutAndyWarhol,Up-Tight

begantospread.Peoplewereclearlyconfusedaboutwhattoexpect.MichaelMyerbergbegantocooloffafterseeinganightattheCinematheque,butfilmdepartments were calling from colleges to book the show, which they,interestingly enough, took to be primarily an underground movie

presentation. Warhol was invited to present the show in a film series atRutgersUniversity,NewJersey.BythetimeAndyWarhol,Up-Tightwasreadyto go out on the road in March, Edie Sedgwick, the first amputee, haddefinitely left the group in a stormy split that occurred one night at theGingerman,arestaurantoppositeLincolnCenter,shortlyafterthecompletionoftheCinemathequeshows.

MALANGA:AllTheVelvetsweretherewithIngridSuperstar,PaulMorrissey,DonaldLyons,DannyFields,myself,AndyandanotherofEdiesfriendsfromCambridge,thefilm-makerChuckWein.EdiebeganaskingAndy,WhatsmyplacewithTheVelvets? Imbroke. Ihavenomoney.WhyamInotgettingpaid?Andhesaid,Yougottabepatient.Ediesaid,Icantbepatient.Ijusthavenothingtoliveon.ShetoldAndy

that she had signed a contractwith BobDylansmanagerAlbertGrossmanand hed said she shouldnt see Andy so much because the publicity thatcame out of it wasnt good and she didnt want him to show her filmsanymore.

MORRISSEY:Shesaid,TheyregoingtomakeafilmandImsupposedtostarin it with Bobby. Suddenly it was Bobby this and Bobby that, and theyrealizedthatshehadacrushonhim.Theythoughthedbeenleadingheron,because just thatdayAndyhadheard inhis lawyersoffice thatDylanhadbeen secretly married for a few months he married Sarah Lowndes inNovember1965.Everythingwassecretinthosedaysforsomereasonallphoneysecrecy,soAndycouldntresistasking,DidyouknowEdiethatBobDylanhasgottenmarried?Shewastrembling.Theyrealizedthatshereallythought of herself as entering a relationship with Dylan, that maybe hehadntbeentruthful.

MALANGA:Ediegotupandwenttomakeaphonecall,presumablytoDylan.WhenshecamebacktothetablesheannouncedshewasleavingtheFactory,ormorespecificallyleavingAndy,sinceherdiatribewasdirectedathim.Andhewassaying,ButbutEdie,youhavetobepatient,werenotmakinganymoney.Imnotmakinganymoneyfromthemovies,youjusthavetobepatient.ButEdiewasntbuyingit.Sheleftandeverybodywaskindofquiet.Itwasstormyanddramatic.Ediedisappearedandthatwastheendofit.Shenevercameback.Andymayhavebeensurprised,shockedorhurtbyEdiesdefectiontothe

Dylan camp, but he had little time to sit around thinking about it.Throughout 1966 hewouldmakeThe Exploding Plastic Inevitable more and

moreinteresting,changingthewaypeoplelookedatrocknrollintunewithMcLuhans understanding in his book The Medium Is The Massage that,Electriccircuitryhasoverthrowntheregimeoftimeandspaceandpoursupon us instantly and continuously the concerns of all other men. It hasreconstituteddialogueonaglobalscale.ItsmessageisTotalChange,endingpsychicsocialeconomicandpoliticalparochialism.

REED: Andy toldme that what we were doing withmusic was the samething hewas doingwith painting andmovies andwriting, i.e. not kiddingaround. To my mind nobody in music was doing anything that evenapproximated the real thing, with the exception of us. We were doing aspecific thing that was very, very real. It wasnt slick or a lie in anyconceivableway,whichwastheonlywaywecouldworkwithhim.BecausethefirstthingIlikedaboutAndywasthathewasveryreal.AndyarrivedatRutgersontheafternoonofMarch9withanentourageof

thirteenpeopleandwentstraighttothestudentcafeteriawheretheboysandgirlsflippedoutgawkingatNicowhileBarbaraRubinfilmedtheirreactionsand Nat Finkelstein took photographs. When campus guards told him hecouldnt,Natpunchedoneof themin thenoseandthenext thingheknewsixteencopsarrived.TheyaskedAndyforhiscafeteriapass(whichheneverhad).GerardandPaulstartedscreaming,andeveryonegotthrownout.

MORRlSON:Ondine,whoplayedthePopeinWarholsChelseaGirls,waspartoftheensembleatRutgers.HeinsiststhatPaulMorrisseyforcedhimoutoftheshowfromthenon,tohisgrief.Hehadalwaysbeenourclosefriend,inoroutof theshow.Wehadnohandin,orknowledgeof, themachinationsthatremovedhim.Theshow,whichhadntbeensellingtoowellpriortotheirarrival,soldout

in thenext twohoursand650studentspacked theauditoriumto seewhatwouldhappennext. Itwasaperfectexampleoftheeffectivenessofmakingeveryone uptight. Uptight meant interesting. Uptight meant something, asopposedtotheperennialnothing,wouldhappen.Apart fromTheVelvets,Nico,Andy,Gerard,BarbaraandPaul, theother

integralmembersoftheteamwereDannyWilliams,afriendofChuckWeinwhohadcomedownfromCambridgeandworkedattheFactoryasanexpertelectrician if it could be done with wires, Danny would do it; NatFinkelstein, a freelance photographer, connected with Black Star PhotoAgency,whohadcometotheFactoryintheFallof65totakepicturesforaweek and stayed for a year; Dave Faison, the Velvets trusted equipment

manager,whostayedwith themthroughout theWarholperiod,driving thevanthatcarriedtheirequipmentwhichhesingle-handedlycaredforandsetup.Faisonwasveryimportanttotheshow.

MORRISON:AtRutgerswewerealldressedentirelyinwhite.Theeffect,withallthefilmsandlightsprojectedonus,wasinvisibility.Afewdays later thesameentourage, includingIngridSuperstar, thenew

girlat theFactorywhohadreplacedEdieSedgwick, jammed intoamobilevanandheadedouttoAnnArborwhereanotherperformancewasbookedattheUniversityofMichiganFilmFestival.

MORRISON:WerodetoAnnArborinsomekindofrecreationalvehicle.Thething was big! It had a 120 volt AC generator on the back that suppliedpowertotheinside.Wecouldplayourampsaswerolledalong.Andy remembers the drive in POPism: Nico drove, and that was an

experience. I still dont know if she had a licence. Shed only been in thiscountryalittlewhileandshedkeepforgettinganddriveontheBritishsideoftheroad.

NICO:OhmyGod!Hewastheonlyonewhowasntscared.Hejustcouldntcareless.HefiguredthatifIcouldtakechargeof15peopleonthebusIhavetobeagooddrivernottolandinaditch.

WARHOL:NicosdrivingreallywasinsanewhenwehitAnnArbor.Shewasshooting across sidewalks andover peoples lawns.We finally pulledup infrontofanicebigcomfortable-lookinghouseandeveryonestartedunloadingthevan.AnnArborwentcrazy.AtlastTheVelvetswereasmash.Wehadastrobe

lightwithusforthefirsttime.Thestrobesweremagical,theywentperfectlywith the chaosmusic The Velvets played. Id sit on the steps in the lobbyduring intermission and people from the local papers and school paperswould interviewme, ask aboutmymovies,whatwewere trying to do. Iftheycantakeitfortenminutes,thenplayit forfifteen, Idexplain. Thatsourpolicy.Alwaysleavethemwantingless.

INGRIDSUPERSTAR:IrememberinAnnArborpartoftheaudiencewentalittleberserk, and there were a few hecklers. Theyre all a bunch of immaturepunks.Likewehave theseproblemswithaveryenthusiasticaudience thatyellsandscreamsandthrowsfitsandtantrumsandrollsonthefloor,usuallyat colleges and benefits like that for the younger people. So, anyway, theeffectofthemusicontheaudienceisliketheaudienceisjusttoostunnedto

thinkor sayanythingorgiveanykindofopinion.But then later IaskedafewpeopleinAnnArbor,whohadcometoseetheshowacoupleofnightsinarow,whattheythought,andtheyformedanopinionslowly.Theysaidthatthey thought the music was very way out and supersonic and fast andintensified,andtheeffectof thesounditproducedvibratedall throughtheaudience, and when they walked out onto the street they still had thesevibrationsintheirearsforabout15minutes,especiallyfromthatlastpieceNothingSong,whichwasjustnoiseandfeedbackandscreechesandgroansfromtheamplifiers.Theoveralleffectcreatedbythisbombardmentofimagesandsound,with

TheVelvetsoftenturningtheirbacksontheaudiencethroughouttheentireperformance,wastheoppositeoftheacceptedrockmoresofthetime.Thismay have had something to dowith the fact that a number of the peopleinvolved in the production were on amphetamine, a drug which, amongothereffects,influencesconsumerstorespondtoeverythingwithitsmirror,orexactlyopposite,image.

JOHN WILCOCK: I was on the bus with Nico and everybody. What do youremembermostaboutthat?

MALANGA:Thatwebecameagypsyband.WILCOCK: The eleven member Warhol group (supplemented by

accompanyingcars)hadrentedamicrobusforthe1,500mileround-triptoAnnArbor($50perdayplus100permile)andalthoughitofferedsomeofthecomfortsofhomeincludingatoiletthat,liketheoneinthe47thStreetFactory, didnt work it proved to be far from themost reliablemode oftransportation.Themostchaoticmomentscameonthewaybackwhenastopwasmade in theparking lotofapopartmonstrositycalled theWhiteHutSuperkingforeverybodytoorderhamburgers.EvenbeforeNico,blondelocksfallingabouttheshouldersofherblackleatherjacket,hadbroughtthebustoa halt, a police patrol car came snooping around to see what else itcontained.

MORRISON:TheACpowercameinhandy,becauseweblewthealternatorontheengineoutsideofToledoonthewaybacktoNY.Thepolicesodespisedus that they insistedwegetoutofcity limitsatonce. Itwasnight,andwehad no lights, but Danny cranked up the generator on the back, and ranextensioncordsfrominsidetophotofloodlampsclampedtothebumper.Thepolice followed us all the way to the line. I began to think that it wasdangeroustocrosstheHudson.Iwasafull-timestudentatCityCollegeatthe

time, but I was seldom seen, and ended up six credits shy of graduating.Good grades, in spite of all. I picked those up in the summer we playedMaxs.

THEDOM

Back inNewYork the groupplayed at Paraphernalia, theultra hip clothesstorefeaturingthefashiondesignsofBetseyJohnson,whowouldlatermarryJohnCale.Themodels couldhardlygyrate through themobwhichgluttedboth floorsof the chicboutique.AsNicodancedwithGerard,Andys filmsbouncedoffthewallsandBrianJones,amongothers,lookedon.Actuallythebestviewwasfromoutside,asboppingspotlightsilluminatedthemodelsonthe platform in the huge second storey glass front. It drew a crowd andeventuallythepolice.Wow!saidAndy.Apoliceman.PaulMorrisseywas trying toclose thedealonAndyWarholsUP soThe

VelvetsandNicocouldhavetheirownplacetoplayeverynightandbecomefamous.

MORRISSEY:IkepttryingtopressMyerberg,throughourlawyerSyLitvinoff,to sign an agreement thatAndys groupwould open and be paid a certainamount of money. What happened is there was lets say an ItalianinfluenceinthisclubandIthinktheyhadtheirownplansfortheopening.Somehow,evenMyerberglostcontrolof ita littlebit.Aboutaweekbeforetheywerescheduledtoopen,thislawyersaid,Theyvechangedtheirminds,theyregoing toopen thisweekendwithTheYoungRascals, starringFelixCavalieriofSyracusemanagedbySidBernsteinwhopromotedTheBeatlesintheUS.

MORRISON:MurrayKaufman(MurrayTheK)wasinvolvedinthisthingtooifnotinitially,thencertainlyattheend.Theplacewasfullofgangsters;onenight we all went out there to look at the place and a limo full of themspilled out to challenge our right to enter. Id seen enough already, andperhaps they had too. Inside, for an awkwardmoment, Lou and I ran intoFelix Cavalieri, who must have known what mischief was afoot, but saidnothing.TheRascalswereabetterbandtoopentheplaceanyway,especiallysinceitwascloseddownonopeningnightforliquorviolationsandneverre-opened. Eventually the club,which had finally been calledMurray TheKsWorld,burntdownundertheusualmysteriouscircumstances.Still,thepriceoffered us to play there and hang out was $40,000 for the first fourweekends.Thatwouldhavebeengoodpayforonenightifwehadcollecteditinadvance.IdontknowwhetherTheRascalsgotanymoneyoutofit.

MORRISSEY:IremembergoingdowntotheCafeFigaro intheVillagewhereGerard had taken Andy to see Allen Ginsberg, who was about to go toEurope.Isaid,Andy,theyrenotgoingtosigntheagreement,wedonthavea club for The Velvets. Andy had already invested this money in theirequipment.Ithinkweevengotamanagementcontractoutofthem.

MALANGA:Whatwerethestipulations?MORRISSEY: For presenting them and financing their equipment and

supporting them and making them famous we got 25 per cent of theirearnings.

MORRISON: Our agreement withWarvel, Inc., which we set up with Andy,called for our sharing in his many sources of revenue. After the initialpurchaseof aVoxSuperBeatle andaVoxWestminsterbass amp,we soonwereable tomakeanendorsementdealwithVoxandgotallof their stufffree(evenguitars).ImplayingaVoxPhantominthemoviethatAndymadeof us. We were the first American band on endorsement to Vox, and inEnglandtheyonlyhadTheBeatles,Stones,andHollies. IalwayslikedVox.LaterweendorsedAcoustic,andfinallySunn(verygoodequipment).Paul,inotherwords,isnottalkingaboutmajorexpenditures.

MORRISSEY:Theideawasthattheycouldvebecomeveryfamousfrombeingpresentedinthisnightclub.Now,suddenly,myplansforpresentingthemfellthrough. But, as I was telling Andy this at the Figaro, sitting at the tablebehind me was Jackie Cassen and Rudi Stern and they heard me talking.Theysaid,Yourelookingforadancehalltopresentarocknrollgroup?Wepresentdanceconcertswith lightshowsandweknowawonderfulplace. Isaid,Yourekidding,where?Theysaid,OnSt.MarksPlace.Isaid,Yourekidding,Iknowthatstreet.Ineverknewtherewasaplacethere.Iwentoverwith themand I saw theDomand I camebackandarrangeda rentaldealthrough Sy Litvinoff onWednesday. Itwas only signed on Friday and thatafternoonTheVelvetsandFaisonmovedtheirequipmentin.Theyneversawtheplacebefore.We couldnt go inuntil the leasewas signed. Itwas veryhard getting the lease signed. Andy paid the money for the lease for themonthofApril.WemovedinonFriday.Gerardwasuponthebackpaintingthewallwhite.IhadtoputtheadintheVillageVoicethepreviousMonday.Itwasput inonthedeadline. Itwassomesortofmiracle thatwith in thatshort space AndyWarhol presenting THE EXPLODING PLASTIC INEVITABLE was created.ThetermExplodingPlasticInevitablecamefromsittingaroundwithGerardand Barbara Rubin thinking of a name. I picked up a record album with

Barbara on the back massaging Bob Dylans head(Bringing It All BackHome). Therewere some amphetamine Bob Dylan gibberish liner notes. Ilooked without reading and saw these words appear: something wasexploding,somethingwasplastic,somethingwasinevitable.I said, Why not call it Exploding Plastic Inevitable, The Velvet

UndergroundandNico?WemovedinonFridayafternoonat3oclockandat8 oclock that night all these people showed up. It was packed. It was anenormoussuccessfromitsveryfirstnight.Gerards new dancing partners wereMaryWoronov, a tall, beautiful art

student he discovered at Cornell University and brought to the Factory,IngridSuperstar,andRonnieCutrone,a17-year-oldsuperbopper,whohungoutonthefastscene.

RONNIE CUTRONE:Thegreat thingaboutthe ExplodingPlastic Inevitablewasthat it left nothing to the imagination. We were on stage with bullwhips,giantflashlights,hypodermicneedles,barbells,bigwoodencrosses.Inasenseit controlledyour imagination.Thatswhatyou saw.Before thatwhenyouheard music you drifted off and you associated the music with what youthoughtabout.Thistimemakenomistakeaboutittherewasaclearimageofwhatthegroupwasconveying,andsoitleftnothingtotheimagination.Youwereshockedbecausesometimesyour imaginationwasnt strongenoughtoimaginepeopleshootinguponstage,beingcrucifiedandlickingboots.

WARHOL:TheVelvetsplayedsoloudandcrazyIcouldntevenbegintoguessthedecibels,andtherewereimagesprojectedeverywhere,oneontopoftheother.Idusuallywatchfromthebalconyortakemyturnattheprojectors,slippingdifferentcolouredgelatinslidesoverthelensesandturningmovieslikeHarlot,TheShoplifter,Couch,Banana,BlowJob,Sleep,Empire,Kiss,Whips,Face,Camp,Eatintoalldifferentcolours.

WALTERDEMARIA: Therewasa serious tone to themusicand themoviesandthe people, as well as all the craziness and the speed. There was also thefeelingofdesperateliving,ofbeingontheedge.Thepresentwasblazingandeverydaywasincredible,andyoukneweverydaywasntalwaysgoingtobethatway.

RICHARDGOLDSTEIN:Thesoundisasavageseriesofatonalthrustsandelectronicfeedback. The lyrics combine sado-masochistic frenzywith free associationimagery. The whole sound seems to be the product of a secret marriagebetweenBobDylanandtheMarquisdeSade.

WARHOL:Weallknewsomethingrevolutionarywashappening.Wejustfeltit. Things couldnt look this strange and new without some barrier beingbroken.ItsliketheRedSeeea,Nicosaid,standingnexttomeonenightontheDombalconythatlookedoutoveralltheaction,paaaaarting.

DANNYFIELDS:Itwasanaudienceeventtome,butitwasalsoamusicalevent,because I preferred many times to close my eyes rather than see thispsychedelic light-show travesty flashing on the group. To me it was themusic. The great credit dueAndy is that he recognized it.Heheardmusicwhen he first saw The Velvets. He thought that they were great. So, theywere great beforeAndy. So, theywere great duringAndy, and afterwards,too.Andymayhave createdTheEPI buthedidnt create the soundof theband. That was always there long before Andy found them. Lous song-conceptswereavant-gardeandhislyricswereavant-garde,butIdontknowifhismelodieswithoutJohnatthatpointwouldhavebeenavant-garde.Johnreally put a psychedelic air to it. I thought The Velvets were ahead ofeverybody. Its theonly thing thatever,ever,eversweptmeoffmyfeetasmusicsinceearlyMahler.Theywerearevolution.Ed Sanders, the lead singer for The Fugs, another New York band that

thrivedon theLowerEastSide in the sameperiod,andwithwhomGerardMalanga had originally danced before he met The Velvets, was taken byBarbaraRubintoseethemattheBizarreandremembersgoingtotheDom.

EDSANDERS:I likedthattunethatstartedoutrealslow-Heroin. I likedthedrummer.IalwayslikedLouReedsvoice.Thetimewasprettygood.Thenitwasmoreorganic,yetwithintheorganismithadcertaintimechangesthatwereinteresting.MywifeMiriamseemstorememberthattheDomgigswerecrowdedoutbydopers.TheyhadakindofAllenKaprowhappeningfactor.Ilikedtheshowbecauseithadalotofenergy.Ilikedthewayeverythingwaswrapped up in a goodtime-change. What The Fugs were doing wasntexclusivenorwerewecompetitive.Therewasplentyof roomin thewholeworld for both The Fugs and The Velvets. I didnt feel competitive aboutanybody.I feltcamaraderietowardsTheVelvets.Weoverlapped.Sopeoplewouldcometobothshows.Nicoused tocometomybookstore,ThePeaceEye.

MORRISON: I agreewith Ed completely.We often played together at showsand benefits, and liked andwere liked by the same people. The Fugs, TheHolyModalRoundersandTheVelvetUndergroundweretheonlyauthenticLowerEastSidebands.Wewererealbandsplayingforrealpeopleinareal

scene.Wehelpedeachotherout ifwecouldandgenerallyhungoutat thesameplaces.IhaveacompletecollectionofFugsalbumsandtheybringmegreatjoy.

MORRISSEY: Even at the firstweekend, this horribleCharlieRothchild camedown.HesaidhewasnolongerworkingforAlbertGrossmanbutIthinkhewas.Hesaid,Youreallyhaveagreatthinggoinghere.Youneedsomebodyprofessional to manage it for you, and whos going to book The VelvetUnderground?Hesaid,IdidthebookingsforGrossman,Icouldrunthebox-officeherewithafriend.Hehadakindayoungblondpartnerwhoseemedratherontheup-and-up.Istupidlyletthemdoit.Theyranthebox-officeandcollectedthemoney.

MALANGA:DidyoufeelatthatpointthatNicowouldmakeitratherthanTheVelvets?

MORRISSEY: No, I thought they bothwould, really. I didnt think onemorethan theother.But I thought they reallybelonged together.Right afterweopenedandwehadthatsuccessItoldAndy,Nowwehavetomakearecordwiththem,andwewent intoarecordingstudioforthreeor fournights. Itdidntcostthatmuch.Itwaslikeacoupleofthousanddollars.

MALANGA:Andydidntgoeverynighttotherecordingstudio?MORRISSEY:Maybeonceortwice.MALANGA: What were your impressions about what went down at the

studio?MORRISSEY: I thought what they were doing was good. All I remember is

suddenlyNico hadnomaterial to sing. Loudidntwant her on the album.Louwasalways jealousofNicoandheonly lether sing little songson thealbum and then he wrote a song for her called Sunday Morning andwouldnt let her sing it. You see Lou and Johnwere such brothers. Theylovedeachothersomuch.Nicowasntpurerocknrollorsomething.AsAndywasmore involvedwith TheVelvets than anything else, itwas

natural that he produce the album and continue to lend his name to theirproductions. People often ask exactlywhat did Andy do in the studio?Hemainlycontributedbyhaving thevision to seehowgoodTheVelvetswereandconsequentlyencouragingthem,hegavethemconfidencetofollowtheirintuitionandgotoextremestorecognizeandgettheiruniquesound.Healsosuggestedsomeideasforsongs(e.g.makeSundayMorningaboutparanoia),encouragedLoutowriteothers(AllTomorrowsParties)anddiscussedthe

meritsofdifferent tracks, commentingon thewayhe liked the soundbest.During this first recording session ina small studioonBroadway theyonlyhadtimetodoAllTomorrowsParties,ThereSheGoesAgain,IllBeYourMirrorandImWaitingForMyMan.ThemajorconflictsduringthesessionsrevolvedaroundNico.

MORRISON: Nico had two voices. One was a full-register, Germanic,gotterdammerung voice that I never cared for, and the otherwas herwispyvoice which I liked. She kept singing Ill Be Your Mirror in her stridentvoice.Dissatisfied,wekeptmakingherdo it overandoveragainuntil shebrokedownandburst into tears.At thatpointwesaid, Oh, try it justonemoretimeandthenfuckitifitdoesntworkthistimewerenotgoingtodothesong.Nicosatdownanddiditexactlyright.Asforthehauntingqualityinhervoice, itsnotbecause shes singing toBobDylanorLouReed.Nicowasjustreallydepressed.

WARHOL:Thewholetimethealbumwasbeingmade,nobodyseemedhappywithit,especiallyNico.IwanttosoundlikeBawwwhhhbDeee-lahhhn,shewailed, soupset because shedidnt. TheVelvets didntwant to turn into aback-upbandforachanteuse,butironically,Louwrotethegreatestsongsforhertosing,likeFemmeFataleandIllBeYourMirrorandAllTomorrowsParties.Hervoice,thewords,andthesoundsTheVelvetsmadeallweresomagicaltogether.

FIELDS: Andy had no influence on their sound whatsoever. Andy doesntknowhowtotranslateideasintomusicalterms.ThesongsonthatfirstrecordsoundedverymuchlikethewayIwasusedtohearingthemlive.WhatAndywasperhapsdoingontherecordwasmakingthemsoundlikeheknewtheysounded at the Factory. Thats what I would do if I were an amateur atproduction, Iwould try andmake them sound like theway Iwas used tohearingthem.Ithinkthatsagreatcredittotheproducer-artistrelationshipthatyoutrytogetthemtosoundlikethepersonyoufellinlovewith.Back at theDom,GeorgeEnglish in an article inFire IslandNewswrote,

The rocknroll music gets louder, the dancers get more frantic, and thelightsstartgoingonandoff likecrazy.Andtherearespotlightsblinking inour eyes, and car horns beeping, andGerardMalanga and the dancers areshakinglikemad,andyoudontthinkthenoisecangetanylouder,andthenitdoes,until there isonebig rhythmic tidalwaveof sound,pressingdownaroundyou, just impureenoughsoyoucanstillget thebest; theaudience,the dancers, the music and the movies, all of it fused together into one

magnificentmomentofhysteria.FIELDS: The Exploding Plastic Inevitable made a theatrical impact.We have

very few records of that. But it was The Velvets who made the musicalimpact. Ifyouweretheretherecordwill immediatelybringitallback.Buttheshowandtheambienceisntontherecord.Youjusthavetorelyonthemusic and thats all thats left.And especially as history goes further awayandaswitnessesdietheresnoonereallytorememberitandthatrecordisallthatwillbe.So,youhavetosayyes,itwasthatmusic.Alsooutofrespecttothepeopleintheband.Itwasthehousebandofthatsceneandeverybodydancedtothem.Iwasabigcriticofnotshowingtheband.Ialwaysthoughtthatwasretardingtheirpopularity.Youhadtowatchafuckingpsychedeliclight show! All these fucking plaids and water-colours and drippings. Ithought The Velvets were fabulous-looking people and there they weredrowned out by this god-damned psychedelicmediocrity. I complained allthetimeaboutthat.IsaidthismaybeartorahappeningbutIlovetheband.I thought then that if this light and movie show wasnt happening morepeoplewouldseethemandcometobeintriguedwiththem,becauseIwassoin lovewithLou. I thoughthewas just thehottest looking sexiestperson Ieverhaveseen.TheVelvetsareanenormousinfluenceonthemusicoftoday.Andiftheirinfluencelivesonitsgoingtobeasamusicalgroupbecauserockgroupswithlightshowsontopofthemneverbecameaverybigthing.Itwasan experiment that didnt work, because audiences really went to see theband.Theydidntgotoseealivemovie.The Exploding Plastic Inevitable at theDomprovides a perfect example of

how Andy Warhol works so successfully with so many different peoplestalentsandideas.Hehasalwaysbeenaconduitthroughwhichmulti-talentedpeoplewhodidntknowquitehowtouse their talentscould findaway toexpressthemselvessuccinctly.SterlingMorrisonhassaidthatWarholwasthemost important influenceonhis life:Itsoundscrazy,butonreflectionIvedecidedthathewasneverwrong.Hegaveustheconfidencetokeepdoingwhatweweredoing.Andy themovie-makerbecamehereAndy the conductorof anorchestra,

buthavingathis fingertips,asJonasMekaspointedout, notonlymanydifferent creative components like sound control, a rock band, slideprojectors, movie projectors, camera and lighting but also all the extremepersonalitiesofeachoperatorofeachpieceofequipment.Hewasstructuringwith temperaments, egos and personalities. The groupwas all the peoplecontributingtotheshowandeverybodywaspaidthesameamountforeach

nightsperformance,i.e.,LouReedreceivedthesameamountforplayingandsingingasGerardfordancingorDannyWilliamsforworkingthelights.Onanaveragenightat theDomtheywouldbepaidahundreddollarsapiece.During their first week there they took in $18,000. According to SterlingMorrisontheykeptallthemoneyinbrownpaperbagsandusedittofinancesomeoftheupcomingrecordingsessionsandlatertheirtriptoCalifornia.NoneoftheideasbeingusedwereAndysmorethananybodyelses,butit

wasundoubtedlyhispresencethatgavethediscordantproductioncohesion.Itwasalsoamarvellousextensionofhisworkasaportraitartistforhereonehadamulti-dimensional livingportraitoperatingonceani