Capturing travel with Bob Gruen
Bob Gruen is a preeminent roll ‘n’ roll photographer who has captured images of icons such as John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the Rolling Stones and Tina Turner. In his latest book, “Right Place, Right Time: The Life of a Rock& Roll Photographer” (Abrams Press, $32.50), Gruen shares his stories and photos.
Though he has traveled worldwide, he still remembers his first big solo trip. “Mymomsent me to a school in Switzerland the summer Iwas 15,” said Gruen, whowas born and raised inNew York. “I traveled alone through Dublin and Paris andGeneva to get there. Itwas amazing. I loved traveling and eating new foods. I met students fromother countries and learned about their cultures.”
Q: Whatwas it like being out and about with John andYoko inNew York City?
A: They enjoyed living inNewYork because they couldwalk down the street or in a park or go to a restaurant and not be bothered. Peoplewould recognize them, of course, butNewYorkers are discreet andwould let them be. New York has great studios to record in and musicians towork with and they enjoyed the normality of riding inmy Volkswagen when Iwould drive them home after a session.
Q: Howdid some of your most memorable photo shoots come about?
A: Favorite location memories start with taking the Clash toMount Tamalpais
just north of San Francisco. It’s one ofmy favorite places in theworld, and when I told the band Iwas going there, they asked if they could come along. We had a relaxing visit, but on theway backmy brakes started to fail! I pulled the emergency brake and got the car stopped just in time.
On tour in Japan with Kiss, we arranged to go to some classic spots in Kyoto. The day before the shoot, I had a taxi driver takeme around town to find some good possibilities and I took Polaroids. That night I showed the pictures to the band and we picked three places. The next day, the taxi driver took me back to the places with the band following in a van. But after visiting the first location, people started following us. By the timewe got to the third place, Iwas leading a procession several blocks long of fans in their cars aswe drove through the quaint streets.
And I stopped in Paris on theway home from a trip and found out Tina Turnerwas there filming a promotional video. I connected with her and got some great photos of her in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Q: Peoplewould imagine that being on a tour
bus with the Sex Pistols was chaotic. Whatwas it really like?
A: Therewas a lot of chaos around the Sex Pistols shows on theirU.S. tour in ’78. But on the bus, wewere actually very mellow— the band drinking beer, smoking pot and listening to dub reggae music. Funny thing is that when you got to know them, theywere all pretty nice guys, but their reputation preceded them. The bandwas indeed in awe of theU.S., just enjoying listening to American accents, going to a strip club in Atlanta, the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles and buying leather biker jackets in San Francisco.
Q: What untapped destination should people knowabout?
A: Tortola is a great place to relax for a few days.
Q: What are your five favorite cities?
A: NewYork, Paris, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires.
Q: Wherewould you like to go that you have never been to before?
A: Bali or Kathmandu.