In between Glam, and Punk/New Wave, a portion of The Fast’s existence was spent in a musical gray area, for Lou feels the media has created a false historical representation of the 70’s music scene.  You don’t get a cut and dry  “arena rock thing right into punk.  Glitter gets forgotten, and there was a transition period during glitter and punk, where there was no real image set.  Glitter you can’t pull off anymore.  You can’t do the gender bending.  There was no shock appeal to it, so where do you go?”

        Punk is viewed by Lou as the natural extension of Glam, where during a gray musical era, thrift store clothing, leather jackets, etc. took the place of feather boas, and makeup, for shock appeal.  Lou explains The Fast’s often bizarre stage presence as “nothing was too weird, or too silly to do.”  It was done for sheer “entertainment value.”
 

        One important aspect of a Fast show, was Miki’s pencil act, where he would take a normal number 2 pencil, hit his guitar over and over with it, making bizarre noises. Then he would take a large 6 foot replica of a pencil and play his guitar like a violin, ala Jimmy Page!  This is shown on a Japanese video compilation called Under Underground, minus the large pencil.  Apparently some video footage exists of an entire Fast show, that was shown on NY cable access.  Both Paul and Lou can not remember who did the actually filming, or where the show can be located.

       The first time Lou saw The Fast as contenders in the rising NY rock scene was when Tommy Dean, of Max’s Kansas City, took a liking to them.  The Fast were professional, sounded as good as anyone on the scene, and as far as the Zone’s potential for stardom, Lou thought “why not?”  Lou and The Fast were good friends, so his opinions were always biased in their favor, but Lou explains that neither The Dead Boys, Talking Heads or Blondie sounded anything like their first records, and needed production and guidance to succeed.  Tommy Dean’s introduction into The Fast’s orbit was a step in the right direction.

       Back in these days, The Fast did some recordings with Bobby “O” Orlando, at SBS Studios.  As a result, Lou started working at the studio, and ended up working on the Max’s Kansas City album, and is credited as an engineer for the Jayne County stuff, and co-engineer for The Fast’s material.
 

       At this point, Tommie Moonie left the band , and Lou became “jealous” when he was passed over for The Fast’s bass slot.  When Robert Hoffman got the gig, Lou wondered “who the hell is Robert Hoffman, he was Peter’s younger brother, we never even saw him, it wasn’t like he hung with the ‘gang.’ I felt like I kinda got stepped over.”  Miki wanted a combination of 2(Hoffman) and 3(Zone) brothers as a novelty, and later mentioned to Lou that “we were trying something.  We wanted to do you, but Peter was making noises” wanting his brother in the band.

       I begin a conversation discussing the rationale behind Miki’s bizarre decisions (The Hoffman Brothers/naming the band Miki Zone Zoo for a while) wondering if there was a potential ego-problem.  Lou doesn’t deny that there were some fights, but it was all “brother stuff.”  Miki never “wore it on his sleeve” that he was The Fast’s leader, and wanted “everyone to have fun.”  Lou describes all the Zone brothers, as characters, being larger than life on and off stage.  Miki in particular was “funny” and always searching to make people laugh.

       Lou describes Armand as a “sweet guy,” but moodier that Paul or Miki.  Lou felt sorry for Armand, because he was so talented, and a great singer, but felt he just got “overshadowed” by his brothers, who had “bigger” personalities.  As a result, Armand took steps to create his own unique persona, leaving The Fast, learning to speak German, dressing lavishly, and ultimately cultivating a “pre-Goth” image.  Armand’s band Ozone was born, and once again, a Zone brother was just a little ahead of his time.
 

       At this point, Lou was asked to join the band.  Up until that point, Lou hadn’t played out much, but he remembers playing a cover gig, where Bobby Orlando was shouting the notes for Lou to play from the audience!  Lou also tried out for Harry Toledo, who’s also included on the Max’s `76 compilation.  Lou wishes he had more specifics about this era, but it all happened very fast (imagine that!) with a couple of rehearsals, and gigs immediately.  It all happened so quick, that it’s hard to remember.  Lou also stresses that he had no idea he was living in an era that would be become so historically loved as the NY punk/new wave scene, and every night, he’d be out talking to the same people, going to the same places, so few things really stand out.