an interview with PAUL ZONE, by Chuck "New Wave" Nolan
Paul Zone, we need a caption here,
this is a new site under construction, so if you surfed into this on the
net, stay tuned!
CHUCK: I would assume that the Zone brothers grew up in N.Y. Miki and Armand had a few years on you. Describe your earliest memories of these guys, and their rock and roll influence on you?
PAUL: WE WERE BORN IN BROOKLYN, AND AS LONG AS I REMEMBER, WE DIDN’T FIT IN WITH THE NORM. FROM THE MID SIXTIES ON, WE WERE ALWAYS MORE THAN JUST INTERESTED IN POP MUSIC. WE BOUGHT EVERY RECORD THAT CAME OUT, AND UNTIL THIS DAY I HAVE MAINTAINED A ’45 COLLECTION THAT IS VERY COOL. I HAVE ALL THE ORIGINAL ‘45’S AND STILL SEEK OUT THRIFT SHOPS AND RECORD SWAPS. WE HAD A VERY STRANGE UPBRINGIN’ ‘CAUSE NOTHING BUT MUSIC WAS OUR LIFE. NOT SPORTS. NOT MUCH FRIENDS, ONLY THE ONES THAT HAD THE SAME MUSICAL INTERESTS. ARMAND WAS TWO YEARS OLDER, AND MIKI WAS THREE YEARS OLDER. EVEN THOUGH I WAS YOUNGER, I WAS STILL RESPECTED BY THEM WHEN IT CAME TO MY INSIGHT AND ENTHUSIASM. BY THE LATE 60’S/EARLY 70’S, WE ALREADY KNEW EXACTLY WHAT WE LIKED IN MUSIC. WE HATED HIPPIES, AND WOODSTOCK HAD ONLY THE WHO FOR US! WE GRAVITATED TO THE ENGLISH SOUND ONLY (THE WHO, THE MOVE, THE SMALL FACES, THE KINKS, THE HOLLIES, THE ZOMBIES, THE BEE GEES, AND SO ON.)
CHUCK: Miki and Armand started The Fast. What is the earliest year that The Fast became a concept, let alone a band?
The Fast circa 1975, featuring
Armand Zone on lead vocals. Photo courtesy of Nancy Cataldi (all
rights reserved).
PAUL: MIKI AND ARMAND HAD A FEW BANDS BY NOW (early to mid seventies) AND WERE PLAYING BLOCK PARTIES AND SCHOOL DANCES. THEY’D NEVER GET CALLED BACK ‘CAUSE THE COVER SONGS WERE ALWAYS RARE BRITISH TRACKS (THE WHO’S TATTOO, THE KINKS' DEDICATED FOLLOWER OF FASHION, THE MOVE’S HELLO SUZY, THE HOLLIES' JENNIFER ECHILLES, ETC.) THE THINGS WE WOULD WEAR WERE KINDA VERY EARLY GLAM THINGS LIKE FEATHER BOAS, SATIN PANTS, PLATFORM SHOES, EVEN SILVER MAKEUP LIKE IGGY, AND LIPSTICK LIKE (OH GOD) ROD STEWART! WE WERE NOT INTO THE HIPPY SOUND OR LOOK. WE WERE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR FAB SHOES AND CLOTHES. IF WE COULDN’T FIND THEM, WE WOULD HAVE FRIENDS MAKE THEM FOR US. EVERYONE JUST CALLED US THE FAG FREAKS, BUT WE JUST THOUGHT IT WAS ROCK AND ROLL! LIVING IN BROOKLYN WAS SORT OF A PROBLEM WHEN YOU DRESSED LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME! WHEN I SAY “WE,” IT WAS WE, EVEN THOUGH I WASN’T OLD ENOUGH, AND MIKI DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO PUT ME THERE. YET, I WAS ALWAYS A PART. THE NAME “THE FAST” CAME IN ’72 OR ’73. KINDA LIKE THE MOVE, OR THE WHO.
CHUCK: How were you a part, besides the brave fashion statement, and the brotherly bond? I read in your early fanzine from the 70’s FAST FORWARD, that you roadied, and became a celebrity in your own right.
Issue one of Fast Forward, the
"official" Fast Fanclub magazine circa 1977
PAUL: I WAS THE YOUNGEST KID ON THE SCENE BACK THEN, AT MAX’S, AND THE DOLL’S SHOWS. I WAS EMBRACED BY EVERYONE, SINCE I WAS HANGING AROUND WITH SUCH A WILD CROWD AT MY AGE, IN SUCH A DIVERSE TIME OF DRUGS, MUSIC, SEXUAL FREEDOM, AND TRANSGENDER FASHION. IT SHAPED ME IN A VERY OPEN AND STRANGE WAY OF EXISTANCE. YOU KNOW, THE SIXTIES WERE A VERY HARD TIME TO DO WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO. THEY HAD TO FIGHT FOR EVERYTHING! IN THE EARLY 70’S, YOU COULD DO ANYTHING. WHO CARED! I ALSE HAD TO SAY I DID SOMETHING, SO I WAS A PHOTOGRAPHER, FASHION DESIGNER, HAIR CUTTER, TO NAME A FEW THINGS. I STARTED WORKING AS A PHOTOGRAPHER WITH A FRIEND NAMED LANCE LOUD (FROM THE PBS TV SHOW “AN AMERICAN FAMILY” AND THE BAND “THE MUMPS.) WE WOULD INTERVIEW AND PHOTOGRAPH EVERYONE, AND GET TO GO TO EVERY CONCERT AND PARTY IN N.Y.
CHUCK: What did you think of the movie Velvet Goldmine?
IT WAS O.K. I THINK THAT ANYONE WHO LIVES THROUGH THINGS, IS A LITTLE JADED AT THE WAY MOVIES MAKE IT LOOK. I’M GLAD SOMEONE IS TRYING TO DOCUMENT IT.
Ace photographer Paul Zone circa
1975, complete with Glam suit! Photo by Nancy Cataldi (all rights
reserved).