Chris Campion

Last updated

Chris Campion is a British author, journalist, ghostwriter, editor, producer, and filmmaker. His work has been published in The Guardian, Telegraph, Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, Vice, and Dazed & Confused. He is the founder of reissue label Saint Cecilia Knows. [1]

Contents

Work

Journalism

From 1998 to 2004, Campion was a contributing editor and feature writer for Dazed & Confused magazine, for whom he interviewed artists, musicians, and other cultural figures, including writers Hunter S. Thompson, Hubert Selby Jr, and artists Panamarenko and Joe Coleman. He was also a regular contributor to Dazed's sister magazines, Another and Intersection. In 2002, Vice UK editor Andy Capper asked Campion to be one of the founding contributing editors of the British edition of Vice magazine.

He contributed long-form features, interviews, and reviews to Observer Music Monthly (OMM), a magazine supplement of The Observer newspaper, between 2004 and 2009. In 2005, on assignment for OMM, Campion went on tour in Norway with notorious Black metal band, Mayhem. It was the first time the group had ever toured with Attila Csihar, vocalist on their debut album, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas . The resulting article, In the Face of Death, a survey of the Norwegian Black Metal scene, also included interviews with of Fenriz of Darkthrone, Bard Eithun, of Gorgoroth was published in February 2005. Other work for OMM included a survey of the J-Pop scene and its fan culture, and features on ukulele-playing troubadour Tiny Tim and The Mamas & the Papas founder and songwriter, John Phillips. [2] Campion is writing a long-in-the-works biography of John Phillips, entitled Wolf King.

Ghostwriting

In 2013, Campion worked uncredited, for former porn star, actress, and Twitch streamer, Sasha Grey, as the ghostwriter of The Juliette Society, a satirical erotic novel about a fictional, deep state secret sex society, whose guiding philosophy is inspired by the titular character of the Marquis de Sade novel, Juliette. The book took its cue from classic erotic novels 120 Days of Sodom, Thérèse the Philosopher , and Voltaire's Candide, tracing the sexual awakening of an innocent, a young film student, Catherine (loosely modeled on Grey, a film aficionado herself), whose unconscious desires are awakened after watching the 1967 Luis Buñuel film, Belle De Jour, starring Catherine Deneuve. As Catherine explores a disturbing sexual underworld populated by bizarre characters, she is unwittingly drawn closer and closer to the titular secret society. [3]

Arriving at the height of Fifty Shades of Grey mania, The Juliette Society was published in 24 countries and 20 languages and optioned for a film adaptation by Fox, for writer Scott Z. Burns (The Bourne Supremacy, Contagion, The Report). Following the publication of the book, Campion created story outlines for and titled (but did not write) two further books in what would become The Juliette Society trilogy, The Janus Chamber and The Mismade Girl.

He co-wrote Some New Kind of Kick, a memoir for guitarist and musician Kid Congo Powers (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Cramps, The Gun Club). The book was published in 2021 by Hachette in the US and Omnibus Press in the UK, and longlisted for the 2023 Penderyn Music Prize. [4]

Editor

In the summer of 2020, when Black Lives Matter protests raged across the US following the murder of George Floyd, Campion began working on The War Is Here: Newark 1967, a monograph of images shot by Life magazine photographer Bud Lee, struck how the photographs resonated with events taking place over half a century later decided they needed to be published. Campion rediscovered Lee's work in 2018 while researching another project. [5] While on assignment in Newark for Life, Lee photographed the shooting death of a 24-year-old man named Billy Furr, which ran in the magazine. Lee's photograph of a 12-year-old boy, Joey Bass Jr., lying wounded and bleeding in the street by the police gunfire, the same bullets that killed Furr, was used on the cover of the July 28, 1967 issue of Life. The book, edited, designed and written by Campion, was published in May 2023 by ZE Books, a vanity publisher founded by Michael Zilkha, formerly of ZE Records. [6] The foreword was written by 40th Mayor of Newark, the Honorable Ras J. Baraka, son of poet, playwright, and political activist, Amiri Baraka. [7]

Producer

Campion founded the boutique music reissue label, Saint Cecilia Knows. Between 2011 and 2015, the label put out three highly-acclaimed releases, reissuing albums by singer-songwriters Mickey Newbury and Scott Fagan, and music by lost proto-punk and no wave band, Jack Ruby.

The first release on Saint Cecilia Knows was An American Trilogy, a 4-CD box set of albums by Mickey Newbury released in 2011. The box set collects the albums Looks Like Rain (Mercury, 1969), Frisco Mabel Joy (Elektra, 1971) and Heaven Help the Child (Elektra, 1973), alongside an additional album of rarities and unreleased material by Newbury, entitled Better Days. The box set was sub-licensed for US release to Drag City, who produced vinyl editions of each album. Newbury's albums had never been reissued prior to the Saint Cecilia Knows release. The masters, believed lost and destroyed in a fire, were located in the Rhino tape archive having been misfiled under the name 'Newberry'.

Due to the lack of a 2-track master of Looks Like Rain, the first album in the series, the original mix (with songs interspersed by sound effects) was painstakingly recreated by Grammy-winning engineer and producer Steve Rosenthal from the original multitrack tapes, at his NYC studio The Magic Shop. [8] All four records were mastered by Grammy-nominated engineer, Jessica Thompson. A limited edition box set of the album, art directed by Grammy Award-winning designer Susan Archie, was released with extensive liner notes written by Campion, on Newbury's songwriting and the recording of the albums, alongside a text by Will Oldham and a vintage interview of Newbury by former Rolling Stone editor, Ben Fong Torres.

Hit and Run, a 2-disc anthology of music recorded between 1973 and 1977 by long disbanded NYC proto-punk group Jack Ruby, was released on Saint Cecilia Knows in 2014. The set included specially-commissioned artwork by Japanese painter Ken Hamaguchi, and liner notes by Jon Savage and Thurston Moore. [9] [10] Following the release, Jack Ruby's music was picked up for use in the Martin Scorsese-produced HBO series, Vinyl. Nasty Bits, the fictional punk group in the show, perform the Jack Ruby songs "Hit & Run", "Bored Stiff" and "Bad Teeth", along with a cover of "Beggars Parade" (originalist released by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons), which were rerecorded for the show by a band helmed by Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo, with Yo La Tengo bassist James McNew, Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley, and Velvet Monkeys and B.A.L.L. frontman, Don Fleming. [11]

In 2015, Saint Cecilia Knows reissued South Atlantic Blues, the obscure debut album by songwriter Scott Fagan, father of The Magnetic Fields frontman and songwriter Stephen Merritt. Fagan, who hailed from the US Virgin Islands, was discovered, mentored, and managed by legendary Brill Building songwriter, Doc Pomus, soon after arriving in New York City, in 1964, with 10 cents in his pocket and Pomus' number written on a scrap of paper. In 1968, now-managed by Buffy Sainte Marie , Herb Gart, he recorded his debut album, a mystical stew of folk rock and calypso. The album was released on Atlantic Records subsidiary, Atco, but bombed. A few years later, artist Jasper Johns picked up a copy of the album in a cut-out bin and was so enamored of it that he created three limited edition lithographs, all entitled "Scott Fagan Record". An image of one of the lithographs was featured on a limited edition vinyl reissue of South Atlantic Blues, the first time Johns had authorized the use of his artwork on an album. [12] [13]

Film

Campion has a cameo appearance in the 2016 'documentary fiction' Where is Rocky II? by French artist and filmmaker, Pierre Bismuth (writer of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), about the search for Rocky II, a mythical work by artist Ed Ruscha, a fiberglass rock he apparently placed in the Mojave Desert near Joshua Tree in 1980. [14]

In 2018, he started work on his debut film as writer and director, Markland Mountain, a documentary about the cultural history of Joshua Tree. [15] The film is currently in post-production. [16]

Bibliography

Books

As author

  • Walking on the Moon: the Story of the Police and the Rise of New Wave Rock by Chris Campion (US: Wiley, 2009; UK: Aurum Press, 2010)
  • The Juliette Society by Sasha Grey (US: Central Publishing, 2013; UK: reissue 2013) – ghostwriter (uncredited).
  • Some New Kind of Kick by Kid Congo Powers with Chris Campion (US: Hachette, 2022; UK: Omnibus Press) – co-writer.
  • The War is Here: Newark 1967 by Bud Lee, Chris Campion (ZE Books, 2023) – also editor and designer.

As contributor

  • Suture: the Counter-culture Arts Journal (Creation Books, 1998)
  • Dennis Hopper: Movie Top Ten (Creation Books, 1999)
  • Harvey Keitel: Movie Top Ten (Creation Books, 1999)
  • Apocalypse Culture II (Feral House, 2000)
  • Star Culture: The Dazed and Confused Collected Interviews (Phaidon, 2000)
  • Jim Jarmusch: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers Series) (University Press of Mississippi, 2001)

Journalism

Selected published articles

  • Ramm Raider. Interview and profile of Rammellzee. (Dazed & Confused, 2000).
  • You Shit-eating Swine! Interview and profile of Hunter S. Thompson. (Dazed & Confused, 2002).
  • Delta Witch Trials. Reportage article about the West Memphis 3. (Telegraph Magazine, July 2005).
  • J-Pop's Dream Factory. Reportage article about J-Pop boy and girl groups. (Observer Music Monthly, 2005).
  • In the Face of Death. Reportage article about Mayhem and the Norwegian Black Metal scene. (Observer Music Monthly, February 2005).
  • King of the Wild Frontier. Profile of John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas. (Observer Music Monthly, November 2009)
  • Space Cowboy. Feature article on Saturation 70, the lost Gram Parsons sci-fi movie. (Mojo, February 2013)
  • Saturation 70: the Gram Parsons UFO film that never flew. Article on an exhibition about Saturation 70. (The Guardian, September 2014)
  • Lithofayne Pridgon: Jimi Hendrix's original ‘Foxy Lady. Interview and profile of Lithofayne Pridgon. (Observer Magazine, April 2015)
  • Punk prosthetics: the mesmerising art of Mari Katayama. Interview and profile of Japanese artist Mari Katayama. (The Guardian, March 2017)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Stooges</span> American punk rock band

The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, and also known as Iggy and the Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexander. Initially playing a raw, primitive style of rock and roll, the band sold few records in their original incarnation and gained a reputation for their confrontational performances, which often involved acts of self-mutilation by Iggy Pop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daft Punk</span> French electronic music duo (1993–2021)

Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved early popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining elements of house music with funk, disco, techno, rock and synth-pop. They are regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suicide (band)</span> American musical duo

Suicide was an American musical duo composed of vocalist Alan Vega and instrumentalist Martin Rev, intermittently active between 1970 and 2016. The group's pioneering music used minimalist electronic instrumentation, including synthesizers and primitive drum machines, and their early performances were confrontational and often ended in violence. They were among the first acts to use the phrase "punk music" in an advertisement for a concert in 1970—during their very brief stint as a three-piece including Paul Liebegott.

<i>Walk Among Us</i> 1982 studio album by the Misfits

Walk Among Us is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band Misfits, released in March 1982 by Ruby Records and its parent label Slash Records. It was the first full-length album to be released by the band, although it was the third to be recorded, after Static Age and 12 Hits from Hell. The recording sessions for Walk Among Us took place at multiple studios between June 1981 and January 1982, and the album also includes the track "Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight?", which was recorded live at the Ritz in New York City. The album features a re-recording of the single "Night of the Living Dead", which was released on October 31, 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pansy Division</span> American punk band

Pansy Division is an American queercore band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1991 by guitarist/singer/songwriter Jon Ginoli along with bassist Chris Freeman.

Slash Records was an American record label originally specializing in local punk rock bands, active from 1978 to 2000. It was notable as one of the first and most successful independent record labels in alternative music, before its eventual acquisition by Warner Music Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wicked Game</span> 1989 single by Chris Isaak

"Wicked Game" is a song by American rock musician Chris Isaak from his third album Heart Shaped World (1989). It was released as a single to little attention in July 1989 but became a sleeper hit when Lee Chestnut, an Atlanta radio station music director who loved David Lynch films, began broadcasting it after hearing it in Lynch's film Wild at Heart (1990). The song quickly became an American top 10 hit in March 1991, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also became a No. 1 hit in Belgium and reached the top 10 in several other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cristina (singer)</span> American singer (1959–2020)

Cristina Monet Zilkha, known during her recording career simply as Cristina, was an American singer and writer, best known for her no wave recordings made for ZE Records in the late 1970s and early 1980s in New York City. She "was a pioneer in blending the artsiness and attitude of punk with the joyful energy of disco and pop.... [which] helped pave the way for the massive successes of her contemporaries, like Madonna and Cyndi Lauper, and anticipated the rise of confrontational but danceable alt-pop acts..." in a mode that was at once "campy, self-aware, and infectious."

<i>Last Chance Disco</i> 2005 studio album by Acoustic Ladyland

Last Chance Disco is the second studio album by British punk jazz band Acoustic Ladyland. It was released on 16 May 2005 by Babel Label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Flesh Eaters</span> American punk band

The Flesh Eaters are an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1977. They are the most prominent of the bands which have showcased the compositions and singing of their founder, punk poet Chris Desjardins, best known as Chris D. While Desjardins is the group's only continual member, the Flesh Eaters' lineup has drawn from some of the most famous bands of the L.A. punk scene, such as the Plugz, X, the Blasters, and Los Lobos.

<i>Le Fil</i> (album) 2005 studio album by Camille

Le Fil is the second album by French singer–songwriter Camille. First released in 2005, the album was reissued with four bonus tracks in 2006 in the United States, the UK and Australia. The title translates as "The Thread".

Jonathan Anastas is an American gaming, entertainment, media, marketing and sports executive, and a musician who co-founded a number of Boston hardcore punk bands.

<i>Heaven Help the Child</i> 1973 studio album by Mickey Newbury

Heaven Help the Child is a 1973 studio album by country singer-songwriter Mickey Newbury. The album was Newbury's third consecutive release recorded at Cinderella Studios. Noted for its dramatic remakes of four previous Newbury songs: "Sweet Memories" and "Good Morning Dear" from Harlequin Melodies, "Sunshine" from Sings His Own, and "San Francisco Mabel Joy" from Looks Like Rain, the album is considered equal among Newbury's acclaimed Looks Like Rain and Frisco Mabel Joy. Apart from its definitive versions of three of Newbury's early songwriting hits, the album is also acclaimed for its title track, with its multi-generational narrative, the haunting "Cortelia Clark", and the bluegrass classic "Why You Been Gone So Long". In his AllMusic review of the LP, Thom Jurek declares, "Newbury, for the third time in as many recording sessions, came up with a record that defies categorization. And for the third time in a row, he had done the impossible, created a masterpiece, a work of perfection."

George Scott III was a bass player for several New York City bands during the No Wave era. He was a founding member of 8-Eyed Spy and the Raybeats, and he worked with James Chance and the Contortions, James White and the Blacks, Human Switchboard, and John Cale, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruby Red (song)</span> 1982 single by Slade

"Ruby Red" is a song by English rock band Slade, released in 1982 as the third single from the band's tenth studio album, Till Deaf Do Us Part. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and was produced by Slade. "Ruby Red" reached number 51 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 75 for three weeks.

<i>Call of the Wild</i> (Lee Aaron album) 1985 studio album by Lee Aaron

Call of the Wild is the third studio album by singer Lee Aaron, released on June 27, 1985 through Attic Records; a remastered edition was reissued in 2002 through Unidisc Music. The album reached #86 on the RPM Canadian Albums Chart on August 24, 1985 and remained on the chart for twelve weeks. The title track was included on a 1988 reissue but not included on the original release. It was, however, included on the B-side of the 12-inch single of "Barely Holdin' On".

<i>Romeo</i> (EP) 2009 EP by Shinee

Romeo is the second EP by South Korean boy group Shinee. It was released on May 25, 2009, in South Korea under the seal of the label SM Entertainment. The EP consists of six tracks including the title song "Juliette" and is Shinee's first Korean release after a seven-month hiatus. On August 29, 2011, a Japanese version of "Juliette" was released as Shinee's second Japanese single with the original Japanese song "Kiss Kiss Kiss" as a B-side. The release peaked at number three on the weekly Oricon chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protomartyr (band)</span> American rock band

Protomartyr is an American post-punk band formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 2010. The band consists of Joe Casey (vocals), Greg Ahee (guitar), Alex Leonard (drums), and Scott Davidson (bass). In 2020, Kelley Deal joined the band in a touring capacity, providing additional keyboards, guitar and backing vocals.

<i>Held on the Tips of Fingers</i> 2005 studio album by Polar Bear

Held on the Tips of Fingers is the second album by Sebastian Rochford's British jazz band Polar Bear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fat White Family</span> English rock band

Fat White Family are an English rock band, formed in 2011 in Peckham, South London. Frontman Lias Saoudi has remained the project's sole constant member across multiple line-up changes. The band's current line-up also includes Adam J Harmer (guitar), Adam Brennan (guitar), Alex White, Victor Jakeman and Guilherme Fells (drums). Former guitarist and vocalist Saul Adamczewski has been an on-again-off-again member of the band across its career.

References

  1. ↑ "Chris Campion's Profile | The Guardian, The Telegraph, Los Angeles Times Journalist | Muck Rack". muckrack.com. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  2. ↑ "Chris Campion | The Guardian". the Guardian. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  3. ↑ karleyslutever (2014-05-11). "Going Deep with Sasha Grey". SLUTEVER. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  4. ↑ Jon (2023-01-26). "Penderyn Music Book Prize 2023 – Longlist Announced". Penderyn. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
  5. ↑ "The shocking images that defined Newark's 1967 uprising". Huck. 2023-07-28. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  6. ↑ Simpson, Dave (2023-03-16). "Contort yourself! The mutant disco mayhem of New York's Ze Records". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  7. ↑ "The War is Here: Newark 1967". ZE BOOKS. 2023-05-31. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  8. ↑ "Mickey Newbury's Looks Like Rain: Remastering and Recreating A 60s Classic". tapeop.com. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  9. ↑ "Jack Ruby 'Hit And Run'". Cargo Records UK. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  10. ↑ Moore, Thurston (2014-04-25). "Thurston Moore on Jack Ruby: the forgotten heroes of pre-punk". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  11. ↑ "How "Vinyl" and Lee Ranaldo Turned a Lost '70s Act Into TV's Next Great Fictional Band". Pitchfork. 2016-02-12. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
  12. ↑ Farber, Jim (2015-11-25). "Scott Fagan's Long Strange Trip, With Detours (Published 2015)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  13. ↑ Barton, Laura (2015-11-19). "Scott Fagan: the psych-folk singer once tipped to be bigger than Elvis". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  14. ↑ Campion, Chris (2015-02-11). "Where is Rocky II? The 10-year desert hunt for Ed Ruscha's missing boulder". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-07-27.
  15. ↑ "Markland Mountain | Documentary Film". Markland Mountain. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
  16. ↑ Campion, Chris, Markland Mountain, Robert Walker Jr, John Drew Barrymore, John Phillip Law, Rhino Films, retrieved 2023-07-27
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.