Laura Davis-Chanin
Laura Davis-Chanin | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 2, 1961 |
| Occupation | Author |
| Subject | Memoir, Biography, Music, Rock n Roll |
| Notable awards | ASCAP Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomsan Award for Excellence in Writing, 2018 |
| Spouse | Les Chanin (m. 1992; div 2016) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | |
| laurakdc.com | |
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Laura Davis-Chanin (born December 2, 1961), is an American author. Her first book, The Girl in the Back: A Female Drummer's Life with Bowie, Blondie and the '70s Rock Scene, was named one of the top 10 Music books in 2018 by Billboard Magazine.[1] It chronicles her life as a drummer in the late '70s New York punk scene with her band The Student Teachers as they performed in renowned punk nightclubs––Max's Kansas City and CBGBs. The book also covers her relationship with Jimmy Destri from Blondie who produced her band's records as well as her friendship with David Bowie who gave her life-saving advice when she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1980.
Her second book, I am Michael Alago, covers the life of Michael Alago, the remarkable man who brought Metallica to the world as well as reigniting Nina Simone's career.
Her next book, Infinite Dreams: The Life of Alan Vega about the iconic performer and artist, Alan Vega from the band Suicide, will be released in June, 2024.
Music career
The Student Teachers
In 1978, Davis-Chanin formed the band The Student Teachers with her friends, Bill Arning, Lori Reese, David Scharff, Philip Shelley and Joe Katz. When they first formed, Davis-Chanin and Reese decided to be the rhythm section--one of the first at that time in rock n' roll--but they didn't know how to play their instruments. One month after learning the drums and bass, respectively, and the band started rehearsing, they had their first gig at Max's Kansas City opening for The Blessed.[2]
Over the next two years, they played shows with MC5, Iggy Pop, The Cramps, The Mumps, Richard Hell, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks and they attracted the interest of David Bowie who helped them with reworking some of their songs and getting them important shows such as opening for Iggy Pop at the Palladium in NYC.[3]
The band released a single, "Channel 13/Christmas Weather" in 1979 on Ork Records with Jimmy Destri producing. The following year, Jimmy Destri produced Marty Thau Presents 2x5 on Marty Thau's Red Star Records which included a number of songs by various artists including The Student Teachers, The Fleshtones, The Bloodless Pharaohs with Brian Setzer, Comateens and The Revelons.
Blondie
Jimmy Destri brought Davis-Chanin along on Blondie's early tours across the world which she writes about in her first book, The Girl in the Back. He also pulled her in to co-write 2 songs for Blondie--"Slow Motion" in 1979 on the album Eat to the Beat and "Angels on the Balcony" on the album AutoAmerican in 1980.
Personal Life
Davis-Chanin was born in Fairfax, Virginia. Her mother, Mary Virginia Davis, was a technical writer working for the U.S. Government and her father, Douglas Davis, was art critic for Newsweek in the 1980s and 1990s as well as a successful visual and performance artist known for his art performances with Joseph Beuys and Nam June Paik. Davis-Chanin's parents divorced and her father married Jane Bell. Davis-Chanin and her sister, Mary Beth, moved to New York City in 1973 with her father and her stepmother. Davis-Chanin attended St. Luke's Elementary School then Friends Seminary High School.
After being diagnosed with MS in 1980, Davis-Chanin attended New York University earning her BFA in 1986 in Dramatic Writing. She married in 1991 and had two children, Zoe in 1992 and Mara in 1994. After her second daughter was born, she attended CUNY School of Law and graduated in 1999.
References
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- ↑ Farber, Jim (2018-12-24). "The Best Music Books of 2018". Billboard. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
- ↑ Sommer, Tim (3 August 2022). "In the Late '70s, Teen Punks Ruled New York. These Are Their Stories". The New York Times.
- ↑ Bocaro, Madeline (2022-10-31). "HALLOWEEN 1979 - IGGY / THE CRAMPS @ The Palladium, NYC". Madeline Bocaro. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
- ↑ Unterberger, Richie (2018-06-19). "STUDENT TEACHERS' DRUMMER LAURA DAVIS-CHANIN CHRONICLES HER LIFE WITH BOWIE, BLONDIE AND THE 70S NYC ROCK SCENE". PleaseKillMe. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
- ↑ "A Conversation with Laura Davis-Chanin, Author of 'The Girl in the Back' (Part One)". Musoscribe: Bill Kopp's Music Magazine. 2019-05-20. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
- ↑ "Laura Davis-Chanin —". www.roadiefreeradio.com. 2019-04-01. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
- ↑ Fawcett, Paris (2019-04-03). "Book Review/Interview: Laura Davis-Chanin – The Girl in the Back • Hardbeat - Unleashing The Underground". hardbeat.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
- ↑ Staff, Flavorwire (2018-08-20). "Book Excerpt: Teen Rock Drummer Laura Davis-Chanin on Meeting David Bowie". Flavorwire. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
- ↑ Clarkson, John. "Laura Davis-Chanin - Interview". www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
- ↑ Treglia, Laura (2018). "Mondo-ing Urban Girl Tribes: The Boom of 1960s–70s Erotic Cinema and the Policing of Young Female Subjects in Japanese sukeban Films". Film Studies. 18 (1): 52–69. doi:10.7227/fs.18.0004. ISSN 2054-2496.
- ↑ "Female drummer on an unusual beat". Morning Star. 2018-10-07. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
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