NEW YORK DOLLS Frontman: 'Some People Thought We Were Gay, And Some People Didn't'

July 20, 2006

Peter Galvin of the Bay Area Reporter recently conducted an interview with NEW YORK DOLLS frontman David Johansen. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Bay Area Reporter: Why do you think the NEW YORK DOLLS have had such a large influence on other bands over the years?

David Johansen: "We all had specific ideas about what a rock and roll band should be. We brought those ideas to the band, and we didn't really pay any attention to any of the sounds or trends that were happening around us at the time. We didn't do any demographic research, we just made the music that we wanted to make. And because it didn't sound like anything else, it was startling. It was almost like folk art: it wasn't made to fit into any commercial genre."

Bay Area Reporter: Did anybody think, because of the makeup and the dresses, that you guys were gay? Did you ever get gay-bashed?

David Johansen: "Some people thought we were gay, and some people didn't. But we were like the toughest gang of dykes you ever saw, so if people came up to us and started something, they would regret it. I remember one time, I was standing on Third Ave. and Third St., with David Bowie. We were trying to cross Third Ave., and this truck-driver drives by. He thought we were girls, and he started yelling at us, 'I want to eat your c--t, baby!' I said, 'Oh yeah, dude, well, you're going to have to suck my d--k!' And Bowie was saying, 'Oh no, David, don't provoke him!' And I said, 'Listen, that's the way we talk here in New York.' I wasn't going to let some idiot deter me from where I was going."

Bay Area Reporter: What are your thoughts on gay marriage?

David Johansen: "See, I don't really get the point about being married. But I can see how it might be attractive to people, especially if they haven't tried it! I'm being glib. But I think it's a non-issue. People should be able to do whatever they want to do. The whole point of disallowing gay marriage is ludicrous. There are places in the world that are so far beyond us. If people have a relationship and they want to make it legal, they should — think twice! No, just joking."

Read the entire interview at www.ebar.com.

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