Saturday, June 25, 2016

Home as Hat: Kelly de Martino

Kelly de Martino from Home as Hat


Hood as Hat

"When in doubt, wear red" - Bill Blass

When I began to think about how I was going to approach stitching this Home as Hat, the overwhelming feeling of a hood emerged. I began to think in earnest about the implications of the hoodie as another form of a covering, a form of protection which was heavily laden with symbology. The hood is a mysterious hat that allows one to partially cover not only the head but the face giving the wearer a deeper sense of anonymity and protection.

Little Red Riding Hood, the ancient folktale also known as "Little Red Cap", immediately came to mind as I selected the crimson red thread. The tale was first written down in the 1600's and was popularized by The Brothers Grimm in the 1800's. The red hood has been in interpreted in many ways as a symbol of menstruation, the sun and the natural cycles of the seasons,as well as the ritual of going through puberty, and sexual awakening

Covering ones head used to be standard practice throughout the world. Not so long ago, and still in come countries today, it was mandatory for women and young girls to cover their hair and head as a sign of innocence and humility. In our modern Western world today we no longer cover our heads with hats on a daily basis, except for the random hoodie or baseball cap.

More recently, the hoodie has become the symbology of injustice and racial profiling as we saw in the Trayvon Martin case. An entire "hoodie" revolution took place back in 2012 when Geraldo Rivera famously blamed the hoodie for this young man's death. The garment now stands in our collective consciousness as an emblem of race in America.

Here's to looking under the hood,

Julie Green
June 25, 2016














Saturday, June 18, 2016

Flipping Out Over Tura Satana

Me and Tura Satana at Cinemania
Photo Credit: Jon von

It's not everyday you get to meet and greet a celebrity you really admire. But I not only got to meet my idol but was quickly flipped on my back and pinned down by the legendary pussycat Tura Santana in three seconds flat! I met her at Cinemania, one of the most incredible cult video stores in Northern California. They were known to host actors at their shop and in the summer of 1995 they had booked the screen siren Tura Satana! 

Early in her acting carreer, Ms. Satana had appeared in a cameo as a Parisian prostitute in the Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine romantic comedy "Irma la Douce". She was then cast as an exotic dancer in the Dean Martin, Carol Burnett and Elizabeth Montgomery comedy "Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed". But it was her role as Varla in Russ Myer's 1965 cult classic "Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill!" that brought fame and notoriety.

Cinemania was run by my friends RJ and Leesa Gallentine. These rock and rollers, who were originally from Southern California, were the backbone of the legendary band The Creamers. In the mid nineties, they decided to pack their bags (and their incredible collection of videos) and brought some life to the tree lined streets of sleepy Sacramento. 

The following photographs eventually appeared in Girlyhead an amazing San Francisco magazine I had been shooting for and the brainchild of the amazingly talented writer Sunny Anderson Chanel. Sadly, Tura Santana passed away back in 2011 but that day will live on in my heart forever. 

Everything hard, nothing soft!

Julie Green
June 18, 2016

Tura Satana at Cinemania No. 1

Tura Satana at Cinemania No. 2

Tura Satana at Cinemania No. 3

Tura Satana at Cinemania No. 4

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Water Refractions

"Water Refractions No. 3"

Studying light and how we perceive it has held a life long fascination for me. Much like my Sun Shadow series, I have recently been looking at how lines bend in nature, this time through the flattening of perspective in water refractions. Removing color often flattens an image and helps me to explore the interior of the image more quickly. So in this set of images, I decided to remove the color from the original photograph and then added a single color back in.

These recent photographs taken at the Gerrish Swim and Tennis Club helped me to explore the undulating lines refracting in the water. I was captivated by the light rays penetrating the water which bent the objects, in this case the darker line tiles below. The constantly moving water was creating new patterns every time I looked down. Since the angle changed every time the water moved, the refracting light made the lines look different every time.

My boss David Hockney has spent years analyzing how water refracts, what it's effects are on subjects in the pool and has spent endless hours looking at its elusive quality. I've always appreciated his exploration of this medium and the affects of refraction. Recently becoming a pool owner myself, I look forward to also studying this subject matter in conjunction with my Sun Shadows.

I could really get used to watching the water undulate on the surface and the patterns the light rays make as they become distorted by the physics of refraction.

To the pool!

Julie Green
June 11, 2016

"Water Refractions No. 5"

"Water Refractions No. 7"

"Water Refractions No. 8"

"Water Refractions No. 9"



Saturday, June 4, 2016

San Mateo Superstar: David Nudelman

"David Nudelman No. 1"

In honor of the 7th annual Rotfest I thought I would run an interview I recently did with the Superstar of San Mateo, the one and only Mr. David Nudelman. David took Hawaiian time out of his day to provide us with the history of his musical evolution, his philosophy on marijuana and tales of debauchery in his hometown of San Mateo, CA.

Taking place tonight in San Francisco at the Hemlock Tavern, Rotfest will be feautuing a who's who of the San Mateo Sound from the legendary Phantom Surfers3 Stoned Men, and Smile God Loves You to San Francisco's own Midnite Snaxxx, The Peddlers and Beth Allen's tribute band 3 Stoned Women!

I'm proud to present to you images I took of Dave back in 1994, shots of San Mateo's most notorious rock n' roller!

Julie Green

June 4, 2016


"David Nudelman No. 2

Julie Green: How was it growing up in San Mateo?

David Nudelman: San Mateo was a fun place to grow up. It did have it's ups and downs. My family was nuts as anybody else's. My parents wren't always thrilled that we were playing loud music when we lived in the Hillsborough House. Mike Lucas and other members of MAL and Wig Torture were over quite a bit, setting up instruments in our backyard. One time even a sea lion was buried in our yard.  

After moving out of the Hillsborough house I moved into my Dad's house in Burlingame. That is when we first started to name the house the Rot. Living in a small area up stairs I didn't have much space. That's when I jammed with Mike Buzzo for the first time. I think he was only about 16 or 17 years old. We smoked a lot of weed. That was around the time my Dad coined the phrase "Smells like the big time". After the Burlingame house Aaron, Benn and John and me moved into The Rot. That was in downtown San Mateo. 

Six days a week of bands playing in my garage! During the 1989 earth quake I thought it was my roommates playing a joke on me by jumping on the roof! That's around the time 3 Stoned Men and The Wild Breed could squeeze in a night or two as long as Wig Torture wasn't playing. I lived at The Rot for about 3 years. Then I eventually went away to college in Santa Rosa. 

JG: When did you first pick up the guitar?

DN: I first picked up the guitar at the age of 17. My brother Aaron and I started taking guitar lessons together. Aaron and I started writing music and recording together in 1983 or 84. He's still my favorite guitar player!
 JG: What was the first song you ever wrote?

DN: The first song I ever wrote was "Everybody's Equal". I thought it was easy to play and sing at the same time. Aaron started playing lead guitar with me. That's when we formed The Wild Breed with Mike Lucas and Keith. 

That was my first baby. We smoked a lot of pot until Lucas showed up. He was kind of the non-stoner of the group. He could drink a hell of a lot of soda water though! The Wild breed started out in the early 80's when I was still living in Hillsborough. Mike had the idea of forming a band where I was the lead singer.

JG: Tell us a story about you that nobody knows!

DN: Some friends of mine brought back a dead seal from the beach and buried it in my parents back yard. It stunk so bad... I am surprised they never found out about it until I told my dad about that story 5 years ago! He was actually shocked even though this happened back in the early 80's.

"David Nudelman No. 3"

JG: "David Nudelman Lays an Egg" is a classic 45 on Planet Pimp Records! Tell us about the making of this record. What came first? The outfit or the egg?

DN: It was actually not my idea. The idea was invented by Sven Eric (Geddes) who made the egg suit and he thought it would be funny if I would put it  on. He wanted to use it as an album cover. It actually turned out to be funny later on even though at the time I didn't care for the idea.

JG: What year did you start 3 Stoned Men?

DN: The 3 Stoned Men started out I believe at The Rot in 1987. We recorded our first record there and that came out in 1990. We called it "Higher Than God"! 

JG: Would you say that band was the pinnacle of your career?

DN: I would actually say yes, The 3 stoned men even though we don't play that much anymore, mostly at Rotfest, has been my longest lasting band. We have managed to keep the same lineup for almost 30 years.

"David Nudelman No. 4"

JG: You have always been a staunch supporter of marijuana. From song titles "That's Why They Call It Dope" and "Cotton Mouth Blues", to your band names (3 Stoned Men and The Resineators). How did this herb change your life?

DN: Have I always been a supporter of Marijuana, yes. I like smoking and eating Marijuana. Most of my albums are about pot. That's why they call it dope pretty much says it all. Most of the songs we wrote back then had something to do with Marijuana, like cotton mouth blues. The Resineators were my most traveled band. Anthony and I went up and down touring from LA to Seattle. We played Space Land a couple of times. We even made 2 trips out to the East Coast.

JG: When did you move to the Big Island of Hawaii?

DN: I moved out to Hawaii in 2004 with my wife Luz. We bought a house in a area called Hawaiian Acres. It's basically a rain forest. When I first moved to HI I joined the first rock band I could find. We were called Hi 50. That's when I was bored and started to play ukulele. I took leasons from Brittni Paiva, one of the best players in the world and a very nice lady. I've recently been playing guitar again and writing a lot of songs on uke and guitar. I have made 2 records in the past 3 years. "Dave's Island Life" and "David Nudelman's Mixed Plate".

JG: How is the pot there different from what we have here in California?

DN: The pot in Hawaii is very strong. I believe it is as good as the pot in CA. Not really sure. I actually do still have a very good memory.


"David Nudelman No. 5"



JG: You're now playing ukelele! How has the transition from 6 strings to 4 strings affected your song writing?

DN: Growing up I never really could figure out the ukulele. When I started taking lessons it all started making sense to me. Now I love the ukulele! I write most of my songs on the guitar and transfer some of them over to the ukulele.

JG: You produce a festival called Rotfest for the past 7 years. Tell us how it came about and what's in store for the kiddies this year?

DN: I started Rotfest to bring back the "San Mateo Sound" back  in '99. We had a lot of so called Rotfest's before that. That's when we started calling it Rotfest. Everybody played that year. David Nudelman and The Wild Breed, Men's Club, The Pirate Band, Smile God Loves You and even The Clap band. 

Rotfest Seven is going to be my last for awhile. I am passing the torch to somebody else on the planning of the show. Living in Hawaii has been making it tougher to fly out each year. I wanted this one to be one of the best. Bringing it back to San Mateo. Everybody who has played Rotfest has done a great job. A big thanks to everybody. It has been a wonderful experience planning Rotfest!