.45 Dangerous Minds (****)

.45 Dangerous Minds
The Most Intense Interviews from SECONDS Magazine
edited by Steven Blush & George Petros
Creation Books (www.creationbooks.com), 2005, 384 pages

I saw this at Daedalus Books & Music yesterday and had to pick it up as the price was right ($6.99!) and it had so many (45, in fact!) cool interviews from such a variety of interesting/frightening characters that I just couldn't put it down. The calvacade of kooky or charismatic characters includes GG Allin, J. G. Ballard, Bobby Beausoleil, Joe Coleman, Jayne County, Mike Diana, Warhol's Factory Family (Paul Morriseey, Joe Dallesandro, Holly Woodlawn, Billy Name), Ron Jeremy, the MC5's Wayne Kramer, Church of Satan's Anton LaVey, Henry Rollins, Tiny Tim, Rob't Williams, John Waters and, of course, all those serial killers talking their shit, like Henry Lee Lucas, Charles Manson, Richard Ramriez and so on. And the back of the book contains a massive compendium of quotes from every person interviewed in SECONDS. Interviewers include Paper Magazine editor/art curator Carlo McCormick, Billboard editor Tamara Conniff, Lords Of Chaos author Michael Moynihan, artist Steven Cerio, Industrial Music icon Boyd Rice, as well as Blush, Petros and others.

I remember reading SECONDS Magazine when Atomic Books carried it back in the '90s. They have their own website at www.secondsmagazine.com, where you can read back issues. Here's SECONDS mission statement from their website:

"From 1986 through 2000, SECONDS Magazine redefined rock journalism with intellectual and infernal investigations of the world's most intense characters. Founded by Steven Blush (American Hardcore) and edited by George Petros (EXIT, Juxtapoz), SECONDS evolved from an essential Downtown New York underground music publication into the seminal source for definitive interviews with past, present and future icons of all musical genres. Additionally, the mag featured in-depth interviews with artists, writers, serial killers, scientists, kooks and great thinkers. By the time publication ceased, the magazine's subtitle was, appropriately, "The Art Of The Interview."

That last line is accurate, as SECONDS always seemed to nail its subject matter and have the best pull-quotes to, well, pull readers in - often with the most outlandish and provocative statements, making the caveat ".45 DANGEROUS MINDS is not suggested for those easily offended" somewhat redundant.