Josh Alan Friedman is an American musician, writer, editor and journalist, who has worked in New York and Dallas. He is known for his 1986 collection ''Tales of Times Square'' and his comics collaborations with his brother, artist
Drew Friedman. Many of these are compiled in the books ''Any Similarity to Persons Living or Dead is Purely Coincidental'' and ''Warts and All''. Friedman is also a musician and songwriter, recording and performing under the name Josh Alan.
Music career
Though Friedman began playing guitar at 9, a pitching injury at 14 cost him the use of his right arm for two years. "I figured if I ever had the honor of being able to play again, no one's going to pull me away from it."
[Wilonsky, Robert. "Josh Alan picks guitar as first love". ''Dallas Times Herald'', February 21, 1991.] His time as a student with journeyman jazz guitarist Joe Monk in particular left a deep impression on the young musician.
Friedman spent his last five years in New York working as a guitarist with the busy show band City Limits, featuring Richard Lanham, former vocalist for
The Drifters
The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/Soul music, soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, f ...
.
Following his move to Dallas in 1987, Friedman began recording and performing as a solo artist in earnest. He also recorded and performed extensively with
Sara Hickman
Sara Hickman (born March 1, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, and artist.Houston Folk Music Archive(Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University)Guide to the Houston Folk Music Archive(Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library ...
, and produced Dallas' ''KERA 90.1 Sound Sessions''. Billed as "Josh Alan," he barnstormed the state of Texas for 20 years, rocking whole arenas with his Guild D-40 and earning three ''Dallas Observer'' Music Awards for Best Acoustic Act. He was noted for his live use of acoustic feedback, the Maestro Echoplex and surf instrumentals, as well as an acoustic medley of Black exploitation movie soundtracks. He has released four albums: ''Famous & Poor'', ''The Worst!'' (a musical based on the life and career of "Worst Director of All Time"
Ed Wood
Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker,
actor, and pulp novel author.
In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult cla ...
), ''Blacks 'n' Jews'' (the title of which was also used for a documentary on Friedman's life) and ''Josh Alan Band''.
Josh Alan has recorded and/or played with
Sara Hickman
Sara Hickman (born March 1, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, and artist.Houston Folk Music Archive(Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University)Guide to the Houston Folk Music Archive(Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library ...
,
Keb' Mo'
Kevin Roosevelt Moore (born October 3, 1951), known as Keb' Mo', is an American blues musician and five-time Grammy Award winner. He is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter, living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been described as "a living link ...
,
Kinky Friedman
Richard Samet "Kinky" Friedman (born November 1, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician, and former columnist for ''Texas Monthly'' who styles himself in the mold of popular American satirists Will Rogers and ...
, Bugs Henderson,
Phoebe Legere
Phoebe Hemenway Legere is a multi-disciplinary artist.
She is a Juilliard-educated composer, soprano, pianist and accordionist, painter, poet, and a film maker. A graduate of Vassar College with a four octave vocal range, Legere has recorded fo ...
, and was a perennial opener in Texas for dozens of rock and blues acts, including
Johnny Winter
John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer and guitarist. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also produced three Grammy Award-win ...
,
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (April 18, 1924 – September 10, 2005) was an American singer and multi-instrumentalist from Louisiana. He won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1983 for his album, ''Alright Again!''.
Early life
Br ...
,
War
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
,
Huey Lewis and the News
Huey Lewis and the News are an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually achieving 19 top ten singles across the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Adult Contempora ...
,
Bad Company
Bad Company are an English rock supergroup that was formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell.Bad Company ''AllMusic'' Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, also ...
,
Mitch Ryder
Mitch Ryder (born William Sherille Levise, Jr.; February 26, 1945) is an American musician who has recorded more than 25 albums over more than four decades.
Career
Ryder formed his first band, Tempest, when he was at Warren High School, and th ...
,
Michael Nesmith
Robert Michael Nesmith or Mike Nesmith, (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees and co-star of the TV series ''The Monkees'' (1966 ...
and
Wanda Jackson
Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of rock, country and gospel. She was among the first women to have a career in rock and roll, ...
.
Writing career
Friedman's first published work was for ''
Screw
A screw and a bolt (see '' Differentiation between bolt and screw'' below) are similar types of fastener typically made of metal and characterized by a helical ridge, called a ''male thread'' (external thread). Screws and bolts are used to fa ...
magazine.'' He continued to write for the magazine for several years, eventually holding the position of Senior Editor through 1982. He covered the Times Square beat for ''Screw'' during a perilous time when few, if any writers, ventured there. He also worked as a producer on ''Screws cable television show, ''
Midnight Blue
Midnight blue is a dark shade of blue named for its resemblance to the apparently blue color of a moonlit night sky around full moon. Midnight blue is identifiably blue to the eye in sunlight or full-spectrum light, but can appear black unde ...
''. Several of Friedman's ''Screw'' pieces would eventually serve as the foundation for his 1986 collection, ''Tales of Times Square'', documenting "pre-Disney" Times Square. By the late 70s, Josh's brother, artist Drew Friedman, was drawing covers for ''Screw,'' some conceptualized with Josh. Additionally, "Meeting Groucho," Friedman's childhood reminiscence of a memorable dinner with comedian
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...
, was published in ''
New York Magazine
''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'', ...
'' as "A Memory of Groucho" in August 1978.
Concurrently, Friedman worked as a stringer for ''Soho News'', contributing celebrity profiles, notably of legendary songwriter
Doc Pomus
Jerome Solon Felder (June 27, 1925 – March 14, 1991), known professionally as Doc Pomus, was an American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-writer of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall ...
. Pomus became a friend and mentor, and Friedman credits Pomus with teaching him to be a songwriter “without him knowing it. Just by hanging around him, I felt like he taught me how to write songs…that's what turned me from being a frustrated songwriter into a songwriter.”
During this period, Friedman's comix collaborations with brother Drew were gaining momentum. Beginning with a notorious parody of ''
The Andy Griffith Show
''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color.
The ...
'', first published in
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design.
History
This school was started by ...
instructor
Harvey Kurtzman
Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book '' Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ''Little Ann ...
's student publication, ''Kar-tunz (later reprinted in
RAW magazine
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry data ...
), the Friedmans developed an enthusiastic following for their bizarro parodies and dissections of forgotten B-list entertainers and obscure pop culture figures. With their acidic, occasionally fantastical biographies of second- and third-tier celebrities, such as talk show host
Joe Franklin
Joe Franklin (March 9, 1926 – January 24, 2015), born Joseph Fortgang, was an American radio and television host personality, author and actor from New York City. Franklin is noted for having the first talk show and inventing the format. His te ...
("The Joe Franklin Story," ''High Times'', June 1981),
Wayne Newton
Carson Wayne Newton (born April 3, 1942) is an American singer and actor. One of the most popular singers in the nation from the mid-to-late 20th-century, Newton remains one of the best-known entertainers in Las Vegas. He is known by the nicknam ...
("The Living History of Wayne Newton," ''High Times'', September 1983),
Frank Sinatra, Jr. ("The Saga of Frank Sinatra, Jr.," ''National Lampoon'', October 1985) and
Joey Heatherton
Davenie Johanna "Joey" Heatherton (born September 14, 1944) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. A sex symbol of the 1960s and 1970s, she is best known for her many television appearances during that time, particularly as a frequent varie ...
("I, Joey Heatherton," ''National Lampoon'', December 1989), the Friedman Bros. became the most-feared names in satirical cartooning. Their comics had a discernible influence on
SCTV.
Much of their work as a team was collected in the books ''Any Similarity to Persons Living or Dead is Purely Coincidental'' (1985) and ''Warts and All'' (1990). ''Warts and All'' included an effusive introduction by
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...
, and the book won a comics industry
Harvey Award
The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that were ...
in 1991.
Friedman served as Managing Editor of ''
High Times
''High Times'' is an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States, legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by ...
'' magazine in 1983, and as Contributing Editor to ''
National Lampoon'' in the 1980s.
In 2001, Josh co-edited ''Now Dig This: The Unspeakable Writings of Terry Southern'' in collaboration with Nile Southern.
In 2005,
Feral House
Feral House is an American book publisher founded in 1989 by Adam Parfrey and based in Port Townsend, Washington.
Early history
The company's first book was '' The Satanic Witch'' (1989; originally published in 1971 by Dodd, Mead & Company) by A ...
published ''When Sex Was Dirty.''
In 2006, ''I, Goldstein: My Screwed Life'' (with
Al Goldstein
Alvin "Al" Goldstein (January 10, 1936December 19, 2013) was an American pornographer. He is known for helping normalize hardcore pornography in the United States.
Background
Goldstein was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to a Jewish family. He ...
) was released by Thunder's Mouth Press.
In 2007, Feral House reissued ''Tales of Times Square'' in an expanded edition.
In 2008, ''Tell the Truth Until They Bleed: Coming Clean in the Dirty World of Blues and Rock 'n' Roll'' was published by Backbeat Books. The book's opening section, a profile of songwriter
Jerry Leiber
Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such Crossover music, crossover hit songs ...
, evolved from an ill-fated collaboration between Friedman and Leiber on Leiber's autobiography. Friedman later eulogized Leiber in "Kiss My Big Black Ass: Jerry Leiber's Life in Spades" on his website. A slightly abbreviated version appeared in the ''
Dallas Observer
''Dallas Observer'' is a free digital and print publication based in Dallas, Texas. The ''Observer'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circ ...
''.
In 2009, Friedman launched ''Black Cracker Online'', a website and online archive. Reprints, photographs, video, unpublished material and new work are posted weekly. In 2010, his autobiographical novel ''Black Cracker'' was published by Wyatt Doyle Books.
In 2012,
Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint.
History
Founding
Fantagraphics was found ...
reprinted ''Any Similarity to Persons Living or Dead is Purely Coincidental'', including new material from both Friedmans unique to that edition.
Also in 2012, New Texture announced the anthology ''Weasels Ripped My Flesh!'' Friedman is a contributor and co-editor, in collaboration with Robert Deis and Wyatt Doyle.
Selected bibliography
Non-fiction
* ''Tell the Truth Until They Bleed''. New York: Backbeat Books/Hal Leonard, 2008.
* ''I, Goldstein'' (with
Al Goldstein
Alvin "Al" Goldstein (January 10, 1936December 19, 2013) was an American pornographer. He is known for helping normalize hardcore pornography in the United States.
Background
Goldstein was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to a Jewish family. He ...
). New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2006.
* ''When Sex Was Dirty''. Los Angeles: Feral House, 2005.
* ''Tales of Times Square''. New York: Delacorte Press, 1986.
Fiction
* ''Weasels Ripped My Flesh!'' (co-editor with Robert Deis and Wyatt Doyle). Los Angeles: New Texture, 2012.
* ''Black Cracker: An Autobiographical Novel''. Los Angeles: Wyatt Doyle Books/New Texture, 2010.
* ''Now Dig This: The Unspeakable Writings of Terry Southern'' (co-editor with Nile Southern). New York: Grove Press, 2001.
* ''Warts and All'' (with
Drew Friedman). New York: Penguin, 1990.
* ''Any Similarity to Persons Living Or Dead Is Purely Coincidental'' (with
Drew Friedman). Agoura, CA: Fantagraphics, 1985.
Discography
Albums
Singles
Filmography
Paul Stone's unfinished adaptation of ''Tales of Times Square'' and Kevin Page's documentary on Josh Alan's life, ''Blacks and Jews'', have played film festivals.
References
External links
''Black Cracker Online'', Josh Alan Friedman's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedman, Josh Alan
1956 births
Living people
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American novelists
American humorists
American male singer-songwriters
American rock guitarists
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
Singer-songwriters from New York (state)
American male novelists
American satirists
American newspaper reporters and correspondents
Guitarists from New York (state)
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American male writers
20th-century American guitarists
Novelists from New York (state)
20th-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
American male non-fiction writers
20th-century American male musicians