There are some minor issues in the Vinyl TV series that might become major in the following seasons. Apparently, the fictional pre-punk band ‘The Nasty Bits’ grew into a major part. One reason is that it shows how new music styles entered the changing marked. However, the 70’s caused major changes for many music styles and pre-punk seems over-focused in the first season. A reason is that Mick Jagger is a main drive force to the production. Therefore, there are speculations whether it is because of his son James Jagger fronted the Nasty bits, like he fronted the real British punk band Turbogeist. Anyhow and no offence, it is an interesting story and it is played well.
Drugs are obviously a part in a TV series about ‘sex and drugs and rock&roll’. Vinyl also hints to relations to occult sub-cultures. The character Jamie Vine becomes the ‘dope manager’ to the record company Alibi, and will probably become a significant character in future seasons. It all makes associations to the mysterious ‘White Witch’ that some of the real rock stars encountered dramatically. Hendrix, Bolan, Bowie and Fripp were in particularly influence by ‘The White Witch’. The Extra UU2 – goes deeper into her myths and indicates that the influence on Peter Gabriel eventually caused the traumatic split of the original Genesis.
Speculations about the so-called ’27 Club’ is not mentioned in the first season of Vinyl. However, an accidental murder case becomes important to the mafia’s involvement in the music industry. Anyhow, the ’27 Club’ refers to a numerous artists that suddenly had tremendously success, became hard drug abusers and suddenly died at the age of 27. The speculations indicate that some rock stars signed ‘Mephisto’ contracts - like in Goethe's ‘Faust’ and relates to chapter 27 on ‘How Doctor Faustus was asked a question concerning the stars that fall from heaven’.
The TV series Vinyl has definitely opened the lid to a Pandora’s crypt. There are numerous of rumors of truths more fantastic than the public images.
[Vinyl] Nasty Bits open for New York Dolls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAgjcgHk4Ck
[Vinyl] Richie gets the nasty bits back together (before their opening)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFy8OH6fH-I
[Vinyl] American Century celebrates Nasty Bits success (Season one ending)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAp4ZwmtFYA
[Vinyl] Lester teaches Nasty Bits guitar chords
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anWc88q2GhE
[Vinyl] Nasty Bits wants Lester's song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRvvWUaFIgY
Vinyl: Jamie Vine and his mother "You're an embarrassment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd8NANBYRU8
Vinyl takes an inside look at the music business in the 1970s. With executive producers Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese, there are a wealth of both music aficionados and historians behind the scenes. In front of the cameras, Bobby Cannavale stars as Richie Finestra, a struggling record executive looking for a breakout act. Here are some Documentaries and interviews to elaborate that.
Vinyl, a new drama series from Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger and Terence Winter,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk8TEHMi4CA
Vinyl HBO Cast Interview with Bobby Cannavale, Olivia Wilde and Max Casella
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA5EVU-yUgM
Jack Quaid discusses "Vinyl" | Producers Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger, Terence Winter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5gZVzK6ZWo
VINYL: HBO Does Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll with Creator Terence Winter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1yW6H_gCgY
The English actress Juno Temple plays Jamie Vine, the manager ‘wanna-be’ and lover to the Nasty Bits leader (James Jagger). She might very well develop to be something like the mysterious White Witch in NYC music industry. Anyhow, an article tell about some artists that encountered her and related happenings. Most information about it seems cloaked, except for this article; “Meet the mysterious ‘white witch’ who exorcised David Bowie’s cocaine palace”. Here are some citations.
- At his wit’s end, Bowie reached out to Cherry Vanilla, a former employee of Bowie’s management company MainMan, who witnessed much of this paranoid, debauched phase. Cherry Vanilla verified the connection between Bowie and a “white witch”—racial connotations aside, and those are by no means absent from this story either, but the term is intended to distinguish witches whose effects are “good” and “evil”—who would purify his living premises. “He had this whole thing about these black (witch) girls who were trying to get him to impregnate them to make a devil baby,” says Vanilla. “He asked me to get him a white witch to take this curse off of him. He was serious, you know. And I actually knew somebody in New York who claimed she was a white witch. She was the only white witch I ever met. So I put him in touch with her. I don’t know what ever happened to her. And I don’t know if she removed the curse. I guess she did.” “In June 1972, Fripp finished recording an album with a Wiccan journalist, called Walli Elmlark. The album was called The Cosmic Children. Side one consists of Fripp and Elmlark in conversation where she outlines her experiences and commitment to Wicca. On side two, she talks to DJ Jeff Dexter about cosmic children—spirits from other places who take physical forms such as Hendrix, Bolan, Bowie and Mike Gibbons, drummer with Badfinger. Talking to NME’s Simon Stable, Fripp stated: “The function of the album is to reach out to the children like the drummer from Badfinger, I want to say; ‘You’re not nutty, you’re not a freak because you can’t relate to what’s around you.’”
- “Wallie was known widely as the White Witch Of New York. Because of her contacts in the music industry, she had established quite an eclectic clientele for whom she would offer spiritual guidance, and occasional good luck or love spells, but always of a positive nature. She didn’t dabble in black magick or even gris gris (a New Orleans form of “gray magick” that incorporates poppets and the use of talismans kept in a personal mojo bag). Walli was lively, imaginative, energetic, well spoken, and quite attractive in her flowing white garments complete with fashionable silver moon adornments. Oh did I forget to mention long black hair, complete with dyed green streak highlights? Indeed, Walli made a very bold fashion and occult statement wherever she went.”
- “There is surprisingly little about Walli on the Internet, for someone who “made a very bold fashion statement,” introduced Robert Fripp to the occult, and exorcised David Bowie’s house, you would think her name would be a staple in rock and roll lore—but it doesn’t appear to be the case. I couldn’t find a picture of her, aside from the Bodē cartoon above, and the main thing she is known for on the Internet is her authorship of the Rock Raps book. I was unable to find Walli’s obituary.”
Peter Gabriel and the split from the original band Genesis, is not mentioned in Vinyl - yet. However, knowing the destructive and traumatic history, there seems to be some close relations to some White Witch too. It happened at the period of NYC performance of the final album ‘The lamb lies down on Broadway’. Both Robert Fripp and Tony Levin from the divided ‘King Crimson’ helped Peter in this song about a woman that appears like a white shadow while he is asleep. In addition, Fripp contributed to David Bowies ‘Ashes to Ashes’ when his drug addiction became health threatening.
Wikipedia about the song ‘White Shadow’: “Peter Gabriel is the second solo album by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel, released in 1978. The album is the second of four with the same eponymous title. Guitarist Robert Fripp served as producer, whose influence on the album is evident in the use of 'Frippertronics' on the track "Exposure". The album did not sell as well as the first Peter Gabriel, but reached No. 10 on the UK charts. "Mother of Violence" was written by Peter and his first wife Jill Gabriel. This album is often referred to as Scratch, referring to the album cover by Hipgnosis. This album was originally intended as part of a loose trilogy with Robert Fripp's Exposure and Daryl Hall's Sacred Songs (all three albums were produced by Fripp).” Here are Peter Gabriel’s live performances before and after the split from Genesis.
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Live 1974/5 Movie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKS9np3GoWc
Peter Gabriel - Rockpalast 1978 (full show)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amxDkP_0gxs
Peter Gabriel - White Shadow + lyrics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJrtA-shb7Y
http://www.metrolyrics.com/white-shadow-lyrics-peter-gabriel.html
Article: Meet the mysterious ‘white witch’ who exorcised David Bowie’s cocaine palace http://dangerousminds.net/comments/mysterious_white_witch_who_exorcised_david_bowie
‘The 27 Club’ refers to a number of popular musicians who died at age 27, often as a result of drug and alcohol abuse, or violent means such as homicide or suicide. The number of musicians who have died at this age and the circumstances of many of those deaths have given rise to the idea that premature deaths at this age are unusually common. Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison all died at the age of 27 between 1969 and 1971. At the time, the coincidence gave rise to some comment, but it was not until the death of Kurt Cobain, about two and a half decades later, that the idea of a "27 Club" began to catch on in public perception. Occult conspiracy theories refers to the famous play “Goethe's Faust” from 300 years earlier: “In Faust's study, the poodle transforms into the devil (Mephistopheles). Faust makes an arrangement with the devil: the devil will do everything that Faust wants while he is here on Earth, and in exchange Faust will serve the devil in Hell. Faust's arrangement is that if he is pleased enough with anything the devil gives him that he wants to stay in that moment forever, then he will die in that moment.” Anyhow, speculations are that some Faustian contracts with rock-stars ends and relates to Faust chapter 27 on ‘How Doctor Faustus was asked a question concerning the stars that fall from heaven’.
Top 10 Musicians Who Died at Age 27 (The 27 Club)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALYTHVVcKlQ
27: The History of the 27 Club on CNN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UpWWI0OtZ8
27 Club (the Complete List of Members)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRMxKHOnqd4
About Faust Chapter 27.
https://books.google.dk/books?id=xhSgeFMYhEIC&pg=PA118
Wikipedia: 27 Club & Goete’s ‘Faust’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/27_Club
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goethe%27s_Faust