Did anyone else catch the amazing Henry Diltz program on PBS last Friday? He
showed brilliant super 8 footage of Joni dancing at a so-cal rocker's party
at someone's home in the early 70's with friends and fellow rockers. He had
amazing things to say about how beautiful Joni was to photograph--the certain
spark about her that is magical when caught on film. It also struck me that
there was, in the vintage footage, an element of weariness about Joni-like
she was dancing and enjoying herself but then would look around and see that
everyone was drunk and high in a way that would bore her. It occurred to me
that she really must have felt frustrated as she outgrew her peers, choosing
to focus on her art and passion and leave the drunken revelry behind. I
think this may be where she really took off artistically and left everyone
else in the dust. That footage made it clear that she was the incredibly
exceptional genius amongst a group of talented people. You can just see
it--it's almost like she appears in color while the crowd remains in black
and white. Diltz also talked about the Laurel Canyon photos, and how the
Steppenwolf album cover of the time was shot in a burned down house next to
Joni's. He also remembered having to take a cab out of Las Vegas with Joni
to take pictures of her in the desert, and that she had to pay the cab fare
of almost seventy bucks cuz he had no money on him! I hope we can get this
segment on one of the tape trees because it was amazing!
Ken
