"HOLLYWOOD DIARIES"
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Interview By: Ginger Coyote
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MySpace really does help connect
people.. It helped
me to reconnect with my pal Morgana Welch.. We had known each other in
the 70's when we were both in diapers and had lost contact with one
another... Since reconnecting she had told me about her plans to
release her book Hollywood
Diaries"
and I am so happy that she took some time from her very busy schedule to do this interview...... |
Punk
Globe: You have a new book out called Hollywood Diaries.
When did you decide to do the book? |
Ages ago, people used to tell me I
should write a
book back in the day. I would tell them that I would. I don’t think
anyone thought I would actually do it. In 2000, I became serious about
putting it together when I was caring for my mom, who was dying of
cancer. I had to dive into another time to save my sanity. So I began
to write it and post it on the Internet. Every two weeks I put out a
chapter and began to build a following. I did it this way to see if any
of the people I was writing about would have issue with me writing
about them. Except for one person, ‘Child Star,’ everyone was very
positive about it. I was also very careful not to divulge too much
about other people and keep
most of the dirt on myself. I don’t want to be sued. |
Punk
Globe: When was Hollywood
Diaries released
and who was your publisher? |
It was released in October, 2008. I
self published
through a company called Xlibris. I had tried to get a book deal and an
agent but got told too many times that the subject matter was not what
they were ‘looking for.’ So I decided to do it myself, which I like
cause I am a control freak about my creative projects.
I took the content from the web site and spent about six months editing and fine tuning, and finally got it published. |
Punk
Globe: Had you read Pamela DesBarres book I'm With The Band?
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I haven’t read any of her books. When I
write, I
don’t want other peoples thoughts to enter my head, so I have stayed
clear of the ‘groupie’ books.
One day I might read her books, when I haven’t anything more to say. |
Punk
Globe: "Hollywood Diaries" is based on your own
personal diaries from that time, am I right? |
Yes, it is completely of my life, what
I can remember of it...at least what I’m willing to divulge at this
point.
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Punk
Globe: How many diaries did you actually have from that
time?
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I kept journals for decades. I still
keep one, but
I’m not as active as I could be. Now I am doing it cause I seem to be
losing my memory...damn it sucks getting older...HA! In my attic I
still have boxes of my diaries. Most of them were lost to the trash
when my first husband decided to throw them away. After he did that I
tried over the immediate years to recall what was in them and write the
memories down. Sadly, I never did write it all down and so much is lost
to time.
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Punk
Globe: You were hanging out in the rock scene in such a
cool era.. People did not have to worry about AIDS.. Can you tell us
about
the early 70's in Hollywood? Do you care to elaborate about the sex and drug activity in that time? |
You are right; we did not worry about
sex killing us
back then. AIDS really did change everything. I used to view sex as a
sport or an amusement in the 70’s. Drugs were part of the sensation and
experience. Hollywood was really a small world and it did not take too
much to get to know the people in the music business, which is what I
was attracted to. It was nothing like today with so much security and
scrutiny. There was the lifestyle of the “free love” culture that was
left over from the 60’s. What that meant was that we were not hung up
about our bodies and in sharing our bodies for sexual pleasure and
exploration. Casual sex was a part of that social structure. Drugs were
also a part of that lifestyle. People would connect over music and that
led to sharing a joint or something and then if you were attracted you
would sleep together. It was no big deal to have sex. There were not
the hang ups about getting emotionally involved it was all for the
moment of fun and games. We were pretty hedonistic looking for pleasure
all the time. I don’t advocate any of this lifestyle now; it’s just too
damn dangerous. I suppose when you are young there is not as much at
stake either. We just lived from moment to moment, and looked for the
best time. For me, by the 80’s I was getting fed up with drugs and
booze. Many of my friends were dying of overdoses or becoming
controlled by it. The fun was changing into violence; cocaine had a lot
to do with that. Instead of getting high to have fun and expand our
mind into new realms, it became a need. I suppose when something
becomes a need it takes away the pleasure. That whole culture morphed
and became angst filled. The party was not the same; the innocence and
kindness were gone.
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Punk
Globe: Were any of The GTO's still around then?
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Miss Pamela was around sometimes, but I
never knew any of the GTO’s. I think I got to the scene slightly later.
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Punk
Globe: Tell us about Sunset Strip back then?
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When I first hit the Strip there was
still a street
scene happening. There were head shops to hang out at and cool clothing
stores. It was a haven for musicians and artists, and the people who
adored them. You could just stand on the street and mingle with people
day or night. There was always a party going on somewhere at any given
hour. Pot could be smelled everywhere. It was alive and vibrant, like
nothing I have ever seen to this day. The most fabulous men were up
there, long hair and flashy clothes. It was truly the counter-culture,
young people expressing themselves through music, fashion and drugs. It
was like a circus. On the weekends, people drove from all over southern
California to see the spectacle of giant billboards, people walking on
the streets. It was fun, like a Disneyland for hippies. Then it all
stopped because the police cracked down. For awhile the street scene
moved to Hollywood Blvd., but that also died out pretty quickly.
Everything pretty much moved into the clubs. Before I started hanging
out at the clubs, I was still underage, I found out about the
Continental Hyatt House which was not well known to the masses yet. I
met a girl, Tyla, who lived at the top of the driveway and we became
instant friends. We could walk to the Hyatt House coffee shop in about
30 seconds, so we were always scoping things out. I would ditch school
and go there and sit for hours drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.
It was easy to meet musicians who were staying there. They would often
sit at our table and chat with us. Most of the time we would get
tickets to their shows and, or, go to their rooms and get high and have
sex. That’s the way it was back then.
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Punk
Globe: What clubs were going strong then? And which
one did you frequent the most? |
The Whisky, Gazzari's, and later the
Rainbow. I
don’t remember too many other clubs in the early 70’s, that’s probably
my memory lapse, but for me it was always the Whisky and Rainbow. I was
at the Whisky nightly. I think I went to Gazzari's once. Each club had
a different vibe and crowd. The Whisky was a fabulous small venue for
bands to play in LA. I saw so many great acts there. I would go each
night to dance and see what musicians were hanging out. Each night was
different. One night I was dancing and a girl comes up to me on the
dance floor and tells me her boyfriend wanted to meet me. She
introduced me to Bill Lordan and she told me she was the bookkeeper at
the Whisky, so that got me in the door and backstage anytime. Life was
like that back then. Then the Rainbow opened up the street and that
became the place to go for dinner and drinks. I would walk several
times from the Whisky to the Rainbow each night to see what was
happening at each place. All rock bands went to both places and if you
wanted to meet someone you went to the Rainbow or the Whisky. Later the
Starwood opened and that was fun, but bouncing back and forth to clubs
was much easier on the Strip.
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Punk
Globe: Now was The Tropicana a popular place to stay at
that time? It seems that it was and that is when Dukes was next door to
it?
Barney's Beanery was also a popular hang out right? |
The Tropicana was also a place the rock
bands
stayed. I didn’t spend too much time there. I did frequent Dukes, they
had the best food and they would deliver to your home. So if you lived
in West Hollywood you could order breakfast and have it delivered. I
loved that! I didn’t go to Barney's too much. I stayed pretty much at
the Whisky and Rainbow and Hyatt for all my fun and games.
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Punk
Globe: Of course The Continental Riot House was the party
hotel.
Did you attend the famous Led Zeppelin Party there? |
I don’t know. I went to a few partys
Zeppelin had,
so I’m not sure which one was the ‘famous’ party lol. The place always
had party’s going on.
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Punk
Globe: Of course a popular club was Rodney's English
Disco.. You have photos in Hollywood
Diaries from there? Tell the readers about it?
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It’s funny that the only time I went to
Rodney’s
that photo with Led Zeppelin was taken. I used to feel kind of creepy
around Rodney and the young girls that hung out there. When I first
started hanging out on the Strip a girlfriend of mine knew Rodney, and
he was having a going away party at a place on Sunset and Crescent
Heights called Musicians Contact Service. She thought it would be fun
to give me to Rodney as his going away gift. He loved it and I ended up
spending the night at his apartment across the street. It was really
awkward. Thank God he was not interested in sleeping with me and I
crashed on his couch. After that night I was never too comfortable
around Rodney. I guess I was sort of a snob, too, I found the really
young girls at Rodney’s annoying.
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Punk
Globe: I remember seeing photos of you in Rock Scene Magazine?
I also think you may have been in another magazine called Star.
Are you familiar with it? |
Yes, I remember those magazines. I
still have a copy of Rock
Scene with the infamous Zeppelin pic in it.
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Punk
Globe: At the time how did you feel about seeing yourself
in magazines like Rock Scene? |
I remember when I first saw the photo
with Zeppelin
in Rock Scene, I was elated. It was fun to be captured in that photo
which has been a trip over the years. We never carried around a camera
(wish we did!) so it was nice to have that picture. Sometimes through
the years people have not believe me when I told them I lived that
life, so I am grateful for the few pictures I have that quell any of
that.
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Punk
Globe: You were also quite a dresser! Where did you shop
for your "cool' clothes? |
Mostly thrift shops, but also Granny
Takes a Trip,
which I loved because you could order satin and velvet pants and shoes
custom made. I also liked many of the boutiques up on the Strip
especially near Sunset Plaza. We never followed fashion but created our
own styles, that is also what I loved about those times. Fashion was
great, everyone was dressed in ways that expressed who they were. Style
was very individual then. I’m glad that fashion is that way again.
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Punk
Globe: Were you born in Los Angeles originally?
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No, I was born in Phoenix. My mom and I
moved to Malibu in 1964, and then to Beverly Hills, where I stayed
until I left home.
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Punk
Globe: You also did some acting can you tell us some of
your credits?
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No acting....
Punk
Globe: I remember you moving to
Lake Oswego Oregon? How long were you there for? A few years later I
heard again about Lake Oswego. That is where Julie Anne Phillips (aka
Bruce Springsteen's first wife) was from.
Yea, I moved to Lake Oswego after
getting busted in
my driveway for a half a joint. I was 17 and my mom had moved to
Oregon, and I opted to stay in Hollywood, where I lived with Bill
Lordan and his girlfriend Jan. That is how I met you. So when I got
busted it was illegal for me to be in town without her. I remember the
judge telling me I had to stay in Oregon until I turned 18, which was
about 5 months. I think after 2 months I hopped on a plane when my mom
was out of town and went back to Hollywood. Lake Oswego was beautiful,
but I was not ready to live anywhere but Hollywood.
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Punk
Globe: Were there any musician that captured your heart
completely?
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Oh God, dozens! I suppose my first
encounters were
the sweetest...Randy California, John Paul Jones, and Roy Harper were
probably the men who most captured my heart. But most of them also
broke my heart. I mean I was very young and really naive when I think
back on it all. I fell for guys pretty easy. These guys were amazing
and I was not alone in being attracted to them. Many girls like me were
falling for these guys. It was not an easy path to travel with a
musician they had girls in almost every town.
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Punk
Globe: Any of the musicians from back then that
you are still close with now? |
It’s great living in the generation of
the Internet
because it has brought many of the people back in my life! I have found
so many of the people I knew back then. One of my favorite encounters
was finding Roy Harper on Myspace. I thought it might be a fan site so
I was thrilled when Roy wrote me a note that he had published a book of
photos and lyrics called ‘Roy Harper, The Passions of Great Fortune,
The Songs Explored’ and that he would like to send me a copy. I had
remembered the time when I was with him at the Hyatt House when he was
with Led Zeppelin and as we were making love the band broke down the
door and walked in on us. Robert Plant picked up Roy’s camera and took
pictures of us in bed. I had wondered for years if that photo survived.
So when I opened this big beautiful book in the section with Led
Zeppelin there are two pictures of us in bed. I was thrilled to see the
pics. I keep in touch with Roy now, it’s nice to remake those
connections.
I also found Chuck Ruff, drummer for Edgar Winter. Bill Lordan, drummer for Sly and the Family Stone and Robin Trower, Keith Boyce from Savoy Brown, and many of the LA musicians I knew. MySpace is a goldmine for that. |
Punk
Globe: Morgana, Can you give the readers the address for
your Website, MySpace, Facebook and other important web links?
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Punk
Globe: Can you tell us about your future plans. Is there
another book coming out?
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I hope to write another. I am gathering
information
for it, and hopefully it won’t take so many years to write. I’ll keep
you posted. I’m also gearing up to go back to Life Coaching, which is
what I did a few years back. I really love helping people find their
passion and make it happen.
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Punk
Globe: Thank you so much for the interview, Morgana.
Do you have sage words of advice for our readers? |
Thank you so much Ginger. My only
thought on that is: Always follow your passion.
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Thank you Morgana.. I hope you all will
buy Hollywood Memories it is a great read.......
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