Jim Jocoy is one of the nicest and most humble people I have ever had the pleasure to meet.... I remember the first time we met at the Mabuhay Gardens, he had his trusty Polaroid camera in hand. He was able to capture so many great moments on film....

With the help of Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Jim released his book 'We're Desperate' with Powerhouse. The book received much critical praise...

He has archives of fabulous photo's that need to be seen by the public... Let's hope that more of his photographic genius will come forth in yet another book. Here is my interview with my long time friend Jim Jocoy...

Thanks so much for the interview... We have known each other for such a long time but in doing research I was surprised to find out that you were born in South Korea.. Can you tell the readers and myself a bit more about your very early years.

Yes, I was born in South Korea during the war. My dad was a GI and my mom is Korean. My first language is Korean but I forgot all of it once I moved from Korea to Florida. I was 7 years old then.

In what year did you move to California?

We moved to California in 1968. I've lived in the SF Bay Area all my adult life.

Did you attend school in South Korea?

Yes. I even have a photo somewhere where I'm wearing an ill fitting school uniform with a hat. I was mixed race and so I was an outcast from the start. I was physically punished in school regularly (hitting little 6 year old boys is not right!). School was not fun for me. I was shunned because I was different. Boy, am I glad to be living in the USA. My experience in Korea was not the best.

School in Korea sounded like it was horrible... Thank the stars above that you came to America... At what age did you get the calling that you wanted to be a photographer?

I had a wonderful dad who liked taking Polaroid photos of our family. I know I took over many of the cameras he had. I would take pictures of friends and my pets (not much different today).

I remember that we met at The Mabuhay Gardens in the mid late 70's. Tell us your thoughts about the scene then?

I always felt I would find "my people" somewhere in the city. I've always been into music ( my wonderful dad bought me a portable turntable (plastic, using many D batteries) and the Beatles LP "Meet the Beatles!" when it came out. He had a healthy collection of Elvis LPs and some better C & W bands.) Well anyway, I've always been around friends with good taste in music. My good friend Robert Hawkins can take much credit in stimulating my musical taste. He and I went to the first Ramones concert in SF. That was the beginning. I knew something fun was happening and I found "my people" . That includes you Ginger. Yes, we go way back.

Awe thanks Jim! I remember you took alot of Polaroid pictures back then. Was that your very first camera?

I've always had multiple cameras, including Polaroids. My main camera back in the late 70s was a funky 35mm camera I bought at a thrift store. I was very happy with the photos it took. I think it was an Olympus, but I'm not sure. I've always made photography fun for me. I don't take it too seriously as I'm really not a good technician. I do know I have a good eye and I rely on it all the time. The Polaroid camera was fun and instant. Sorta like digital photography now but requiring much discipline to not take un necessary shots. I think it disciplined me well. Be careful and don't waste time or film.

Were your parents supportive of your choice to be a photographer?

No. They like many parents, they wanted me to study something practical so I could get a job. But my parents were very supportive in general.

I remember that you submitted alot of photo's to Punk Globe to publish. Thank you for sharing them with us.. What other magazines did you submit your work to?

Not many. I really did not have the confidence to approach any magazines with my photos. Vale did publish some of my photos in Search and Destroy and ReSearch magazine. I did have some contacts in LA for Slash magazine but once again I didn't think my photos were good enough. I really took photos for myself and my friends. I'm kinda still that way.

One thing that we both had in common was that we both found beauty and admiration to the people who were in the audience as well as the band members... I felt that it was important to include everyone involved with the scene was very important.

Yes, I agree. I think the people not on stage set the bar high for people who got on stage. My feeling was, the audience looks great and so the band should be just as great. If you didn't look or perform great , there were plenty of fierce hecklers (Rico was the best!) in the audience to set you straight. There were plenty of people in the audience that inspired much energy and style back then.

Lawless was another real stand-out girl...I also realize that in the early years although some people appreciated our valiant efforts, but we also had to fight for recognition.. Any thoughts about this?

I'm not quite sure how to answer this. I really didn't dress up as much as I could. I did go through a phase when I spiked my hair with vaseline and talcum powder ( we heard that is how Johnny and Sid did it) but I wasn't as bold in my looks as my companions. I think there was more of a struggle if you looked great. My style was a little lower profile. I think I would have put up a better fight for recognition if I was in a band. I don't like to fight for recognition, I'm a bit of a wimp in that regards.

Who were some of your early inspirations?

I had so many back then. I was at an age when you looked around for some kind of role model (consciously or not) and how I would fit in. I think the biggest influence and inspiration for me was Andy Warhol. I felt like he was the center of so much I was into. I loved reading about all the crazy stuff that happened at the Factory. One of my favorite books of all time is Holly Woodlawn's " A Low Life in High Heels." I'm totally fascinated with that time. I was also into reading about Swinging London in the 1960s. Then most of my inspirations came from musicians, too many to mention.

During the Mabuhay years did you ever show an of your photographs in an exhibit?

I did have 2 occasions where my photos (which became the book years later) were shown in San Francisco. The first time was a show at San Francisco State. A friend of a friend from Germany wanted to show my color Xerox photos. I loaned a stack of them to use. I actually never went and saw the show. I think I was on vacation or something. The only other time it was shown in public was a wonderful night at Mark McCloud's studio. We rented 2 slide projectors and did a slide presentation of the photos in a room (looked great oversized). It was part of an evening of celebrating William Burroughs 70th birthday. It was an honor to meet him that night.

Who were some of your contemporaries that you admired?

Ruby Ray in San Francisco I thought set the bar high with her great B&W photos. I was inspired more by artists and people who made music.

I also remember that it seemed like you stopped taking pictures. Am I right?

I think in was in the early 1980s. Things were changing and new energy was entering the scene. I trashed my camera one evening at a gathering and that was the end of the kind of photos I was taking. My camera was starting to breakdown with all the abuse it got. One night while trying to take some photos of Throbbing Gristle members in a studio in the East Bay, my camera kept malfunctioning. I got a little too dramatic and threw the camera across the room and it shattered apart. That was the end of that camera. I feel bad about it now, but back then, it kinda made some sense.

Who or what made you decide to release your highly praised book 'We're Desperate'?

It really was a total surprise. I was not shopping around for a publisher. To make a very long story a little shorter, I made a color xerox book of my photographs and it got into Thurston Moore's hands. He asked me if he could take it around to some publishers in New York. The first publisher he took it to, powerHouse books, they wanted to publish it right away. They squeezed in my book at the last minute. It went very fast. My life kind changed from that point on. I owe so much to Thurston. He's so lovely and wonderful. I' looking forward to seeing him soon. He is touring with his new band at this time and will be in San Francisco in October.

You were very close with the band X and Exene was involved with the book. Tell us about that?

When Thurston and I were talking about the text for the book, he asked if there was anyone in particular I would like to have contribute. I immediately thought of Exene. He thought it was a great idea as he wanted me to pick between "We're Desperate" and "Johnny Hit and Run Pauline" as the title for our book. He said he could get Marc Jacobs to write something and we could do an interview for the rest of the text.

Tell us how you narrowed down all the photo's that were used in the book?

I started by pairing photos together. It was pretty basic. It was like pairing up couples for a show. Then I sequenced depending on similar backgrounds. It kinda fell together naturally. The editors essentially kept it the same. They edited out very few photos from the original. They did something great that I didn't think would get published. They wanted to see the Polaroids that I took that was not part of the 35mm photos. I was so pleased and surprised to have them want to include them as well. I'm so glad they did.

I remember going to Baltimore to do a show with Jim Lucio and going to a trendy restaurant /gallery and seeing your photo's on exhibit. As I remember there was an image of myself on display.Which made me feel very good!

It was a very fun show at a gallery called the G Spot. I was very honored to have The Hold Steady (they were on the cover of the Village Voice that week) perform at the opening. (Hi Jim Lucio. I hope you are well.)

I read something about you coming out of retirement and are doing photography again. What is the scoop on that?

Well, I never retired from photography, I just don't do it as much. I did retire this year formally from working at UCSF Medical Center. I now have much more time to work on my projects. I'm editing my photos and just making it fun. If something results from this effort, great. If not, that's OK as well. Like I mentioned before, I do this for myself and my friends. Thats how it makes sense to me.

Are you still using a Polaroid?

No. I wish there was still Polaroid film. They sell a very poor but super expensive substitute film that I won't use. The quality is awful. I'm discovering my digital camera now.

Tell us some of the people you have photographed?

I'm very surprised with how many people I got to photograph. I am not a professional photographer but I get to take the photos I want. I'm very attracted by talented, creative people and I like taking their photos. My favorite subjects are artists and musicians. I've taken photos of: Andy Warhol, William Burroughs, Sid Vicious, Michael Jackson, Shepard Fairey, Iggy Pop, Courtney Love, Ru Paul, Genesis P'Orridge, Johnny Thunders, Darby Crash and others.

Do you have any plans for a new book?

Not really. Some people have suggested getting my Polaroids published but nothing solid at this time.

Do you have any Internet addresses you would like to share wit the readers?

I'm on Facebook now ( really just started this year) and so people can contact me there https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000164115417&fref=ts I'm very low tech. That is why a Polaroid camera made sense to me.

Tell the readers what is in store for Jim Jocoy for the rest of 2014 and early 2015?

I'm actually a bit excited for the newfound time I have after retiring from work this year. I've always been the kind of person that wants to create. My good friend told me once that men/ artists have "birth envy" and wants to produce what they can't biologically. So they make stuff. I keep busy and the bottom line for me is to have fun with it. Be inspired and make art is what I want to do this year and beyond.

Were you happy seeing all the people from the past at The Punk Homecoming show at The Verdi Club?

It always feels like the high school reunions that I never went to. It's nice to see people are still making music and having fun. I wish I could sing or play something sometimes. I have zero talent with music. I'm just a big fan.

Can you describe yourself in three words?

I love animals.

Any final words for Punk Globe readers?

Yes. I just want to take a little time to say that you are have been one of the sweetest friends I met back so many decades ago. You were always so sweet to me back then (and now.) I am so proud of you Ginger. You really inspire me much. From one outcast to another, "You go girl!" Much love your way.

Much love and respect for you Jim.. You were one of the first people to get behind Punk Globe and were always such a joy to be around... Readers please check out Jim's book 'We're Desperate' and do remember that you just never know, when he may release his next book.