Total Excess

by Michael Zagaris (Photographer), David Talbot (Foreword), Peter Frampton (Afterword)

It has been said of Michael Zagaris’ photographic oeuvre that it is the “last untouched rock archive.” Zagaris was responsible for shooting everyone in the rock music scene in San Francisco in the 1970s and ’80s, including The Clash, Grateful Dead, Blondie, Sex Pistols, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, Patti Smith, Led Zeppelin, and many more.

Zagaris’ photographs are some of the best portraits of their kind. Because a lot of his work was taken for pleasure rather than pay, the vast majority of his archive has remained unseen until now. Total Excess is the complete anthology of his incredible rock photography. This is the first book in a series of collaborations between Reel Art Press and Zagaris.

Michael Zagaris (born 1945) grew up in the Central Valley of California. In 1967 he entered law school and also started working for Robert Kennedy as a speechwriter. The trauma of witnessing Kennedy’s assassination at close quarters propelled Zagaris away from politics and law and into photography, and he began covering rock music in San Francisco. He also captured some of the most vital counterculture figures of that period, including Billy Bowers, Divine, Peter Berlin, The Cockettes and Jim Carroll, who used one of Zagaris’ portraits for the cover of his book Basketball Diaries . In 1973 he began as a team photographer for the San Francisco 49ers, and the Oakland As in 1981, both of which he continues to shoot to this day. Zagaris lives in San Francisco.

Genres: Photography

268 pages, Hardcover

Published November 15, 2016

Reviews

[Brian Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

If ever it’s necessary to prove that successful documentary photography is really all about relationships, then Total Excess by Michael Zagaris is the canonical textbook. Zagaris led a charmed life and documented the essence of rock & roll from his home base in San Francisco in the 1970s and 1980s. The book is also a model for how retrospectives should be done. Each section, virtually each image, is accompanied by extensive text, much more than just captions. The text itself is an inside history of nearly every band that mattered; and the pictures are just WOW! For those of the digital age, Total Excess shows what push-processed Tri-X could yield in the hands of an immensely skilled photographer. One especially nice feature is the inclusion of quite a few contact sheets. It’s always great to see the shots that didn’t make the final edit.

[Karen Norbut- McElhany · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a trip down memory lane. Great photo shots, great inside reading.

[Larry-bob Roberts]

I checked this book out because Dan Nicoletta had mentioned it in his talk about his new photo book. This is an amazing collection of photos of the music scene in the SF Bay Area, primarily from the 70s and 80s and around Bill Graham productions. In many cases the musicians are touring bands, particularly from England. The title puns on "Total Access" as in getting a backstage pass, and there are many of the sorts of excess pictured going on there that would be associated with the era (though more drugs than sex with the rock'n'roll.)

The book is arranged in sections, each devoted to a musician or band, and many include contact sheets as well as selected enlargements, both black and white and color. And in each Zagaris includes his memories of his interactions with the musicians.

[Mills College Library]

781.66092 Z18 2016

[Lloyd Fassett]

1/24/17 found it through the California Today column in the NYTs.