Steel Notes Magazine June 2014 | Page 52

Ladies and Gentlemen and Children of all ages , I am your ring leader . My name is Marlowe B . West . I declined a Parson ’ s scholarship , yet I design and make my own articles of clothing . I studied tap and ballet , taught tango , hustle and ballroom . I always wanted to be a movie star . I worked in a movie theater when I was sixteen years old . I used it as an actor ’ s studio , studying every aspect of the craft . I acted in local workshops and have done a few movies and documentaries . I was a choirboy and lead singer in New York City rock bands , Time Bomb and Skintight NYC .

Next to performing I have a passion for recording . Nothing could compare to Electric Ladyland Studio on 8th Street in NYC with Eddie Kramer on the board . I toured the USA , first class all the way , as back-up singer and dancer , appeared on Midnight Special on TV and was in Andy Warhol ’ s Interview Magazine . I have kept a journal since my teens . My early poetic endeavors developed into affluent songwriting skills . My early journalistic tendencies have procured my position as a book writer . My first book is a musical screenplay entitled Hollywood Revival , which seems to have taken eons to complete . Although it has been no simple task , it is written entirely in verse , inspired by John Milton , Paradise Lost , of the 16th century . Hollywood Revival consists of twelve original musical numbers inspired by Hollywood directors Florenz Ziegfeld and Busby Berkeley . It can be found on Amazon , Barnes and Noble and other sites , but I am an unknown ... still buried alive .

Go West - The Rock and Roll Memoir ( 1967 - 1970 ) is my second book . It ’ s just about to crack the surface . My third book is impatiently lurking inside of me , but first I ’ m waiting for Go West to take off . There is also a fourth book that is strongly taking form on the back burners in my mind . I treasure this beautiful experience called life . What a trip !

Some of you might find this interesting . I have a purple suede and leather fringed jacket that belongs to Jimi Hendrix . There are only a handful of people still living who know it was his . The relic is from a by-gone era . The constant question “ How did you get your hands on this beautiful jacket that belonged to Jimi Hendrix ?” lends itself to a string of very exciting tales taken from my journals as a New York teenager who runs away to be a hippy / flower child in Hollywood , California , in the psychedelic , golden days of rock and roll .

As soon as I got to Hollywood I was immediately cast in a movie called “ Psych Out ” starring a very young Jack Nicholson . As a vagabond I made my home in a cave on what turned out to be Houdini ’ s dilapidated estate . Little did I know , Frank Zappa resided in the huge log cabin right across Laurel Canyon Boulevard , until one morning I was befriended by Miss Lucy Offerall ( the original GTO ), Bernardo Saldana and Carlos Lozano . These beautiful gypsy freaks took me in and we became a fixture in the Hollywood Hills of Laurel Canyon .

In Rolling Stone Magazine we were referred to as “ The Immediate Family ” which consisted of Frank , Gail and Moon Unit Zappa , the GTO ’ s ( Girls Together Outrageously ) ... including Miss Lucy , Miss Sparkie , Miss Mercy , Miss Pamela , Miss Christine , Miss Sandra and Miss Cynderella ... and the BTO ’ s ( Big Time Operators ) ... including Bernardo , Carlos and myself . There were significant others . Some came and went . Mr . Z produced a Bizarre record with the GTO ’ s featuring the likes of pop stars such as Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart . Whereas the BTO ’ s were more of a fictitious commodity never amounting to anything musically but status-wise we were the original Hollywood glamour boys wearing sequins and make-up . Mick Jagger got inspired . He brought our look back to London . He was considerably chummy with the beautiful girls in the GTO ’ s .

52 | Steel Notes Magazine steelnotesmagazine . com | June 2014