Lisa Johnson, veteran rock photographer, excitedly gives us the details into her personal experience as one of the photo historians and curators of the Punk Rock Museum, which opened in March in Las Vegas. Here, she talks about her significant roles which also include being part of the museum’s executive team as well as a bit about her history as a rock photographer who is probably most well known for her extensive time chronicling the Vans Warped Tour.
She jokes, “I was doing a lot of other stuff, but when you look back, that’s what I held near and dear. I was doing a lot of other stuff, but my memory tells me that I didn’t,” she laughs. “So, it’s a good thing we have a museum to prove that in fact I was doing other things.”
About your involvement with the museum, how did that get started?
Well, Mike (Burkett) begged me to be a part of it, and I said, “OK, fine.” (Laughter) So, obviously I’ve known those guys for a really long time and have been working with them for years. And over the course of time I found out that this mecca was being dreamt up and created, and who would I be to not want to be involved. It’s incredible. So, I’m really excited and honored to be able to be not only exhibited in the Punk Rock Museum, but also be part of the creation of this exciting new phase of history for us, the “us” being the collective music fan that happens to be more into the punkier side of things. So, that’s where I fall.
Right, so your title is photo historian and curator and also part of the executive team. So, what does that entail?
That is a very broad answer to what does that entail. Basically, I’ve been gathering artifacts, some of my own from my extensive collection of history as well as reaching out to others in the music community to gather some exciting and historical items for us to look at, as well as reaching out to photographers who’ve been documenting the scene. There’s so many. And we’re talking about 50 years, five or maybe even six depending on where you land of where it started and where we are now, let’s say five decades of music history and so I’m one of many people who are basically trying to make sure we document this and properly share history with everybody. So, it’s a daunting task and I’m one needle in a haystack of history trying to make sure we get it right. The good thing is we were all there, so it’ll be right for us. So, we don’t have to piece it together by not being there. We’re not like archeologists, digging up forgotten lands, we’re actually preserving the memories as we are here too have them.
That’s a really good way to put it. And then also just on the Facebook page, it seems like a lot of regular folks were donating their own artifacts.
Yeah, it’s been really cool to see. I mean, everyone has a story, right? So, it’s really fun and interesting. It’s kind of like going backwards a living history, like an Instagram experience where we’re so lucky that maybe someone in the ‘80s actually had a camera and bothered to take a photo to remember these moments that happened in the ‘70s. Because everyone has a cellphone now and can take a picture, but it was a lot more trouble 15, 20 years ago, and more to actually document these moments in history, so we’re really fortunate that people have been organized enough to still have them and share them. And we’re so excited to be sharing them.
And the flyers and ticket stubs…
Oh my gosh. It’s so cool. Even going through my own stuff, I’ve always saved things because that’s what you do when you love things, right? You save them. I’ll pull up an old flyer or an old L.A. Times calendar section from the ‘90s, which I actually found recently tucked in a corner, and it’s really fun to go through and look at the ads. Or tucked in a book, I’ll find a flyer from a show I went to. It just takes you back to that moment. Oh my god I remember standing in front of the Roxy when somebody handed me this flyer. It’s fun to go back and remember these things that maybe would be forgotten forever were we not gathering them and telling these stories. There’s a lot of history.
Are you planning on being there for the opening?
I’m planning on being there.
Are you going to keep certain exhibits up for a while and then change out?
Absolutely. There’s the permanent exhibition which will be on permanent display, part of the historical presentation of the history of punk essentially as best we can tell it. And then there will be temporary exhibitions that will change every few months. And then I have a lot of stuff from part of my permanent display from the Vans Warped Tour, which I documented fairly extensively starting in the ‘90s up until 2019 when we closed the lid on that one. I did a touring exhibition that was a history of the Vans Warped Tour, so some of my Warped collection will be in the museum and updated up until 2019. So there’s new things added. So if anybody happened to see it on Warped Tour, then they can go now and there’ll be new old stuff.
I was going to say you’ve had the museum experience before, with the Warped Tour, and is it hard to pare down all your work?
Oh my god it’s so hard, but fortunately I have been working for this moment my whole life I suppose, especially with Warped in particular, we’ve done a couple of books and a couple of exhibitions and the touring experience of showing that stuff, so it kind of helps to whittle down things, to really have the cream of the crop rise of what to show.
When did you first really get into music and punk?
Oh gosh, I’ve always been super into music my entire life. I guess I really liked documenting things even as a child, so it was just sort of natural as time rolled on. I was documenting things around me, and if I liked to go to a show then I would wanna bring my camera, and I’d wanna take photos. Back then, venues weren’t as hardcore about a photo pass or whatever so you could just bring your camera, it was no big deal. And it wasn’t until people got really precious about it in the mid-’90s and then it was a little more difficult. So, thank god for cell phones so we can document everything all the time. (Laughs) But it’s just been a constant. I couldn’t tell you the moment in time because there’s never been a moment when it hasn’t been, if that makes sense.
What area of California were you at?
Los Angeles.
Oh man, so you were in a great spot to find bands.
Great spot. There was no lacking of music around if you’re looking for it, especially live music in the club scene back then. When a lot of this stuff was happening, I was too young to get into the clubs, but then there would be events that would be outside of the club environment, or you’d have to drive so you’d go to Orange County or San Diego to go to a show. So we would drive. (Laughter) Sometimes we’d go to Santa Barbara or wherever. We would just go wherever shows were because we had a car. (Laughs) But we couldn’t get in the clubs here, so we’d go somewhere else.
I was just wondering about the era when you first started going to shows.
Mid-to-late-‘80s probably. The ‘90s was really for me the very active time. But I was going to shows in the late-’80s or mid-to-late-‘80s.
You just shot so many bands. I was wondering, personally, you have great portraits and photo shoots and then live action; do you have a preference?
I really do love live photos, but lately, I’ve been really drawn a little bit more to the portrait aspect of it. And maybe that’s a result of the pandemic and not being at as many shows, and it’s also you kind of wanna tip-toe around, not as devil-may-care as you would might’ve been a few years ago. But I’ve been looking back at some of my stuff—There’s something about a really nice, telling portrait where you kinda sink into the eyes. I love seeing a photo where you hear the music when you see the photo. Maybe you don’t know what they sound like, but hopefully by seeing the photo, you get a glimpse into what you’re in store for or what’s there.
But I do notice, and I’ve had people kind of say this before, that what I do, it’s sort of like the eye of the hurricane. It’s this calm before the storm. Calm moment. And even if there’s chaos amongst it, there’s always sort of some kind of connection going on, whether it’s me and the subject or the subject with someone else. Looking through stuff even today, I definitely agree that there’s this calm moment that’s captured right there that I’m really drawn to, if that makes sense.
Are there any bands you can pinpoint that you just love(d) photographing?
I loved shooting Nirvana. Looking back at the history, it’s a short span of time. But, man, what fun. I loved every second of it. If I could just go back in time and do it all over again, I would. That was really fun. And NOFX. Do I have to say that? Of course I do. (Laughter) NOFX is really fun too. That was one really fun thing about Warped Tour was you’re there the whole day, with all your favorite bands playing and a bunch you don’t care about, but you don’t have to go see those. Just see the ones you like. And that was so much fun. Who doesn’t wanna run around in the sun with your friends and go see your favorite bands all day long? So much fun. I really miss that. Then I feel the festival thing is a little different now, or maybe I’m just jaded. But I think it’s different than 2019.
I used to go to the one at Randall’s Island in NY.
Oh my gosh. So you know.
I think the first one I went to was ‘96 or was it ‘97.
Yeah, that’s old-school stuff. There was a really crazy one in 2001, maybe? Rain. I was out there. Maybe it was 2003. Crazy rain storm, and the bus I was on, the bus driver stayed and helped all the other buses get out, and he was just covered in mud. Caked in it; it was crazy. Those were some real fun shows. That was one of the things I did out there all summer; you’re taking pictures. I wasn’t out all summer every day; I would sometimes go one or two dates the whole summer, but my goal was after a certain time, I was trying to capture the ultimate rock shots for what would become the Warped comp because that Warped comp would be the next year.
You take this, and you go home, and you pop it in your car, and it’s your memory of the day and the summer of that very specific time, so I’d really try to capture the whole experience in a tiny, little CD package. And I think we did a good job. Those came out on SideOneDummy Records, and I had just the best time making those and capturing the magic. You were talking about, how do you whittle it down? That was part of the process. Then we’d go through those together with SideOneDummy, different people at different times, and really curate the experience. To be honest, that was really helpful in the end, to be organized enough to be able to have a collection of stuff that was ready for people to look at. There would be thousands and thousands of pictures, and you’d have to pare it down to maybe six to really capture the moment. (Laughs) And it’s fun because when I put them all together, it’s really these little time capsules and it’s so cool. I’m so thankful for that experience. Also it gave me a purpose for every day to outdo myself, like, “I did this last year; let’s see if I can do it better this year.” It was a lot of fun to be a part of that. I hope Warped Tour comes back just so I can challenge myself to get better and better rock shots every year. I got so many great ones at the last one. I’m ready. Let’s go. (Laughter)
With the museum in general, you seem like one of the perfect people to be working with it.
Thank you. Like I said, I’ve been working my whole life for this moment. I really have been preparing my whole life for this moment, so I do feel like it’s a perfect situation to be in. I’m excited. There’s a lot of work to do. It’s never going to end because there’s always going to be somebody who’s like, “I’ve found this cool stuff; let’s show it to everybody!” It’ll be like the ultimate show and tell; it will never end. It’ll keep evolving.
Also, it’s so cool because people coming up and learning about it; there’s always new people to teach.
Yeah, and it’s a multigenerational thing at this point. There’ll be families coming and grandparents showing their grandkids or even great grandkids. I mean it’s pretty crazy, but think about it; people that were there are still here, and they have kids, and their kids have kids, and their kids’ kids might have kids. Let’s just say their kids have kids. So anyway, that’s three generations right there, so hopefully there’ll be something for everybody because it’s going to go from the origins to the present day. There’s a lot of ground to cover. A lot of bands.
Do you have any wisdom for people looking to break into the field of photography?
I was hoping you were going to say (that)! Just keep documenting. If you’re passionate about it, keep at it no matter what. If you feel really passionate about something, it doesn’t even have to be photography, whatever, but definitely take every avenue you can to pursue your goals. And the museum is a perfect example of persistence and perseverance. I just think it’s so exciting that there’s going to be a place for all of us punks to go and celebrate what we love all in one big place. I don’t have to just pull out boxes at my house and look at papers by myself. I can go to the museum and share my joy of music and share that with other people that I might not even know exist yet and run into them at the museum, and we can dance and cry over the same memories, or our own memories separately in the same room together. (Laughter)
Another thing that’s cool is you can actually take a guided tour with some of these people. That’s kind of crazy. (Laughter) In a good way.
Yes. Because going back to that unique perspective that we were talking about even earlier, every tour guide is going to have their own stories and their own history they can share on these tours. These are not scripted, by-the-book “This is what happened in 1977 and this is what happened in 1983.” It’s going to be like, “Yeah, I was there when this happened,” and “Here’s what happened to me.” Not only is it an oral history, it’s in-your-face right there. You’re hearing about it. It’ll be really interesting and fun to hear everybody’s stories too because they’re not all documented and preserved; they’ll be kind of on the fly. Sometimes you see something and it might remind them of something they’d forgotten about. It’ll be very interesting to see and hear everyone’s unique perspective on moments of history that would be lost forever were we not to be sharing it and honoring it and documenting it.
Photo courtesy of Lisa Johnson
