Q & A: Paul Trynka

By Matthew Moyer, Jacksonville P.L., FL -- Library Journal, 4/1/2007

Years before he began his new biography, Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed (see review, p. 95), Paul Trynka had been preparing for the task, as his illustrious subject was regularly profiled in UK music magazine MOJO, where Trynka hung his hat as editor. But Iggy goes above and beyond anything previously written about the Michigan-born godfather of punk, who will turn 60 on April 21. It is a beautifully penned summation of Iggy's eclectic career, drawing upon a wealth of new interviews and a life full of the sort of rock myth about which music writers can only dream. No fun? Yeah, right.

How and when did you first get into Iggy Pop? Was it like an epiphany?

I was a 15-year-old in Nowheresville, East Yorkshire, when a friend got hold of a cut-out copy of the Stooges's debut album in 1976. It was an epiphany, one that would be played out in countless Nowheresvilles across the world, I found out later.

Do you have a good firsthand Iggy anecdote that didn't make it into the book?

I oversaw a photoshoot on the street with him in the East Village in New York City in 1993. It was 104 degrees, and we'd asked him to splash himself with water from a fire hydrant a couple of kids had let off. He obliged, as he does, when a couple of local characters decided if he wanted to get wet, they'd help out. They ran up behind and emptied a bucket of water over him. Any other rock star, of course, would have flounced—but I still have the photos, showing him laughing his head off.

How did the project come about? Were you surprised that your sources agreed to talk?

My agent knew I'd abandoned an Iggy book years ago but persuaded me to start over. I took a lot of persuasion, I don't know why, but when I got into it, I became truly obsessed. There was no early clue Iggy might be supportive, and I had to use every bit of subterfuge I've learned and every contact I've acquired in 15 years on magazines to get all those people to talk!

Thank you for mentioning John Cale wearing the Dracula cape. I was afraid I'd just made that up.

A good look, I agree, albeit hard to pull off.

I got a sense that you were frustrated at points with how Iggy kept managing to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

When I was writing, I was thinking of the ire of a typical fan who buys the latest record by their hero and realises it's a crock of shit. I can still feel that sense of moral outrage. But when writing the story, I also relished the comedy of all those disasters. One of the opening lines in the book is "How can one man be so clever, and so stupid", and I was overjoyed to find so many examples of both!

I like how you balanced total fandom with almost journalistic reportage. How do you tread such a fine line for such a larger-than-life figure?

I guess I am a total fan of Iggy's music, which I believe has had a profound, enduring influence on popular culture. But that didn't mean I had to whitewash the dark parts of his life—and there are a lot of them. For me, this story embodies a deeper notion, about whether selfishness, betrayal, and the using of others are justified for creative ends. I couldn't condemn that behavior, for ultimately I believe the music justifies most of it. But I had to document it so that others could make their own decision.

What is the biggest misconception people have about your subject?

I've hugely enjoyed watching Iggy manipulate people like a puppet master without their having the faintest inkling of what is happening. I helped research a recent prestigious arts program, London's South Bank Show, which was presented by this intellectual media personality, Melvin Bragg—Lord Melvin Bragg—and Iggy had him wrapped around his little finger. Then just a few months later, he was mocking "Lord Winky wanky woo" in print. It was a consummate example of Iggy's sophistication—and his childishness!

What's next for you?

I've actually been getting withdrawal symptoms over the last few months, of not being on The Hunt. After working for so many years in magazines, which these days are driven by committees and focus groups, I loved hitting the road with a phone and a list of contacts, so I'm in the process of identifying a new subject and hope to be sharpening my pencils again soon.