The Styrous® Viewfinder: Drummer Magazine

In the late seventies, I modeled for articles in Drummer Magazine. One article in particular I remember was on how to do full body and other body parts casting (couldn't be shy here). Some of the photographers I worked with were Jim Stewart (see Beemer links below), Peter Munekee and Gene Weber whose work can now be found in the James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Collection at the San Francisco Public Library.

Drummer Magazine was a publication for the man with an interest in the leather subculture in mind. It was founded by John Embry and Jeanne Barney in Los Angeles in 1975. Due to police harassment, it relocated to San Francisco in 1977 with Jack Fritscher as editor-in-chief from 1977 to 1979.

Drummer Magazine

cover art by Rex
photo of cover by Styrous®

Drummer Magazine delineated leather as a lifestyle and masculinity as an ideal. It featured quality writings about leather but also served as a platform for erotic art and photography. Some of its writers and artists were Phil Andros, Tim Barrus, Scott Masters, Camille O'Grady, Tom of Finland, Robert Opel and Larry Townsend who wrote The Leatherman's Handbook, the bible for the Leatherman.

my well-worn copy of the book

The Leatherman's Handbook

by Larry Townsend

I did the sound design for several exhibition/events at the Fey Way Studios owned by Robert Opel and it was were I met Touko Laaksonen aka Tom of Finland in 1978. Somewhere I have a calendar for that year that he autographed.

Fey Way Studios 1st Anniversary poster
poster art work by Camille O'Grady

photo of poster by Styrous®

Drummer Magazine held annal International Mr Drummer contests in San Francisco, CA from 1981 to 1999. They were pretty raucous events and tons of fun.

The last issue of Drummer Magazine was published in April of 1999.

Sites for more information:

A Hell Of A Run: Leather Publishing And San Francisco,
from leatherpage.com, archived at archive.org

The Leather Archive & Museum
Jack Fritcher interview on YouTube
informaton about Drummer Magazine by Jack Fritcher
Back2stonewall
Leather Life

Beemer Memories:
Memory 4 ~ Leatherneck bar, San Francisco
Memory 5 ~ Leatherneck bar, S. F., Pt. 2
Memory 10 ~ 1977 CARNIFAIR ~ Dancin' for the Seamen
Memory 11 ~ Leatherneck posters

Those were exciting, wild and intense times in the history of gay S F.

I'm glad I was there to experience them.

Styrous® ~ Friday, October 10, 2014

Beemer Memories
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May 6, 2013

Beemer Memory 4 ~ Leatherneck bar, San Francisco, 1977

The Leatherneck bar logo

The Leatherneck bar opened in 1976 on 11th and Folsom and was owned by Allan Lowery. It was south of Market Street in the area now called SOMA before it was known as SOMA. Previously, It was only referred to as south of Market or south of The Slot. The Slot referred to the slot along Market that held the cables that drew the cable cars. The cars and the slot had disappeared decades earlier but the name stuck.

As part of promotions for the bar, I did a series of dance performances in 1977-78. At one point I remember discussing the idea of dragging my Beemer into the bar for one of these performances. We may have done it, however, I have no recollection of actually doing it. It could have happened, though, because it was a wild and crazy time and we did stuff like that (see Disco Daze link below).

dancing at the Leatherneck bar circa 1977

photo by Jim Stewart

The amazing cast of characters who frequented the bar was right out of some kind of cheap pulp novel. Jack Fritcher wrote about it in one of his series of articles about Drummer Magazine (The Leatherneck: the Ultimate Bar of the Seventies). The article features photos by Jim Stewart. I modeled for several articles in Drummer Magazine. Drummer was published from 1975 to 1999.

Photographer, Jim Stewart wrote about the Leatherneck Bar in his book, Folsom Street Blues: A Memoir of 1970s. I have been mentioned in it.

I have the original series of four posters for which I modeled for the Leatherneck which I'll post at some point.

What an incredible time in my life as well as the history of San Francisco it was. Everything was open, free and rich with possibilities.

20,000 vinyl LPs 4: The Skatt Brothers: Disco Daze

Folsom Street Blues: A Memoir of 1970s. is available at Amazon.

Styrous® ~ Monday, May 6, 2013

Beemer Memories
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