Conversations with Gene Sculatti

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gene Sculatti.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
As a music journalist I began writing in 1966, publishing the first article in a national magazine (Crawdaddy, Sept. 1966) on San Francisco’s new music scene. I subsequently wrote for Rolling Stone, Creem, the L.A Times, etc. In 1973 I became editor of the trade paper Radio & Records; from 1975 to 1981 I served as Editorial Director of Warner Bros. Records; worked for CBS Television (1982-1991), and was Director of Special Issues for Billboard magazine (1991-2003). Published my first book, ‘The Catalog of Cool,’ in 1982, followed by ‘San Francisco Nights: The Psychedelic Music Trip’ (1985; co-written with Davin Seay); ‘Too Cool’ (1993); ‘Best Selling Albums of the 60s’ (2004); ‘Dark Stars & Anti-Matter: 40 Years of Loving, Leaving and Making Up with the Music of the Grateful Dead’ (2012); ‘Tryin’ to Tell a Stranger ’bout Rock and Roll: Selected Writings 1966-2016 (2016)’ ; ‘For the Records: Close Encounters with Popular Music’ (2021). Have written liner notes to more than 100 CD’s and LP’s.
As an ‘outsider artist’ I’ve been drawing imaginary cityscapes since the late 50s; the UK art magazine Raw Vision’ has featured my work (Issue 122).
As a radio DJ: Have hosted the weekly music show ‘Atomic Cocktail’ (as “Vic Tripp”) for LuxuriaMusic.com since 2007. Previously co-hosted (with Ronn Spencer) ‘The Cool and the Crazy’ show on KCRW (1984-1987) and the punk-rock program ‘Unprovoked Attack’ on KPFK (also with Spencer, 1979).

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Pretty smooth I guess. Born in San Francisco, I grew up in Napa Valley, graduated form SF State in 1968, did some grad school (UC Davis). Moved to L.A. in 1973, to be part of the music business. Got some jobs, lost some, did a lot of freelance writing between regular employment. I’m grateful to have grown up in Cali when I did, and to have had the opportunity to enjoy a career in the two areas that have most interested me since childhood (music and publishing).

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The ‘outsider art’ thing: Not sure of my motivation (being an only kid? Growing up in a small town but always being enchanted by big cities?), but I’ve always drawn– in gradeschool, at home on the back of my father’s blueprints, on shelf-lining paper, in pen, crayon, watercolor, laying out my impressions of (mostly California-styled) urban entities. It’s all fictional: have done about 25 such cityscapes, and continue to do them; lengthwise they range in size from 12 feet to 190 feet [not a typo]. You can view some “Sculatti Cityscapes’ work on YouTube: “Majestic Blvd West,” “Seaview,” etc., as well as a 2019 presentation I gave, explaining the work, at Claremont College, as part of KPCC’s ‘Unheard L.A.’ series (see “Unheard L.A.-Claremont”).
Apart from others: I’m untrained, and am not aware of that many other folks doing the same thing, though the self-taught post-war painter Ralph Fasanella did beautiful stuff in the same vein; his work depicted real-life locations from his New York neighborhood.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Oh, man. In terms of inspiration and the sensibility that informs much of what I do, it’s down to late 50s/60s cultural models: Comic books, Mad magazine’s humor and incredible illustrators; the impossible beauty of pop music (Beach Boys); smart/witty media presences of the period (Steve Allen, Bob Newhart, Tom Wolfe, Lord Buckley). Writing: much credit to Greg Shaw, who in 1966 invited me to contribute to his San Francisco fanzine The Mojo-Navigator Rock & Roll News and later persuaded me to move to L.A. to join a klatch of other music fans who had launched what came to be known as rock criticism. Also Ronn Spencer, my aesthetic soulmate, who worked with me in radio and on the books; Pete Johnson, who hired me at Warner Bros. Records. writer Dick Blackburn, who shaped much of the two ‘Cool’ books. A consistent through-line animating much of what I’ve done are the AM Top-40 disc jockeys of the 60s, most notably Bob Mitchell and ‘Big Daddy’ Tom Donahue at San Francisco’s KYA, but also jocks like L.A.’s Humble Harve, Philly’s Hy Lit and Joe Niagara, NY’s Dan Ingram. The energy and obvious affection for what they’re doing never fails to inspire me.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gene.sculatti/ and https://www.facebook.com/sculatticityscapes/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sculatti+cityscapes and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjNJbCldORA
• Other: https://luxuriamusic.com/ and https://www.amazon.com/s?k=gene+sculatti&i=stripbooks