Intro & Interview by Matthew C. Albanese, $6.99/lb `zine
All photos by Glen E. Friedman

Even if you know nothing about photographs or photographers you have no choice but to know the work of Glen E. Friedman. Whether it be on the T-shirt you bought on the Check Your Head tour, the cover of your sister's L.L. Cool J Bad tape, or when lookin through your older brother's Skateboarder magazines, it's all there. When you look at the body of this artist's work it almost seems impossible for one man to be a part of so much cool shit: skateboarding, punk rock, hardcore and hip hop. I'm talking about the real deal too, not some watered-down version. I'm talking Dogtown, Black Flag, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Run DMC, Fugazi, Busy Bee and a ton more. He was there for it all, and luckily for us he liked to take pictures.

Minor Threat

I had the opportunity to talk to Glen over the phone a few months ago, right before his new book (The Idealist) was about to come out. It was one of the most intense, inspiring and sometimes aggravating conversations I have had in awhile. You could never accuse this man of not having an opinion, which is one of the things I liked the best about him. In today's society (especially with celebrities, artists, journalists, whatever) it is so refreshing to come across someone like Glen E. Friedman — someone who's not afraid to speak his mind, someone who's not afraid to call you on your bullshit.

Here are some excerpts from that conversation...