Sylvain Sylvain
| Sylvain Sylvain | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sylvain Mizrahi |
| Born | February 14, 1951 Cairo, Egypt |
| Origin | New York, USA |
| Genres | Glam rock, protopunk, punk rock, glam punk |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano |
| Associated acts | New York Dolls, The Criminals |
Sylvain Sylvain (born Sylvain Mizrahi,[1] February 14, 1951) is an American rock guitarist, most notable for being a member of the New York Dolls.
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Early years [edit]
Sylvain was born in Cairo, Egypt to a Jewish[2][3] family, but anti-Semitism forced his family to flee in the 1950s,[4] first to France and finally to New York, United States. The Mizrahis lived first on Lafayette Avenue in Buffalo, New York but later moved to New York City, while he was still a child. Sylvain has dyslexia.[5]
Prior to joining the New York Dolls, Sylvain and future New York Doll bandmate Billy Murcia ran a clothing company called "Truth and Soul," which helped define his fashion sense and would play a role in the band's groundbreaking look.[6] He has one brother, Leon, and one sister, Brigitte.
Career [edit]
Before joining the New York Dolls in 1971, Sylvain was a member of the band Actress, which also featured Arthur Kane, Johnny Thunders and former fashion partner, Billy Murcia. He played rhythm guitar for the Dolls[7] from 1971 until the group's final dissolution in 1977. Sylvain and singer David Johansen were the last remaining members at the time the group broke up.[8] After the dissolution of the Dolls, he frequently played with Johansen on some of his solo records. He started his own band, The Criminals,[9] with another ex-Doll, Tony Machine, and continued to play the New York club scene. He landed a solo recording contract with RCA, and released one album with Lee Crystal (drums; later of Joan Jett's Blackhearts) and Johnny Rao (guitar).
He moved to Los Angeles in the early 1990s and recorded one record, Sleep Baby Doll for Fishead Records. His band mates on this record were: Brian Keats, drums, John Carlucci, bass, and Olivier LeBaron' on lead guitar, with guest appearances by Frank Infante of Blondie & Derwood Andrews of Generation X. In 2004 he reunited with the surviving members of the New York Dolls, along with Steve Conte, Brian Koonin and Brian Delaney. Arthur Kane, who died in 2004, was replaced by Sami Yaffa.[1] They've released two records; "One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This" and "'Cause I Sez So". The reunion was filmed as part of a documentary on former band member Kane and was released in 2005 as New York Doll.[10]
On March 18, 2010, at SXSW in Austin, Texas, Sylvain and Cheetah Chrome of The Dead Boys and Rocket from the Tombs debuted their new band, The Batusis. Their EP is on Smog Veil Records.
In November 2012, Sylvain posted a video for his new single, "Leaving New York," on the Internet and it was available on iTunes on December 2, 2012.
Discography [edit]
With New York Dolls [edit]
- New York Dolls (1973, Mercury Records)
- Too Much Too Soon (1974, Mercury Records)
- One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This (2006, Roadrunner Records)
- Cause I Sez So (2009, Atco Records)
- Tokyo Dolls Live (credited to `David and Sylvain`) - a live album by the Dolls line-up of Johansen & Sylvain with Peter Jordan/Chris Robison/Tony Machine. French Fan Club/New Rose.
- New York Dolls Red Patent Leather - live album of McLaren-era Dolls allegedly produced by Sylvain, with original manager Marty Thau credited as Executive Producer
- Dancing Backward In High Heels (2011, 429 Records)
As Sylvain Sylvain [edit]
- Sylvain Sylvain (album) (1979, RCA Records)
- Leaving New York single (2012, self-released)
With Syl Sylvain and the Teardrops [edit]
With Sylvain Sylvain & The Criminal$ [edit]
- 78 Criminals (1985, Fan Club)
- Bowery Butterflies (2000, Munster Records)
With She Wolves [edit]
- Sheena Is a Punk Rocker single (2007, Poptown Records)
With The Batusis [edit]
- Batusis EP (2010, Smog Veil Records)
As producer [edit]
- River City Rebels, Hate To Be Loved album (2004, Victory Records)
References [edit]
- ^ a b Hermes, Will (July 23, 2006). "Return of the New York Dolls, What’s Left of Them". New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
- ^ "Syl the One". Riverfront Times. November 29, 2006. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
- ^ "Q&A with ex-NY Doll, Sylvain Sylvain". CANOE.ca. December 14, 2000. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
- ^ "An Interview with Sylvain Sylvain of the New York Dolls". Brooklyn Vegan. September 5, 2006. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
- ^ "New York Dolls: We Re-Hatched Iggy Pop's Career". February 28, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
- ^ "Sylvain Sylvain all Dolled up". Now Magazine. December 14, 2000. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
- ^ McNeil, Legs; Gillian McCain (1996). Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk. New York, New York: Penguin Books. p. 116.
- ^ "Former New York Doll Displays Musical Scrapbook". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. March 25, 1998. Retrieved January 27, 2010.[dead link]
- ^ McNeil 423.
- ^ Chonin, Neva (November 25, 2005). "Documentary follows former N.Y. Doll from post-fame obscurity to reunion". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
- Lazell, Barry. Punk! An A-Z, Hamlyn, 1995
- Ruppli, Michel; Novitsky, Ed. The Mercury Labels. A Discography, Vol. V., Record and Artist Indexes, Greenwood Press, 1993.
External links [edit]
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