Jim Cassatta, Imagemaker

360 Dad. His newest obsession at the time

2012-02-15T19:54:00.000-08:00

Last date modified says 7-7-2002

He got this mirrored lens attachment for his Sony Mavica and was trying to get the picture to rotate smoothly with the soft-wear that came with it. He was inspired by the 360 views of apartments and houses that had just become popular. Later pictures show he did figure out how to completely remove himself from the photos when taking them. But, I like these better.

See how you can just see his hand in the above shot? This is at a Mooneyes event I think...

It never occurred to me till just now...but this is where I get my burst work ethic from, and my need to pick things apart till I understand them...he got this lens and would not put it down till it was mastered, he then rarely touched it. He gave it to me to sell on eBay for him about, a month before he died...I never did list it...lazy girl....

...and he loved to steal your money

2012-02-10T20:31:00.000-08:00

Don't call us, we'll call you.

2012-01-29T19:53:00.001-08:00

Larry's Vintage Vehicles

2012-01-28T12:12:00.000-08:00

I found a picture of you...

2012-01-27T17:58:00.000-08:00

"The powers that be,

That force us to live like we do.
Bring me to my knees,
When I see what they've done to you."

~The Pretenders, Back on the Chain Gang

Dad on my mind

2012-01-14T12:58:00.000-08:00

This song has reminded me of dad for years, I don't think I ever played it for him....

Last photo together

2012-01-14T12:56:00.000-08:00

at St. Patrick's day party, March 2010

Into the Ether

2011-10-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

I am just gonna go ahead and say this, as this space has remained dark for so long I just have to say it.

September 28th, 2011 my Daddy, Jim Cassatta, passed into eternity.

For those of you that only know my dad due to this blog and are just hearing of this: I apologize for it taking a whole month for the news to reach you. I have been speechless. Stunned. Sad.

I have one more story that never got posted for you, lots more photos, information on what kind of service we have (this has not already happened and will happen when we are able, dad's passing was sudden and we are all still collecting ourselves from the shock.) So, watch this space.

I miss you so much daddy, I love you so much. Rest in Peace. It is my greatest wish that you finally found peace.

By Stephan.Com

Have you seen me?

2011-02-25T18:06:00.000-08:00

Hi again!

SO, I have a small dilemma that maybe you can help me with? I hope so. In sorting out dads photographs I have come across a few bands I don't recognize. I thought that this one was Silverhead, Michael Des Barres' band of the early 1970's and was so excited that there were so many photos of them, and really well framed clear ones too! Not until a few samples were scanned sent on to dad, and compared to pictures of the actual Michael Des Barres did I realize this wasn't him, or them, Silverhead. Do you guys know who this band is?

Here's one of the lead singer of said band, with two lovely lady friends after the show. The one on the right is very familiar to dad, but he doesn't remember her name. Help!

Love notes part deux

2011-02-15T01:59:00.000-08:00

So, I wanted to post the valentine, and I wanted to post these letters, and then I couldn't find the watermarked letters in the little browser box thingy, then I realized it was a quarter till midnight and if I wanted the damn Feb 14th date stamp I would have to post the freaking thing for it still to be a timely valentine. Well, you know how it goes, or you don't cause I'm a little more...distracted by shiny things then other people? So, anyway now you get two posts back to back so quit your confused looks! Here are the love notes I promised.

Dad was here when these were discovered, he actually gave the model releases to me quite a bit before that but for whatever reason it took me months to really examine them, and turn them over... SO! this is one of dad's model release forms for Iggy Pop:

I have several of these and it never occurred to me to turn them over, and then one night I did and discovered this!:

It's a letter titled "Rock Scene" (was sent to Rock Scene? Was it a magazine?), and in the upper right says: "Miss Pamela" and "Arizona Shim". It reads:

"Dear Richard and Lisa, thanks for all the pictures and print. What are you doing these days? I have been writing plays and acting them out, and running around a lot. Love Iggy

P.S. Here's a pic of me and Miss Pamela at the Whiskey to see my friend Aynsley Dunbar play with Journey. Don't she look cute?"

Isn't thins amazing?! I was blown away! How great to find out that not only did Iggy write to people, he included pictures! He just went up a cool notch (as if it was even possible for him to be more cool). I do not have a picture of Iggy and Miss Pamela, so maybe this was a practice letter and he sent the real one with the picture? He must of course mean the fabulous groupie deluxe Pamela Des Barres when he says "Miss Pamela".

(Photo)

I don't believe this is a photo my father took however, so I don't have a copy(I am still going through negatives though, so, it could be possible). Can you imagine? Going to see Aynsley Dunbar play with Journey? To have the amazing Pamela Des Barres for your date? How cool! I mean if you're Iggy Pop, you probably don't think about it, cause you're Iggy Pop, and already cool.

The model release on the other side is dated August 12, 1974.

Mad flipping of all the other model releases ensued and we then came across this! :

The top says: "Me running and Kicking" and reads:

"Hi Creem -

Whatcha been doing? I've been on a wild rampage.

Iggy

P.S. send my love to the "Scorpions." Here is a picture of me in training for our next gang war. Iggy (it's scratched out) Iggy (scratched out again)"

So this one is for Creem Magazine, I think it's funny that he asks what it's been up to. Unless it says Carm?...

I also do not have a copy of this photo. It's a shame too cause I'm dying to see it, Iggy, training for a street fight! Hot. (Yes, I just said hot, yes I realize no one has said hot since Paris Hilton all the way back in 2008. But, I mean it literally, not in the bored passive way she did). This one is also dated August 12, 1974.

So, another great find! I love these! I love that Iggy Pop wrote people. This is getting to be a pretty interesting.

~Sydney

Valentines and Love Notes

2011-02-14T23:46:00.000-08:00

Hi. It's me. I'm back...

This is the Central Scrutinizer...The WHITE ZONE is for loading and unloading only...if ya gotta load, or if ya gotta unload, you go to the WHITE ZONE. You'll love it, it's a way of life.

OH! Hi, I didn't realize you were there. So, I'm back. I know we missed Christmas and New Years, but those are all busy and boring. Busy with all kinds of boring things. We don't really even like Christmas around here much so instead, HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Here's a Valentine from my 16 year old father! Just for you! a whole 15 minutes before Valentines is over on the west coast!

Corrections and updates

2010-12-29T19:40:00.000-08:00

Hello, welcome back to the wacky world of Jim Cassatta!

I am sorry I haven't been back to post in a bit, it's the holidaze, I've been drinking, you've been out of town, you know how it goes. Hope everyone had a happy Hanukkah, a peaceful Solstice, a merry Christmas, a joyous Festivus, a great Boxing Day, a fabulous Kwanzaa, and are revving up for a very happy New Year! Phew! That's a lot of holidays, did I cover everyone? I hope so.

I will make up for lost posts due to scrambling for rent by giving you one long post now, while I am locked out of my work website due to...maintenance? I have no idea really...but it makes me nervous. I digress.

Anyhow! I got a great Christmas present from dad: photos! I am still scanning (it wasn't a ton, but I have had a lot of computer problems of late that can't be repaired with anything but money and I don't have any of that till my boyfriend gets some more work. Someone give my boyfriend some work. I like knowing I'll have rent, it's, comforting.) but here's an idea of what went on Dec 9th when dad started sorting out the loot:

Fun!

There were a coupla small boxes that I somehow missed when we moved! It was so exciting! Incidentally, the boyfriend also read us the news that Jim Morrison had just been posthumously pardoned for indecent exposure in Miami; so you know the whole day was blessed by the Rock Gods. ;)

He went through the negatives while I scanned my ass off. Not the rock photos however, although the room was all a twitter about those, we were far more excited about personal photos. Many, many of my older sister (some really great ones from when she was just a few days old!), and especially those of my mother, a few black and white close ups of her in her youth. It was amazing.

Sorry they are mostly blurry, light was low and...I was lazy. Note the drawing of dad in the lower right of the above picture. What a great piece of what I like to call "fan art". Haha!

SO, I hope to get many of those scanned and up here in the next coupla weeks, keep your eye out as they trickle in. Till then, here's another Iggy Pop to hold you over:

Taken at the same time as the first one:

In the living room of the house in Venice, about 1974.

Neither one has the dad approved copy write and font, but I am now without photo-shop, the script one was for my other blog, blah, blah, blah, I am disorganized but mean well. Deal with it.

I bring this up cause I have a correction to make: it was vitamins. Iggy Pop came to the door of the house in Venice to ask for vitamins, not painkillers. I am so sorry Mr. Pop that I painted you in such a shady color, I know now you were only worried about your health and nothing dubious was afoot.

I have a confession to make. I work long hours, enjoy wine, and sometimes those things don't help in recalling all the details of dad's stories. I have heard them many times and am sorry I forgot one as important as vitamins over aspirin, but, this thing is a work in progress and we're working out the kinks as we go.

SO!

Eric Wonderman was sitting in the living room, Iggy Pop knocked on the door and asked if dad had any vitamins. Dad said, yes, they are in the bathroom. Iggy Pop entered, found the bathroom, took the vitamins and asked if there was any beer. Dad said no, sorry, at this point in life he was no longer drinking. There was however a liqor store right across the street. So Iggy asked if dad had $1.35. Sadly, dad could not help here either. Iggy then turned to Eric and asked if he had the $1.35 for beer (it was only a dollar thirty five for beer! Crazy.) he didn't have it either. Iggy left. Dad looked at Eric in confusion, Eric asked if he knew who that was, dad said no. Eric informed him that it was, in fact, Iggy Pop and thus begins the whole sordid affair. Iggy and dad would be friends for a few years after and he is the person I have the most photos and goodies of. More to come!

I also have to update the photo I posted of dad sitting on his Imagemaker camera bag, he photoshopped it for me himself and I am quite delayed in posting it.

It really does look rather nice doesn't it? I may have him shop all the photos for the blog now. What do you think dad?

~Sydney

Mr. Osterberg

2010-12-16T23:18:00.000-08:00

Sometime in the early 1970's (No one is sure when, cause let's face it everyone had been high since 1967 and would be till about 1980) my father answered a knock on the door to a sweating, tightly wound guy, physically not unlike my father himself; short and slight of build, all bone and lean muscle. No shirt, big bloodshot eyes look up at dad and the visitor asks for...painkillers.

He had a really bad head ache don't you know.

Enter Iggy Pop.

He then took to living in the garage from, '74 to '75 I believe, before disappearing in 1976 with David Bowie to record The Idiot and, get their heads together....

Below is one of my favorite portraits of, as my father continues to refer to him, Mr. Osterberg. Taken in my parents living room, sometime in 1974:

Titles and Passes

2010-12-14T01:36:00.000-08:00

The title of the blog is due entirely to this slide containing Dad's self-imposed moniker:

He even had it screened on his camera bag:

Although he started as a journalistic photographer in Chicago in the late 1960's, shooting thousands of photos that were dropped off, by the roll, at the Chicago Sun Times , including many of the chaotic and world changing 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention. He was now living in sunny Southern California, making images, of his own creation, containing his wife, daughter, roommate Iggy Pop, psychedelic drag queen group The Cockettes, friends in music and art.

My dad has always had a way with people, they either love him or hate him. He soon had quite a collection of backstage passes to see some of his favorite people play.

This pass accompanies the previous post photo of Edgar Winter, I believe.

This one is my favorite. Other than Alice Cooper being my fave of the bands offered, I just think this is the coolest pass. It's round!

Edgar Winter

2010-12-13T23:59:00.000-08:00

Hi!

Wow, almost a month without a post huh? I kinda suck. It's been...busy to say the least. So, I am aiming for a post a week, what's your favorite day of the week? We'll make that post day. If I had to pick I would automatically say Friday, but those don't mean so much when you work all the time. We'll still shoot for Friday and I will try to get you a few extra this week to make up for the false start. I mean well. I really do.

I lost my photo-shop over the weekend, I have a copy, just have to re-install, but till then I am just going to go ahead an add the photos that have already appeared on my other blog, even though they don't have the Jim Cassatta approved watermark ;).

Below! Behold the great Edgar Winter! Most likely playing his famous and amazing Frankenstein! I have no back story on this one yet, but as Dad fill in the details I will update. I believe this is from a show at the San Diego Sports Arena August 16, 1974.

This whole thing is a work in progress, posts will be updated as needed when input from dad is received. Sometimes that can take awhile. Thank you for your patience and interest you guys rock!

-Sydney

The photo that started it all

2010-11-18T19:42:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to Jim Cassatta, Imagemaker!

Included will be my father's personal history, history as a photographer, video clips of him talking about his photos, and rambles about the times he spent with such greats as Iggy Pop, Mick Jagger, Ray Manzarek, Alice Cooper, Rodney Bingenheimer, Edger Winter, Bob Hite, Gene Simmons, and many more!

The below photograph was taken backstage at the Roxy on Sunset sometime in early 1977. Dad had chased Iggy there after not seeing him for well over a year while he was in Berlin to record The Idiot with David Bowie.

This photo, along with all the ones to come, is available for purchase. Printed on high quality paper, black and white, 8 x 10 for $25.00. For an additional $25.00 dad will sign and personalize your photo in silver paint pen or black sharpie, your choice.