Peter Laughner was one of the cornerstones of Cleveland鈥檚 1970s punk scene, working with Pere Ubu, Rocket From the Tombs, and influencing numerous other artists. Described in his lifetime as everything from a genius to a fool, his complicated legacy is being re-examined in a book which has finally been given a wide release.
Laughner died in 1977 at age 24, but fans had to before his music became widely available, thanks to a boxed set from Smog Veil Records.
鈥淧revious to that time, there were all these and things appearing on YouTube. It was a very macabre rendering of who Peter was,鈥� says Adele Bertei, Laughner鈥檚 friend and collaborator in the mid-70s. She wrote about their time together in her self-published 2013 memoir, 鈥淧eter and the Wolves,鈥� which was available to Kickstarter supporters. This year, , and Bertei appeared with Amanda Rabinowitz on WKSU's Shuffle to talk about it:
鈥淚 think I . He was afraid to show his more vulnerable side. I mean, I heard Peter play a dobro guitar like Robert Johnson, and that's really saying something. He was very sensitive. He liked to listen to Phil Ochs and Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan and the folkies, and he had a very socialist heart when it came to songwriting.
Some of the songs Laughner wrote or performed with Bertei include and Rock It Down:
鈥淚t was the songs that were about the punk ethos of self-destruction which he became the most known for, and people didn't really know the sensitive side of him so much. And I was privy to that, which was very moving.鈥�
After Laughner鈥檚 death, Bertei moved to New York and eventually, Los Angeles. She鈥檚 currently working on a book about her time growing up in Cleveland and how the era鈥檚 homophobia and misogyny shaped her world view and career.
Adele Bertei will be in Northeast Ohio this week to sign copies of 鈥楶eter and the Wolves鈥� as well as her second book, about the supergroup Labelle (鈥淲hy Labelle Matters鈥�).
Friday, October 15: Bertei will be joined by authors Lucy Sante (鈥楲ow Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York鈥�) and Mike DeCapite (鈥楾hrough the Windshield鈥�) at .
Saturday, October 16: Bertei, Sante, and DeCapite will be at in Detroit.
Wednesday, October 20: Bertei will sign copies of her books at .
Thursday, October 21: Bertei appears with Vanity Crash at .
