The death of New York Dolls guitarist Sylvain Sylvain after a long battle with cancer means that vocalist David Johansen is now the last surviving member of the pioneering proto-punk band. He has spent the past 24 hours since the news, reflecting on his five-decade relationship with Sylvain and reading fan tributes to him on social media. “It is a pity that this show of love did not happen while he was alive,” says Johansen. “People should say, ‘I’m going to die next week, so, please tell me how you feel now.'”
The singer called Rolling Stone to share his own show of love for Sylvain and to look back on his memories of a lifetime with the guitar.
Tell me your first memory of seeing Sylvain.
I remember it very vividly. We were starting the band and only rehearsed a few times. The guy who played the guitar didn’t show up. Suddenly, Syl came into the room with a travel bag and a guitar. He had just got off the plane after being, I think, deported from Amsterdam. [Laughs] He looked great, but then he started playing and I thought, “My God. We need to have this guy. He is great.”
Little did I know, he and some of the other guys in the band had been colluding before he arrived in Europe. They were talking about making a band. He knew [drummer] Billy [Murcia] and [guitarist] John [Johnny Thunders]. I don’t know if he knew Arthur [Kane] or not. But I didn’t know that. I just knew that “this guy is fantastic”, and he was.
What role did he play in creating the New York Dolls look?
I do not know. I read some things about him being very useful in that. I think so. I know we were all a lot of what we considered “fashion” at the time. But he was friends with [fashion designer] He and Betsey Johnson hired the footage for the first album cover. I don’t think he dressed us, as I can tell by looking at the photo that they were all clothes we had.
But he came from a long line of tailors. He was very fond of clothes and was a regular shopper when we were on the road.
He was born in Egypt and lived in France for a while. How do you think it formed you?
His family moved to New York. The organization that sponsored them said, “You can live in any of these places.” The only place in New York was Buffalo. [Laughs] They had relatives in Brooklyn. I think your dad said, “Buffalo? New York. It’s close to Brooklyn. ”They went to Buffalo. He said his mother cried the whole time they were there. I don’t know how long they stayed there, but they finally moved to New York.
When I met him, we were all guys from New York. He was a fascinating guy, but I didn’t know much about his past. When we started going to Europe, I realized that he was very sure of himself.
When you think about the days of the Mercer Arts Center, what are the images of Sylvain that stand out in your head?
He was such a good boy at that time. He was such a passionate artist. He was very positive all the time. He was very important to that band and its success. You know what I mean by “success”. Not so much the graphics and all that bullshit. It was what we were creating. He was an integral part of that.
Can you elaborate on that?
If it weren’t for him, the band would have sounded terrible. He knew what he was doing and he knew how to play the guitar. He created really great rhythms. He was very talented. He was a natural player. He loved to play.
The sound he heard when playing with Johnny was an important part of the Dolls’ sound.
Absolutely. Syl just fit in there. He knew what to do, especially at the beginning. I’m thinking about the first few days. We have a long history. We wrote songs together then, but when we got back, we wrote a ton of songs.
New York was unimaginably different then.
The city was not prepared to receive bands as it is now. There weren’t many places to rehearse or play. We used to convince people, business people or whatever you want to call them, that we could attract a crowd. They weren’t really created for music, so to speak. It’s the same when we were on the road. We used to cut down trees, build a stage and put up posters around the city. [Laughs]
The band faced many setbacks in the early days. Billy died and the albums didn’t sell. Still, it seemed like Syl always believed in the band’s potential.
Absolutely. He never lost his faith. I don’t think any of us, speaking for myself, really had any expectations of world domination. We were just doing what we were doing and you could essentially take it or leave it. John was very ambitious at that time. He was the one who said: “We have to rehearse! We have to rehearse! “I thought,” Can’t we practice on stage? What is the difference?” [Laughs]
I loved Syl. We used to be together when we were on the road. There were days when we had to share a room with two guys per room and the fifth guy had to share a room with the road manager. It would be me and Syl in a room and when we first went to Europe and went to a restaurant, he knew all the waiters and they would treat him like a prince. It was that kind of thing.
The band finally came to you and him towards the end of the original season.
We made an attempt, both of us. We did a lot of good things in that period after the dissolution of the original band. At that time, we didn’t have anyone taking care of our career or anything. In an ideal world, there would be someone there that everyone would trust to some extent, someone who would say, “Why don’t you take six months off?”
But we were very difficult at that time. We were always thinking, “If we don’t do this show, we won’t pay the rent.”
The band is so sweet right now, it’s easy to forget that you were really fighting back then.
Life is a struggle. If it weren’t, it would probably be pretty boring.
You continued to work with Syl after the separation.
We played together for years after the band broke up. When I got a contract with Steve Paul, he was in the band on the first two albums I made. Several years passed, more than the Dolls stayed together. Look, I loved the guy. We used to write great songs together. The things that would come out of your musical creativity, I used to love it.
Did it surprise you that the band got together in 2004? I’m sure it even surprised you, even though you made it happen.
When we decided we were going to do this, I was a little reluctant. So I thought, “Let’s go to England and stay in a nice hotel in London. It will be a good break. ”I sang a lot at that time with Hubert Sumlin and did Harry Smith’s stuff. I thought it would be nice to do a small update. I thought it would be great to see Syl and Arthur.
We were just going to do a show. It was sold out, so they did another show. So, we started to receive many offers to participate in these European festivals. It was late spring when we did that show. I was like, “If we’re working, let’s do this and see what happens.” So we kept doing this for I don’t know how long.
I think it was seven years.
Yes. At first, Arthur died completely unexpectedly. He thought he had the flu and found he had leukemia. That was devastating. I loved him too. Each of the Dolls was so different and so interesting. Anyway, we persevere and managed [bassist] Sami [Yaffa] in the band and continued.
How did your friendship with Syl deepen during this period?
When you have been with someone for so long, you go through different types of phases. We were laughing a lot and having a lot of fun. We both really love going on stage and putting it out there. I was just looking at pictures of us on those trips. We were always laughing.
I love these new records. They must have been fun to do.
It was great. After playing for a while, we thought, “We have a repertoire, but it’s old. We will update it. ”We created songs that really worked.
Why did it end in 2011?
It’s kind of … we were exhausted. We were on the road for about eight years. It was never a “This is it forever” point. We kind of cooled off for a while and it kind of lasted.
Have you talked to him a lot in the last decade?
Yes. We talked from time to time.
How is he doing? I knew that the past three years had been difficult with your battle with cancer.
He really thought he was going to beat him. He was a tough little bastard. I thought he would get over it too. But apparently, it had been more intense and in more parts of his body than I really knew.
Receiving the news must have been devastating.
I can’t say it was a shock, but … I don’t know how to explain it, but physically there was a weight on my chest. I’m still processing. I’m sure I’ll be there for the rest of my life, processing this.
How do you feel being the last one now?
That I’m next.
Do not say that. This is very dark.
[Laughs] It’s all right. I’m too dark Do you know? I didn’t even think about it much. It’s a lot to think about.
I’ve seen people call the Dolls “the most unlucky band in rock history”.
Morrissey says that. This Morrissey is like … I don’t mean … [Laughs]
He can be very dark too.
But you also know how to weave a thread as well as the best of them.
He has a point. There were many tragedies.
Yes for sure. It’s like those old doo-wop bands.
When you think of Syl now, what images come to mind? What are happy thoughts?
It makes me smile because we did so many things and had so much fun together. This is what I feel. This is mostly about me. As far as he is concerned and whatever the situation he has been in for the past few years, he was busy fighting what he had. I’m really pressured to find something other than the joy that we share and create together.
It’s so boring that you’re not in the Hall of Fame yet. He would have loved that.
He would have wanted that, yes. My feelings about it were a little different from his, but I felt that I had a responsibility, if it happened, I would have to support him in that.
If you enter now, it will just be you on the podium.
Hope not. Maybe I can send a representative. I can send one of the 42nd Street Harlots to make the acceptance speech.
The band is now obviously gone forever, right? Would you never do that alone?
I have no intention of doing that, no. It would be crazy.