By: Rebecca G. Wilson

If you call Ratso's house the answering machine says,"Awright spill it!" in his quintessential New Yawk accent. Ratso is funny and his friends are funny. His hilarious buddy mystery book writer Kinky Friedman has a business card that states Kinky Friedman - is allowed to walk the grounds freely. I think Ratso's trying to write as many books as he reads. Kinky Friedman said that Ratso was obsessed with reading about three subjects Jesus, Hitler and Bob Dylan. Ratso's also one of the coolest people I know because he has a file of letters sent to him from Charles Bukowski from Ratso's magazine editing days. To say that author Larry "Ratso" Sloman is prolific is an understatement. After studying criminology at the University of Wisconsin he was a vital participant in the wild sixties writing about folks like Bob Dylan and the Yippies. Ratso has also written songs with rockers Rick Derringer and John Cale and edited both the National Lampoon and High Times. He is most well known for co-writing Howard Stern's two autobiographies Private Parts and Miss America. He also co-wrote the autobiography Scar Tissue with Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and most recently The Secret Life of Houdini, written with magic theorist William Kalush. Many of Ratso's books have been New York Times best-sellers. Ratso is a genuinely nice guy with a gorgeous, charming and equally witty wife Christy. I first met Ratso years ago through our mutual friend photographer Charles Gatewood who knew Ratso from the New York photo journalism scene. I caught up with him recently when he was gracious enough to do this interview with punk globe.

Punk Globe: What book are you working on now?

Ratso I'm working with Mike Tyson on his autobiography. He's an amazing guy --- incredibly sensitive and his life story is positively Shakespearean. I can't think of anybody who's experienced both the depths of despair and dizzying heights of elation as Mike has. This is a dream project, for sure.

Punk Globe: You have a long history as a writer. You wrote for Rolling Stone in its late 60s golden age, correct? When were you the editor of National Lampoon?

Ratso I started out in the ghetto of music journalism. Wrote for Rolling Stone and covered such luminaries as Bob Dylan (which became my first book On the Road with Bob Dylan) George Harrison and Lou Reed. Then I got involved in the eighties editing magazines like High Times and National Lampoon. But then I went back to writing books.

Punk Globe:Did you know Lester Bangs? what was he like? i enjoyed that film almost famous. did it strike a chord in you?

Ratso Didn't know Lester that well. He seemed like a difficult guy to get that close to. I always enjoyed his work though.

Punk Globe: Have you read Jayne County's column in punk globe? She is SO hilarious. Did you ever hand out with Lenny Kaye and the Creem magazine crowd? Everyone in rock/underground publishing back in the day probably knew each other, yeah?

Ratso I will put Jayne's column on my must-do list. I knew Lenny from the NY scene and I did contribute a few articles to Creem.

Punk Globe: How successful was your Howard Stern book?

Ratso The first book Private Parts was, at the time, the fastest selling book ever. Then we beat that record with Miss America. I think that Hillary Clinton finally took the crown away from us. Working with Howard was a privilege. Despite how easy he makes doing radio look, Howard is one of the hardest working guys in show business and one of the brightest. He's a giant.

Punk Globe: Do you still appear on Howard Stern's radio show?

Ratso I appear from time to time. Usually when I need to promote something. LOL. I am very proud of playing on the Howard Stern Show ice hockey team though. We did an exhibition at a rink in Brooklyn and I scored a goal.

Punk Globe: Tell me about your new favorite band the Happy Hookers that you turned your pal Nick Cave onto.

Ratso Shilpa Ray is just amazing. She's a tiny woman from New Jersey who was raised in a strict Hindu family and had her mind twisted when she heard the Velvet Underground. She plays the harmonium (which was force fed her by her parents so she could sing classical Indian songs) and has assembled an all-star kick ass band (the Happy Hookers). She has one of the most distinctive voices in rock music and her lyrics are brilliant. Nick agreed, he was gushing about her in an interview after I gave him her CD.

Punk Globe: Are you working on a project with Nick Cave or are you guys just lunch pals?

Ratso Actually dinner pals. Every time Nick comes to New York, we eat pizza at Arturo's in the Village and then we take cellphone photos of ourselves pointing various utensils at the camera. We've exhausted knives, forks and spoons, so we may have to graduate to meat cleavers next time. Nick is a protean writer, amazingly prolific and a master of every genre. His new novel ("The Death of Bunny Munro") is a must read. I hope that someday we'll collaborate on some kind of project. Meanwhile it was quite an honor that Nick dedicated the title track to his last Bad Seeds album "Dig Lazarus Dig" to me. I had sent him my book on Houdini ("The Secret Life of Houdini") and he loved it so much that he wrote me and said he was going to write a song about Harry and me. Somehow Lazarus, being another great escape artist, got in there too.

Punk Globe: Your Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers biography was amazing but disturbing. was it your idea to make it graphically candid about kiedis' struggle with drug addictions? I loved the photos of his dad Blackie. what a character! How's Kiedis doing nowadays?

Ratso I think both Antony and I knew that for the book to succeed he'd have to let it all hang out. And he did. It was heartbreakingly candid. I just read a blog today written by someone who just read the book and said that he used to think that Antony was an arrogant schmuck and by the end of the book really felt for and identified with him. The response to that book has been so gratifying --its nice to see that your work can change people's lives for the better. Antony's dad Blackie is a truly great character and we will all be treated to more Hollywood drug yarns when Blackie's memoir comes out. I've read parts of it and its wonderful. I saw Anthony a few months ago in L.A. and he was enjoyed his band's hiatus, playing with his child and driving his electric car. Anthony's a mensch.

Ratso I first saw Kinky Friedman at Max's. I routinely saw the Velvet Underground play there. I watched as Jim Morrison drunkenly knocked over tables downstairs. Max's was a trip and Mickey Ruskin made it all happen both there and at this other later bars in Tribeca and lower Fifth Ave. I wasn't around for the early Factory scene but I did hang out with Warhol a bit when he became infatuated with the New York Rangers while I was writing my book about them. He was particularly fond of Ron Duguay and he kept asking me to set him up with Doogs. Never happened though.

Punk Globe: Any words on Jim Carroll's passing away? I loved the Basketball Diaries.

Ratso We're all diminished by anyone passing away. I didn't know Jim but I always loved his song "People Who Died". Maybe someone will cover it and include him.

Punk Globe: Which song did you write with John Cale? What album was it on?

Ratso Cale and I were introduced by Kinky Friedman at the Lone Star Cafe and we began a collaboration that lasted for years. We wrote a few songs together for his "Caribbean Sunset" album, including the title track. Then we did "Ooh La La" for the "John Cale Comes Alive" album. Our main mutual work was "Artificial Intelligence" where I did all the lyrics and John did the music. John was great to work with and standing in the back of the concert hall and hearing him sing our songs was a thrill of a lifetime to me. Beats making the Times best-seller list.

Punk Globe: Were you a hippie or a punk or a yippie?

Ratso I was all of them at various times. I started out a hippie when I grew my hair long and left my Queens sanctuary to venture into the weird, weird world of the East Village during the summer of love. It was there that I met Abbie Hoffman, a charismatic former social worker who helped politicize the hippies and created the Yippee movement. Abbie's life and times is documented in my book "Steal This Dream". As for punk, I've always been a punk, since I first heard Elvis.

Punk Globe: Are you still in touch with Abbie Hoffmann's sons? America Hoffmann and Andrew Hoffmann? How are they?

RatsoI fell out of touch with both america and Andrew but they're both definitely chips off the old block and great, creative guys. It's the DNA.

Punk Globe: Your lovely wife Christy is a writer also, right?

Ratso Yes, Christy is an amazing reporter. Her stuff has been published everywhere from the New York tabloids to Marie Claire magazine. She also writes plays and she's working on a novel that's based in New Orleans, which is her hometown. She's extremely ecstatic about the Saints.

Punk Globe: Do you think Houdini was really murdered? What about the Houdini family descendants denying they ordered an autopsy?

Ratso I think that the ground breaking research that William Kalush and I uncovered in our book "The Secret Life of Houdini" raises enough questions about his death that it would be very interesting to check for poison in his remains. Houdini's great nephew joined us in calling for an exhumation but there was some opposition from other family members and that fell by the wayside. The book has been optioned by Summit Films and we hope to see a movie version by 2011.

Punk Globe: What do you think of Obama?

Ratso I think that his election was a milestone in American history. I can still remember taking car trips with my dad when I was younger and driving down to D.C. and seeing four bathrooms at the service stations along the road -- "Men-White" "Men-Colored" "Women-White" and "Women-Colored". So to elect a president who's even half black seems like a wonderful miracle. But the problem is that he's up against the entrenched powers-that-be, just witness how ineptly the whole health care legislation has been handled. I think its time for the progressive Americans who voted for Obama to stop patting themselves on the back and get involved and make sure that his election isn't just a Pyrrhic victory.

Punk Globe: Thanks for your time!

Ratso You're welcome!

Photo Credits:
First picture of Ratso in yellow checked suit is by David Shankbone
Ratso and Shilpa Ray by Clayton Patterson
Ratso with guitar by Jeffrey Lieberman from the movie "Satan's Little Helper"
Ratso and Nick Cave by Warren Ellis
Ratso with Stanley Cup by Bruce Bennett
Ratso with Jamie Gillis and Kinky Friedman by Zarela Martinez
Ratso and Christy with Mike Tyson by David Vigliano

back to home page