Neon Park meets Lowell George and Ivan Ulz
tedalvy@aoldotcom
I recently exchanged emails with Ivan Ulz in NYC about how he met Neon
Park [Martin Muller] and then introduced Marty to Lowell George.
First I am posting info that will clue you into who Ivan Ulz is today
and about his friendship with Lowell George.
Then I am posting published versions of how Neon Park met Lowell
George through Ivan Ulz.
Marty told me the same version printed here about how he picked up
Ivan Ulz hitchhiking.
It seems Lowell George was working on his music during a rainy day
while he waited for Ivan Ulz to arrive. Lowell must have incorrectly
thought Neon Park was hitchhiking and Ivan Ulz picked him up.
Peace, Ted Alvy
Ivan Ulz - Ivan The Ice Cream Man - 1970
featuring LOWELL GEORGE and BILL PAYNE and ROY ESTRADA
IVAN ULZ Ivan the Ice Cream Man (Stanyan Records, 1970)
Guitars: Jimmy Smith (Jimmy “Guitar” Smith) Lowell George, Jackson
Browne, Dick Rosmini, Steve Trosper, Jerry Trosper
Bass: Roy Estrada, Eli Craig, Jimmy Smith, Paul Ruhland
Keyboard: Bill Payne, Jerry Trosper
Drums: Larry Brown
Ivan Ulz says about his LP Ivan the Ice Cream Man: I don’t know who
this [drummer] guy was. Rod McKuen just sent him over when Richie
Hayward could not show because he was obliged to be at a Goldie Hawn
session. I thought, and we all thought we were making demos. Rod
McKuen [Stanyan Records owner] saw it differently.
Songs from the old school . . . for very young children
From an APRIL 2010 email from Ivan Ulz in NYC:
-start-
IVAN ULZ: It was a rainy day on Sunset Blvd. and foggy too. I had my
guitar under my coat, mostly because I knew I would appeal to anyone
looking for someone interesting to get into their car. Neon (I always
called him Neon) was perfect for the part. I got in and we shook hands
as if we had known each other for ever. Very soon he admitted he
didn’t know where he was going. I confessed the same. I told him I was
working for Rod McKuen and he said he had done work for Frank Zappa.
He showed me “Weasels Ripped My Flesh” and I said “Oh gosh, you got to
meet Lowell George. Do you have a minute? He said yes, and we buzzed
over to Silver Lake. We parked and out of the door of Lowell’s house
emerged two gorgeous young women…”Oh my god” said Neon. “Those are the
GTO’s!” that meant nothing to me but we went in and Neon and Lowell
obviously fell in love at first sight and they talked that kind of
talk they talked forever.
That’s pretty much what I remember. The part about the GTO’s is the
one part I have never heard told.
-end-
From My Website tedalvy.com/neon8.htm
Interview with NEON PARK by Charlie Haas from WAX PAPER (v4, 3, circa
March 1979):
WP: How did your association with Little Feat begin?
NEON: It began with a hitchhiker. Years ago, right after *Weasels
Ripped My Flesh* came out.
WP: Where?
NEON: Sunset and Cahuenga. [Lowell George attended Hollywood High
School near there at Sunset and Highland]
WP: And who was that hitchhiker, Neon?
NEON: Ivan. Ivan the ice cream man. Songwriter extraordinaire. He was
hitchhiking in the rain in a tee-shirt, didn't have a coat. He was
getting very wet. He had a guitar with him, stuffed under his shirt.
That's why I picked him up. He was going to Lowell's house. I was
coming from the *Mother's* office, where I'd been talking to Herbie
Cohen about getting paid.
WP: Did you?
NEON: Yeah. So I was on my way home, and there was this fellow human
being in misery, and I picked him up. Almost got hit by a bus doing
it. He said I should come with him to Lowell's.
WP: Where was Lowell living?
NEON: Over in Silverlake, by Marshall High School. I had my portfolio
with me, so Ivan said I should show Lowell my stuff. Little Feat's
first album had just come out. I showed him my stuff and he liked it.
Tornado Turner was there, Martin Kibbee, some of the GTOs...
About meeting NEON PARK from LOWELL GEORGE interview by Paul Kendall
in "ZIGZAG The Rock Magazine" (August, 1976, Issue #63) [London,
England]:
ZigZag: Where did you find Neon Park?
LOWELL GEORGE: He was hitch hiking one afternoon, and a friend of mine
picked him up on one of the sidestreets of Hollywood. He cruised over
to my house, and I met the man, because I admired his cover of
"Weasels Ripped My Flesh" - I mean...an electric weasel...whatever
next! - so we began a friendship and also a business relationship, in
that I would say "Give me a cover". Many times he wasn't told anything
about the album, because I believe art is art, and I would rather do
that than have somebody construct a concept and get heavy, because
seriousness really doesn't play too great a part in what we're doing.
It happens, and you never really know...there's really no
concept...except perhaps "Feats Don't Fail Me", which was a party
record - have a beer or two and dance or whatever happens - that's the
frame of mind we were in for that record.
-end-