Frazier Mohawk (born Barry Friedman, December 12, 1941 – June 2, 2012) was an American record producer and sometime photographer, publicist, circus owner, and farmer.

Life and career

Friedman attended the

Happy Valley School Besant Hill School of Happy Valley, formerly the Happy Valley School, is an American Private school, private, coeducational boarding school and day school in Ojai, California. Notable subjects are environmental science and sustainability progra ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He then spent time working in circuses and as a photographer, living in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

for a period. In 1962 he returned to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, becoming a radio show producer. He also became a publicist, handling the press conferences for

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

around their

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...

performance in 1964. He went on to work for the Troubadour club, becoming friendly with

Stephen Stills Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crosby, Stills & Nash; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and Manassas (band ...

, and helping him put together a new group, which became

Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a Canadian-American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1966 by Canadians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin (musician), Dewey Martin and Americans Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely know ...

. Friedman was driving the car with Stills and

Richie Furay Paul Richard Furay (born May 9, 1944) is an American musician and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member (with Buffalo Springfield). He is best known for forming the bands Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Bruce Palmer, and Dewey ...

which passed on

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

the hearse carrying

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

and

Bruce Palmer Bruce Palmer (September 9, 1946 – October 1, 2004) was a Canadian musician best known as the bassist in the folk rock band Buffalo Springfield, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Early years Palmer was born in Li ...

from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, a meeting which led to the formation of the band. As their de facto manager, he got the Springfield to tour with

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

, subsequently becoming involved in the Byrds’ own work. He also started to work as a producer, with

Paul Butterfield Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer, and bandleader. After early training as a Western concert flute, classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored ...

Kaleidoscope A kaleidoscope () is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces (or mirrors) tilted to each other at an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of these mirrors are shown as a symmetrical pattern when viewed fro ...

, "Spider" John Koerner and Willie Murphy, the

Holy Modal Rounders The Holy Modal Rounders was an American folk music group, originally the duo of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber, who formed in 1963 on the Lower East Side of New York City. Although they achieved only limited commercial and critical success in th ...

and others. Notably, he produced

Nico Christa Päffgen (; 16 October 1938 – 18 July 1988), known by her stage name Nico, was a German singer, songwriter, actress, and model. Nico had roles in several films, including Federico Fellini's '' La Dolce Vita'' (1960) and Andy Warhol's ...

’s album with

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, dr ...

, ''

The Marble Index ''The Marble Index'' is the second studio album by the German musician Nico, released in November 1968 on Elektra Records. The avant-garde sound introduced in the album—a stark contrast with her folk pop debut, '' Chelsea Girl'' (1967)—was t ...

''. During this time in the late-sixties, Barry Friedman also worked as an A&R man for the record label Elektra in Los Angeles. By this time, Friedman had decided to change his name to Frazier Mohawk. Around the same time the stresses of living in the city led him, supported and funded by Elektra boss

Jac Holzman Jac Holzman (born September 15, 1931) is an American record executive. He is the founder of the record labels Elektra Records and Nonesuch Records. Holzman helped commercially launch the CD and home video formats, as well as the pilot program wh ...

, to build a studio and mountain retreat at Paxton Lodge in northern California. This was a centre for creative endeavours but, according to Holzman, relatively little usable output. Mohawk also met and married singer Sandra Hurvitz, who had previously recorded with

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

, and who now changed her name to

Essra Mohawk Essra Mohawk (; born Sandra Elayne Hurvitz; April 23, 1948 – December 11, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter who recorded a dozen albums. Her best-known songs include "Sufferin' Til Suffrage" and "Interjections!" (both from '' Schoolhou ...

. He subsequently produced her second album (and first as Essra Mohawk) entitled ''

Primordial Lovers ''Primordial Lovers'' is the second album by American singer-songwriter Essra Mohawk, released in May 1970. The original Reprise LP included a 20-page booklet with the album's song lyrics. In 2000 the album was re-released by Rhino Handmade as a ...

'' on the Reprise label, which Rolling Stone magazine in 1977 proclaimed as "one of the best 25 albums ever made" in their top 500 list of best albums. By the early 1970s, burned out by the music business, he moved to Canada, producing a few obscure acts and becoming seriously ill for a period. After his recovery he established and ran his own travelling circus for several years. Eventually he settled at Puck’s Farm north of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, developing it as an attraction for families, and also including a recording studio. He died from liver disease in 2012, at the age of 70.Brad Spurgeon, "In remembrance of Frazier Mohawk", ''BradSpurgeon.com'', 2012
Retrieved 10 May 2022

References

External links

1997 interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohawk, Frazier 1941 births 2012 deaths Record producers from California American emigrants to Canada