Gary Lachman
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Gary Joseph Lachman (born December 24, 1955), also known as Gary Valentine, is an American writer and musician. He came to prominence in the mid-1970s as the bass guitarist for rock band Blondie. Since the 1990s, Lachman has written full-time, often about
mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...
and occultism. He has written more than 22 books on
consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...
, culture, and the western
esoteric Western esotericism, also known as the Western mystery tradition, is a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas and currents are united since they are largely distinct both from orthod ...
tradition, written for journals in the US and UK, and lectured on his work in the US and Europe; his books have been translated into more than a dozen languages.


Biography


Musical career

Lachman joined Blondie in spring 1975 after original bassist Fred Smith left to join
Television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
amid founding bassist Richard Hell's departure. He wrote the music to the band's first single, " X-Offender", and popularized the band's sixties-retro look. In 1977, he left the group to form his own band and was replaced by Nigel Harrison, just as Blondie were starting to gain recognition. His song " (I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear" was a UK top ten hit in 1978, and was subsequently recorded by Tracey Ullman and Annie Lennox. After Blondie, Lachman moved 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, ...
and in 1978 released a single, "The First One" backed with "Tomorrow Belongs to You" on Beat Records. Shortly after this, he formed The Know, with Joel Turrisi and Richard d'Andrea who were the first band to play the infamous Madame Wong's Chinese restaurant-turned-new wave venue. (Lachman's claim to this distinction has been verified by several eyewitnesses.) After a year and a half, Turrisi left the band and was replaced by drummer John McGarvey. In 1980, The Know released a single "I Like Girls" backed with "Dreams" on Planet Records and were the only bi-coastal US
power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...
band, developing large followings in New York and Los Angeles. Failing to secure an album deal, he disbanded The Know and in 1981 played guitar with
Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
. In 1996, after moving to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, he was asked to participate in the Blondie reunion; in November of that year, he recorded one of his songs, "Amor Fati", with Blondie, for their comeback album, ''No Exit''. In 1997, he performed with Blondie at several major festival concerts in the US. Back in London, Lachman worked with former X-Ray Spex saxophonist Lora Logic. Valentine formed Fire Escape in 1998 with violinist Ruth Vaughn. The band performed songs he had written for the Blondie reunion album but had not been used due to the band ultimately excluding him from the recording process and the reunion tour. Fire Escape released an EP to little fanfare and went on a permanent hiatus after two years. A compilation of Lachman's work in music, titled ''Tomorrow Belongs to You'', featured recordings by The Know and Fire Escape, was released in 2003 on the UK label Overground Records. In 2006, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a former member of Blondie, although vocalist Debbie Harry prohibited Lachman and other ex-members from performing with the current line-up at the ceremony.


Literary career

After leaving his music career behind in 1982, Lachman went back to school and received a philosophy degree from California State University, Los Angeles, and later began a doctoral program in English literature for a short period. He worked professionally for a time as a science writer for the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
. Lachman moved to London in 1996 and became a full-time writer, contributing to ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', '' Mojo'', '' Times Literary Supplement'' and other journals. His first book, '' Turn Off Your Mind: The Mystic Sixties and the Dark Side of the Age of Aquarius'', was published in 2001. It was followed in 2002 by ''New York Rocker: My Life in The Blank Generation'', an account of his years on the New York ( CBGB) and Los Angeles music scene in the 1970s. In 2003, he produced ''A Secret History of Consciousness'', a study of non-reductive, non-materialist accounts of consciousness, with detailed discussions of
Owen Barfield Arthur Owen Barfield (9 November 1898 – 14 December 1997) was an English philosopher, author, poet, critic, and member of the Inklings. Life Barfield was born in London, to Elizabeth (née Shoults; 1860–1940) and Arthur Edward Barfield (186 ...
, Julian Jaynes, Jean Gebser, Jurij Moskvitin, hypnagogia, and related themes. ''The Dedalus Book of the Occult: A Dark Muse'' (2004) charted the influence of the
occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...
on western literature since the Enlightenment. The following years saw several more books, on the related themes of
consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...
, the
counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...
, and the influence of the occult and esoteric thought on mainstream western culture, including biographies of the Russian philosopher P.D. Ouspensky (2004), the Austrian "spiritual scientist" Rudolf Steiner (2007), the Swedish religious thinker
Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (; ; born Emanuel Swedberg; (29 January 168829 March 1772) was a Swedish polymath; scientist, engineer, astronomer, anatomist, Christian theologian, philosopher, and mysticism, mystic. He became best known for his book on the ...
(2006), the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (2010) and Colin Wilson (2016). Recent works include a study of writers and suicide, ''The Dedalus Book of Literary Suicides: Dead Letters'' (2008), with essays on
Walter Benjamin Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin ( ; ; 15 July 1892 – 26 September 1940) was a German-Jewish philosopher, cultural critic, media theorist, and essayist. An eclectic thinker who combined elements of German idealism, Jewish mysticism, Western M ...
, Yukio Mishima, Hermann Hesse, and others, and a history of occultism and politics, ''Politics and the Occult: The Right, the Left, and the Radically Unseen'' (2008), which addresses the theme of
fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
and the occult through the work of Julius Evola, Rene Schwaller de Lubicz, Mircea Eliade, and others. He is a regular contributor to the '' Independent on Sunday'', '' Fortean Times'', and other journals in the US and UK, lectures frequently and occasionally broadcasts on the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. His work has been compared to Colin Wilson, and has been translated into German, Finnish, Czech, Russian, French, Dutch, Spanish, Norwegian, Italian and Portuguese. In 2014, Lachman took part in the annual Engelsberg Seminar held in Avesta, Sweden, lecturing on gnosis and the evolution of consciousness in the 21st century. In 2015, Lachman lectured on "Rejected Knowledge" to the Marion Institute as part of their "Living in the Real World" seminar. Recent years have seen Lachman lecturing on a variety of esoteric and cultural topics in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and the United States.


Bibliography


Books

*''Two Essays on Colin Wilson: World Rejection and Criminal Romantics AND From Outsider to Post-Tragic Man (Colin Wilson Studies)'' (1994, paperback , hardcover ) *'' Colin Wilson as Philosopher (Colin Wilson Studies)'' (with John Shand, 1996, ) *''New York Rocker: My Life in the Blank Generation, with Blondie,
Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
and Others, 1974–1981'' (2002, ) *'' Turn Off Your Mind: The Mystic Sixties and the Dark Side of the Age of Aquarius'' (2001, , 2003, ) *''A Secret History of Consciousness'' (2003, ) *''The Dedalus Occult Reader: The Garden of Hermetic Dreams'' (editor of anthology, 2004, ) *''In Search of P. D. Ouspensky: The Genius in the Shadow of Gurdjieff'' (hardcover, 2004, , paperback, 2006,
Chapter VI, ''Online''
*''A Dark Muse: A History of the Occult'' (2005, ) *''Into the Interior: Discovering Swedenborg'' (2006, ) *'' Rudolf Steiner: An Introduction to His Life and Work'' (2007, ) *''The Dedalus Book of Literary Suicides: Dead Letters'' (2008, ) *''Politics and the Occult: The Left, the Right, and the Radically Unseen'' (2008, ) *''The Dedalus Book of the 1960s: Turn Off Your Mind'' (updated, enlarged edition 2009, ) *'' Jung The Mystic: The Esoteric Dimensions of Carl Jung's Life and Teachings'' (2010, ) *''The Quest For Hermes Trismegistus From Ancient Egypt to the Modern World'' (2011, ) *'' Madame Blavatsky: The Mother of Modern Spirituality'' (2012, ) *'' Swedenborg: An Introduction to His Life and Ideas'' (2012) *''The Caretakers of the Cosmos: Living Responsibly in an Unfinished World'' (2013, ) *''
Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...
: Magick, Rock and Roll, and the Wickedest Man in the World'' (2014, ) *''Revolutionaries of the Soul: Reflections on Magicians,
Philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
s, and Occultists'' (2014, ) * ''The Secret Teachers of the Western World'' (2015, ) * '' Beyond the Robot: The Life and Work of Colin Wilson'' (2016, ) * ''Lost Knowledge of the Imagination'' (2017, ) * '' Dark Star Rising: Magick and Power in the Age of Trump'' (2018, ) * ''The Return of Holy Russia: Apocalyptic History, Mystical Awakening, and the Struggle for the Soul of the World'' (2020 ) * ''Introducing Swedenborg: Correspondences'' (2021 ) * ''Dreaming Ahead of Time: Experiences with Precognitive Dreams, Synchronicity and Coincidence'' (2022) * ''Aleister Crowley: The Beast In Britain'' (Herb Lester Associates Ltd 2023) * ''Maurice Nicoll: Forgotten Teacher of the Fourth Way'' (Inner Traditions 2024) * ''Facts Concerning H. P. Lovecraft and His Environs'' (Herb Lester Associates 2024)


Articles

* "The Last of the Magi" (1999) '' Fortean Times'' #120, about Eliphas Levi * "Sympathy for the Devil" (2000) '' Fortean Times'' #134, about the Process Church * "The Mystical Count" (2000) '' Fortean Times'' #140, about Count Jan Potocki * "The Damned" (2001) '' Fortean Times'' #150, about James Webb *
Turn Off Your Mind: Gary Lachman Traces the Influence of the Occult in the Arts
''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
on Sunday'' (2001) * "Waking Sleep" (2002) '' Fortean Times'' #163, about hypnagogia *
The magical world of Fernando Pessoa
(2004) ''nth Position'', about Fernando Pessoa * "Absinthe & alchemy" (2004) '' Fortean Times'' #180, about August Strindberg *
Working it out
(2004) ''nth Position'', about Gurdjieff and Ouspensky *

(2004) '' Fortean Times'' #188. an interview with Colin Wilson * "Dweller on the Threshold" (2006) '' Fortean Times'' #205, about Rudolf Steiner *
Mystical Experience and the Evolution of Consciousness: 21st Century Gnosis
at Academia.edu *
If Consciousness Is Evolving, Why Aren't Things Getting Better?
" (Spring 2017) ''Quest'' magazine #105.2 *
What is Jordan B. Peterson Really Saying?
" (2018) ''New Dawn Magazine'' #168, about Jordan B. Peterson


References


External links


Official site
* Gary Valentineat
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
*
The Philosopher of Punk
in the ''Hampstead and Highgate Express'', March 4, 2004

by Gary Lachman * *


Reviews


''The Dedalus Book of the Occult''
reviewed by Suzi Feay in
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
, January 11, 2004
''The Garden of Hermetic Dreams''
reviewed by Nicholas Lezard in
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
, January 1, 2005
''In Search of P D Ouspensky''
reviewed by Jah Wobble in
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
, November 7, 2004
''Into the Interior: Discovering Swedenborg''
review by an unnamed freelance theologian and author at the Theosophical Society
"UFOs, alien abductions, the occult: to one man, the building blocks of scholarship"
a review by Michael Dirda of '' Beyond the Robot: The Life and Work of Colin Wilson'' in ''The Washington Post'', August 31, 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lachman, Gary 1955 births 20th-century American guitarists American fortean writers American rock guitarists American male guitarists Blondie (band) members Guitarists from New Jersey Helena Blavatsky biographers Living people Musicians from Bayonne, New Jersey Place of birth missing (living people) Writers from Bayonne, New Jersey