Blood, Guts and Cocaine: Ivan Kral tells us what it was like to write, record and tour with Iggy Pop — dangerousminds.net

Ivan and Iggy, 1979 (courtesy of Ivan Kral) Ivan Kral sure has led an interesting life. The Prague-born songwriter and musician had his first brush with fame at the age of sixteen when a track by his band Saze broke the top ten in Czechoslovakia. But just as the song was breaking, his family relocated to New York City. In the early ‘70s, Ivan played in glam bands and, for a brief period, was part of Shaun Cassidy’s backing group. In 1974, he played guitar with an embryonic version of Blondie before joining the Patti Smith Group. As part of Smith’s unit, Ivan played guitar, bass and keyboards, appearing on all of her early records (including the seminal Horses ), and was involved in writing a number of her songs (he co-wrote “Dancing Barefoot,� one of Smith’s pivotal tunes). He’s also a documentarian, having had the foresight to capture Iggy and the Stooges on film, as well as the burgeoning punk scene happening at CBGB’s in the mid-‘70s, which became the documentary, Blank Generation. Ivan, center, with the Patti Smith Group, 1975

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