Tamra Davis
- Text by Shelley Jones
To celebrate Huck 45, curated by artist, skateboarder and chronicler of teenage California Ed Templeton, we are having a Huck website summer takeover dedicated to Ed’s longtime muse, suburbia.
In this regular series, the Suburban Youth Pop Quiz, we ask characters from our world what their suburban youth meant to them.
Second up is Tamra Davis, a filmmaker who’s adept at capturing cultural truths directing music videos for the likes of NWA, Sonic Youth and Black Flag, TV shows like My Name Is Earl and Everybody Hates Chris and films like Crossroads and Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child.
Suburban Youth Pop Quiz #2
Where did you grow up and can you describe it in three words?
Valley, hitchhike, Malibu.
Who was your weirdest neighbour?
Jan from the Brady Bunch.
What was the most important record you owned?
Led Zepplin – Physical Graffiti.
Where did the bad kids hang out?
Fort in the empty lot.
Biggest fashion faux pas as a teenager?
Shoulder pads.
Who was your first celebrity crush?
Leif Garrett.
Describe your first kiss.
Amateur.
What happened the first time you got drunk?
Palm Springs, threw up in the desert.
What is the naughtiest thing you did as a suburban youth?
Shoplifting to get money for a Bowie concert.
What was the best party of your teenage years?
Hef’s house.
What’s your most embarrassing suburban youth memory?
Meeting Nick Cage while dressed as a boy for Halloween.
What was the greatest lesson you learnt during that time?
Without a vision my people will perish.
Who would you most like to see at a reunion?
Jan and Laura my twin best friends.
What was your first car?
Karmen Ghia.
What was your food of choice?
Pancakes.
What was the biggest fight you ever had with your parents?
Not wanting to be nice to my 24-year-old stepmom.
What book/film changed your teenage life?
Over The Edge.
What posters did you have on your bedroom wall?
The one with the cat that said, ‘Hang in there.’
Any hobbies you didn’t give up?
Surfing and weed.
What smell reminds you most of the suburbs?
Fertiliser, chlorine and gasoline.
Huck 45 launches at Arcana Books, LA, this Saturday August 2, 4-6pm.
Latest on Huck
A behind the scenes look at the atomic wedgie community
Stretched out — Benjamin Fredrickson’s new project and photobook ‘Wedgies’ queers a time-old bullying act by exploring its erotic, extreme potential.
Written by: Isaac Muk
“Welcome to the Useless Class”: Ewan Morrison in conversation with Irvine Welsh
For Emma — Ahead of the Scottish author’s new novel, he sat down with Irvine Welsh for an in-depth discussion of its dystopic themes, and the upcoming AI “tsunami”.
Written by: Irvine Welsh
“Struggle helps people come together”: Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory
Huck’s February interview — To hear more about the release of the indie darling’s first collaborative album, we caught up with her and Devra Hoff to hear about the record, motherhood in music and why the ’80s are back,
Written by: Isaac Muk
Nxdia: “Poems became an escape for me”
What Made Me — In this series, we ask artists and rebels about the forces and experiences that shaped who they are. Today, it’s Egyptian-British alt-pop shapeshifter Nxdia.
Written by: Nxdia
Kathy Shorr’s splashy portraits inside limousines
The Ride of a Lifetime — Wanting to marry a love of cars and photography, Kathy Shorr worked as a limousine driver in the ’80s to use as a studio on wheels. Her new photobook explores her archive.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Lewd tales of live sex shows in ’80s Times Square
Peep Man — Before its LED-beaming modern refresh, the Manhattan plaza was a hotbed for seedy transgression. A new memoir revisits its red light district heyday.
Written by: Miss Rosen