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.
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