Many of you know Michael Alago from his "Rough Gods" and "Brutal Truth" books of hunky men. But before he became a noted photographer, Alago was a Zelig-like music executive, who discovered Metallica and was the A&R man for an eclectic group of artists including Cyndi Lauper, White Zombie, Nina Simone, Johnny Lydon, Tracy Chapman and the Misfits. Now his idiosyncratic life is the subject of a new documentary that's getting great buzz.
"Who the F** Is That Guy? The Fabulous Journey of Michael Algo" tells the astonishing story of a gay Puerto Rican kid growing up in a Hasidic Brooklyn neighborhood, who got on the subway one day and began a musical odyssey that helped shape the musical landscape across New York and around the world. Directed by Drew Stone and produced by Michael Alex the film tells the incredible story of a cherished New York City icon. From rubbing elbows with New York scene makers as an underaged teenager at Max’s Kansas City and CBGB, to being the architect of a rock ‘n’ roll renaissance as the 19 year-old talent booker at the legendary Ritz, to making history as a 24 year-old A&R exec, signing the biggest metal band in a generation in Metallica, Michael Alago was on fire. Working with artists ranging from White Zombie and Johnny Rotten to Cyndi Lauper and jazz legend Nina Simone, Alago was driven by a love for great music...ANY great music…and the artists loved him back. Passion and excess would bring Alago crashing into substance abuse but surviving and reinventing himself as an art photographer…healthy, sober, and as passionate as ever. Told by Alago and the artists whose careers he helped build, illustrated with an exquisite collection of personal photographs, "Who The Fuck Is That Guy? The Fabulous Journey of Michael Alago" tells the tender, loving, self-destructive, and insane story of a man who loved new music so much he had to bring it to the world, and lived to talk about it. Barely.
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