Let Me Take Your Foto
The 1979 Speedies Song Re-Recorded and Released by Johnny Irion
In 1979, when I was 16 years old, my Speedies bandmate Eric Hoffert and I wrote the music and chorus of a song: “Let Me Take Your Foto.” It went on to have a long life, and its title pre-imagined my own pathway to becoming a photographer. Legendary troubadour rocker Johnny Irion, a fellow Berkshire artist, reimagined it in a new recording (backed by Blackwing Music) featuring guitar by Pat Sansone — from my favorite band of all time, Wilco.
The single has now dropped and you can listen to it here.
The Speedies had a somewhat brief but exhilarating moment in the NY Club scene in the late 70s. In some ways, we began as a typical teenage band — practicing in our drummer’s bedroom in Cobble Hill — I was on rhythm guitar, Eric Hoffert on lead guitar, John Carlucci on bass, Allen Hurkin on drums, and John Marino on lead vocals.
Our music was Power Pop, and we wound up an unlikely but popular act on the stages at clubs such as CBGB, Max’s Kansas City, and Hurrah. (Read more about the era and scene here in a NY Times piece by Tim Sommer.) We became known for our out-of-control teenage audiences that threw breakfast cereal and generally caused minor chaos during our concerts. The clubs were packed, often sold out— and “Let Me Take Your Foto,” spelled intentionally with an “f” because it seemed cool, became one of our most popular songs.
This magical period of time lasted for around three years, and could have been long forgotten, except that “Let Me Take Your Foto” has kept finding a life over the years — completely on its own.
I was recalling all the twists and turns of this song with my friend and former band-mate Eric Hoffert recently. He and I are still close. The song began with the two of us, writing and experimenting with chords in his bedroom at his childhood home in Brooklyn Heights. We spent many days and nights hanging out, sitting on the couch, playing our guitars, and listening to records together in that room, for hours on end.
The Speedies had already been playing in the clubs for a while but we knew we needed some new songs to fold into our shows. In Eric’s words: “We were trying to emulate the guitar hooks of songs like ‘C’mon C’mon’ by Cheap Trick and ‘Crocodile Tears’ by the Mumps, combined with the speed and power of the Ramones or the Sex Pistols.”
Also Eric’s words: “The song became an underground hit and we decided to record it on vinyl. Golden Disc records on Bleecker Street offered to record, promote, and distribute it and paired us with producer Joel Webber. We recorded the song at Skyline Studios in NYC. Music videos were just emerging as a new form at that same time — and so we decided to make our own video of ‘Foto.’”
We shot the video on the Brooklyn Promenade, overlooking the NYC skyline, with the World Trade Center behind us. It was one of the first videos ever played on MTV. (The video was made by Danny Cornyetz with a budget of less than $250.)
Perhaps by the very nature of the name of our band, The Speedies were destined for a short adrenaline-rich life. After our brief moment in the limelight, we all went off in our own directions, including college and other pursuits.
Looking back now, of course, the lyrics of “Let Me Take Your Foto” seem fateful. I had no idea at age 16 when we wrote the song that I would go on to become a photographer.
Years later, out of the blue, in the mid 2000s, HP approached us and wanted to use the song in their Photosmart printer commercial “Road Trip.”
And not long after, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno used it in a regular “fake photo booth” comic bit.
Now, in 2025, it has yet another life. Johnny Irion is a friend, and a Berkshire neighbor. “Let Me Take Your Foto” is the first single being released from his new album (with his band US Elevator,) out later this year.
When Johnny asked if he could use one of my pictures for the single, I immediately thought of The Storefront Window, 2021. As I wrote about in this previous post, Easton, the boy in the picture, a budding rock star who happens to love music from the late 70s and early 80s, totally reminded me of myself at that age. That it would circle back and be associated with our Speedies song from so long ago is perfect.
Learn more about Johnny Irion here at Blackwing Music. This post was assembled by Juliane Hiam, with Gregory’s guidance, and much help from Eric Hoffert.
What a great story! I was totally unaware of your musical history. It’s a fun song, and I like the new version. I checked out the Blackwing website, I hope they press a single. It was very generous of you to offer the photograph.
Big fan of Johnny’s. Fun to see him rocking with US Elevator crew on your song and proud to be supporting his craft @blackwingmusic. Thanks to you for sharing this great photo in support.