Donald Cumming

Donald Cumming

interview by BILL POWERS
portraits by RICHARD KERN

 

Saved by rock and roll. DONALD CUMMING, leader of the hot new downtown New York band,  THE VIRGINS, recounts his Phoenix-like rise out of the ashes of a troubled youth into the aeries of the music business.  What will become of the virgins? In the topsy-turvy world of today’s music business,  with CD sales free-falling and technology declaring a jihad on record companies, guessing  is a fool’s game. Perhaps The Virgins will be this generation’s Velvet Underground. Or maybe they’re just a bunch of Sids looking for their Nancys. Check back in five years. Maybe downtown New York has waited patiently for so long to hear its voice projected around the world that we’d pin our hopes and dreams on anyone who dresses the part.

Here’s what we do…