Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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PHOTOGRAPHY COPYRIGHT PETER MAX 2014 (THE TONIGHT SHOW ); ERIC RYAN ANDERSON (MAX) ABOVE: Max visited The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in the late 1960s. LEFT: Max puts the finishing touches on his cover for Vegas. t he sy mbol for t he United St ates of A mer ica, so it got so much notoriet y. Then I've painted so many unbelievable people, like the Dalai Lama, John F. Kennedy—I mean, close to 800 portraits. You've also painted portraits of all of the Beatles. Over the years, your work has been linked many, many times to the band. Tell us more about that relationship. I met John way, way back, and I was best friends with Yoko Ono. One day I read in the paper that my little friend Yoko was going out with John. I knew John, I knew Yoko; I could have introduced them in a second. I called her up and she said, "Yeah, John tells me he knows you really well." I used to go pick both of them up at the Dakota, where she lives, and we used to go to Central Park. We used to walk around and bullshit and talk and sing songs. Here in your studio, you have a colorful piano that's signed "To Peter, Love Ringo".... I did a Baldwin piano for Ringo Starr, and he loved it. Then Baldwin called me up and said, "We love it so much, we're going to send you a piano." Two days later, they deliver it, the guys assemble it , a nd I roll out my pa int s a nd st a r t painting the piano beautiful colors. Just as I'm finishing, my girl comes from the front desk and says, "Your buddy Ringo is here." R ingo had been uptown and wanted to say thanks; instead he said, "I like you rs bet ter!" a nd I sa id, "No, Ringo, yours is the first; it's the nicest." He asked if I had paints, and I said, "Do I have pa int s?" We roll out a ca r t of paints, and he writes, "To Peter, Love Ringo," followed by a star. There's a photo of you and R ingo right on top. Was it another Beatle, Paul McCartney, who turned you on to vegetarianism? Paul and I became vegetarian at the same time. I've been a vegetarian now for over 40 years, and I'm only 38. [Laughs] You worked with George Harrison on the Integral Yoga Institute, a yoga center and ashram in New York's Greenwich Village based on the teachings of Sri Swami Satchidananda, whom you brought to America in 1966. Was it George who introduced you to the Swami? No, George was involved with the Maharishi out of England. George and I talked about my Satchidananda and his Maharishi, and we introduced each other to the other guys. The institute teaches how to go into medita- tion, get your mind focused, do stretching, become a vegan—a lot of health, behavioral, and mental benefits that have changed my whole life. How did you first meet Swami Satchidananda? Conrad Rooks, who was the heir of Avon cosmetics—he was a billionaire kid—called me one day when I was still in my early 20s, and he wanted me to come to Paris to help him with the colors on a film he was going to make. Conrad picks me up from the airport, and we're hanging out in the rest au ra nt at t he hotel t hat he's st ay ing in, a nd t hen in comes t he Swa m i—long bea rd, beaut if ul long black hair, gorgeous eyes —and Conrad introduces me to him. After spending a day with t he Swa m i, I k new I had to bring him to New York. All my hippie buddies were t a k ing LSD, and I was thinking, This is the man we need to be with, not t h is ot her st uf f. I brought him to America and I opened yoga centers for him. THE BEST IS YET TO COME Over your career, you've accomplished so much. Is t here some- thing—a goal—you have yet to achieve? I'm a lways being creat ive; t hat 's f ull-t ime. A nd I've been listening to music very intensely my whole life, but especially in the last 36 months because I've been collecting music for seven feature films and animation. Characters and stories—I have so many. The only thing I hadn't collected was music, so I called my friends—Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Bon Jovi— everyone I knew, and I got about 175,000, 200,000 songs on these little iPods. I selected about 3,000 or 4,000 that I adore. Have you ever thought about retiring? I've been retired since I was 20. [Laughs] Retiring is getting to do com- pletely what you love, right? It's not like sitting in a chair somewhere. This is a nice life—it's creative, colors, music, and people. I love it. V VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 85