Photographer Chris Pieretti would like to thank the “drunk dick” he met in a West Village bar one night for inspiring his latest project, re:vision -- a hardcover, 176-page book that celebrates 16 of New York’s most notable indie artists. Unfortunately, he can’t remember the fool’s name. “He was telling this musician we were talking to that he should stop trying to be a rock star because everything’s been done before. On the way home, I was thinking about all these people who were doing groundbreaking stuff – really cool shit. It was what sparked the book.”

Sponsored by Le Tigre, re:vision focuses on the life and work of folks like Alife co-founder Tony Arcabascio, filmmaker Jauretsi Saizarbitoria, fashion designer Michelle Zacks, actress Alexis Dziena, and graffiti artist Swoon. Scattered throughout are images of renowned curator Dorothy Twining Globus’ odd collections: “She has this huge loft on Broadway filled with tiny boxes, floor-to-ceiling, of marbles and postcards and little plastic things. There’s definitely an OCD thing to it. To me, the images tie all the artists together. It’s all about that drive to create.”

As for Pieretti – his drive to create started at the age of 15, in his older brother’s basement darkroom at his childhood home in Manchester, New Hampshire. “It’s pretty working-class now, but, at one time, Manchester was one of the most thriving cities in the U.S,” points out Pieretti. “It sits on the Merrimack River, 50 miles north of Boston, and used to be the center of the world’s textile industry. There are still these great old mill buildings that would make super-dope loft spaces.” Here, Pieretti discloses all the other glories of Manchester, New Hampshire, which include a Dairy Queen and a liberal gun store: 

Arms Park
“I saw my first concert there. It was David Lee Roth – I believe it was his Skyscraper tour. Poison opened for him. I also saw Metallica there when I was like 14.”

Currier Museum of Art
“It’s a small museum, but they have some good stuff there. They have a couple Picassos. I remember my mom actually touched one when I was little. I yelled at her, and everyone was like ‘Did your mom just touch a Picasso?’”

Music Connection
“It’s this indie record store that’s been there ever since I started buying records at age 11. They have really cool stuff. Like these GG Allen albums that you’ve never seen before. GG Allen used to live in Manchester, and we used to see him all the time at this place Music Factory, where I took guitar lessons. It’s long gone now, but he was always coming in, trying to rent equipment. They would never let him because he would destroy the stuff -- vomit all over it.”

Riley’s Guns
“You can go in there and buy an assault rifle – it’s crazy. We used to go in and point guns at each other. Hooksett’s Fireworks is right next door. It’s open all-year-round, and they just let you walk out with all kinds of crazy stuff – stuff that will start a bomb scare.”

The Dairy Queen on 2^nd St.
“It was the spot in High School on Friday night. I just went home for a wedding and high-school kids are still hanging out there.”

The Aloha
“Not sure if I should be saying this, but they would serve us booze when we were underage. These huge Scorpion Bowls that would get us wrecked. It’s still there and still catering to underage drinkers. Beyond that, there isn’t really much.”

Go There:

Currier Museum of Art, currier.org

Music Connection, 1711 S. Willow St, Manchester, (603) 644-0199.

Riley’s Guns, 1575 Hooksett Road, Hooksett; rileysguns.com

Hooksett Fireworks, 1407 Hooksett Road, Hooksett, (603) 485-5000

The Aloha, 901 Hanover St., Manchester, (603) 607-2100

Get It:

re:vision, $16, available at Colette (Paris), Opening Ceremony (NYC) Zakka (NYC), Memes (NYC), St. Mark's Book Shop (NYC), The Reed Space (NYC), and revisionnewyork.com