How I Became a Hollywood Punk Rocker

                                                  Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs

When I moved to Los Angeles (for the first time) in 1983, hard rock was my music of choice - hard rock as in Judas Priest, Van Halen, Black Sabbath, Ozzy, the Scorpions and UFO. I’d heard the Troubadour was the club for metal bands, so I decided to hang out there. Boy, was I in for a surprise! To a kid from the South Side of Chicago, seeing a metal band in a club meant dressing in jeans, a halter top and sneakers, having a few cheap beers and listening to some bluesy hard rock.

Little did I know I would stumble upon the birth of hair metal. The first time I walked into the place, only my platinum blond, permed hair fit in with the unofficial dress code. Seeing a bunch of musicians and clubgoers in leather, spandex, eye shadow and teased hair was nothing new to me. I was in junior high when glam rock was popular, and the first thing I said when I saw the back cover of Motley Crue’s EP Too Fast for Love in ’82 was “How cool! They look like the metal version of the New York Dolls.” I didn’t see Motley Crue at the Troubadour. The only time I ever saw them play was at the US Festival in May of ’83.

 Many of the bands I did see at the Troubadour were weak hybrids of the Crue and Van Halen. Many of them had a David Lee Roth impersonator as lead singer. This was understandable at the time, given Van Halen’s popularity. A blond dye job and obnoxious attitude by themselves did not make a convincing DLR clone, however. Dave dressed in assless chaps, “forgot the fuckin’ words”, banged a lotta girls and did a lot of coke, but he had a sense of humor, which his imitators lacked.

A few months after I moved to LA, I found out Vince Neil was going to join a band called Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs at the Cathay de Grande, a punk rock club in Hollywood. The club was within walking distance of my apartment (i.e. weekly hotel room), so I checked it out. 

I walk downstairs to join about 10 other people in a basement club. The ceiling looks like it is about to fall down and this pudgy guy with dirty blonde hair  -Top Jimmy - is onstage, singing the blues. Everyone was dressed down, with clothes  from the Salvation Army instead of Trashy Lingerie or.some sleazy mail-order leather emporium. I strike up a conversation with the kid next to me, who was outfitted in a plaid shirt, homemade bondage pants and Doc Martens.

I look up to see Vince Neil onstage with Jimmy. I didn’t recognize Vince at first cause without his stage gear, he looked like a fresh-faced 16 year old with perfect platinum blond hair. Then he started singing.

Damn, he could actually sing- he had a bellowy, bluesy voice.  It wasn’t at all like his Motley Crue screech ‘n’ scream vocals. This stellar display of bluesmanship didn’t last long, as Vince left the stage after a few numbers -or was it just one? It’s been a long time.

After Vince left, I bounded up the stairs, but was intercepted by a few of the club’s

patrons. By the time the night was over I had a new musical hangout. I made more friends and had more involved conversations the first few weeks at the Cathay than I had in months at the Troubadour. 

                                                  Not the shirt I had, but a reasonable facsimile

My musical transition was complete. I still kept my favorite T-shirt- a sleeveless white T-shirt with a  drawing of the Crue I got on Hollywood Blvd. I wonder if I would have discovered the Cathay, Top Jimmy and punk rock if Vince Neil hadn't sung with Jimmy that night. I guess you could say I became a Hollywood punk rocker because of Vince Neil. (And, yes, I still like Motley Crue and heavy metal. I'm an equal opportunity listener.)   

After my introduction to Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs, I traded in Aqua Net for Blue Mondays and my new punk rock friends. Many L.A. musicians and celebrities hung out at the Cathay – the members of X, the Minutemen, Nina Hagen, Jane Wiedlin, Timothy Leary, David Lee Roth, etc, and I met a few of them. And I met the infamous Mentors,  stars of the 1985 PMRC hearings there. And, yes, Top Jimmy was the inspiration for the Van Halen song. Sadly, Jimmy passed away in 2001

There was so much going on in the L.A. club scene then - Goths at the Batcave, the metal stuff on the strip and punk and its offshoots pretty much everywhere. Performance art and poetry readings were included at most of the clubs (except the metal ones). What a great time to be a carefree 20something in Hollywood!

CD Review: The Crazy Squeeze

The 13 songs on The Crazy Squeeze self-titled debut CD (Vinyl Dog) are pure and rowdy rock ‘n’ roll  This L.A. band blasts its way through  a blend of glam and punk, alternatively drawing inspiration from Eddie and the Hot Rods, the New York Dolls, Mott the Hoople and the Boys.

Boozy rockers like Little Girl, All Lies and Outta My Head are on tap here from start to finish. Younger Girl and C’mon and Dance bring to mind the buoyant pop sounds of ‘60s AM radio hits. Every song on this CD is a winner, right down to covers of the Boys' Terminal Love and Cock Sparrer’s I Need a Witness For great glampunk songs with swagger & personality, check out The Crazy Squeeze.

The lineup: Johnny Witmer (Stitches, guitars/vocals), Frankie Delmane (ex-Teenage Frames, guitar/vocals) Johnny Sleeper (ex-Superbees, drums/vocals)  Bass on the album provided by Chris B – the current live band features Dat Ngo on bass.

The Crazy Squeeze is also available on vinyl from Wanda Records (Germany) and Vinyl Dog (U.S.)

Order CD here

From the Archives: Inland Invasion/25 Years Of Punk: Devore CA 9/14/02 : Sex Pistols, X, Buzzcocks, Bad Religion, etc.

 This article originally appeared on Suite101.com in 2002. Since Suite101 has purged most of its older articles, I'm posting it here for hysterical, I mean, historical (??) purposes. It was one of the first articles I wrote after rediscovering punk rock after years as a metalhead.



Inland Invasion/25 Years Of Punk
Devore CA 9/14/02
Sex Pistols, X, Buzzcocks, Bad Religion, etc.
Review first published September 16, 2002.



On September 14th, the much-ballyhooed 25th anniversary of punk concert took place in Devore, CA. The show was not an all-inclusive representation, as it boasted no San Francisco or New York bands. .Most of the featured bands were from SoCal. and a few British innovators, including the best punk rock band ever, the antithesis of humankind … the Sex Pistols.

 My boyfriend and I spent a few hours waiting by will call to get our passes. Plenty of time to at least hear the bands on the second stage and see outlines of dust being  funneled around. I found out later that a few people had been stabbed by the second stage - at least that was the rumor going around. Well, with bands like the Circle Jerks, TSOL, the Adolescents and the Distillers playing, you ain’t gonna get roses thrown at ya. With the exception of Birmingham, England based GBH, all the second stage bands hailed from Southern California.

The parade of  T-shirts on incoming fans was mind-boggling! Everything from all the bands who were playing  to the Ramones, X - Ray Spex, the Minutemen, et al. It was a veritable history of punk via outerwear and of course, they were the requisite Sid Vicious lookalikes to boot. (No Nancy lookalikes, though, thank God.)

 By the time we got to the lawn, we heard Captain Sensible say something  about wanting to shag some Britney clones with free tics. I’m sure, I could almost hear them retort. X played a short, ragged set that wasn’t up to their usual high standards.  The fact that they were playing so early in the day was confusing enough, and the generic sound system didn’t help.

 The Buzzcocks played next – I had forgotten how good their songs were. Their sound is unmistakably a precursor to what we name-tag “pop-punk” today. But their music is intelligent and stylized, unlike many of the younger bands trading in the genre. New Found Glory and Blink 182 were two bands that definitely did not belong on the bill with real punk bands. Their music is neither pop nor punk, it’s just sing-songy froth that a Britney Spears/N’Sync fan would find cutting edge or risque. Blink especially got it bad, as they played after Pennywise practically incited the crowd to riot. And who was stationed outside the lawn mosh pit during this time -- yours truly, always one to seek out adventure. A nice moment occurred when the Pennywise, (hardcore hell-raisers from Hermosa Beach) played snippets of Ramones songs and dedicated it to Deedee and Johnny. The free booklet given out to concert-goers was dedicated to the spirit of  Joey and DeeDee Ramone.

 By the time the sun set  it was time for serious action. Bad Religion and Social Distortion railed against the man, government hypocrisy, and such. Of all the new bands, Offspring fared the best - at least they rocked. As I had suspected, many of the younger fans left after their set. Comments on the packed-like-sardines consumerist midway between shows consisted of variations on “Why the hell did I come here? This is the worst day of my life.” 105 degree temperatures, extreme security measures (no safety pins were allowed. At a punk concert? Gosh, I wonder if they busted the girl who heeded John Lydon's  request for a safety pin during the show.) and heinously overpriced food and souvenirs contributed to these sentiments.

 It took about half an hour for the Pistols to come on. It was nerve wracking. but worth it. The moment that little redhead -well, now a platinum haired freak- hit the stage,it was all worth it.  The first song, Bodies, was enough to wake up a crowd wilting from heat exhaustion and 8.00 beers. It was followed in short order by I Wanna Be Me, New York, Pretty Vacant, and the seldom heard Belsen Was A Gas (with the chorus Oy vey!)

 They played everything from Bollocks except Submission. Steve's guitar playing was excellent - some of the best I've ever heard from him - but I  swear he didn't even acknowledge the audience once. Gone are the spandex stretch pants and blow job requests of the ‘96 reunion tour. We stayed at  the side of the stage for the first song.  It was great to glance out and see a crowd of 50,000  plus cheering for the Pistols. They deserve it

 John wore some kinda silky pajama type outfit and had a few multicolored streaks in his platinum hair. First thing he does is bash the concert sponsors - Levis and radio station KROQ.  Some long-haired dude had one of those dry erase boards with rude comments about the band. I didn't see what he held up during the show, but he was walking around backstage writing dumb shit down on it. Well, John sees it, goes ballistic. “You’re in the wrong decade.” (Can't you just hear that sarcastic English accent of his? It was classic!) Then he added, “Funny, me telling you that.” Later, he was adjusting his pants and said something like "No rapper's got a package like that." Hmm, is that why Nora's so ecstatically happy all the time? During "Stepping Stone" he unbuttoned his shirt, and revealed a flat chest & tummy just like he had in '78.


 For most of the Pistols set my boyfriend and I walked back and forth behind the loge. Security wouldn't let us stay backstage after the first song. We had bought lawn tickets as insurance, but kids were packed in like passengers on a Tokyo subway train. No dif. Not to mention over a dozen bonfires were in full force. Needless to say, we couldn't make it back to the lawn. John also made some comment about "I don't live here (Ca.) for no good reason." I must say that at night with the backdrop of the mountains, the Blockbuster Pavilion venue is utterly gorgeous. But security and prices were prohibitive.($5 for a small soda.) Some guy threw a beer on him and it splattered all over his shirt. John lambasted the hapless fan.. “There's some dopey A***hole whose got more money than sense, if you're gonna buy beers f****ing drink 'em, you wuss.”


 The band ended its set with the one-two punch of God Save The Queen and Anarchy In The UK.A lot of kids were leaving and John goes, “I like this, now all the wankers are going home and we're coming on strong.The teeny boppers have left the building” The lone encore was a cover of Silver Machine, a song by Lemmy’s old band, Hawkwind.. John ended by saying "Thanks to the other bands for letting us play, cheers, and don't let the bastards grind you down." The band was amazingly tight and professional. You have to appreciate Glen’s bass playing.  I must say he is like the punk Paul McCartney - still quite handsome at 45. Cookie was pounding on the drums with his customary energy. Is another tour in the works? I hope so.

Music Review: Prima Donna: Bless This Mess

Prima Donna, a five-piece band from L.A, has rattled venues in Southern California and beyond since 2004. They've already put down their brash hybrid of punk and glitter rock with a who’s who of famous and infamous punk bands. The group opened for Green Day on the band’s 2009-2010 European tour, and the band’s singer/guitarist, Kevin Preston, performs with the Foxboro Hot Tubs, a Green Day side project. Prior to that, their onstage cohorts in rock ‘n’ roll crime included Texas Terri, Glen Matlock & the Philistines, Eddie and the Hot Rods, and plenty of local SoCal punk bands.

Their first album on Acetate Records, After Hours, introduced their modern take on glitter rock to a wider audience. The band’s second release on the label, Bless This Mess, revs things up a few notches with the help of engineer Chris Dugan’s (Green Day, Iggy Pop) faultless production.

The 12 songs on Bless This Mess have a cleaner, and more mainstream appeal than Prima Donna’s previous efforts, but the songwriting and rock bravado are as sharp as ever. The catchy album opener “Sociopath,” the confident, strutting bop of “Maxine,” and the "Jeepster" era T. Rex undercurrent of the single “Feral Children” are enough to reel in even the most jaded listener. But there are nine more impressive tunes on the CD, and Prima Donna delivers the kind of unapologetic rock energy on it that is missing from most up-and-coming bands touted by the mainstream rock press.

Preston has old-school rock charisma and is quite the frontman in concert. Guitarist Erik Arcane, bass player “Lights Out” Levine and drummer David S. Field provide a non-stop, rock ‘n’ roll party sound derived from influential rockers of the past like the Ramones and Mott the Hoople. Aaron Minton’s sax playing gives the band that something extra, that bit of musical swagger and spice that sets them apart from the handful of young glam punk bands on the scene today. It’s like combining Johnny Thunders’ descendents on guitar (Preston, Arcane) with X-Ray Spex. The foot-stomping “Miss Avenue,” with its sax intro and rollicking piano interlude, defy listeners to stand still.

“Broken” is the album’s most distinctive cut. It wraps ‘60s Brit Invasion pop with the band’s glam influences. It really demonstrates how their sound has evolved.

It looks like 2012 will be a busy year for Prima Donna. They’ve already received a write-up in the Huffington Post for their performance at London’s KerPUNK Festival. They were filmed for a Corona Beer commercial, and their European tour is in full swing in February and March, with a U.S. tour to follow.

Bless this Mess is scheduled for release on Valentine’s Day. If you’re a fan of straight-on, raunchy rock ‘n’ roll, and are tired of scouring iTunes and your old vinyl collection for retro faves, you’ll appreciate Prima Donna’s music. And if you’re a young fan who wants to sample your generation’s version of hipster-free, high-energy rock ‘n’ roll, look no further than Bless This Mess.

Read more:

http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-prima-donna-bless-this/

Barb Wire Dolls: Greek Punk Rockers Take L.A. By Storm

                                                           Photo by Matt Wessen

Attitude is important in rock ‘n’ roll; ultimately it’s more important than fashion or technical playing ability. It’s what endears fans to their favorite bands. Barb Wire Dolls, a female-fronted punk band from Greece, have caused quite a buzz in L.A. since moving here in 2010. They've played the Punk Rock Picnic and opened for the Bouncing Souls. They've appeared on the cover of Punk Globe, and Rodney Bingenheimer has played their music on his show. That's not bad for a band that was living in a commune in Greece a year ago. The band’s ballsy performances and in-your-face marketing campaign may be a bit much for people used to mopey indie bands, but true rockers will appreciate it.

Sure, there are lots of punk females in bands now. It’s not an oddity anymore. But you’ve got to have the  energy  and originality to back it up if you wanna be more than a flash-in-the pan.  Lead singer Isis Queen is one half Wendy O. Williams, one half Brody Dalle and all attitude.  She hasn’t brought a chainsaw on stage yet, but I wouldn’t put it past her.. She’s married to the band’s guitarist, Pyn Doll, whose screeching blast of sound propels the songs forward. But it's not all bombast. There's a sense of melody underneath it, and Queen's voice is tuneful underneath the bravado.The Barb Wire Dolls are resurrected street punk meets new-wave style. They’re fun to watch and put on quite a show. You’d have to be really out of it to nod off by the bar while this band is playing.

The Barb Wire Dolls  have a early 1980s punk rock look. They remind me of the time where punk had a little fashion tune up, with girls wearing hot pink zebra-striped tops instead of ripped t-shirts, but still maintained that nasty edge. On songs like So Hot, Black and Blue and California, the band blasts no-nonsense street noise that keeps even jaded L.A. crowds hollering their approval. The Dolls played a residency at the Viper Room to enthusiastic audiences in July, bringing a bit of attitude back to the Sunset Strip. Their forthcoming 14-track CD Fuck the Pussies contains six songs  produced by Bryan Carlstrom (Alice in Chains, Offspring, Social Distortion). 

Barb Wire Dolls-Facebook

Book Review: Lick Me: How I Became Cherry Vanilla by Cherry Vanilla

Although not as well-known as her more mainstream contemporaries Pamela Des Barres and Cynthia Plaster Caster, Cherry Vanilla (born Kathleen Anne Dorritie) was arguably the most brazen and the most cerebral groupie of the swinging late ‘60s/’70s. Based on her chapter in Pamela Des Barres’ groupie round-up, Let’s Spend The Night Together, Chicago Review Press offered Cherry her own book contract and the result is Lick Me: How I Became Cherry Vanilla (by Way of the Copacabana, Madison Avenue, the Fillmore East, Andy Warhol, David Bowie and the Police) This raunchy and refreshingly honest memoir takes readers on a wild ride through two decades of hedonistic New York, from hippie happenings in Central Park to the punk clubs of Manhattan.

Groupie, though, was only part of Cherry’s job description. She worked for a Madison Avenue ad agency while barely out of high school, traveling the country on business trips as one of the first female radio/TV ad execs in the business. Folks in the real-life “Mad Men” days were every bit as horny and adventurous as rock stars, according to Cherry’s accounts of LSD use and “whipped cream parties” at Fire Island getaways.

It wasn’t long before Cherry took advantage of the burgeoning Lower Manhattan club scene, working as a DJ and mingling with models, actors, royalty and the Andy Warhol crowd. She starred in Warhol’s play Pork, appearing nude onstage in the British production. In between acting and DJing, she had flings with musicians Leon Russell, Kris Kristofferson, Burton Cummings of the Guess Who, and Shawn Phillips, who wrote two songs about her. Cherry’s most famous conquest, though, was David Bowie.

As his publicist and a major behind the scenes presence at MainMan Productions, the infamous glam-rock artist management company, she was instrumental in bringing Bowie and his music to the States. She was friends and business associates with him, first and foremost. However, when he finally suggested, “Come on, let’s go to bed,” Cherry followed through, despite having bandages on her thighs to cover carbuncles from bug bites. A potentially embarrassing situation became a fun, romantic romp.

Cherry in 2010

Cherry was Bowie’s PR person til MainMan was disbanded in 1974. Undaunted, Cherry entered the next phase of her career-as a solo artist for RCA records. She toured England with then unknown back-up musicians - Stewart Copeland and Sting - from a band called the Police. Her outrageous stage persona garnered her some scathing reviews in England, but her two albums, Bad Girl and Venus d’ Vinyl, have retained a cult following to this day. After she was dropped from RCA Records, Cherry hit hard times, and was even homeless for awhile. Now she lives in Hollywood and works for the composer Vangelis, still feisty as ever at 67.

Cherry Vanilla’s exploits are fun-and somewhat exhausting (in a good way) to read. Was there anything this woman didn’t do? Groupie, poet, publicist, journalist, fashion icon, Warhol protégé and actress, ad agency exec and sexual provocateur, it’s surprising that Cherry Vanilla’s story fits into a mere 288-page book! The memoir isn’t all fun and titillation, however, as Cherry frankly discusses her battles with OCD, near disasters with bad drugs and bad men (including one harrowing encounter with a creepy sadist), abortions and sexual addiction.

Lick Me is a rollicking visit back to the days when the whole creative “counterculture” seemed to coalesce into a few miles in Manhattan (and London). It’s a great memory-jogger for kids who came of age reading Creem and watching the 1980 Floor Show on the Midnight Special.

Cherry Vanilla Official Website

Read more: http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-lick-me-how-i/#ixzz1D98ZX4YC