ROCK ‘N’ ROLL.A. ADDENDUM (Or, AHHWOOOOO! WEREWOLVES OF VENICE)

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Published on this blog recently was a piece titled “ROCK ‘N’ ROLL.A.” (Or, “The Return Of Warren Zevon’s Pioneer Chicken Stand”) . It featured a number of photographs I took of notable Rock ‘N’ Roll-related landmarks in Los Angeles.

Well, I have just learned something I was ign’ant about when that former blog bit was posted, and so I feel an “Addendum” to that piece is in order.

“I’LL SLEEP WHEN I’M DEAD: The Dirty Life And Times Of Warren Zevon” is a book I’m currently reading, which I borrowed from my good buddy DiscConnected on the same day I loaned him a copy of my old screenplay “Billy ‘N’ Billie”. (Anyone wanna bet which of us has gotten further into his respective reading material? Ha!)



[Warren Zevon's cigarette-smokin' symbol]

If you’re new to this blog, then you might not already know that I think Zevon was one of the all-time great lyricists. Heck, he’s the first person I quote here at STUFFS – he’s “the second Z-man”. (What, I gotta ‘splain everything to you peoples? McSheesh!)

As of this writing, I’m up to page 146, and already there have been a few surprises along the way. The following was not one of them:

Warren Zevon could alternately be a lowdown dirty dog or a crying, sentimental kitten. But when he was drunk (thus far, about 140 of the 146 pages) he was either an out-of-control Werewolf or an out-of-control Mr. Hyde. Take your pick.

And like so many of these famous Rock musicians, the “Excitable Boy” was often exceedingly self-centered and self-destructive.

According to many sources, Zevon was one of those mad creative types. There are plenty of them, most of which we never hear about. For every Warren Zevon who makes it big there are ten Stephen T. McCarthys who blog in obscurity.

Success in the arts is dependent upon three things: Who You Know; Lucky Breaks; and Talent. Yes, in THAT order!

“Wait! Is this bloke, Stephen T. McCarthy, really comparing himself to Warren Zevon? Does he really think he’s as creative as Zevon was?”

You bet I am; you bet I do!

Then why have you never heard of me before? Well, who did I know? I knew Pooh, Twinkie and Cranium. What lucky breaks did I get? Well, some dude once hit me in the mouth and chipped a tooth. I was “lucky” he didn’t “break” all my teeth. What talent do I have? Well . . . uh . . . two outta three ain’t bad . . . and it ain’t enough.

No, seriously, Warren Zevon and I did have something in common: both of us done had been in a less than sober condition at L.A.’s Venice canals. (But not together. I didn’t know Warren, and neither did he. At least not for a significant portion of his life he didn't.) And that brings me to the point of this blog bit.

On page 69 of “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” we learn the following about the writing of Warren’s One-Hit Wonder, “Werewolves Of London”:

ROY MARINELL:
The story starts out with Crystal, Warren, and me sitting around my house [“little shack on a canal”] in Venice … Actually, Phil Everly likes to stay up all night and watch old movies, and he had talked to Warren about a great English movie called Werewolf Of London that was made in 1930. He thought we should write a song called “Werewolves Of London” and make it a dance craze. So, Warren was telling me the story and I said, “What a great idea.” Waddy [Wachtel] walks in and he said, “You mean, ah-oooh,” We said, “Whoa, great.”

CRYSTAL ZEVON:
Warren and I drove to Venice with him obsessed abut Phil’s idea of starting a dance craze. When we got to Roy’s, our first priority was the sinsemilla pot Roy had just bought. We got stoned, and then Warren started telling Roy about Phil’s idea. Waddy dropped in and they wrote the whole song in ten or fifteen minutes. … I knew this song was good…

When I read that, my first thought was:

So, "Werewolves Of London" was written while Warren was high and at the Venice canals. Why... am I... not... surprised?

Here’s the photo of a Venice canal that I took seven weeks ago . . .



And here’s the photo I took of a Venice canal circa 1982, and more representative of what the place looked like during the time that “Werewolves Of London” was written there . . .



Back on June 16, 2010, a few of us participated in the “10 Favorite Drinkin’ & Drivin’ Songs” blogfest. I had Warren’s “Werewolves” on my list. That’s ‘cause I’m in tune with Zevon’s mad creativity, because I’ve been out of my mind on the Venice canals, and because . . . I knows my stuffs! Er . . . well, at least I knows a good “drinkin’ song” when I hears one!

Light up a doobie, brothers, or mix yourself a salty margarita, click on the video below and “Play It All Night Long” (it may not be as cool as a good buzz on the Venice canals but it’s “The Next Best Thing”) . . .



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZa3EYWCY3w&feature=related

~ Stephen T. McCarthy

Link:
10 Favorite Drinkin’ & Drivin’ Songs

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