MY HOMEMEGALOPOLIS: LOS ANGELES AND ME - Part 3 Of 6

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. .Venice Blvd ..
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Because Venice Beach is so unique and one of L.A.'s most popular tourist destinations, I feel it kind of deserves its own entry, separate from the other beaches.

What makes Venice Beach so special is that it is a gathering spot for pretty much every freak in California south of San Francisco. It costs nuttin' to just hang out at the beach and people-watch. Whatchoo lookin' for? A little Blues music? A mime? A dude juggling live chain saws? A space alien impersonating a human being? Chances are you'll find what you're looking for on the Venice Beach Boardwalk . . . and then some!

Winston Watson, who toured as Bob Dylan's drummer for a number of years was once asked by an interviewer: "Can you compare audiences in terms of different countries?"

Winston replied: "I would say the common denominator with Dylan fans is that they want to see him. The enthusiasm level anywhere overseas is better - you name it - any continent but the United States. L.A.? Forget it. We've seen and done it all!"

If you ever visit Los Angeles, you must absolutely schedule some time on a weekend for Venice Beach. Spend a Saturday or Sunday there, and by sundown, you too will have "seen and done it all".

And speaking of Rock stars... There have been many musical performers associated with Los Angeles, one of the most famous was The Doors. As a matter of fact, it was while spending a day together on Venice Beach that Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek got the idea to form a Rock group.

Here's a photo of The Doors strolling along Venice Beach where, for them, it all began:



Here's a video that will give you some idea what you can expect to find on any weekend day at Venice Beach:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EVNSlaC74E&feature=related

I grew up in an economically-challenged household, nevertheless, thanks be to my Grandfather who owned it, the house in which I spent the bulk of my youth was only about a 13- minute bicycle ride from Venice Beach, so I have spent countless hours there.

One day in probably 1989 or '90, I found myself alone and taking in Venice Beach during a weekday. I decided to walk into The Townhouse bar and have a drink. In lifting my glass to my lips, I happened to catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror behind the bar and it prompted this question to myself: "What if there was a guy so self-loathing that if he saw his own reflection in the mirror, he would slide over one bar stool if it meant he could avoid looking at himself while sitting at the bar?"

Over a period of time, I began asking myself more questions about this imaginary character: Why does he hate himself? What does he do for a living? What might happen to him after he's done drinking at The Townhouse and leaves the bar?

By 1991, I had completed my one and only full-length screenplay; an interracial romance between a nerdy White guy and a sassy Black girl who sings Jazz and Blues songs on the Venice Beach boardwalk for tips.

The initial question that culminated in my screenplay was asked in Venice Beach's Townhouse bar, whose nondescript entrance can be seen in the photo below:
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[Inside 'The Townhouse'.]

Below is a very neat video about The Townhouse bar, which I found while looking for photos for this L.A. blog tour. Until I viewed it myself very recently, I too didn't know any of the interesting history about The Townhouse bar which is explained in this video. I accidentally picked a very cool bar to build my screenplay around. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p3e_K4OPnQ

A bit further north of The Townhouse bar on Venice Beach is The Cadillac Hotel. In my screenplay, "Billy And Billie", it's here that the nerdy White boy, Billy Withers, lives. The place was later spruced up a bit, but I like the way it looked in the early 1980s better, when I took this photo, and when The Cadillac Hotel had more dilapidated character:



If all you see when you visit Venice is the beach boardwalk, you've missed something special. A lot of people aren't even aware of Abbot Kinney’s canals, constructed in 1904 (why did you think the place is called "Venice"?)

I'd sometimes spend a couple hours floating on the canals on a temporarily borrowed raft. Back in the very early 1980s, when I took the photo below, the canals were rather neglected, but they had a definite crumbling charm:
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It looks like The Doors knew where to find The Venice Canals:



Whereas The Venice Canals area was once the domain of hippies in the '60s and '70s, it has since been refurbished, remodeled, and is now overrun by upscale yuppies. [Sure, the area looks more beautiful, but you can give me the good ol' run-down days, doggone it!] :









Venice Beach is famous for its many boardwalk performers. One musician who has a long and rich history of performing for visitors from all over the world at the Venice Beach boardwalk is Slavin' David. I saw the man playing his guitar and singing on the boardwalk countless times over the years that I lived in L.A.

Well, fate eventually brought into Slavin' David's Rock and Blues band, "Loose Gravel", my ol' coworker and guitar-playin' friend Larry Rosen (known more affectionately by those of us who really dig the dude, as Lelly).

Slavin' David And Loose Gravel have just recently released a new album, "Rock And Roll Road", which includes four really good songs written by my buddy Lelly.



A fine review of Slavin' David And Loose Gravel's "Rock And Roll Road" album can be found on the DiscConnected blog right HERE.

And you can order yourself a copy of it by clicking right HERE. It's so Venice Beach-authentic that the packaging may actually contain sunbeams, grains of sand, spots from spilled suntan lotion and sea gull droppings!

Here's a video of Slavin' David & Loose Gravel in action [Lelly's the big dude in the black "smile-pocket" cowboy shirt... a wardrobe idea he stole from me - regardless of how much he denies it!] :



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atJAvoi8X7w

YOU SUN ON A BEACH!

Moving on to other beaches now . . .

Here's the famous entrance to Santa Monica Pier; you've seen it in many television shows and commercials, etc. :



Below is a photograph of me, taken directly underneath the Santa Monica Pier by my dear departed friend Kelly "Andy" Anderson, circa 1980. Behind me can be seen the water reflecting the sun between the wooden pylons upholding the pier.

If this is meant to be a "beefcake" photo, where's the "beef"?!

No, no, no! In one of my James Agee-type blue work shirts, I was going for a free-spirited, "bohemian" look. The harmonica? Yeah, I owned it, but I couldn't play a note. Always told myself I'd someday learn to play the Blues with it. Never did. [You can't even imagine the sound and the fury behind the manufactured smile!] :



The Palisades Park bluffs overlooking Santa Monica Beach. Ever seen the cover of Randy Newman's album "Trouble In Paradise"? :



As I stated in Part 1, I pretty much grew up in the shadow of Lifeguard Station #26 on Santa Monica Beach. In this next photo, you can see downtown Santa Monica in the distance to the North. My Brother, my Sister and I (and in the glorious Summer of '74, my Dad, too!) generally parked our beach towels just on the other side of Station #26 (North) and spent most Summer days body-surfing at the location seen below:



All the Summers I spent on Santa Monica Beach near Lifeguard Station 26 have come at a price: I just recently went "under the knife" in my second round against skin cancer. Yep, even carefree days at the beach ain't free!

It was rare, but occasionally we'd see a day or two when the waves were breaking extraordinarily big and it was easy to imagine yourself wiping out and breaking every bone in your body. That's when we'd say:

"Aww, who wants to go body-surfing anyway? Let's go get a hot-dog-on-a-stick, watch the old dudes play chess, and check out the cuties on the pier! You know, like, cuties on the pier?"

Below is two views of the Hot-Dog-On-A-Stick Stand on Santa Monica Beach where we'd always have lunch (if anyone had any money). Over the years, I spent so many salt-water-saturated dollars at this little joint that I ought to own stock in it! [My old friend Amy used to live in the tan apartment building to the right and behind the stand. She said the music drifting through her windows at night from the Merry-Go-Round on the Santa Monica Pier drove her batty.] :





Woo!-Woo!-Woo! It's video time again! Let's visit L.A. and Her beaches, with a pleasant little tune for background sounds:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvUl--5uyL8

Probably what I miss most of all is the beach bicycle path. Some weekend days I'd start underneath the Santa Monica Pier and ride it to the Redondo Beach Pier and back. People, that beach bike path is indeed my idea of Heaven!

During the week, however, I'd do the Reader's Digest abbreviated ride: I'd ride my bicycle from my house down to Venice Beach, and then along the bike path to the Marina Del Rey 'Fisherman's Village' . . .



At the Marina Del Rey 'Fisherman's Village', I'd have a light breakfast in the courtyard [see photo below], and then ride home again. Man, talk about a great way to start a work day! It wasn't until I made the mistake of moving to horrible Airheadzona that I realized just how good I'd had it. :



In the late 1970s, my buddy Big Al and I used to drive most Tuesday nights to the El Torito Mexican Restaurant on the Redondo Beach Pier and take advantage of their all-you-can-eat dinner buffet:



Moonshadows is a restaurant in Malibu. It sits right on the Pacific Coast Highway and right on the beach itself:





Look at them girls! Ain't nuthin' like 'em nowhere!

Did you really think I could put together a 6-part blog bit about L.A. without including at least one Beach Boys song? Think again! Here's a little sumpin' for the dudes:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBLqXAN5cSQ

OK, before we leave the beaches, here's one more look at Moonshadows Restaurant - this time at sunset:



'MUSEMENT PARKS & REG'LAR PARKS

Below is my buddy Muddy [the subject of my children's book manuscript] enjoying a day at Sleeping Beauty's Castle in Disneyland, "The Happiest Place On Earth" :









At one time, I actually liked The Disneyland Hotel almost as well as Disneyland itself. Then the company, in its ever-ongoing pursuit of more Almighty Dollars, ruined everything by creating the monstrous "Downtown Disney District". Nevertheless, one of the cool things that remains are the waterfalls that you can walk between. Yes, there's a narrow, curved path you can walk along while waterfalls cascade next to you on either side. in other words, you would find yourself walking behind this . . .
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Knott's Berry Farm is America's first themed amusement park. In a way, it's sort of the White Trash version of Disneyland, but being proudly White Trash myself (and loving the cowboy heroes of my childhood), I've always been a big Knott's Berry Farm fan! :



At Knott's Berry Farm (and free to the public, unlike anything Disney-related), is an exact replica of Philadelphia's Independence Hall - except that it's built to 3/4ths scale. I've visited the genuine article and been to the Orange County copy, and other than the size, I couldn't tell the difference. :



The Universal Studios Tour is an amusement park built right on the grounds of an actual working movie studio:



Next is a photo of MacArthur Park, not far from downtown L.A. If you go there, don't leave your "cake out in the rain." :



Below is Echo Park with downtown L.A. in the background. Don't be fooled by the seeming beauty and serenity of the picture - stray beyond the park and you are in a very urban and somewhat dicey neighborhood. You'll survive, but stay alert and keep your wits about you:



Here's Warren Zevon, a musician rightfully associated with the L.A. music scene, performing an excellent rendition of his song "Carmelita". It's about L.A.'s Echo Park, a Pioneer Chicken stand, a radio station in Ensenada, Mexico, and pawning your typewriter to buy a fix. I can relate to this song for a variety of very personal reasons, but I'd think it was a fabulous song even if I couldn't:




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USmgp0aVOUU

The Griffith Park Observatory in - you guessed it - Griffith Park! Famously depicted in the classic 1950s teen angst film 'Rebel Without A Cause' starring James Dean. It's been said that it was James Dean who gave a voice to young people. [By the way, also to be found in Griffith Park is the tunnel that served as the entryway to Toontown in the movie "Who Framed Roger Rabbit".] :



Another place in Griffith Park:



Up Pacific Coast Highway is Malibu Beach and Malibu Creek State Park. Hike back into the park a little ways and you'll come to the location where all of the external shots for the TV series .M*A*S*H  were filmed:



Below is a rusting remnant at the site of the 4077th M*A*S*H Unit. The war is over, but some of the dead remain unburied:



And now that we've touched upon television and the fantasy factory, let's move on to Hollywood, home of "The Industry" - the rather pretentious name that some insiders use in referring to L.A.'s Film Business.

Transport yourself to Part 4 by clicking here: The DeLorean With A Flux Capacitor

~ Stephen T. McCarthy

YE OLDE COMMENT POLICY: All comments, pro and con, are welcome. However, ad hominem attacks and disrespectful epithets will not be tolerated (read: "posted"). After all, this isn’t Amazon.com, so I don’t have to put up with that kind of bovine excrement.
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MY HOMEMEGALOPOLIS: LOS ANGELES AND ME - Part 4 Of 6

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HOORAY FOR HOLLYWEIRD

It long ago occurred to me that Hollywood (as opposed to West Hollywood) must almost assuredly be the single most disappointing tourist destination in the entire world. True, in Hollywood you’ll find the famous Chinese Theatre, where so many movie premieres took place during Hollywood’s “Golden Era” and the hand and foot prints of past stars are preserved in the courtyard entrance; and yes, you’ll find the well known “Walk Of Fame”, where the names of celebrities are embedded in stars that are embedded in the Hollywood Blvd. sidewalk.

And that’s about all you’ll find that is noteworthy in this run-down, grimy part of town with it’s cheap souvenir shops, liquor and dirty book stores.

And the biggest disappointment of disappointing Hollywood must certainly be the world renowned intersection of “Hollywood And Vine”. How many tourists from Iowa and Nebraska must have traveled all the way to Hollywood And Vine, thinking they might see celebrities walking the streets there, only to find that they, the tourists, were the classiest, most wealthy looking people at the intersection.

Here’s all you’re likely to find strolling the vicinity of “Hollywood And Vine”: Pimps, Prostitutes, Drug Addicts, Winos, Teen Runaways, Stray Dogs and Feral Cats. Tom Waits was close to the truth when he renamed the intersection "Heartattack And Vine".

Below is a photo of the world famous Hollywood And Vine intersection. A block north of Hollywood on Vine is the unique Capitol Records building, looking like a stack of records with a needle on top. Otherwise, this is just a filthy little meeting of old streets.
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Well, OK, yes, it's also true that you'll find The Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood. That’s pretty much the only touch of class remaining in that decrepit, depressing part of town.






The Beatles at The Bowl:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ve-MAfdahI&NR=1

In his lyrically masterful song “Emotional Weather Report”, Tom Waits tells us that “It’s colder than a ticket-taker’s smile at the Ivar Theatre on a Saturday night.” That’s a brilliant line, particularly when you’re aware that at the time Waits wrote it, the Ivar Theatre, located in grungy Hollywood, was a strip joint:

A lot of musicians are generally thought of as being associated with the city of L.A. One of the more successful bands was The Doors. In 1985, 14 years after lead singer Jim Morrison’s death, keyboardist Ray Manzarek directed a video for the classic Doors’ song “L.A. Woman”. Here’s that video, which captures the Hollywood scene better than does that brochure you got from your travel agent in Omaha. [Watch for the cool ‘L.A. Signs Segment’, which includes my Downtown “Jesus Saves” sign mentioned in Part 1.] :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-wgIht3roA&NR=1

Below is the “EGENDS OF HOLLYWOO” photograph of me. It was taken in front of a large Hollywood mural. Look closely and you’ll see me standing in the bottom right corner in front of a partially visible painting of James Dean:

One night in 1981 or '82, my friend Dean and I went cruising the crappy streets of Hollywood, listening to Bruce Springsteen's first album, in Dean’s VW van. We’d pull up to the curbs and I’d light the firecrackers and toss ‘em out at the feet of pimps standing on the street corners. One pimp actually gave chase, but a well-timed U-turn in a busy Hollywood intersection finally shook him off our trail. FUN! [Dean at left in the photo below, me on the right.] :

High in the hills above Hollywood stands the "Hollywood Sign". Along with the Statue Of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, and Mount Rushmore, it is one of the most universally recognized icons of the United States. :
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On New Year’s Eve 1979, I sneaked up to the Hollywood Sign for the first time, and I touched every letter. I was up there alone in the dark when midnight struck and the ‘80s began, telling myself that this was destined to be my decade; before it was over, everyone would know the name of the actor Stephen T. McCarthy. WRONG!
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Over the years, I took various groups of friends up to the Hollywood Sign with me, but one of the more memorable episodes was that same night that Dean and I drove around Hollywood, throwing firecrackers at pimps. When we got tired of that sport, we bought a bottle of whiskey, jumped the fence, and hiked up to the Hollywood Sign.

At the moment the sun came up over Downtown L.A., Dean and I were side-by-side, hanging over the crossbar in the middle of the letter “H”, passing the whiskey bottle back and forth and talking about the big plans we had for the future.

Below is a rare photo taken from behind the Hollywood Sign and showing you the view south. That’s what Dean and I could see, as we hung drunkenly from the center of the first letter in "Hollywood". In the distance on the left, you can make out Downtown Los Angeles:
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The sordid underbelly of the Hollywood / Los Angeles scene was never better captured than in the songs found on the first and only David & David album "Boomtown".

Few Rock stars really have anything meaningful to say, but David & David not only had something authentic to say, but they said it with skill, creativity, and imaginative musical arrangements. “Boomtown” was one of the best debut music albums ever released by anyone, and it perfectly captured my mood in 1986. It speaks of angst, depression, failure, hope, and feeling “All Alone In The Big City”.

Here's a video for the title track, filmed in various L.A. locations. It'll teach you what sort of sound money makes. [That gal being helped out of the limousine isn't feeling any pain, is she?] :
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97wvwuHUMCw

WEST HOLLYWEIRD - WHERE THE REAL ACTION IS

All the native Angelenos like me know that there is a distinction to be made between “Hollywood” and “West Hollywood”. West Hollywood is generally that part of the Hollywood district of Los Angeles that lies West of La Cienega Boulevard (or Fairfax Ave. to be more technically correct and generous).  

This is the home of the legendary “Sunset Strip”, where you’ll find famous music venues like The Roxy, and the Rock star hangout, The Rainbow Bar [both seen in the Sunset Boulevard photo below] :

Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood is also home to the famous Whisky-A-Go-Go, a nightclub with a rich musical history dating back to the Psychedelic ‘60s. Every band on its way up has played “The Whisky”. I saw a number of bands there in my day, one of them being The Police, as their song “Roxanne” was just beginning to get a little airplay on the L.A. alternative station KROQ. :

It's on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood where you really might see celebrities walking along the street, drinking in the bars, or eating in the restaurants. You won't necessarily see Jesus there, but you might see a famous actor or actress with an expensive cocaine habit. :



And certainly you will see Rocky and Bullwinkle on Sunset Blvd. A statue of them stands in front of the production office where the all-time greatest cartoon was fashioned. (At least I hope it's still there.)

Anyone remember Sweet’s big mid-‘70s hits, “Fox On The Run” and “The Ballroom Blitz”? Both songs came from their "Desolation Boulevard" album. And pictured behind the band on the album cover was a segment of Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. So, the truth is out: "Desolation Boulevard = Sunset Boulevard”. Perhaps now you’ll be able to get some sleep. :

The Hyatt House hotel is on Sunset Blvd. right where La Cienega meets up with it. Innumerable Rock stars have stayed here, and back in the days when you would find Jim Morrison, the Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin smashing its rooms, the place was nicknamed "The Riot House".

The post-tour party that the blokes from Spinal Tap attend at the end of the movie "This Is Spinal Tap" was filmed on the roof of the Hyatt House. I just happened to recognize the swimming pool and the roof area.

Because of his sardonic wit and twisted humor, and his ability to really turn a memorable phrase, one of my favorite musicians associated with the city of Los Angeles was Warren Zevon. In his song "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me", Zevon sings:

“Well, I met a girl in West Hollywood / I ain't naming names / She really worked me over good /She was just like Jesse James ... Well, I met a girl at the Rainbow bar / She asked me if I'd beat her / She took me back to the Hyatt House / I don't wanna talk about it.”

Ha! You gotta love it!
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Below is the Hyatt (Riot) House:
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Also on Sunset Blvd. is the "Sunset Grill", the subject of Don Henley's song of the same name. I remember the night in 1985 or '86 that my friend Lin Coleman and I were driving around town with an open keg of beer in the back seat of her VW bug (the mother of all "open container" charges). We pulled up to the curb right in front of the Sunset Grill to pour ourselves another beer.

That's where we were when Lin - who was in film school - finally talked me (who apparently had consumed a beer too many) into playing the lead role in the screenplay about Jim Morrison, which I had written for her film school final project. It was the last bit of acting I ever did, and called it quits immediately after filming was completed.

Incidentally, Lin went on to become a film editor in Hollywood and her credits can be found HERE.

Below is a photo of L.A.’s second “Hard Rock Café” (the first being the "real deal" on Skid Row and made famous by the back cover of The Doors album 'Morrison Hotel'). Note the Cadillac sticking out of the roof:

THE TROUBADOUR is a live music venue on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. In the late '70s, my friend Eric and I practically lived in this club on the weekends. The Rock music and entertainment history of this place is absolutely incredible. Click the link below the photo and check out all the stuffs that The Troubadour is known for.

But just for starters, here are some events that occurred at “The Troub”: Lenny Bruce was once arrested; the members of the Byrds first met there; Joni Mitchell made her L.A. debut there; Cheech and Chong were discovered there; Janis Joplin partied there the night of her death; Tom Waits was discovered; Van Morrison recorded some of his live album “It’s Too Late To Stop Now” there; Don Henley first met Glenn Frey at one of The Troubadour's bars, and John Lennon got thrown out of The Troubadour one night. And that’s just a small taste of The Troub’s rich history:

http://www.troubadour.com/histor

"The Sad Cafe" is a song by the Eagles about the golden years of Doug Weston's 'Troubadour'.

In the liner notes to the CD set "The Very Best Of The Eagles", Glenn Frey wrote the following about "The Sad Cafe":

The title comes from the book by Carson McCullers. I love the title, which didn't have anything to do with the song, other than it was a great title. The line that really resonates for me in that song is "I don't know why fortune smiles on some and lets the rest go free."

There were so many of us aspiring musicians hanging around at the Troubadour. Some nights when Doug Dillard got drunk enough, and Gene Clark got drunk enough, and Harry Dean Stanton got drunk enough... near closing time... they would all start singing. There would be these unbelievable impromptu versions of  "Amazing Grace" -- all sorts of Ozark spiritual things with the whole bar singing...

That stuff really happened. We were getting older (when we wrote the song), and there was a sadness because we had seen, close-up, that everybody's dreams don't come true. Or, at least, not in the way they think they're gonna come true.

And Don Henley had this to say about it:

A train used to run down the center of Santa Monica Boulevard, right outside the Troubadour. Steve Martin actually had a routine where he'd get the entire audience to exit the club, hop a flatcar on that slow-moving train and ride up to La Cienega, a few blocks east. Then, everybody would hop off and walk back down to the club together.

I don't think that happened very many times -- maybe not even more than once or twice, because the railroad people didn't like it. It was kind of dangerous and there was liability involved. Still -- and I don't want to over-mythologize -- it was something to remember. That was a wonderful time in Los Angeles. The city was alive with magic and a sense of possibility. People were warmer and more open than they are now.

Then, of course, there was the dark side. Friends and acquaintances of ours (from that era) had begun to meet untimely ends -- classic cases of "too much, too soon." It was either that or "too little, too late." So we were struggling to make sense of that dichotomy, that contradiction. Is fortune a good thing or a bad thing, you know? Is being fortunate, before you're ready to accept it and deal with it, actually fortunate -- or is it unfortunate?

We were struggling with our own success -- riddled with feelings of guilt and unworthiness. I think a lot of young artists feel that way. We always identified with that great song "Fakin' It," by Paul Simon. It takes many years and lots of experience for a man to get comfortable in his own skin. But the Troubadour, Dan Tana's restaurant, the train -- all those things served as a great metaphor for the search, the journey that so many of us were on.

I can fully understand the feeling that Don Henley is attempting to express. But for me, the basis of that feeling - those magic memories - are associated more with a group of guys than it is with one particular place. The guys called themselves "The League Of Soul Crusaders", and I'll expound more on them in the next installment.

At the opposite end of the spectrum from The Troubadour, and in West L.A. rather than in that district of L.A. known as West Hollywood, was CLUB 88 :



CLUB 88, where a lot of non-talent-havin’-Punk-bands pulled the wool over the glassy-eyes of a lot of non-brain-havin’-teenagers of Los Angeles. Heck, I once even saw my own Cousin sing there with his band 'Sex And Violins'. That was before my Cousin sold his soul to the devil and suddenly showed up at my apartment one day with a tape of new songs recorded with his new band, The Zone, and his vocals and his band blew me away.

It was suddenly apparent to me that my Cousin was a REAL singer/songwriter and that he had far greater than Club-88-level talent!

Jim Morrison had summed up the entire Punk Rock movement message in two sentences nearly a decade earlier, and he expressed it far better than any of the countless, talentless Punk Rockers ever did:

“I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer.
The future’s uncertain and the end is always near.”
~ Jim Morrison in ‘Roadhouse Blues’

I never once met a Punk Rocker who wasn’t a poseur.

Transport yourself to Part 5 by clicking here: The Waybac Machine

~ Stephen T. McCarthy

YE OLDE COMMENT POLICY: All comments, pro and con, are welcome. However, ad hominem attacks and disrespectful epithets will not be tolerated (read: "posted"). After all, this isn’t Amazon.com, so I don’t have to put up with that kind of bovine excrement.
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