[Note: There is no way I could capture the entire 'League Of Soul Crusaders' era in just one song. I expect this particular phase in 'The Soundtrack Of My Life' series will encompass at least 5 songs. And I will share a few stories and tell you more about the "characters" involved as we go along.]
.
I
met Torch one day in 1979 on the set of the Gene Wilder movie 'THE FRISCO
KID'. I was drawing cartoons in my sketchbook between camera set-ups when Torch, whom I'd never seen before, stood behind me, watching me draw
for a couple minutes and then said, "Man, little kids must love
you." It may have been the first time in his life that Torch was silent for a couple minutes in a row. Ha!
.
That got us yakking and before long we discovered that we both lived not far from each other in Santa Monica (the "Dogtown" area: Dogtown (1997) - imdb, Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001) - imdb, Lords of Dogtown (2005) - imdb).
.
That night after work, Torch introduced me to a friend of his, Pooh, and I consider that night to be the moment when 'The League Of Soul Crusaders' began to form. It was essentially six of us core Soul members (with lots of hangers-on who knew who to follow for the rowdiest, partyingest times).
.
'The League Of Soul Crusaders' years were probably the most fun in my lifetime. They were certainly the drunkest.
.
The heart and Soul of 'The League Of Soul Crusaders' was Torch, Pooh, Cranium (a friend of theirs from Catholic high school), my brother Napoleon or "Nappy", Twinkie (one of Nappy's earliest schoolyard pals), and myself. But it really started with Torch saying, "Man, little kids must love you" on the set of 'The Frisco Kid'.
.
Five of us started hanging out regularly, and for awhile Nappy shared a house - known as "The Pigwalk" - with Torch and his older brother. That's where you'd find motorcycle parts in the bathroom sink and empty beer bottles in the shower.
.
In 1981, my Grandfather agreed to rent one of his houses to Nappy and me. I distinctly remember painting the interior in preparation for our move-in, and I kept hearing THIS great song on the radio every day while I painted.
.
But it was a 3-bedroom house; we needed a roommate. Then one day Nappy ran into his old friend Twinkie at the market on Ocean Park Boulevard and 17th Street. They got to yakking and before you knew it
, we had our third renter.
.
.
We moved into the house at 824 Bay Street in 1981, and with all 6 unique members having now come together "in formation" (as Torch would say), something truly magical happened...
.
Our personalities really gelled; we each brought something unique to the mix and had senses of humor that fit like a six-fingered glove on a six-fingered hand. It was like a real life 'Animal House' only much funnier and wryly witty. It was 'Animal House', 'Monty Python', and Bacardi 151 run through a Waring blender on "High" all... night... long.
.
And "Bay Street", as the house itself came to be called (as if it WAS the WHOLE street - which it kinda was) became Party Central for "The League" and the countless people who wanted to hang out with us because laughter flowed like wine, and the wine was whiskey... gin... rum... vodka... tequila... mescal (with the worm!)... and beer,
lots and lots of beer! 
.
That got us yakking and before long we discovered that we both lived not far from each other in Santa Monica (the "Dogtown" area: Dogtown (1997) - imdb, Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001) - imdb, Lords of Dogtown (2005) - imdb).
.
That night after work, Torch introduced me to a friend of his, Pooh, and I consider that night to be the moment when 'The League Of Soul Crusaders' began to form. It was essentially six of us core Soul members (with lots of hangers-on who knew who to follow for the rowdiest, partyingest times).
.
'The League Of Soul Crusaders' years were probably the most fun in my lifetime. They were certainly the drunkest.
.
The heart and Soul of 'The League Of Soul Crusaders' was Torch, Pooh, Cranium (a friend of theirs from Catholic high school), my brother Napoleon or "Nappy", Twinkie (one of Nappy's earliest schoolyard pals), and myself. But it really started with Torch saying, "Man, little kids must love you" on the set of 'The Frisco Kid'.
.
Five of us started hanging out regularly, and for awhile Nappy shared a house - known as "The Pigwalk" - with Torch and his older brother. That's where you'd find motorcycle parts in the bathroom sink and empty beer bottles in the shower.
.
In 1981, my Grandfather agreed to rent one of his houses to Nappy and me. I distinctly remember painting the interior in preparation for our move-in, and I kept hearing THIS great song on the radio every day while I painted.
.
But it was a 3-bedroom house; we needed a roommate. Then one day Nappy ran into his old friend Twinkie at the market on Ocean Park Boulevard and 17th Street. They got to yakking and before you knew it
, we had our third renter..
We moved into the house at 824 Bay Street in 1981, and with all 6 unique members having now come together "in formation" (as Torch would say), something truly magical happened...
.
Our personalities really gelled; we each brought something unique to the mix and had senses of humor that fit like a six-fingered glove on a six-fingered hand. It was like a real life 'Animal House' only much funnier and wryly witty. It was 'Animal House', 'Monty Python', and Bacardi 151 run through a Waring blender on "High" all... night... long.
.
And "Bay Street", as the house itself came to be called (as if it WAS the WHOLE street - which it kinda was) became Party Central for "The League" and the countless people who wanted to hang out with us because laughter flowed like wine, and the wine was whiskey... gin... rum... vodka... tequila... mescal (with the worm!)... and beer,
lots and lots of beer!
.
.
And as Pooh later recalled:
.
We drank.
We drank a lot.
We drank more than we did not.
.
In a nutshell, we rode around in beat-up classic Cadillacs, partied like it was "the last day", and really expressed ourselves in some remarkably intoxicated but creative ways. Or as Torch often yelled: "We do what we WANT!" And, yes, we did. Not everybody loved us.
.
.
.
But young guys wanted to be us. Since they couldn't, they'd settle for being with us. And girls, they wanted us... as far away from them as possible! "But no, but no, but no..." seriously, there were some brave gals who actually enjoyed hanging out with us. (And believe it or not, there were even gals who wanted to get to know us even better. No, I mean for "free"!) Everyone knew that a night at "Bay Street" or with 'The League Of Soul Crusaders' anywhere was not going to be anyone's definition of "normal".
.
.
We developed our own lingo. Hell, we practically developed our own League Language, and if you pay attention to the comments on my blog bits left by Al Bondigas (aka Nappy) and Pooh, you will often see traces of it. The stuffs you can't understand? That's "League Language".
.
.
So, how'd the name come about? Well, one of our many expressions was "Leadin' the League!", usually shouted in a drunken roar. It basically meant we were kickin' ass in a "Carpe Diem" kind of way.
.
Later, I gave Torch a birthday card and inside it I wrote "The League Of Soul Crusaders" under which I signed the names of a bunch of rebels and artists I greatly admired, such as James Dean, Eddie Cochran, Vincent van Gogh, Chuck Berry, Rickie Lee Jones, etc. The "Soul Crusaders" part I borrowed from the lyrics in a Bruce Springsteen song. Soon after that, we six began referring to ourselves as "The League Of Soul Crusaders".
.
Music played a major part in our lives during those years, but no one played a bigger part than Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, as they were pretty much the "Bay Street" house band.
.
One time "The League" even went to a Springsteen concert together. Below are photos of us waiting overnight in line for tickets. We told the delivery driver: "Bring the pizzas to the drunks sitting on the couch at the corner of Colorado Avenue and Fourth Street." He did.
.
.
.
So, as much as I despise the guy today, it's only right that I kick off this series with Bruce Springsteen. And although, really, just about ANY song from the 'Born To Run' or 'Darkness On The Edge Of Town' albums would work fine, I guess it's most fitting to use the song that gave us part of our name. So, I give you, from 'Born To Run', the song 'NIGHT'...
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGe1bKEdEag
.
.
The rat trap's filled with soul crusaders
The circuits lined and jammed with chromed invaders
And she's so pretty that you're lost in the stars
As you jockey your way through the cars
And sit at the light, as it changes to green
With your faith in your machine off you scream into the night
.
And you're in love with all the wonder it brings
And every muscle in your body sings as the highway ignites
You work nine to five and somehow you survive till the night
Well all day they're busting you up on the outside
But tonight you're gonna break on through to the inside
And it'll be right, it'll be right, and it'll be tonight
.
My previous blog bits pertaining to 'The Soundtrack Of My Life' (TSOML) can be found by clicking the links below:
.
TSOML #1 - Prelude To An Introduction
.
TSOML #2- Introduction
.
TSOML #3 - First Song: 1959
.
TSOML #4 - 8th Birthday: 1967
.
TSOML #5 - Summer: 1974
.
TSOML #6 - Outlaw: 1978
.
TSOML #7 - M*A*S*H: Late 1978
.
TSOML #8 - Innocence Lost: 1980
.
TSOML #9 - A Friend With A View: 1980
.
For more TSOML participants, visit the blog of GIRL WONDER ('Your Daily Dose') by clicking HERE.
.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
.
 |
| W.C. FIELDS, STOLEN BAY STREET SIGN, AND A CAN OF "COLORADO KOOL-AID" |
And as Pooh later recalled:
.
We drank.
We drank a lot.
We drank more than we did not.
.
In a nutshell, we rode around in beat-up classic Cadillacs, partied like it was "the last day", and really expressed ourselves in some remarkably intoxicated but creative ways. Or as Torch often yelled: "We do what we WANT!" And, yes, we did. Not everybody loved us.
.
 |
| TORCH'S 1964 CADILLAC, "TIBURON" |
 |
| CRANIUM'S 1959 CADILLAC WITH CANINE AND BOTTLED FRIENDS |
But young guys wanted to be us. Since they couldn't, they'd settle for being with us. And girls, they wanted us... as far away from them as possible! "But no, but no, but no..." seriously, there were some brave gals who actually enjoyed hanging out with us. (And believe it or not, there were even gals who wanted to get to know us even better. No, I mean for "free"!) Everyone knew that a night at "Bay Street" or with 'The League Of Soul Crusaders' anywhere was not going to be anyone's definition of "normal".
.
 |
| TWINKIE HANGING OUT HIS BEDROOM WINDOW; POOH AND STMcC THE MORNING AFTER SLEEPING ALL NIGHT ON THE FRONT LAWN |
We developed our own lingo. Hell, we practically developed our own League Language, and if you pay attention to the comments on my blog bits left by Al Bondigas (aka Nappy) and Pooh, you will often see traces of it. The stuffs you can't understand? That's "League Language".
.
 |
| CRANIUM, NAPPY, AND TORCH ON THE "BAY STREET" ROOF. FILLY-WAGGIT'S IN THE CHIMNEY |
So, how'd the name come about? Well, one of our many expressions was "Leadin' the League!", usually shouted in a drunken roar. It basically meant we were kickin' ass in a "Carpe Diem" kind of way.
.
Later, I gave Torch a birthday card and inside it I wrote "The League Of Soul Crusaders" under which I signed the names of a bunch of rebels and artists I greatly admired, such as James Dean, Eddie Cochran, Vincent van Gogh, Chuck Berry, Rickie Lee Jones, etc. The "Soul Crusaders" part I borrowed from the lyrics in a Bruce Springsteen song. Soon after that, we six began referring to ourselves as "The League Of Soul Crusaders".
.
Music played a major part in our lives during those years, but no one played a bigger part than Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, as they were pretty much the "Bay Street" house band.
.
One time "The League" even went to a Springsteen concert together. Below are photos of us waiting overnight in line for tickets. We told the delivery driver: "Bring the pizzas to the drunks sitting on the couch at the corner of Colorado Avenue and Fourth Street." He did.
.
 |
| STEPHEN, POOH, AND A FEW BRAVE GIRLS WAITING FOR SPRINGSTEEN TICKETS |
 |
| STEPHEN T. McCARTHY - 88% HUNGOVER - AFTER THE ALL-NIGHT-PARTY WAITING FOR SPRINGSTEEN TICKETS |
So, as much as I despise the guy today, it's only right that I kick off this series with Bruce Springsteen. And although, really, just about ANY song from the 'Born To Run' or 'Darkness On The Edge Of Town' albums would work fine, I guess it's most fitting to use the song that gave us part of our name. So, I give you, from 'Born To Run', the song 'NIGHT'...
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGe1bKEdEag
.
.
The rat trap's filled with soul crusaders
The circuits lined and jammed with chromed invaders
And she's so pretty that you're lost in the stars
As you jockey your way through the cars
And sit at the light, as it changes to green
With your faith in your machine off you scream into the night
.
And you're in love with all the wonder it brings
And every muscle in your body sings as the highway ignites
You work nine to five and somehow you survive till the night
Well all day they're busting you up on the outside
But tonight you're gonna break on through to the inside
And it'll be right, it'll be right, and it'll be tonight
.
My previous blog bits pertaining to 'The Soundtrack Of My Life' (TSOML) can be found by clicking the links below:
.
TSOML #1 - Prelude To An Introduction
.
TSOML #2- Introduction
.
TSOML #3 - First Song: 1959
.
TSOML #4 - 8th Birthday: 1967
.
TSOML #5 - Summer: 1974
.
TSOML #6 - Outlaw: 1978
.
TSOML #7 - M*A*S*H: Late 1978
.
TSOML #8 - Innocence Lost: 1980
.
TSOML #9 - A Friend With A View: 1980
.
For more TSOML participants, visit the blog of GIRL WONDER ('Your Daily Dose') by clicking HERE.
.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
.
