[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
.
Stephen,
ReplyDeleteLiterally laughin my ass off! Great blog, great memories, great legacy!
Poooooooooooooooooooh!
GENERAL POOHREGARD ~
DeleteI start feeling hungover just remembering this stuffs and writing about it.
Thanks! Glad you liked it.
Right now I'm listening to Kuzin John's music and Twinkie's recording of 'The League Of Soul Crusaders'. Man, that was truly a great song!
That picture of me all hungover 'n' shit always reminds me that Cranium and I went for some hair of the dog that morning at Harvelle's bar on 4th street.
We were sitting there having a beer when some guy runs in the front door, dashes through the bar and runs right out the back door into the alley.
About 12 seconds later, two cops come running in the front door, and everyone at the bar just pointed toward the alley door, and they ran out it, too. Funny, memorable stuffs.
~ Stephen
'Loyal American Underground'
William Blake refers to the Doors of Perception, which your buddy Jim Morrison and Friends used for thier band name, I think we entered another dimension via doors of perception. It was indeed a magical synergistic time. Like a team on a championship winning streak we were leadin' the league!
DeleteLots of thoughts on this edition:
ReplyDelete1) Have you noticed how many blurry pictures you have from your early days? We have tons. One of the only great things about technology is digital cameras. You know right away if the picture is blurry, and try again (until you finally get it right).
2) Songs. I find that even if/when a band or singer has turned me off with their later material, I remain infatuated with the early stuff... the stuff I grew up on... the stuff I fell in love with THEN. I might not listen to the later stuff, but that early stuff brings back so many memories I don't even want to let it go. So, I can totally understand if you still love those records that ran as a backdrop to this wonderful time of your life.
3) I knew some of this backstory on how you fellas got together, but not all of it. When people come together and click in this way is special. It's even better that you knew (and appreciated it) at the time. It's a terrible thing when you only realize something was "better than the best" in hindsight.
4) I'm sure that I would've WANTED EVER SO BADLY to hang with you guys (had I been old enough, which I wasn't in 1981). But, if I had, I still wouldn't have been able to do it. I've no doubt I only would've made a ridiculous fool of myself. So, it's decidedly for the best that I wasn't old enough AND you lived across the country (making it geographically impossible).
5) I'm now going to blame all the things you say that I don't comprehend on League Language. It simplifies things.
GOIL WONDER ~
Delete1) The reason all my Bay Street / League photos are blurry is because the photographers were always drunker'n 'ell.
Ha! Actually, I have the real pictures and they aren't nearly as bad as they look here. These are just photographs of photographs taken with my Brother's old cell phone camera. I've never had a scanner and had no other way to post these.
The originals are certainly low quality compared to today's snapshots, but they're better'n these fuzzfotos.
2) I really dislike Springsteen personally, and that has colored my opinion of much of his music. But, truthfully, I grew away from most of it even before I learned what a libtard the guy is. Not coincidentally, it was 'BORN IN THE USA' (1984) when I decided that was enough. You know, it's that "1980's Music" thang again.
4) >>... I'm sure that I would've WANTED EVER SO BADLY to hang with you guys ... I've no doubt I only would've made a ridiculous fool of myself.
No one would have noticed. We were all too busy making fools of OURSELVES!
There were indeed some females leery of us because we were so loud and seemed out of control sometimes... often... always. But the irony is that the girls who DID hang out with us were probably safer than those who didn't, because...
We were really all good guys and would not tolerate some dude abusing a gal.
I love the story of the guy who hit his girlfriend one night in the Bay Street house. When Nappy got wind of it he went after this guy like a raging bull. Four of us are trying to hold Nappy back, and he's using his free arm to grab anything he can get - a skillet, a cup, a bottle - and throwing them at this guy. The dude is backpedaling so fast that he falls to the floor. And then, literally on all fours, he crawls out our back door and runs away.
Then he goes to his car and calls the cops on us. The cops arrive and listen to his "story". But, believe me, the cops knew the Bay Street house very well. They were there for "noise complaints" on a regular basis.
So, the cops undoubtedly thought: If THIS GUY isn't welcome with THOSE GUYS, then there must be something wrong with THIS GUY!
So, they look around and... What's this? Cocaine in your car? Handcuffs on and a little trip downtown for "THIS GUY".
Ha!-Ha! You did NOT(!) mess with "The League". :o)
5) That's probably spot-on.
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
Al Bondigas here. Those were some great times. We were lucky to be in Southern California back then, as it was truly paradise. Every time I go back there to visit, after a couple days I just want to get the hell out. It's sad that the people who were born there, or moved there after about 1989-1992 will never get to experience it the way we did. Yesterday I was at the gym and broke down and played 'The wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle on spotify. I almost didn't play it, as I hate that P.O.S. Springsteen so much, but went ahead anyway. Man, it reminded me so much of the Bay Street days and gave me a real thrill. Great blog bit bro!!!
ReplyDeleteNAPPY ~
DeleteI think the jig was up on the "Southern California" Paradise by no later than 1990.
The only B.S. albums I still own are the first two - 'GREETINGS...' and '...THE E STREET SHUFFLE'. And I made sure to buy them both "used" so B.S. wouldn't make a penny on the sale.
Back in "The Bay Street Daze" I thought 'Born To Run' was IT! But now I think those first two were really his best, especially '...THE E STREET SHUFFLE'. Except for the song "Wild Billy's Circus Story", wherein I think Brucie's gay pride may have been peeking out.
With that first one, 'GREETINGS...', he was obviously doing his best Bob Dylan, but it had some great tunes and lyrics, too.
Ever since he cancelled that concert in Greensboro, I've been calling him "Bruce Springsprung".
Thanks, man, glad you dug the trip down Amnesia Lane. There will be more 'League' stories coming to this blog soon.
~ D-FensDogG
Empty beer bottles in the shower? Now that's my idea of a good time. Even if it involves Colorado Kool-Aid.
ReplyDeleteI was definitely born too late. I would have wanted to be a part of the soul Crusaders as well. I really could have put my abnormally high tolerance to alcohol to good use.
And while I knew a lot about the group coming into this, I had no idea the name came from Bruce Springsteen. I know how much you don't care for him now (I join you in that). Funny when an artist sours over the years. They can't all stay consistently good (and crazy) after all these beers like St. Paul...
~6B
6-B ~
DeleteYeah, I knew you'd like that "empty beer bottles in the shower" bit. It was true, too. And it didn't end at "The Pigwalk", I assure you. It was also "a family tradition" at the Bay Street house.
You would have been a nice addition (but it would have made the Cadillacs more crowded), and we sure would have put your alcohol tolerance to the test.
Ha!... We very rarely had "official parties" at Bay Street. People would just show up and it was like a continuous non-party party. And after a typical weekend, when we'd dump the empty bottles into the alley dumpster, the sound of crashing glass was truly deafening! Ha! Earplugs would have been useful, because it really did hurt my ears!
It was an insane time, and I have SO MANY stories from then to keep me company in my old age.
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
Strange, but I don't remember ever hearing either of the songs by Petty or Springsteen, but they're good ones. Other than the song "Born to Run" I never started listening to Springsteen until about 1984.
ReplyDeletePetty I started listening to in 1980 when the woman who would later become my second wife said she felt like the Petty song "Refugee" when we started running around together. Then I started buying Petty albums so it's likely that I heard the song to which you link, but I just don't remember it. But then again I don't remember a lot of things.
My friends nor I never took many pictures back in our days of craziness. I wish we had, but taking pictures could get expensive back then and few of us had cameras. I guess a couple of old friends do have some photos. I should probably try and get copies of some of those. Oh well, at least I've got my memories--what few I have while I have them.
Your good old days were far different than mine other than the drinking part.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
Interesting, LEE, because I was giving up on Springsprung at the same time you were getting into him (1984).
DeleteHard for me to wrap my mind around the idea that you may not have heard Petty's 'A WOMAN IN LOVE (IT'S NOT ME)' before. That's my favorite T.P. song off my favorite T.P. album.
It was actually working it's way up the charts in 1981 at the same time his duet with Stevie Nicks, 'STOP DRAGGIN' MY HEART AROUND', was doing the same.
In the documentary 'Runnin' Down A Dream', Petty said that the radio stations stopped playing 'Woman In Love' in favor of 'Stop Draggin'...'. He said that there was no way they were going to let him have two Top Ten or Top Twenty hits simultaneously, so they pulled the plug on 'Woman In Love'. What a drag! I think it's the better song.
If we hadn't consumed so much booze, I might be able to remember more of those Bay Street details. But then again, without the booze, maybe they wouldn't have been worth remembering. ...Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
~ D-FensDogG
Quite an interesting background story. Looks like you had such fun and memories formed during that time. So why do you despise Springsteen now if you used to love his music so much?
ReplyDeleteThanks, JEFFY! Yeah, it was a blast being young, irresponsible, and with the right group of guys.
DeleteHmmm... Well, just remember that YOU AXED me 'bout it...
I believe Bruce's mental spring broke, so now I'm calling him SPRINGSPRUNG.
First, I did lose interest in his music irrespective of his political views. I think he began musically selling out in 1984. But you'd need to know a lot about him PRIOR to that in order to see the ways in which he was changing.
As for him personally, I think I said it best (or at least succinctly and well enough) in a comment I recently left on an Internet article. It had to do with Bruce cancelling a concert in Greensboro, North Carolina, in protest of their state law prohibiting "transgendered" people from using the opposite restroom.
Here's what I wrote:
Seriously though, this is the same guy who played benefit concerts for Barack Obama's presidential campaign and recorded a Pete Seeger tribute album - Seeger, who was a card-carrying communist.
Now, here's Bruce Springsprung endorsing something meant to overthrow the social order of things, something intended to undermine traditional social conditions. Gee, why does that ring a bell? There's something awfully familiar about this, almost as if I read about it somewhere once upon a time ago... Hmmm...
EUREKA! I have found it:
Karl Marx's Manifesto says, "Communists everywhere SUPPORT EVERY REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT AGAINST THE EXISTING SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORDER OF THINGS.
Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible OVERTHROW OF ALL EXISTING SOCIAL CONDITIONS."
Does anyone see a pattern emerging?
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
This post brings back two of my memories.
ReplyDeleteA house we had, only for one summer, at the Jersey shore, that had a similar sounding alcohol turnover problem.
But what really came to mind were the memories of the times I, too, waited in line for Springsteen tickets (three days for the Darkness tour).
A couch in line? GENIUS!
LC
LC ~
DeleteHokey-Smoke! THREE DAYS in line for Springsteen tickets?!
If we had waited for 3 days in the same manner we waited for that one day and night, we'd have all needed liver transplants by the time we had our tickets in hand.
It was a fun, loud night though. Honestly, I think The League partying all night in line for tickets was actually more fun than the concert was.
I remember that after we scored the tickets, we just left the couch there on the sidewalk. It was there for almost a week before someone finally removed it. Ha!
~ D-FensDogG
I think my experience was the same-the ticket line is far more memorable than the concert.
DeleteI may have never survived living in southern California-you guys sound like you lived our Jersey shore summers all year round.
My liver got a bit of a break from Labor Day through Memorial Day.
Yeah, it was ALL PARTY ALL THE TIME during the Bay Street era. The liver just had to learn to keep up and quit bitchin' 'bout it!
DeleteOn those rare occasions when I felt maybe the liver was overtaxed, I'd switch to an all-beer diet and leave off the 80-proof hooch for a few days.
~ D-FensDogG
We may have been into Springsteen at the same time but he is one act I've never gotten to see live. Shocker, since I was willing to go to his home.
ReplyDeleteI've camped out for tickets before and now that I look back at it, I realize I may not have chosen wisely...Tears for Fears...George Michael...Miami Sound Machine...Fine Young Cannibals...Rod Stewart...Paul McCartney (three times!)...David Bowie...INXS...I could go on and on...
You look like a "Born to Run" kinda guy in your pictures but if you drink like you say, your liver is not celebrating with you, ha ha.
A gang to hang with is one of the sweetest pleasures in the whole world.
DOC CHERDO ~
DeleteAs much as I dislike Springsprung today, I'll not deny that the guy put on one heckuva show. I think I saw him live 3 times. Great Rock concert!
I haven't seen ANY of those bands you mentioned, but then I wasn't a fan of any of them... except McCartney, once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away.
I think that Springsprung show was the only time I ever had to spend an entire night in line for tickets. But I did see A LOT of concerts back in my yout.
Hmmm... Bob Seger, Blue Oyster Cult (2 or 3 times), Thin Lizzy (3 times), The Cars, UFO, The Police, The Babys, Styx, Journey (3 times, and ALWAYS there to see the "other" band), and so on and so forth. But Waylon Jennings (4 times) was my favorite.
I'm sorry to report that indeed I DID (past tense) drink the way I say I did. And now I have a broken heart and a bad liver... which hates my guts.
~ D-FensDogG
Hello, ~D-FensDogG!
ReplyDeleteGood times with incredible memories are hard to let go - I tasted a few myself. Ironically, I enjoyed painting to Tom Patty's "A woman in Love," though I wasn't a fan off his music. I'm talking painting walls not canvas.
I've lost interest in Springsteen too. Why do musicians and other celebs pull the 'socio-politico' garbage rap? Makes me ill. However, anything from his "Born to Run" album got my attention, and plenty of it. I once lived on the top (7th) floor of an old building in 'downtown' Charlotte - my neighbors must have hated me. In my Bruce heyday, he and I cranked it up all the time. I don't remember why, but I had this attitude of, "I want to be free, feel free, live free"... and this music moved me. Clarence on the Sax only added to the excitement.
Don't laugh (okay, go ahead), but I drove a Super running car at that time. It was older than dirt, rustier than hell, But a great big engine... 454 Rochestter Quadrajet. Hummed all the way down the road. One morning I had to run off drunk who'd climbed in the backseat and slept there all night. After that I realized I needed to lock it up, no matter how old and beat up it looked. Especially since the long backseat was so comfortable. I'm only glad I noticed the drunk before I left the parking lot for work. Ha!
Nice Soundtrack!
DIXIE POLKA ~
DeleteInteresting comment but... I was the drunk you ran off! Couldn't you have let me sleep another couple hours? I never got those extra two hours of sleep back and it ruined my life!
Yeah, we too used to crank "The Boss" UP TO ELEVEN. But now I think of "The Boss" as "The Ass". Back then he seemed like a normal city guy we could relate to. Now, he seems like a typical Limousine Liberal Snowflake.
I love them big, old jalopies. No matter how jacked up they get, they always retain some of that Old School style.
The funny thing about Cranium's '59 Caddy (largest tail fins ever put on a mass-produced automobile) was that it had NO REVERSE. Every time it was necessary to go backwards for some reason, we all had to stumble out and PUSH. Ha! Such fun memories.
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
Whoa!
Delete>>..." I never got those extra two hours of sleep back and it ruined my life!"
Oh great! And I suppose that Bob Dylan tape I found later, was yours?? I shoulda known. I'm so sorry, (smile).
>>..."NO REVERSE..."
>>..."NO REVERSE..."
Hahaha. My old Grand Prix had the same problem, but there was no one to help push. It allowed me to be quite creative, finding parking spaces I could get out of... that went on for about a year, until I sold it to some kid down the street. It didn't bother him - in fact he was looking forward to the challenge - as long as he had 'wheels', who cared?!!
Oh to be sixteen, again. NO Wait.... never mind... I'd take forty right
now!!!
Hmmm, those DP days!
Yeah, that Dylan album was mine, and I never could afford to replace it.
DeleteIf I could go back to any age, I think maybe... 23.
It was the LEAGUE OF SOUL CRUSADERS era, I had plenty of money, no health issues, was young and energetic, and could drink all night long and laugh off hangovers with a 3-beer buzz.
It never got no better'n that.
~ D-FensDogG
You guys were a holy (un-holy) terror.
ReplyDeleteI'd have loved to have know you then. I think I'd not quite have fit in with you all. In a bunch of ways, yes. In the drinking... no. Maybe if Marty fit in, I might have. Who knows?
As we've discussed before, I was also a big big Springsteen fan back then. I discovered him with the B.T.R. album and then bought the earlier ones. He started losing me with the Born in the U.S.A. album. I went to four of his concerts in the old days, including the same one you guys were at in L.A.; I went to two out of the four days of shows in a row that he put on then.
I always have said that his concerts were the best I've seen. They lasted FOREVER! Hours and hours of pure energy!
I'm with you lockstep on him. Now he is a nincompoop!
Tom Petty? Perhaps the ONLY artist that you and I really have in common as big fans. Love all his stuff and always have. I have never managed to see him in concert, though. I tried once but I'd have had to mortgage the house to buy the tickets, so I skipped it.
Mailed your video this morning!
You guys were a holy (un-holy) terror.
ReplyDeleteI'd have loved to have known you then. But I think I'd not quite have fit in with you all. In a bunch of ways, yes. In the drinking... no. Maybe if Marty fit in, I might have. Who knows?
As we've discussed before, I was also a big big Springsteen fan back then. I discovered him with the B.T.R. album and then bought the earlier ones. He started losing me with the Born in the U.S.A. album. I went to four of his concerts in the old days, including the same one you guys were at in L.A.; in fact, I went to two out of the four shows in a row that he put on that time. I always have said that his concerts were the best I've seen. They lasted FOREVER! Hours and hours of pure energy!
But now: I'm with you lockstep on him. Now he is a nincompoop!
Tom Petty? Perhaps the ONLY artist that you and I really have in common as big fans. Love all his stuff and always have. I have never managed to see him in concert, though. I tried once, but I'd have had to mortgage the house to buy the tickets, so I skipped it.
Mailed your video this morning!
SBB-6 ~
DeleteTruthfully, Marty never really did fit in comfortably, but he was a good friend and as welcome as anyone. So, it would have been the same wid ya.
Marty rarely drank anything but OJ and bottled water, but the few times he imbibed, he got tipsy quick. (There's one story about him and a shot of whiskey that's kind of funny. Maybe another time...)
Yep, 'BORN IN THE USA' is the point where I also let "the boss" go his own way and I declined to follow.
I've never seen Petty in concert either, but have seen live footage. His early shows, in the '70s, look like they would have been fun to attend.
I forget the year now - maybe 1979 - Petty played a New Year's Eve concert at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Wish I'd gone to that one. I don't think I knew about it until too late.
Looking forward to the movie. According to that photo compilation page you sent me to, it seems there's toplessness. Good. I've forgotten what a woman's bare chest looks like. But I remember being fond(le) of 'em. Ha!
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
Just wanted to echo both of your sentiments on Springsteen-while I do not dislike him as much as you both, or Al Bondigas (I think Nappy may be out to punch him out!)-Springsteen used to be special, both on vinyl and live, but by the mid-80's he just became part of the machine.
DeleteLarry
LC ~
DeleteYeah, totally. He became a very typical Politically Correct Limousine Liberal. But, truth of the matter is... he ALWAYS WAS that. We just didn't realize it.
And that's what happens to a person who never has a "REAL" job. You can fake the "Common Man" persona only just so long. Eventually, the REAL Common Men will realize that you're a faker.
How'd you like Bruce SPRINGBROKE cancelling that concert in North Carolina because of the "Bathroom Law" (simply declaring that people with penises had to use the "Men's Room" and people with vaginas had to use the "Women's Room")?
HONESTLY... I think there's a very gay man inside of Springbroke that's been trying to "come out" for a long, long time. ("The Big Man" was nuttin' more than "Moosechelle" to Brucie's Barack.) ..."Not that there's anything wrong with that".
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
I am behind in my commenting because of the A to Z but I had a blast reading this and I a,ceramic I would have been one of the brave chicks that would have hung out on that ratty couch. I have loving memories of my lost years as I call them. Many of those years are sort of blurry since I was viewing life through the bottom of my screwdriver glass. It's also nice that you are still in contact with your buddies from that time. I have kept my friends and even though I don't imbibe at all like I used to we still have those fun memories. One day I might even talk about the time I almost started a riot...don't remember this much but glad I almost did that.
ReplyDeleteBIRGIT ~
DeleteWe'd take all the brave chicks we could find. So you'd have been most welcome! Ha!-Ha!
I don't think "The League" ever started a riot. We kinda WERE a riot. I don't believe there was much in-between when it came to "The League" - you either hated us or loved us and wanted to party with us. (We had total strangers wanting to party with us, because you could take one look and see who, in the bar, was having THE MOST FUN. ...And outside the bar, too.)
Yeah, you'd have been welcome. If a person could drink and had a great sense of humor, they were welcome. Humor was key. And you'd have protly fallen in love with Torch. Most girls did. He could have given away 70% of his personality and STILL dominated any scenario.
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
Yes.. A group of us went to Octoberfest in Kitchener and we were waiting in line, already on the way to happy land, when we heard that the event oversold the tickets by 100%! I thought that was rude since the organizers made money on people who couldn't even get in so I started talking and soon others agreed and we were all pissed, I was ready to walk in and demand to speak to the main person but my friends got me out of there....probably a good thing:) knowing me, I probably would not have gone for Torch because he was too much for the girls. I would have been the one where I watched over the other girls...or not but usually I was not asked out or anything....even in my drunken stupors, I was careful but I still had a great time.
DeleteWell, according to what you wrote here, you were ENTIRELY RIGHT.
DeleteAnd knowing "The League Of Soul Crusaders" the way I do, I can tell you without hesitation that we simply would have sneaked into the event. And... oh, believe me... regardless of the amount of security and fencing they may have had... WE WOULD have gotten in! In fact, the MORE security and fencing they had would have simply enhanced our determination TO get in.
The more the authorities said "NO!", the more The League Of Soul Crusaders said... "WE DO WHAT WE WANT!!!"
As for Torch, well, he didn't go out of his way to pick up girls; they just kind of gravitated to him. So, I'm STILL guessing that you would have also gravitated to him.
Torch was NOT a "pick-up artist". He was just an Alpha male amongst Alpha males, and thus he didn't need to "TRY" to get girls. They just came to him.
I'm sure you'd have been ensnared and never even realized it. Meanwhile, you'd have protly thought I was just a strange, dark, mysterious dude in a black leather jacket. (In actuality, as Torch once said, I was the group's "Spiritual opiate". Ha!)
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
You guys back then sound like my kind of guys! I totally would've hung out with you all.
ReplyDeleteMusic (and alcohol...and weed...and muscle cars) played such a big role back in the day. (I had a friend with an old Cadillac too! I had a '71 Monte Carlo that was the love of my life! :) )
The memories that music evokes are some of the happiest times in my life. So much fun, so much craziness. That's why I like classic rock so much: because it transports me back to those younger days and my heart gets all warm and gooey remembering the shenanigans and trouble that we got into all the time. I miss those days so much. I don't know how I drank to the degree that I did. And I was a mixer too. I mixed all kinds of alcohol and don't know how my stomach ever took it. Ah, those were the days...
I loved hearing about your Bay Street Days (Loved the pic of the stolen street sign!) and the League of Soul Crusaders. Keep sharing the fun!
Michele at Angels Bark
MICHELE ~
ReplyDeleteHa! Sounds like you were a rowdy one, too.
My taste in music changed drastically over the years, and although I lean heavily toward Jazz and Blues now, I do still have some of my old Classic Rock stuffs. (Makes me feel old calling it "Classic Rock". We remember when it was just "Rock". Now they play it in grocery stores. DOH!)
The stolen sign was a joint operation involving Nappy, Twinkie, and I, but I'm the one who wound up with it. As I type these words it's comfortably on display on the top of my refrigerator.
Yeah, we were all mixers, too. That never caused me any problems and I'm not so sure how much stock I put into that theory. I'm not convinced the bloodstream recognizes alcohol from one source to another.
The (major) exception being TEQUILA! That stuffs was bad news, whether I mixed it or drank it exclusively. Tequila and my chemistry did NOT go well together, and it's funny that I know many people who say the same thing.
Well, we lived, learned, and survived, eh?
~ D-FensDogG