THE LAST OF THE MOJITOS (Or, VIRGINIA CITY: WORST AND LAST HANGOVERS) -- Part One

.

.
[Virginia City, Nevada] was a busy city of streets and houses above ground. Under it was another busy city, down in the bowels of the earth, where a great population of men thronged in and out among an intricate maze of tunnels and drifts, flitting hither and thither under a winking sparkle of lights, and over their heads towered a vast web of interlocking timbers that held the walls of the gutted Comstock apart. These timbers were as large as a man's body, and the framework stretched upward so far that no eye could pierce to its top through the closing gloom. It was like peering up through the clean-picked ribs and bones of some colossal skeleton. [...] Taken as a whole, the underground city had some thirty miles of streets and a population of five or six thousand. 
~ Mark Twain
'Roughing It', 1872; Chapter LII
.

Virginia City Waltz by Squeek Steele

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJcdkB3SfOo

.
I know nearly every inch of Virginia City, Nevada, because it's my favorite place on the planet. Yeah, I'm lowbrow and lovin' it! 
.
The first time I was in Virginia City in this lifetime was 1972 or '73. I have gone back so many times that I couldn't even begin to calculate it. I'd probably been there at least 12 times even before I moved to Reno -- which I did primarily to be within 30 minutes of Virginia City. I own at least 17 books and 2 DVD/VHS programs about VA City!
.
My previous blog bit 'bout the place can be found HERE.
.
Virginia City Destination Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFJ7GzQHYaM

.
If that video was a bit too tame for your Wild West cowboy or cowgirl spirit, try this next one. And watch for the brief shot of the lovely Squeek Steele painting soundscapes with the piano...
.
Virginia City -- Special Events
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3TVjmYWn5Y


.
One morning in 1986, I woke up in a Reno motel room with the worst hangover of my life. Imagine the worst hangover YOU'VE ever had. Multiply it a godzillion and six times!! Now you're in the ballpark. I got as far as the Sugarloaf Mountain Motel in Virginia City. It was probably about 10:00 AM and my day was already done. I rented a room and spent the rest of that day on my back, staring at the popcorn ceiling.
.

.
However, that was before my 1994 encounter with Christ Yeshua. On September 22, 1995, I took a final sip of wine from my silver cup and not a drop of alcohol crossed my lips after that for over 6 years. 
.
I can't remember why I started drinking again. I can't even remember where I was or what I drank. I just know that I climbed down off that wagon after 6+ years. 
.
In 2017, the Hula Girls socks that FAE gave me became my official Virginia City footwear...
.

.
I made many happy trips up there this year and had a good time visiting my favorite haunts and saloons. (My truck, Chuck, was a real trooper! Never once let me down!!) 
.
On several occasions, I texted friends from up there and later wrote to them about Virginia City in Emails. Below are excerpts from some of those writings:
.
Amusing signs I've seen in VA City...

"Body Piercings By Glock"

"DOG: Depend On God"

At the Palace Saloon there's a sign that says...

"My Reality Check Bounced"

There's also a store on C Street selling T-shirts that say...

"A.T.F. : Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. 
Who's bringing the chips?"


"My Indian Name Is Runs-With-Beer"
.
Damn, man, I love this place! I'm at the Old Corner Bar again -- where  Sam Clemens became "Mark Twain" -- and the guy next to me orders a drink but tells the bartender not to make it too strong because he has to attend a wedding in an hour.
.
The Bartender: "Are you the Best Man?"
Customer: "No, I'm the minister."
.
100% true. No joke!
.

.
Now then, you remember me texting you while I was having a drink in The Old Corner Bar? I said it was the place where Samuel Clemens acquired the pen name Mark Twain. Well, I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this to you before or not, but... The Old Corner Bar is attached to Piper's Opera House. While visiting Virginia City as a tourist, writer Richard Matheson was captivated by a photograph of the 1800s actress Maude Adams hanging on a wall inside Piper's Opera House. As he stared at the photo, a story began developing in his mind. That story became a novel which became the movie SOMEWHERE IN TIME.
.
One of the regulars who live up there in VA City is this guy who plays an old miner character. He has a donkey and for $1.00 you can feed carrots to his donkey and get your picture taken.

He wanders around a bit on C Street, the main street in town, where all the tourists are, but I'd say he spends 80% of his time at a particular intersection.

So, anyway, the miner was standing there on his usual corner and he was talking to a couple of people. I guess they were asking about posing with him or something. And the miner had let go of the reins attached to the donkey's bridle. As he's yakking with the tourists, behind him, the donkey starts to wander off and walks right out into the middle of C Street. Thankfully it's a 20 MPH speed limit on C Street, and no one even came close to hitting the donkey.

But when the miner turned around and saw his donkey in the middle of the street and crossing over toward the other side, he got mad. He runs out there, snatches the reins and starts berating the donkey for being such "a stupid so-and-so", and so forth.
.
As I was walking past the miner and donkey -- maybe four or five minutes after the donkey had wandered away and gotten yelled at for it -- I noticed that the miner was talking softly into the donkey's ear and apologizing for having lost his temper and yelling at him.
.
Ha!-Ha! Only in Virginia City, man! So many characters there!
.

.
This concludes Part One. Part Two can be found [link:> HERE.
.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
.

BOTB RESULTS -- 2017, NOV. 15: Or, RANDY NEWMAN VERSUS WAYLON JENNINGS

.
First things first... I sincerely thank each one of you who took the time to listen, think, and write in your vote votes on my latest installment of BATTLE OF THE BANDS (BOTB). It was a nice 20-voter turnout! And I again wish to thank Sixgun McItchyfinger whose suggestion that I return to the "Battle For Los Angeles" concept was the inspiration for this fun contest!
.
It was Randy Newman's 'I LOVE L.A.' versus Waylon Jennings' 'HOW MUCH IS IT WORTH TO LIVE IN L.A.?' The yin vs. the yang. Both songs and accompanying videos were competing against each other. Although I personally like BOTH Songs and BOTH Videos, I figured in the latter category, Randy had a huge advantage since his video was professionally produced and got heavy airplay in the years of "Music Television" (MTV). Is there anybody who hadn't seen it before? Doubtful.

One thing I find curious about Randy Newman's video for I LOVE L.A. is the fact that he included a shot of the "Jesus Saves" sign on a rooftop downtown (now long gone) but did NOT include a shot of the world famous "Hollywood" sign. I mean, the "Hollywood" sign is perhaps the third most iconic American landmark -- after the Statue Of Liberty and Mount Rushmore -- and yet Randy ignored it in favor of a Religious / Spiritual sign that only Angelenos knew existed. Interesting!
.

PHOTO BY STEPHEN T. McCARTHY

.
As funny as I think the Waylon Jennings video was (created by a Waymore fan), like so many others, I also voted for the Randy Newman video. It includes so many shots of places I knew very well, and it takes me back to a time when The Boys and I -- The League Of Soul Crusaders -- were drunk, disorderly, and laughing like it was going out of style. ("John Wayne! John Wayne!") We were the wildest things we'd ever seen.

I think that I LOVE L.A. music video might be the best one I ever saw. IMO, it is nearly perfect. Not quite perfect, but nearly so. I love the way the images flash in-sync with the beat of the song, and the way Randy Newman really IS driving on the streets he names.
.

.
Yes, that's really the Western-most point of Santa Monica Boulevard! On the horizon, behind their cool car, is the Pacific Ocean.

Off the top of my mind this morning, the only music video I can think of that I might like better'n I LOVE L.A. is John Fogerty's 'THE OLD MAN DOWN THE ROAD'.
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbSGMRZsN4Q

.
One of the images I especially like is of the happy "bum" on his knees at Venice Beach:
.

.
Some may not know this, but supposedly the Classic Rock group, THE DOORS, was conceived one day when Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek were hanging out at Venice Beach together. Jim read Ray some of his poetry and Ray said: Let's start a Rock band!
.

THE DOORS AT VENICE BEACH

.

THE DOORS STILL AT VENICE BEACH

.
And below is a shot of THE DOORS at the canals, back around the [link:> "Dogtown" era, when Venice Beach was known as "The ghetto by the sea". Or, "Where the trash meets the surf". Today, you need millions of dollars to buy a house along the Venice canals:
.

THE DOORS AT THE VENICE CANALS

.
Another image from Randy's I LOVE L.A. video that puts a smile on my face is "Randy's Donuts"...
.

.
That donut shop was (still is?) situated right at a freeway offramp where I used to exit on the way to my "Sign Designing" job in '84.

Well, not too surprisingly, Randy Newman easily won the Video Battle:

Randy Newman = 16 votes
Waylon Jennings = 4 votes
.
The Song Battle was a different story!

Although Randy Newman jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead, Waylon Jennings eventually came roaring back. Arlee Bird voted for Randy's video and Waylon's song. Sixgun McItchyfinger did the same. And so did I. Clearly, the Biblical Apocalypse begins today at Noon!!!
.
Although I enjoy the song I LOVE L.A., I think that divorced from its wonderful video with all the colorful, humorous images, it ain't all that. And this might explain why the video was an MTV staple but the song itself never even cracked the Billboard Top 100. I mean, consider these lyrics:

Look at that mountain
Look at those trees
Look at that bum over there, man, he's down on his knees
.
There's nothing special about those lyrics. Not until you add the images that accompany them in the video:

Disneyland's Matterhorn Mountain roller coaster ride
Goofy-looking, good-for-nuttin' Palm Trees
A happy bum in the sun, at the feet of a pretty girl on the beach boardwalk
.
OK, now you've got something!
.
Musically and vocally, I think Waylon's HOW MUCH IS IT WORTH TO LIVE IN L.A. is considerably superior to Newman's I LOVE L.A. You've got that electric guitar and fiddle high-energy buzzsaw sound combined with Waylon's manly baritone vocals and lyrics that can stand on their own:

People dodging bullets crawling down the Interstate
...
They keep waiting for "the Big One", one tremor at a time
There ain't nobody living there...
...It's all a state of mind
.
Waylon's words alone create the images in my mind and make me laugh.
.
The vote tally for the Song Battle wound up like this...

Randy Newman = 10 votes
Waylon Jennings = 10 votes
.
And the MAGIC 8-BALL got BOTH of its predictions wrong. All is right with the world. ...Except for that Apocalypse beginning at Noon.
.
Again, I genuinely thank you all for participating. And I hope you will return here again on December 15th for my Christmas themed Battle Of The Bands installment. Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!
.

THE  END!  THE END!!

.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
.

2017, NOV. 15: BATTLE OF THE BANDS (Or, RANDY NEWMAN VS WAYLON JENNINGS)

.
Yes, it's time once again for 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' ('BOTB').
.

.
Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!...
.
As some of you know, I was born and raised in Los Angeles. To be specific, I was born at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and raised in an area that came to be internationally known as [link> "Dogtown" (the Southern part of Santa Monica & the Northern part of Venice Beach).
.
On October 19th, I received an Email from my friend Sheboyganboy Six (also known by his Western name of Sixgun McItchyfinger). In his E, my friend wrote the following:
.
While driving I was listening to Tom Petty singing Free Fallin’.  I really like that song.  As you know, the song mentions Reseda, Ventura Boulevard, and Mulholland.  And whenever I think of L.A. in general, my mind at least touches briefly on you. Yup. You have managed to PERMANENTLY associate yourself in my mind with L.A.
.
It occurred to me that you should consider doing another L.A. themed BOTB.  Maybe throw in Petty... but no need. I liked that L.A. themed BOTB with David & David and Red Hot Chili Peppers, but there are so many songs about L.A. you could probably do a twice a month blog JUST pitching L.A. songs against each other.
.
I Googled the subject, then scanned the wiki page, and HOKEY SMOKE! There must be over 50 different songs just named “Hollywood”!
.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_about_Los_Angeles
.

EUGENE  MARTONE  VS.  JACK  BUTLER

.
The BOTB installment SBB-6 had referred to was [link> THIS ONE, my 53rd Battle on October 1, 2015. Although I would rank that as one of my Top 10 favorite Battles I've ever put together, the thought of revisiting the "Battle For Los Angeles" concept had never occurred to me until Sheboyganboy Six and his alter ego Sixgun McItchyfinger suggested it. But as I began contemplating it, I was quickly overwhelmed by the almost endless possibilities of future "Twisted BOTB" contests.
.
Thanks to Sheboyganboy Six, I've decided to make this a theme that I will periodically return to in BOTB. And due to requests I've received, I've also decided that I will return to doing two BOTB contests per month beginning on February 1st, 2018.
.

GOODNIKS  VS.  NO-GOODNIKS

.
I r-E-plied to SBB-6's E, listing a bunch of potential L.A.-themed Battles I'd thought of and asked him which of them he thought I should kick this periodic series off with. He said: 
.
"1) Do the Newman / Jennings one next.  You like it and I like it, and so will others. You get a country song in the mix again, which is good. ... That’s it. That’s my rulin’.  WAIT... wrong persona." 
.
And so here it comes, y'all.
.
NOTE: This Battle Is A "Two-Fer". Both music videos are so good that I'm asking you to cast 2 VOTES: One vote for the song you prefer, and one vote for which video you like better.
.

GODZILLA  VS.  KING  KONG

.When I learned some years ago that Randy Newman's song, I LOVE L.A., didn't even crack the Billboard Top 100, I was flabbergasted! I guess the extremely heavy rotation on MTV (back in the 1980s, when MTV played music videos) gave the impression that the song was a massive hit on AM radio.
.
Watch for the 1:50 mark when the "JESUS SAVES" sign downtown makes an appearance. It's gone but not forgotten. I don't know why, but I always loved that sign -- even many years before I became a Christian.
.

ME  @  "JESUS SAVES"  SIGN,  DOWNTOWN  L.A.

.
Then right after that, there's a shot of the Burrito King on Sunset Blvd, which Warren Zevon highly recommended [link> HERE. And at the 3:10 mark, there's a quick shot of the Tom's #5 Chili Burgers joint sign on Pico Blvd, a block from the beach. If those chili-spattered walls could talk!! It, too, is gone now. But the Soul Crusaders and I went there often, never before the bars closed and always in an 80-proof "Liquidated" condition. We had fun, fun, fun 'til the bartenders took our money away!
.
I LOVE L.A. -- Randy Newman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcADqxnQA_4

.

RIDDLER  VS.  BATMAN

.
It's no big secret that Waylon Jennings is my all-time favorite Country music artist. I saw him perform live 4 times at 3 different venues. And of the many concerts I've attended in my life, I still consider that first Waylon Jennings show I saw to be my favorite.
.
The second Waylon concert I attended was in late 1988 or early '89, shortly after the release of his 'Full Circle' album which included the song HOW MUCH IS IT WORTH TO LIVE IN L.A.? (The song went to #38 on the Billboard Country music chart.) Waylon was performing in a small club in Los Angeles, and I wondered beforehand if he'd have the guts to play that song there. But, Waylon being Waylon, of course he played it... and I applauded!
.
HOW MUCH IS IT WORTH TO LIVE IN L.A.? -- Waylon Jennings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Iu7jeZXRlg

.
Question: Will Randy Newman win the "Song" Battle?
Magic 8-Ball sez:  "My Reply Is No"
.
Question: Will Waylon Jennings win the "Video" Battle?
Magic 8-Ball sez:  "It Is Decidedly So"
.
Alright now, “you know the gig”... I welcome you (whether I know "you" or not) to vote for your favorite of these songs in the comment section below. And feel free to tell us WHY you chose one song over the other. 

After voting here, I suggest -- actually I insist -- you pop over to the blogs of the other 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' participants to see which songs they have chosen and vote there also. Vice your voice... Vote your vice...

Voice Your Vote...

@ ‘TOSSING IT OUT’ by clicking HERE.
@ 'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CURIOUS AS A CATHY' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING' by clicking HERE
@ 'JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE' by clicking HERE.
@ 'ANGELS BARK' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE' by clicking HERE.
@ 'RIGHTING & EDITING' by clicking HERE.
@ 'YOUR DAILY DOSE' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE DOGLADY'S DEN' by clicking HERE.

As I've done in the past, I will continue to return to my 'BOTB' blog bits on the 21st of each month to post my own votes and announce the winners in the comment sections.
.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
.