. STMcC’s Vote On '2020, February 1st: Battle Of The Bands' (BOTB) - Or, Van Morrison Versus Thin Lizzy - And The Final Tally: .
Today, in 2020, the Bay Street sign stolen borrowed in 1981 or '82 is proudly displayed in the window of my Willoughberry house in Northern Nevada.
. First of all, my sincere thanks to all y'all who took the time to participate in my latest Battle Of The Bands contest! I appreciate each and every one of YOU. . The Battle took place HERE, and it consisted of some old LeagueOfSoulCrusadersSaint Patrick's Nightdrinking stories followed by the songs 'Wild Night' by Van Morrison and 'The Boys Are Back In Town' by Thin Lizzy. .
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. While I did suspect that Thin Lizzy would win, I certainly did NOT anticipate them winning by the blowout margin that they did. For a brief period in 1977-'78, Thin Lizzy was my very favorite band. However, my taste in music having changed so drastically over the years, today I don't care for much of Thin Lizzy's songs. The title track from their 'Bad Reputation' album, and a couple other songs from that same collection is about all the Thin Lizzy that I can still listen to with pleasure. Yip! I don't even care much for their big hit 'The Boys Are Back In Town' anymore. . So, my BOTBbote (vote) was easily cast for Van's 'WildNight', which I still enjoy hearing. But my two cents going to Van didn't do much to help his Irish arse: . Van Morrison = 5 votes . Thin Lizzy = 12 votes . It wasn't much of a "Battle", but it WAS a nice turnout. So, thanks again, Peoples! . Phunny thing... As I was seeking out the YouTube videos I needed in order to present this installment of BOTB, apparently Google made the 'Thin Lizzy / Van Morrison'"Irish" connection that I was working on and presented me with the following as a video recommendation in the right-hand sidebar. So, I took the bait and clicked. Here ya go, for anyone who might be interested: . A DIVINE APPOINTMENT WITH AN IRISH ATHEIST - Ray Comfort https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96bW5KIdcQs
. I hope you will all return again on April 1st for my special 'April Fool's Day' edition of Battle Of The Bands (suggested by my friend Doc Cherdo). . ~ Stephen T. McCarthy DogGtor of Alcohology & King of Inebriation Nation .
. BATTLEOFTHEBANDS (BOTB) . In celebration of the upcoming Saint Paddy's Day, DOC CHERDO @ Cherdo On The Flipside - my sister in an alternative universe, and my sister in Christ - are teaming up in this round of BOTB to present stories from our wild (alcohol-enhanced) youts, and featuring Irish musical artists. . But first, here's the birthday card my BOTB co-founder, FarAwayEyes, sent to me last year. Truer words were never spoken: .
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. Chances are, you remember me mentioning 'The League Of Soul Crusaders'. This was basically a (primarily 6-man) drinking & partying gang in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area in the early through mid-1980s. . As I recently Emailed to my good pal Sheboyganboy Six: . "The true essence of The League (and it is NO exaggeration at all to say this) is that we never once left a party. The "party" always left when WE left. Because we WERE the "party"! . Hanging out with us was like being with Monty Python, Laurel & Hardy, W.C. Fields, Benny Hill, The Three Stooges, and R.P. McMurphy all at once! The League wasn't the "gang" that other guys wanted to fight with; The League was the "gang" that other guys wanted to "PARTY!" with!! We were almost always "cranked up to eleven". . I met Torch (the unofficial leader of The League Of Soul Crusaders) one day in 1979 when we both happened to be working on the set of the Gene Wilder & Harrison Ford movie 'The Frisco Kid'. We got to yakking and discovered that we both lived near each other in "Dogtown" (also known as Santa Monica, California). . He invited me to join him later that night at his friend Pooh's place, who also lived near us both in Dogtown. So, we all got together to drink a few beers and yak. Pooh (who was actually conceived in Ireland) and I hit it off pretty quickly, largely due to our mutual love of the Irish Rock band THIN LIZZY. . I've always considered that night in 1979, when Torch, Pooh and I got together at "The House At Pooh Corner", to be the genesis of what eventually became The League Of Soul Crusaders. Fate (or God) brought Torch, Pooh, Cranium, Napoleon, Twinkie and I all together to form 'The League': .
L to R: Stephen T. McCarthy, Twinkie, Wally, Torch [driving], Napoleon, Pooh. (Only Cranium missed this "happy occasion".)
. In that photo above, note that Twinkie, Wally, Nappy, and Pooh are all giving the photographer The League's famous "Beee" sign: .
Nowadays, I sometimes text it to friends like this: .
Saint Paddy's Night, 1983, @ 824 Bay Street. L to R: Felly Zenker (my sister Bonehead's friend); Cranium; my sister, Bonehead; Twinkie; Pooh; and Bill "coping a feel" of a stunned STMcC's right breast (#MeToo!)
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Felly Zenker; Pooh; my sister, Bonehead; Twinkie; and Cranium in foreground. Poster of James Dean from the movie 'Giant' in the background.
. If you're a big fan of the movie 'FerrisBueller'sDayOff', you may recognize this "Stink-Eye" image of my sister, Bonehead, which filled the screen in a massive "bonehead" close-up at one point in that famous movie: .
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Pooh on his way toward a state of "lamination".
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Napoleon (aka Nappy, aka "Judge Al Bondigas"). What an expression!! If 'The League Of Soul Crusaders' could be summed up in a single word, that word would be "ATTITUDE!" And "Attitude" is written all over my brother's face in this photograph!
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Nappy & Twinkie standing in front of the statue & photograph shrine to W.C. Fields at 824 Bay Street.
. There are MANY songs that immediately make me think of The League. #1 on that list would be the entirety of Side 2 of The Beatles' "White Album" (aka "The Hangover Waltz"). Also high on the list would be 'Hellzapoppin'' by Louis Armstrong; 'Wang Dang Doodle' by Howlin' Wolf; 'Come On, Eileen' by Dexys Midnight Runners; several early songs by Bruce "Commie" Springsteen; and naturally the song [link> 'THE LEAGUE OF SOUL CRUSADERS' written and sung by League member Twinkie. . But for this BOTB installment, the artists needed to be Irish. THIN LIZZY's 'The Boys Are Back In Town' was an obvious choice, since that band played a real part in cementing my friendship with Pooh, which got the ball rolling on the formation of 'The League'. . IrishmanVan Morrison's song 'WILD NIGHT' was another good choice since that song was included on the soundtrack I created for The League's final party which occurred in 1988, just before our hangout (the house at 824 Bay Street in Santa Monica) was demolished to make room for condominiums. . But, first, before the songs Battle it out, here are a couple of true Saint Paddy's Day / Night 'League' stories to entertain ya: . . "It was a rendezvous at the Pigwalk that got Saint Patrick's Night 1981 underway. Due to the fact that we considered ourselves Irish-Americans, Saint Patrick's Day was a momentous occasion. We started the evening with a few imported Irish beers. Then, when we felt the time was right, we piled into the red Cadillac and headed down Lincoln Boulevard for Brennan's Pub in Marina Del Rey." [...] Later on, "we were heading North on Lincoln Boulevard, intending to hit another Irish pub up on Wilshire Boulevard, and we were just slightly South of the 'Fox Venice Theatre'(where Yours Truly saw James Dean on the silver screen for the very first time), when Torch invented the "Space-Walk". . "Torch, our driver, told Napoleon, who was sitting "shotgun" next to him in the Cadillac, to put his foot on the accelerator and keep the speed up and take hold of the steering wheel. Napoleon did this, while Torch lifted himself up and out from behind the steering wheel. And while we were moving along at a steady forty miles an hour, Torch reached out, grabbed the side of the car and then with a quick leap, flung his body out of the car and stretched himself across the hood. He then began to slowly inch his way across the hood, toward the other side of the automobile. In about a minute, he had reached the opposite side of the vehicle. Meanwhile, Napoleon had slid over into the driver's seat. . "Reaching inside the Cadillac, Torch grabbed the back of the front seat and hoisted himself through the window area and into the passenger's seat. Napoleon was now driving and Torch was kicking back "shotgun", just enjoying the ride. We had changed drivers on busy Lincoln Boulevard in Venice without even slowing down." . We began calling that dangerous maneuever "The Space-Walk", and it was something we duplicated a few times on various L.A. streets over the next few years. ~ 'The League Of Soul Crusaders' Chapter 3, 'The Space-Walk And Other Joyous Occasions' . . As far as I can remember, I got 86'd from a bar only once, and that was the infamous Saint Patrick's Night of 1983 (Chapter 22, 'When Irish Eyes Are Bloodshot', in "The Book", aka 'The League Of Soul Crusaders'). . That was the night my brother, Nappy, and I both got 86'd from 'O'Mahoney's', and we never even knew the reason why. The Soul Crusaders were so laminated that night, that the next morning... . "There were two questions which remained unanswered: First, did we pay any sort of cover charge to get into O'Mahoney's the night before? And secondly, was there a live band playing? . "Everybody had a different opinion. . "Pooh said that we paid to get in and that there was a band. Twinkie said that we paid to get in but there was no band. Napoleon and I believed that we did not pay and that there was a band. Cranium wasn't sure about anything. We considered calling O'Mahoney's and asking for answers but finally figured it would be more fun to just leave it a mystery forever." ~ 'The League Of Soul Crusaders' Chapter 23, 'Dear God, Please Don't Let Gus Come Here Today' . . Alright, let's get on it. Let's getONthis thing!... . Both of the Battlin' songs below make me think of 'The League Of Soul Crusaders' for obvious reasons. . 'Wild Night' was a Billboard #28 hit for Van Morrison in 1971: . WILD NIGHT - Van Morrison https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IJsrWW2oWU
. 'The Boys Are Back In Town' was a Billboard #12 hit for Thin Lizzy in 1976: . THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN - Thin Lizzy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuR0DqbQGN8
. 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. Vote your vice... Vice your voice... . Voice Your Vote... @ TOSSINGITOUT by clicking HERE @ MIKE'SRAMBLINGS by clicking HERE @ THESOUNDOFONEHANDTYPING by clicking HERE @ JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE by clickingHERE @ THE DOGLADY'S DEN by clickingHERE @ CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE by clickingHERE @ CURIOUS AS A CATHY by clicking HERE @ AI LOVE MUSIC by clicking HERE
@ STORMS & STARDUST by clicking HERE . As I've done in the past, I will continue to return to my 'BOTB' blog bits on the 7th of each month to post my own votes and announce the winner. . ~ Stephen T. McCarthy .
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