BOTB RESULTS: 2024, JULY 15 (Or, PINA COLADA Versus MARGARITA)

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My sincerely sincere gratitude to everyone who took the time to visit & vote on my July 15th BOTB's Battle Of The Booze installment which happened HERE.
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Warren Zevon's zong 'Werewolves Of London' (pina colada) went up against the other Warren Zevon's 'Desperados Under The Eaves' (margarita) and it was a very good Battle (meaning "a very close Battle").
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I really like a lot of Warren Zevon's zongs, and still own four of his albums on compact discs. My music collection wouldn't be complete without songs like 'Poor, Poor Pitiful Me'; 'I'll Sleep When I'm Dead'; 'Carmelita'; 'Bad Karma'; 'Even A Dog Can Shake Hands'; 'The Heartache'; 'Ain't That Pretty At All'; 'Looking For The Next Best Thing'.
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And although 'Werewolves Of London' is essentially just a novelty song, I happen to love novelty songs. (Anything that can put a smile on my face in this pathetically sad world is A-OK by me!)
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However, 'Desperados Under The Eaves' has always been my very favorite Zevon zong. I won't drone on and on and on and on and on and on and bore you with all of the details that make 'Desperados...' my favorite of Warren's recordings. But I do want to say that I find the song very anthemic, in the way that it builds up, through the down-'n'-out paranoia of the beginning, to that very hopeful chorus and orchestra at the end.
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"LOOK AWAY DOWN GOWER AVENUE!"
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I've also always been intrigued by the mystery of this song. "Gower Avenue" is really a "Street", but I suppose Zevon called it an avenue for the additional syllables in the lyrics' meter. I don't know what Gower looks like today, but when I lived in helL.A., Gower was a very dirty, grungy, impoverished looking street that ran through the center of disappointing Hollywood. The only notable thing about Gower that I'm aware of is that it runs right alongside the western edge of Paramount Studios and the Hollywood Cemetery, which abuts Paramount to the north.
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I've always wondered what Zevon found hopeful (and maybe even salvational?) about Gower Street. Was it the fact that a historical dream-making facility like Paramount was located there, right in the middle of slumsville? Perhaps Warren found it funny that there in Hollywood, smack-dab against a major movie studio was a cemetery (the final resting place for Rudolph Valentino, Judy Garland, Cecil B. DeMille, Mickey Rooney, Tyrone Power, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mel Blanc). 
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At any rate, I've always loved the lyrics, the melody, and the strange, positive ending of 'Desperados Under The Eaves', so naturally that is where my vote landed, giving us this...
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FINAL TALLY:
Zevon's 'Werewolf' = 5 votes
Zevon's 'Desperados' = 6 votes
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'Desperados Under The Eaves' will advance to BOTB's Battle Of The Booze playoffs, while the 'Werewolf' drowns his sorrow in pina coladas at Traver Vic's.
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Thanks again, y'all. Please return for my next Battle on August 1st. "We are going to drink... > WINE!"
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: JULY 15, 2024 (Or ZEVON Vs. ZEVON & PINA COLADA Vs. MARGARITA)

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Welcome to my Lucky 13th installment of BOTB's Battle Of The Booze! 

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My headbone went through so many different idears for this BOTB installment that I began to feel like a horse's patootie switching jackasses in midstream! I finally rolled the dice, flipped the coin, consulted my Magic 8-Ball and then settled on this: Zevon zong versus Zevon zong!

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I've always loved me some Warren Zevon. The dude had a twisted, sardonic sense o' humor, much like mine own. Warren has to be one of the most famous One-Hit-Wonders in music history. 

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1978: Zevon's zong 'Werewolves Of London' was just starting to get some radio airplay when I walked into the Licorice Pizza store on Wilshire Blvd. in helL.A. (Any of you old-timers remember that record store chain?) 

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Zevon's album 'Excitable Boy' was on display next to a sign that said if one bought the LP and didn't like it, they could return it for a FULL REFUND! That was exceedingly unusual in '78. Since I'd heard and liked the 'Werewolves' song, I purchased the album. 

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Did I return to Licorice Pizza? Yes, I did. But NOT to return the LP I'd purchased. I returned to buy his earlier album, the self-titled 'Warren Zevon', which I liked even better than 'Excitable Boy'. 

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Fun Fact: Zevon wrote the hit song 'Werewolves Of London' while in a friend's house in Venice, Italy helL.A. According to one source, the house was actually located along one of the Venice canals, where I used to hang out playing "Huckleberry Sawyer" on borrowed rafts in the very early '80s. I'd usually bring a bottle along to keep me company. The canals looked like this then:

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Venice canal in helL.A., photo by "Huckleberry Sawyer" (STMcC), circa 1982.

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Today, the rebuilt houses along those same canals go for multiple millions of buckaroos! (Look HERE! and dream on.)

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I saw a werewolf drinkin' a Piña Colada at Trader Vic's

And his hair was perfect! 

~ 'Werewolves Of London'

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In 'Desperados Under The Eaves' (1976), Zevon zang about drinking a whole lotta Margaritas, see?... 

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I was thinking that the gypsy wasn't lyin'

All the salty Margaritas in Los Angeles

I'm gonna drink 'em up

~ 'Desperados Under The Eaves'

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Fun Fact: Zevon's favorite place for Margaritas in Los Angeles was El Coyote Mexican restaurant. And I agreed with him on that point. It was El Coyote for Maggies but it was > Antonio's for Mexican cuisine. (Enchiladas Oaxaca! Hot-Dog!! Best food whole the world.) 

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OK, you know what to do: LVV! 

(Listen, Vote & Visit... the other BOTBers.)

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Alright, let's get on it. 

Let's get ON this thing!

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WEREWOLVES OF LONDON 

by Warren Zevon 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4lOlydXPGQ

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DESPERADOS UNDER THE EAVES 

by Warren Zevon 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H207KiuYvv0

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I'll be Bach on or about July 22nd with my own vote & the final tally.

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~ Stephen T. "AAOOOOoooo" McCarthy

BOTB RESULTS: JULY 1, 2024 (Or, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Versus WAR)

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My sincere thanks to everyone who participated in my special 4th of July Battle Of The Bands contest which took place HERE. The songs were '4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)' by Bruce Springsteen & 'Whose Cadillac Is That?' by War. The music theme was related to The League Of Soul Crusaders sneaking into a big L.A. Fourth of July parade in 1983. 

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I really enjoyed reminiscing in the blog bit & comment section. The voting, however, was as one-sided as I'd anticipated. (The fake "working man" who, according to multiple sources never had even one real job in his entire life, took a beating!)

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FINAL TALLY: 

Bruce Springsteen = 2 votes  

War = 11 votes (including my own) 

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Miller & Mickie Darlin' - The League's "official" dog, who was even crazier than The League members were!

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"Filly-Waggit" ready for installation.

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Cranium, Napoleon & Torch on the roof of the Bay Street house. ("Filly-Waggit" is in the chimney.)

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STMcC (73.6% hungover) in line for Springsteen concert tickets, 1984.

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Torch & Lynthy-Pooh - June, 2024

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THE LEAGUE OF SOUL CRUSADERS 

Chapter 18: Eye Of The Storm 

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It is my wish to take this opportunity to shed a new light on the individuals who comprised what had become known as The League. I want to reveal a new dimension that will add more insight into our personalities and counterbalance our wild, barbaric exploits with something of a more civilized nature. And therefore, I go on record as stating that in all honesty there were indeed hours, even days, when not one vulgar word or noise (of mentionable volume) was emitted from the house on Bay Street. There were days when not so much as a sip of alcohol passed the lips of a single League member. There existed times when a great amount of intelligence was displayed, a concern for fellow human beings and, yes, even an astonishing sense of maturity. It is equally true, however, that these times were fairly rare.... which accounts for the brevity of this chapter. 

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Thanks again to everyone who "boted" in this Battle! I intend to return with a new Battle Of The Booze installment on July 15th, so y'all come back now, y'hear? 

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~ Stephen T. McCarthy

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: JULY 1, 2024 (Or, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Versus WAR)

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"The great ones have always broken the rules." 

~ Martin Crane (episode: 'Motor Skills')

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This time, we are taking a break from Battle Of The Booze in order to do a special 4th of July 'League Of Soul Crusaders' themed BOTB installment.

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As most of you already know, in the early 1980s, I was a member of a group of friends known as The League Of Soul Crusaders (TLOSC) in the Santa Monica "Dogtown" area. Sowing our youthful, wild oats, we were loud, rowdy & funny, and everyone wanted to party with us. Even people who didn't drink much wanted to party with us!

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The League was comprised of 6 primary members: Torch (the unofficial leader), Napoleon (a.k.a. Nappy), Twinkie, Lynthy-Pooh (a.k.a. General Poohregard, or Pooh for short), Cranium & myself. Each of us had a Ph.D. in Carpe Diem. There were also occasional fill-ins, or "pinch hitters" (a baseball term), such as Wally, Oscar, Dean, Kelly & Marty, et al.

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The genesis of TLOSC occurred on the day when Torch introduced himself to me on the set of the Gene Wilder movie 'The Frisco Kid'. Later, he introduced me to his buddy Lyle (Pooh) and, both of us being Thin Lizzy fans, we hit it off immediately. 

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The  League's comedic heroes were W.C. Fields, Laurel & Hardy, Monty Python, Benny Hill, The Three Stooges, Deputy Dawg & Wally George.

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We led the league in Most Amount Of Energy Expended In A Single Night, Most Number Of Jokes Told In A Night, Fastest & Funniest Ad-Libbing, Most Dangerous Stunts Involving Old Cadillacs & Other Autos, Highest Number Of Chess Pieces & Coconut Heads Knocked Down In A Night & other feats of astounding athleticism!

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The trunk of Cranium's 1959 Cadillac. RCA Victor's dog Nipper & his many 80-proof friends!

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The League Of Soul Crusaders inspired the creation of 2 poems, a 196-page single-spaced book manuscript, and a great Rock song (HERE).

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L-R: Twinkie, Nappy, Wally, Torch, Stephen (me) & Pooh, sitting on the roof of a bank, July 4, 1983.

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Two Things You Must Know For This Song Battle: 

1) At that time, all of the League members were big fans of Bruce Springsteen. One night in 1984, The League even rented a Winnebago and went to a Springsteen concert together. 

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2) We were most often seen together riding in Torch's 1964 Cadillac. Torch had taken a blowtorch to the Caddy and removed the metal roof, making it permanently topless; and he named the car "Tiburon" (Spanish for shark). We rode in Tiburon rain or shine!

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The League in Tiburon - 4th Of July Parade, 1983.

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Nappy in a Springsteen shirt & giving the "Beee!" sign.

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In Los Angeles there's a fancy-schmancy area called Brentwood, where an annual 4th of July Parade was held. In 1983 the parade included floats, marching bands, mounted cowboys, a motorcycle stunt team, mayors & various other city officials, as well as famous celebrities (Chevy Chase, Ted Knight & Dick Butkus).  The League decided that Tiburon should be in that parade so... we sneaked in.

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And that explains why this BOTB installment is between two radically different songs: Bruce Springsteen's 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) and WAR's Whose Cadillac Is That? 

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4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) 

by Bruce Springsteen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiGfB0QBTV4

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1984: Stephen T. McCarthy & Lynthy-Pooh (both tired & hungover) waiting in line for Springsteen concert tickets. The night before, we'd ordered pizzas & had them delivered to "the six guys sitting on the couch at the intersection of 4th & Colorado in Santa Monica".

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Whose Cadillac Is That? 

by WAR

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjhvAb1Y_30

 

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Please vote in the comment section for the song you prefer, and then please visit the other BOTBers and vote in their Battles.

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🐝👌 EXTRA! EXTRA! 🐝👌

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

4 or 5 weeks before Christmas in '83, I got the idea to write the full story of The League Of Soul Crusaders and present a copy of it to each of my friends as a Christmas gift. So, I disappeared from their lives during that time, and a couple of them mistakenly thought that I was snubbing them & acting stuck-up.

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Boy, were they in for a surprise when I gave each of them a copy of "the book" on Christmas Eve! 

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I had to write & type the 196-page manuscript as fast as possible. Time was of the essence, and there were occasions when I was mentally composing the chapters while simultaneously typing them! It was the roughest of rough drafts. And therefore, "the book" contained countless typographical errors, improper punctuation, and incorrect words. I had no - zero, zilch, nada - time to make corrections on the typewritten pages. It was an AS-IS project. 

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Should anyone be interested in reading the pages from 'The League Of Soul Crusaders' which addressed our sneaking into the 1983 4th Of July Parade -- to learn how it happened & how the police and parade spectators reacted to our intrusion -- you'll find links below:

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Chapter 30: 'The Crowning' - page 177

{Click on the images to enlarge them for reading}

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page 178

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page 179

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page 180

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page 181

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~ Stephen T. McCarthy