Alan Delon, of the Hector Penalosa Gang, was interviewed by the i94 Bar in Australia! He’s had quite the history in music, being in bands like Motorcycle Boy and also being in other bands with Donita Sparks from L7 and Izzy Stradlin of Guns & Roses. He spent a quite a bit of time on the Sunset Strip, so you can read all about it here.
Hard rocking in Hollywood: Alon Delon’s time on The Strip – The I-94 Bar
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Speaking of the Sunset Strip, I saw Riki Rachtman do his spoken word thing on Wed July 15 at the Holding Company in Ocean Beach. I never really watched Headbanger’s Ball that much in the early ’90s, mainly because I couldn’t afford cable. And when I did see it, I liked it, but it did seem a little contrived. This was not Riki’s fault. He had no say in what was played on Headbanger’s Ball, but he certainly did have a good rapport with the bands, many of whom were his friends. When I did become a big fan of his, it was because of his radio show on KNAC. I would listen to it on Friday (or was it Saturday?) nights while driving to Raji’s to see bands. THAT was amazing! He had full control of what was going on over the air and played a lot of deep cuts. You weren’t going to hear “I Remember You” from Skid Row. You were going to hear “Sweet Little Sister”. Plus he’d play Slayer and Exodus and a lot of stuff that got ignored by MTV. And if he or anyone had a question about Guns & Roses or something like that, he would just call up Slash and have him on the air to answer it. So there were always special guests on the air and you just never knew what was going to happen.
Anyways, Riki Rachtman’s spoken word presentation was excellent. He has a ton of stories. Everything from going to high school with Darby Crash to David Bowie being drunk at his club and Axl Rose wanting to kill Bowie. Lots of Cathouse talk. Even Bad Religion got a mention. And MTV talk, of course. He talked for over 2 1/2 hours and it was all entertaining. In between stories, he would show videos and film clips about what he was talking about. Some nice stories (and videos) of Lemmy. He even got sent some of Lemmy’s ashes in a silver bullet after he died, which he brought and showed us. I was wearing a Motorhead shirt and wanted to get a picture of us with the bullet, but he wouldn’t pull it out, as he was trying to find his crew and was in a little hurry and you certainly don’t want to lose something like that (or have it stolen). So that was understandable. He also showed some rare stuff that no one’s seen before too. Like outtakes from Alice In Chains at the Action Park in New Jersey. And a lot of pictures. I kind of wish he took some questions & answers, but it wasn’t that kind of show and who knows what stupid questions people would’ve asked. He talked about his whole life, including recently, but completely ignored his radio show at KNAC, which I guess makes sense, because only people living in Los Angeles would have known about it. I also wished he talked more about Darby Crash and the Germs, but again, how many people in that audience would even know about the Germs?
He’s really knowledgeable about music and even gave Eddie Spaghetti from the Supersuckers, who was there in attendance, a nice shout out. He was really funny, but also really honest when it came to his own shortcomings. There was a lot of self-depreciating humor. He didn’t allow video of the show, because it’s distracting to him and he doesn’t want the stories spoiled for anyone watching on the internet, and no pictures, because he wants everyone to just pay attention. He did give us a 5 second pose so we could take some photos, which was nice because otherwise, I’d have nothing to show when writing this review. He still has another month of shows to do on this tour and if he is doing this around you, I highly recommend it. I’d totally see him again, as I’m sure there’s a lot more stories that he didn’t tell. Hopefully one of the shows will be taped for a future release. And/or a book! These stories need to be preserved!
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After Riki Rachtman did his spoken word, a band called Julius Ulrich quickly set up and played. They feature a guy or two from Asphalt Ballet and played hard blues rock. They also had Joe Wood from TSOL come up and sing with them for a few songs.
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In some really messed up news, Jennifer Finch from L7 has an aggressive form of brain cancer. I don’t know why so many people are getting brain cancer these days. Though I didn’t know her, Jennifer used to show up sometimes at the Flipside bowling nights that were every Sunday in Pasadena. She’ll be sitting out their forthcoming tour and really use some help. You can donate by going here:
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Thursday night, July 16th, it was off to the Casbah for a great night of music. Saguaro, The Loons, Mohama Saz. If you’ve been following this website, you already know about all 3 bands. Saguaro started things off with their ’70’s solid rock. Grand Funk Railroad meets Lynyrd Skynyrd. The description sounds dated, but they’re certainly not. They’re just kicking ass and doing what they want.
The Loons were up next and kicked ass. They play psychedelic garage rock and just keep getting better and better. They ended the set with their version of “I’m Stranded” by the Saints.
This was my 4th time seeing Mohama Saz. They’re from Spain and play “an explosion of sounds, from psychedelia to spiritual jazz, from rock to Andalusian folklore. All this enriched with the sounds and rhythms of Eastern Europe”. It sounds weird, and I guess it is, but they got such a hypnotic groove that just sucks you in. When I got to the Casbah, they were already at the bar, drinking and watching the pictures (some of them mine!) on the bar screen, and then breaking out into song just having a great time. No band these days is really making money. They’re playing because they love it and they want to and these guys are living it up. Onstage, they are serious, intense, but having fun. Lots of in jokes between the band members and then again in between them and their manager. Cues, missed queues, winks here and there. Just a great time. And some music that was so powerful, it just leaves you stunned. They are an experience, not a “show”.
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On the way home from the Casbah, the new Stepmother album came on in the car, so we just left it on. This album needs more attention. It’s called Absurdus Manifestus and Stepmother is Australian band (holy shit, the scene in that country is red hot) who played hard driving rock music with a punk edge. Think Blue Cheer playing early Black Flag. Here’s some clips for you to enjoy:
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