Bad Brains

H.R. from Bad Brains, Santa Ana Observatory; Nov., 2012.

Bad Brains.

The Hives

The Hives @ the Observatory, Santa Ana, CA; Sep., 2012.

I patted lead singer, Pelle Almqvist, on the back when he walked out through the crowd.

Fucked Up

Photo with Damian from Fucked Up, right after their show. 

 August 22, 2014; The Glass House, Pomona, California.

Black Flag, ft. Ron Reyes

Ron Reyes fronting Black Flag, Santa Ana Observatory; July, 2013.

Ron Reyes w/ Black Flag.

Rock On

Message inscribed in cement, I forget where.

Rock on, rockers.

"Rock and Roll will never die."

Dead Kennedys

The Dead Kennedys at the Observatory, Santa Ana, CA; Sep., 2012.
Orangecounty.com featured a photo of me head banging in the front row.

The Dead Kennedys show.

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Los Angeles, CA; Nov. 2012.

Jon Spencer.

Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas

In the photo booth at Alex's Bar, Long Beach, CA; Sep., 2012.

Jessica Hernandez.

Boyd Rice

Boyd Rice at the Roundhouse, London, U.K.; May, 2011.

Ink N Iron, 2013

My first Ink N Iron festival in Long Beach, ft. Iggy & the Stooges. I loved seeing the Fleshtones as well.

Ink N Iron, 2013.

Das Heilander Techno Tapes

Around 1993, my German friend from college, Rob, let my friend Wendy tape a ton of his techno music.  She shared copies of the cassettes with me and I made these tape covers using photocopies of photos of Rob, white highlighter, and colored markers.  

Saving them here, so I don't have to save the actual tapes.

Das Heilander, vol. 1.

Das Heilander, vol. 2.

The Muffs

The Muffs at Alex's Bar, Long Beach, CA; June, 2013.

I got to meet Kim Shattuck! I told her we used to play Blonder and Blonder all the time in Alaska.

The Muffs.

Cheap Video Reviews: NKOTB - Hangin' Tough

Hangin' Tough.

VHS. 1989.

Boz sent me a copy of New Kids On The Block’s Hangin' Tough videotape which he acquired for a mere 25 cents; a fair price.

The video contains four music videos with some behind the scenes road footage included to fill the tape out to a full 30 minutes.

NKOTB were 1.) Joey Joe, pre-teen of the group; 2.) Donnie, the wigger; 3.) Jordan, who wears a Batman shirt exactly like one I used to have; 4.) John, who has no personality but is often considered the most handsome of the group; and 5.) Apeface (Danny).

The video opens with black and white footage of the group's tour bus and Jordan comments that his favorite part of being on the road is looking out the bus window and "watching the world go by,:

Joey Joe.

Then all of a sudden - BAM! - we're watching the group's first video, "Please Don't Go Girl", featuring Joey Joe on vocals.

Jordan (wearing a hat with a giant bill) also plays a big part in this song. The other three stick with background vocals and come off as a chorus of douche bags. 

The video is divided between performance footage and video of the group following a girl with a huge curl on her head (and her friend) around in an amusement park.

Please don't go, curl.

In the video's story line, Jordan flirts with the girls after all five New Kids have been following them around all day. He makes them laugh then eats a hot dog with a shit-eating grin on his face.

Joey Joe is just too young for the girls, although they find him adorable. He sings practically the whole song though. It's probably about a girl who's mom is making her leave the amusement park and Joey Joe wishes she didn't have to leave.

After the first video, we go to footage of the New Kids fucking around with a bunch of old casino signs in Las Vegas. Danny is filming the rest of them on his personal videocassette recorder.

Then - BAM! - we're watching the "Right Stuff" video!

In this video, the New Kids On The Block are having the time of their life riding around in a convertible.

They notice a couple of girls and everybody except young Joey Joe goes over to flirt with them.

While everyone is posturing and grabbing each other's asses, Joey Joe steals the car and drives off while laughing like a little maniac.

The other New Kids on the Block chase after him. Under-aged driving is no joke to the elder NKOTB members. The girls think it's hilarious and adorable though.

"The Right Stuff" performance footage includes a lot of heavily choreographed dancing. Gone are the days of the douche bag background singers. NKOTB are now a well-oiled high performance machine. You have to give them some kind of credit for that.

Then there's more candid tour bus footage of Donnie talking like a thug while playing video games in a hat.

Cut to dinner time and Jordan complaining that they always get served fried chicken: "When we get to a new city, we think we're gonna have something different [for dinner]", but it's always fried chicken."

Cut to Donnie talking shit - "We always drink milk with our meals...we never drink soda".

This is the same Donnie who, a couple of years later, was arrested for pouring a bottle of vodka on the rug of his hotel room and lighting it on fire.

All of a sudden, we see the sound man's microphone poke up against Jordan. The camera pans along the mic stand to reveal Joey Joe dressed up like a sound guy!

Haha! Joey Joe's the sound man!

Hangin' Tough.

The other New Kids find this absolutely hilarious and they all convulse in hysterics, Jordan can hardly breathe from laughing so hard.This scene reminds you that NKOTB are not yet mature adults.

The final video, “Hangin' Tough” features a more experienced, more mature NKOTB. No more dicking around. This is when Joey Joe started wearing the hat with the top cut out of it.

The video documents the New Kids' rise to greatness and includes tons of footage of little girls freaking out while they perform.

Donnie's Home Boy t-shirt.

The song also features Donnie's famous "Home Boy" t-shirt.

At the end, there's a half-assed statement in which Jordan states, "New Kids On The Block is about being yourself, it's not about being cool."

I enjoyed watching this one time, but just once. I’d say it was worth the 25 cent price tag. It was kind of nostalgic to see my old Batman shirt.

Which JohnnyC Quote are You?

In the mid-2000s, JohnnyC emailed me a list of outrageous metal quotations he had written down and saved. I was not sure what to do with them, but I thought they should be shared. I didn't know how to incorporate them into my blog, so the Which JohnnyC Quote are You? quiz was born. 

Original banner link to the quiz.

The quiz is no longer active. I may have to recreate it, but until then, here's a reproduction:

Which JohnnyC Quote are You?

JohnnyC has said a lot of crazy shit.

Which JohnnyC quote best characterizes you?

1. Which statement appeals to you the most?

a. "Lick my plate, you dog dick”.

b. "Nothing damages better than a brand new building”.

c. “Blarney Balls”!

d. "Bus Driver, I want to drive your bus”.

e. "I'm gonna try to get some off a skank at the Motel 6”.

2. If you could have any number of eyes besides two, how many would you prefer?

a. None            .

b. One.

c. Three to Nineteen.

d. Twenty.

e. More than twenty.

3. Which element best characterizes you?

a. Earth .

b. Wind.

c. Fire.

d. Water.

e. Meat.

4. You are pissed off because:

a. You are horny.

b. You only have one eye.

c. Your favorite electronics warehouse has vanished without a trace

d. They put cheese on your burger even though you told them:
    "Hamburger, not cheeseburger."

e. All of the above.

5. Who rocks harder?

a. Metallica.

b. Van Halen (David Lee Roth).

c. Van Halen (Sammy Hagar).

d. AC/DC.

e. Kiss

6. If you had to eat only one thing, what would you prefer?

a. White Castle.

b. Vienna sausages.

c. Something without cheese.

d. Poontang.

e. Nachos.

Possible Results

(sorted from most to least popular)

1. Rage and Mayhem - 24% of participants, awarded 61 times:

The clouds in the sky above float weightless, yet they attack me as if made of lead and crush me in fits of rage and mayhem.

2. Automated Warriors - 15% of participants, awarded 38 times:

Licking the fresh wounds of indifferent weapons, the helldogs gather behind the automated warriors and launch a terror assault against the demon children of mistrust and misunderstanding.

3. Misunderstood Agony - 14% of participants, awarded 35 times:

I bleed not red but the crimson of hate and the fire orange of misunderstood agony, and my mind is the chimney for the raging firebox of my tortured soul.

4. Wall Not Yet Built - 12% of participants, awarded 31 times:

Rain down upon me the drops of searing lust for destruction of wall not yet built and the wet tears of souls not hearing their destiny.

5. Ill Gotten Animals - 9% of participants, awarded 23 times:

Feed me the meat of ill gotten animals and let my disease begin to spread across the universe.

6. Beginnings of Armageddon - 6% of participants, awarded 14 times:

The sirens wail and the nukes rain down as the loathsome cowards, otherwise known as the world leaders, gather in their cocoons of sin and larceny, watching the beginnings of Armageddon in their palaces of anti-terror"

7. Beginnings of Armageddon - 6% of participants, awarded 14 times:

The cold skin of fear creeps down my back leading the last morsels of conscious thought into a paranoid rage as the curtains of night close on the theater of ultimate terror.

8. Retribution Against the Demons - 6% of participants, awarded 14 times:

The scorched earth,blackened by flames of tortured souls, screams in agony for retribution against the demons and vandals who lit the match with their blood stained fingers

9. My Festering Soul - 4% of participants, awarded 11 times:

Every passing of the satellites overhead keeps me cowering in fear of demons in black who wait for my miserable failure, feasting on my festering soul.

10.  Bleeding in the Gutter - 4% of participants, awarded 9 times:

As the mulleted skull lay bleeding in the gutter, I silently observed the remnants of horror in the eyes reminding me that rock and roll will never die, but flesh and blood is flesh and blood. 

Cantwell

Out in the middle of nowhere, Cantwell, Alaska hosts an annual music festival. It is pretty much just two days of drunken revelry. It's completely unadvertised. People just know about it by word of mouth

It's right off the freeway in a huge open area. The only structures are a stage, a full blown bar, and a line of port-o-johns.

Everybody just pitches tents or lives in their vehicles for the weekend.

Highlights from the year I attended include:

Dancing on makeshift tables.

Passing out & sleeping in the dirt.

Worth a close up.

Me in the chair, Todd standing above, Amanda on the right, & our photographer in my lap.

Here is a collage:

Cantwell collage.

[Originally posted on I'm Nacho Steppinstone, Jan. 18, 2004]

T.S.O.L.

T.S.O.L. w/ the Adolescents @ The Observatory, Santa Ana, CA; Dec., 2012.

Girl stage diving during T.S.O.L.

Fishbone

Dr. Mad Vibe @ the Fishbone show, Santa Ana, CA; Sep., 2012.

Fishbone.

Farm Aid IV

The Gilliom Bros @ Farm Aid IV, Indianapolis Hoosier Dome; April 7, 1990. We were so excited to see Lou Reed. 

Farm Aid IV, in the parking garage.

We made banners out of old pillowcases celebrating Farm Aid on one side and Lou Reed on the other. 

There was extra space left in one corner and Todd wanted to add something in the spirit of Farm Aid, so he wrote, "Green Beans!" One of the banners also said, "Up with crops!"

Performances by: Bonnie Raitt, John Mellencamp, John Hiatt, Carl Perkins, Arlo Guthrie, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Guns N' Roses, KT Oslin, Iggy Pop, Gorky Park, Garth Brooks, John Denver, Bill Monroe, Alan Jackson, Asleep at the Wheel, Jackson Browne, Bruce Hornsby, Poco, Elton John, Lou Reed, Don Henley, Taj Mahal and more.

AC/DC Cash

AC/DC cash that was dropped on the crowd during "Money Talks." 

Sep. 7, 1986 : Fort Wayne, Indiana (Allen County War Memorial Coliseum)

Great show. SO loud. I woke up the next morning for school and my ears were still ringing. I was worried they were permanently damaged. It was probably the cannons during, "For Those About To Rock." I was toward the front of the stage. Great, great show. I went with a couple of guys I worked with at McDonalds.

Front.

Back.

Addendum:  I asked ChatGPT for a caption describing this AC/DC money:

1. "With AC/DC's fake money from 'Who Made Who' tour, you're not just a fan, you're a financial forecaster—ready to make it rain 'Hell's Bells' at any moment!"

2. "Thirty-five years of preserving AC/DC's faux fortune? That's the kind of dedication that ensures when you make it rain, it's not just currency; it's a 'Highway to Hell' downpour of rock 'n' roll riches!"

1. 
   

Wanda Jackson

Wanda Jackson @ The Observatory, Santa Ana, CA; Dec., 2012.

Wanda Jackson.