Jake the Snake & Alice Cooper

Jake "The Snake" Roberts turns 65 today! Here he is hanging out with Alice Cooper and pet python Damian in a true Rock ‘n’ Wrestling moment! They made a perfect pair; Jake the Snake was supposed to be as evil and demented as people thought Alice was during his '70s heyday as the king of shock rock. Alice escorted Jake to the ring for his WrestleMania III match against the Honky Tonk Man. Roberts lost the match, but Alice got a chance to terrorize Honky’s manager Jimmy Hart with Damian after the match and that ruled! Do you know what also rules about their post-match encounter? Remember that before he was involved in wrestling, Jimmy Hart had a previous life as the vocalist for '60s moptop rockers the Gentrys! Remember the song “Keep on Dancing”? That is Jimmy Hart’s old band! Two eras of rock music collided in the ring that evening, proving once again that wrestling is rock 'n’ roll and rock 'n’ roll is wrestling!

Good Girls Don't, But I Do: Remembering Raooul

Do you remember when it was okay for punk rock bands to be of barely adequate skill at their instruments? Plenty of bands found their sound through a complete lack of proficiency—it is what punk was about; making mistakes and learning in public. Some of those mistakes have inspired future generations of inept musicians to give it a go themselves. RAOOUL committed six songs of gloriously bad punk rock trash to vinyl in 1993 and upstart East Bay punk kids have been thankful ever since. Fresh & Nubile was proof that it was still possible; that a band of 14-year-old girls could have a laugh and a say. They did have things to say under the din too. “Anna Joy” features the line “It really ain’t anarchy if it’s okay with your mom/It really ain’t rebellion if it’s just Primus instead of New Kids on the Block,” a poignant lyric in 2020 when more parents are taking their kids to their first punk shows at Gilman Street than in previous eras. “Good Girls” declares sexual freedom and agency while “I Had Richie Bucher” inverses the scenario women face when being objectified by men by using an older boy established in the punk scene for sex and discarding him in the end. This 7-inch is perfect; it leaves you wanting more. One of the East Bay’s punkest releases of the decade by far.

RAOOUL have taken a few more guitar lessons prior to recording 1994’s split LP with London minimalist trio SKINNED TEEN, but seem to have misplaced their inspiration in the process. Although the tunes are decent, they lack the sense of fun and enthusiasm that make Fresh & Nubile such a triumphant classic. RAOOUL broke up before this record came out, but guitarist Molly Schnick and drummer Phyllis Forbes would go on to form the TOURETTES with Janelle Hessig and OUT HUD with members of !!!. Vocalist Melissa MacArthur would contribute guest vocals on older brother Gavin’s band SCHLONG’s Punk Side Story album.

SEE ALSO: The Tourettes, Out Hud.

Movie Review: Touch of Evil (1958)

DIRECTOR: Orson Welles. CAST: Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff, Joanna Cook Moore, Ray Collins, Dennis Weaver, Valentin de Vargas, Mort Mills, Victor Millan, Lalo Rios, Michael Sargent, Phil Harvey, Joi Lansing, Marlene Dietrich, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Mercedes McCambridge.
This Orson Welles suspense thriller has more of a problematic history than that of Citizen Kane; it is another story of Welles waging an unsuccessful battle against the Hollywood studio to realize his artistic vision. Fortunately, viewers have the opportunity to see both Welles’ directors’ cut (finally released in 1998) and the original theatrical release as edited in-house by Universal Studios. Charlton Heston is a Mexican narcotics detective who witnesses a car bombing take place during his honeymoon in a small border town. His assistance in the ensuing investigation sees both he and his wife ensnared in a web of abduction, murder, and police corruption on both the Mexican and American sides. Charlton Heston later regretted his poor acting choices—he admittedly does not ‘play Mexican’ very well—but the rest of his performance is fine. However, this film belongs to Orson Welles in his role as the slovenly American police captain with a good-cop reputation built on dishonesty. Touch of Evil’s camera work and cinematography are things of legend that influenced an entire generation of great directors and filmmakers. Another film for film lovers.

Andre the Giant

Andre the Giant would have turned 74 today and I can't think of a better way to celebrate his birthday here than sharing an iconic George Napolitano shot of the Eighth Wonder of the World! How many photos exist of Andre with attractive women in his arms? I don't know, but it is a good day when I find another one!

Movie Review: Over the Edge (1979)

DIRECTOR: Jonathan Kaplan. CAST: Michael Kramer, Pamela Ludwig, Matt Dillon, Vincent Spano, Tom Fergus, Harry Northrup, Andy Romano, Ellen Geer, Richard Jamison, Julia Pomeroy, Tiger Thompson, Eric Lalich, Kim Kliner, Lane Smith, Bill Whedbee.
Those of you who name The Breakfast Club or something similar as your favorite teen movie should see Over the Edge, as it is a more realistic depiction of teenage alienation. These kids are not all right in New Granada—they are getting high, having sex, and committing juvenile crimes out of boredom in a planned community that has nothing to offer its youth. Their parents are apathetic and ignorant to their needs, caring more about chasing the American Dream than raising productive children. Fourteen-year-old Matt Dillon debuts as the worst of the bunch, a longhaired troublemaker doomed to fall at the hands of the local police sergeant. His unnecessary death compels New Granada’s adolescents to raise havoc in a fiery conclusion satisfying every rebellious kid’s revenge fantasies. Dazed & Confused wishes it was this cool. Real-life events inspired this story; particularly a San Francisco Examiner article published in 1973 about the unusually high juvenile crime rate in the planned suburb of Foster City, CA. Although Over the Edge is good visceral fun, it also makes necessary statements about suburban communities disregarding its troubled youth. Prophetic too—ironically, much of the filming took place in a Colorado suburb just 15 miles away from where the Columbine High School massacre took place twenty years later.

Movie Review: The Gate (1987)

DIRECTOR: Tibor Takács. CAST: Stephen Dorff, Christa Denton, Louis Tripp, Kelly Rowan, Jennifer Irwin, Deborah Grover, Scot Denton, Ingrid Veninger, Sean Fagan, Linda Goranson, Andrew Gunn, Carl Kraines.
Do you remember your parents yelling at you for trying to dig a hole to China in your yard? They never told you that instead of hitting Shanghai, you might just open up the gate to hell and really screw things up for everybody else instead. Stephen Dorff makes his film debut as Glen, a precocious little shit who does exactly that after he comes across a strange rock in the backyard. Glen and his junior metalhead friend Terry figure they can get some money for it since it has a neat crystalline center. They manage to crack open the rock before long and since you have seen Creepshow, you know that nothing good can happen from here. Incantations spoken, heavy metal records played backwards, and these dumb kids unwittingly unlock the demons’ gate. Good thing Glen’s parents are out of town for the weekend; they are going to be pissed when they discover that their homeowners’ insurance does not cover this kind of property damage. The Gate was a bridge between Gremlins and Hellraiser for many kids in the ‘80s. They saw The Gate and the themes explored, better equipping them to handle Pinhead and his Hellraiser demons when that movie came out later in the year. Enjoy this movie for the brainless fun that it is without taking it seriously. I imagine a remake might enjoy a sense of irony and satire that this script doesn’t keep in mind very often.

Violence Girl

Feral House, 2011

“She’s taken too much of the domesticated world. She’s tearing it to pieces; she’s a Violence Girl!”

Alicia Armendariz (aka ALICE BAG) was part of the Los Angeles punk scene in its formative years, rubbing elbows with bands like the GERMS, X, and the WEIRDOS. She fronted the BAGS, a great band who only issued one single on the Dangerhouse label in 1978. However, that single is a sought-after piece of the LA punk rock puzzle. Women were no longer passive spectators where punk rock was concerned; they were on the stage and expressing their rage! Alice was one of the more aggressive frontwomen out there, getting in audience members’ faces and showing them what a Violence Girl was all about. You can see the BAGS perform “Gluttony” in Penelope Spheeris’ seminal 1981 documentary The Decline of Western Civilization, erroneously named “the Alice Bag Band.” Artifix Records compiled what recordings they could find and released All Bagged Up: The Collected Works 1977-1980 in 2007. Alice was also a member of local legends CASTRATION SQUAD, whose lineup boasted members of the GO-GO'S and 45 GRAVE, as well as Phranc: America’s first lesbian punk rock folk singer.

The Bags’ “Survive” b/w “Babylonian Gorgon” single is a
sought-after piece of the Los Angeles punk puzzle.

She is still at it too—the Alice Bag 2016 solo album on the Don Giovanni label is excellent. My favorite songs here corrupt soul and Mexican pop influences just like how the best early punk bands often referenced other forms of music. This isn’t another retread band unable to speak to the present day either; Alice and company deliver these songs with an energy that is unmistakably here and now.

Alice’s story is important because it shows that punk rock is not simply white male rage with a funny look. This ongoing narrative has never been completely true, especially not in an area with such a large Latinx population as Los Angeles. Alicia’s tale begins in East LA, where she is born into a working class family with proud Mexican roots. Most of her stories about growing up in the culture are a lot of fun to read, from anecdotes about food and music and movies to even seeing famed luchadore Ray Mendoza lose his hair in a match at the Olympic Auditorium!

There is the other side that isn’t so much fun. Her father is an exercise in duality, encouraging Alicia to aim high in life while also exposing her to a darker, more violent side of his personality. She is an outcast at school from the start, with a limited grasp of English and lacking in social skills. Kids make fun of her weight and looks, bestowing her with horrible nicknames. She doesn’t fit in with her school’s gang culture, but begins to find some direction upon discovering two important musical artists—DAVID BOWIE and ELTON JOHN. New doors open into a fun and exciting glitter rock world that flaunts mainstream society’s ideas on music, clothing, and sexuality.

Alice discovers punk rock via Rodney Bingenheimer’s radio show on KROQ, just like most of the early LA scenesters. Her drummer boyfriend Nickey Beat hacks off his long hair to join a new band called the WEIRDOS. Alice is skeptical of the move until seeing the band live for the first time on a show with the ZEROS and the GERMS. Everything changes forever that night. (“…Mexicans, Weirdos and teenagers could take the stage and bring the house down…”) Alice realizes that getting onstage just takes guts, so she and her friends abandon playing above their ability in a glitter rock band to focus on punk music instead. They start the BAGS in similar fashion to other punk bands of the time, by making their presence known in public well before they are ready to play live. Each member designs their own ridiculous

The Bags made their presence known in the punk
scene before being ready to play live.

outfit, topped with paper bags worn over their heads. Although the paper bag gimmick doesn’t last long, it is enough to get them noticed and the BAGS begin playing out regularly.

Punk scene anecdotes are aplenty here, with a who’s who of bands and LA scene figures popping in and out of these pages. Did you know that the girl described in the X song “Los Angeles” was not only a real-life friend of Exene’s, but was also an obnoxious racist? All the punks go to shows at the Masque and live at the Canterbury, a cheap downtown apartment building otherwise inhabited by Asian immigrants and angry Rastafarians. Two creeps that may have been the Hillside Strangler terrorize LA scenester Pearl Harbor. They would claim Jane King, another woman in the punk scene nearly two months later. Nickey Beat gets in a fight with Tom Waits at the Troubadour. Alice gets in a fight with Darby Crash in front of the Canterbury. Alice and Nickey cheat on each other with well-known members of the San Francisco punk scene, experiment with alternative relationship styles, and eventually break up for good. LA’s finest introduce police brutality to the punk scene at—of all bands—a GO-GO'S show.

“She’s a Violence Girl; she thrives on pain. She’s a Violence Girl you can’t restrain!”

Alice knows she needs to get her shit together, a realization coinciding with the BAGS’ implosion, Darby Crash’s death, and drug use taking its toll on the Hollywood punk scene. Hardcore is also rearing its ugly head, reducing quirky, creative punk rock to “a belligerent, male-dominated mob…camouflaged by their homogeneous appearance.” She moves back in with her parents and goes to college, getting a bachelor’s degree in philosophy before getting a teaching credential. Alice begins working with kids who are just like she was—children of immigrants with limited English skills. She even travels to rural Nicaragua to teach literacy while the Sandinistas and the Reagan-backed Contras wage war nearby! Alice also resolves her family issues, finally confronting and subsequently forgiving her father for his abuse towards her mother.

Violence Girl is about overcoming obstacles and applying the lessons we learn as punks to Real Life. Alicia Armendariz has come a long way to find herself and has, looking back on a life well lived and is ready for more. All self-respecting punk rockers should read this book, but it is most relevant to women and people of color in the scene. There is a lot said in these 381 pages that is especially for them.