This mainly concerns a night at the Hong Kong Café; I'm a bit confused about the 999 reference; I'm not sure where they were playing. It couldn't have been Chinatown cause they would not have played at Madame Wong's. MW's was the first club in Chinatown to have bands play; I went there in the early days but when the Hong Kong Café opened, Mme. Wong refused to book any bands that were considered the least bit punk; there was a great divide. Here's an excerpt from five days previous to this entry:
5 July 1979: We walked by Madame Wong's and Danny [Shades] said you could just walk in and he did. Then Kathy and I tried to and the asshole says, "No punk lockers! Go to de udder crub!!!" I got SO MAD!!!!!
We usually spent more time outside the Hong Kong than in it; many nights we didn't go in at all. We would panhandle for enough change to buy fried rice at the restaurant on the end to the west. We had a drinking spot in some trees a couple blocks away. But we spent a lot of time in this bar/restaurant adjacent to the Hong Kong. I don't think any of these places are open any more.
My boyfriend at this time was Earl but I'm not sure where he was this evening. I think there was some weirdness between us at this time. My previous squeeze had been Greg "Beer Keg" Williams. We didn't split up really; he had stood me up - didn't show for a dinner party I threw, and I saw him later that evening holding hands with this English chick. (He much later insisted they were just friends, which was probably true.) I had brought his portion of spaghetti with me and threw it at him. (It wasn't that bad - it stayed in the plastic bag for the most part!) My ex before that, Greg Salva, was in the Mau-Maus with Earl. We had fizzled out when I got angry after he told me I wasn't lively enough; then he had gone to New York for a while. Since he had returned and found me with Earl he was always sniffing around.
Ian was a Limey from Preston who was in LA for the summer.
11 July 1979
I wanted to go to Chinatown early but it took soooo long to paint Mahumba's shield. And to finish painting him and make his spear and fix his hair and so on. [I had spray painted a wig.]
So when we got there 999 had already come. Craig [Stoker] wanted me to drive him to Hollywood. I only said yes because I was so relieved that it wasn't Long Beach! [where Craig lived... Astoundingly, even during the gasoline shortage I regularly would pick him and/or my other LB friend, Kathy, up and take them home after; Long Beach is twenty miles in the opposite direction (of our usual destinations, Hollywood and downtown LA) from where I lived!] But then I got worried I'd miss Human Hands so I lent him my car.
We weren't on the list but they [Human Hands] got us in - if we promised to dance.
Human Hands were SO GOOD! They're my favorite band!
Afterwards we found out you couldn't go out and come back in. It was so boring and loud in there and I got soooo depressed till the Eyes came on. They were GREAT! Afterwards I talked to Andy [Sevrin I think] till the Alleycats came on. They were good but not as good as usual, and I was getting restless. I kept looking out the window. I saw Beer Keg [my ex, Greg Williams; Beer Keg comes from our version of Cockney Rhyming slang] leaving with some girl (who later turned out to be Margo!) [Margo from the Go-Gos I believe that must be.]
I knew if I went out it'd be boring and I'd truly regret it, but then I saw Rod [Donahue] and Greg [another ex, Salva; CRS name was "Rotten Egg"]. I RAN out, but I wanted to appear nonchalant so I just sat there. Then they started to leave so I ran up and asked Greg if he still had my Crash Course badge. He didn't answer and they were all acting strangely. Greg said to come along and then he said to the others: "I'm walking back here with her." When we got around the corner I asked, "What was that all about?!" and he said, "Don't ask me - come on!" But I turned around and went back.
I was sitting there on the curb and Beer Keg came back. He was so nice!!! He had really liked the Damned and said the LA punks deserved it. [Can't remember what happened at this Damned gig!] He asked, "How can we get into 999?" (WE?!!!!!) Then he started talking to Billy (UXA) and Mary came up and I said I wanted to stick around Beer Keg because he was being so nice.
Then Hal [Marty] came up and asked Mary for a "date". She turned him down so I took him up on it. We went in the bar next door. Everyone there had "dates". Brendan had on a Madame Wong mask! The Twilight Zone with the gremlin was on the TV there. Ian came in and I tried to explain it to him.
Beer Keg came in. I went to talk to Ian and Kathy; then Kathy went to talk to Beer Keg so I talked to Ian. He's from Preston, actually, not Manchester. I got so homesick talking to him!! he said I could stay with him and he'd "take me all around". (OH!!!) [Obviously, at this point in time I had never been to Preston!]
Then he left and I went and talked to Beer Keg. I was kinda smashed by now! A lady who worked there was eating a meat and noodle dish and BK asked if he could have a bite! Then she told him to get a cup - and she put some in the cup for herself and gave him the rest! He shared it with me.
Outside Craig said he'd show me where my car was. BK asked if I'd give him a ride home if he let his friend take his car. (?!!!) I said okay for some reason.
So we found the car. Craig asked BK about buying a bag of dope and he said he'd like to smoke a bag of dope.... And I started yelling at him and like usual he "calmed me down" - [not sure what I mean here but I was really anti-dope although half my friends were users - including Craig, who later was in the program, but not BK at this point]. Craig and DD [there were so many DDs and Dees but I think this one was DeDe Troit] went off and BK started attacking me.... It was so WEIRD being with him again!
I said, "Let's sit in the car," and we did. I could not believe this: he goes, "Well, do you expect me to fuck you in the back seat or what?" He said it like he thought I wanted to and he didn't!! I said, "No, where'd you get that idea?! I'm not that low class!!" I was pissed!!!! [I mean this in the American sense, although I was in the British sense as well.] We changed the subject. He's all mad about people thinking he's a Flyboy [BK Greg was from the same area and dressed similarly to the band the Flyboys so a lot of people assumed he was one of them; they were our friends and were snazzy dressers as well as a great band so I'm not sure what the problem was, but whatever!] and is so bored with Hollywood and sick of living in Arcadia [well, it really is out in the sticks!!] etc etc. He got in a really bad mood.
We walked back and couldn't find Mary. I was the biggest DORK - why didn't I go in to say goodbye to 999?! It would've been especially weird, me being with BK and all! [Not sure why; is this because I had been having some kind of mini-fling with Pablo?] I thought they'd left but they hadn't! [I'm still confused; it does sound as if 999 were playing at the Hong Kong, but out of town bands never did, and why would I be talking about getting in when I had already been inside for the other bands? If anyone can solve this mystery, please let me know!]
Well, we finally found Mary. BK stopped and called Danny or Andi [his bandmates in The Others] and arranged to stay in Hollywood.
When we were almost at the car he says, "I'm sorry if I led you on tonight." Well, he's nice to apologize - but for exactly WHAT?!!! Thinking we'd get back together or thinking he'd fuck me?!!
Oh well. It was strange.
 |
| I do have photos of Greg, but realised I have lost the scan. So here's Randy Stodola of the Alleycats, who played at the Hong Kong that night. I don't think I shot any bands in the Hong Kong as the lighting was bad; this would have been the Whisky I think, but around the same time. |
No comments:
Post a Comment