In our spare time, Mary and I were making a surprise birthday present for our friend Rod Donahue. He had told us how those large figures beside the freeway (for example selling tires; more common when we were growing up... I just realized I drove to San Pedro today and didn't see the one that had been there for ever!) creeped him out, so we decided to make a six foot papier maché Mau-Mau warrior. As you do. We called him Mahumba and it took a long time as we only used newspaper and flour and water paste. We worked on him out by the pool and played this Ike and Tina album constantly. I so wish I had taken photos! (I do have a short video on Beta...)
I was on my "gap year" from UCLA and working for peanuts at Focus on Video; so was Mary. This was during the gas shortage and not only was gas really expensive (like probably 60 cents a gallon?), you could only get it every other day. Hence the constant attempts at cadging lifts.
When bands played the Whisky or Roxy in those days they always did two sets a night, and the sets were rarely identical so we would try to go to both. I had seen all the 999 gigs earlier that year and the band members were all so nice that I had been inspired to bake them a cake for the last night. 999's drummer Pablo had just broken his wrist or something so they were using a sub, Ed Case, on this tour.
Re: my savior Lorri Blum at the end; I went to high school with her but had not seen much of her, if anything, for the past three and a half years. I'm pretty sure I never saw her again after that, although I recently found out that mutual friends are still in touch.
5 July 1979
Mary came over and helped with Mahumba.
Jill [Jordan] said Eileen [Who?] would drive to 999 since I was probably sick of driving. True. But also that we wouldn't leave till 9:30! Oh well There were no tickets left for the early show. 999 were coming on so they said to go in - I did. [I guess this was the generous soul who was on the door at the Whisky!]
I danced the first half - leaned on the stage for the second. They were great but still were better last time. [They had played a series of shows just three or four months ago.]
I asked Paul Problem [Whatever happened to him?] if he was going backstage. We went together. It was lame though. The guy told us to have a seat and wait a few minutes then we could go back and the other guy comes and says to go backstage or leave!!!
So everyone got to go back there then some guy comes and says you hafta leave if you're not a close personal friend. [Suddenly the members of 999 had a bunch of close personal friends, obviously.]
So I went back and immediately Guy [Days, 999] came up and asked if I was still baking cakes. I went up to say hi to Nick [Cash, 999] and he said hi, but like, who are you. I felt really embarrassed and insulted [Wow, now that's embarrassing!] and nearly left.
Oh yeah, before we went up, Paul was talking to Pablo! He was there and cuter than ever. But backstage he was always talking to people; he talked to this one couple for way over an hour!!!
Jon [Watson, 999] recognized me and said hi. I was talking to Paul and Rick [Gershon], then Patty [Duarte] and Sally came and then Nick comes up to me and says, "Hi, how are you?" SAVED. Weird. [I guess he needed the context of my friends to remember me?]
We were commenting on everyone [we were such bitches!] and Sally stole Nick's shirt, which wasn't very nice. [In more ways than one!] He had hung it up to dry out a bit and she stuffed it under the back of her shirt. I warned her that it was all sweaty and now the sweat was running down her butt.
It seemed like an eternity that I was back there . Last time Guy was the one who never talked to me, this time he was the only one who did! I asked him about the guest list - he said he'd either put me on or sneak me in. Then he told (thump thump thump) Pablo to take me down!!! Pablo said to wait for him to go to the toilet - then I had him wait for me.... As we were going down the stairs he put his arm around me ... We went and sat at the bar and he bought me a screwdriver with his last money. [Awww.... Corrupting a minor no less!]
Pablo showed me his scar and muscle. He didn't see much in Frisco. (Here in LA he had been planning to walk from the airport to the hotel - ha!!!) I asked where they had played in SF and he said somewhere that started with a G: "G.... g.... g.... g...." The Old Waldorf? Well, that had reminded him of a walrus - tusks - something with a G... (Huh??!) He liked it here, said he never gets bored by anything.
He went to talk to the band before they went on and came back to me. He said not to let him get drunk cuz he'd jump onstage and punch Eddie and take over the drums! He kept saying, "That's my drum kit!!"
After a couple songs he stood over by the backstage and I went down to look for Jill with no success. So I decided I'd better go out but I wanted to to say goodbye to Pablo and now he had disappeared. Found him after a couple more songs. He hugged me goodbye.
Went back out and no Jill. I asked Helen if she'd seen her and she said they'd just left! I started running and she said they had driven by. Great. I hoped they'd return. Patty wasn't going home. [She lived in my direction; not many did!] After it was over I was just about to give up and call Mom when someone came up and said, "Hi, do you remember me?" It was Lorri Blum!!! What a godsend!! They gave me a ride home. Whew!
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