happy new year

If you're in the mood to go out, there are some great shows going on all over the USA

The Reigning Sound and Cool Jerks ring it in at the Hi Tone in Memphis.



The Alarms Clocks headline the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland, with the Rainy Day Saints opening.



And in New York City, The A Bones, Swingin Neckbreakers, Great Gaylord and The Thing With Two Heads count it down in my old neighborhood - the 718, Brooklyn, New York.





One of the best New Year's Eves I spent was in San Francisco with Blondie, as 1978 became 1979. They were opening for the Greg Kihn Band, and down the street, the Blues Brothers were opening for the Grateful Dead. At the end of all this there was a party at the Jefferson Airplane's house.



I went to the party with my sister, Clem Burke and Jimmy Destri of Blondie, and Blondie roadie, Michael Sticca. When we arrived at the party, Chris Stein advised us to drink stuff out of bottles or cans that we ourselves opened, or else we'd get dosed. Good advice. Thanks Chris! Anyway, at one point in the evening, John Belushi was performing comedy for my sister, who had found a comfy chair in the midst of a sea of standing people. Jimmy Destri pointed out to me what looked like 100 gold records belonging to the Jefferson Airplane. Little did Jimmy, Clem or Chris know that four months later, the album they just released, Parallel Lines, would go gold, and then platinum two months after that!



My sister and I flew home around 5 PM from San Francisco and arrived in Los Angeles around 6 PM, and then went up to have a New Years Day celebration with our parents on January 2. Unbeknownst to us, there was an earthquake in Malibu at 5:12 PM on the 1st. We didn't feel it because we were airborne. When our mom asked us about the earthquake, we were dumbfounded.... and busted for that out-of-town trip we took. Not that we needed permission - but we just didn't tell anyone that we were taking the trip. We felt like adults but were only 18 and 21. And you know - New Year's... champagne...Ah, youth.

Blondie, by the way, are ringing in the New Year at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, California.



Live it up tonight! Happy New Year.