Punk Turns 30

Lance Loud , the late, great Mumps front man, writer, raconteur, iconoclast and icon in one... (pictured in the halcyon days of punk rock, 1977). Lance Loud was proud to be Loud, to be gay, to be fabulous and was famous for being simply himself: loud, proud, gay and fabulous. On this Gay Pride 2010, I salute my friend, the late Lance Loud, and all my fabulous loud proud friends. When the phrase "let your freak flag fly" was coined, it certainly included Lance! Keep your eyes on the HBO for an upcoming documentary about the PBS series that starred the man who inadvertently mid-wifed reality TV...in 1972! More on that later... Now, celebrate Pride, in the name of love! and I don't mean the song by U2, but best wishes to Bono for a speedy recovery, just the same, and thanks ever so for a quotable turn of phrase!

England's 999 arrive at Tower Records Tower Records on the Sunset Strip. Prime location. Gone. The chain went out of business and the lot itself looks attractive to developers who want to rob the Strip of yet another iconic landmark. Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders signing albums in Tower Records Tune in to LA's PBS station, KCET on Sunday, June 13 for a repeat of the fabulous series, Things That Aren't Here Anymore and pay attention to the most recent installment, Number 3. Yes, this missive is on my part, somewhat a bit of the shameless self-promotion and partly Proustian... Things That Aren't Here Anymore, 3 focuses on the LA that I knew - the LA of my college and misspent young adult years... of punk rock, record collecting and concert-going (that I still do that is irrelevant!) at some places that aren't here anymore. Join me and the likes of Rodney Bingenheimer and Cherie Currie of the Runaways for a madeleine! Rodney with Penelope Houston of the A...

Sure, you've seen this photo a few times on this blog... you know the story about The Jam show at the Starwood on April 14, 1978 (my birthday!)... if you read this blog regularly, you also know how Leonard Graves Phillips of The Dickies once famously leaped from the VIP balcony at the Starwood on to the stage, and in so doing, broke his ankle, but continued performing and returned the second night of their stint to perform from a wheel chair and on his crutches. The Starwood is one of a few "Things That Aren't Here Anymore" being featured on the television special of the same name. The special is airing on Los Angeles PBS station KCET this Thursday, June 10. Last month, I flew to Los Angeles for a hit n run on-camera visit with the show's producers, Saul Gonzalez and Isaac Mizrahi. We talked about The Starwood, Rodney's English Disco, Tiny Naylor's, Flipper's, Japanese Deer Park and a handful of other places that aren't part of LA's physi...