The Night Johnny Rotten Spoke To Me—My Greatest Punk Rock Moments

Anyone part of a midwestern hardcore punk scene in the 1980’s was lucky. I was lucky in this regard. Cincinnati, Ohio had a great scene.

(I’ve wondered sometimes what kind of scene Houston had. Click here for a link to Houston Punk Archives. )

In reverse order, here are six of my best punk moments and accomplishments.

6. Watching The People’s Court and spending the day with San Francisco hardcore band Fang when I was 17.

This would have been 1984. It was one of my first punk encounters. Sammy from Fang later went to jail for manslaughter—And I’m not sure how benign he seemed the day I spent with him and the band.

But it sure was fun.

Later that night, Sammy got sick from a mix of White Castle hamburgers and whatever else he may have ingested. He threw up on stage. However, he finished the show as would any true performer.

5. Being included in the lyrics of the Cincinnati classic punk song Newport Gestapo by The Edge .

The song title referred to the Newport, Kentucky police department. Newport, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, was where our best local club, The Jockey Club, was located.

In the song I arrested by Newport police in a raid of the club. The Jockey Club was indeed raided, though I was never arrested.

4.  Anytime I was in Newport’s The Jockey Club.

It was always a blast. Click here for a great website dedicated to a great punk club.

3. The night the Sex Pistols’ Johnny Rotten spoke a few words to me.

Public Image Limited played one night at a club Bogarts in Cincinnati. I knew the manager of the club. He let me work “security” for a few shows I wanted to see. I’d get maybe 50 bucks and some beer and pizza.

At the P.I.L show, my job was to stand in between the stage and the wooden barrier built just to protect Johnny Rotten. I was supposed to be looking out at the crowd. Instead, of course, I watched the show. Mr. Rotten saw me looking at him instead of the audience. He locked eyes with me and said, ”Get back to work.”

That’s my Johnny Rotten story.

2. Being thanked on the liner notes for the Seven Seconds album “Walk Together Rock Together”

The Nevada skate band spend a night or two at the home of a friend. We all hung around. If you have the record, I’m the Hockeypunk on the liner notes.

That was me—the Hockeypunk. I’d take a hockey stick to shows sometimes. Everybody needs a gimmick. I felt that way as a kid and I feel that way today.

1. Easily–My three years on Cincinnati’s best ever punk radio show “Search and Destroy” broadcast weekly on WAIF 88.3 FM.

I’m forever in the debt of Handsome Clem Carpenter for having me as co-host. It was great being the Hockeypunk and it was always fun to have someone come up to me on the street and say they had a tape of the show.

We were “All punk rock all the time” for three hours a week.