I Learned In My Punk Rock Days That Action Was My Own Responsibility

Recently I came upon a collection of fliers promoting shows at the great Jockey Club in Newport, Kentucky.

The Jockey Club, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, was the best punk rock club in all the midwest. It closed in 1988. There is a Jockey Club Facebook page you can join.

You can read a series of Jockey Club recollections in Stories for Shorty. I have an entry in this book that was published by Cincinnati’s Aurore Press.

One of the best things about our punk rock scene in Cincinnati is that we did stuff ourselves.

We made our own fliers, staged our own shows, formed our own bands, we printed fanzines that had interviews with touring bands and we had our own radio show on a local station. I co-hosted a punk radio show on Cincinnati’s WAIF-FM 88.3 for three years.

This was—and still is—the way to go. Working by ourselves and working together, we made our own scene no matter how moronic and narrow the world around us might be.

Whether it is getting on the Mayflower to exercise your beliefs in a new place, Occupying something in the name of economic fair play and a more just society, finding the internal resources to fulfill a creative vision, or working with others who share your thoughts and hopes to make something of value—It is in the end your responsibility to do the work to accomplish what you hope to accomplish.

This does not mean that luck and circumstance do not matter. These things matter a great deal. It is possible that you will get sick or be hit by a truck.

Yet in the end, here is what I would say—

Make and print your own fliers, start a blog, form a band, occupy something, be part of your local and national scene, take responsibility for your own future, generate your own content so somebody else does not generate it for you, help out those on your own side of the aisle, and don’t just hang around when there is work to be done. The ways to get these things done may change over the years, but the underlying concept does not shift.

Jockey Club Reunion Punk Rock Blast In Newport, Kentucky On Saturday, November 12.

There will be a big punk rock blast this upcoming Saturday at the Southgate House in Newport, Kentucky.

Newport is just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati.

I’m sorry I’ll not be able to attend this fine event.

This concert is another Jockey Club reunion concert being put on by Cincinnati’s Aurore Press.

The Jockey Club, which closed in 1988, was the best punk rock club in all the midwest.

Aurore Press is Cincinnati’s leading forum for dissenting views.

I’ve been fortunate enough in the past few years to contribute to three Aurore Press books and to host one of the Jockey Club reunion shows.

Here are my best punk rock moments.  

Picture Of 14 Foot Long Alligator

The picture you see with this post is of a 14 foot long alligator. You can’t quite tell it is 14 feet long, but it is indeed such a creature. It was huge like a pre-historic monster.

This beast lives, for the moment, at the Newport, Kentucky Aquarium. The alligator is named Mighty Mike and is 50 years old.

I’m sorry this alligator is a prisoner in a fish jail like an aquarium. But otherwise it was going to be shot as a safety risk to humans in Florida. And, frankly, nature is not such a nice place for animals. Animals die all the time out in nature. They are eaten by other animals and shot and poisoned by people.

Mighty Mike now tours various aquariums in the U.S.

If I were home now instead of on the road, I’d include some links to learn about alligators and reptiles. But I’m doing the blog on the fly for the moment.

I’d encourage you to take some time today to learn about alligators and reptiles and whatever it is you find of interest in life.

This Post Means Nothing To You

Here I am on a late June afternoon at what was once 633 York Street in Newport, Kentucky. Now it is a parking lot.

633 York Street in Newport, Kentucky was the site of the great punk rock bar The Jockey Club.

There were other establishments at this address at various times. There was the 633 Club and the Flamingo Club. Local lore had Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis visiting this spot over the years. And given the history of Newport, it is possible that these folks did visit these now defunct clubs.

For me, however, this is where a great punk rock club was one time.

Sometimes People Hold On To Things For A Bit Long

Here is a picture I took in Newport, Kentucky last February of people who were give up on Santa Claus. Christmas had been over for about two months when I took this picture.

I meant to run this picture  months ago, but have only gotten to it now after we are deep into spring.

Is Santa still  up at this home? I’ll be in Newport again in a few weeks and maybe I will check and see.

Or maybe I will not.

In any case, people sometimes hold on to things much longer than they should.

Birthday Message—We Age And Then Die So Make Use Of Days In-Between

Today is my 42nd birthday.

Below is a picture of me when I was 12. At the time I lived in Providence, Rhode Island. You see that I have a book in my hand and a measure of attitude. I’ve not progressed much in the 30 years since this photo was taken.

Now here I am at 41. The picture below was taken in Newport, Kentucky last month at the immense punk rock blast.

There you have one person over 30 years. Think what you will.

We age and then die. Hopefully, we give the days in-between some meaning. Hopefully, we have decent private lives and make an effort to be of use to the world as a whole.

My own view is that our personal and public lives are connected. We can’t just care for the people close to us and not care about others.  For us to have good personal lives, we must live in a place that is decent and where public services and public benefits are provided.

I feel I’m at least trying to have a good personal life and trying to be of vaue to others in the wider world.

Thank you for reading Texas Liberal.

I’ll Be Hosting The Biggest Punk Rock Show Of 2009 On August 15—Please Attend If You Are Able

This is going to be a great show. Please attend if you are able.

Top Texas Political Blogger Sings The Damned At Houston Ship Channel—Let Go As Life Is Brief And Brutal

Above is a video of me singing The Damned’s Wait For The Blackout at the Houston Ship Channel.

Life is short and you’d might as well just let go.

One way to let go is to tell the people you care about how much you care about them.

Life is brief and often brutal.

At the end of the song it says–“There is no vision here.”

Quoting the Bible, Franklin Roosevelt said in his 1933 inaugural address that “Without vision the people perish.”

I stand by both the song and by President Roosevelt’s speech.

Please don’t forget—I’ll be hosting the biggest punk rock event in the nation this August 15 in Newport, Kentucky. Newport is just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati.

Top Texas Blogger To Host Nation’s Biggest Punk Rock Blast

I’m glad to report that this upcoming August 15 I’ll be the master of ceremonies at Newport, Kentucky’s Southgate House for America’s biggest punk rock blast of 2009. 

Newport is just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati.  

You’d think I’d be content with being the top blogger in Texas and with being a member of the Academy of Political Science.

Nope–That’s not enough.  

The event is a release party for the CD of last year’s Jockey Club reunion concert at the Southgate House. The Jockey Club was the greatest punk rock venue of the 1980’s. 

( Above–Another excellent night at the Jockey Club back in the late 80’s. Please click here for some more Jockey Club pictures.  The Jockey Club can also be found on My Space and on Facebook.)

This concert is being put on by Cincinnati-based publisher Aurore Press. Aurore Press is the forum for dissenting views in Cincinnati. Please click the link and see what’s going on at Aurore Press.

Below are the details as they stand at the moment.    

Roast/Benefit for “Handsome” Clem and his Family—

You can’t have a CD release without a party and Aurore Press knows this so with the help of The Southgate House, we’re putting on another Jockey Club inspired shindig to benefit our friend and Cincy punk legend “Handsome” Clem Carpenter and his family. Clem has had a few rough years as of late and his friends want to thank him for everything he’s done over the years with a benefit/roast in his honor! The show on August 15, will feature: Gang Green, SS-20, Libertines US, and Human Zoo. We’re working on one more JC era band to top off the bill and we’ll let everyone know when that comes together–so, 5 bands in all coming together again for a night for the scrapbooks hosted by “Hockeypunk” Neil Aquino, so come early and stay late, get yer CD (proceeds from the CD will also be donated to the Carpenter family) and have a ball!

I hope to see you there on August 15.

The Bars That I Visited Most Often

What could be more important than the bars you hung out in when you were younger?

Not much.

There were three bars I spent the most time in when I lived in Cincinnati, Ohio. All my good bar days were in Cincinnati. I’ve lived in Houston for ten years and I don’t go to bars at all. In Cincinnati, I went all the time.

I enjoyed seeing my friends. And often I brought a book to read. Many places I went had a band playing and I rarely cared about the bands. I’m sure many of them were good. The local acts were often comprised of people I knew, and I’m sure they were good bands. It just never interested me. When the bands were playing and I could not talk to people, I would read my book.

There were three bars I visted most. One was a bar- laundry mat called Sudsy Malone’s. There were washers and dryers in the back of the house.  It was Short Vine street in Cincinnati. Below is a picture of Sudsy’s from the outside.  

And here is a picture from a show at Sudsy’s.

Now that’s entertainment!

Sudsy’s is now closed. The pictures came from a Sudsy’s Facebook group. 

Another bar I was a regular at was just down the street from Sudsy’s. It was, and still is, called Sub Galley. I can say in truth that I was for a time “Mayor” of this place. Below you see a picture of Chris the bartender. This picture is also from a Facebook group. 

I never could figure out the full story with Chris, but he was always a decent enough guy as far as I was concerned. Sub Galley was seen by some as a hangout for low lifes.  I think that view had some merit. 

The guy with the beard in the photo was Karl.

My last hangout was The Jockey Club in Newport, Kentucky. Newport is right across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. I’ve written about the Jockey Club before on the blog. It was the greatest punk rock club in all the world. The Jockey Club closed in 1988. The picture is from the club’s last night.

I like my life today and I miss my places from the past.

I hope you have some hangouts where you once spent your nights. It’s fun!…at least to some point in life it was fun.

Top Texas Blogger Now America’s Most Beloved Published Author

 

Already the leading political blogger in Texas (Note–This view is not shared by anyone else.), I’m now also America’s most beloved published author.

Cincinnati’s Aurore Press has released Stories for Shorty: A Collection of Recollections from the Jockey Club 1982-1988. This book details the famous Jockey Club in Newport, Kentucky. The Jockey Club (photo above.) was at one point the finest punk rock club in the United States.

The book is a series of reminiscences by patrons of the Jockey Club and by the members of the bands that played there.  My contribution to the book is on pages 188 and 189. I’m now a published author.

On this past November 22, a book release party and Jockey Club reunion concert was held at the Southgate House in Newport, Kentucky.  I was lucky enough to be in Cincinnati for the concert. Northern Kentucky University Professor Ken Katkin, a leading academic in the Cincinnati area,  has written a review of the show that you can read by clicking this link. Mr. Katkin is a professor of constitutional law at NKU. 

Also, please allow me to note that Cincinnati punk legend Robert (Jughead) Sturdevant of SS-20, will be talking up his new Aurore Press release ” A Pardon’s Prism”  at the Mount Washington Creamy Whip and Bakery at 2069 Beechmont Avenue in Cincinnati. This limited release chapter book discusses the history of presidential pardons. The event will be Saturday, December 27 at 8 PM.

It is great to have old friends that we can see from time to time and keep in touch with over the years.

It is also great to be the leading political blogger in all Texas and to be America’s most beloved published author. What will really be great is if someday I can make my first dollar off of these distinctions. If you’d like to send me that dollar please leave a comment here and I’ll get back to you.

Book Being Written On World’s Finest Punk Rock Club—The Jockey Club

I got an e-mail a few days ago with news of a book being written about The Jockey Club. This was a punk rock club in Newport, Kentucky that operated from 1982 until 1988.

It was a lot of fun.

I hope you have a place you recall fondly from a well-spent youth of hanging around with your friends.

The Jockey Club book is being compiled by Aurore Press of Cincinnati. Newport, Kentucky is just across the river from Cincinnati.   

I will write something for the book. Hopefully whatever I submit will be included.

In those days I was the Hockeypunk. I was known in punk rock circles from Dayton to Louisville and a few places in-between.

20 years later I’m Texas Liberal.

It’s all the same act.

Please click here for the time Johnny Rotten spoke to me and my other greatest punk rock moments.

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.

1980’s Austin Punk Rockers “The Dicks”

A great 1980’s hardcore band was The Dicks from Austin, Texas. I saw them at least once, and I think twice, at the Jockey Club in Newport, Kentucky. 

In 1983, they played on a bill with Fang at the Jockey Club. What a lineup!

The Dicks album I have is “Kill from the Heart.” I have the vinyl album and someday I’ll play it again.

I can still hum “Rich Daddy” and “No Nazi’s Friend.”  

The Dicks were politically to the left. I liked that at 17 and I like it today.

And they put on a great show. 

The picture above is from 2005.

In the show I saw, the singer was wearing a dress.

Punks grow older like everybody else.

I’m proof of that fact. 

I’m glad The Dicks are stiil around in one form or another.

Please click here for my greatest punk rock moments.

I’ll be hosting a giant punk rock blast in Cincinnati on August 15, 2009.