SUNNYPHILLIPS (Swingin Thing):Iwentthereforawalk with Fayeonenightwhenwesaw aguyandgirlonacidplayingtennison the tennis court.Theydidn’t have aball,theydidn’t have anyrackets, andthey didn’thaveany shirtson.They weretrippin.
The only thing that remained of the old property was the wine cellar or the pool house. There seemed to be a debate on exactly which it was. My argument was for the pool house. It made the most sense to me because it was a straight shoot through some brush, right to the pool steps where we had just been drinking.
It took someone with the balancing skills of a Mission Impossible agent to get into. The only entrance was through a square hole in the side of the mountain, which I also argued had to be a window from the remaining pool house. To access it, you had to slide down the mountain about six feet on your back, and then sidestep along a narrow, dirt path about a foot wide. I was told many tried and fell down the side of the mountain, but luckily the hillside was full of brush, so no one ever tumbled too far without crashing into a tree or bush to break their fall.
SKITZ ( The Glamour Punks): The general mayhem that took placebehind those gates after hours is enough to filla book.Theone memory that makes me smile the most was when Bam Bam and I weretoodrunktowalkthewholewaydownthepathtoleave.Sowe decided itwould besmarterto justrundownthesideofthemountain. We rolled the whole way, and by the time we got to the street, we hadbranchesstickingoutofourpants,ourshirts were rippedoff and wewerecovered withdirt.
CHRIS PENKETH ( Swingin Thing): Errol Flynn’s was always the go to placeiftherewasnothing to do.Ifwedidn’tgo outeverynight andparty,wefeltlikeweweregettingold.Wewereupthereallthe time.Idon’t remember if Ifelldownthe side of the mountainthough.I probablydid andwasjusttoodrunktoremember.
I was curious to see what was inside the pool house, so I decided to give it a shot. I made it to the opening without falling down the hill and took a peek in but saw nothing but black. The guys threw me down a lighter, and I lit it up inside but still saw nothing. I was about to crawl inside the hole when I suddenly heard the echo of something moving inside, and that had me scurrying my way back across the mountain side, squealing for the guys to pull me back up to the house level. After dusting myself off, I overheard a few people talking about going to “the bench.” I asked Sebastian what it was.
“It’s just a wooden bench further up the mountain at the top of these steps,” he said, pointing to a dirt-covered path with wide wooden steps.
The incline for those steps was very steep. I only climbed about a quarter of the way up before I started wheezing like an old man and had to make my way back down. I ended up staying at the house level the rest of the night, along with a few other people that were too lazy to make their way up the steps.
As spring came to a close, so did a major dark point in my life. After six torturous years of withstanding various oral surgeries and wearing headgear that made me look like The Terminator without his skin, I was finally getting my braces off!
I sat in my orthodontist’s chair, rapidly twiddling my feet as she pulled out a tool that looked like elephant sized pliers. I gasped. She said they were for removing the brackets on my teeth and that it wouldn’t hurt a bit. At that point, I didn’t care if she was using them to remove my brackets and my spleen. I just wanted my braces off already.
As she cracked off each bracket, I felt like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. When she popped the last one off and my lips fell over my teeth, it felt like my gums were swollen. I moved them up and down over my gums like a monkey.
“That’s just your lips getting used to not going over the brackets. There’s nothing wrong with your gums, trust me. You have a beautiful smile now,” she said.
I looked in the mirror, smiled for a moment and immediately covered my teeth with my lips. It was just a natural reaction because I was so used to not smiling in pictures for the last few years. I would give a meager grin, if that.
Later that evening, I went to Sebastian’s to celebrate. When I walked into his apartment, he was hanging out with Sunny and Ronnie in the living room.
“I heard you got the braces off. Lets see your choppers!” Sunny said. I proudly displayed a big Cheshire Cat grin and the guys applauded.
Despite telling myself I had to get my life together after Arwen’s funeral, I hadn’t been doing anything productive to push myself in that direction. Instead, I was going to Errol Flynn’s, hanging out at The Martel Estates, and going to Hollywood parties with Sebastian till the wee hours of the morning. I was 18, with no job and no plans to go to college. My dream was to be a writer, but I really needed to do something to get me going in that direction.
Shortly after my small epiphany, things between Sebastian and I started to take a nosedive. He started instigating arguments with me over the dumbest things, and I couldn’t understand why.
Case in point, I was at Sebastian’s place one night with him and Sunny. They talked about a party their friend Cassidy was having, so the plan was to go to her house. The three of us had just gotten into my sisters car when Sunny decided he wanted to get beer. I stopped by a liquor store next to The Martel Estates, and he ran in while Sebastian and I sat in the car. Sebastian was already drunk and had been poking at me the whole night with his index finger. It was mildly annoying, so I just kept pushing his hand away. But as we sat in the car waiting for Sunny, he started doing it harder. I finally slapped his hand and told him to stop.
“Are you mad?” he asked, as if it were a dare.
“I’m going to be if you don’t stop doing that,” I said.
“Fine.”
He opened up the door, got out of the car, and walked home. I rolled my eyes and sat in the car to wait for Sunny. When he came back and saw Sebastian was missing, he asked what happened, so I told him. He said not to worry and he would handle it.
When we got back to Sebastian’s, Sunny was able to talk him into coming back out with us. The three of us got into Lucy’s car AGAIN and made our way to Cassidy’s. Sebastian didn’t say a word to me the entire way there. When we arrived at Cassidy’s, Sunny got out with the beer and left me in the car with Sebastian.
“Well, are we going in or what?” I asked.
“It’s up to you.”
“What do you feel like doing?”
He looked out the window, began to twist one of his dreadlocks around his finger and said, “You’re the one driving. I guess it’s up to you.”
I was already in a shit mood. I really didn’t feel like going into the house and fighting with Sebastian in front of everyone.
“Do you want to just go back to the apartment then?” I asked.
“Sure, it’s up to you. Whatever you want.”
Pain in my fucking ass.
When we got back to Sebastian’s, he immediately went to the kitchen and made himself a cocktail. I asked him what his problem was and why he was being so bitchy.
“You knew what you were getting into when you started going out with me. If you can’t handle it, well then I guess you shouldn’t hang out with me,” he said as he shrugged his shoulders.
I said nothing. I got up and walked towards the front door.
“If you leave, you’re an asshole,” he said.
“No, YOU’RE the asshole,” I said.
I slammed his front door right behind me and stomped off to Lucy’s car.
I got home a little past midnight and passed out shortly after. About two hours later, the neon phone lit up my room. It was Sebastian. He apologized and said he was really drunk earlier and just wanted to get in a fight. We spoke for about five minutes and then I fell back asleep. A half hour later, he called and woke me up again. He told me he really cared about me a lot, more than anyone he had dated in quite a while. He said I was one of the nicest people he knew. He also said he didn’t want to hurt me and to really think about whether or not I could “hang” with him and his way of living. I said I would think about it and we got off the phone again. But that time I wasn’t able to go back to sleep. I
was wide-awake and began to think about whether or not I really could deal with his lifestyle.
Based on the few conversations we had about his previous relationships, they all sounded pretty volatile. I seemed to be the most normal girl Sebastian had ever dated, and I wondered if that was the reason he was starting fights with me over nothing. Was he in a transition period where he wanted to have a normal relationship and was having trouble adjusting? Or was he just one of those guys who thrived on the chaos and were totally incapable of having a normal relationship?
One of the major problems with Sebastian was that he drank too much, which I think I’ve made abundantly clear. Even he said he was annoyed with how much he drank. If he was sober or even a little drunk, things were fine between us. He was really funny and very affectionate, which is one of the things I liked about him the most. But when he got wasted, he’d turn into a demon seed and start shit with me over nothing. He’d say I was too nice and needed to get mad more often. I’d say some things weren’t worth getting angry over and walk away from him because I didn’t want to fight. Naturally, that would make him try even harder to piss me off. He’d continue to push me till I’d finally snap and yell at him. Then one of two things would happen. He’d either get pissed and take off, or he’d laugh, give me a kiss, and we’d continue with our evening.
It all sounds a bit crazy, but I really cared a lot about Sebastian, despite the fact that I was always on edge. Every time I called or went over to his place, it was always a crapshoot on whether we’d get along that day. The tiniest things would set him off. Despite our sporadic fights, we’d always make up by the end of the night and fall asleep in each other’s arms to the Wish album by The Cure, which he always put on right before we fell asleep.
As the summer kicked in, Sebastian turned 25, Mötley Crüe got a new lead singer, and The Glamour Punks broke up. Shortly after the latter disbanded, I was over at Sebastian’s when Mandie walked in to show off his new haircut. He had cut off his red locks with the exception of the long bangs that draped over his face, and he had shaved the word “BOY” into the back of his head.
MANDIE ( The Glamour Punks): The Glamour Punks broke up becausewejustreallydidn’tgetalong anymore.Weallkindawanted differentthings.Therewasalotoffighting,drunkenness,andgeneral disrespectofeachother.There’sno wayitwasgonnalast.
SKITZ( TheGlamourPunks):By thetimeweplayedourlastshow at the Troubadour, we were way too volatile and in a state of constant chaos.Looking back andknowingwhatIknownow,maybe we couldhave fixedit andgone ontoreinvent ourselves inawaythat reallycouldhave worked. ButIdon’tthinkanyofushad anything left atthatpoint. Itwasjusttimetodefusethesituationbeforeoneorall ofusgothurt.Wewerejustalwayscranked up to ten.Settling down andsavingourenergy forthelonghaulwasn’tsomething thatanyof usreallyknewhowto do.
Hanging out at the Martel Estates became 100% of my social life. I had grown apart from Hannah, Dagmar, and the rest of the Alhambra crew. The only other girl I really talked to was Faye, but I only saw her sporadically. So without any close girlfriends to really hang out with, I naturally gravitated towards the girls in Sebastian’s circle of friends.
First, there was Cassidy, who I immediately became closest to. She was a year older than me with long brown hair and big brown eyes. She was originally from New York and shared a house in Hollywood on Gardner near Fountain with her friends Lark, Dexter, and her amazon friend from college named Joelle.
Joelle stood 6’1” with bright blue eyes and wavy red hair that draped down to her shoulders. Everyone called her “the virgin”. She did admit to fooling around with guys but considered herself a virgin because she hadn’t partaken in actual intercourse yet.
Then there were Emily and Kennedy, the redheads from San Bernardino County. They had just moved into a small studio apartment on Detroit & Fountain, a few blocks away from Cassidy’s house.
Last, but not least, were the blondes, Amie and Dina. They lived in the Inland Empire about forty minutes east of me. Since my house was on the way to Hollywood, Amie would always offer to pick me up along the way, which saved me the hassle of having to borrow cars from my family. She was really generous when it came to other people driving her car, especially me. If we got separated over the course of the night, she knew I’d always be at Sebastian’s, so she’d let me take her car to his place. Then at some point the next day, she’d call me and have me grab her and Dina from wherever they ended up. It worked out perfect for everyone.
Sebastian wasn’t too happy I’d become friends with the girls, and when I started carpooling with Amie and Dina, things only got worse. I couldn’t understand why it bothered him so much. I figured he would be happy that I was getting along with everyone. Cassidy even got me a part time telemarketing job where she worked with Joelle and Kennedy too. All four of us would carpool in the evenings to Canoga Park where we’d cold call people and try to sell timeshares of property in Sedona, Arizona.
My blooming friendship with the girls was just one more thing Sebastian and I would constantly bicker about. I didn’t see what the big deal was, so anytime he’d give me shit about it, I’d just blow it off. But the girls weren’t the only problem. There were also a few guys in our little circle that became the subject of our fights as well.
Sebastian had taken a last minute trip to Vegas one weekend, so I called Faye to see what she was up to. She said her and her friend Amy were going to The Whisky that Saturday night to see a band called Slamhound and that I should come along too, so I did.
When I went to Faye’s that evening, her and Amy were fully decked out in cleavage bearing tops. Amy was naturally well endowed and everyone called her Amy Hooters. When I made a crack about my lack of an ample bosom, Faye mentioned her rack was mostly an illusion.
“Get outta here. Your boobs are WAY bigger than mine,” I said.
“Not really,” Faye said. She grabbed my index finger and used it to poke around the sides of her boobs. They felt hard as a rock. I gave Faye’s boobs a few more pokes and realized the secret to her endowments was a wall like Fort Knox built up of padding.
When we left Faye’s house, we stopped by their friend Jeff’s apartment to have some pre-show cocktails. I didn’t really know Jeff that well, but the few times I’d been around him he was always really nice to me. Apparently, Sebastian had issues with Jeff, and of course I didn’t find this out until after he got back from Vegas. When I told Sebastian what I did that weekend, he was pissed that Jeff had any kind of involvement. He told me he didn’t want me hanging around Jeff anymore unless he (Sebastian) was around.
I found his jealousy a bit funny because I had zero history in the cheating department. Besides, I was totally gaga over Sebastian. The thought of cheating on him never crossed my mind, IF it could even be considered cheating. Everything about the way Sebastian and I were with each other would suggest we were in a relationship, yet our official status was something I could never get a concrete answer on. The last time we addressed the issue was months earlier when we had spoken about it on the beach and behind the tarp back at his place.
Going back to the subject of the girls, he also didn’t like me hanging out with Faye either. He said she was completely out of control and nothing but trouble. But I had known Faye well before him, and I let him know my friendship with her was not up for discussion. He did have a valid point though. Faye was getting out of control. She was only 16 and going out way more than I was, and I was going out a lot. There were also rumors going around that she had already slept with a few guys in Sebastian’s circle of friends.
Turns out I wasn’t the only one concerned about Faye. When I went to grab her and Amy during Sebastian’s Vegas weekend, her dad had quietly pulled me aside while they were in the bathroom getting ready. He voiced his concerns on several instances when Faye had gone out and didn’t come home till the next day. So he asked me to have her home by 2:00am.
Truth be told, Faye was going to do what she wanted to do. Of course I couldn’t say this to her poor dad, but I
think he was already well aware of that. I guess that’s why he decided to come to me personally, figuring I might have a little more influence over her than he would. Faye overheard her dad talking to me and flipped out. She started yelling at him about controlling every little move she made and stormed out of the house. I felt really bad for him, so I said the only thing I could say, yes. Yes, I would have her home by 2:00am. I ended up getting her home around 2:30 that night, or morning I should say. Sure it was later than what I’d initially promised, but at least I got her home and even that took quite a bit of wrangling on my part.
The next time I hung out with Faye, we ended up going to party in Hollywood. We were having a great time, but I needed to have Lucy’s car back by 2:00am. Faye wasn’t ready to leave when I was, so she told me it was fine to leave her there and she’d get a ride home. I had no choice but to leave her, so I could get the car home on time. But I told her to call me if she needed me, and I would steal Lucy’s car to come back out and get her.
I was well into a deep, sleep coma when Faye’s mom called and woke me around 5:00am. The moment I answered the phone, she asked me why I was at home sleeping when Faye wasn’t. She said I was responsible for bringing her daughter home if I picked her up. She also felt I was a bad influence on Faye and banned me from hanging out with her ever again.
I certainly wasn’t mad at the verbal lashing her mom gave me because I knew it was coming from a place of frustration. Faye was like my little sister. I was really starting to worry about her when she wasn’t around me, so I can’t even imagine what her poor parents were going through.
Later that morning, Faye’s mom spoke with my mom and also asked to speak with me. She apologized for the harsh phone call just hours earlier and unbanned me from hanging out with Faye. I told her there was no need to apologize, and I was doing my best to keep an eye on her daughter anytime I went out with her. I thought all was well until I got off the phone with Faye’s mom and had to deal with my own. My mom was quite disturbed by the things that Faye’s mom told her and decided to ban me from hanging out with Faye because she felt SHE was a bad influence. Go figure.
Rock and Roll High School: Growing Up in Hollywood During the Decade of Decadence Page 23
