Hollywood: Rock Of Ages

by Chris Solberg

  After a few shots of some sort of vodka drink, I ended up in a tobacco spitting contest that was held right inside the bar. This would be the first time I would ever try any chewing tobacco and it was quite an experience. The bar had some old brass spittoons lined up along the back wall, next to the pool tables. The bar lady/monster/beast supplied the RedMan large leaf chew tobacco. I took a wad of it out of the pouch and stuffed it into the right side of my cheek. My mouth instantly watered and I got a head rush from the nicotine. I was moments from barfing. A small amount of hot pre-barf liquid crept up my throat and entered my mouth. I spit that pre-barf liquid into the spittoon while everyone one around the bar sat and watched me turn green. More of the pre-barf liquid hell entered my mouth, I began to choke and before I knew it, I swallowed a small wad of chew. Oh crap, here it comes! I ran over to a spittoon and barfed into it with force! I sprayed that bucket good. The awful smell of stomach acid filled the air and everyone in the pub just thought that was the greatest thing they had ever seen. They laughed and laughed, and I puked and puked for the next half hour. I was everyone’s clown for the evening. What a proud moment. Touché Altuna! I deserved that!

  New Years Eve ON FRANKLIN -Cupkake

  Vinnie and I always tried to throw the best parties, and this being New Year’s Eve in Hollywood, he gathered a bunch of people to party in his new studio apartment. During my tour with Ultra Pop, Vinnie had moved across the street to what I guess you could call El Cerrito II. This building directly across the street at 1800 El Cerrito, and was an older building, much quieter then El Cerrito. It was a Spanish style building, and Vinnie’s apartment faced Franklin Street. The side window of this apartment was maybe 10 feet from some of the heaviest traffic in Hollywood. He always commented that if the building was invisible, you would see a sleeping body hovering just 10 feet away from the roaring traffic. He had a bed and a sleeper couch, but extra people would have to end up crashing on the floor. It is now hard to imagine how he would have 10 or 15 people partying in that apartment no bigger than a bedroom, but he did it all the time.

  For some reason he had no curtains, so everybody driving by got a 15 second glimpse of whatever shenanigans where going on at the time. The entire room was lit strictly by Christmas lights and neon, so that alone got your attention when you drove by. Add a bunch of rockers hanging out the window clinking beers, or the occasional nudity, and it’s easy to see why everybody in Hollywood knew where Vinnie Vegas lived. The morning would always look like a disaster drill, with bodies scattered across the room in the same clothes they showed up in the night before.

  We were at Rock-n-Roll Ralph’s located in the heart of Hollywood. This store was always loaded with rock stars, and future rock stars. It was New Year’s Eve and we were loading up on cheap Tott’s champagne which was on sale for $1.99 a bottle. Better get 6 of those! We were shopping around for something great to prepare in the meat department. Actually we weren’t hungry at all, but Vinnie loved to cook so we looked for something out of the ordinary. Vinnie and I simultaneously grabbed for a pre-packaged goat head. The goat head was skinned, but the eyes were still intact inside the skull. It was all wrapped in cellophane, ready for the taking! Oh and what a deal! Marked at a low price of only $1.29. Who could pass that up? We bought the offensive cabeza and Hung-Lo gave us a weird look as he rang it up. Hung-Lo was what we called a cashier a Rock N Roll Ralph’s whose real name was actually Geofrey. But he was Chinese, so the name Hung-Lo was a lot funnier! I’m sure he knew that we were up to something, but didn’t know what. We made it back to Vinnie’s apartment and the drinking began. Franklin Ave. was chock full of cars and limos filled with decked out people heading into Hollywood. Vinnie had removed the screens out of the windows, so we drank tons of champagne while hanging out the window yelling greetings back and forth with the crowd. The goat head was placed on a frying pan, neatly garnished with vegetables and placed in the fridge. Our buddy Danny was coming up from San Diego to spend the evening with us. A girl that I dated now and again named Cheri was also coming up from San Diego via train. The evening came, and soon we were well into what I would call the fun zone. This fun zone is created after you have accomplished obtaining a good buzz. Being so close to the action, we made it out to the strip for midnight, caused a scene, then skeedaddled back to Vinnie’s for more champagne.

  We got back to the apartment at God knows what time, completely trashed. Usually when that occurs, you had better lock everything down because if not, it might end up out the window and onto the street. We opened the window that faced Franklin Avenue and began throwing food items at passing vehicles. I don’t know why that was always so funny, but we would roll in laughter every time we did it. During the shenanigans, I could smell something horrible cooking. I went into the kitchen and noticed the neatly garnished goat head was sizzling away on the stove top. We finished throwing every last food item into heavy traffic until the night became a blur, and then it was morning.

  But where is the goat head?

  Cupkake: “Vinnie, where is the goat head?”

  Vinnie: “We chucked it into traffic last night! Don’t you remember? I was chasing you around with the head in my hand. We threw it out into traffic, went out and got it back and then....well I don’t remember.”

  We all were scattered about the apartment, hung over from the fun evening. The place was littered with empty beer bottles and empty food wrappers. Someone opened up a bottle of sparkling wine and the party was back on! That happened a lot and lead to a bunch of lost Sundays. For whatever reason, I was responsible and did not have any alcohol, but hung out with the gang until afternoon. I soon had to drive Danny and Cheri back home to San Diego. Danny was quite intoxicated and was a great bunch of fun. He was yelling at passing vehicles and harassing everyone that looked his way. This occurred for approximately one and a half hours until he finally passed out in the rear seat. We were not more then thirty miles from Danny’s parents home, when he woke up. He did not look very well. His face was an ashy gray, eyes were half open and his cheeks were bright red. Danny calmly rolled down the rear window and started barfing.

  This vomit session went on and off for approximately a half hour. As we arrived at Danny’s parent's home, we fired up the hose so we could wash off the car. As we were washing all of the vomit off the side of the car, Danny’s mother peeked out the door and said; “what are you guys doing?” Danny was in no state of mind to have a conversation, but he abruptly pulled himself together and yelled out; “its ok mom...I’m with Chris!” Danny’s mother replied with a bright smile, “alright, be careful.” She shut the door and was not seen again. We continued to wash the puke of the side of the car, and laughed as we discussed what had just happened. Danny told me something that day that I will always remember. He told me, “Cupkake, I could be chopping a body into little pieces, lighting a building on fire or robbing a bank! But as long as I tell my mother I am with you...everything is alright.”

  Singing along... to when the radio plays my song,

  and my sunglasses are stained with champagne.

  -Hooligan Stew

  Spiders and Snakes

  The Rainbow Bar and Grill- Hollywood - Cupkake

  The Rainbow Bar and Grill on a Saturday night, hanging out having some food and drinks with friends is the greatest thing you could ever experience. The Rainbow is to this day, one of my favorite bars/restaurants in the nation. There is a vibe in this place like no other. The entire building is decorated with all types of rock memorabilia. Its decor reminds me of a nice Italian restaurant without the stuffy atmosphere. Each booth has photos of all the great rock bands from the 70’s to present day and countless gold/platinum records on the walls. Back in the 80’s, the Rainbow was notorious for it’s lax rules which I took advantage of dozens of times in the past.

  I was eighteen when I moved to LA so I really had no business being in any bar, much less the Rainbow. As long as you had 10 bucks and didn’t look like you came from Orange County, you g
ot in. I was having dinner with my friend Danny and his father Bill one night after a day at the drag races. While we were in the booth having some cocktails, Danny was telling his father how wild the Rainbow can get. I agreed with Danny and demonstrated what you could get away with at this adult wonderland. I yelled at the top of my lungs.... “Yeaaaaaaah!” Danny and Bill burst out with laughter, looked at me with a grin, and told me that nobody even look in our direction. I took the fun to the next level and chucked a large piece of bread at Danny and then Bill. They threw bread back in my direction and shit was flying everywhere! Nobody took notice of what we were doing or they did not care. If you ever get kicked out of the Rainbow, you really pissed someone off. I thought for sure that my hijinks throughout the years would have got me kicked out, but I could not even hold a candle to what half of the “rock-stars” have done in this building.After coming back to LA from our tour with Ultra Pop, we had some decisions to make regarding the band. First off, we needed to find new jobs and a place to live! Lizzie got me a job at Aquarium Stock Company, a “fish store to the stars” on Beverly Blvd. He had been working there for awhile and they were used to his leave of absences for touring. Getting me a job there was a slam-dunk so I began a new chapter in my life as “the fish guy.” As for an apartment, Lizzie and I found a small place that would do for now. I had changed my name from Chris Solberg to Chris Taylor, but still called myself Cupkake and never answered to the name Chris Taylor. (Yes that’s strange, I know!) Next, we got a new drummer and changed the name of the band to Spiders & Snakes. Our new drummer, Timmy, was half Japanese and chock full of energy and enthusiasm. Timmy lived, breathed, and drank Rock N Roll and added a new harder dimension to the band. Actually, he admitted that he drank a little to much and was “on the wagon” the first time I met him. Vinnie Vegas just happened to be there that night and Timmy’s sobriety didn’t set well with him, so we both ended up getting Timmy smashed off of Jack Daniel’s. So much for sobriety! It would be easy to rest on your laurels after the successful tour we just came off of, but we knew better than that. LA waited for no one, and you needed to hit the ground running after every break. We knew that we had to kick it up a few notches or risk being ignored, or worse yet, forgotten in the LA shuffle. We decided to be more high-profile on the club scene and get some high-powered representation as well. And we knew just where to go.

  Lizzie and I started hanging out at the Rainbow at least four nights each week. Some weeks we were actually there every night. During that time, we scored a band manager from New York City named Dino. I have no clue what this guy did for a living, nor did I want to. Dino was absolutely loaded with cash, and liked to flaunt it, especially at the Rainbow. That was the right place to do it because at the Rainbow, the minute you start flaunting your cash, your table is suddenly swarming with hot chicks. It was fun to watch some of the older stripper types battle it out with the constant stream of new younger and cuter kittens fresh off the bus. Lizzie did not have any concerns if Dino could actually manage a rock band, because Lizzie did 95% of all the work anyway. Lizzie just loved the money Dino could bring to the band and we did a fantastic job of spending that loot!

  When we first met Dino, I thought this is one of the ugliest guys on the planet. He looked like your typical “New Yorker.” He resembled early man. His forehead stuck out a little to far for this day and age. He was covered with thick, black, extremely coarse hair; except the top of his head. He grew his hair much too long for a bald guy. You know, that weird hair that circles the head, but does not cover the top. Dino at times have a heavy odor of musty laundry and cigarettes. His look was business attire, suit, tie and slacks, so he looked the part of a manager. But a chick magnet, he was not.

  Lizzie and I took Dino up to the Rainbow Bar and Grill for his first time. He fell in love with the Rainbow the second he walked in the door. The Rainbow is run by an Italian family, often said to be linked to the Mafia. Dino was always into the macho Italian image and always thought of himself and some type of old school mob gangster. I never told him that he was silly for ever thinking he was cool or macho, I just thought it in my head. After all, this guy had money and that was all that mattered. It was a weekend that first time in the Rainbow with our new manager, and we got a booth right smack in the middle of the restaurant area, next to the fireplace. Dino asked where the rest of the band was and I told him they were coming. Dino always wanted to surround himself with lots of people, so he could show off by flashing money around. Dino’s second question to me was, and I quote; “Where the fuck are all the chicks?” (Stated in a really thick Brooklyn accent). I told him not to worry, just open a tab, and let the bartenders and waiters know that I am with you and I could charge anything I wanted. I thought for sure Dino was going to tell me I was crazy and to go screw myself. Nope, he opened a tab and allowed me access to charge whatever I please.

  I went to the bar area and started recruiting girls for Dino to flirt with. I bought, I mean...Dino bought, at least a dozen girls drinks, food, or whatever they wanted. Most would come over and hang out at the table with us because everything was free and our band was popular. Dino was thrilled just to have girls talk to him without telling him to get lost. He really loved the attention and ate it up, bolstering his Soprano’s fantasy. We would have every drink imaginable and party like the earth was going to explode at any minute. At the end of the evening, he got the bill that we racked up over a six hour food and drink party. I am not sure what the bill was, but if I recall correctly it was somewhere in the neighborhood of six hundred dollars. That is a lot of money nowadays, picture how much it was in the 80’s! Dino did not seemed bothered by the spending spree and that was a green light that would lead to numerous nights just like that one.There were evenings that I just wanted to hang around the apartment and relax. Introducing Dino to the Rainbow was great for the first few weeks, but believe it or not, some days I did not feel like hanging out with a dozen people I did not know. I had no idea that getting everything you ever wanted in life without working for it, kinda sucked after awhile. I always felt like I had to be “on” around a bunch of strangers; you know, the wild rock-star persona that everyone expected. It could be tiring entertaining everyone 7 nights a week. I remember a particular Friday evening that I really did not want to go out, but Lizzie and Dino would not take no for an answer. I received a stern lecture from Dino, reminding me that my job as the guitar player in Spiders & Snakes was to get out and sell the band and rock image to all of the tourists in the area. There was always a fresh bunch of people visiting the Rainbow because of its world wide popularity. This would prove very lucrative for record/CD sales.

  I’ve since learned that if you get talked into doing something you really don’t want to do, you might end up with fate smacking you in the ass so it’s best to listen to that inner voice. They both knew how to get me out, I hate to admit how easily manipulated I could be if you pushed the right buttons, but that’s the way it was. Dino and Lizzie would bring some beer into the house, get me to drink a few, and before you knew it, I was rearin’ to go. At first I bitched and moaned, not wanting to perform my circus seal act, but on this particular evening, I’m glad that I went out.

  Lizzie, Dino and I were at our favorite table in the center of the Rainbow, racking up another large bill on the tab. During nights out at the Rainbow, I had the opportunity to meet countless rock and movie stars. This was the place to be seen, so you would get everyone from Jim Belushi to Axl Rose cruising around the place. One fixture at the Rainbow on any given night was Lemmy from Motorhead. Every night you could find him at the dinky Pac-Man Machine playing that tired video game like it was a modern miracle. Every night! Seeing Lemmy like that so often made him lose his celebrity status and became just a another dude. Vinnie suggested that he might be tweaking, but I didn’t buy it. Just a guy who likes to play a lot of Pac-Man I guess. Maybe I was naive, who knows? I never did drugs in my life, but as for Vinnie, well Mr. Vegas kept those cards pretty close to his vest
, but he sure seemed to know a lot about them. The Rainbow was famous for having bone fide rock stars lurking about and tonight, I was going to meet one of the biggest. I remember like it was yesterday, seeing him walk through the front entry way of the Rainbow, the one and only Nikki Sixx. Now Axl Rose had become the undisputed biggest rock star of the day which displaced a lot of older stars. But Nikki had, and still has, a star quality about him that will never go away. I pulled on Lizzie’s glittery shirt like a child asking his dad for something sweet. I told Lizzie, “Nikki Sixx just walked in the door! “Nikki Sixx just walked in the door!” I was fairly buzzed and haggled Lizzie to introduce me to Nikki, and I was really obnoxious about it. I would not let an introduction to Nikki Sixx pass me by, no how, no way!

  Lizzie and Nikki started playing together back in 1978, forming a band called London. Nikki and Lizzie had been really good friends for years, but it was strange to see his reaction to Nikki being in the same room. Lizzie appeared as if he did not want to speak with Nikki, and I found that hard to fathom. I harassed Lizzie relentlessly until he finally broke down and decided to introduce me. I don’t ever remember being so excited to meet a person in my life. I was 21 years old at the time and had been a