Once I saw the Adolescents and Black flag, I
decided that I needed to set up a venue for this, and
only this, kind of music. So, I found a disbanded
bowling alley in an industrial part of the San
Fernando Valley and worked out a deal with the
leaseholder. I was on a legally shaky sublease, which
could have crashed and burned any second, but, still, I
went ahead with the project.
I named the place Godzilla’s…
…and was promptly threatened with a lawsuit
from Soho Pictures, which turned out to be the least
of my problems…
After the club was up and running, I noticed
issues with people I had hired for tasks, which
included the handling of ticket money at the door. In
some cases, these were serious concerns.
Then, after the first weekend, I was summoned
by the City Councilman and a lynch mob of angry
neighbors’ intent on shutting me down. Police
helicopters would show up in the skies above, and the
cops were always invading the place, warning me
about this and that.
And there was the fire department.
I found myself in court so often that I lived on
valium.
I was focused and, on my game, which
necessitated my firing the staff that was robbing me
blind and only hiring the bands they liked (or were
friends with), amongst an array of other
unprofessional behavior.
One evening, I received a phone call asking if I
would be interested in booking The Damned…