Hollywood: Rock Of Ages

by Chris Solberg

  Motley Crue fan since the beginning of the Crue’s career in 1983. Lizzie walked over toward Nikki and I followed him like a puppy dog next to its

  master. Lizzie started the conversation by walking to the right side of Nikki and placing his left hand on his shoulder. Lizzie gave his typical, “Hey, what’s up dude?” as he lightly shook the shoulder. Nikki quickly turned as if he was pissed that someone was touching him. The second he saw Lizzie’s face, a big smile burst out and the mood lightened. Lizzie chatted for a few minutes while I stood patiently at his side. Nikki finally extended his hand and introduced himself. Lizzie of course, introduced me to Nikki and it seemed like time came to a stand-still. That was a very memorable

  moment in my career, I could literally feel everyone in the Rainbow staring at me. And it was a good “awe” stare, there I was, standing and bullshitting with Nikki Sixx. Better yet, he decided to have a seat at our table. This brought my status at the Rainbow into the “A” list elite. We received the rock star treatment that entire evening from the patrons and the Rainbow staff. As the night went on, Nikki introduced me to other people as his friend. I was thinking to myself that things could not get any better if I tried. I was hanging out at a table with a major rock star and being introduced as his friend. The girls that Nikki could draw to our table were in a league of their own that I was not use to seeing or meeting. Could the night be any better? The clock was drawing close to 2 am and I was bummed that the night was going to be over. Oh well, I had a bitchin’ time and was saying my goodbyes to Nikki outside when things did get better. Nikki actually invited Lizzie and I to his home. Ohhh man!

  Lizzie and I hopped into some strange girls car and followed Nikki to his home into the San Fernando Valley. Nikki does not live very far from Hollywood, just over the hill approximately 10 minutes away. Upon arrival to Sixx’s home, I was very excited and sobered up quickly. This was too cool, here I was, at Nikki’s Sixx’s home! Pinch me, I must be dreaming! Nikki’s home was surrounded with a large wrought iron fence like a medieval estate. Nikki let us into the large wonderland he called home, and I was very impressed. You have to remember, I lived in the kitchen of my tiny shoe box apartment at the time. Nikki’s home seemed almost too big for one person to live in. When we entered the front door following Nikki like a puppy from the pound, Nikki looked in my direction and said, “Help yourself to whatever you want bro, the kitchen is that way.” I was shocked at his hospitality. After all, Nikki really had no idea who I was, except for the fact that I was the guitar player in Lizzie’s band.

  The house itself had really nice furniture and the rooms were all stylishly decorated. The weird thing I noticed was the items lined up along the walls resting on the floor. Nikki had earned numerous gold and platinum albums with Motley Crue, and there they were scattered on the floor like headstones. There were holes in the walls where it appeared that the gold and platinum records once hung. I remember wondering why Nikki took all of his gold records off the walls and left them on the floor. A few of them appeared as if they were ripped out of the wall in a fit of rage. It was a really weird thing to see when everything else looked so nice. I sat down next to Nikki and tried to start a conversation with him. Nothing about the strange records, just chit-chat about nothing as if he were a friend. I was hoping that if I didn’t make too big of a fuss, he would treat me like one and maybe even invite me back. But somewhere in that conversation, I lost him. I could tell he wasn’t listening to me anymore and I didn’t know what to do. It did not take long for my conversation with Nikki to fizzle out and for him to wander off down one of the many halls in his home. Nikki was really nice, but just like that, he walked away in the middle of a conversation and disappeared into another room.

  I thought that maybe Nikki was doing drugs that evening, because his jovial mood turned dark and distant. I decided to pound a bunch of Jack Daniel’s and flirt with the girls instead. This part sucked because none of the girls wanted anything to do with me. I was in a palace with tons of hot woman and could not get the attention of even one. I was certainly not use to that type of treatment, I was always the center of attention. (Note to self: stay away from the rock stars and you will have more fun!) The girls were all waiting for a chance with Nikki or one of the other band members from Motley Crue. I don’t recall much more about the evening, except for being driven home by some beautiful, hungover woman that was thrown out of the house by Nikki. Even this girl that was rejected by Nikki did not want anything to do with me! What a night!

  The Spiders from mars - Cupkake

  Our manager, Dino always wanted to live the high life. He had paid for a studio session so we could record the infamous “Arachnomania” compact disk. We recorded the CD at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, CA. Studio producer Kim Fowley (Kiss & The Runaways) arrived to record and produce a song on the CD. Kim reminded me of Frankenstein. The guy was huge, with robot like features, you know... very square jawline, phony white hair, and had absolutely no personality. I did not like Kim.

  Recording a CD was not even close to enough for Lizzie or Dino’s appetite for excitement. For whatever reason, Dino insisted that we start arriving to our shows in giant black limos. None of us argued. Hell, why not? If you appear to be a rock star, you will be a rock star! Besides, it was not our money so what the hey! Dino had rented the top floor of a swank Hollywood Hotel for the soon to be afterparty following us headlining the Whisky-A-Go-Go for the first time as Spiders & Snakes. We primped ourselves up in the hotel for the big night. Dino rented other rooms for us to stay if we wanted, or just to party in. The main room for the festivities was a giant meeting room, approximately 1500 square feet. I was young and stupid at the time, and I was hard to impress. This room was impressive! Vinnie Vegas and I wandered up to the room prior to the after party, just to check it out. This room was decked out to the nines. There was a large, oversized oak table in one of the rooms that could seat 12 people. The rest of the rooms adorned beautiful leather couches and glass tables. It was not long before Dino began to order food and beverages from the concierge downstairs. As the food and beverages arrived, Vinnie and I helped ourselves to food and drink samples. It was hours before we were going to headline the Whisky-A-Go-Go and Vinnie and I were getting bored. Dino had ordered these very large veggie trays that were all presented on beautiful decorated glass. Well, Dino left the room to entertain himself elsewhere. The worse thing you can do is leave Vinnie and I alone in a fancy hotel suite with food and beer. I was able to open the bolted locked window that was facing south toward Sunset Blvd. Vinnie and I never had to verbally communicate what type of hijinks were about to happen. Vinnie grabbed two beers and the fancy veggie tray and meandered toward me. He took a bite of carrot and I grabbed a piece of cheese. We both cracked the beers open and laughed out loud. We always giggled like little school children when we were about to do something wrong. We both slammed our beers and basically grabbed the tray at the same time, as if we were fighting over it. The only reason we would fight over the tray, was to be the first to throw the tray of veggie out the window, tray and all. We both screamed, Blow-hatch!!! That is what we yelled when something was being pitched out a building window or moving vehicle. The glass tray of veggies flew out the window and plummeted to the bottom floor of the hotel. Vinnie and I did not consider who might be down in the parking area, where this tray was about to meet its doom. I don’t think we ever really thought about it. The tray crashed into the asphalt and blew apart into a thousand pieces. Well isn’t that what rock stars are supposed to do?

  MY LITTLE SANCTUARY - Vinnie Vegas

  After the brief chaotic living situation with Curtis, my little studio apartment became a symbol of comfort and security. I loved that little Spanish style room. If you’ve ever been to Balboa Park in San Diego, the buildings there have a Spanish style and look to them that this place possessed. My room had an indentation in the wall where a bed used to fold up into. I found a similar thing in the kitchen where an ironing board was on
ce stashed. These relics were now gone, but it clued me in to what this apartment used to be like back in the day. This was a bachelor pad alright, from the 1920’s where some guy in a suit used to iron his shirt in the kitchen before taking the trolley to work. Our old apartment had modern slat-blinds, so there was no need to buy curtains, This left me in a bind because this place had a big window facing Franklin Blvd. with no curtains. I always meant to buy some, but somehow, it just never happened. There was a streetlight across the way which beamed straight into my living room at night. So I taped a paper plate up to the window like a streetlight eclipse, ensuring I could sleep in peace. As for the bathroom, I never did get curtains for that, so every morning, all the people stuck at the light could look up and see me taking a shower. I’d wave at them and they would give me a funny look, but then they would wave back. Hey...it’s LA. It became so common that I actually forgot about it until a girl spent the night and was appalled in the morning. The best was if you needed to shower up before going out on a Saturday night. That’s when you were lit up like a public peep show for the entire street to see and you’d hear a few honking horns as well. Imagine taking a shower in full view of one of the busiest streets in LA!

  Yes, Franklin Blvd. was well known to all locals as the must-drive East -West alternative to Hollywood Blvd. if you wanted to make good time. So it was constantly packed with cars until 3:30 am, then the traffic picked back up at 6:00 am. So on any given day, you only had about 2 and a half hours of quiet. Unlike the Cahuenga Pass which was chock full of cars at any time. I was constantly marveled at the fact that no matter how late it was, the 101 Freeway through the Cahuenga Pass was constantly full. 4:30 am? Roaring with traffic! I know because that’s when I’d drive home after hooking up with a chick in the Valley. It made you feel confident that you could blend in with the other drivers so late after you’ve had a few drinks. Back in San Diego, I would have been the only one one the road, and would have stood out like a sore thumb. A point that a lot of San Diego Chargers players have not gotten yet apparently!

  Having Franklin right outside your window was like having front row seats to a rush-hour drama every day. Many a time, a car would come to a screeching halt in the middle of the street, and somebody would start tossing shit out the window. This was usually at 3 am so you knew they were drunk. Full on screaming matches and other fights happened every other night. It was fun to see who’d be walking home at 4 am on any given night. Usually it was some crazy girl in heels yelling at no one in particular. The effect went both ways since you could see inside so easily from the outside. If you like to have sex with the lights on, you must remember that people could see inside as well! I had my bed backed against the far wall because of the street light, but if somebody crashed out on the couch which was against the window, they’d literally be sleeping 10 feet away from roaring traffic. The building was on a hill, so my window was about 12 feet above the ground. That meant in the morning, you’d be able to look down into strangers cars and see what color panties the girls in business dresses where wearing. Or down the shirts of girls who had no idea that somebody was copping a peek. I found out that when girls are unaware, they are very undiligent about covering up and get into positions they would never do outside of the comfort of their car. This of course was lots of fun, and when people’s dogs were hanging out the passenger window on their way to Runyon Park, you could get the dog’s attention and blast them in the face with squirt guns. I never saw dogs so annoyed in my life! Have you ever seen an annoyed dog? It’s funny! They can’t say shit!

  LIZ - Vinnie Vegas

  With all the stars and groupies that were prevalent in Hollywood during the eighties, real relationships were rare if not impossible. A lot of bands tried to outdo each other by trying to bag more girls than the others in a twisted competition. Girls to them became trophies like “kill flags” on the side of a WWII fighter plane. I heard guys actually brag about achieving a “triple-crown” which means you had sex with three different girls on one calendar day. I remember marveling at the fact that these guys would end up doing somebody they had known for all of five minutes. It’s true, I heard it all the time. Even back then, I knew that was bizarre. The weird part is how girls went along with this willingly, knowing full well what they were thought of as. This attitude towards women was very common among the local bands and nobody really thought much of it. But even in Hollywood, it was possible to meet someone who stuck with you for awhile. Then, you might have the closest thing to an actual relationship. Without fail, the unwritten code at the time was not to get too close. That’s just the way it was at the time, even the girls adhered to this axiom. This led to an awkward dance of affection, tempered by restraint. Having my own private apartment for the first time in my life gave me the chance to foster some almost adult relationships as well. Matt once told Perris and I that he couldn’t understand why we both needed to juggle so many girls, and that he was content to sit back and watch the circus we created. I answered that the key word in his statement was “watch” and Matt shot me a dirty look while Perris looked down at his feet and grinned. The key word in my previous statement was “almost” when it came to adult relationships. Well... almost adult.

  One night, my friend Curtiss and I went down to a local bar on Cherokee called “Boardners” which was one of those old haunts from the 1920’s all decked in out in the cool retro art deco style. To be honest, I was tired and didn’t really want to go. But Curtiss was adamant and I started to feel like a wuss for waffling on the idea, so I agreed to go with him. That happened a lot back then, I always felt like I was lucky to be in Hollywood, so don’t be a baby! I figured I would stay for a few, and come back home with a nice buzz to hit the hay with . OK, let’s go! A lot of bars in Hollywood somehow became the hot spot to be for awhile and Boardner’s was riding a wave. Apparently this used to be a hotspot for stars like Clark Gable and such back in the day. Wednesday nights were the happening night at Boardner’s and everybody hung out in the outdoor courtyard drinking $2 Coronas. I had just joined Hooligan Stew, and I was pretty upbeat about the notion of finally going somewhere musically in this town. I met a girl named Liz, and I started hitting it off with her. Liz was really cute and stood about 5’0’’ which was perfect for me. Those kind of girls were called “spinners” back then, I don’t know if people still use that term. She was cute, kind of a Leighton Meester type, with long flowing light brown hair that was soft as silk and straight as an arrow. She must have been around 23 at the time, and her innocent Brady Bunch looks really made her stand out in the Hollywood crowd.

  I wasn’t really flirting with her because she was surrounded by a bunch of dudes, but I’d interject something into the conversation every now and then. I guess my casual demeanor worked because I noticed that she kept looking at me, and would go out of her way to answer me. I wasn’t really trying to scam that night, because I was extremely tired and burnt out from partying the night before, so after a short while, Curtiss and I bailed. Outside as we were leaving, I was surprised to see that she was tracking us down. Her little feet were moving a mile a minute as she tried to catch up to us in her high heels. We started walking home and she simply followed us back to Curtiss’ apartment like a puppy dog. Once there, Curtiss flopped down on his bed and crashed out. That left us alone on his couch where we talked and got to know each other. I began to play with her hair as we talked and after a while she kissed me. It was nice, not a make-out kiss, but a soft gentle sign of affection that caught me off guard. She put her hand against my face and caressed my cheek as her lips met mine and I felt like I was in a Hollywood movie. She leaned back and looked up at me and I suddenly realized that I had a beautiful brunette in my arms. How did that happen? When Curtiss and I set out for Boardner’s, I had no idea that I might end up with a new girl in my life. Strange how four hours can make such a difference.

  Liz would call me every night to say hi, and would come over around three or four times a week. About a month later,
she invited me to her company’s annual Christmas party which was being held right down the street in a ballroom at the famous Roosevelt Hotel in downtown Hollywood. It was the ballroom where the very first Academy Awards was held and the party was quite posh. I was really excited and decided to dress in slacks and a tie since the place had such a glamorous history. When I met her there, Liz was taken aback and impressed when she saw me. She too was dressed to the nines in a pearls, a black backless gown, and velvet gloves that went up past her elbows. I think she really expected me to show up in my rocker regalia and was pleasantly surprised at my attire. She stepped back and looked me up and down with a smile. She said, Well, you certainly do clean up well.” She then offered me her arm and we made our entrance. We had a wonderful and glamorous night and I really felt like a gentleman.

  Liz and I saw a lot of each other after that, and I really enjoyed her company. She would come over and we would do the simple things that people do like cuddle up on the couch and watch TV. I took her out to Rafallo’s for pasta a few times and that was fun because we were both old enough to order drinks. That was something that as strange as it sounds, I had not done much of until then. Going to a restaurant with a date and ordering cocktails seemed like such an adult thing to do, and it surprised me how little of that I had done. Then to come back to my own apartment and share a bottle of wine topped off the whole experience. There was no curfew, she could stay all night if she wanted to. What a concept! I really enjoyed the idea of an adult relationship and I embraced the concept with Liz.