heidicuda's Blog

L.A. Girl/L.A. World

Dateline: April 11, 2008, Hollywood, CA. Location: Backstage at X at the Fonda.

It was a rock star cornucopia, a homecoming of sorts for X, 31 years and counting after the L.A. foursome emerged with pocketful of poetry at the inception of punk rock. Backstage at the Henry Fonda Theater, I had the chance to rub elbows with Chrissy Hynde, reminisce about Men’s Rooms we have known with Linda Cummings, the wife of the late Johnny Ramone, and caught up with Stray Cats drummer, Slim Jim Phantom, whose latest side project, Head Cat, (below) opened the show. The psychobilly band features Lemmy Kilmister from Motorhead on vocals and 13 Cats Danny B. Harvey on gee-tars, keys and bass. And just in case you were concerned, Lemmy can still fit into his skinny jeans. Before X took the stage, I chatted up X vocalist/bassist John Doe and it turns out we both have an affinity for the lean means streets of San Pedro. Doe says he even has a t-shirt that reads: “San Pedro: Where the Ghetto Meets the Sea.” Mos def. Gotta support your local punkers so I bought merch. Turns out Danny Masterson had the same compulsion. The actor dropped a couple of sawbucks on blazing X t-shirts…. Devolved into a total groupie when X launched into the iconic songs “Los Angeles” and “White Girl,” which the band saved for an encore…. And just when I thought the night couldn’t get any better I bumped into my other favorite drummer, Joe the Kid. Joe, who has a habit of turning me onto hot bands, tells me he’s back with the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and is particularly excited about his new side project, Jackson United, which was founded by my favorite Foo Fighter, guitarist Chris Shifflet, and my favorite member of Face to Face, Chris’ brother Scott Shifflet. Aussie’s should be stoked because Jackson United’s headed Down Under this month…. It’s time to start sucking up to the publicist for the Toyota Grand Prix in Long Beach. Pennywise performs at 6 p.m. on Saturday and I’m sooo there. Fletcher, the Hermosa Beach band’s guitarist, says anyone with a Pennywise tattoo gets into their shows for free. Well, I’ve got two. Should be good for me and a plus one…. Last word goes to Mike McColgan, singer of the Street Dogs (below, right), who gave me the skinny on the Irish punkers upcoming album, “State of Grace,” on Hellcat. It drops on July 8, was produced by Ted Hutt (Flogging Molly) and includes guest performances by Madonna’s drummer and bagpipe player. Although he’s relocated to Swe’L.A., his thick brogue is a dead giveaway to his Irish Boston roots, which he draws on a’plenty for “Grace,” an album he calls “mean, angry and questioning of authority." Say what?... xoxo hsc