Songs and Connections For My Not So Soon To Be Released Book

A rough look at my chronological book...by no means is this even close to complete. Just enough to whet your appetite.

1969-1975
Ramblin Man- Allman Brothers (My father was from Georgia and he found himself on the wrong side of a gun. But I wasn't born on a greyhound bus)



Alley Cat - (One of my mothers' favorite songs when I was just a pup)


Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin (My brother was babysitting me while having a party and he thought he heard a baby crying so he ran into the room where I was and found me rocking back and forth to the music with a smile on my face. He doesn't remember what song or band was playing at the time, so I just took a guess and thought this kinda of sounds like a baby crying. The only other song I can think of is "Mother" from Pink Floyds' The Wall but that was released in 1979, way after me being in a crib.)

1976-1977
Le Freak - Chic ( A song I used to roller skate to among others, but this song actually mentions roller skate.)

Nights On Broadway - Bee Gees ( Another personal classic I remember rolling skating to when I was the rockstar of the roller skates. I was the hockey team mascot when I was just 6 years old.)


God Of Thunder Alive II - Kiss (My first musical influence. My mom would buy me KISS 8-tracks as a kid and I would put on KISS shows for the neighborhood kids. Spitting blood like Gene Simmons)


Shake A Leg - AC/DC ( I couldn't find a "Break A Leg" song, so I chose this one. I broke my femur the first time when I was 6 years old. My second grade teacher, Ms.Catton brought my second grade class mates to the hospital to visit me)

1981-1983
Centerfield - John Fogerty ( I was the pitcher for my little league baseball team and we won first place and I made the all-star team)

Mother, Father - Journey (My catcher was towing me on the back of his bike and decided to jump a cement parking stopper and I fell off the back and broke my femur for the second time almost in the same exact spot.I was featured on the front page of the Keynoter with a picture of me in a body cast on a stretcher. Shamila and her mother came to visit me at Fisherman's hospital. That is when Shamila told me her father was Steve Perry. I met Shamila when I was 5 years old when my mom remarried my step father. My mother or step father were friends' with Shamilas' grandparents and their last name was Stone, which I suspect, I could be wrong, might have something to do with the song "Stone In Love" or it could just be a crazy coincidence.)

1984-1986
World Of Fantasy - Triumph ( My first "real" job was at Burger King in Marathon, Florida and one of the managers there said he used to be the road manager for Triumph, which I thought was cool. 10 years later, I would become a road manager. Not for Triumph but for a band also from Canada, Pluto.)


City Boy Blues - Motley Crue (My first real rock concert the Theatre Of Pain tour, up in Hollywood, Florida at the Sportartorium. I called in sick to Burger King and I got caught when "somebody" saw me strolling around the Cutler Ridge Mall on my "sick" day. My pay was cut but I fixed that. More in the book.

School's Out - Alice Cooper

Move To The City - Guns n Roses

Dead, Jail or Rock n Roll - Michael Monroe


1989-1991
San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers in Your Hair) - Scott McKenzie (First time I moved in with my brother in San Francisco after being evicted in Ft. Lauderdale)


Magic Man - Heart (I got a job as a messenger for a downtown San Francisco law firm and met this receptionist named Elizabeth Shields who used to be a model in New York. She told me she had an encounter with the guitar player from Heart, Roger Fisher and that he had some kind of crush on her. Which I don't blame him. She was gorgeous. She looked like Natalie Merchant and she was my friend with benefits. Nanny Nanny Boo Boo.)


Enter Sandman - Metallica (I saw Metallica at the Oakland Coliseum on the Day Of The Green. My friend actually got a backstage pass for me but I got it too late)

Kid Goes Wild - Babylon A.D.

I Don't Want To Change The World - Ozzy Osbourne (I saw Ozzy on the No More Tears Tour at the Warfield in San Francisco and met him afterward at an in-store signing. Ozzy was oblivious, going through the motions while Zakk and Randy were totally cool, shaking my hand. I got a Japanese import CD cover signed by the whole band including the now deceased drummer Randy Castillo. R.I.P.)


I'm Your Boogie Man - White Zombie ( I played drums in San Francisco with a reggae band called "Don Jeron and the Boogiemon")

Three Little Birds - Bob Marley ( I played one gig at the I-Beam in San Francisco with the Boogiemon reggae band and we opened up for Judy Mowatt, one of the back up singers and one of the three little birds in Bob Marleys' band) Side note: I was the only "white" boy in the band and my first and last gig with the band)


1993-1995
Love Is On The Way - Saigon Kick (A South Florida band. I met Phil Varone at the Button South through Darlene, the owner of Long Distance Entertainment)

Peaches - Presidents Of The United States (I worked at Peaches Records and Tapes in Ft. Lauderdale on Sunrise Blvd.)


Simply Irresistible - Robert Palmer ( My friend Mike Allen (Facebook Friend) and I met one of the chicks from the Robert Palmer video at an Irish pub in Ft. Lauderdale on St. Patty's Day and took her back to our trailer and the rest of the story will be in the book that I am trying to write)


Only Want To Be With You - Hootie & the Blowfish ( I interviewed Mark, the guitar player of Hootie & the Blowfish, before their show at the Button South in Ft. Lauderdale for a school project while I was attending the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale. I actually audio taped it but have since, once again, lost my possession of it.)

Freedom - Rage Against The Machine

Lunchbox - Marilyn Manson ( I was interning at Long Distance Entertainment in Ft. Lauderdale. I also play drums in a band called Colors Of Illusion. The manager for Marilyn Manson, John Tovar, at the time worked there as well and saw my band play the club called the Squeeze and asked me why I never told him about the band I was in. He told me he liked the show.)
Take A Bow - Madonna
Video Killed The Radio Star - Buggles (This is in reference to me quitting the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale when I was taking Music and Video Business.


Going To California - Led Zeppelin ( I moved back to San Francisco with my brother after ANOTHER failed attempt at rock n' roll success. It ain't easy, man. Thank God for my brother or I would of been homeless a lot sooner.)

1996
The New Style - Beastie Boys ( I worked the Tibetan Freedom Concert in San Francisco while interning at Bill Graham Presents and found out I was going on the road with Pluto as the road manager, thanks to their manager, Mick (The Guns Of Brixton) Brigden. Also the manager for Joe Satriani.Plus this song mentions my date of birth and the Tibetan shows were originally organized by the Beastie Boys)


When She Was Happy - Pluto (This is the band I went on the road with. I was the road manager for 6 months traveling throughout the U.S. and Canada. They made a video for this song in Florida while I drove the van by myself with their equipment to San Diego. They flew to San Diego for the gig.)


Father Of Mine - Everclear (Pluto opened up for Everclear in Portland, Washington, that is, on Halloween.AND I got a speeding ticket on MY BIRTHDAY by the CHP!! CHiPs have no heart. I tried to explain I had to get the bands' equipment to a gig in Portland. It was one of those times where I had to drive the van to the gig with their equipment and the band flew in. They had to play a festival in bum fucked Egypt!

Rock n Me - Steve Miller ( The lyrics lend themselves to traveling, and this is in regard to when I went on tour,"I went to Phoenix, Arizona all the way to Tacoma Philadelphia, Atlanta, L.A. Northern California where the girls are warm" Although we never did go to Philadelphia, we covered most of the major cities in the U.S. and all of Canada. They were Canadian and I was the only American. Crossing the border either way was a bitch because of that fact. More on that in...da...you guessed it...BOOK!!!) If I ever finish it. Easier said than done, for sure.


Travelin Man/Beautiful Loser - Bob Seger (Traveling and I always say, please AND thank you and of course, I am a loser but I wouldn't say a beautiful one though.)


Under A Mountain - Black Crowes


Psycho Circus - KISS (KISS played Dodger stadium in L.A. on Halloween and my brother bought me tickets to go see the show. I rented a car and drove down to L.A. by myself. Little did I know the seat was as far away as you could possible get. Luckily, that show is now on DVD on KISSOLOGY 3.)

1998-2002
Lola- Kinks ( I met a girl who looka like a man while working at FedEx. She was a co-worker. A courier like I was. And her name was..LOLA, imagine that. We used to go out drinking all the time. She was a heroin addicted, guitar playing lesbian that I went to Reno on a Greyhound with to get married, one drunken evening. More details in the book.)


Milk - Garbage ( I played drums in a band called milktooth in San Francisco. This is the only song I could find that had the word milk in it and we also had a female singer)


Skintight - The Donnas (My other band, Poisin Jett Gunz. We used to play this song live at our shows. Somehow, the Donnas got a hold of our demo (we didn't record "Skintight" on the demo) and named it one of the top 10 CDs that they listen to during practice. I would later meet the Donnas at Tower Records when they did an in-store signing of their new CD, Gold Medal, while I was working at Tower. I gave them a copy of my Santa Monica Corsair photo essay by Jillian Sorkin.)


Fallen Angel - Poison ( I guess you can figure out the connection with my former bands' name Poisin Jett Gunz,uh....duh. It ain't rocket science, folks. Just trying to make a connection and connecting most of the dots. C'MON, PEOPLE, WORK WITH ME!!!

Bad Reputation - Joan Jett
Paradise City - Gunz n Roses

2003
I Left My Heart In San Francisco - Tony Bennett (I was playing in both the bands I was in simultaneously, milktooth and Poisin Jet Guns and had to decide weather to stay in S.F. with Poisin Jett Gunz or move to L.A. with milktooth and I chose the latter. I actually played one gig with both bands in San Francisco at the Paradise lounge. The guitar player in milktooth, Josh, seemed jealous and did not like my double drumming duty but everyone else in both bands didn't seem to mind.)


Hollywood Nights - Bob Seger
Rock N' Roll Band - Boston (I really did think we were going to take over the world and make it in milktooth. We even had a showcase scheduled with some label reps at the Dragonfly in L.A. but unfortunately my step father passed away and I had to fly back to the Keys to take care of business. The band hired a female drummer for the show and I heard it didn't turn out so good.)



You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire - Queens Of The Stone Age ( On my return to L.A. I guess Rebecca and James fired Josh and needed a drummer and we formed the short lived band, The Millionheirs. We did record a 4 song demo in Joshua Tree at Rancho De La Luna and that's when I recorded drums for Ted Quinns' album, Help Wanted. James was a HUGE fan of Queens Of The Stone Age and they recorded at the studio as well. Hence, the band connection and song choice. I'm sure James came up with the name The Millionheirs)

All By Myself - Eric Carmen
2004-2007
Boulevard Of Broken Dreams - Green Day ( I could definitely relate to this song when the band left me and went back up to San Francisco. I stood my ground and stayed in L.A.... Erie moment: I was crossing Sunset Blvd. one day, going to work and I looked behind me and Mike Dirnt, the bass player from Green Day was also walking across Sunset Blvd., a few step behind me.)


Simple Man - Lynyrd Skynyrd ( I met the original drummer, Bob Burns of Lynyrd Skynyrd, on Sunset Strip outside of Tower Records and I took him to the Rainbow Bar and Grill on many occasions and even let him stay in my van with me. It's a long Twilight Zone kind of story so I'll have to save my words for the book.)


Jamie's Cryin' - Van Halen (My close friend Jamie who I met at the Brass Monkey in Marathon. She took video production at the Art Institute Of Colorado and thats when I went to the one in Ft. Lauderdale. She graduated, traveled and did a lot of shoots and I dropped out because I found out that the credits weren't transferable and I wasn't going to take the basic math or English class and have to do it again somewhere else if I changed my mind.)


Burn- Deep Purple (My Facebook Female Friend, Jamie used to go out with Glenn Hughes, the bass player and backing vocals on this song. My friend Harish and I drove down from San Francisco to L.A. to spend New Years Eve with my friend Jamie and got a chance to meet Glenn at his house.)


Just Like Heaven - Cure - (The next morning, New Year's Day, we went to breakfast at Marie Callander's with Jamie, Glenn and the drummer/keyboard player/childhood friend of Robert Smith, Laurence Tolhurst.)


Hockey Skates - Kathleen Edwards ( When I first heard this song, I could of swore she wrote this song about me. "I don't even have hockey skates. "I don't even order anymore" in reference to going to the bar which I did while living in my van before I started working at Tower records. All the bartenders knew me. I would belly up to the bar without saying a word and there was my Budweiser. It was a hole in the wall bar called, The Drawing Room and opened up at 6 a.m.)


Killer Star - David Bowie

Life - Brides Of Destruction


Sweet Virginia - Train ( My brother bought me a book when I was about 7 years old called "Where Did I Come From" explaining the birds and the bees. While reading, I pronounced vagina, Virginia and both my mom and brother cracked up. Some 25 years later while living in Hollywood I found a shirt that read, "Vagina is for Lovers" that I had to have and did get it.)


Pussy - Lords Of Acid ( I was walking down Santa Monica Blvd with my "Vagina Is For Lovers" shirt, on my way to work, when this young female pulls over in her SUV and says she likes my shirt. We get to talking and I explain that I work at Tower Records, that I was a drummer in a band and that I live in my van. She tells me she is a photography student at Santa Monica College and would like to take some pictures of my everyday living and I oblige.)


It's A Long Way To The Top - AC/DC (About 4 months later, Jillian Sorkin, my new photography friend and Facebook Friend later, came by Tower to drop off a few copies of her photo essay that featured me on the entire back page with about 7 different color photos of me doing various things. I was flabbergasted. The title of the photo essay was,.....you guessed it, "It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Want To Rock n' Roll)


Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine - Killers ( I was in love with a gorgeous black hair beauty and piecing blue eyes bartender at some bar in Los Feliz I can't remember and her name was uhhhhh...JENNY.)


Send Her My Love - Journey ( In reference to when I met Steve Perry at Tower Records and told him I knew his daughter Shamila. And because the song was for her. Now, you think I'm crazy do ya? You ain't seen crazy. I just figured this out today. Take the first letters of each word in the title, what do you get? .....huh...uh-huh..SHML... almost spells out SHaMiLa.... O.K. I'll admit, I think way too much and I admit I am crazy, I just need to somehow find a way to get that "crazy" check that ever other crazy motherfucker is getting!!!.O.K.....Now, where's C.A., Crazy (motherfuckin) Anonymous, I need to get to a meeting!!!)


Venice Queen - Red Hot Chili Peppers ( My favorite CD to listen to, By The Way, while living in Hollywood. Chad Smith would come into Tower records all the time while I only met Flea once and actually rang him up and I shook Anthonys' hand as he was walking out the door) A fellow Scorpio, Anthony was born on the day after me on November 1st. No, I'm not a stalker or some delusional gay groupie, I just happen to read his book to find out information. Try it some time, you might like it.)



Voices - Glen Ballard ( I like this song, but I can't think of why I would put this in this list other than, we were born on the same day. I'll let you figure it out if you don't already know. The same day as Vanilla Ice as well.....SCARY!!!)


Say Goodbye To Hollywood - Eminem (Yes, I like Eminem, sue me. I was waving goodbye to Hollywood)

2008 and BEYOND......

Midnight Train To Georgia - Gladys Knight & the Pips ( I was headed back to my hometown of Marathon, Florida from Hollywood, California. Not on a train but on a Greyhound bus that took 5 days.....I'M SUCH A FAILURE!!!) But I did get a job the very next day when I FINALLY got off the bus, working for Keys Shuttle and they HAD employee housing BUT it was filled up.I did have a job but I was still homeless, sleeping at the old Quay restaurant across the street from my yob in my hometown of Marathon. I eventually moved on to the Big Yellow Taxi.)


Home Sweet Home - Motley Crue (My life's like an open book and my hand is at the end of the video and I met Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee)

Who Says You Can't Go Home - Jon Bon Jovi (YEAH who says? Tell 'em Jon and Jennifer!!!)

Big Yellow Taxi - Counting Crows ( I worked for Friendly Taxi in Marathon after my stint in California)


Another Day In Paradise - Phil Collins ( I was living in a tent while working for the taxi cab business until the business went out of business)

Key West (I Saw You First) - John Mellencamp (Welcome to the only FREE shelter in the Florida Keys, K.O.T.S. (Keys Overnight Tempory Shelter) 50 miles away from where I want to be)


America - Neil Diamond (The closest Statue of Liberty song I could think of)
Signs - Tesla (I wave a sign in my monkey suit)
Watching The Wheels - John Lennon ( People do say I'm crazy and I did profess in my Key West Citizen article when I drink beer it makes me lazy as I watch the wheels go by as I spin the sign for Liberty..Tax that is.)

Take A Picture - Filter ( A lot of people I see taking pictures of me while working as the Statue of Liberty on the side of the street, living in the street and if my Dad could only see me now!!)


Dancing In The Dark - Bruce Springsteen (The lyric, "Trying to write this book" hits home for me.Which is pretty much where I am at today, trying to do and still chipping away.)

More to come fo sure....Happy Valentine's Day!!!