I can't believe that The Pods played so many gigs at the Jockey Club...it's as of they were the house band. Where is Bill Leist? Where is Pete Weggly? Whatever happened to the Jockey Club juke box? 

Is Sylvia's Mexican Restaurant still open? 

I can't believe that SS-20 played so many gigs at the Jockey Club...it's as of they were the house band. Where is Jughead? Where is Ace? Whatever happened to the Jockey Club urinals? 

Although, I never got to go to the Jockey Club due to my age I knew a guy by the name of "Dennis" who worked there in 85 or 86. I also have got to meet and talk to Bill Leist and Handsome Clem a few times!! If only we could turn back the clock and get in to the door One more time!! I would love to get copies of (on tape or Cdr's) any shows from the Club feel free to email me if you might have some! There isn't a time that i drive by there i dont think of the JC!!! Thanks again!!!! Mark Milner 

Where are the pictures promised for June? I feel cheated. What happened to 1983? I know the Circle Jerks played that year. Although I was too young to go to the.. Yea whatever. Remember the farewell show? I do. How about that record thowing contest. I think I still have a couple of those 45's that was gettin' tossed that night. It was A GOOD NIGHT. Except for when the guy from the Edge was singing that hippy shit this where we belong song. That always bothered me, and to this day wonder how we let him get away with doing that. P.S I know where the urinals are and I ain't tellin' you fecal freak! 

I worked security at many a show at the JC. Don,t forget about JAH WOBBLE,THE CIRCLE JERKS,MDK,THE GUN CLUB,D.O.A.'S FIVE SHOWS, What was left of the DICTATORS SHOW. THE REPLACEMENTS......... If you want more info on other shows e-mail at the above address any time SPLIT HIS HEAD............ BEN. 

The Jockey Club will always hold a very special place in my heart and in my mind. The countless great and some not so great times formed a beautiful period in my life and in the lives of so many who passed through its doors. One legendary act after another, yet another breath taking show, "it's a freak show ace" was a common fraze of the day or back in the day shal we say. I posted fliers, did some promotion, radio and otherwise for years, promoting the club and many of the bands that performed on its stage. I loved that place as so many did. If I had to mention just a few shows of major proportions ( a difficult task, I might ad )I might mention the following; The Vibrators "84"-The Exploited "84"-Violent Femmes "84"- Replacements "84"-Plan 9 "many dates"-D.O.A. "many dates"-Love and Rockets "85" -The Fall, The Ramones, Black Fag, The Cramps, Johnny Thunders, Gun Club, GBH, Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, and countless others. So many classic local bands of the day as well, such as, The Reduced-The Thangs-Cybermen- Libertines-Snare and the Idiots-BPA and Major Morgan and the Waist Baskets to name a few. See what I mean...the list could go on and on. Enough said for now. Enjoy the page and your memories "Sieze The Moment and Sieze the Day" Walt Whitman. Fondly, Chris Smith 

JC fans: What about a new jockey club reunion concert? I could get SS-20 to do it for sure, but it would have to be more than them. And of course, the Southgate Haus would have to be the venue. It's just a bare bones idea, but the interest in just this website has surprised me just a little and makes me think the time is right. Thoughts? 

I was standin at the door to the jc Jimmy D was workin the door this guy comes up and goes to go in Jimmy D tells him what the cover is the guy says hes in the band Jimmy D doesnt believe him the guy says what do u want me to do sing a song Jimmy D kinda agrees i think, so he starts singing it mite have been when im walkin i strutt my stuff and im so strung out im hi as a kite i just mite its the singer for the femmes gordon gano i think Jimmy D lets him in it was funny jonny 

24 Apr 2000 Hiya, I will find a bunch more over time but I came across one poster last night and thought I'd get it off my chest since it's a ton of bands and a wierd gig too. Most of these bands probably played the club on other nights you're missing, but at least this covers a lot of bases. (not sure of order, Somebody headlined) 1/26/85 Somebody / Present Tension / Fucking Cunts / Midgets / Black Republicans / Dream 286 / Dennis the Menace / Boo Boo Ray / Visitors Snowed like hell, so more people in bands than fans showed up. It was a bizarre family reunion type gig so many of the bands no longer formally existed at the time of the show. But the players were part of the history. The Cunts played the 2nd or 3rd show of the JC's existence... opening for Million Dead Cops who were paid $400 by Shipleys (now Top Cats) NOT to play there the night before. MDC smelled really bad from too many hours in a van and had some very hard lesbian chicks for roadies (very good roadies and they smelled better than the band). Green River may have played at that show as well, or else it was another night the Cunts played. The FC's had lots of punk cred: Bands like MDC, Green River, Toxic Reasons liked playing with them here. Present Tension was an off shoot of this band. The Black Republican's was Greg Dulli's band before the Whigs. Jamie Ozias (local acoustic guy lately) was in there, alongside Hermano bassist Steve Brown. I believe Steve Earle drummed in that band but it was a long time ago. Dream 286 played the club a lot, often with Dementia Precox, and almost certainly with Get Smart on the night listed. Their record release had a ton of bands playing and was the first bonafide sell out of the club... packed to the gills and really sweaty night. Randy Cheek, now an Ass Pony was Dream's bassist, and his later Libertine mate Joe Hamm was the drummer. Dennis The Menace was another rich band... BooBoo Ray was an off shoot contemporary of that by way of Dennis frontman Michael Devanney who was also in Nervous Pioneers about this time which was home for Marc Chenault. Ditchweed's drummer Kendall Davis was in Dennis as was Jerry Chambers who's been in tons of bands before and since. Somebody was the bastard child of all of these parents. I played in that band, along with a few of the others. I was a fairly regular sound man at the JC for most of it's existence. It was Stacey Doose's system, and Jim Davidson was a punk smartass enough to want to be there a lot. When Stacey or Jim didn't want to work, or a band I was in or associated with was playing, I worked it. Early on that was maybe 2-3 nights a month. I worked more touring, and then studio sessions, so that had ¡dwindled by the time of this particular gig to 1-2 nights a month. Stacey had a better gig by that point, so there was always work there. One of the very best shows EVER at the JC was Big Black. I'm guessing it was in 84 or 85 as it was on thier tour supporting Atomizer. It had just come out. 99% of the people who will tell you they were there were liars: the only people in the club that night were myself, Bill Leist and the friends I managed to call to say "get the hell down here" after a terrifying sound check. Aside from being one of the most intense, heavy performances I'd ever seen anywhere, aside from the fact that they put on this show for maybe 8 people, and aside from the fact that they probably didn't get paid, the most notable feature of the show was thier soundman had somehow managed to push the JC PA beyond the limits. I had NEVER heard ANYTHING as loud. Ever. Jimmy and I both prided ourselves in being able to milk every dB out of that rig, but Big Black took it to another level. No one before or later ever played the JC as loud. Not even close. Oh yeah, thier songs, for the uninitiated, can be piss-your-pants scary too, at any volume. Unfortunately I'm not sure of when specifically this show was. Albini mentions a Newport show on a tour diary on a website somewhere, but I believe that was the Southgate show on thier farewell tour. Big Black played great at that show too, but it wasn't the same. Maybe they played great and loud at the JC to torture Bill and Shorty cuz they knew they were getting screwed later on. -d- Dave Davis UltraInteractive 

14 Mar 2000 shit, fucking amazing really...............chris and or jimmy smith used to have flyers for damn near every show hangin on the wall ..........maybe they could supply more dates/info.........as funnyman bob hope says, "thanks for the ..FUCK! am I still alive?" Randy Cheek 

2 May 2000 Hello! Awesome idea for a site. I have a couple of shows that aren't listed there on your show list. I played in a band called V.A.G. back in the Jockey era days and have a videotape of us playing there January 24, 1987 (The bill was V.A.G./ The Blaze) and an audio tape of a February 12, 1987 show there (V.A.G., The Blaze, again) I also went through some old flyers I have and found : Feb 22, 1985-Vale of Tears/Harvey and the Larvae Jan 25, 1985-Toxic Reasons/Snare & The Idiots Oct 31, 1985-The Reduced, The Thangs, The Highwaymen, SS-20 Dec 20,1986-SS-20/Destructive Criticism/Face Reality Dec 31, 1986-The Reduced/SS-20/The Highwaymen Hope this helps out. Talk Later, Chris Lee 

First of all great site- brings back alot of great memories. I located a flyer of a show I attended at the Jockey Club. The date was Friday Nov. 29, I believe the year was 1985(flyer lists no date). Bill was Suicidal Tendencies/The Primates/SS-20(flyer says "last gig" for SS-20 which was obviously short lived). Hope this is of some help. If you would like a copy of the flyer e-mail me your address. Thanks- Greg 

16 May 2000 Hey, Bryce! I didn't know it was you! I was wondering who'da gone and done a crazy this like this. How have you been? I always knew there would be a good reason to keep all of these articles and fliers. I'm glad to help. Unfortunately, I had a roommate, more than a few years ago, who stole most of the stuff and ALL of the really good stuff. He also decimated my music collection, so all of my vinyl and tapes from those days are long gone. What a shame. What I wouldn't give to hear Juggie sing "Pope's on Tour" one more time . . . But memory is incredible. I can still smell the place, still picture the bathrooms, still remember the very first time I walked in, still remember watching Bevo slither out of his pink dress to get naked on stage, yet again, and I still remember letting Metallica in through the back door during the packed Ramones show. I remember the pinball machine, and the mannequin, and chatting with Shorty and Tiny on a Tuesday afternoon before a show that nobody came to. Ah, memories . . . Whatever happened to Billy anyway? I can still hear his voice in my head, with that Kentucky drawl . . . 

Anybody know what happened to some of these people who hung out at the JC around 1983-84? Jakki Repellent - Bass Player for Musical Suicide Ben Shipman - Guitar Player for Musical Suicide Myra/Moira Jan Gerber Steve Lawrence - Played standup bass for the Hop Heads and the Warsaw Falcons for a time. Steve the Skinhead - took over singing for MS after my nervous breakdown. There are tons more. I can see their faces but I can't find their names. 

09 Aug 2000 Bryce, Well, look at that! It looks like you and Doc and what used to be me. How 'bout that! Didn't know I was still so ticklish! I read the page and all the shows really brought back a boatload of wonderful memories. I didn't realize how much of my youth was wasted at the JC AND how many great shows I missed! I wish I could add something to your page, but unfortunately I was much too busy drinking beer out of surplus Australian oil cans to document any of the magic. I showed a friend of mine your page and we scrolled down the list of shows. He was amazed at how much I remembered (as was I). Now I'm getting sleepy and should tie up all the loose ends so I gotta go. You got 'um good pages. I'll force all my friends to visit. Take care and don't neglect your amphibians. 

Hey Great site you have. I was a regular at the JC from 1984 till the end and I really miss the place. I used to tape shows on my Sony Walkman all the time and also video taped a few. I just went through my list of audios and was amazed to find that about 90% of them are not listed on your page. I'll go through my videos and flyers and get back with you (hopefully with more dates). Do you know anyone who has a copy of the Dead Kennedys show(s) on video? I know it was filmed but I've never seen it. I think a guy named Ed taped it. Someone must have a copy of it. I had fun going through my old flyers and remembering all those shows I saw. Just when you thought you had all the dates you would be able to find, here comes some more. I saw your note about the furniture and stage being left outside for scavengers. I have a table and four chairs, three stage lights (I got them from Rick Sims of The Reduced), and the Jockey Club sign that used to hang above the sidewalk. I have some newspaper articles on the JC. One of them has a picture of Bill Leist standing near the bar and one of them has a Picture of Black Flag (Henry) on stage. Also, a copy of "weekend edition" from the Sunday Enquirer listing the 10 best things to do in Cincinnati. Stage Diving at the Jockey Club was #1 if you can believe that.... 

Knowing nothing of the Jockey Club really,other than THE DICKIES would be there, we showed up ridiculously early, like 7 or 8pm or something. I still laugh about that.I wouldn't even go outside to the car to listen to the unreleased"Stukas Over Disneyland" tape that STAN LEE pulled out of his pocket, so I met LEONARD too and heard their great soundcheck: NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN! It was over a year before I came back to actually play onstage and it was Doc & the Pods' first paying gig. We held the club in such esteem that we thought we'd need to play for YEARS and work our way up to the Jockey. But the booking came easily and it was only like our 3rd or 4th show. We played there twenty times and it goes without saying it was our favorite place to play. It certainly was the only place to repeatedly welcome back the Pods! We were lucky enough to play that hectic final night, especially seeing as how we'd really been playing there less and less, but we somehow also played the JC one week earlier, and hadn't been there in a long time. We walked in to what felt like home and had to ask ourselves why we'd been gone so long. And nobody knew a thing about any closing, and we had ourselves a real fun, relaxed show. We thought WE were splitting (we weren't, not yet) and felt we'd come our full circle. It was more special to me even than being a part of the big last show. Only maybe one time sucked for us, it was mostly always a packed enough house, diggin' it. 

hail, hail the jockey club! as lead singer of toxic reasons thru 79-84, had a chance to play many times at the jc. will always remember bill, clem, shorty, tiny, and giant cans of foster's for $2.50! jug head, mickey's from the corner liquor store, white castle, and of course the legendary bathrooms (did anybody ever get that beer can out of the last shitter on the right?) it's great to see homage paid to such a great club. it was a great place for bands and music. the jockey club will always have a place in my heart. long live shorty!!! long live the jockey!!! 

The funny thing is (OK, not so funny, really), I don't remember a lot of the bands at the JC, but I remember the club very well. I do remember a Valentine's day show called, "The Lowlife-Scum of Broken Hearts" dance-I still have a flyer somewhere. I remember that cavernous space, and I remember it sometimes being packed. But there was always room to dance. It was the Skank pit then, pre-mosh. The stage was enormous-I remember some bands went crazy with all the room they had. I think I remember seeing the Toxics there. In the back, I remember two ancient pinball machines-two games for a quarter, five balls a game! I do recall cheap alcohol(which may be why I'm hazy on the bands) at a very scarred wooden bar. There always seemed to be regulars there, folks in their 60's and older, no matter how loud the show. Just one more oddity at the JC. The rest rooms were putrid in a way that only Hell could approach. I remember being careful about wahat I ate before going to a show, so I wouldn't have to sit down, or even take a breath. The walls-graffitied doesn't begin to describe them. spray paint and marker may have been the only things holding them up. I always thought that punk should tear society down, but leave the toilet standing (How bourgeouisie, eh?). Was the "Ladies" room that bad, too? I hope photos get posted here. Maybe more of my memory will return. Find Bob Butler, now in Cincy. He probably has stuff from the shows. 

I attended the Plan 9 show, Many a night I saw shorty with that stogey in his chops !! (probably the same one - the whole time) Long live the jockey club, and the teen-punk girl that turned me into the man am !! Butcha-baby ! - pass the electrical tape. 

Great site, especially good for those of us who's memories of the 80's are a bit fuzzy. I was in a band, Mydolls, and we played there several times. Bless the Jockey Club and it's wonderful facade and "green room" area. Two songs on our last release, Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick, were recorded live at the Jockey Club. My favorite memory was eating Salad Nicoise lovingly prepared specially for us. The jockey Club was one of my favorite places to play. Gald to see a fine homage erected for it. What is everyone doing these days? Anyone still playing music? I dust off the bass every now and then. I'll see if Trish or I have any posters or photos from there and I'll pass them along. Bless you all. 

helious creed were from san francisco and came to my house to take showers and eat. John James from wizzard records borrowed this tape from me and kept it. F.O.D. I partied with them in the back of jockey club...great show.... impulse manslaughter they played twice...then they played again and something happened i think....they stole some beer or something ....clem announces the jockey club is now serving jolt cola!! and tells some bad jokes. I tell pat to stay away from my microphone .... Brain Dead from louisville I got the tape...theres a great crowd in a good mood.... For the record i knew this guy who i got going to the club and he was always selling joints so he started hanging out at the jockey club and one time the Accused were playing...and were selling merchandise behind the counter in the back and he went back with the band and sold 150 exactly big joints to just about everyone in the place....great show...everyone was high...and there was a bat that got in the place and shorty stopped the show and turned on all the lights and got this big pole with a net on it and chased the bat!!! it was great!! Remember that ever happening?? I have a pic of pedro (I forget what band he was in??) he's sitting next to dan carroll with like 70 joints in his mouth!!! I should let you put that on here....if I can find it....and i have a pic of my friend john (singer of the slobs) in the bathroom falling in the stall...maybe the only bathroom pic?? I'm gettin' into this braindead tape...ok ok... nine pound hammer I have no idea why i dont have a nine pound hammer tape... i loved them!! and we use to party all the time!! they hated dealing with bill cause he ripped them off before... I got a pic of bevo wrapped up in porno mag pics when he performed on stage....another great pic that should be on here... 

yea silvias is still open. I remonber my friend john giong in there after a showand puking on a picture that was on the wall....It stayed there on the painting forever cause it looked like it was part of the picture! Does anyone remomber the night the lion got out on the roof?? As i remember it, they had a real lion and it got on the roof of sylvias... 

Thanks for all of the wonderful memories revisited! I didn't care for much about my youth, but one of the biggest parts of my life was definitely the JC! It did not matter who was playing a lot of the time. We would usually drink "a few" beers and smoke up and then head on down to the Jockey. Some of the greatest musicians and most terrible ones graced their stage. I remember hearing Flipper for the first time there and thinking "This is so horrid, its wonderful!" After that, and a few Black Flag shows, I was hooked. If the JC didn't exist, I would probably have become a lot sorrier person than I already am. Thanks for the memories:) John 

The escaped lion, (just one of Sylvia's "borderline" illegal activities?) according to the framed newspaper article hanging in the restaurant, got on the Jockey Club's roof, not Sylvia's. At least that's how I recall it. Man, I loved chowing there after a gig. I still strap on the feedbag at Sylvia's on occasion but knowing the JC aint next door makes it about half as fun. You could tell Sylvia's mood by how deadly her salsa dip was. 

Thanks for having this site and look back on an unforgettable era . Groups like No Goo Heroes carry the banner on. John Zeh AMP Alert alertamp@aol.com http://linx.CincyRing.com 

Hello: Jockey Club fans! I'm working on a Sluggo site. Check it out: www.sluggocincinnati.com There will even be a photo of Handsome Clem there. Later, Karl (ex-Sluggo, ex-SS20, ex-The Edge, ex-Human Zoo, ex-cetera) 

I watched the People's Court one afternoon with Fang. The real People's Court with Judge Wapner. We watched it in an apartment in Downtown Cincinnati. I think it may have been the apartment of Terry Starr. (I'm not sure that is the correct spelling of Terry's name) The gentleman who was the lead singer of Fang drank beer all day. I can't recall his name anymore. Right before the Jockey Club show that evening, the singer gentleman had some White Castle's from the White Castle on York Street. He threw up on stage, but kept the show going. He really cared about his public,I suppose. Nothing stopped him. 

I don't remember the Jockey Club, but that's because I was six years old in 1984. In any case, if any of you fleabitten senior citizens would like to contribute your hazily recollected memories to the Neus Subjex's ongoing attempt to compile a canonical enyclopedia of Cincinnati punk rock, email me. Otherwise, I'll just steal it off of your websites. Got to the "zero worship" page at neussubjex.net for details, as well as the initial contributions by Victor "Che" Garcia-Rivera and Dave Davis. 

Does anyone else remember the 2-3 Arab-looking guys that would come into the Jockey Club occassionaly to sell velvet posters of Elvis and Jesus? Jughead called them simply "the gypsies". I watched in awe of his bargaining prowess as he talked them from $30 down to $5 for a velvet Elvis one night. They really added to the ambiance. 

I just saw that picture of Biligerent and myself from the Jockey Club. I was also in that group photo taken at the JC with Clem and Juggy and the sluggo guys. I saw my first show at The JC when I was 15. The Zero Boys and Killing Children. Scared the shit outta me but changed my life forever. I was at most of the shows on that big list of dates. I had my first date with my wife Betsy at the Dead Kennedys show. I first met Clem at "Another" records in Clifton. I met Billy Blank at "The Record Alley" in Kentucky where I bought my first Sham 69 record. Me and my buddy Nick used to make back drops for some of the bands and Bill would let us in free. I still have some of the old photos I took from way back when. I'm 35 now and really enjoy this look back at my teen and early 20's years. Thanx for the memories, Chuck 

I am awash in nostalgia and memories...well, what memories are left, anyway. Not that I was oblivious back then; I was a straight edge punk (I even was ambitious enough to put x's on my hands!), but cursed with a poor memory. However, I do recall a show that I didn't see on your list: Dag Nasty/Corrosion of Conformity/someone else. It sticks out in my mind because it was my first (and possibly only) JC police raid. Being underage, I, along with Joe Koontz, George DuSchane, Dave Grundy and some other folks bolted out the back, only to have the door held open for us by the singers from both bands! Starstruck, we chatted with them about cops, etc. I was wearing a homemade shirt of Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes) zombified, saying some punk rock slogan, and the singer for Dag Nasty asked me to make one for him. I mailed him one from college in Boulder and he never replied. Alas.

Anyone remember that date?

BTW, I was in a band that started in the Murphy's Pub days, Shocklogic, and we released a tape in 1989. My new label/distribution company, Royal Fuzz (www.royalfuzz.com) is rereleasing it on CD, to the horror and embarrassed silence of Cincinnatians. But hey, what the hell. That and more current releases of many bands, some Cincy ones such as Bulbous, Ruby Vileos, Irritants and more, can be found at www.royalfuzz.com.

Steve 

Any chances of getting any photos of "Tiny"?..., Shorty's brother and partner. http://www.williamweber.com 

A few years ago I had dinner at former Cincinnati Concilman John Mirlisena's house. John was talking about all the places he would go in the 40's and 50's. He mentioned the 633 Club. 633 York Street in Newport. John said he used to go out in a tuxedo for his big nights on the town, stay out all night and go to his plumbing school classes on Saturday mornings still in the tuxedo. Also, the WW II exhibit at Union Terminal has an old time trolley car. One of the advertising placards in the trolley is for the 633 Club. The Jockey Club was located at a very distinguished address. 

I know there were not many people at the shows, but someone else has to remember the incredible aural experience provided by the Chicago band Naked Raygun. They played the JC twice, and it was f@cking incredible. 

I have three shows that really stick out to me as awesome experiences maybe because I didn't know these groups, didn't know what to expect and was just knocked out: PRIME MOVERS, from Boston I think, LEGAL WEAPON, from L.A., WHITE ANIMALS, from Nashville maybe on a Wednesday and they brought their own really good lightshow. I saw some three piece group do Ode To Billy Joe once, the best version of that I ever heard, not really a punk version or anything but still brilliant, don't remember who that was! Some really super players went through those hallowed halls..... 

Wow! It's great to see a JC web site, I loved that dive. There were so many great shows. One that really stands out in my mind was the Cramps, I can't quite remember the date, but Lux was in great form that night. He was an animal , drinking red wine out of a bottle on stage pouring all over himself and then in mid-song with a perfect toss he threw the bottle through a hole in the ceiling where a tile was missing. Anybody else see that one? Does anyone remember the original JC club stage? it was kind of runway style and not real conducive for rock'n. The band I was in, Active Ingredients played tons of shows there. A couple of shows I noticed that are not listed was The Replacements/Active Ingredients show in 84' I think it was The Sorry Ma tour. They were drunk as shit but it was a blast. There were only about 20 or 30 people in the place. Another show I remember that is not listed was The Dickies/Active Ingredients/Musical Suicide show on Nov 12th 84 or 85. I used to have tons of flyers for alot of the JC show but quite a few of them have disappeared over the years. All the people in the Northern KY, Cinn. scene at that time were cool as hell and a blast to hang out with. If it wasn't for Bill, Jughead, Clem, Shorty, Snare, Tiny and tons of other folks making it happen, I would have never seen so many of the great punk rock bands of all time from Europe and the US.............Thanx for the site...over and out. Lawrence Tarpey 

I remember the Replacements/Active Ingredients gig that Lawrence Tarpey mentioned above. That was a great, great show. The Replacements were absolutely plastered. They played practically none of their original tunes, and spent the whole night playing country songs instead. I was amazed at how they dished out one sorry rendition of an old country song after another, completely oblivious to the anguished cries from the punks to play "Fuck My School" or whatever. The guitarist, Bob, was dressed completely in drag, including blush, eyeshadow, etc. The singer kept substituting the word "Bob" in for key words in the country tunes to a very humorous effect. I think at the end of the night they relented and played 2 or 3 thrashers to appease the audience, but by then we were down to a skeleton crew. They made an artform out of getting drunk and pissing off the audience. 

My first night playing at The Jockey we again showed up way early, to no soundman, no mikes, and then it was showtime. Jimmy D. strolls in, just out for fun, naturally has to do sound, and we in Doc & the Pods had one microphone so we did our three part harmonies and stuff into one mike, drums and amps not reinforced. It seems hard to believe but they said we got the first standing ovation of the year, and it was Dec 28th!I guess they felt bad about the sound, so we were invited back for the following night. This would be our third gig in 3 days, and we were into it! We had a soundman, many mikes, and we weren't near as groovy! Pods always turned hardship into triumph, but couldn't improve upon no hardship. One of those nights we weren't allowed to leave the building, the block had been circled by police. I later learned that this was the night that two newport cops were facing each other with guns drawn on this guy in between them. Well, one cop shot and maybe killed the other, missing the bad guy. So of course they framed him for it is how I think the story went. This was our first experience. We made $77 for both nights and thought that was pretty damn cool. 

My favorite show at the JC was the Damned in March of 86. They were absolutely wonderful but I remember the toilets overflowed and the floor of the club was awash in barely diluted sewage. Unfortunately I slipped and fell in it and so I smelled very bad at the party after the show. Fabulous show however. I will always be grateful to the folks at the Jockey Club for giving me the opportunity to see these bands without driving 500 miles (or more). 

Man, oh man. What a website. One time I went to the JC to see Husker Du. When I got there, Grant Hart was sitting there at the door with Shorty. He was BAREFOOT and looked like Shorty's bastard son. I saw the Replacements there twice. The first time was the show that Larry Tarpey mentioned. The second time, Scott Payton played guitar with them for a couple of songs. Scott doesn't know how to play the guitar. One other time I was there and Metallica came to a Ramones show after they played with Ozzy in Cincinnati. I went there for the first time in 1983. 

The second Replacements show must have been in about October 1984. It was the first of many 'Mats shows I saw, although I swore I'd never go see them again, since they were too wasted to complete any numbers that night. Kim Hayden is only partially correct in saying that Scotty Payton played guitar that night. Actually, Scott played guitar while a bunch of other guys from Lexington took over the other instruments and played the Lexington punk tune "Party in my Head." I don't remember the name of the band that did that song originally, so maybe somebody from Lexington can help me out. One last note about that show. After it was over, Bill Leist went to pay the band whatever sum they were guaranteed, but Paul Westerberg refused payment. He told Leist, "I let half the people here in free, and we didn't play for shit." 

I still sing that refrain to myself on a regular basis! The Slumlords out of Lexington did that song. They also played as the Naked Painters some times. I don't remember much else about them but I remember that song! I know I'm going to be singing it to myself all day now! 

What a great site totally cool- Jughead 

I always played the pinball machine with the horse racing theme. I think it was called Hot Tip. The machine had a drawing of one jockey smashing his hand into the face of another jockey during a race. Where did that machine go? 

Unfortunately I don't have anything to say about the jockey club because I was 2000 miles away. From everything I've read today though it sounds like it was the place to be. In fact we've got our own little dive bar here in town called the jockey club that we're pushing to get shows happening in. This is a call to anyone who can further my quest in contacting any members of Snare and the Idiots. I'm co-owner of a record shop in portland, OR. and someone brought in a Snare 7" among several other midwest records for store credit. The Snare found itself glued to the turntable for weeks. I was instructed to find more copies of this record. One customer asked me how the search was going for 'god's own band'. Unfortunately I haven't had any luck whatever in contacting any of them. I've gone so far as to call all the record shops in KY...I thought I was close when the guy at phil's told me that steve snare buys records there every week. I left my name and number to no avail. Really if you're out there snares I'd love to hear from you. paul/discourage 

Johnny Thunders, Violent Femmes, Damned, Ramones, Thangs, Reduced, Fucking Cunts, Tex and the Horseheads, Lords of the new church, Auburnaires, doc and the pods, snare & the idiots were some of the very best 

This is Snare from Snare & the Idiots & 101 Damnations. Between the two bands that I was in I must have played at the Jockey Club 60-70 times.I think I had the most fun in my entire life in that place. I still see a few of the old-timers around now & then. I still keep in touch with my old bandmates.We've been kicking around the idea of playing an Idiots reunion show.If anybody wants to sent me an e-mail please do so,I'd love to hear from the people I haven't seen in years. until then "SAUSAGE ACE".Steve "Snare"Arnzen Dayton,Ky 2/18/01 

To Paul in Portland Oregon This is Snare from Snare & the Idiots.You can reach me at (859)491-4049 10PM EST is the best time to reach me. 

Great site, b. rhude. I remember, being in a band, it was a drag to book a show @ another club around town cause you might miss something important @ the club.I went to so many great shows there when I had NO idea what I was going to see.I followed the crowd for the ride of my life, and I thank god i'm still alive. We were all fortunate to be involved in such a once in a lifetime, nay, millenium,experience. One of my proudest moments in life is still when Shorty showed up at an after gig thanksgiving party at the Thang mansion. We're not worthy!!! 

This site is great! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I wish i had pix to contribute, but i never even owned a camera back then. it was my favorite place to go in the whole world ('specially since i didn't turn 21 till after the place closed). my band Blue Othello played there, I'm trying to track down the dates. we played with ss-20 one night and i'll have to find out about the others. (i have to admit i was usually pretty f-d up.) ss-20 really took care of us, pete wegele and uncle dave did as well, i owe a good portion of my record collection picks to handsome clem's radio show Stories ------- i was sitting on the floor of the lobby trying to hold my head up and this dude from one of the bands asked me to work the door. i thought he was kidding. "uh, no--nobody else will do it." i pretty much let all the girls in and told the underage guys to leave. (i let 'em in anyway--what a puss!) one night on stage i knocked the mic stand over and tried to upright it by putting my foot down firmly on the base of the stand and spent the rest of the show spitting out the chipped bits of my front tooth. (boy did those mics smell great or what?) my favorite shows were d.o.a. (my first stage dive), modern vending (learned something different that night in their oil-lamp shows), and every ss-20 and reduced concert (i pegged that fucker)! everybody there was cool as shit! i always had a good time and never had a hassle. i miss the way the girls used to dress. anyway i should quit rambling; THANK YOU again ho-ho records, this site freaking rocks! 

I saw Tupelo Chain Sex at the JC in 86, but don't know if 8/23 was the date. 

Ok, I've been hoping somebody would smoke out the truth on this. Tupelo Chain Sex was there in '85 and it was grrrrreat, a very weird and visual kind of band with ex-Mothers of Invention, one of whom hadda be that old guy on the BASS SAX who looked like Santa on acid. In my calendars I have them down again later but just not where! I hazily think I saw them again at Sudsy's, could that be my unconfirmed date? Anybody? Hey, and while we're kinda on the subject, did Brian Brain play the club only once or was it twice? One last thing: Anybody seen Billy Ace lately? I saw him at the Chuck Berry show in '96 and he looked pretty darn good, considerin'... 

Does anyone remember a band from florida that played at the jockey club called charlie picket & the eggs?? They played there a few times, but once we went to see them, and I think there was 6 people in the whole place, but one of the best shows ever.... They had lots of props like the meatmen used, and at the end for the encore, they did freebird, and had a big lynnard skynnard tour plane prop and during the end of the song, the singer caught the plane on fire , and threw it across the stage while it was in total flames.... It was one of the wildest things.... Also I have discovered in my dusty collecion, a reduced halloween party tape...anyone wanna relive the pill popping bill leist experience on cd?? I remember seeing Active Ingredients once, and someone thru a beercan at the drummer, and he flew in the audience and grabbed the guy at the table by the throat and shook him .... Lawrence if ya see this, I was fortunate to tape active ingredients on march 21, 1987 when you opened up for M.S.I. (more stupid initials)... Would you like to relive the experience? send me a note! I never knew a active ingredients tape existed until I ran into a band mamber at a record expo years ago...I always wondered why it never came out on record at the height of everything..many people only know of the 2 ep's... And last of all, where the hell is bill leist? kenny 

I LOVE THIS SIGHT! KENNY I WOULD BE WAY INTERESTED IN A CD OF THE REDUCED HALLOWEEN SHOW. I HAVE THIS GIG ON VIDEO IF YOU'RE INERESTED. I ALSO HAVE A REDUCED GIG ON VIDEO WHERE CHARLIE PICKETT JOINED US FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF NUMBERS.. . FANTASTIC SHOW THE CLOSER WAS THE STONES' ''LAST TIME'' AND SNARE, JOHNNY THE DOGFACED BOY, JONNY THANG, PAT MALONE AND A BUNCH OF OTHERS HOPPED ONSTAGE FOR A FEW BARS OF NONE-TOO-MITCH MILLER LIKE SING-A-LONG. 

Bryce, I love the site and all efforts. I wish I could help you out more. But, I was in The Reduced and, well.. you know...one of them fosters cans....my head....well, fudge....I guess... I split it WIDE!!!!!!!! love you long time. jimmy d p.s. I still own for the Highwaymen mini tour. Me and You on stage at CBGB's together. jd. 

Of course, the Jockey Club experience is not entirely complete unless you had a run-in with the notorious Newport Police. I had mine while watching The Edge in January or February of 1984. I was at the JC with Julian Bevan and Myra McKee, may she rest in peace. I was sitting at the bar, watching the band when 2 cops came in and asked me for my ID. I told them I didn't have one (rather than show them my very fake ID in my wallet), and they told me to wait there for them while they went to the back of the club, presumably to round up more youngsters. I dashed for the front door, grabbing Myra, and I asked Jughead to go to the back and tell Julian, who was by the stage, that the cops were here and to go out the back door and get to the car. Myra and I made it to the car, which was parked in the cab lot next door. I put Myra in the car, started the engine, and then left it running while I went back to the back door to get Julian, who nearly ran me over, jumping out the back door with a look of terror on his face I'll never forget (he was only 14 years old, after all). We made it back to the car, and just as I was backing out, I saw the flashing lights of the cop car pulling into the cab lot and blocking my car in. The cops made us get out of the car. They were pretty angry that I had left the bar after they had told me to wait for them. The one cop barked at us while the other searched my car, looking for drugs I suppose. The first cop shined his flash light at my Ohio plates and asked me, "what does that say?", and I said "Ohio", guessing what he meant. He replied, "That's right, and that's where you should stay. You got no business coming to Newport."
I guess they didn't find what they were looking for in my car, and to my amazement they let us go after their search turned fruitless, even though all three of us were very underage (a 14, 15, and a 16 year old), and Myra was visibly drunk.
By the way, the cop was completely wrong. I had plenty of business coming to Newport, and all of it was at the Jockey Club. 

The twentieth anniversary of the kick-off is just about 1.5 years away and I think we should for sure do something about it. As I mentioned months ago (but I sure wasn't seeing the 20th creeping up on us at that time),The Southgate House has gotta be reserved for this special occasion. I'll be turning 40 in September of 2002 so maybe this event could be like a special life moment for me or at least keep me from being too bummed out. The most known lineup of Snare & The Idiots is rehearsing, The Cybermen are now gigging again and I think even a tour is on the books, SS-20 and The Wolverton Brothers have never been gone, the same is true of BPA but I hear they are shy or something and refuse to do gigs. We shall see. My good pals The Hopheads could appear as they did do early gigs at The JC even though they really aren't known as a Jockey band. One thing I want to hope to avoid is hastily scrambled together ex-bands just to do the gig. I think it should be groups from THEN that are here NOW. Seems more sincere to me. That leaves me out of it, but I wouldn't mind seeing The Thangs shake hands and come out rockin'! Sometimes Mercy Baby has Jim Cole sitting in on lap steel, that's close enough to Auburnaires for me to consider an exception. But who am I to play GAWD? Maybe Bill could be coaxed out of retirement to actually set this thing up and maybe put a vintage punk national act on the bill? Hint, hint: DICKIES. Is that crazy? I'll do it but I gotta tell ya I haven't had too much luck in getting my current band in there, though I'm not trying too hard. My only success of any note was that big Beatles tribute down there in 1993, called "Don't Let It Be!". Betcha didn't know that was me! I was between jobs and just lived on the phone for three months talking to bands and it was the best time of my life! But it was hard too, and I can see why Bill got pooped out after hundreds of shows. So be thinking about it. Short sets, and hopefully lots of 'em. Who else have I forgotten? 

I have many many fond memories of the JC. Made many trips from Louisville to see shitloads of bands. The Louisville crowd was not very well liked there,we were full of agression,and left most of it at the JC many times. I will never forget that place and the great times we all had there.I have a few old flyers that i have to dig up,will let you know if i can help with any of the dates or pictures.Thanks 

split it wide boys n girls be back soon ha ha 

looking at this site was very cool.I remember a lot of faces but not as many names.it would be great to see more pictures. so you folks holding them(bob butler and george duchaine) cough them up. 

CFA,DRI,JFA, skinny dipping with the Exploited in Amy Millers pool! 

Buffy was the hottest thing in the scene (84-89) If anyone knows how to get a hold of her let me know. A 

Kudos to YOU - YOU, who took the time to sit down and put something like this together - so great! it takes heart! I also believe that I do have quite a few pictures somewhere, rolled up, in a box, under some books, sitting in storage, stinking of mothballs - I'll get back to ya. 

Hey Bryce, This is a great site!! By the time I had heard about the Jockey Club it had closed. (Some djs on waif talking about it) I was too young anyway. You, Bryce, may remember me as one of the annoying SCPA students that bugged you at that job you had by Sterling's art supplies downtown. I was the taller one. (As opposed to my 4'10" friend.) Reading your Doc & The Pods zine inspired me to make my first zine. Which eventually got me making webpages, which I am obsessed with to this day. (You should feel special! hehehe) I wish I had been able to experience the whole JC scene. Then again, I think I'd be even more bitter about the sucky "scene" of today. I just like the 80s anyway. 

Karl Meyer sent me this site take a look. www.good authority.org/0103/db01316/db01316.bhtm This site brings so many great memories flooding back, Shorty would be proud JUGHEAD 

i love this sight !!! way to go bryce ! it's very cool to scroll thru the list of old shows (i'm glad melba t. made the cut!).the idea for a show is great.maybe it could be old bands still hooked up, re-union bands, and maybe OLD FOLKS who are playing together in new bands?!( i'm playing w jimmy d and jim welch presently, for example, hint, wink, nod.)the only thing i would question is your contention that you shouldn't play GAWD.i think YOU make an AWESOME GAWD!!! 

Amazing how time flies!!!I played guitar in 30 Pieces. I remember walking in and Shorty handed me a broom and told me to clean the stage!!!WTF!!!! I did it though ,and we played the gig. Had a blast.Still cant figure out what the dried up green mass was stuck to the mens bathroom ceiling though. If anyone knows the where a bouts of the rest of 30 pieces, Let me know.Cheers. Joby 

Jimmy asked Shorty if the Pods could record down there on a Sunday afternoon and Shorty agreed! Was he alright or what? Way down at the other end of the club we watched Shorty as he watched a small black and white TV. I layed on the cool linoleum floor in the dead center of the club. It was like laying on the center line of a highway or something. The club was weirdly empty. The other guy was there, what was his name, Bud? Old, tall, and had a flattop. Steve O., our bassist arrived and was really hung over from the night before, as he never took our recording sessions too seriously, which we were OK with! He proceeded to walk right in the back door, and in one fluid move, put his bass down, and laid down face first on the stage which was disgusting beyond belief! The night before musta been something else cuz there was a completely shattered toilet in tiny ceramic pieces all over the stage and Steve went to sleep amidst the millions of shards. I forget why we went to the club, I guess for Jimmy D. to use the sound board, but nothing ended up being used cuz it didn't sound too good. We did the same songs again at Group Effort and still didn't quite get it right! But it came out as "Touch The Unclean Thing". Later a song from the Jockey session got out on "Son of Kultur" in 1995. I seem to remember being told that Shorty actually liked The Pods! I'm sure he had bands he preferred over others. What a cool guy. 

cramps exploding toilets ripped up converse with no soles left good clean Family fun 

Hi bill you don't remember me. I was nineteen when I first went to see your show at the jc. I forgot my id and since our mugs were similar you let me use yer id to get in. Shorty knew but didn't give a shit. He knew what color my money was. As for MS, I heard ben shipman died of aids. I don't know what happened to Paul Grisar. He fell off the face of the earth like most of the peeps who went to see the shows. 

I hung at the club from the beginning since i knew bill leist from our days and mostly nighgts hanging out at he apartment on 18th street. That was a fun place where about 7 guys went in and paid $20 a month to rent this place in newport from pauli's brother and now mayor of newport. Billy, pauli, freddy dickhaus, dick sims,dave hilton fka hap, grice, vic, snare, donny "tex" watson and ace to name a few. We drank and smoked etc. and listened to the stones and all our fav punk rock and new wave bands such as the clash, pistols, johnny thunders & the heartbreakers, damned, stranglers, vibrators, 999, undertones, dead boys, b-52's and listened to this great song called take a qualuude now , sorry bout the spelling,(taqn) by a band called the eyes i think. We never thought at that time a lot of the bands or guys who used to be in those bands would come to newport and play at the jockey club with its rich gambling history and were i went with my mom while she played bingo there around 1970. when it first started we were a little cheap, so we would buy beer from the liquor store down the street and take turns going out to the parking lot to drink. It wasnt a problem because the same guys working the door were the same ones going out to drink. One time i yelled to bill that we were gonna get some beer and shorty heard. Shorty didnt hit me in the head with flashlight/club but he wasnt too happy about it and let us know. He bithched at bill, bill bitched at me. After that we started buying our beers from shorty after that. next time i'll tell ya the story about how i met my wife at the jc. i know you all cant wait. Jonny D ps the idiots are back together and would be a great band to play the the jc 20 yr reunion. pss. jimmy smith give me a call if u can, i wanna get the thunders tape to u to copy and i heard u got some that i might get a copy of. my fingers r tired. see ya ace 

Here are a few dates,found an old notebook with a little bit of early info. 12-31-82 Hopheads,STD-from Tenn,Malignant Growth,Repellents 4-29-83 Malignant Growth,Rupert,Crucifucks,The Dicks(Rock against Racism tour) 5-29-83 Mailgnant Growth,Fang,DOA 4-2-83 Mailgnant Growth,Minor Threat 11-30-84 SS-20,PUS,Sluggo Im pretty sure these are correct,had some other shows listed with just the bands,but dont have any dates for em. Hope it helps some,should have some kind of reunion thing somewhere. Shit,ill even skank if ya do Laterz Irv 

what ever happened to tammy and dean? 

I remember the night Foghat sucked the shit outta defleeperts ass on stage and procceeded to burn the place to the ground annd then loved on all the punk rock chicks and fucked it up for everyone ecept for the rednecks in the parking lot who was robbing all the white boys with thir fancy ass college degrees, ooor atleast some colleege credit(s).............aaaaHH ya 1984 or fiive oor six or so... 

Joey Ramone died yesterday 4/15/01,of cancer, I remember their first show at the JC.It was so crowded that i had to walk the Ramones out the front door through the parking lot, down the alley behind the club and kick the back door in just to get them on stage,where they tore the roof off,ADIOS AMIGO,long live the Ramones,and never forget the JOCKEY CLUB. BEN! 

HEY BRYCE I GOT SOME PICS OF THE LAST NITE AND OF THE THE JT SHOW BUT I DONT HAVE A SCANNER OR A DIGITAL WHATEVER LET ME KNOW HOW I COULD GET YA A COPY OF SOME OF EM JONNY DFB 

Great site...I quickly went through one box of stuff and found the DK flier...May 1 with sluggo and Musical Suicide, May 2 with Active Ingredients...7 bucks..a deal! I also found an issue of Suburban Muckraker. It has reviews of....Violent Femmes/BFA/Libertines,JC, 5/16, Dicks/Musical Suicide, JC, 6/11, DRI/Personality Crisis/The Edge, JC, 6/15, Active Ingredients/Veil of Tears/Ministry of Truth/Idiot Savant/Ca's, JC, JFA/The Freeze/Sun City Girls/ Sluggo, JC, 6/30, Negative Approach/Sluggo, JC, 6/21, Scream/Human Sufferage/Maj. Morgan & the Wastebaskets/DPD, JC, 6/22, The Faction/Sons of God/Ca's, JC, 7/4, Necros/Sluggo, JC, 7/21...I'm sure I have more.. I'd be glad to pass this stuff (and more) on to someone......? As for the under age busts, I know Aaron Graham got arrested once... 

Yeah...I saw yer website....Very interesting....a message from a friend: "don't be gettin too nosey about tings you shoun't be gettin nosey about." --Tito 

Hey, those are nice dice! They look like a pair I left in Tony Dogs eyeball. I got one question and you better have the right answer: Did you gamble? I don't want to find out that you gambled, you lying, low-life, mf, degenerate . . .

Clem Carpenter gets a lot of good mention on this excellent web page, but unless I have missed it, I don't see any posting from Clem. Where is Clem? If he is still in Cincinnati, but not online, maybe someone could tell him to go to the library so he can get on a computer and have a say. Also, if I remember right, and I am wrong all the time, Steve Libbey once wrote a history of the Cincinnati punk scene. I wonder, if I am right, if he still has what he wrote. Or is it someone else I am thinking about? I remember The Dicks from Austin. The singer, though male, wore a dress on stage. Maybe the entire band did as well. I recall two Dicks' songs. "Rich Daddy" and "Cocks Can't Swim". 

Neil isn't wrong nearly so often as he claims ;-), but the article I wrote postdates the JC by a few years. It was for Clifton Magazine, in 1993. I just checked my vault, and the article only mentioned the JC in one sentence. Which is not to say that I am a poor JC scholar, but rather that the article was focused on the current state of affairs in the cincy music scene, circa 1993.

Thanks for remembering, Neil! Very flattering.

BTW, Neil sends out a regular "spam" with words of wisdom and enlightening political thoughts, and I'm sure he'd add you to the list if you asked.

steve 

Johnny Thunders died 10 years ago today, April 23, so everybody play a thunders song. He was the greatest jonny 

Great site! I started going to the Jockey Club when I was 14 using a fake ID I got from an ad in CREEM magazine. For the record, I think many of us also owe a debt to Handsome Clem Carpenter, Hockeypunk, and their “Search and Destroy” show, which opened up a world of music to a very stagnant Cincinnati scene. As for the JC, so many stories, gigs, and police raids come to mind, but this one stands out: Agnostic Front comes to play the Jockey Club. They ask Bill to get Sluggo to open up, which we agree to do despite rumors that they’re a bunch of violent skinheads. The week before the gig, our bassist Tom Byrne says he can’t do it due to some school obligation (he lived in Columbus) so we back out. Agnostic Front arrives at the club and a bunch of us step up to greet them and inform them that Sluggo won’t be opening up. The singer (Roger) guitarist (Vinny) and roadie/bodyguard (Frenchy da skin) get really mad and start grumbling “That’s fuckin’ bullshit man! Where are these guys?” Fearing a crucial New York Skinhead beat-down, I conveniently fail to identify myself as the lead singer. Five minutes later, Dave Gonzalez hands them the latest copy of his fanzine, which features a rather unfavorable review of their record unfortunately written by me. Upon reading my assessment of their record, highlights of which include my mentioning that their guitars were all out of tune and that they should’ve canned a mediocre record and released one decent 7-inch, Roger and Vinny become infuriated. They immediately start screaming “YO! Is this fuckin’ Julian guy here? He’s fuckin’ dead!” Anyone within earshot looks at me, then back at them, and says “ummm, nope…haven’t seen him!” Everyone involved played along as we all searched the club with an angry Agnostic Front in tow, looking for ME. Luckily enough, my true identity was never revealed and I stayed to see their show, which was actually pretty good. Anyway, so many memories and other great shows: Scream, Big Black, DOA, Husker Du, Samhain, Replacements, Cramps, all the Louisville bands, Lexington bands, Columbus bands… running from the Newport Gestapo, meeting the guy who got his head split open by the Misfits, watching Wattie from The Exploited almost driven to tears because somebody poured Fosters on his head and made his mohawk all droopy, Bevo – the man, the myth, the legend… I could go on and on. Anyway, it was a great time to be alive and a great scene to be a part of. Thanks. 

I saw the mention of the 10 year anniversary of Johnny Thunders death. I could not agree more that he was in fact one of the greatest guitar players to have ever graced this planet and the Jockey Club stage as well. It was also no surprise when he died of an overdose in New Orleans. The real loss in the music world is the recent passing of Joey Ramone who also graced the JC stage on a couple occasions. I too am a Johnny Thunder fan,traveled the country following him at a time in the 80s, but I must say that his death played no significant role in my life. Joey Ramone helped to shape everything that the Jockey Club was about and the music that we all come to love and call our own. He was and always will be one of the true musical giants of our time and beyond. There music (The RAMONES) sounds as fresh today as it did the day it was released. It makes you feel glad to be alive and is filled with timeless youthful energy and optimism. They can always brighten your day. A thought in passing. Enjoy 

2206 Harrison/Westwood @10pm, this SAT APRIL 28th, SNARE & THE IDIOTS will be playing with my old bandmates THE FESTERMEN who have lately rechristened themselves THE HONCHOS. Also on Bill's bill is THE FAIRMOUNT GIRLS so it will be a pretty large time. I will be bouncing betwix there and Sudsy's cuz FAKE BRAIN is in town and they are crashing at Ho-Ho HQ like last year. I just hope somebody is rolling tape on The SNARE part of this Festerfest! YOWZA! See you there Jockey Clubbers! 

HEY ANYBODY OUT THERE HAS PHOTO'S FROM THE JC REGARDLESS OF THE CONDITION CONTACT ME VIA E MAIL AND I WILL SCAN THEM AND RESTORE THEM FOR YOU AND PUT THEM ON A CD ROM DISC. I AM VERY INTERESTED IN ARCIVING THES PHOTO'S AND PASSING THEM ONTO BRYCE FOR THIS WEB SITE. BRYCE GREAT SITE. THANKS BILL BRADY 

Hey spud...I got some photos..LOL 

All the principals SEEM to have checked in, save one: CLEM. I know you're out there, Clem. From a moving car, I have SEEN you. Be aware, you are hereby fully expected to MC the show in Spetember 2002. Without further adieu.... 

Bryce:

How about adding a Clem Carpenter Sightings Page to your website? It would provide a systematic way of keeping track of him, since he's such a dodgy target. The page could include recent, surrepticiously taken photos of Handsome Clem as confirmation of his continued existence. Plus, for those of us who no longer live in the Cincy area, it would be comforting to know that he remains where he belongs and that we are safe from encountering him in our current residential areas. 

What a gathering. It looks like once you hit the site, you keep coming back for more. That's the Jockey Club for you. I see Clem at Daniels Pub on a semi-regular basis. He's always giving me crazy updates on bands and stuff. I'm sure he will have loads to add. I will tell him, he will come. My love to all. I am getting pictures to Billy Brady soon. 

there is going to be a video show on arron graham tommorow sunday may 6th at the aranoff center at 3pm. it deals with his addiction that took his and many other good peoples lives. 

I visited this web page a while ago and for the last few days I've been remembering little things from the old JC days. In addition to the most amazing music I'll ever experience, some of the things I remembered were: Lux Interior, mostly naked, crawling up a stack of monitors and kicking a hole in the JC ceiling and Snare flipping him off for it. The singer from Tex & The Horseheads continuously walking in a circle during the band's entire set. She left the stage with a knot at least 6 feet across of mic cord tangled like a huge pile of thick black spaghetti. The singer/guitarist from The Didjits looking like a deranged Sargent Carter. He was wearing the most hideous power blue suit I'd ever seen. At the end of an AMAZING set he just dropped his pants around his ankles, let his guitar hang lose around his neck as it feedback like crazy and with both arms fully outstretched, flipped the audience 2 birds. He just stood at the edge of the stage like this for several minutes like he was daring someone to make him stop it. Meeting Leonard from The Dickies and thinking "So, this is what happens to nerds when they grow up". Doc & The Pods recording at the JC on a Saturday afternoon with Jimmy D as engineer. At one point Matt was rerecording one of his guitar tracks and Bryce was sitting on the stage with him. Bryce pulls out a nail clipper and casually starts to trim his nails. Granted, that ordinarily isn't a very noisy endeavor, but those little clicks were echoing like crazy in that big empty room. The tape was rolling, Matt was waiting for his next cue to come in and Jimmy & I are sitting by the sound board, waving like a couple of mad men trying to get Bryce's attention to stop clipping his damned nails! Later we all had a good laugh about it. The jagged torn cymbal the drummer from The Thangs refused to throw away. The drummer from Human Zoo happily kicking a perfectly good snare drum around in the alley behind the JC after a show. Jimmy D doing sound for The Boys From Nowhere. The guitarist didn't think Jimmy's typically impecable work was good enough and proved himself to be the most complete asshole I'd ever seen on a stage, berating Jimmy and one of the best mixes I'm sure that band ever got. Eventhough Jimmy would have been totally justified in strangling that jerk-off with his own tongue, I was so impressed that Jimmy D never lost his cool and just let the guy look like the fool he was. Duncan from Modern Vending hitting the stage wearing a long skirt made from nothing but hotdogs and fishing line. By the end of the set it was all he could do to stumble around as the whole thing had become one big tangled knot of pork swinging between his legs. Steve Gatch from Potato Train rubbing a pack of Hostess Gems into his crotch while singing/moaning "I Love Donuts". Anyone else have favorite moments to share? 

haha! that's what is so cool about these recollections--everybody remembers something else--put it all together and it's a fairly complete history. I have absolutely no memory of the nail clipper but I remember some other parts of that day like it was yesterday. kinda weird. I probably had a solo coming up, but that is so like me. I can't stand long fingernails. --B 

Bryce:

In your history of the JC, you state, "...At this early stage that formative punk scene was percolatin' in the tiny Brew House in Walnut Hills, but before that there had been The Pit, a downtown club on Race Street. The Pit was strictly a punk/new-wave live music club, but didn't last long enough to be legendary."

Don't forget the Loft Scene. Bands like Alterior Motives, Dream-286, BPA, 11,000 Switches, The Customs, The Verbs, The Ravens, AK-47, Dennis The Menace, The Ed Davis Band, and many others played all over Cincy in a loose network of Loft parties in Clifton, Walnut Hills, and Downtown in the late '70s and early 80s. There were also occasional shows at C.A.G.E., which lived at various locations back then. I met many future JCers such as Handsome Clem and all the BPA guys at those gigs. It was a great scene, particularly for underagers like me who couldn't get into the Pit or whatever other clubs were around. (I did, however, sneak into the BrewHaus on many occasions because the notorious Lilly Secret worked there and snuck me in).

As great as the Jockey Club was, I remember missing the Loft scene somewhat because those gigs were much more intimate than local gigs in the huge (and often 3/4ths empty) Jockey Club. Also, since the Loft gigs were not usually in the same place one time to the next, you felt very cool and in-the-know just for being there.

Shame on me for not hanging on to those wrap-around sunglasses! 

hey karl set up a website for loft parties in clifton and at 1313 and see who comes. i think you forgot this is not an aol chat room its a tribute to the j.c. start a metro or plaza site. dude 

hey karl set up a website for loft parties in clifton and at 1313 and see who comes. i think you forgot this is not an aol chat room its a tribute to the j.c. start a metro or plaza site. dude 

Billy Blank and Handsome Clem are two very cool people, here's just one story to tell you why.

In early 1984, there was a series of police raids on the Jockey Club. I don't remember the details, but I remember Billy Blank calling me to cancel a Sluggo gig because we were all underage and Shorty had instructed him to keep the minors out, at least for a while. This was particularly bad timing for us. We had just got our Contradiction EPs back from QCA and we had written some new material, too. We were anxious to play some gigs at the JC, and suddenly we found out we couldn't even go there to see a show, much less perform there. Billy was nice about it, and he said things would probably blow over in a few months, but for the time being we had to stay away from the Jockey Club.

So, we decided to put on our own show, and we enlisted Handsome Clem for support to coordinate an all-ages hardcore gig. It turns out that he knew some people at the South Fairmont Community Center, located in an old Kroger's, and pretty soon we had a date, 2 other bands to play with (Musical Suicide and Human Sufferage), and a PA (rented from friends of Clem). Clem was a tremendous help. He even mopped up the damn floor after the gig -- there ain't very many punks with that level of dedication to the scene.

So what about Billy Blank? Before the South Fairmont gig, I gathered up the nerve to ask him if he would book a non-punk band at the Jockey Club on the night of the South Fairmont gig so that we didn't have to worry about competing with the JC that night. Bill agreed to do it, and I think the JC had a rockabilly or reggae group that night, I don't remember which. It was pretty damn nice of him to do that.

The South Fairmont event drew a decent crowd, and the three bands even made a little spare change after we paid off the venue and the PA guys. There were some other problems with the gig that are irrelevant here.

Although it wasn't a Jockey Club gig, Bill and Clem supported us and were instrumental in making it happen.

You see, to me, it's not just about the Jockey Club, it's about the scene.

i just wanted to say i'm sorry for the way y'all have'ta scroll all the way to the bottom to read the latest entry, and a big thanks for nobody complaining about it. The site was up and running for quite a while before I even figured out how to do a guestbook, so we're lucky to have one. For me, it's the best part of the whole damn thing, even though it's kinda bland visually. I am sure it accounts for the sometimes over 600 hits a day that the Ho-Ho pages receive. I wrote the ISP asking how to improve it, and they chose to ignore me. On another note, I'm reading RAZZLE DAZZLE by Hank Messick right now and it's great! All about Newport Ky. in the good/bad old days.... 

Karl relax! I was just trying to point out how shitty your posting was about how you were in the inner circle of the cincinnati scene. Are you still in high school? 

So far everybody's been way cool; i knew it couldn't last....identify yourself or shuttup. Back to The Jockey: Some folks were there at the start and were gone by the end. Some, like myself, missed the start and missed the end, others just caught the tail...but SHORTY SAW IT ALL. Think about it. 

Hey. My dad played guitar in the Vale of Tears-- He's a poop and doesn't have any of his records any more. I would like to obtain them or at least fascimiles of to surprise him with, cause even if he's a poop, he's my dad! email me directly. thanks! great site btw. love!!! shanon 

Wow, what a great site, brought back lots of memories, at least, well, some stuff. I cant really remember when i started going to the Jockey Club, but I suppose it was back in those early days, 82 or 83. MY memeories are all pretty hazy, but I do vaguely recall the Cramps show becasue it was so crowded. I dont remember the Pit or the Loft scene that Karl reminisced about. But I do remember going to the Brew House when I was 15, it was free for awhile. There was this band from Indianapolis that used to play every Friday night. DOes anyone remember? Then they started charging a dollar to get in and you had to show your ID, but if you got there before the door person you only had to pay, not show an ID. CAGE was on Walnut I think near 6th or 7th, near that Frisch's. Later they moved to 4th street. CAGE parties were great. There was also some club in Northside, i cant remember what is was called. I remember going there in high school becasue my mom knew the guy who owned it. Thanks again for the great site. Naomi 

THank you so much for the vale of tears files. however, i too am a poop because when i was downloading them (half asleep at 11 am. . . ) i inadvertently deleted your email so i haven't got an address to thank you at proper. i will however forward the files to the toots, should make him happy! Thanks again! miss shanon 

one of the cool things about the jockey club was getting to hang out with some of your punk rock heroes.in the spring of '83 a roots-rock band from new york city called the del-lords featuring former dictators ax-master scott"top 10"kempner on guitar played the club the road manager for the band was non other than the two-tub man/next big thing himself "handsome dick" manitoba. when i found out about this i ran home & got my copy of "bloodbrothers" and handsome dick & top 10 gladly signed it for me.handsome dick had a lot of road stories to tell and was an absolute riot once he was on a roll. when the del-lords were doing their version of the flamin'groovies classic "jumpin' in the night", handsome dick was on the dance floor and i turned around to bill leist and pointed out that manitoba could dance "faster & louder".non of my friends from school who were into van halen ever got to hang out with david lee roth,but i got hang out with dick manitoba,stiv bators,brian james,johnny thunders,rat scabies and many more.and most importantly they were all really cool & easy to talk to. 

Black Flag, April 30, 1986. I had turned 19 just two weeks prior, and, if you recall, the drinking age for beer was 19 in the state of Ohio at that time. Needless to say, there had been a lot of pre show warm-ups on the Northern side of the river. My friend Bruce and I were feeling cocky that night. We were young, stupid and drunk, with too much hair. Henry was sitting by himself at a table before the show. He had even more hair that we did. Bruce decided that we needed to talk to him. "What the fuck do you guys want?" he barked as we approached. Bruce did all of the talking. "We just wanted to tell you to have a great show..." "Fuck you!" barked Henry. "OK," said Bruce. That was it for the conversation. Then the show started. Bruce and I managed to muscle our way through the 20 or so other people in the club. We made it to the stage. About halfway through the show, Black Flag launched into this rip roaring version of something or other. Henry assumed his big bitchin' wide-legged fuck you stance with his sweat flying everywhere. He was right on the edge of the stage in front of me. It was time for me to get noticed. I grabbed his ankle, thinking I could just yank his leg out from under him, sending him flying. Only guess what--I was young, stupid and drunk with too much hair. Henry was strong and pissed with even more hair. He reeled around on the leg that I didn't have hold of and kicked me square in the side of the head. That was it for the leg grabbing. 

After the Jockey Club what was your favorite Newport landmark? I've gotta say my most favorite was the "Cabooze" Liquor Store with the drive up window. Next in line was the KitKat Club. Those strip clubs had the greatest names. The Brass Ass was another favorite. 

Anchor Inn! With the jukebox of oldies and the weird dancing puppets in the corner...open all night! 

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Sylvia's! The ever-changing Mexican Restaurant; you skip a few months and the front door is the back door, or the dining room is an ethnic disco! "Fifteen East Seventh Street, Newport, Kentucky." (That's memorized from an underwriting spot I made for Sylvia's for airplay on WAIF). I always liked looking at that Weidemann Brewing Company, directly across the street from the JC. It looked pretty damn ancient. Although not unique, I do prefer the "Chateau Blanc" on York Street to any other for my Sliders.... I saw my first porno in Newport on my 18th birthday when my more worldly older friends took me. Pretty sad way to spend your 18th, but I dunno where that was and it isn't even a fave spot. Later Jimmy D. and I took in a strip club show and the when the first girl came out I grabbed Jimmy, gasping it was my sister, and he believed me. I don't know where that was either but it was a fun moment. I do miss the old Central Bridge that would shoot me over the Ohio into the waiting arms of 633 York Street. 

sorta does. hee hee 

Clem Carpenter calls me about once a month or every two months, usually when there is late breaking news about atour of one of his favorite bands.He stopped by my house in early March.He brought with him some import beer and the new Stranglers live CD.We went to the Southgate House and met up with Jonny"Dogface Boy"Dameron and "ace."In case anyone's interested Clem still lives in the same house in Fairmount and has a job cleaning up Bogart's after shows. 

I met my wife at the jockey club on april 5, 1985 at at doc and the pods show. it really impresses women when i tell them that i remember the date that i met my wife. but just between u and me, i had seen johnny thunders on april 1,2,3 at irving plaza in nyc. supposedly he had been outa the country for a while because he hit someone in the head with a guitar. i had actually seen sherry a week before at a party at the thang house. dixie chille ane the pepperpod were and still are great newport late nite munch spots. snare is right about by us being into the music we like, we were able to meet a lot of our fav rocknroll stars. at one thunders show we were hangin in that side room called the wet room i think. johnny was rollin one of those tobaco/weed spliffs when bill brought his dad into say hi. johnny kinda jumped for a minute. i think that was the only time bill's dad ever made it down there. cya 

Shorty's Underground was not a bad place. It was in a cursed location where everything that opened failed. And you realized it was not much compared to the Jockey Club. But it lasted for at least a little while and I thought had some atmosphere. It had a great bowling machine. With real wooden-looking balls instead of a silver puck thing. Norwood Cafe had the silver puck thing for its bowling machine. Shorty's had a Monday drink special of some kind. I forget the details, but in essence it was "get drunk cheap." The room where the bands played was cramped and hot. At least if anybody was there. Cramped and hot has something to said for it. At least looking back after 10 or 15 years. It fits some image of how stuff should have been at that point in life. I recall the owner of Shorty's as genial. If somewhat troubled. Shorty's was okay! I wasted plenty of nights at Shorty's. 

Oh Jezus, where do I start!? Uh, first of all WHAT A GREAT FUCKIN" SITE! Now my head is swimmin' and I'm slightly more confused than usual...Hey Naomi R. I think the band from Indiana(Anderson,actually, NOT Indy!) you're talking about was my old band The Repellents. We started playing in Cincy at The Brewhouse for a buck, all ages and the first night we played we made $300.00!We took 200 and gave Dan (?) 100 for booking it. Jakki, our bassist and my then girlfriend, was from Cinci. and she knew Handsome Clem so after 2 gigs at The Brewhouse it became apparent that there was a need for a bigger venue.This is funny: We had a "Punk-Rock Scene meeting" at the radio station where Handsome Clem DJ'd,-true!- hahahaha!We were trying to find a bigger place to have shows. A few weeks later Clem calls us and tells us about this place just over the bridge from Cinci. called The Jockey Club where we might be able to do shows .Clem took us to look at the place and we couldn't believe it!! It was perfect!I just couln't see how these old guys were going to react when they found out it was PUNK etc.haha.I guess the rest is history.Unfortunately The Repellents broke up not too long after that and the Musical Suicide/Primates days were ushered in,but The Repellents DID get to play there early on.I do have some photos I'm going to try to dig up.Ugh God!What a lot of memories...also saw some great gigs at Bogarts back then.What great days:Cramps,Iggy, Stranglers,999,X,Vibrators, Gang Of Four,Husker Du, DOA, Fang (Hangin out with Fang on their first tour was a kick,we played pinball with em in the JC, Ramones (RIP Joey!),The greatly underrated Toxic Reasons orig. line-up (I saw the Ed Pittman post up there!! one of the greatest of all time!I once saw him put his foot through the stage at Caesars in indy when we were supporting them.)Just too many to list here. Crazy Als in Indy was such fun then too...makes me glad to be old!I'd like to know what happened to Jakki too, Bill, so if you find out please post on here.I hope the rumour of Bens passing isn't true, that would be awful.Did Jakki marry the original Bass player from the Toxics?...Seems I heard something of the sort.I ran into Terry Starr here in Boston one day about 4-5 years (more?) ago...nothing to report there though.Also for anyone that cares I'm still playing...My ex-band, Bullet LaVolta got to play at Bogarts but The Jockey was gone by then (boo hoo).I'm in a band now called The Konks, find us on the web at: www.thekonks.com. Soryy for the long wind,but there's so much more!-later-Yukki

So many great memories of the place, jesus, remember when the Newport pigs busted the DOA show? I played guitar in the Repellents and the Primates, 2 Indiana bands that played there, and we came down for many a show. Still can see Bill, Clem, Hockeypunk, whooo eee..... Had so many good times....... Write me - I still see Zero Boys, Toxics, Slammies, many 'oldtimers' around - fuck, I'm still rockin'.....Lumpy dulcet-tone@blackvault.com another mailbox 

Cool site! My name is Dave Jr. Does anyone remember when Sammy Town of Fang refused to play "skinheads smoke dope" until someone threw a joint up on the stage? Then, after a couple of minutes doobies started flying up on stage..he put 4-5 in his mouth, lit them up (on stage)!!! The Repellents held the attendance record at the jockey club for awile..only to be broken later by the violent femmes.... 

Way too many memories of the freakshow in Newport. Looks like all the bugs are coming out from under the carpet. Henry with hair. Black flag with a girl bass blayer. Playin real slow, and HARD. If I'm not mistaken, no one in the whole place dug it, or even got it. It took me years to get with it. DOA on the three tiered big band stage, before the big stage was built.Flying guitar player. Cops, Fosters, pinball, sweat, punk rock girls. I hereby take credit for starting the graffiti in the Women's bathroom, it just wasn't living up to the artwork in the men's room. Paul [Musical Suicide] 

COOL! I just found this site. I will link it to lexingtonnights.com, Lexington Ky music zine. I played at the Jockey Club with a band called 7 Zark 7 on a cold winter's night. Can't remember who else played, but I will get with my old bandmates and try to find out........ What a great and wonderfull undertaking to provide this history of what was for many people a large part of their musical upbringing..... 

This is not really a Jockey Club story, but rather a report to pinheads everywhere and the end of a long story started back in the old JC days. In 1986 I missed the Damned show at the JC because I had to take the fucking S.A.T.s the next morning and my folks weren’t having it. Fucking ridiculous, I know. I’ve been kicking myself for years over that one. Two weeks ago I get a call from my sister, who has some extra tickets to the Joey Ramone tribute/birthday party at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC. The lineup included several local bands, Joey’s mom, Blondie, Cheap Trick, and The Damned. Believe me, I jumped at the chance to finally redeem myself and fill this gaping hole in my earthly existence. The place was packed. I have never seen so many crusty old punks in my entire life. Stevie Van Zandt hosted and the evening was filled with great live performances, Ramones videos, heartfelt tributes from people like Richard Hell, Phil Spector (via a representative), Legs McNeil, Joey’s family, and video snippets from just about every band ever touched by the Ramones (everyone from Lemmy to Billy Corgan to Joan Jett to Sebastian Bach, etc.). Blondie rocked. Everyone was a little puzzled by Cheap Trick’s inclusion on the bill, but apparently they were always Joey’s favorite band. And The Damned, I am happy to say, were fucking great. It took me 15 years, but I finally heard “Smash It Up” live and my world is a better place as a result. They were incredibly tight and incredibly fast. The mood in the room was all punk rock love and punk rock memories, much like the mood of this Jockey Club stories page. The guy who signed The Ramones in the first place summed it up best by saying “In the 70s, if you wanted to play guitar in a rock band and get on the radio, you had to compete with the Jeff Becks of the world. The Ramones changed all of that.” How true. 

Hi Bryce, the mystery band in the photo gallery is none other than The Vibrators! What a show! It was the original line up (Knox, guitar and vocals, John Ellis - Lead Guitar, Pat Collier - Bass, and Eddie - Drums). They were touring the now classic ''Alaska 127'' album. To this day this is still one of best bands I have ever seen. I was in The Reduced at the time and we opened for them. It was so cool meeting those guys. They seemed to enjoy answering questions. I was a huge fan so, I had a few. 

WOW! What a kick ass site. Lots of good memories of that place. A few bad, but mostly real good times had at the Jockey club. The place definately went down hill after the Cramps show the summer of 1986. The crowd and bands were not as much fun, but I remember some good shows in 87 & 88. That HR show was fun. I also rember that White Zombie show and drinking a 5th of Jim Beam on the roof of the JC before the show with the late great Aaron Grahm and Kyle. I remember the Mentors played the JC in 88 but I forget the date. It sucks because I live in San Francisco and no one here would know what the fuck I was talking about when babbling about the JC. They had the Broadway back then, but it still stands as a recording studio these days. I lived in Seattle for five years before I came here and those motherfuckers think the world did not exist before sub pop and 1989. I have pictures of that Damned show at my parents in Cincinnati. I will try and get those so you may post. I remember that big nosed guitar player from the Damned got hit right on his beak with a can of Fosters on the first number. They were gonna walk off right there but fortunately no one threw more shit. They just wasn't as good as the Reduced at dodging fan appriciation. 

Bryce, The photo at the bottom right-hand of the Mystery photos is of Tufty (on bass)and Bruce Stuckey (on guitar)of Toxic Reasons.I have no idea who the others are. 

Does anyone know what happened to the photos taken by Steve Schredoff(sp?)? He passed away in 1985 or 86, I think. He took tons of great photos at the JC in 83, 84, & 85. He used to bring a little photo folder to the gigs to show off his work. I have a few xeroxed ones of his in some fanzines, but, alas, no originals. 

I saw one he did of The Fall. It WAS excellent...done with a fish-eye lens. It would be a nice memorial to Steve to publish his stuff here. I'm glad nobody has come up with photos with an eye towards making some dough. That would wreck the community spirit, plus I aint forkin' out one red cent! In Doc & the Pods first weeks of playing at The Jockey, some guy popped up with great pics of us onstage, and I paid his price. I only bought one and let the other three go, though they were just as good. I was disgusted with the money aspect of it all. He came around a few weeks later and gave me the others, so I thought I played that one rather well. Like, who else was he gonna sell 'em to? And then WITT shot tons of awesome Pods shots and gave them all to me! He was cool! Though fetching them could be quite an adventure! So what I'm saying is, if you've got great $tuff, don't $it on it, now is the time, let it be $een by a huge appreciative audience. That's THE reward of all true artists....speaking if which, where is WITT? 

I have yet another Jockey Club story.About May 1983,A hardcore band from the west coast called The Dicks,played at the club.One of the warm-up bands was this really raunchy,thrashy band called The Butt-Plugs.They only played about 3 or 4 songs of generic hardcore.After being serenaded by such classics as: "Bloody Tampon" & "Blow Me",I thought that I had just seen the world's worst band.Shortly after their set me & Jonny "D.F.B."went outside to get some air.Bill Liest and a few others were in the parking lot hanging out with a couple of members of the Dicks.Bill asked me & Jonny what we thought of the Butt-Plugs.We told him that they were the worst band that ever played the J.C.The guys in the Dicks kept prying at us to see just how bad we thought they were.The more bad things we said about The Butt-Pugs,the harder they laughed at us.They told us that the Butt-Plugs were a bunch of spoiled rich kids and that Ed Asner's(Lou Grant)son was in the band and he flew in on a leer-jet.Of course, we bought it all hook,line & sinker. I didn't find out until the next day that The Butt-Plugs were really a couple members of the Dicks with a roadie or two who wore disguises so nobody would recognize them.So the joke was on us and Billuh Ace & The Dicks had a good laugh at our expense.Boy,were we gullible. 

THANGS THANGS THANGS THANGS THANGS THANGS THANGS THANGS THANGS THANGS 

the whole thing started with this guy pulling the coat hooks out for a keepsake and a piece of the wall panel fell off and with in minutes the place was being torn to shreads. i remember snare was a bit torn up he looked me in my eye and asked how could you do this. but the club meant alot of different things to a lot of different people.everybody wanted a piece to take home and remeber all the good times by. it was the last night and who really cared what happened to the club they had sold it and it was becoming part of the cab compnay. there was a night where we stole all the gas caps from the cab company. one of the cabbies had gropped one of our girlfriends and we took all the caps from all the cars. i remeber there was a show a couple of days later and there were rags in all the cabs instead of gas caps. goddamn it was funny at the time. there were alot of great times in the parking lot, on the roof,in the ladies room. never a good time in the mens room. the anchor grill late night the neon sign is still there WE MAY DOSE BUT WE NEVER CLOSE. nothing finer than some grit honey fighting off her beer maddened husband after a night of drinking and trashing to the best bands in the world. thanks god for billy blank and company. steve hall the only black skinhead who was a white supremist what a hoot he sang for musical suicide for a while. then we had nazi mike the only real skinhead in the city for a while. he was not a bad guy until later on in the years when he actually started to believe that bullshit he used to joke about. there were several conflicts with our bald youth back then but i remember one time he was telling us all that god was on his side and he would win. he knocked up some cow and is a truck driver now. if he would of skipped his punk rock stage and gone right to driving trucks he would have saved us all alot of time and energy.good to see charlie c is still well we have not seen him in cinci for a while. who was that guy with the american flag? well its been fun, bye 

What became of the 11,000 Switches? I saw them at the first JC show and many others through 1986 or `7. Can someone also tell me why they seemed to piss off so many people in the audiance? Thanks for the sweet wine of youth. 

Rhudy:

On the picture page you ask about the purpose of the cage. The story I heard was that it served as a place to lock up trouble makers until the police came. So, if you had a rowdy customer, you could toss him out the back door into the locked cage and call the cops. The cops would come to the back door and open up the cage from the outside...

But, maybe that's just one of those things they liked to tell us youngsters to keep us in line in those days. It worked. Even though I went there many, many times, I was still pretty scared of the place, and I never messed with Shorty.

The Switches just played last friday at Southgate, at least that's what the SH website says. Whether they lived up to their legendary reputation of clearing a room lickety-split I haven't heard. Did anybody see that show? Two distinct versions, Switches with guitars, and Switches with tape loops. It was the tape-loop band that did the pissing off, they were just too far ahead of their time. I saw them Halloween 1980 play with QI-ZZ, and Uncle Dave was in both bands. He scared the future Pods but later became our friend. Another still extant group for the 20th reunion. I just noticed in the press section Bill quoted as saying "Who'll wanna come out on the 20th?" It's gonna be a big ol' freakshow blast, with a cast of thousands! 

"I'm just sittin' here reminiscing....." Whew! This website sure is a "helluva thing" Ace! Kudos to Bryce! It sure is good to read about all these heretofore forgotten (at least in my mind) bands whose names I haven't heard uttered in at least a decade : Toxic Reasons (what's up Ed Pittman?!), Vale of Tears (Tony Briggs, where are you?!), etc. It's also especially good to see some old familiar names on here, knowing that a lot of you aging punkers are still out there amongst the living (of course, some of you were just plain out there to begin with!). I envision this humorous image in my mind of all of us old farts sitting in front of our PC's gettin' all misty, waxing nostalgic over the glory days. All this has jarred my memory circuits and has me longing for those beer-soaked, dope- clouded nights spent at the J.C. It really was a special place. There was no other place in town like it and there still isn't and probably never will be. Sure there was the loft scene (who could forget those great "Medicus" parties in Covington and Chenault's "Loft Au Go Go" in over the Rhine?) and even a few clubs that would take a chance booking punk/new wave acts (the Brew House comes to mind - that's where I acquired a bitchin' Vox Pantom VI from the guitar player in Get Smart from Lawrence, Kansas), hell, even Blowfartz used to have "New Wave Wednesdays" (at one of which shows I witnessed the mighty Destroy All Monsters and pledged my heart to Niagara as I worshipped at the feet of guitar god/ex-Stooge Ron Ashton) but none of those other places... uhmm... I know it sounds corny but none of those other places felt like home. No, my actual home was never a cavernous barroom with repulsive, graffiti hued toilets, but you know what I mean. Wherever we (the Auburnaires) played it was usually always fun but at a lot of places you kinda had the feeling that you were at a teenage basement party, i.e. you're having a good time but you know that the parents are right upstairs and could pop down at any moment. However, a Jockey Club show was like being at a teenage party and the freakin' folks are outta town!! I won't go as far as saying that there was an "anything goes" policy at the J.C., but pretty much anything went! If there was a place around like that now, who knows, this old boy would maybe start goin' out again. It took this website to make me realize how much I really do miss the place and it also reveals the truth in the meaning of that old adage "You can never go home again". P.S. - About those Steve Schedroff photographs, the last I saw of some of those, and mind you, this was many years ago, they were in the posession of Mark Chenault who apparently sort of inherited Steve's whole portfolio, and yes, they were awesome pictures. Happy searching! 

The shows at the Jockey Club were just part of the adventure for those of us from Lexington. There was usually something dramatic which would befall us on the up or back -- like the tire blowing out on Joe Coleman's (RIP) old green station wagon on some desolate stretch of interstate -- there must have been 15 of us loaded in there. We thought we were in the BIG city when came over Death Hill on I-75 and saw the lights of Cincinnati. Hang a right at the Covington (3d Street?) exit and then wind your way to Newport and the JC. I vividly remember standing on the sidewalk outside many times, under the decaying FLAMINGO sign and marvelling at the red "CENTRAL TRUST" building in downtown Cincinnati. What a shame it's gone now...last time I drove through, they had changed it to a purple PNC Bank sign. Too many shows and memories to recount...I think my fondest one would have to be the Black Flag show in July 1984 when I turned 21 and didn't have to worry about being underage anymore. I celebrated by buying a pint of Jack Daniel's at the liquor store down York St. Whew! Another time we went to eat at some 24-hour joint (Roy Rogers?) after the Husker Du show. Little did we know or care at the time that Madonna was at Riverfront the same night, probably on the Like A Virgin tour. We were, naturally, in full punk rock regalia. The waitress asked us, "gee, have you all been to see MADONNA?" We were appalled, needless to say, and set her straight with a sneer. Does anyone remember anything about the nut from Lexington who brought a gun to the JC and stole the Love and Rockets van? And whatever happened to the Pork and Beans in Tomato Sauce guy? He sure was cute. I think he was from Dayton. 

I got a call about 11pm the other night. As an old married man with kids, I was sound asleep in bed. My wife picked up the phone and said that the caller mumbled something about “Matt ... Jockey Club.” It was Bob Butler, AKA Big Bob, Acid Bob, Crazy Bob, Husker Bob. Hadn’t seen or heard from Bob for at least 5 years and he calls up looking for a demo tape we did as the Boondocks. So, the next morning I type “Jockey Club” and “Boondocks” into my web browser and this Jockey Club Calendar pops up. Great site Bryce! Your calendar spurred my memory, so I figured I might as well spout off about my four blurry years at the Jockey Club...

What I remember most about the Jockey Club was the hangover and the “trough” in the men’s room. Working all day Saturday with ringing ears and that sweaty Jockey Club hangover, that just wouldn’t wash off, going there again on Saturday night, and working all day Sunday with the same hangover and ringing ears. The first band I saw was Personality Crisis. I was 15. I recall the singer played with dead squid and threw them at the crowd. Like Dave Davis says, there were only a handful of people at the Big Black show. I wasn’t one of Dave’s friends, but I was part of that handful. Big Black did indeed torture the sound system. Albini’s screams from “Jordan, Missesota” rattled around in my head for days. As for Mudball’s question about Naked Raygun. I remember seeing them twice and they were great both times. The Minutemen were also great, but very low key. I think they played in ‘85, rather than ‘84, unless they played more than once. Charlie Pickett and the Eggs rocked as well. The Boondocks opened up for the Cramps, but naturally, I can only barely remember Lux through the haze of that night. There was so much stage diving at The Damned show that a disgusted Dave Vanian said “we should have played here 10 years ago.” At one of Gang Green’s shows, a frat boy kept spitting on the band. About halfway through their set, the band dragged him on stage and beat the crap out of him. Another glorious night, Tim Schwallie nailed the Meatmen’s Tesco Vee in the head with a Foster’s Can. The can bounced off Tesco’s pointy head and hit the drummer in the face. We cheered. I work with a guy who says he was punched in the face by Jello Biafra at one of the DK shows. That may have been one of Jello’s finest acts.

Acid Bob, Greg Cull, and I were on our way to the first Johnny Thunders show, tickets in hand. We were walking down the alley behind the club when this late ‘70s Oldsmobile came screaming across a parking lot toward us. Sparks flew as the land yacht bottomed out before screeching to a halt in front of us. Serpico, Jr., jumped out with a gun yelling “Freeze, Newport Vice.” Another unmarked car came up behind to hem us in. After searching us and taking our drugs and beer, Newport’s Finest realized it was too much trouble to process paperwork on me, since I was 17. They gave us 10 minutes to “get your butts back to O-HI-O or you’ll all spend a night in the pokey.” When I tell people I grew up at the Jockey Club, they look at me like I’ve got six heads. No wonder. 

The squid that the singer from Personality Crisis held over his mouth and let the squid ink drip in from, came from the Kroger seafood counter. I thought it would be a good idea to throw squid at the band after I saw people throw dead octopus on the ice at a hockey game in Detroit. I was right. It was a very good idea. I wish I could find the right place to throw squid at people today. 

That's why I could never remember the first Johnny Thunders show- I never saw it! Ha! 

My first show was Gang Green in 1985. I knew from that moment on that this is where I wanted to be. I was only 16 and fearful at first that I would not make it in. Laugh. I found myself going as frequently as I could, but only to stand against the wall in the foyer staring at Bil Weber as he collected at the door. (Bil, did you ever wonder, "Why in the hell is she just leaning there staring at me".) Serious Crush. Sorry if I annoyed you. I was only 16. What can you expect? I also learned to love Fosters at the JC. I enjoyed piling them up on the table, making an oil can tower rather than throwing them. Thanks for the page. Missy Ant 

Steve O. and I recently cracked up at the thought of me making this guestlist and then being the only one writing it all the time and how sad and pathetic that would be. Luckily tons of you guys and gals write often enough that it looks like I'm not throwing a party for myself. But it does seem my entries cast an apparent spell over the JC scene, and days, maybe weeks go by with my last entry staring me in face. But Steve's last entry got me thinking about our show with The Boys From Nowhere...Jimmy D. kinda did retaliate...their lead picker was a big ass, and Jimmy D slipped me all the money. Pods got paid, Boys didn't. Jimmy had some excuse for that. I felt weird but didn't argue. We were always trying to make 45's with the gig money and we kinda needed it. The drunken guitarist must have smelled a rat so he cornered me in the alley and was gonna beat me up or something, so I caved and gave him the money, at least their cut. I'm a lover not a fighter! Mick Divvens, head Nowhere Boy got wind of this and pressed all the money back into my hand. Now I really felt lousy and tried to make Mick keep his cut but he wouldn't hear of it. That was the last gig for that man with the Telecaster. Mick shit-canned him. Some people thought Mick was kinda cocky but I met him a few times here and there, (Stache's in Columbus where they opened for somebody, probably The Fleshtones; Me, Steve and Mick lurking backstage at Bogart's talking to the late Paula Pierce from the Pandoras) and I thought he was an OK guy and also a good show-biz guy. I learned stuff from him I still employ when I do gigs. Boys from Nowhere made an excellent 7" called "BEG" and Mick confessed to me they got the sound with a Big Muff and he seemed embaressed but nowadays those fuzz pedals go for alot on The EVIL Ebay. He was either ahead of or way behind the times, or both, just like us Pod-boys. 

Does anybody else think a thang reunion gig would be cool thangs, reduced, pods, idiots, auburnaires, el kabong would be good for te 20 year gig 

You Jockey Club people, I remember you. You people were dirty. You people going to that dirty Newport, when everyone knew the real place to party in the 80's was Mount Adams. I loved the Blind Lemon and and the Pavillion. I remember listening to Night Ranger and Genesis. Culture club was great to . Remember the way Boy George would sing with his hands. So dreamy. Oh well, I just wanted all you losers to know the real fun you missed. 

Hey, great site, Bryce. Quimby turned me on to it. It's fun to read all this crap. To anyone who has a Pods recording. I am collecting them, and I would like to hear from you. So far I have one! Why wasn't I paying more attention when I was living those times????? 

I made the mistake of watching "Night Visions" last night. Cheap Twilight Zone ripoff with HENRY ROLLINS as Rod Serling, Jr. Mindless, cheesy...but outright hilarious when Henry introduced or summed up the episodes. What, pray tell, was he thinking (besides, "This pays better than touring")?

Now I have heard legendary stories about Black Flag at the JC, and a rumor that Greg Ginn paid some local heavies to drag Rollins off stage and beat the shit out of him. Any witnesses to this? 

steve. I was at the 84 show which I was bummed when they would not play six pack and they started off with some crappy heavy metal opening crap. during the show a skin from nyc named jp was in a verbal fight with rollins. rollins was yelling i am smart and you are dumb i am thin and you are fat ect.. after the show jp wanted to go fight him. well i went with jp who by the way i would have loved to seen beaten(by rollins not his crew) and watched them argue like kids, they both chickened out in the end and i thought they were both pretty pathetic. i hit rollins with a fosters can at that show which caused a slight pause(i figured he saw me and i was dead) that was at the 84 show . i later met rollins at a spoken word when i was working at bogarts i told him of the 84 show(the fosters can) and he laughed saying i get hit with a can at almost every show i play. 

That's a great story! Thanks, Bill! 

has anyone seen Xunga.com? it's pretty hilarious...they have all this drinking stuff like beer funnels, beer mugs, shot glasses, posters, etc. it's at http://www.xunga.com 

i remember a show where ss-20 was playing as the headliner and it was a bit quiet. there were maybe 40 pp there. john and chuck were there and these hillbillies came along and kept hitting john haynes (the guy who wore the american flag). i jumped in and got into a fight with these rednecks and and i can say honestly i was getting my ass kicked and jughead jumped off the stage and started to choke this whitetrash guy and beat his head against the floor,I thought he was going to kill him.long story short jughead saved my ass and its the only time i had a band member jump off a stage to save my ass which in the jockey club days I needed my ass saved almost daily. once george duchaine and myself were about to square off with three or four punks from nowhere ohio and there were verbal insults going back and forth and they looked scared and wondered off i thought man what the hell we were out numbered and i could not figure out wht they backed down and then i turned around to see kevin kroger who scared the shit out of everyone. it was pretty funny. kevin saved my ass more than anyone just by standing behind me. thanks kev 

I never got in a fight at the Jockey Club. In the early years (82-85), it seemed like everyone was very cool and non-violent. The only violent incidents I heard about were between non-club patrons (locals or cops) and club patrons, not between JCers. In the last few years of the club, some skinhead-types started hanging around and I remember seeing them harass other people from time to time. One of these jerks threw a bottle at me and Victor in the lobby, but he missed, and Chris Donnelly (who by this time was becoming a large fellow) went over to the lad and talked some sense into him. The jerk left us alone for the rest of the evening. I made sure to stay the hell away from the skinhead-wannabees, and anyway, I went away to college in 86 and missed most of the last 2 years of activity. But I always thought it was a shame because in those first few years it seemed like everyone was cool, and then slowly things started to sour around the edges. 

When I went to the jockey club I never stopped anyone from hurting anyone. I was affraid I would break a nail or mess my hair up. Those sour edges were created by the people who did not stop the bad people from hurting the nice people. I am sorry I was such a coward and never helped anyone in a pinch.I also saw some friends beat up but usually I would have to go to the bathroom shortly afterward. I dont understand that macho stuff it makes me squirmish. 

The place was just riddled with cool people! It's probably why this whole remembering thing is happening at all. Jimmy D. in my mind is the main nice fella from the JC. He practically adopted us, but not just us, the guy had an encycleopedic knowledge of every musician in town and what they had and what they needed and he got it for you for next to nothin'! Often it was for free! He recorded us for free and was really good at making records I think! I don't think I ever pissed him off and I sure can't say that about many folks. He just had that roll with it show biz mentality that is pretty essential. We briefly played together in The Highwaymen but when we got back to town they turned me loose but I was relieved! They were bringing me cowboy shirts to wear which the drummer would thrust upon me seconds before going on stage. (Kinda like my current surf band, YIKES!) I was bummed when Jimmy stopped doing tons of sound at the club, he too was burned out, he was (IS) a super soundman! I wanted him to be the guy twiddlin' knobs at next thursday's Southgate House show, but he is working the lounge upstairs and the ballroom will be mixed by Shawn Norton who would have been my other choice, but it wasn't up to me! Now there's another cool guy from the JC crowd, in fact Sh