Last week, Raymond, an old band mate of mine from E>K>U>K, had posted on Instagram a flier from 2007 for a show we played with The Last, whom I wrote about last year at the twice defunct Safari Sams. No, it wasn’t the classic old school punk bar in Huntington Beach, but the re-hashed version that lasted from 2006-2008 in East Hollywood, and we were lucky enough to have played there a handful of times in that tiny window.
That show with The Last was particularly special for us, as we got to share the stage with them, but it was also the night I met Bill Stevenson, Drummer from The Descendents, who played my kit, complimented my style and truth bombed me. When I asked him how the hell did my drums sound like his, he said the same thing an older jazz drummer I met said to me, which was that it’s not the kit, it’s the player. Obvious as that may sound, you’d be surprised how particular some players can be. I feel adaptability is key, but I digress…
Anyway, all throughout last week, I had a handful of friends DM me after having seen the flier on Instagram and were asking if it was the same Safari Sams show in which the LAPD locked us in until 5am…
It wasn’t.
But, we did book Safari Sams again only one month later as part of a monthly rock and roll club called Kiss Or Kill. We had done a few shows for them in the past and they always had a big following and, unbeknownst to me, after the fact, there is a documentary about them. The crowds were generally loving and supportive, which we hadn’t felt in awhile, so it was a nice place to be.
We were slated to go on second that night and by the time we went on, the place was pretty full, which was great for us. When the first band finished, everyone made their exodus out front to smoke, which sounds crazy now in 2024 as I barely see people smoking anymore at shows. Anyway, we started our set and the crowd outside didn’t really come back, in fact, the few non smokers left also vacated the building. We had some crowd to be sure, but there were far more outside than inside.
Now, we were a loud and raucous band so we were used to clearing out a room from time to time, but this was Kiss Or Kill and they prided themselves on both loving it loud AND watching all of the bands. Something was amiss… Besides, I thought we played pretty well that night, so we were all kinda of confused as our set came to an end.
We cleared the stage and made our way outside to see what was up. As we approached the door, we were flooded with the red and blue blast of police car and ambulance lights, as well as the spotlight of the city’s own mascot, the LAPD helicopter. The entire strip mall where Safari Sams was located, which included a bakery, a Chinese restaurant and most notably, a 99 Cents Store, was taped off.
It turned out that a man was tragically shot and murdered in his car out front of the 99 Cents Store and the assailant had sped off. The police had made the entire strip mall a part of their investigation. I walked to our van to put something away and was told by the police I could not go to my car, which was in the lot, and had to go back to the venue. No one was allowed to leave or enter the strip mall.
At a certain point, all the lookie-loo excitement faded and everyone went back into the venue to watch the next band. Everyone kinda went back to normal, considering what people saw outside, including a few who actually witnessed the shooting, and after the delay of the third bands set, the club was told to stop the music. The police wanted everyone to stay inside the club from here on out and after a certain point, no more alcohol, as they were eventually going to come in and interview EVERY…SINGLE…PERSON.
At this point, it was getting to be around 1am. The cops let people who weren’t driving leave after a brief interview and so a few of our lucky friends that lived nearby walked home or took a cab. Unfortunately, we were stuck as our van and equipment were at the mercy of the LAPD homicide investigators. Everyone was pissed to say the least, but the bartenders were nice enough to brew coffee for everyone, since clearly everyones buzz had ceased to exist at this point.
SIDE NOTE: Kiss Or Kill always had a tastemaker or two show up at their nights and this particular night, Kim Fowley was also stuck there, and yes, he was with people WAY younger than him… Perhaps “Stuck in a bar with Kim Fowley” could be a fun song title?
Around 2 am, the cops decided to start interviewing the people left at the venue. Being that it was formal, each interview took a bit of time, as they asked if we were inside, heard anything, have gang affiliations, and so on. This went on a for a bit. At around 4 something, we got the all clear to vacate. We then packed the van and made our trek back to the South Bay just in time to catch the sun.
I had to really dig through the bowels of the internet to find the flier for the show, let alone the date and a news report. You’d think because of the horrible circumstance, that would be a date etched in memory, but things like that happened a lot. Gigs, and the when and wheres and the anecdotes affiliated with them are always fleeting, moving too fast to process. Our brains can only handle so much information at any given time, so I take to Substack to dredge these things up. This surely wasn’t a nice stroll down memory lane, but it’s a memory nonetheless. A memory that, beyond the incident itself, brought me back to Kiss Or Kill, whom I forgot about and was another example of a beautiful, thriving, “you had to be there” community of rock and roll lovers that gave purpose and life to so many.
Scenes, to use a phrase common in this instance, don’t last long, but they are important. Anyone out there in a music scene, running scene, book club, whatever, don’t take it for granted. Appreciate all the moments, especially the weird or tragic ones, as you may feel less alone. It’s ok to laugh, cry or yell together.
Thanks to Raymond for the reminder and all the other friends who reached out and inspired this piece.
One last thing for your reading pleasure…
See you all next week. Be safe and thanks for reading.