Ahh, the wisdom of a scene ultra hip and long lost. A scene with lots of sweaty teenage sex, no AIDS, and drugs galore..... rock till ya drop don't stop. Definitely the seventies. Young celebrities packed rock clubs partying like there was no tomorrow- and for some- there was no tomorrow. Such is the tale of the Dead Boys' Stiv Bators. His Ashes were supposedly spread over Jim Morrison's grave in Paris 8 years ago, following a particularly bizarre head on collision with a car. And then there were four. I'm sitting with Johnny Blitz, esteemed drummer of the Dead Boys. I say esteemed because when you taunt fate with a name like 'Dead Boy'- and then get carved up like a turkey outside CBGBs- you should be dead. But Blitz pulled through... with a little help from his friends. In 1978, superstars such as Blondie, Divine, and John Belushi joined forces with his band to do a benefit for Blitz's recovery. Twenty years later in Toronto, Canada, Johnny Blitz sits across from me drinking a coke. He lights my cigarette. We begin. Stefania: Do you mind if we start with the stabbing? Blitz: Not at all. It was after a show in NYC, and me and one of my roadies went out for an after-gig drink and dinner. We were really blasted, totally drunk. He left early, I decided to stay with some girls. Then, two minutes later, one of the girls comes in and says 'Michael's in trouble'. So I run outside, and he's surrounded by about five guys with baseball bats, and of course, I dive in not thinking, and a fight breaks out. So, I pull a knife, and next thing you know, I'm chasing a guy down the street with my knife, and I get one of them, and then I get hit with a baseball bat..they sliced me up pretty good. Stefania: How did you feel about the benefit? Blitz: It was great to get that kind of support. Stefania: What was John Belushi like? Blitz: A drunken, drugged out, great guy. What can I say? He played drums with the Dead Boys a lot. I met him back in '76. He used to come by CBGBs, and we'd hang out. When I first met him, I didn't know who the hell he was. Then someone told me the second or third time, 'Belushi, you know, Saturday Night Live!' Oh ya. Stefania: What's Cheetah Chrome doing these days? Blitz: Someone told me the other day that he was dead. I don't know what happened to that fucker. Heard he was dead. Note: Click here for an update on Cheetah Chrome. Stefania: Jimmy Zero? Blitz: Something to do with computers in Cleveland, and Jeff is into NYC studio work, but I don't really keep in touch. Stefania: Give us a juicy story from the Dead Boys live years. Blitz: Well, we were hanging out with Keith Richards, and he had a pair of motorcycle boots... nice, really nice. He wouldn't let me have them though, and Cheetah says he'll get them. So..about a week later Cheetah walks in to rehearsal with a cast on, and the boots on. Cheetah says,'You wouldn't fuckin believe it. The other night Keith and I went roller skating...' (Blitz to Stefania laughing) Can you imagine Keith Richards on fucking roller-skates!? So Cheetah says,'Ya I was skating fine man, and Keif put his foot out..and KABOOM! He broke my rib. Felt so bad, he gimme these boots!' Fucking Cheetah, he got the boots. Stefania: What is Divine like? Blitz: Divine was a weird bird. I met him through a friend in the theater scene in New York. He was a big Dead Boys fan. I could never fucking understand that. I saw him without his makeup. (Laughs) It was beautiful. Weird guy. Batting his eyes at me back stage. Nice guy but weird. Stefania: And Debbie Harry? Blitz: Really great woman...nice person... but she has the biggest head in the world. I've never seen a human being with a bigger head. Her head is not proportioned to her body. Stefania: Mentally, or physically? Blitz: No, no-physically. I swear, she's just got a big head. Stefania: I know that you could go on, but any favorite stories about Stiv Bators? Blitz: That guy would get laid more than any human being I have ever met in my life. He was a little man, but he was literally hung down to his knees- a freak of nature! Stiv was hanging with Brooke Shields for a while, and her mother... |
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| Stiv and Divine at the Blitz benefit |
| Stiv wears a Blitz benefit T shirt |
| Blitz circa 2000!! |
| Originally published by THE TWISTED TIMES, June 1999. |
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| Blondie's Debbie Harry |
| Blitz in the 70's |