DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME;

"Countdown Shows 6-10"

Show #6-August 28, 1993- at Club CHEERS, Semi-Valley, Calif.

When Tom booked this show, we thought he must have been smoking something
because the club only had ONE FRIGGIN MICROPHONE! And we were supposed to
"wait for the soundguy to arrive" for soundcheck. This may have been the
thinest crowd i'd ever seen at a LOVE show. But the Singer may have performed
one of his greatest shows. He didn't even care about who was there or who
wasn't and that was very indicative of his attitude back then. I also remember
him introducing "Little Red Book" as "This song is called 'little Red Book' and
(looking at Tom Sweeney) 'Little White Crook'", which got a roar of laughter
from everyone, including Tom. I sometimes wonder what happened to Tom, as i
found him to be a really nice guy with a funny sense of humor. I mean, he was
as Jive as they come, butyou had to like a guy like him who believed in the
60's with a passion. he was a hippy, thru and thru and drove a Trans Am to
boot! Speaking of boots (how's THAT for an intro?), don't look for any from
this show because there were only 3 people who came. It was obviously the
biggest kept secret in Semi-Valley. Supposedly, CHEERS went out of business not
long after this show.

Show #7-September 19, 1993-at The PALOMINO. I remember this show was more
packed than the first time we played it. Also, Arthur had x-LOVE guitarist,
John Sterling, sit in on lead guitar. he wasn't that good with the chords so
he pretty much "Hendrix'd" the whole set, which was fine with the burn-outs in
the 4th row. Afterwards, Mr. Sterling and i had a not-so-private dispute
(nothing to do with music) to which he was advised not to walk on any stage
that i am occupying by ME. The Singer and I joked about this a few months ago
with the Singer claiming,"You know, Sterling was right. You cold blooded, Mike
Randle." The Singer is always good for turning a bad situation into something
really funny.

Show #8-September 18, 1993-at THE GOODBAR, Bev Hills, Calif

How Tom got this gig, we'll never know, but the club was owned by Vince
Neil...of MOTLEY CRUE fame. This was the first time we met music journalist,
Dan Epstein. Right before the show, Vince asked Tom to ask the Singer if it
was ok if his band, THE VINCE NEIL BAND, jammed on the gear when we were done.
The Singer said, "No Problem" and asked if we minded. We said "No" and
proceeded to hit the bar before showtime. Now let me say this much; The Women
in this club were HOT, ok? I mean, if you could get past the Silicon (which i
could), there were some nice looking chicks. So, around 10pm, we hit the stage
and rock non-stop for about 90 min. Afterwards, Vince told Tom,"Nevermind."
I'll never forget Vince (he's about 5 ft 6") with his ripped jeans, surrounded
by 6 completely beautiful, albeit, Skanky, women. For one short moment, i
wanted to be in MOTLEY CRUE...

Show #9-September 25, 1993- at The VENICE BISTRO, Venice, Calif.

This was another "One Microphone" show and i was starting to realise what it
meant NOT to have a manager but a booker. A booker is lloking at his/her
potential to make money where as, a manager looks at both that and your viable
future as an artist. But we were new to this and went along with it. I
remember The LA WEEKLY'S Dan Epstein was at this show, as was our future
LOVE/BABY LEMONADE crew memeber and best friend, Michael "Ringo" Harrison, and
his Uncle, Nick Harrison, who passed away not long after that show and who was
a massive LOVE fan.

Show #10-December 4, 1993- at THE CUBBY BEAR- Chicago, Ill.

At this point, the Singer started working with a different "promoter" named
Mike Lonn (not his real name.) The Singer had done some shows with other back
up bands becasue Mike Lonn was convinced this was smart, mone- wise. Forget
the rave reviews Baby Lemonade was garnering. Forget the Singer's career.
Forget the fact that BL helped restore Street Credibility back to the name,
LOVE. But the Singer insisted he put us on a plane for this Chicago show,
which no doubt turned Mike's face beet red, as he saw his percentage probably
get smaller and smaller.But we flew to Chicago, in the dead of winter (it was freezing) and our plane
landed at midnight. we were picked up by Mr. Lonn and driven right to a
recording studio (This was COMPLETE NEWS TO ALL OF US!!!!!) where we had to
record till close to 3am. Although we were treated to 2 big pizzas and a 12
pack of beer, it rung a bit of "being taken advantage of." Still, we did it
cause we didn't know no better. Played the show the next night with one of
Chicago's best bands, Karma Sultra, although the band's guiraist had recently
left to move to Los Angeles to write for a local rag. Name? Dan Epstein!
Small world. Of course, we all got the flu when we got home. But it was nice
to get out and play Chicago and let people see what it's like to hear a band
play LOVE songs the way they're SUPPOSED to be played...so we have Mike Lonn to
thank. Oh, by the way, we didn't get a hotel but instead stayed at his old
Girlfriend's house (she was sweet as a Gorgia peach, by the way...) and the day
we were supposed to leave for the airport, Mike Lonn drove the Singer and
pretty much told us we were on our own; take a taxi or the train but you get
there on your own. he was done with us, we'd done what he needed and this was
how we were being treated. So i paid for the $30 taxi ride to O'Hare airport.
I never got that $30 back either. So, next time you wonder why the singer
played shows with High Llamas, Das Damen and Liverpool's favorite sons, Shack,
you now know. And all those bands are good bands and i'm certain you got your
money's worth. But that's the story, the gospel truth.

=====

Mike Randle
mike@lovewitharthurlee.com

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