Random Rock Star Moment: Bon Scott

The exciting sequel to No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn!

A million years ago back in The Old Metal Days I was penpals with a Metalhead in St. Louis named Trace Rayfield. Besides the usual penpal activities such as tape trading, Trace also contributed to my fanzine Whiplash. I remember Trace sending me a photo of him hanging out with Bon Scott (!) but I never got the full story about the encounter. Fast forward to the 21st Century and, for the first time ever, Trace tells his amazing AC/DC war story. Kidz these days don't even fucking know...

BON SCOTT
JULY 7, 1946 - FEBRUARY 19, 1980

On the morning of May 18, 1979, my friends Wade, Mark, and I made our first Rock ‘N Roll road trip. Little did we know that this day would be one of the most memorable days of our lives. AC/DC were set to co-headline with UFO in Springfield, Illinois (a mere 100 miles from St. Louis). We had become rabid AC/DC fans ever since we heard the title track of Let There Be Rock on KSHE-95 in our hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. We were also UFO fans and had seen them a few times already, but since Michael Schenker was now out of the band our interest had waned. This was all about the opportunity to see Bon, Angus, and the boys.

We were armed with only three things: The name and addresses of the venue, the location of the motel that booked the bands, and the local record store that sold tickets. We were confident that we would be able to score tickets the day of the show since we figured a cow town like Springfield wouldn’t have much of a Rock scene.

“UFO & AC/DC live at The Armory tonight SOLD OUT,” read the sign on the record storefront when we arrived. Guess this cow town rocked after all. Devastated, we ventured off to the Bel-Air Motel where the band was supposedly staying. We thought maybe we could still try and get our albums signed since we had come all this way.

After sitting in the parking lot for a short time we saw an out of date tour bus pull up. As we stared with anticipation, out popped Bon, Angus, Malcolm, Phil, and Cliff! What a thrill to finally see and talk to our Rock Heroes! Road haggard and all, they took the time to sign all of our albums and homemade posters. Wade had even made a scrapbook of all the articles that we ran across in the press, which they found appealing since some of the stuff they hadn’t even seen.

Mark, Angus Young, Trace, and Bon Scott

We explained our situation about the sold out show and how we traveled 100 miles and all. I don’t remember if it was the Road Manager or one of the band members that told us not to worry they would take care of us. We just looked at each other like "Holy Shit!". Could this get any better or what? As the band retreated to their rooms to clean up for the show, Malcolm asked us if we wanted to hear the new album. We were like, “What new album?" and Malcom said "Highway To Hell. We’ve got a tape of it on the tour bus." Okay this isn’t really happening. AC/DC left us on their tour bus, alone, and we listened to their new album, months before the U.S. release.

Malcolm Young on the bus. Highway To Hell is playing on the cassette deck above.

Of course we were snapping pictures all along the way. No digital cameras back then so eventually we ran out of film. After a while the band, one by one, started to get back on the bus. Oh, who’s this guy? Just Pete Way of UFO there to share a drink with Cliff and Bon.

Pete Way, Cliff Williams, Bon

We followed the bus to the venue and basically went right in with the band and crew before being given backstage passes by their Road Manager.


We started watching the show from the wings before a roadie suggested we move out front where we could see better. They proceeded to deal out a blistering set of pre-Highway To Hell classics. To be honest, I don’t even remember seeing UFO that night, but I’m sure we stuck around to see their set. We were just so amped up, anticipating our return to the Bel-Air Motel.

We might have been getting a little greedy here, but we thought, what the hell, let’s see if any of the band are hanging around. All of the band members were cordial, but Bon definitely came off as the friendliest, so we thought let’s knock on his door and see if he would be interested in a cold beverage from our cooler. Jackpot.

Eventhough Bon had a groupie with him he was more than happy to invite us into his room to chat. It didn’t hurt that we had a cooler full of cold beers. We proceeded to grill Bon about the stories behind some of our favorite songs, like 'TNT', 'Dog Eat Dog', and of course, 'Whole Lotta Rosie'. When asked about the only appearance the band had made in our hometown of St. Louis on the Let There Be Rock Tour at the 21 and over rock club Mississippi Nights (we couldn’t go because we didn’t have our fake ID’s yet and we vowed to never miss another show there, and we didn’t). Bon had vivid memories of that night because the band brawled with the club staff after the show. Not sure what started the brawl but it was inconsequential to the story. That was the band's reputation. Oddly enough, Bon almost got into it again next time he would be in St. Louis. More on that in a minute. Anyway, the current “Rosie” was getting a little anxious so we figured we better get out of there. We told Bon we hoped to see him again soon and shook hands goodbye.

Fast forward to July 1st of that same year. AC/DC was set to open for up and coming arena rock band Triumph at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis. No lack of tickets for this one. We moved early and got 2nd row center. Thanks to my friend Wade’s due diligence we located the band's hotel in advance. The three of us arrived at the now defunct Roadway Inn in downtown St. Louis. At least it was a proper hotel this time. We had more albums to get signed that we had picked up since our last meeting (we grabbed every import or special edition we could find). This didn’t go unnoticed by the band. They were surprised that we had some of the Australian imports. Slowly the band appeared one by one and obliged our autograph requests. Again, Bon was the one to hang around and chat with some of his biggest fans.

Bon signing albums at the Roadway Inn

Needless to say, the show that the boys put on trumped the headliners even with all of Triumph’s lights and pyro. After the show, we made it back to the hotel to see if we might get lucky enough to run across Bon. When we saw Bon’s lady acquaintance we didn’t like our chances of hanging out with him this time because she was smokin’ hot. Not to worry, Bon said "Come on up boys and bring the cooler!" Wow, here we go again. We saved some film this time to document the experience.

Trace, Bon, and Busch Beer. That night's "Rosie" in the background.

As we were enjoying some hometown brew (Busch beer), we noticed a large bandage on Bon’s big toe so we asked what happened. It seems Bon’s lady friend used to tag along with Rik Emmitt (Triumph’s front man). Well I guess she told Bon that Emmitt didn’t think much of Bon’s stage persona or his vocal talents. I guess sometime backstage Bon confronted Mr. Emmitt with the intention of kickin’ his ass back to Canada. Well Rik realized he wouldn’t look too good with a black eye on stage, so he quickly denied, recanted, or whatever to avoid a beating. Somewhere along the way, Bon’s foot and a large lamp collided resulting in much blood shed. This same story (albeit Rik Emmitt’s version) can be heard on KSHE-95’s “Real Rock Museum” on their website. Good stuff.

Bon and his bandaged toe

We proceeded to empty our cooler with Bon, although he did ask if we had anything harder than beer. We got a good laugh out of that at least for the time being. After another hour or so we went on our merry way with memories to last a lifetime. Here it is almost 33 years later and I’m writing about this for the first time!

We hoped we had a friend for life in Bon. We didn’t have any idea how popular AC/DC might get in the future, but we held out hope that Bon would still remember the kids with the cooler. All of that came to a sudden, shocking end when we heard the announcement early the next year, February 20th, on KSHE’s 5 o’clock evening news that Bon had been found dead after a hard night of drinking. Unfortunately, his friends did have something harder than beer that night.

Rest in Peace Bon, we’ll bring our cooler when we see you on the other side.

Bon with Trace and Wade

"Living easy.. living free.. season ticket on a one way ride..."

Rock 'N Roll Damnation

Today marks the 30th Anniversary of Bon Scott's death. To commemorate this sad date here's an oldie but a goodie from Issue 7 (Winter 1992) of the original xeroxed fanzine version of Umlaut.


"It's a Rock 'N Roll Damnation
Ma's own whippin' boy
Rock 'N Roll Damnation
Take a chance while you still got the choice.."

Back In Black Metal On Metal

The exciting sequel to Metal On Metal, Forged In Fire, and 666! Anvil will be supporting AC/DC at their 2 massive East Coast stadium shows next month!

For Immediate Release-

HARD ROCK LEGENDS AC/DC TAP CANADIAN METAL BAND ANVIL OF THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED FILM “ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL” AS OPENERS FOR JULY 28 SHOW AT GILLETTE STADIUM AND JULY 31 SHOW AT GIANTS STADIUM

New York, NY (June 8, 2009)- Based on the overwhelming response to and incredible buzz created by the critically acclaimed documentary “Anvil! The Story of Anvil,” the band has been chosen to fill the spot as opening act for rock legends AC/DC at their Gillette Stadium show on July 28th and their Giants Stadium show on July 31st. Anvil band members, Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner will see their dreams come true as they are set to open for one of the greatest hard rock bands in the world, AC/DC, for the two biggest shows on their Black Ice World Tour. This opportunity marks a stellar comeback for the 30 year-old band that continues to reach new heights with the success and continued expansion of their documentary and recent features in Newsweek and Rolling Stone.

“Anvil! The Story of Anvil” is the directorial debut of screenwriter Sacha Gervasi (“The Terminal”) and was produced by Rebecca Yeldham (“The Kite Runner” and “The Motorcycle Diaries”). The film follows Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner and their band, Anvil, which released one of the heaviest albums in metal history, 1982’s Metal on Metal. The album influenced an entire musical generation of rock bands, including Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, who all went on to sell millions of records. Anvil, on the other hand, took a different path—straight to obscurity. The film is both entertaining and touching as it follows their last-ditch quest for the fame and fortune that has been so elusive to them. “Anvil! The Story of Anvil” is a timeless tale of survival and the unadulterated passion it takes to follow your dream, year after year.

Praised as “The best documentary I’ve seen in years,” by documentarian Michael Moore, “Anvil! The Story of Anvil” contains appearances by an array of heavy metal icons, including Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, former member of Guns N’ Roses’ Slash, Anthrax’s Scott Ian, and Slayer’s Tom Araya, among others.

Celebrities unconnected to the film have rallied around it, urging their fans to see “Anvil” in theaters. Among them are: Ryan Gosling, Dustin Hoffman, Benji and Joel Madden of Good Charlotte, Maroon 5, John Mayer, Mandy Moore, Keanu Reeves, Morgan Spurlock, Steve-O, Chris Martin, Rob Thomas and Rainn Wilson.

“Anvil! The Story of Anvil,” currently playing in theaters, is distributed by VH1 in association with Abramorama. This fall, VH1 will release the film on television and DVD under its Emmy Award-winning “VH1 Rock Docs” franchise. VH1 has been heavily supporting the theatrical distribution by Abramorama with a network-wide, multi-platform promotional campaign.

AC/DC kicked off their Black Ice World Tour in late October 2008, crisscrossing North America and Europe garnering raves from critics along the way. The Black Ice World Tour was given the ‘Major Tour of the Year’ award at the 20th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards.

Black Ice made history debuting at #1 on album charts in 29 countries and also has the distinction of being Columbia Records’ biggest debut album (since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data in 1991). Black Ice has been certified Multi Platinum in eighteen countries, including the US, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, France, Italy, Argentina and the Czech Republic.

Tickets are available via Ticketmaster and the band's website, www.acdc.com.

Shoot To Thrill

AC/DC
Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
December 2, 2008

The last time I saw AC/DC was in 1982 on the For Those About To Rock Tour. It's kinda weird how I can recite all of the Bon Scott-era songs by heart without even trying ("He made it out with a bullet in his back.."... "I didn't mean to kill that woman of mine, it was a heart attack.."). As I once said in this space, I've never been an AC/DC fanatic, but the band has always *been there* and I've always had their albums either on vinyl or CD since I was in Junior High. So when it was announced that AC/DC were embarking on their first tour in 8 years, I figured it was time to see them again.

The last time I saw Angus & Co., Ronald Reagan was President and it was a rainy February day at the Cow Palace. My friend and I spent the afternoon in his car eating sandwiches and drinking Southern Comfort. Of course, we were underage and an older co-worker had scored the booze for us, so it was a pretty classic "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" day.


(From the Umlaut Archives)

When you're a teenage Rock fan how can you not like AC/DC, right? The show was solid, however it didn't change my life the way seeing Iron Maiden for the first time did.

Fast forward 26 years (DOH!) and prior to the show I wondered if seeing a 53-year old Angus in a school boy uniform would seem silly. Yes, he's a Guitar God, but shtick is shtick, and Angus' stage costume has seemed dubious as the years go by.. Still, the endearing thing about AC/DC is they've never changed or pandered to the whim of popularity... Like the Ramones and Motörhead, the band has stuck to their guns, kept their songs and image simple, and have transcended the fickle nature of Music in the 21st Century. As I guided the Prius off the freeway I can honestly say I felt like a 15-year old Rocker kid again.

Pic by Umlaut

Any doubts I had about a 53-year old Angus being onstage were blown away the second he did his first trademark Chuck Berry-style duck walk across the stage while soloing.. and he moved practically non-stop for the entire 90 minute set. I was also reminded what a great lead guitarist Angus still is... His solos were dead on fantastic.. not flashy.. but perfect. AND, unlike back in The Day, he wore AC/DC underwear when mooning the audience and saved us having to erase the image of a bare 53-year old Angus ass from our minds. Shoot to kill, way to thrill..

The show was made even better by the amazing sound: CLEAN and LOUD. Of course, they played all the FM radio hits, but I loved how they launched into 'Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be' for the second song of the set (after opening with the new catchy-as-all-hell single 'Rock N' Roll Train')... I loved how Malcolm and Cliff still wore t-shirts and off the rack jeans onstage. I loved how Phil still smoked cigarettes while playing.. I loved how AC/DC didn't pander to 21st Century political correctness: It was charming in a 70's coke spoon way how their video crew flashed images of women in the crowd on the huge onstage screens during 'The Jack'. Sexist? Yep. Rock N' Roll? Yep. If you can't handle that you can go back to your boring sad kid Indie Rock. There, I said it.. Bye bye.

I've seen many of the new Hard Rock / Metal bands and what bugs me about alot of them is they feel the need to instruct their crowds on what to do during a song ("I want you to start a pit".... "I want you to clap your hands"... etc..). It's as if they've never been to a concert themselves or something... AC/DC knows that a ROCK crowd instinctively knows what to do at a ROCK concert: Band plays song > crowd goes berserk.. which gives their show a sense of spontaneity that lacks with so many of the new bands. Kidz these days don't even fucking know... unless they go see AC/DC of course. You're not a Rocker simply because you play Guitar Hero or Rock Band, dude.

Angus during 'Let There Be Rock' (Video by Umlaut)

Thanks to The Sheriff for the hookup to the show. Given the hysteria around this tour, ticket demand has been, like, off the hook.. as the kids say. An F-U-N show and quite possibly the most F-U-N show of the year for Umlaut. Yes, seeing bands in a club is important... but a quality arena show like AC/DC reminds this old man that there was a time when Rock Stars were larger than life and seemed like Super Heroes... and that was a good thing... and the world was a better place because of it, goddammit.

Scorecard: According to the Umlaut Archives, this was my 23rd visit to Oracle Arena (nee Oakland Coliseum) dating back to a Cheap Trick show in 1979 (Dream Police Tour!). Yes, I keep score... it's on an Excel spreadsheet... I think it's about 90% accurate documenting every concert I've attended since losing my gig cherry in 1978. The Geeks shall inherit The Earth.

Middle age white guys dressed like Angus = 2. If you bought one of every AC/DC merch item you would have paid around $500; I lost track because every merch stand I passed had 2-3 different items than the other ones. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. As I came off the freeway towards Casa de Umlaut I almost hit a raccoon that darted across the street in front of the Prius.. For those about to Rock we salute you, especially you Mr. Raccoon!

High Voltage

In the early-90's Umlaut worked at a database company in Foster City, California. Umlaut friend Chris H. was a manager at this company as well as a fellow Music Geek. Chris is also the only person I've ever met who plays the bagpipes!

Trivia: Umlaut's Old Metal friend Brad also worked at this database company.. which is a whole other story altogether.

Chris and his bagpipes made an epic appearance one year at the company's annual employee picnic when they joined a co-worker's band onstage (cue time travel swirl thing..):

'It's A Long Way To The Top' - The Human Torches w/ Chris H.
Foster City, CA - 1994

When you have time I urge you to read this literary gem from the pages of the original xeroxed Umlaut:

Droning On: Tales Of A Bagpiper by Chris Hall
(From Umlaut #11 - Spring 1995)

This post is dedicated to Chris H. and Brad, longtime friends who form Umlaut's formidable San Francisco > New Jersey > Czech Republic Axis of Evil.

Powerage

"Rock 'N Roll Damnation... Take a chance.. while you still got a choice.."

Oakland Stadium - July 1978

Oakland Stadium - September 1978
Oakland Stadium - July 1979

Back In Black Tour - San Francisco 1980

AC/DC are one of the few bands that I can remember the exact moment when I first heard them... It was at a Cheap Trick concert circa 1978 and 'What's Next To The Moon' blared from the PA in between bands; I'm pretty sure my cousin, who was with me, clued me in that it was Angus & Co.. I've never been an AC/DC fanatic but, of course, they've always "been there"; I've always had their albums on vinyl and CD. Always.

"Exclusive San Francisco Engagement" - 1982

The AC/DC concert film Let There Be Rock was released into theaters in 1982 and my friends and I bought advance tickets and attended it as if it was a concert, as did a lot of other Rockers! In San Francisco, the tickets for each screening featured the picture of a different band member on it.

Phil Rudd S.F. Ticket (From the DeVito Archive)

They simply don't do that kinda shit these days... Kidz these days don't even fucking know. They don't. Arcade Fire THAT, muthafuckers!

In 1982, Rich Hellhound and I saw AC/DC at the Cow Palace in San Francisco on the For Those About To Rock Tour; Angus & Co. played 3 sold out shows. We were still in high school and we worked as clerks at a warehouse liquor store in our hometown of Sunnyvale (Birthplace of Atari), CA... You read that right: We were teenagers working at a liquor store. Not only that but the store manager and assistant manager would buy us liquor.. which explains why we had a bottle of Southern Comfort to keep us company as we waited all day in line. It was a rainy day and we spent most of the wait holed up in Rich's car eating sandwiches and drinking Southern Comfort. Man, I don't remember a lot from that show.. which is unusual for me.


The assistant manager at the liquor store was a guy named Jim who was an AC/DC fanatic. I remember him being a real life version of Otto from The Simpsons; a stoner Rocker dude who drove a gold Trans Am. He always said how he'd go see AC/DC with us but, alas, it was never meant to be. The last time I saw Jim was when he tore out of the liquor store's parking lot in his Trans Am; the next day he was turning himself in at the Santa Clara County Jail to serve a 6 month term because of unpaid traffic violations. We never saw Jim again. Whenever I hear AC/DC's 'Jailbreak' I send silent props to Jim, where ever he might be now.

"He made it out... with.. a bullet in his back.."

Fast forward to the glory days of Umlaut, when Cut 'N Paste / Xerox ruled the world:

From Umlaut #7 (1992)

At around this time Big Wayne and I, along with some of our friends, saw an AC/DC cover band called Long Gone Bon in downtown San Jose, CA at the now defunct Cactus Club. This was during my drinkin' days and by the time the band hit the stage (after an Ozzy cover band) we were all pretty toasty; I seem to remember the cover band's "Bon" passing a bottle of whiskey to us. Lock 'N Loll! I still have a fond, albeit hazy, memory of our band of bruthas standing at the front of the stage with our arms around each others' shoulders, swaying (staggering) back and forth and singing along with Long Gone Bon as they played 'Ride On'... Good times.

Anyway, AC/DC is a sacred band to the Umlaut Nation, so here's some cool stuff for y'all:

Bon Scott's Grave - Freemantle, Australia (Pic by Tour Manager Doug - Feb. 2007)

Angus Access (From the DeVito Archives)

Angus Pick (From the Umlaut Archives)

Angus Dollar Bill - 1990 Tour (From the Umlaut Archives)

"Going down, party time, my friends are gonna be there too... I'm on a Highway To Hell.."

Amen.

Bring It On Down

I love this! From NME:

Oasis cause uproar in Glasgow
Song dedicated to footballer upsets some fans

Oasis caused uproar in Glasgow last night (December 15) when they dedicated a song to Irish football legend Roy Keane, who has just signed for Celtic.

Frontman Liam Gallagher dedicated 'Bring It Down' to the footballer, who has just left Manchester United.

The dedication sparked jeers from the Rangers fans in the audience, with reports of some throwing plastic beer glasses.

Liam reportedly responded by saying: "You can take it, you're grown up, aren't you?"

Both Noel and Liam Gallagher are Manchester City fans. But both Noel and Liam have both expressed a soft spot for Celtic in the past.

===
Umlaut has bootleg video of a 1978 AC/DC show in Glasgow on the night the Glasgow Rangers won the Scottish League Championship (of course Bon Scott was Scottish). For the encore the entire band comes onstage wearing Rangers kits.



Bon says "That's for The Champions!" as Angus kicks a soccer ball into the audience. Then they play 'Fling Thing' (b-side of the 1976 'Jailbreak' single) before launching into 'Rocker'. FOOKIN' GLEAT!

[DUH! The footage of 'Fling Thing' > 'Rocker' is on the Family Jewels DVD... but there are bootlegs out there of the complete show.]

===
ADDENDUM

Tour Manager Doug (TMD) is down in Australia wrapping up the mammoth Green Day American Idiot Tour. At practically the same time Umlaut was posting the above AC/DC content, TMD was sending me this item.. THE ROCK GODZ KNOW!!

Submitted by TMD:

Our Australian production manager used to work for Rose Tattoo. I'm always trying to get the Aussie promoter reps to tell me stories about The Angels, Rose Tattoo, AC/DC, and to aim me at other cool Aussie Rock bands. He told me last Spring that if we came back this year he had a Rose Tattoo shirt he would give me. I expected a beat up, well worn shirt not a fantastic condition zipper sweat jacket THAT FITS.

I told him that I didn't know if I could accept the gift. He said "You're a fan right?" I said yes. He said "You keep the hoodie, I've still got the memories that came with it".

The only thing cooler than my new jacket is Howard Freeman, the guy who gave it to me.

I feel like sleeping in it. Christmas came 9 days early for TMD.

And I found The Angels Night Attack album on CD today. Most of their CDs are out of print, so they're really hard to find. I've only got 5 of the 14 I want on CD.

The Geeks shall inherit the Earth! Umlaut has, and always will, live vicariously through TMD's Rock 'N Roll Lifestyle.

If you don't know Rose Tattoo you're NOT Rock. They coulda / shoulda been as big as AC/DC..


"Scarred for life... My reputation it cuts like a knife.."