+Luther Beckett I mean the guitar and its signature sound are clearly going to have an influence but what I'd really love to know is what sort of pedals and amp he's using to get that sweet distortion
Yeah, it's a hot single coil pickup. Natural overdrive from the tube amp. Know this was 30+ years ago. You can get that tone easy, just don't overthink it.
This is one hell of an excellent song. I saw it decades ago on Urgh! and never forgot it. I just wish they had found greater success; this is sooo much better than the vast majority of crap that is commercially successful then and now.
Just so you know dude these bands from this movie's weren't t trying to be commercial they were trying to be like nothing out there at all I'm 59 I was 20 when this came out there was an unbelievable era
Alley Cats are one of (if not THE) unsung bands from this era. Black Haired Girl is another (and this song is great too) bad ass song that only the cognisenti know of.
I don't think it's a shame they never made it anywhere who cares they sound different and they sound fresh even today what was great about that era was everybody was trying to be different
@@jessiecruz1 Never went anywhere means they are probably broke now. Has no bearing on how good they are. I was a big fan of the L.A. punk scene (lived there from '79-83).
Thanks for sharing. I saw them at the Santa Monica Civic center with the Plasmatics in the early 80s. Great that they could play at just about any genre concert.
Nothing Means Nothing Anymore ----------------------------- Nothing means nothing anymore So close your eyes child and lie on the floor And pretend what you feel is really real And know what is real is what you feel Outside the night sings to the summer rain They had a child and she named him Pain He lost his life hanging around twenty-two Strange, he looks so much like you So close your eyes, pretty country child Outside the lights are bright and the night is wild Out there you're just a straw floating in the wind Come in here pretty child and do it again Little chickens and their chicken hawks They're going to teach you a brand new way to walk When you stare at the moon, your eyes will be hard and cold You'll live your life trying never to grow old
I just finished hanging out with randy in san Pedro. he seems like a really cool down to earth dude. I can't wait to see him rock out with his new jamming crew of women.... They rock!
I used to rock this song in the morning when I was going to Downey H.S. in 81, now I am rocking it before I jet to work today, hell yes! And I still have a Zarkons record in my collection, buenos momentos!!!
How this group didn't have a bigger impact o the Los angles music scene is still amazing to me, Besides a great song and an admirable Stodola solo to boot, Diane Chai overshadows her obvious beauty as a badass bassist. You never heard that kind of ferocity out of Tina in the Talking Heads.
Love the guitar here better than The Clash. Love this 1980s surfer guy punk music. There wasn't enough of it. Are all of these people alive and doing well? If they are they need to be thanked for some great music. This one one of the best songs used in this 1982 movie.
They are from my town in LA (san pedro). I still see randy walking around every once in a while(I've talked with him a few times hes super chill), they still play shows here and there. Randy's voice is alot different now. I believe he was stabbed at a show either last year or the year before but is still alive.
@@poppabloodvessel7072 : that's too bad about this voice. Saw the Alleycats many times in the early 80's. Wasn't crazy about the Zarkons incarnation. Still have the two Alleycat releases, which I continue to play to this day.
Hmmm... 1981 or maybe '82 - at the Lawrence Opera House, Lawrence, Ks, soaking up beer waiting to hear 999 and Alley Cats came out to open the show... INCREDIBLE! A fan ever since! 999 was awesome too, invited us up on stage to dance around during the encore... it was the second time I saw them and this time I wasn't too uptight and ended up right next to Nick Cash!
One of my fav LA bands back in the day, back when we still had the Starwood, Masque, Cathay de Grande, etc... Once saw them right in my own backyard, The Fleetwood in Redondo Beach.
Great stuff. I love Stodola's riffs. Chuck Berry meets the dead boys. Actually the boys have some stuff with that feel too (living in the city comes to mind). Black haired Girl is another one of my favorites from Alley Cats too.
one of the best acts on music war....a brown/blonde haired asian hottie on bass....a guitarist who neither clips his strings nor uses a pick......a drummer who looks like the straight est guy in the joint.....what they're singing about I have no idea......and i love it!!!🏆🏅🎸🎤🌆
Guitarist Randy Stodola was using a metal thumb pick (like for a banjo) and one small effects box. The song is about male prostitution, part of it at least is. "The chicken, and the chicken-hawk" lyrics is a reference to that. I was at this gig, my favorite song off of URGH! BTW Randy and Diane were husband and wife.
Yes, you are right ... It is about a young runaway male prostitute doing his first trick .... & of course the ones who hung out on Santa Monica Blvd, the older they got, the younger they'd try to dress & act ... Because that's what the chickenhawks wanted ....That was the part about trying never to grow old ... My inspiration was this young kid I saw hustling on Santa Monica Blvd & in the song I created a metaphorical character who i said "looked a lot like" the kid I wrote the song about but who lost his life trying to stay 22 ... It's funny, the first time i met Darby Crash (Bobby Pyn then) when we did that song when the Alley Cats were playing with the Germs at the Masque in Hollywood in '77 he reminded me of the Kid I wrote the song about ... Of course Darby was gay & he was 19 at the time ... 3 years later, at 22, he died ...
Fantastic stuff. You have a new fan some 35 years on (assuming you are the guy in the video--one can never tell these days). The thing about underrated bands is that it is a thrill when you find them, but sad that they've been overlooked for so long.
I never seen them in L.A. But heard them a couple of times in Berkeley and San Francisco. They were so good and brought their record. When they played in San Francisco we knew they were the Alley Cats but they billed themselves as Zarcon. And I know they first called themselves the hubcaps but it sounded too fiftyish. I'll never forget them they were so beautiful and real artists all three of them.
Wow, I got to play Alley Cats songs with Randy last night in Long Beach. What a blast! Randy is the sweetest guy, had me cracking up all night, still sounds AMAZING on guitar and vocals despite having his head cracked in by robbers. He still has that Telecaster. Amazing man.
bout F-ing time; great drums, bass, and guitar from a band that went quickly nowhere. Hopefully they can get some overdue attention. Great poppunksurf band when there were no poppunksurf bands. Why can't i find the alleycats CDs anywhere .. or diane chai?
Too much junk is too much JUNK!!! i 'member them. I never lived in SoCal tho so I missed out. I did once see Oingo Boingo at SF's legendary Fab Mab, The Mabuhay Gardens... :-D
They were a very underrated group back then..Saw them over 20yrs ago at the Whiskey .. If you really listen to them they were a very solid band of great musicians..
I was @ this gig in 1978 @ the Whisky. GoGo's, Surf Punks, and another band I can't remember. Randy and Diane went on to form The Zarkons. I had the LP. "There's a hole in me, where my heart used to be" best song.
Randy still has that same Telecaster. Alley Cats still perform I believe.different bass player and drummer though. Haven't seen any posts from him lately.
I have not seen this video in 20+ years .... it brings me right back. Awesome! I have no idea what the lyrics are (iTunes says they are "explicit") ... can anyone post the lyrics?
First saw this in Urgh! A Music War and have loved it ever since. Best act in that film in my opinion.
I watched this on the first cable channel in Los Angeles called “ON” TV, while “Shrooming”. It was one of the best moments of my life.
I remember when it first aired on SHOWTIME cable channel in New York. No shrooms but got power stoned.
that would be a great way to do it......
One of the MOST UNDERRATED of LA's punk bands
That guitar sounds absolutely fucking fantastic.
+Luther Beckett I mean the guitar and its signature sound are clearly going to have an influence but what I'd really love to know is what sort of pedals and amp he's using to get that sweet distortion
Yeah, it's a hot single coil pickup. Natural overdrive from the tube amp.
Know this was 30+ years ago. You can get that tone easy, just don't overthink it.
gives me the tinglies
Never heard this type of music played so tightly live. Excellent!
I'm 65 and still like this song
I'm 50 yrs old and this still sounds like I was 18! One of the best songs never on the radio.
Exactly why MTV sucked before it reeeely sucked.
There was no better punk rock/rock nightclub music scene than in L.A. from 1978 to 1981... bar none
Diane Chai, was the sexiest thing alive back in those days of Los Angeles, her bass playing alone was enough to make a man's jaw drop!
exactly.
This is one hell of an excellent song. I saw it decades ago on Urgh! and never forgot it. I just wish they had found greater success; this is sooo much better than the vast majority of crap that is commercially successful then and now.
Just so you know dude these bands from this movie's weren't t trying to be commercial they were trying to be like nothing out there at all I'm 59 I was 20 when this came out there was an unbelievable era
@@jessiecruz1 I'm 58 and I know what you think💣
dope as hell... these guys never got enough cred :(
I came here on a mistake, I am never gonna regret this 100%
Alley Cats are one of (if not THE) unsung bands from this era. Black Haired Girl is another (and this song is great too) bad ass song that only the cognisenti know of.
Incredible band...great musicians. One of the best guitar solos in history.
Randy is still at it!
Fantastic band.
The Alleycats were one of the best from the L.A scene, in this humble Canadian's opinion. Great footage! Thanks!
Big influence on the early Descendents. Clockwork guitars, surf beats... Awesome.
Best song performed in "Urgh!". Great solo from Randy.
First heard this - obviously - on the URGH! soundtrack.
They really were so good, so cool, so brilliant.
WHY aren't they more famous??????
Never went anywhere...and that's a shame. Killer outfit with a killer sound
I don't think it's a shame they never made it anywhere who cares they sound different and they sound fresh even today what was great about that era was everybody was trying to be different
@@jessiecruz1 Never went anywhere means they are probably broke now. Has no bearing on how good they are. I was a big fan of the L.A. punk scene (lived there from '79-83).
They still play all the time, still kickass
Phenomenal. So underrated. So robbed. They were great.
Tasty licks on that solo!
And all with his thumb
As good as X! Have both original albums, only wish I had been able to see them live.
Thanks for sharing. I saw them at the Santa Monica Civic center with the Plasmatics in the early 80s. Great that they could play at just about any genre concert.
Nothing Means Nothing Anymore
-----------------------------
Nothing means nothing anymore
So close your eyes child and lie on the floor
And pretend what you feel is really real
And know what is real is what you feel
Outside the night sings to the summer rain
They had a child and she named him Pain
He lost his life hanging around twenty-two
Strange, he looks so much like you
So close your eyes, pretty country child
Outside the lights are bright and the night is wild
Out there you're just a straw floating in the wind
Come in here pretty child and do it again
Little chickens and their chicken hawks
They're going to teach you a brand new way to walk
When you stare at the moon, your eyes will be hard and cold
You'll live your life trying never to grow old
THANK YOU FOR POSTING THE LYRICS! IVE LISTENED TO THIS SONG FOR YEARS NOT KNOWING THE DAMN WORDS!!!
@@jasonmisfit5781 I'm more confused now than ever. Still love the song
@@thehylianloach9473 it's about a male prostitute
@@thehylianloach9473 chicken hawk is a slang term for pedophile. Take it from there…
Saw them in 1980's in Atlanta, opened up for 999, they were very energetic to say the least, they deserved more fame!!
I just finished hanging out with randy in san Pedro. he seems like a really cool down to earth dude. I can't wait to see him rock out with his new jamming crew of women.... They rock!
One of my favorite bass players.
One of the catchiest effin' tunes of all time...been stuck in my head since I first heard it in the 80's...!
Sweet...
Have you heard Vince Taylor's "Brand New Cadillac"? I think the Alley Cats had!
I used to rock this song in the morning when I was going to Downey H.S. in 81, now I am rocking it before I jet to work today, hell yes! And I still have a Zarkons record in my collection, buenos momentos!!!
How this group didn't have a bigger impact o the Los angles music scene is still amazing to me, Besides a great song and an admirable Stodola solo to boot, Diane Chai overshadows her obvious beauty as a badass bassist. You never heard that kind of ferocity out of Tina in the Talking Heads.
Love the guitar here better than The Clash. Love this 1980s surfer guy punk music. There wasn't enough of it. Are all of these people alive and doing well? If they are they need to be thanked for some great music. This one one of the best songs used in this 1982 movie.
They are from my town in LA (san pedro). I still see randy walking around every once in a while(I've talked with him a few times hes super chill), they still play shows here and there. Randy's voice is alot different now. I believe he was stabbed at a show either last year or the year before but is still alive.
@@poppabloodvessel7072 : that's too bad about this voice. Saw the Alleycats many times in the early 80's. Wasn't crazy about the Zarkons incarnation. Still have the two Alleycat releases, which I continue to play to this day.
Notice the guy is plucking wit his fingers!!! DAMN!!!
I saw this flick in early 83 as a double bill in Houston. This and John Waters' Polyester, with the odor-rama cards. It was a great time!
En los 80's se escuchaba esta canción en Radio Doble Nueve, en Lima-Perú, en el programa de Oscar Guerra. Gracias por subirla!
Dude can play!
Lucky enough to have seen them a few times, it seemed like they played every where back in the early 80's
Another great American band that needs to be heard...Loved them then and still...
What no one ever seems to notice is that he's finger picking the guitar. Fkin amazing. Not many guitarists can play like that.
Right? Wow…
Randy is awesome and they still play shows to this day
He still has the same Telecaster
This is what it's all about. This is peak rock n roll.
Hmmm... 1981 or maybe '82 - at the Lawrence Opera House, Lawrence, Ks, soaking up beer waiting to hear 999 and Alley Cats came out to open the show... INCREDIBLE! A fan ever since! 999 was awesome too, invited us up on stage to dance around during the encore... it was the second time I saw them and this time I wasn't too uptight and ended up right next to Nick Cash!
One of my fav LA bands back in the day, back when we still had the Starwood, Masque, Cathay de Grande, etc... Once saw them right in my own backyard, The Fleetwood in Redondo Beach.
I saw the at the Moose Lodge with Black Flag
Fuck yeah. That was a badass listen. Cool song. Have the check out the backstory. High spirits. Thanks, SamuelPony.
Like my friend above saids...The GREATEST power punk trio ever!
The singer has a great power punk rocker voice!
THE ALLEY CATS. RULES!
Great stuff. I love Stodola's riffs. Chuck Berry meets the dead boys. Actually the boys have some stuff with that feel too (living in the city comes to mind). Black haired Girl is another one of my favorites from Alley Cats too.
Big thanx for posting this. I wore a hole in this track on my vinyl copy of Urgh. Jeez, why hasn't their stuff been compiled and rereleased?
Where are they now? The L.A. punk scene in the late '70s was second to none
+Rich Ramsey San Pedro, CA
Totally agree, and great to find it on RUclips.
one of the best acts on music war....a brown/blonde haired asian hottie on bass....a guitarist who neither clips his strings nor uses a pick......a drummer who looks like the straight est guy in the joint.....what they're singing about I have no idea......and i love it!!!🏆🏅🎸🎤🌆
Guitarist Randy Stodola was using a metal thumb pick (like for a banjo) and one small effects box. The song is about male prostitution, part of it at least is. "The chicken, and the chicken-hawk" lyrics is a reference to that. I was at this gig, my favorite song off of URGH! BTW Randy and Diane were husband and wife.
Yes, you are right ... It is about a young runaway male prostitute doing his first trick .... & of course the ones who hung out on Santa Monica Blvd, the older they got, the younger they'd try to dress & act ... Because that's what the chickenhawks wanted ....That was the part about trying never to grow old ... My inspiration was this young kid I saw hustling on Santa Monica Blvd & in the song I created a metaphorical character who i said "looked a lot like" the kid I wrote the song about but who lost his life trying to stay 22 ... It's funny, the first time i met Darby Crash (Bobby Pyn then) when we did that song when the Alley Cats were playing with the Germs at the Masque in Hollywood in '77 he reminded me of the Kid I wrote the song about ... Of course Darby was gay & he was 19 at the time ... 3 years later, at 22, he died ...
Fantastic stuff. You have a new fan some 35 years on (assuming you are the guy in the video--one can never tell these days). The thing about underrated bands is that it is a thrill when you find them, but sad that they've been overlooked for so long.
Awesome, had the studio version on an unmarked compilation cassette for years without knowing who it was
Randy I remember those days outside the Starwood near Oki Dogs.
This song is crazy good!
I saw them in Milwaukee, I'm thinking 82 or so. They were great. Had a nice quick conversation with the guitarist in the bathroom. He was very cool.
I never seen them in L.A. But heard them a couple of times in Berkeley and San Francisco. They were so good and brought their record. When they played in San Francisco we knew they were the Alley Cats but they billed themselves as Zarcon. And I know they first called themselves the hubcaps but it sounded too fiftyish. I'll never forget them they were so beautiful and real artists all three of them.
Great movie. Great song
80´S forever!!!!!!!
Wow, I got to play Alley Cats songs with Randy last night in Long Beach. What a blast! Randy is the sweetest guy, had me cracking up all night, still sounds AMAZING on guitar and vocals despite having his head cracked in by robbers. He still has that Telecaster. Amazing man.
I saw them at Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco in 1978. I thought they were great, fantastic punk rock music.
This is soooo much better than the "studio" version on spotify. Wish I still had my Urghh! lp
Saw these guys play with 999. Still have the album. It's really good.
Lucky enough to see them at the whiskey a go go many years ago one of my first punk gigs. 😅
I stretched this out on VHS and then a buddy "borrowed" it, never to be seen again, thank god for youtube.
This is when I’m mad that I was about 5 years too young missed all this 😫
The Alley Cats were the regular band at my middle school dances in Hermosa Beach, though I only got to see them play covers.
bout F-ing time; great drums, bass, and guitar from a band that went quickly nowhere. Hopefully they can get some overdue attention. Great poppunksurf band when there were no poppunksurf bands. Why can't i find the alleycats CDs anywhere .. or diane chai?
I was at this show. I was one of the goofy kids down by the stage on the right bouncing around. It's unreal how the years go by.
yeah, this song rocks!!!
What a great song! It makes me miss Los Angeles in the 80s.
HA! I wasn't at this show, but saw the Cats numerous times in LA. I STILL have the hots for Dianne Chai. What a great band.
One of my first gigs was the Alley Cats at Whiskey a-go-go
Too much junk is too much JUNK!!!
i 'member them. I never lived in SoCal tho so I missed out. I did once see Oingo Boingo at SF's legendary Fab Mab, The Mabuhay Gardens...
:-D
I saw an Angry Samoans, Zippers, Alley Cats at UC Irvine in '77.
whow i love that song good times we were thanks for posting that lovely song
WAS THERE WHEN RECORDED THIS, SLAMMING IT OUT THE WHOLE TIME, THE BEST TIMES DAN THE MAN
Great performance
I met these guys when they played Vegas. Nice people.
Fantastic! Thank you friend!
So good.
FKKin great!
Alley Cats,Surf Punks,Go Go's Oingo Boingo was the complete line up I believe.
Surf Punks were bitchin'-
Saw them open for 999 in Dallas around 1982. Great set.
Great song, great performance and Diane Chai. How this didn't make Van Halen look lame.
This was my first gig...It was in August of 1980..all of 13 years old
They were a very underrated group back then..Saw them over 20yrs ago at the Whiskey .. If you really listen to them they were a very solid band of great musicians..
I was there too 😂
I saw them numerous times too. Great band, and Dianne? MMM, good. I loved the Zarkons too....
I was @ this gig in 1978 @ the Whisky. GoGo's, Surf Punks, and another band I can't remember. Randy and Diane went on to form The Zarkons. I had the LP. "There's a hole in me, where my heart used to be" best song.
Me too! I was in the Surf Punks and am the guy in Hawaiian shirt throwing someone off the stage in this video :). Was a FUN night! Alley Cats Rocked!
I would like to find Randy and Dianne just to tell them how much I loved them
Randy still has that same Telecaster. Alley Cats still perform I believe.different bass player and drummer though. Haven't seen any posts from him lately.
This is great!!
I love this song.
HOT band !
they were bad ass
I love this band! I listen to "Nightmare City" and "Escape From Planet Earth" on a regular basis! I only wish they would issue both on CD.
14 years later it available on cd. never give up on a wish
That fucking rocks
Every time I i can only think fucking fantastic !!!
Feel like I know them. Saw them many time all around LA . Was in love with Diane (?) A truly excellent band, indicative of their time an place
wow, this takes me back...saw them countless times in the late 70's and early 80's...loved this band - too much junk!
I have not seen this video in 20+ years .... it brings me right back. Awesome! I have no idea what the lyrics are (iTunes says they are "explicit") ... can anyone post the lyrics?
Good memories
I prefer this band live than in studio by far
i love LA PUNK xoxoxo
AMEN! LOSS ANGELESS BABY! THE BEST SCENE EVER