DIEGO: Jumping forward a bit, when did you guys venture out of El Sereno...and why?

JOEY: Well, it was around that time, in the 10th or 11th grade, we started to look kinda beyond El Sereno. We knew that there was stuff elsewhere so we started going to clubs like the Starwood, the Whiskey, the Troubador, and all these clubs in the area. We were getting inspired by local bands from other cities and after we broke up we really wanted to bust out of El Sereno so John and I left and started looking in other places. We bought a Recycler (local magazine) and found other guys who were interested in our stuff. And these guys were from places around LA like Encino and La Canada, and to us, Encino was like....wow.... it was like another world.

DIEGO: You probably thought "Man...Canada, they're gonna have to fly in for practice!"

JOEY: (Laughing at my stupid joke) It was actually real exciting for us to meet these people who were into the same stuff as us.

DIEGO: Before we talk about the other bands you formed, lets talk about the local scene and the bands that were influences to you.

JOEY: Some of our favorite bands were bands like Axis. Which was Jay Davis on bass, he went on to be Rod Stewart's bassist for like twenty years. And Danny Johnson was on guitar, he eventually went on to record "Rock and Roll Hoochie Coo" with Ronny Montrose. He sang that song. And the drummer was Vinnie Appice. They were so f**king amazing! We used to see them at these small clubs in places like Arcadia. They used to blow us away every time. Axis only lasted a short time, then Vinnie went on to play with Black Sabbath.

DIEGO: What were some of the other bands.

JOEY: Well, I remember Yankee Rose. Tim Gaines was in that band. He went on to play in Stryper. And there was Pretty Poison...they were pretty cool, they ended up being The Sharks (who later turned into Shark Island). Remember them?

DIEGO: Who could forget.

JOEY: And, of course, there was Yesterday and Today. They were a San Francisco band. I remember they were on London records. 'Struck Down' was already out and we used to see them at the Starwood all the time. We'd go early...wait in line. Front row every time. They were f**king incredible.

DIEGO: I remember going with you guys to the Starwood to see Y&T. It was just before they closed that place down. Y&T just released 'Earthshaker.' Pretty much the whole gang went. I'll never forget Kenny Prichard (Dave's younger brother) in his purple spandex pants. My god!...I wore Chimen de Fer jeans and a yellow and red striped tight rock shirt, Van Halen style. What did you wear? We were rockers, man!! Y&T was probably the raddest band I ever saw at the time. Motley Crue opened the show. It was their first big gig in LA.

JOEY: I remember that night.

DIEGO: OK, Enough reminiscing....Lets talk about the past. What were some other bands.

JOEY: Then there was Quiet Riot...I saw them with Randy Rhoads.....Snow, remember Snow? And there was Smile, they were a big band in LA.

DIEGO: I used to see those bands every Friday at Oddfellows Temple in Pasadena. Snow...they were awesome! Carlos Cavaso and his Gibson Explorer.

JOEY: Oddfellows....wow...memories.

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