FINDING MY TALISMAN #7...

As Shawn had helped me discover a style of music I had never been exposed to before, I set out to jump in head first.  My only stumbling block…the Christian household I was a part of.  To say my mom was a little strict when it came to our upbringing (from a religious point of view) was putting it lightly to say the least.  If the 700 Club didn’t approve, than it did not exist in the Howard home.  That being said, R-rated movies, and Motley Crue were not welcomed visitors.  I couldn’t help myself though…nothing was going to stop me from entertaining my ears with this sweet, sick rock and roll I had just discovered.  A simple plan was put into action.
Christmas was rolling around, I was in the 6th grade.  MOTLEY CRUE had released THEATRE OF PAIN and “Smokin’ In The Boys Room” was receiving regular airplay on MTV.  A fact that did little to help me, as that’s all I needed was a band of misfits talking about the pleasures of smoking and breaking the rules.  (At the time I had no idea this was a cover song from BROWNSVILLE STATION, but for that matter, neither would my mom have known this fact.  In her eyes, it was the CRUE preaching evil to the youths of the world….which sounds pretty cool when you think about it years later).
    My plan was simple.  Somewhat based on THE CHRISTMAS STORY and somewhat guaranteed to get MOTLEY CRUE in my ghetto blaster.  It was brilliant,
    “I’ll ask for THEATRE OF PAIN for Christmas!”
 The 700 Club could not even stop me now.  Thus, the plan was set.  I asked my sister for THEATRE OF PAIN, as I knew no matter my mothers dislike, she would not make me return a gift given to me by a family member.  Needless to say it worked…without a hitch, given some caution planning by your’s truly Christmas morning.
As usual in the Howard-Christmas tradition, presents were passed around, presenting to each family member the treasure you just received, my mom took a peek at the cassette tape cover and to my chagrin noticed the pentagram above the ‘tragic’ faces head.  Either she didn’t put two and two together, or that Christmas morning truly contained a miracle, as I was allowed to keep the present, and I now officially owned my very own MOTLEY CRUE cassette.
    Nothing had sounded sweeter.  I sat in my room for hours listening to each song over and over again.  To this day, it is the CRUE album that is the most dear to my heart.  I remember naively thinking that Nikki was singing “Home Sweet Home” as it sounded different than all the other songs, and contained his name under the credits. 
That was a magical time in my life, that led to many more magical moments.   Over the next few years, my bedroom walls, and Trapper Keeper notebooks were covered in pictures of MOTLEY CRUE.  It was a celebrated day that Danny and I went to the Food Barn grocery store magazine aisle to “finally” see the pictures of MOTLEY CRUE released as a preview for the DR. FEELGOOD album.

Remembering times like these make me glad that I grew up during a pre-internet era, a time when you actually had to hunt and wait for things that were not readily available at your fingertips.  Discovering MOTLEY CRUE put me on a road for greater things to come…I never realized how grand they would be…

FINDING MY TALISMAN #6...

If discovering KISS was the event in my life in which the light bulb came on, helping me find my passion, discovering Motley Crue was the flick of the switch that would send the much needed jolt of electricity through my bones.  The first spark came during the summer of 1984 in woods behind Shawn Wyllie’s house on Glen Street in St. Joseph, MO. 
Shawn’s backyard gave way to (what at the time seemed a vast section of woods) that made for a great getaway for us neighborhood kids to do everything from build forts, play RAMBO, and discover rock and roll.  Shawn had received SHOUT AT THE DEVIL for his 10th birthday, and soon enough we found ourselves wasting the days away, boom box in hand. 
Shawn’s parent were far more way open minded than mine.  Shawn got to see rated R movies, his dad had a subscription to Playboy magazine, and he was free and able to ask the ‘powers that be’ for Motley Crue SHOUT AT THE DEVIL, and receive it.  Thanks to our friendship, I received the best of all worlds…(watching FRIDAY THE 13TH PART IV, PURPLE RAIN and MY TUTOR via the Wylie VCR, getting my first ever look at Playboy magazines, and thus and probably my finest hour as a 10 year old in the summer of 1984, falling in love with Motley Crue.
There was something about the danger of that music and this picture that effected me beyond measure.  Dark, menacing and yet inviting, Shawn and I were in for a summer we would never forget…Crue-heads for life.  Life was good…it was only getting better.