The INSANE STORY of DEAD BOYS (Sonic Reducer)

[@rnrtruestories]

Here’s the Felix pappalardi video I reference kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnLceqebiNV-ndUsi=rLni5PzeX7mYRM7F

[@gypsydildopunks7083]

You should do one on Poison Idea. Great punk band

[@taratoe1]

Hey, I'm writing a punk rock cookbook. Where did you get that info on Hilly's Chili? I'd like to know more

[@LESSISMOREMOREORLESS]

The town is spelled BEREA

[@M_C79]

I saw the Dead Boys a few times around when the first album came out. One of my favorite memories of the time in fact involved them: they were playing at a club in New Jersey (opening for the Ramones I think?) and after the show, my friends and I were outside, when the guitarist came out to pee against the tree. Except he was so wasted, his girlfriend had to help him aim. I was deeply impressed by this. I was 15 or 16 and had never had a girlfriend. But it was then I understood what true love must be like.

[@amandamarinovich6164]

Great video. I love the dead boys' music. As a millennial "punk", I think we can often take for granted just how truly unhinged and short-lived and SMALL the '77 era punk scene really was

[@UGLY-MONEY17]

Yeah nyc proto punk/punk rock from like 69 till 77 or 78, honestly might be my favorite music era of all time. It looked so wild and colorful and it inspired so many other interesting artists. It would have been a wild time to live through

[@101Volts]

I'm just gonna add that some of NYC was comparable to Detroit then. As an example, there used to be an abandoned cars problem in NYC; from about 1968 - 1981, there were 100,000 cars abandoned in various states on the streets. Imagine some mid 50s to early 70s car with with all the windows smashed and a lot of parts stolen from it because there were car thief rings around. Kids playing on a 50s Chevy in "The Exorcist" was realistic.

[@zaxxx1975]

Yah 1977 lasted a year!

[@danethunders]

@@UGLY-MONEY17 Cleveland is closer to the Detroit scene than NY

[@gerardcooney1810]

My friend knew Cheetah Chrome in the early 80's. I hung out with him once at a Lower East Side Club. Cheetah was Gigging around NYC at the time. He was a Cool Guy real friendly, and played a Blistering Set that Night. Oh the good old days.When NYC was Gritty and Cool.Peace to All.

[@PinkyJujubean]

I love The Dead Boys. Young, Loud, And Snotty is one of the greatest albums ever. I also loved Stiv's role in the John Waters movie Polyester

[@CrimeSchool138]

Funny that Iggy was in a Waters movie AFTER Stiv was!

[@PinkyJujubean]

@@CrimeSchool138 yeah. And it was the right role for Iggy too. He was great as Uncle Belvedere. John always did have a knack for casting interesting people

[@thegenerikshow8545]

I’m from Youngstown, and dang it’d be dream to have that kind of scene here again.

[@Fasnic]

Clevelander here.... I remember reading Scene Magazine every week in the 80s ❤

[@trentonbaird8956]

Make that kind of scene there again. You can do it! 👍👍👍

[@thegenerikshow8545]

@@trentonbaird8956 I do own a venue here and have for 8 years now. Most acts just jump over us in favor of Cleveland or Pittsburgh which is fair but mid size acts have a place here too. Thanks for the encouragement!

[@blackphillip8486]

I'm from Youngstown too homie! Used to play in metal bands around here in the mid 00's and even then the scene here was alot better. Well, one actually existed, lol.

[@amberrae8494]

Fellow youngstowner here!

[@MrCornWolf]

"Please kill me" is such a great book. Ive read it multiple times through the years. The early punk scene was so insane it just so surreal

[@Shikta-poobah67]

Yes, essential reading. So is its West Coast counterpart - “We Got The Neutron Bomb”.

[@davidpaul6656]

I was 13 in '77 so I had never heard the Dead Boys, until years later. First I discovered The Lords of the New Church on MTV of all places. Then I looked deeper into Stiv Bators and found the Dead Boys records

[@Shikta-poobah67]

I was younger - turned 10 in ‘77, but I remember reading about the Dead Boys some time that year in Creem magazine. I remember there was a picture of them sitting on a wall, and I thought they looked so different compared to all the other bands of that time. They definitely stood out. I didn’t actually listen to their music until a couple years later, and immediately loved it. Unfortunately by then they had just split up.

[@jondohnson5538]

Actually , one of the better and freshest pieces ( I could’ve listened for hours ) on the music scene / true punk life & it’s sound , I’ve ever read or clicked on, on the webs in years here. More ancient archived underground rock - punk scene mini docs requested. Thanks for the upload mate

[@rnrtruestories]

more punk related stuff from this era coming in the next few weeks.

[@danm3359]

Look forward to it. As you probably know Ain't it Fun was a Peter Laughner song when he was in Rocket from the Tombs. Dead boys version is a pale comparison to the original. Just recently I heard the GnR version and although I'm not of the fan of them but I will give them props for covering it back then when I'm sure very very few people knew where it came from. Hoping your upcoming videos cover the Cleveland scene in the early to mid 70s. @@rnrtruestories

[@jondohnson5538]

Right on thanks for the good info on upcoming content

[@SM-nz9ff]

There's no such thing as "true punk life" its pretty hilarious that people are still so ignorant as to perpetuate the no true Scotsman fallacy. Punk by definition is be forever changing and isn't set lifestyle or wardrobe. Punk now would be 10 minute long songs against the 1:30 long songs or 30 second tiktok bs music. And African Americans doing rock which oh look the Punk scene now does have that and the biggest Punk artists are black rock hybrid artists.

[@Shikta-poobah67]

@@SM-nz9ff​​⁠Not sure what you were on about in the last bit of your comment, but yes to the first bit. Punk has been a ‘thing’ for a long enough time now that anyone with half an IQ point bouncing around inside their head should know that it’s mostly just an attitude, and that attitude applies to different things as the years wear on. Whatever it meant in the late 70’s or early 80’s has no relevance in any modern context. Still, people get hung up on the ‘genre’ aspect of it all the time, which is actually the antithesis of what it was originally about. Most people just have to have rules and conventions in order to make sense of things.

[@ottomattix86]

Nice to see dead boys being mentioned. Underrated musicians Imo. Ain't it fun hits harder older I get.

[@rnrtruestories]

I really love GN’R’s version of the song

[@DannyBZ9]

@@rnrtruestoriesRocket from the Tombs version is 1000x times better than Dead Boys. Peter Laughner > Dead Boys

[@Censored4UViaGoogle]

@@DannyBZ9poser

[@trollnapf1670]

Overkill also did a cover of Sonic Reducer back in the day which is how I discovered the Dead Boys. Great video mate.

[@JohnWilson-um1ly]

Cheetah and I went to school together and hung out at my house most of our senior year. We got back in touch a couple of years ago and have been on the phone a lot…. A helluva a lot. Saw him perform in Lakewood Ohio last fall and we hung out just like no time had passed. Great times

[@Austinite333]

Long ago they played the Rat in Boston. Leaving the stage cheetah gave me his guitar pick. A minute later he came and took it back and gave it to someone else and told me they would appreciate it more. For what it is worth.

[@slimedog]

I saw them at a reunion gig at The Rat sometime in the early eighties. It was on New Years Eve.

[@jeffreyharrop8856]

My friends band covered, What love is, back in the late 90's. He turned me on to The Dead Boys, New Bomb Turks, Nine Pound Hammer, etc. Some great punk rock comes from the midwest! Thanks for the video!

[@csedan510]

Nice doc. I saw them many times at CB’s, Max’s, the Ritz, the first time was in ‘79 when I was 14 at CB’s. That was an unforgettable show and I became a life long fan. I used to see Cheetah walking around the Back Bay in Boston in the mid 80’s, I wanted to ask him to join my band on stage for a song or two, but I never got up the confidence.

[@trelard]

"Ain't it Fun" is a bonified song of the times, in both tone and content. It encapsulates the feeling of a VERY specific period in history.

[@nodarkthings]

no it doesn't

[@trelard]

@@nodarkthings OK, Norman.

[@nodarkthings]

@@trelard :-/

[@Suzismymom]

Peter Laughner wrote Ain't It Fun, when they recorded the song, Laughner had already died, at the very end of the song you can here his voice saying "I'm dead, I'm dead"... source,.Stiv Bators to me. As crazy as Stiv is described, he was one of the kindest, sweetest guys I ever knew. RIP Stiv 💔

[@asgardiangod23]

Still bump it damn near every day

[@leighfoulkes7297]

Pere Ubu is one of the best bands of all time!!

[@RoryLynott]

Agreed 150%

[@naomimoore47]

Absolutely, their first album and the early singles are classics. Rocket From The Tombs are great as well. Saw them live a few years ago and it was rocking!

[@iank1130]

Hey, this was a really good one. The punk/metal scene is filled with so many crazy stories, check out Brujeria, their singer has been doing some interviews lately. If you told 15 year old me that they had members from faith no more and fear factory I'd have laughed at you. The troll was strong.

[@mattdylan664]

Stiv Bators also did a bit of acting, including two small yet notable and definitely memorable roles - first as the psychopathic boyfriend 'Bo-Bo Belsinger' in John Waters 1980 film 'Polyester' featuring Tab Hunter and Divine, then in 1988 Stiv played the role of "Dick Slammer", lead singer of the fictional band The Blender Children, in the comedy Tapeheads w/John Cusack and Tim Robbins , Tapeheads also had cameos from everyone from Mtv's Martha Quinn to Ted Nugent, Bobcat Goldwaithe, Michael Nesmith , Courtney Love, Jello Biafra and Lyle Alzado

[@1pcfred]

I thought you said he did some acting. Those roles weren't acting for Stiv.

[@mattdylan664]

@@1pcfred 🤣

[@Shikta-poobah67]

Now that’s an odd assortment of people. Interesting. Also, sorry to split hairs, but Polyester came out in the summer of ‘81.

[@michaelsmyth3935]

NEW CHURCH Doug Earp of Wyatt Earp Records told me, I think you'll like this. I still listen to quite a bit of The Dead Boys and The Lord's of the New Church. Great video, hope some of you youngsters might dig on these bands. I was 14 when Punk entered my life...

[@WileECoyoder]

The Norwegian band Mayhem is another one with an insane history. Might be an interesting subject to be covered in the future.

[@roosternm6830]

I think this channel has covered Mayhem already. Search it.

[@TheHexEffect90]

I get the fascination with what happened in Mayhem but the trouble is there are too many videos that have already covered the subject. Unless there are new details that everyone else missed it would be pointless to do a another video.

[@roosternm6830]

@TheHexEffect90 Yeah. There are tons ov videos about Mayhem and they all say the same thing. Pretty cut and dry story now.

[@miahconnell23]

Audio podcast “Last Podcast on the Left” did a multi-episode deep-dive on Mayhem. There’s a LOT there, I’ve listened more than twice.

[@GregoryStevenson-k1f]

Good band. Dark.

[@DevinRyanVitek]

I absolutely love the Dead Boys. They can play fast and raw but also slow and full of emotion- "Not Anymore" is a heavy song about homelessness. "Ain't It Fun" is pure angst. I saw them recently with Jake Hout singing and it was AWESOME. The energy from the first song was palpable. The first two records rule.

[@zacharycunningham1789]

One of the absolute greatest Punk bands of all time. These dudes didn’t give a f***! One of the most intense American Punk bands of all time! Dudes are heroes to me-and had a HUGE influence on the Punk scenes of Memphis and Louisville, my scenes. Thank you for this video!!! Also Please Kill Me is an incredible book! It’s a must read for this era.

[@marksavage1744]

Sham 69 and the early stuff from The Saints were some other favorites of mine, along with The Dead Boys. The Maniacs, the early Jam, DMZ etc as well.

[@xxstevenicholxx8732]

Man Dead Boys were one of my favorites in the 80s and 90s. Thanks

[@travisstafford397]

I still listen to their first LP all the time

[@dbrown2746]

When trying to lift up my l.a. label Dangerhouse, I reached out directly to regional radio stations in 1977. WMMS responded positively and immediately

[@Shikta-poobah67]

I remember when Cheetah got all the GnR money back in the mid 90’s when he was living in Houston. It was one lump sum. *BIG* check. He would rent stretch limos and pick up random strippers and go down to Scott Street in the 3rd Ward to cop. Looked like a hairless corpse. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone more pale than he was in those days in my life. I’m amazed he survived that little period.

[@Mike-w3t3q]

I am from Youngstown Ohio and heard one of the dead boys was originally from Youngstown! While the others hailed from Cleveland.

[@kennethnorman8079]

Thanks for this video. I cannot tell you what a travesty that the Dead Boys are not lauded with the likes of the Pistols/Clash/Damned/Ramones. Young Loud and Snotty was as prevalent as any of those debuts. If that second LP had not been ruined or if Stiv hadn’t looked like a cross between Iggy and Ben the rat, you’d be seeing millennial poseurs wearing DB t-shirts instead of Ramones ones.

[@kennethd4958]

I’m a Youngstown native and how I wish I was alive during that time.. don’t get me wrong we had our own local shows and bands when I was growing up but it just seemed like such a cool time to be into punk/alternative music.

[@RoryLynott]

Lots of awesome bands from Cleveland/Akron in the 70s

[@robertbartlett1958]

ever go see The Pink Holes? they played in Yo. a few times...

[@RoryLynott]

@@robertbartlett1958 I didn't, never had the chance. I'm sure that they were hilariously badass!!

[@Chaosticks148]

Fucking love the dead boys thanks for this gonna tell my punk friends about your channel

[@rnrtruestories]

thanks! Trying to diversify more this year and cover era's that I should have been paying more attention too.

[@KowalskiVanishing_Point]

Well, I was a teenager when the Dead Boys first album came out. I was right into punk music and can honestly say Dead Boys were one of the best groups. Down in Flames will still melt flesh.

[@eeshsinger]

Is it just me, or didn't he make a video about them around five to six years ago? Because I remember watching a video about them on this channel (or a different rock n roll docu channel) about them, and I quickly grew to love them. I remember something with the moniker "American Sex Pistols" that was attached to it. I want to thank and give credit to that video for why I discovered the band.

[@NTJ891]

The Dead Boys are the greatest punk band of all time

[@J.fromMichigan]

Being in a band once you get the right lineup pushes everyone to just get better. Leave the egos, girls, too much alcohol and drugs, and other crap out. Give room for all to be creative. That’s how bands are professional and last

[@snipppa]

Can you do a vid on The Lords of the New Church?

[@mikesherman1260]

I'm from Akron and back then there was a bar called The Bank where they used to play. Later, I saw them at the Variety Theater in Cleveland. We were all standing on our chairs and Stiv jumped off the stage and crashed into us like a bowling ball. Somebody tried to pull Stiv's bandana off and got tangled up in his hair. Finally, the security guards had to pull everyone apart!

[@C.SchitzPopinov]

I would consider their presence on the scene to be part of the Second wave. Bands like The Stooges, MC5 and The New York Dolls to be part of the first wave.

[@mikeyfn-a6684]

I love that pic of Anthony Bourdain in front of CBGB wearing a Dead Boys shirt, seriously, 3 legends in one pic 🤘😎

[@lexicondevil6333]

Do a video on the Germs

[@1pcfred]

You wanted The Germs you got 'em.

[@sugmintub]

Can't wait to see them live next month!

[@mikerieck306]

I remember seeing an obituary for Stiv and there was a question mark after his date of birth. Pretty rare.😅

[@Oct8pus]

All this, and more!

[@davidkulczyk678]

I saw them in Columbus Ohio in 1978. Drank beer and smoked weed with Cheetah before the show.

[@lewasil]

I discovered Lords of the New Church when I was a kid and love love loved them so much. I didn't even know about Dead Boys unril much later. I was so sad when he passed away. ❤❤❤

[@sebastianurtiaga9110]

same than me.

[@vistalite]

I attended the Stiv Bators tribute show in 2004. The remaining members of the band were there along with Stiv’s parents. One note: I have always preferred We Have Come for Your Children over all other DB records.

[@kongdaniel]

That’s a crazy story! From no one, to someone, to pistols, ramones, murder, stabbing to me being drunk wanting to know why GNR covered them 😂 and jack nicholson! And wow thank you!

[@anniedarkhorse6791]

Shows part of my record collection from the punk era.

[@Robert-tj3qq]

These guy's played at my 1984 high school graduation party ,at my house in Old Saybrook,CT. My classmate Justin Barley sister lived in NY and knew people.

[@Shikta-poobah67]

Leadbelly played at my bar mitzvah, in Horsewang, Wyoming - winter ‘98

[@AndrewLoukidis-jr2bp]

In the 2000's my friend's band I was drumming for was asked to back Cheetah, our singer nailed their stuff Unfortunately our singer declined as he was going through a rough time

[@TyroneEpps]

This is insane ! 😊

[@dustymitchell3025]

Loved this!! Thank you.!🤘🏽

[@Tonyivanov930]

I like your videos a lot I remember learn about the dead boys looking at wikipedia,I did love punk and hardcore punk, amazing content and love the soothing commentary. it's good to watch a video which was great after listening to Metallica for couple of years!

[@rnrtruestories]

Thanks

[@joekimberlin264]

I got to see them at Burger Boogaloo w/ James Williamson sitting in, they absolutely killed.

[@amberrae8494]

My dad was good friends with stiv bators! I have a picture of the 2 of them on my fridge 🤘🤘...i can't wait to tell him about this video!

[@JohnWilson-um1ly]

I’m good friends with cheetah😊

[@amberrae8494]

@@JohnWilson-um1ly hell yeah 🤘...i really really wish I could upload the photo I have...they were both super young

[@richierugs6544]

i have a cassette of them at cbgbs in 77 probably, great stuff

[@roylandowens3291]

thank you for sharing this

[@WattisWatts]

Was in a band that opened for Cheetah Chrome. I thought he was great, and the Cub Scout uniform he wore was hilarious.

[@petercullum1374]

Saw them live in london back in February there were fantastic

[@gypsydildopunks7083]

Cheetah Chrome is the most Rock-'n'-roll name ever.

[@mjburx]

Wow! I did not expect that weird INCEL quote. I’m not surprised, but didn’t expect it.

[@cman600000]

Whats that?

[@graydenday3760]

I just watched the CBGB movie. They were pretty insane.

[@rnrtruestories]

speaking of CBGB....

[@acbenepe]

I didn't personally witness this but there was a pretty well established story of Stiv chugging a bud and pissing on the bar at the same time.

[@1pcfred]

I played my copy of Young Loud and Snotty to death. The Dead Boys is the soundtrack to teenage angst.

[@comradecarabao9122]

Dead Boys were a great band! 🎸

[@dennishockaday1509]

R.I.P. Stiv. Lords Of The New Church are pretty incredible too. They sound like Duran Duran if they were into worshipping Satan.

[@djdaanmodern902]

He really makes his own story

[@AlmostReady504]

The Dead Boys are irreplaceable in punk rock history and lore

[@rblandford1424]

Dead Boys, yeah!

[@miganhawkins8390]

Love your videos. I remember hearing about the dead boys. I love punk and hardcore punk like chaos UK for example. Awesome content and love the soothing commentary. It's good on the ears after complaints about my Slayer collection 🤣🍻

[@rnrtruestories]

Thanks

[@miganhawkins8390]

​@@rnrtruestories🍻🍻

[@Chaosticks148]

Chaos u.k is an amazing street punk band

[@TheHexEffect90]

​@@Chaosticks148I agree with you 100%!

[@areyoutheregoditsmedave]

dead boys was a huge influence in my punk rock says.

[@Suzismymom]

There's a photo here where Johnny Blitz is wearing an Iggy Metallic KO tshirt I made and gave to Stiv on his birthday in 1978. They shared clothes but they didn't share me. I was a one man girl lol

[@garycollingwood4002]

" I'm a fifty six year old male virgin now "

[@MikeSamuelsII-ve8gp]

BTW, Stiv starred in John Water's "Polyester', as Francine Fishpaw's ( Divine's character) daughter's a-hole boyfriend.

[@jordanscadlock771]

dont even know how i ended up on this channel... clicked on this video and they go "from cleveland oh" and im immediately interested cuz im from CLE

[@chriseggroll]

ironically, the audio for this vid is pretty low! young, loud and snotty is a classic though

[@oldboy454]

I saw Cheetah Chrome in '98 or '99 at a tiny little club in Detroit...( Well Hamtramak actually. The Painted Lady) to get into the club you have about 4ft gap of standing room between the wall of the club and the chain link fence on the opposite side where you stood in line to get in. Bands loaded through a door that went from the sidewalk out front directly onto the "stage". Before the show Cheetah marched up down this gap being punk as fuuuuck. He randomly told stories about famous and not as famous skeevy fuckers from his era. In between he would either ask very young kids " why the fuck are you here? " Or otherwise randomly start shit. He did this inside also and was extremely approachable. I can't remember the band he had with him. I'm almost certain the show was promoted as just him. I don't remember an awful lot from then lol.

[@sethputnamsghost]

Such fun.😉🤘

[@allanvanuga9196]

Great video.

[@satansalley6526]

Oh hell yes..a good band for once🎉stiv was an unbeloevable front man. Good vid.

[@danethunders]

Johnny blitz was the drummer, not bassist.

[@doomerscrolling]

i fucking love the dead boys

[@acidbat4441]

would be cool to see one of these on the lords of the new church

[@uselessagent7342]

I hated this band when i heard of them at 15 but their names now remind me of characters from a classic Sega Genesis game like Skitchin' or Battletoads "Jimmy Zero, Blitz, K-Raz or some crazy shit lol

[@crazyralph6386]

Anyone else thought Cheetah Chrome was Malachai from Children of the Corn? 😂

[@CrimeSchool138]

Are you the guy that settles down the Cats on that show? I think its called Cats from hell or something

[@richiedagger733]

As much as I'm a life long punk fan, dead boys never really did it for me.... even I think it's strange hahaha

[@Rand_al_Thor372]

I bet that now that Stivs parents have passed on (i would assume) that Cheetah is willing to tell the truth that he shared with me one night about how Stiv really died. I promised i would never tell but its getting really late in the game and the truth will inevitably come out eventually.

[@DevinRyanVitek]

I am not going to ask about the truth but I hope it wasn't painful, RIP Stiv

[@Rand_al_Thor372]

@@DevinRyanVitek he did not suffer at all.

[@M_C79]

If it was from a morphine "overdose," you'd think that the statute of limitations has long since passed.

[@M_C79]

If it was from a morphine "overdose," you'd think that the statute of limitations has long since passed.

[@Rand_al_Thor372]

@@M_C79 what makes you say that? You are correct but it diacetyl morphine aka heroin and yes the statutes have long expired but there was no murderer involved, all self inflicted.

[@harvey1954]

Genya was in Ten Wheel Drive after the Gingerbreads.

[@abraxasjinx5207]

I'm pretty sure Aphex Twin based his grotesque masks on Cheetah Chrome's real face.

[@petemccarry2326]

Nothing wrong with YL&S. I understood that it was their demo. It was so good, it was released as the album.

[@treehann]

This video has approx. 3 places where it skips suddenly. What happened with the editing? Great topic, i never knew much about this band.

[@rnrtruestories]

KZbin flagged some inappropriate stuff so I had to cut it but I’ve reverted back to the original one

[@treehann]

@@rnrtruestories dang KZbin. Sorry about my complaining, I've been watching your videos and they're very good and usually smooth which is why I was surprised. I just subscribed, looking forward to more!

[@cashorileymusic]

How about covering The Front?

[@gbluesky4264]

Genya Ravan deserves an entire story herself

[@Censored4UViaGoogle]

The real hardcore. LEGENDS

[@MaCNuTz-tu8ot]

Stiv Bators R.I.P.

[@eddiepigg5333]

The Dead Boys are not the Dead Boys without Stiv Bators. The same goes for the Lords if the New Church.

[@ministerofdarkness]

Love the Dead Boys! Cheetah Chrome is the living embodiment of the Rock N Roll lifestyle. Young, Loud & Snotty is a Rock Masterpiece. The 2nd album is great but the mix sucks. Highly recommend Cheetah's awesome autobiography. PLAY LOUD

[@TurnOffYourTV]

RocknRoll's Best Channel. Fast-Paced Info Packed Work. Excellent Journalism