Saw Black Flag when Henry had hair down to his waist. Not only a Nebraska treasure but a punk-rock/alt legend.
R.I.P., Drumstick, and thanks for all the great times! Can’t wait to see the movie!
Shared by: Sean Strough
From “Whump! Growing up through the eyes of Generation X”
They added words to their name in later years, but the first twenty times I saw them, they were just plain Buck Naked. They did a kind of hard rockabilly, two acoustic guitars with pickups, drums, no bass, which often sounded a lot like punk. Their songs were all about sex, nothing else, just sex. They played hard and fast and were insanely funny, and fun. Buck himself was really a shy, aw-shucks kind of dude, and the lead guitar player, Stinky, was kind of quiet too. Onstage, they transformed into an insanely entertaining rock act. They were always playing with a band I lived with later, The Model Citizens, so I probably saw Buck Naked fifty times. They were great every time.
One night, an out-of-town band was supposed to open for Buck Naked at The Drumstick but were late showing up. When the band came out, nobody really paid much attention. They wore regular street clothes, played electric guitar, bass, a full drum kit, like every other band. They played for at least half an hour and were great, really distorted and nasty sounding, a melodic, sludgy punk rock. About halfway through the set, we recognized them. It was Buck Naked. No western wear, no silly banter, no acoustic guitars, no songs about buttfucking. When they were done, they went into the back room, changed their clothes, came out and played a regular Buck Naked set. It was amazing. When I went back and smoked a joint with them after the show, I suggested they should do this all the time, or maybe give up the goofy Buck Naked schtick and just be a rock band. And then we had a good laugh and lamented how there wasn’t really anyplace for a real rock band to play.
Shared by: Tim Eiben
Photo courtesy of Brian Barber
Came to Linciln to go to a party and hang for the weekend. My buddy Bill (who introduced me to the Stick) and l were driving by. Saw the marque “One Night Only The Violent Femmes). We looked each other in the eyes and said, “let’s go!” We made it to the party real late but the Violent Femmes blew us away. I remember a barricade up against the stage. About 90 days later, they were a worldwide phenomenon.
Shared by: Al Chambers
Stratus circa 1976
I remember playing at the Drumstick many times. It was a blast!! Had a big stage and lots of room ! One of many venues back in the day and lots of bands to play them !!
Shared by: Scott Williamson
Photo courtesy of Brian Barber
I have two memories, one about a band and one about the club.
I know that many stories have been told about the night X played. I was literally right behind the guy who was flicking ice or his drink at Exene, who was the lead singer and the then wife of the bassist, John Doe. This was all occurring mid-song. John Doe kept shaking his head as if to say, “Don’t do that.” The guy right in front of me persisted, and John Doe jumped off stage and started wrestling the guy right at my feet. After John Doe returned to stage, he announced that he’d lost his bracelet when he jumped off stage, and the crowd then began to search the floor for him. I believe the guy who was flicking ice or water at Exene was escorted out of the Drumstick. A good fried, who was in front of the stage on the other side where Billy Zoom was playing, told me that Billy didn’t move when John Doe leapt off stage. All he did was say, “Uh oh.” Apart from all that, it was an incredible night of music, although extremely loud.
The other memory I have relates to how hot the Drumstick could get on summer night. One night, myself and two of my friends got into a discussion about who sweated the most that night. We decided the only way to know was to go outside at closing, take off our t-shirts, and wring them out. Whoever produced the biggest puddle on the pavement would be declared the winner. I can’t vouch for the scientific authenticity of this test or whether we controlled all the variables. I do recall that all of us produced pretty good puddles and that I sadly lost.
I would encourage people to see the movie. It’s really good, but bittersweet, movie. It brings back lots of great memories. I was so jazzed up after seeing the movie last Friday that I had a hard time getting to sleep, reliving all the wonderful times in my mind. My wife attended the movie too. While she does not share my taste in music and thought the Drumstick would have been too loud and too hot for her, she also liked the movie, finding it very sweet. Well done!
Shared by: Joe Loudon
Punk rocker Wendy O. Williams got goosed by some guy while she was on stage, so she hammered the guy’s skull with her microphone and broke it (the microphone, not the guy’s skull). She later chain-sawed one of her guitars. After the show, a cop pushed through the crowd of fans to her trailer in the Drumstick parking lot and had her personally autograph her pictorial spread in Playboy magazine.
Shared by: Tim Boughn
My roommate used to play in the Cunning Linguists, so we’d go down to the Drumstick once a month or so to drink, dance & party. Good times. Also remember Pat’s Blue Riddim, a reggae band from Kansas and REM. Great job on the documentary. Tim would be proud.
Shared by: Bob Dunn
Photo: Blue Riddum Band, courtesy of Cathy Lohmeier
Guadalcanal Diary played to a pretty much empty house. My friend, Jim was taking journalism at UNL. We’d frequent the club and he’d write reviews for the rag. (Daily Nebraskan) Don’t know if any ever got published, but sure had some good times talking with the bands.
Someone in the band mentioned it was their first show in Nebraska. I think they had some book about various states’ fun facts and mentioned that the TV dinner was invented in Omaha. Why I remember that is beyond me. Anyway, they played about everything off the “Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man” LP and tore it up.
Shared by: Scott Selzer
Drenched in sweat, slam dancing all night to the Model Citizens Club!
Shared by: Robert Focht
Richard Nix’n – we warmed up for X, played a few gigs with Blue Ducks, A.K A. & some others
Shared by: Brian Dentler
