Jinx
By Geordie Pleathur
(SugarBuzz Nation)
SugarBuzz Magazine
BEEN A LONG TIME....SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE INTERVIEWS JINX FROM MAD ROCKETS AND SAIGON SALOON....
I'm just a rock'n'roll refugee! Seems like I get evicted everytime the leaves change colors....Everytime I think I got it together, fate scoffs at me, the bottom falls out, the old lady decides she don't like my surly attitude, the neighbors complain about the music, and I'm puttin' stuff in boxes, again! This gypsy road gets brutal, as one ages. It ain't no fun, no more....Ahhhh...but the sweet memories from the late eighties West Coast glam scene never fade away, do they? In 1988, or so, one of my old girlfriends, who's now a famous radio personality, had moved to L.A. before I did, and was dating various
rockstars from Ratt, and Celebrity Skin. She used to send me pages torn out of "Rock City News", keeping me up-to-date on what was going on, out there, while steadily, summoning me to Hollywood, and Saigon Saloon were one of the bands with the big full page ads for shows in El Lay, at the time. It certainly looked like plenty was happening out there in the warm California sun! Unfortunately, I was entangled with another girl back East, and though I was writing and rehearsing with some talented players, my scrappy Boston drunk rock glam band never found the right drummer, and by the time I finally did make it out to Hollywood, it was all crashing and burning around me. Some of the lesser-known working class superstars from the rock'n'roll underground were always highly venerated amongst the lifers, club-goers, and in-the-know real rock'n'roll crowd. Jinx was one of those names the barflies and glam-strippers all spoke fondly of, like Gio, Alistarr, and Francois. He'd replaced Trick as the lead shouter of the Saloon, and was followed by one Jack Damore, but Jinx remains a fan favorite, and a legendary name, in underground music circles-particularly in L.A., and in South Florida. Jinx came up in the same Florida-To-Hollywood punk circuit that had belched forth Circus Of Power, Rock City Angels, Johnny Depp, and Sugarbuzz Favorites, the Coma-Tones. Formed in 1987, Saigon Saloon were the biggest unsigned L.A. band back in the day-their sound was raunchier, and more blues-based, ala the Quireboys, and Dogs D'Amour, than all those hundreds of Poison/Crue/Metal-Edge fluff-rock clones, and in spite of it all, they're still remembered in the glamour-punk underground, as leading lights of the tinsel-town eighties rock scene. Recently, we, the rock'n'roll people, were saddened by the news of Kim Cheyenne's death, and extend our sincerest condolences to all his intimates.
I'd brushed with Scarlet
Rowe as an overconfident runaway teen with a fake I.D., in NYC, way, way back when he was still in Angels In Vain, with various, future-members of L.A. Guns, Princess Pang, and Kill City Dragons. So, I was always aware of Saigon Saloon, and when someone posted a fan page for the band a year or two ago, I started lobbying various Saigon Salooners to do an in-depth interview, in the hopes of spurring renewed fan interest, and perhaps gettin' the ball rollin' towards a reunion of some sort, I'm a dreamer, okay? Tragically, that's impossible, now, that Kim Cheyenne's gone, but I finally enlisted the sleaze-punk living legend, JINX, to answer some questions about his new group, MAD ROCKETS, the glory days, of SAIGON SALOON, and rock'n'roll, in general. (-Geordie Pleathur)
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: What was your family like as a kid? Where did you grow up, and what were your first introductions to rocknroll?
JINX: I grew up in South Florida
and my interest in music came at an early age. My Mom loved music and had some great records so, the first ones I remember getting my hands on and listening to were The Beatles red album and blue album, and The Beach Boys. My older sister got a Deep Purple "Machine Head" album for her birthday, and I grabbed it from her, and wore that thing out.
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: Who were the performers who initially inspired you, please describe your early groups.
JINX: I painted (construction) as a teenager with a couple of older guys from the So. Fla band, Amazing Grace, and they were talking about and playing music from their rehearsals all day at work. I wanted in on the fun, and they knew some dudes from a local punk band, Nobody's Heroes, and they needed a singer, so we changed the name to Silent Rage, that was my first band. The punk scene was cool back then! We had shows every weekend and got to open for some great ones like Fear, D.R.I., and Lords of the New Church.
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: Origins of Saigon Saloon? Where did you find those guys, and what was it like, being part of that whole West Coast Scene?
JINX: I friend of mine, Roger in L.A., from the Florida band, The Drills, was painting with JoJo, the bass player of Saigon Saloon, and he
told me they were looking for a singer, and got me a try-out with them. It was my understanding that Geffen Records was behind them changing singers. I remember when they told me I was in the band, it was a Saloonatics (Saigon Saloon acoustic only) show at Coconut Teazers. I walked into one of the top unsigned bands in L.A., Saigon Saloon was headlining every club, getting paid good money to do so, and had the City in the palm of their hands. Man, I lucked out finding them dudes, it was a great scene happening in L.A.
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: Who were some other bands that you liked, or shared a camaraderie with back then?
JINX: The band, The Guttercats, who were on the "Married with Children" episode, played with us all the time. The were a great band. Some other great bands I was into in L.A. were Sea Hags, Junkyard, Black Cherry, Kill for Thrills, Rattlesnake Shake.
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: Did you know Circus Of Power? The Rock City Angels? The Comatones? The Horse-heads? The Hangmen?
JINX: Man, if you didn't like Circus of Power 
something's was wrong with your ass. Next time you're on a road trip put in the first album, and play the songs, "Motor", and "Needles", and if you don't get that feeling, that high that only music can give you, then nothing else will. Some of those guys were in some of the early great bands in South Florida, for instance, Screaming Sneakers.
The Rock City Angels are another great band that were formerly The Abusers from South Florida. I loved their debut album with tunes like, "Hard to Hold" and "Deep Inside My Heart", to name a few. I still see Bobby, when he comes into town, and he and his new lineup of great players and great guys, Mark, Larry, George, and Mike, are still playing shows, and dishin' out their kick ass Rock n Roll! My first roomate in L.A. was Billy Catterson, the original guitar player in the Hangmen. That's another great band that I still love listening to, today. The Comatones were formerly, Romeo Cowboy, another South Florida Band that I did shows with, before L.A. in my band, The Love Guns. Their original drummer, Chino, is the drummer in my new band, Mad Rockets. Bringing up all these bands reminded me how great the musicians and bands really were, here in South Florida, when I was growing up.
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: Where did you get the idea for the Aretha Franklin cover?
JINX: I was out of Saigon Saloon when that tune came along but, many got to see our versions of
Ike and Tina's "Proud Mary" and The Isley Brothers "It's Your Thang".
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: Describe each of the other guys from Saigon Saloon...Weren't there two different line-ups of that band?
JINX: I'll start with Scarlet, who I was the closest with, early on. He taught me everything I know, that dude was a Rock Star, period! He was in signed bands in New York during his teen years, so he knew what the fuck was going on. He was behind all of Saigon's success, promoting, networking, and our over-all image was his idea. Kim and I became real close, as time went on, and he was another guy in the band that brought so much to the music. His musical influences and style was what you heard, and saw, when you came to our shows. Jojo always had a smile on his face, and was the joker, good fucking dude, and could make some mean chicken and dumplings. Lonny was the quiet one, great drummer, with a great meter, and somehow, he put up with all the crazy shit that some of us , me in particular, were going through. Each guy, in his own way, brought so much to the table, that's why it was a great band.
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: How did you end up appearing in "Hustler" magazine?
JINX: Don't know how that came about, I wasn't in the 
band yet?
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: Wasn't Axl Rose actually a fan of Saigon Saloon? What were those cats like, before the super-fame?
JINX: The story I heard was, Jojo, our bass player, lived with Axl and Duff, before they got signed, so when they took off, they were pushing our band at their label, Geffen Records. Axl also mentioned Saigon Saloon in an article he did in "Rolling Stone" magazine that we were his favorite unsigned band.
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE:Why didn't Saigon Saloon "make it big"?
JINX: That's a good question that I don't know if anyone can answer. We spent most of our days, in and out, of labels, managers, and producers offices, and were being courted by Geffen, Polygram, and A&M records. They would come to see our rehearsals, and shows but, for some reason, none of them pulled the trigger. My only regret is not being signed, or this or that, it's that our fans, and music lovers, in general, will never get to hear the songs that Scarlet and Kim wrote, or would have wrote. Those guys wrote great songs.
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: Will there ever be an official Saigon Saloon DVD release, audio, video, old live footage, interviews with the survivors, 
etc.?
JINX: I heard Kim was working on that, just before we all lost him.
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: Don't you have a band with Andy Panic, from Rock City Angels? "TROPICAL WEAPON"?
JINX: Andy and I were working together in L.A., after Rock City Angels, and Saigon Saloon, we had some tunes, but I eventually. moved back to Florida, to get my head together. That band eventually became, Rumble Train. This year, Andy moved back home, so he and I got some cats together, and started the band, Tropical Weapon, as a side project to Mad Rockets. We had about 8 tunes but, only got as far as a two-song demo, and then, things fell apart.
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: When not busy, making your own music, what contemporary bands do you actually enjoy listening to?
JINX: I love the new band, Imperial State Electric, Backyard Babies, Turbonegro, anything Black Crowes or New Earth Mud-related, and The Sewergrooves!
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: I'm sorry to hear that Kim Cheyenne recently passed away? Please do share any fond memories
of that guy...
JINX: Unfortunately, for all us of that knew him, and for those that didn't get a chance, we lost a great guy, friend and musician. One particular tour we did in Vegas comes to mind, where Kim was loving life... We had some shitty little per diem, but in Vegas, you could live like a pig in shit with a couple of bucks. We were dining on steak and lobster, breakfast buffets, and you could drink for free, while playing five cent slots. All of our close friends would come on the road with us, and Kim loved touring, and that one, in particular. I'm gonna miss you my brother! "Evil, Wicked, Mean and Nasty for life!"
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: Which of your former colleagues bands do you most appreciate, currently? Scarlet's bands? Mykel Sane?
JINX: I'm only familiar with Scarlet's band, Joker Five Speed, anything with Scarlet in it, has got to be good. I got a Mykel Sane story. He moved to L.A. with Pat and Zach from Arizona, and they had a band (sorry guys I forgot the name) but I was rehearsing with them, as their new singer, after I was in Saigon Saloon, and one day, we got interrupted by a knock at the door, and it was the Saigon guys. I guess they liked what they were hearing, especially the bass player, and the next day, Mykel was in Saigon Saloon.
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: What do you do to make a living?
JINX: I always did construction, and painting, in
particular, so for around ten years now, i'm a licensed painting contractor, here in South Florida. Some days, when i'm workin' like a dog, I guess it would have been nice making a living in music.
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: You should read the new Alex Mitchell book, "Working Class Superstar Redux"! You're a working class superstar like so many of us! Were you a Zodiac Mindwarp fan?
JINX: I love Zodiac Mindwarp! When I just got to L.A., my close friend, Joey, who was friends with the Circus of Power guys, told me there was this band playing that night, at the Hollywood Bowl, and they were called Zodiac Mindwarp, I never heard of them. So we went and of course, I was blown away with the rest of the crowd, and followed them, ever since.
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: Ever see the Ultras, Motorcycle Boy, the Nymphs, or Hello Disaster?
JINX: I saw Motorcycle Boy in L.A., they were another great band, and Rat Boy is one of my favorite guitar players. And how about Pillbox N.Y.C. weren't they fucking great, as well..?!! I didn't know The Nymphs, other than they were signed, and opening up for us, Saigon Saloon in L.A. --Sure pissed them off, I heard?
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: Please discuss your new group, MAD ROCKETS, your future plans, and all current operations.....
JINX: My new band, Mad Rockets, is a 
not to brag, KICK ASS ROCK N ROLL BAND. We've recently had our album, "Super Charged Firecrackers" reviewed by Sleazegrinder in "Classic Rock Magazine", and in the October issue of "Classic Rock Magazine", they put our song "Sadie", on a compilation that's being called, the "15 Best New Bands". We're having a great time, with no expectations of shit, just us, and our music, and writing some cool tunes. We play shows all the time here in South Florida, and would like to do some weekends out on the road, maybe South by Southwest, or to do a show in N.Y., and get to see Scarlet would be cool.
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: What were the highlights of your rock'n'roll adventures? All-time Lows?
JINX: The Saigon Saloon days, for sure, were the highs, and the low was
the day they kicked my ass out of the band. I had it coming to me, I withdrew from the band, and more importantly, the music, and wasn't cutting the mustard, anymore. Drinkin' and druggin' became more important, and the band became a hassle, to me. Yeah, I guess you could say I was out of my mind, because someting so important to me became meaningless.
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: Where can fans go to seek-out your music?
JINX: You can buy "Super Chareged Firecrackers" By Mad Rockets at www.cdbaby.com or www.amazon.com. And can contact us at www.myspace.com/madrockets or Facebook or madrockets@gmail.com.
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: Do you have any kids?
JINX: I have a 16 year old son, named Cade, who's being raised by my sister and her husband (long story) and he's a good kid, decent
guitar player too!
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: What do you do for entertainment?
JINX: I love to see bands, and still do, whenever I get a chance, or we all (local Musicians) hangout at Exile on Wiley St., which is our drummer, Chino's house.
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: Favorite book?
JINX: "The Ass and The Angel" By Nick Cave
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: Politics?
JINX: Someone told me when you ain't got nothing good to say, keep your damn mouth shut!
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: What did I forget to ask you?
JINX: Yes, I'm married and been with my beautiful wife, Denise, for 17 years. I had to get her in here, some how, if I want some vittles on the table, when this 
comes out.
SUGARBUZZ MAGAZINE: Websites?
JINX: Here's my chance to plug my new guitar website. If you're looking for used, or vintage guitars, check out www.guitarmall.us and I will hook you up!
I want to thank you for doing this here interview with me, and if any old friends, or bandmates see this, get in touch with ol' Jinxy boy!