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...was "headlining" at the legendary L.A. Sunset Strip rock club, Gazzari's.
Dokken was our opening act.
They were "hair band," we were the exact opposite.
We were "Scott Thomas Lowe & Atascadero."
(Here is a link to what remains of the band's now long dormant web site - Scott passed away in 2015:
https://www.freshwidow.com/atascadero/)
Scott named the band "Scott Thomas Lowe & Atascadero" because he said that "the world was run by the criminally insane," and he wrote songs based on that theme.
One of our most popular songs was called "Sickness & Death."
Atascadero also appeared on the Gong Show back then, playing their double entendre (penis reference) song called "It's Big."
The Gong Show appearance was VHS recorded live on the date of its original airing by one of the band's guitarists brother, and uploaded to YouTube many years later, but was recently removed from YouTube by the Gong Show 21st Century overlords, so you can't see it.
I was there for the recording of that Gong Show episode, and I can tell you we got the full 30 points, but so did the attractive male/female serious folk music duo, who were declared the winners.
As consolation prizes, we did get free coupons for about a year long supply of stuff like instant soup cups and macaroni and cheese.
After the Gong Show gig, we actually played at the California State Hospital for the Criminally Insane located in Atascadero, CA. Suffice to say that our audience "went crazy" when we played.
The original drummer for Atascadero was Dewey Martin, formerly of Buffalo Springfield, and when he left the band, he sold to me his early 60s Oak Lawn badge Camco drum kit, which he used exclusively for reocording, not live performance.
He used this kit on everyting he recorded with Buffalo Springfield, and everybody else he recorded with, including Patsy Cline, the Standells, and the Dillards.
