Memories of Root Boy Slim

"The Lenny Bruce of the Blues"


"Lame ladies and paragoric,

made my demise medeoric"

Root Boy Slim (circa late '70s)

Recalled by Joe Lee as a telling moment in his professional relationship with Root Boy Slim.

Root Boy Slim was many things to many of his fans.   

For me, he was a blues singer, entertainer, stand-up comedian, urban philosopher, and poet of the public restroom.

A graduate of Yale University, he once described himself to me as having "...more degrees than a rectal thermometer.", and emphasising he was always "...one day away from living in a cardboard box under the Key Bridge."
In the future, as time allows, I'll set down the short experience I had with one of Washington, D.C.'s premiere intellectual drop-outs.

I had taken an (otherwise) unhealthy interest in Slim from all the notice he received in the Unicorn Times. He and his Sex Change Band were stirring up a buzz locally, and I was listening to two free form FM radio stations at the time, one was WHFS, out of Bethesda, Md., and the other was Georgetown University's WGTB. Anything new, or cutting-edge in 1977 was found on those two stations. WGTB had a show called "Take One". I have a vague memory of this, but this is where I heard Slim perform several of his songs live for the first time, including the obscure "Bride of the Burro", and "Laundromat Blues" among them. Up the dial, WHFS was playing one, or more tunes from his recent demo, including "Mood Ring".

What really pushed me over the edge, was the feature on Slim by Charles M. Young in the 23MAR78 issue of Rolling Stone.
Here I learned that WHFS dj Josh Brooks had introduced Walter Becker, and Donald Fagen of STEELY DAN to Root Boy Slim via the demo tape. They took an interest in Slim, and had him signed to Warner Brothers records, post haste! With longtime producer Gary Katz, and engineer Roger "The Immortal" Nichols; the STEELY DAN duo with Becker and Fagen as supplemental consultants to the mix - produced the famous debut album.
Being a "Die-Hard" fan of STEELY DAN, I figured... if it's good enough for Walter, and Donald, then count me in as well! What probably sold them on Slim was that he was like a real life character out of one of their sordid songs from "The Royal Scam", or "Katy Lied".
Of course I wasted little time in snapping the new album up at Penguin Feather, or was it at Rainbow Tree?, I forget, and rushed it into a full-time work out on my turntable! Whew! What a mess.....101 Strings?...No!...101 drug references!
It shouldn't come as no surprise that the 'suits and ties' at Warner Brothers deemed Slim and his band as 'unsuitable for public consumption'.
They quickly saw the writing on the wall, and abandoned Slim as if he were a physically deformed and unwanted child from the eighteenth century...and a 'public relations nightmare'...no thanks to Becker and Fagen (whom Warner's so badly wanted and were willing to entertain and pander to).

The first LP (1978)

The "Physicians Desk Reference" on vinyl

"X-mas At K-Mart" b/w "Too Much Jawbone"

So it was inevitable...I trekked up to the Bayou in D.C. for my first Root Boy Slim show. Baptism by fire. 02JUL78.

Slim comes onstage with a ratty blonde wig atop his head.
Barefoot wearing a kitchen apron, holding a toilet brush in one hand, and a plunger in the other, waiving them around - pointing to women down front with the filthy things, singing "...you broke my Mood Ring"! He was stoned as a Guru! "Holy Shit"! It was all true...the booze, drugs, and the debauchery! I was totally ruined. Just what I needed...another one of those 'life changing experiences', like I'd just had several months earlier seeing The CRAMPS for the first time at the Atlantis club in April. It was happening way too fast. I was still only nineteen!

Print ad for my first Root Boy Slim experience 02JUL78

Sharp eyes will detect four new songs working their way into the band's set list.

Some would remain...others would not.

"...I made you a star, I put you in my show..."    Onstage along with  Rootettes and Bob Greenlee  circa 1978

I had to tell all my friends what I had stumbled onto...

I told my boss Calvin, who gave me a part-time job at his record store in my neighborhood, about what 'went down'. He sounded excited, and wanted to see it all for himself. So I met him at the Cellar Door, this was 09SEP78. There was a long line of people waiting to get in. Calvin was already in line, hangin' out waiting on me. Needless to say, Calvin was a serious jazz, and blues type. And when Slim finished off his set by throwing up on the stage rug, that did it for Calvin. "He won't be around much longer...not this guy".

I slowly started to build an entourage of friends to go out and see Root Boy Slim. I felt like a 'Snake Oil' salesman...
I hyped, and ballyhoo'd this local act as if I'd had some financial stake in him. For a few bucks it was great fun!
A huge show at Louie's Rock City on 23OCT78, and another at the Cellar Door on 21FEB79.
That night was the last time Slim would ruin the club's stage. The Cellar Door had just installed a new carpet, and the management begged Slim not to soil it, or fuck it up in any way.
The band never played a return engagement.

"Please! Please! Please!"

ticket stub 23OCT78

Ron Holloway

Around this time (probably 16JAN) the band were in the studio recording what was to become known as "Blue's Night". The Sex Change Band ran through numerous originals in one take, while Slim ad libbed all the vocals, with no overdubs. Songs from this session would be released years later, but one in particular: "The Shah Is Gone" would be released the next day to cash-in on the deposed Iranian monarch Mohammed Reza Pahlevi by the despised Ayatollah Khamenei! No one could accuse Slim of not keeping up with current events, or reading the headlines. WHFS latched on to the tune and made it a mainstay on their airplay list for quite awhile. It became an 'instant hit'!

"The Shah is Gone"

I had a busy night 28FEB79. I went to see my first PENTAGRAM show at Louie's, with JUDAS PRIEST! Caught the early half, and then had to jet to the Childe Harold, meet my brother Ken, and my friends Brian, and Gary there.
This was my brothers birthday present!
The stage was cramped and way too small for the band. In fact...why they played there at all still mystifies me. The stage upstairs was so small, with all the bands equipment, it seemed like trying stuff twenty pounds of shit into a five pound bag! So Slim comes out, and by the third song, he needs to make room down front. He just grabs the tables, and starts flipping them over with full pitchers of beer slinging in every direction. Shoves everyone out of their chairs to make a dance floor! Everybody starts slinging beer, and mixed drinks...it looked like an indoor car wash. We all reeked of alcohol. My brother was not too amused...he'd seen, and heard enough. Happy Birthday.

28FEB79

Kodachrome by the author

"The TRACKS of my tears"
Childe Harold 28FEB79

"Salad Daze"

It was during this period (in my unsolicited opinion) that Root Boy Slim achieved his ZENITH, or APEX. He became a "household word" around town so to speak.
I recall WDVM channel 9 did a piece on the band on "PM Magazine". Host Henry Tenenbaum was even inside Track Studio, and taped the band as they were recording "ZOOM". Mr. Tenenbaum did his best to convey his segment. He appealed to the lowest common denominator without inducing anyone at home to vomit up their meal at the dinner hour... 
Slim also turned up in the film "Mr. Mike's Mondo Video" performing "Boogie Till You Puke". This captured perfectly the essence of the stage act at this very point in time. This was Root Boy's year in the SUN now. It seemed like his name, and image were found everywhere you looked. Root Boy Slim & the Sex Change Band would never be more popular than they were for the next year, or so.

My friends and I took in a show at Columbia Station on 26MAR79. I started dating a girl named Susie, fell hard for her, and she became my constant during this 'Phenomenal' era. Her first introduction was at Beacon's Backstage, in Falls Church on 28APR79.

ticket 28APR79

I dressed up with a long black wig, red house coat and cape, Susie with can-can girl regalia like 'Rootette' Cheri Grasso. We sat up front, and when the band took the stage, Bob Greenlee stepped on my foot, and broke my big toe! I walked with a limp for weeks after that. Somewhere there's a picture of Susie, and I looking foolish together. I remember Susie making a comment to Ernie Lancaster about a pin he was wearing that said S&M on it.....he said "Baby - it ain't no M&M!"
Slim would sometimes launch into a monologue about about twenty minutes into a set. He'd elaborate on the news, or some bit of current political bullshit that was on everyone's mind at the time. And somehow he'd get it all twisted around underage sex with girls, and drugs!
Drugs, and sex were a regular topic among Slim and his audience. It figured into all aspects of his life, and music. And his need of money, always being cash-poor, or flat broke! One thing you could be assured of: if you were alone with Slim for even a brief moment, he wouldn't hesitate to ask for a 'loan', whether it be money, or narcotics.
In fact - he'd even ask the ladies in the audience if they were 'holding', to empty their purses, and rummage through the contents! It was almost a ritualistic 'rite of passage' to find two, or three young ladies waiting at the dressing room door, before a show, to offer their charms, or pharmacoligical treats.

"You Can't Quit My Club"
Root Boy Slim's preoccupation with Quāālude led him to embark on a nightly crusade to recruit as many fans into his infamous "714 Club".

Of course as every fan from this period well knows...Slims' infatuation with "Pretty Baby" starlette Brooke Shields was the focus of many of his monologues, and raps leading into his song "I'm Not Too Old For You".

Just as the "Shah" was loosing it's newsworthy appeal, another incident proved fruitful for Slim to sustain his profile, and momentum.
The film "The China Syndrome" was released mid March, and was catapulted to 'must see' status by the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on 28MAR.
Not wanting to be left out of the 'anti-nuke' circus that was coming to town, Slim exploited the situation by releasing a single to commemorate the occasion. Rushing back into the studio, the band revisited one of their "Blue's Night" tracks from January, and released it as "The Meltdown". Just in time to cash-in on the huge "No Nukes" rally on the mall in D.C. scheduled for 06MAY.

March on Washington May 6

"The Meltdown" b/w "Graveyard Of Losers"

Kodachrome by the author

File under: "Believe It Or Not"...my 'then' girlfriend Susie, and I were in Georgetown one week-end taking in a film at the Key Theatre, and wasting time. And who do we chance upon, hawking his "Meltdown" 45? Yea...Slim had a small card table set up, with a cigar box (with a few coins, a fender washer, and a pack of cigarettes inside), and a cache of singles, in front of some dress shop on Wisconsin Avenue. He told us it was an 'Off weekend' for him, and he was just trying to hustle some bread together. No one but us gave him any notice! We ended up buying him lunch, and hanging out for awhile to keep him company. Everyone else just kept walking by...

Not wanting to miss a golden opportunity, Root Boy Slim and the Sex Change Band headlined a show at the Warner Theatre three days following the protest on 09MAY79.
Opening the show was THE ORIGINAL FETISH. They had a local single out: "I'm Glad Elvis Is Dead". Plus the last minute addition of a band from New York City who were starting to gain popularity in D.C., The CRAMPS!
Never in my life did I see three bands that should have never played together.
THE ORIGINAL FETISH upset, no....I'm sorry...pissed-off THE CRAMPS, with their "Elvis Is Dead" song. The FETISH had a cardboard cut-out of Elvis, and as they were wrapping up their show, proceded to tear the likeness of the King into tiny bits. All the while the FETISH's pair of female singers, (nude, gilded in silver, and gold body paint) squirted milk from their mouths over the falling pieces of Elvis, in mock ejaculation!
As the stage crew followed out to clean up the mess, and the FETISH's equipment, the CRAMP's roadies, in an act of retribution, saw fit to shove what they could off the front of the stage. Even Lux, and Bryan got in on it by tossing what remained into the audience!
The CRAMPS sizziled, scorched, and burned through their set, all the while solidifying their now legendary status. And Hell!, they only had two singles out, and no prospects for an album at the time.
Poor Slim......he never had a chance. He never saw it coming. In his review, and summation of the show, Dr. Joe Sasfy wrote: "...when Root came on in full regalia and with his entire retinue, he had all the impact of a two-headed cow at a carnival."
Well put.

NEVER try to follow The CRAMPS.

print ad & ticket stub 09MAY79

Despite the fact The CRAMPS upstaged, and pissed in Slim's bowl of cornflakes that night, it was still a great show, and didn't diminish his popularity among the faithful. Greener pastures were to follow shortly.
It was about this time a dj named Jeff Harper with WEER FM "The Oasis", out of Warrenton, Virginia, invited Slim, and his manager Joe Lee to his rural outpost studio in the sticks, as his guests for an on-air interview. What followed was the funniest two hours I've ever heard. Joe, and Slim had showed up at another radio station by accident, an 'easy listining' station nearby, and were lost. After they found their way to WEER, they spent the first fifteen minutes relating that crazy incident. Slim was in fine form. Obviously drunk as a lord, and all coked-up, he proceeded to drop the 'F -bomb' several times, and somehow managed to knock the station off-the-air momentarily! Joe finally wrangled control of the interview by previewing tracks from the "Blue's Night" tape, and the yet-to-be released album "Zoom!".
I still have a cassette copy of the entire show, though the exact date of the broadcast eludes me*.......it's priceless!

*I just contacted Jeff Harper....and had a most enjoyable conversation with him! He's living in Clifton, Virginia now, and still has vivid memories of the night Slim, and Joe Lee did the show with him! But alas...he doesn't recall the date of the broadcast either. Oh well....

"Back-to-Back nights": one night at the Childe Harold on 17JUN79, and the the "Farewell Show" at the Wilson Theatre, the next night. Slim and the band were one the eve of their U.K. tour as support for Ian Dury and the Blockheads. They would be gone three months promoting their new LP "Zoom!". My best friend Ron Lunn came to the show that night, and took some incredible B&W photographs, two of which I'll share with you here.

 Kodachrome by the author


Wilson Theatre marquee 18JUN79



Never one to waste a recent headline...as exemplified in this shoddy-yet-memorable handbill; exploiting the tragic American Airlines DC-10 crash that killed 273 passengers at Chicago's O'Hare airport on 25MAY79 !
A superb example of shameless self promotion !
Root Boy Slim earned five gold stars with me for this unforgettable excursion into 'bad taste'...John Waters will please take note...


"Ignite It"

B&W photos: Ron Lunn

Kodachrome by the author

Attention all Kmart shoppers...

The "Official" Root Boy Slim website is here:
http://www.rootboyslim.com/index.html 

After returning from their tour with Ian Dury, the band played a Huge 'home coming' show at the Ontario Theatre on 22SEP. Sharing the bill, was CRYIN' OUT LOUD, a band that would play an important part in Slim's career in the coming months. The much anticipated second album "ZOOM" was also released at this time.

print ad and ticket stub 22SEP79

Promo sticker that was included inside the first pressing



"...these girls laugh, at my fishnet shirt..."
Ontario Theatre 22SEP79
Root Boy Slim with Marshall Keys

My friends and I finished out 1979 with three more shows:
Beacon's Backstage 30OCT, Mr. Henry's 10DEC, and a 'Blow-Out' bash at the Takoma Tap-Room on 29DEC.
That was a great send-off for the year! Slim came out with two, or three plastic trash bags stuffed with joints, throwing them into the audience! I remember the club started serving free drinks, and everyone was totally wasted! I was afraid the entire audience would get busted and we'd all be spending New Years in jail.

handbill and ticket
29DEC79

Looking back at 1979, I can honestly say it was the year of Root Boy Slim. I wouldn't see him this many times in the coming years, or see the amount of concerts that I somehow managed to cram into a single calendar year, including: JUDAS PRIEST & PENTAGRAM, Keith Richards & Stanley Clarke, Rod Stewart, AC/DC & U.F.O., KISS, Elton John, The WHO, and The CRAMPS (twice).

"New Horizons" in a new decade

It was bound to happen. After many years of playing together, their recent notoriety, two LPs, and untold miles of road behind them, the rot started to set in. Root Boy Slim and the Sex Change Band were long overdue for a change, or break.
The University of Maryland would host the show on their campus on 05MAR80, at the Ritchie Coliseum.
This had been a long time in coming, because the local 'political heroes' in Prince Georges County, had banned them from playing there.
Of course no one knew (outside the inner circle) that this would be their last performance together for the near future. The band played an inspired, and lengthy show, and played virtually every song in the Root Boy Slim songbook!

Print ad and ticket
 05MAR80

After a four month hiatus, Root Boy Slim introduced his new band: CRYIN' OUT LOUD, and the BLACK SILK STOCKINGS to his fans. The first show I saw with the new line-up was at Desparado's, in Georgetown on 20JUL80.
Sporting short hair, and looking trimmer than I'd ever seen him before....he put on a great show. The 'high point' of the evening came during "Do The Gator". A female fan crawled onstage to get down with Slim, and Get Down they did! At some point she hikes her skirt up revealling to the audience, and to Slim her sacred reproductive organs in all their glory! Slim wasted no time in getting down on that stuff, and I have a photograph to prove it!

Root Boy Slim and the BLACK SILK STOCKINGS
Mary Taylor and Dani Murray
Desparado's 20JUL80

Root Boy Slim adorned the cover the Unicorn Times for their August issue. A three page spread featuring cover art, and photographs by Slim's art director, and former Rootette; Dick Bangham. The article: "New Horizons" by Stephanie Faul, was a great shot in the arm for Slim. It laid to rest some of the rumours swirling around, and gave him, and his new band some much needed exposure.
The next show I was able to attend was with my friend Joe Gillette. We drove out to the Warrenton Armory on 15NOV.
It was total Chaos! The place was packed with plumbers butt hicks, hillbillies, slutty chicks, and rednecks. And to add to the mix...some 4-H club reject brought his collection of barn-yard friends as well! I kid you not.....there were goats, and chickens running loose, and the floor was slippery with stale beer. It was a free-for-all that night! A real 'Barn-Burner'! The hall was so thick with cigarette smoke and manure odor - they had to have all the doors and windows wide open.
It was the loudest and unruliest of spectacles, and at one point it looked as if the entire city of Warrenton was packed inside ! They thought maybe George Jones had finally showed up.
Some local said they thought a flying saucer had landed and had to come see what it was all about ! ! !

15NOV80

To hear a vintage radio ad from the PsycheDelly for Root Boy Slim : 

Click the music player widget at the bottom of your screen

The PsycheDelly (circa 1981) 
Formally located at 4845 Cordell Avenue - Bethesda, Maryland

 
A whole lot more to follow:
"PLEASE STAND BY"
 This blog is still a "Works-In-Progress" so....
you'll have to keep coming back to see what I've added!