I was admittedly indoctrinated into the Black Randy cult in a pretty awesome fashion. In 1991, I was stuck for an afternoon at a friend’s house in Chicago. "Pass The Dust" was quickly pulled out and, well, the rest is history.
Hearing of Black Randy’s exploits in 2009 seems like you’re hearing about a crazed, drugged out pirate on the high seas. Sort of like knowing that Bluto from Animal House was real and crawling around LA in the late 70’s.
Part comic. Part musician. Part jackass. Part sociopath. Part druggie. And another part comic.
Yep. That was Black Randy.
Black Randy and the Metrosquad put out a handful of singles and a masterful LP in the late 70’s and then that was it. All of them were affiliated with the absolutely flawless label Dangerhouse which, not surprisingly, Black Randy was part of. The only video that exists of Black Randy and the Metrosquad is from the horrible movie "The Fabulous Stains" in which they have a brief cameo.
As is often the case, not much documentation of Black Randy’s exploits exist other than the records and a few anecdotes that are easily Googled. (Try it.) However, recently the masterful More Than A Witness blog uncovered a couple hysterical phone calls that Black Randy recorded in the late 70’s.
Firstly, there’s a call with (now legendary) photographer (and then drug dealer) Jenny Lens. You can read about the provenance of the call at MTAW. They deserve the credit. Not me.
Secondly is a call between Black Randy and a San Francisco promoter discussing their upcoming show where BR insists that the Mentors get on the bill and the Go-Go’s are bumped off. Again, read about it here.
I’ve tacked on a few live tracks from the "Live At The Masque" 3-CD series that came out (with little to no fanfare) about ten years ago. The more I can find out about him, I’ll be happy to listen.
Black Randy died from AIDS related symptoms in 1988 due to years of hardcore drug use. In a just world, Black Randy will get a biopic about him, but in the meantime, we’ll just have the legend and lore of this completely drugged out nutball that was roaming the Sunset Strip in the late 70’s and early 80’s.
Black Randy vs. Jenny Lens
Black Randy vs. Paul Rat
Black Randy/Metrosquad-Idi Amin (live)
Black Randy/Metrosquad-Loner With A Boner (live)
Black Randy/Metrosquad-Trouble At The Cup (live)