Button South Class of 85 Reunion

Another all nighter at The Button South.  Who would have thought that would ever happen again being that the club closed years ago.  The reunion took place in Boca at a place called "Bash."  Nice big place with a decent stage and lighting.  It was a two night affair - open 5pm - 5am both days (April 15 & 16, 2011).  I missed the first night.  I missed a lot of the second night.

Admission was only $5, just like back in time, but free if you had a Button South membership card.  I found mine!  I also found my "I Partied Until 6 AM at the Button South" t-shirt but did not wear it.

We (Lisa Spandex and I) arrived around 1 am.  Gypsy Queen was near the end of their set.  They looked and sounded great.  Of course it took us awhile to get in there as Lisa still looks basically the same and various people came over to the car to talk to her forever and a day. Once we did get in we caught Gypsy Queen's last two songs.  They had a big crowd up near the stage enjoying every second.

Between sets I saw this guy who looked like Santa Claus in a t-shirt and jeans.  Something about him made me sense that I knew him.  The name "Chooch" came to mind.  He was headed to the door so I followed him.  I tapped him on the arm and he turned around.  Sure enough - it was Chooch!  We went out in the parking lot and chatted awhile.  He was mostly into talking about Pam and Paula.

Next up was Canaveral.  I don't particularly remember them, but I don't particularly remember alot when it comes to the Button South.  Spent alot of time there and its all too much to remember.  In any case, they looked like they were enjoying playing again and their set was just plain fun.

Next up was Rulette but we were in the parking lot again talking to some poor attorney from Washington, DC.  He was in Boca for a wedding and a cab dropped him off at Bash.  He didn't know what was going on so we chatted with him until another cab came and took him away. 

Next was a super jam set that took us to closing at 5 am.  Billed as "The Button South All Star Band,"  various musicians rotated around on stage.  Keith Cronin from Pat Travers, Pam and paula from Gyspsy Queen, Adam Kole from Beggers Opera, Ricky Sanders from Cryer, Tim Petersen from Amber Rose, the guys from Canaveral, and last but not least, Matt Kramer from Saigon Kick.  Definitely worth staying all night for that!!!!

The Way Back Machine Lets Me Down

I decided to take a trip down memory lane and started clicking on links on the Gold Coast Live! page on the Way Back site. I guess they only archived the main page. The links lead to nothing. They did manage to archive one photo - just one. That was the cover of the very first issue.

Now that cover brings back memories. This mag was done way back before everyone had a laptop or pc. It was done with a typewriter, white-out, a photo copier, stencil letters etc. The first issue (pictured to the left) was four pages. That is Jello Biafra from the Dead Kennedys on the cover. Why Jello? Well, I had yet to meet anyone in South Florida - imagine that!

What the Hell

My old friend Punkee asked "What ever happened to the Gold Coast Live site (chat and all)." Well as far as the chat goes (Zoneboards) - spam, hackers, the rise of Myspace all played a role in its demise. Time was also a factor. My job forces me away from my computer a lot (thank god) and As for the Gold Coast Live Website, well, it was never really designed properly or anything like that. I was trying to re-type articles from the original magazines and throw them up there for historical purposes. I got quite a few up there but there were so many to go and I ran out of desire or something. So when I decided to let Zoneboards go, I let Gold Coast go with it.

Ah but guess what. Even though the Gold Coast Live site doesn't exist anymore, its still on the internet. Just take a trip to the Way Back Machine and you can view old versions of it. (See previous post or the link to the right in the side bar). Yeah - its still there. Punkee suggested I put it back up - ha ha - I don't have to!!!! Its still here !!!

In response to Punkee's request I typed the Gold Coast Live name into blogger and no one had it so I took that as a sign. A sign that I should breathe life back into it. So here we are with a Gold Coast Live Blog.

I guess now I will track down the old gang and see if it goes anywhere or not. We have a great history - we may as well re-live it some more :-)

Gold Coast Live Site

Although the Gold Coast Live site is not currently on the net anymore, it can still be viewed via the Way Back Machine:

Gold Coast Live

Welcome Back to the Show That Never Ends

Ok Punkee...you get your wish. A new Gold Coast Live hang out. And its not on the coast of Australia. Gather up your friends and make it happen.