Poorman's 15 Minutes of Fame

“[I thought this was pretty interesting, you know, that at one point in your career the Mafia was involved somehow] Well, the bottom line was that we signed with Roulette Records and we wrote a book about it, which is going to be a movie called Me, The Mob, and The Music. And the bottom line is that Roulette, in addition to being a functioning record company and a label and a pretty good one, it w...

“[On bumping into Brian Wilson at El Camino College, sneaking into the music room to play folk songs, and then starting a band together] And we bumped into each other on campus. Basically, we hadn’t seen each other since high school and I said, hey Brian, we’ll start a group, and let’s go and let’s do some music together. And then we walked down the pathway into various classes. Afterwards we met...

[You know, it's Veterans Day, as you know, right? Right. And N.B., World War II veteran, my dad, 102 years young, Yeah, I appreciate you coming on. What are you having for breakfast?] For breakfast, I'm having cream of wheat, prunes, and figs. And a shot of Jack Daniels. No, I think not. I was a scotch drinker. But I also liked cold beer. And I guess you knew I had a wine cellar I made in the wall...

“So by the time I was eight or nine, I was listening to Miles and John Coltrane and whatnot. So that was a big influence on me. To the point where when I was a kid, nine or ten years old, I was a drummer playing in one of the top clubs in Montreal, in the relief band for one of these big jazz clubs.” — Gino Vannelli (Rock Singer/Songwriter)

“[You guys have actually gotten naked on the stage when you played, is that right?] Well, see, it’s our feeling that nakedness is an expression of freedom. And we like to promote freedom in the world. And so we feel that by taking off our clothes that we show a representation of naked freedom.”— Anthony and Flea, Red Hot Chili Peppers Interview, 1988

“[You know what else is incredible, you told me the other night when we were sitting in your van before you went on stage and just absolutely blew everybody away, that you’re doing 150 gigs a year. Was I right or did I hear that wrong?] Yeah, it is about that. It sometimes fluctuates a little bit, but it’s around there. We’ve done more than that and sometimes we do a little bit less than that, but...

“We’ve given out over $500,000 in student scholarships to kids that are much like Ben, that are independent and strong and hardworking and love the ocean like him.” — Jake Janz (Brother-In-Law of fallen lifeguard, Ben Carlson)

“I think the The Ben Carlson Foundation represents the best of Newport Beach. It’s all about, like I said, turning a tragedy into a legacy. The money that we’re raising as I look right now on the website, the Ben Did Go 10.0, we’re at $395,000 raised, which I think is a record. This is the 10th anniversary, this is the 10th year.” — Joe Stapleton (Newport Beach Mayor)

“And if you’d asked me when I was 12 years old what I wanted to be, I would have said I wanna be a professional basketball player. But, you know, reality comes crashing down at a certain point in your later teens. You realize, I don’t think anyone’s gonna pay me to play basketball. And then I was, you know, I like music, and I played guitar, I played bass at that point. But I, it just, it didn’t e...

“[So, you know, how crazy has it gotten on stage playing with the Descendents?] Well, I mean, we just have people coming up and. you know, diving off the stage all the time, the stage divers. I tend to go down into the moat, what I call the moat, which is that little bit right before the barrier. And I just give the mic to kids and they just scream into it. And I just like to kind of commune with...

“[You wrote a lot of checks to me when I was broke for a long time. You did.] Well, you picked it up. I’m proud of what you what you’re doing and what you’ve accomplished. I mean, when you look back on where you were at certain times and where you are now, you have made spectacular progress, and you’re well known in your industry. [Well, you know, you’re my inspiration. You always have been, alway...

“But, yeah, I’m very proud of the Laguna Wall. If your listeners are listening in, go check out the new one. Get a picture in front of it. Come by the gallery. That gallery is actually, when I’m in Laguna, that’s where I live, above the gallery. Don’t tell anybody, but that’s my studio upstairs. The view up there is staggering.” —Robert Wyland (American Conservationist & Mural Artist of Life-S...

“[Didn’t your parents or somebody tell you you need to pick one path, either a DJ or a lawyer, and then you while you were DJing, you stumbled into becoming a representative for social influencers, right?] Yeah. So, I feel like everybody kinda would tell me that you can’t do both. You can’t be a lawyer. You can’t be a DJ. You can’t be in the professional world and then also be in, like, the entert...

“[On his Jack In The Box audition at age three and a half] And when I went in, the last thing my Mom said is Rodney, you know, eat with manners. Don’t talk with food in your mouth. And sure enough, every kid that walked in got their own burger. So I had this burger in front of me, and the guy asked me my name. He told me to take a bite. He says, well, how do you like it? And the last thing I told...

“We’ve been going strong the whole time. It’s just that we’ve been in the underground mode. And you know, one thing about the underground, the underground never fails you. The pop culture might, but the underground never fails, you know. Because we know with every tree, the tree may look big on the top, but it’s even wider and sturdier on the bottom, underground where all the roots are.” — Angelo...

“Everybody was starting to become a band. They started getting other people to hang out with them, and eventually it morphed into what became The Germs which was on the single “Forming” that I did which was the first record. It was airable, but at that time nobody would have aired it except for Rodney. He really came into our corner and he played it as soon as we gave it to him. He played it that...

“I mean, it’s great to play with other surf bands, but we’re having success out playing with, you know, tribute bands, cover bands, original bands, blues bands. We played with a yacht rock band over the weekend, and people loved us, you know. I think surf music itself, it’s fun music. People love to dance and have a good time. And I think if you love to dance and have a good time, surf music’s for...

“A lot of them are set in the middle of a story. So something happened before. You’re looking at something, and then something’s gonna happen later, which I did to kind of engage people so they’d look at the art longer, you know, and try and figure out what was going on. [Give me one one of your favorites.] Oh, I think one of my favorites is set in Palm Springs, and it’s in one of those classic mi...

“[On his early roles in Stand By Me and The Lost Boys] It’s just a job. I was a kid. I did what I was told. You know? What matters to me is the work I’m gonna do today because that’s what really matters. You know? It’s where we are today, what we’re living today, what’s our experience today. The past is the past and it’s gone. You can’t change it. You can’t fix it. It is what it is. It’s all about...

“[On writing a memoir honoring his wife, Christina] It was very cathartic, and I got it all out. And I was able to tell our story. And, you know, she was a wonderful, wonderful, beautiful human being. So I wanna make sure people know that she was, just, you know, a great lady. And we have a foundation that we set up in her honor. It’s called the Christina Mauser Foundation, and we give scholarship...

“I feel like if I go back to the initial audition I did for this film, there’s not that much information given to the actor about the project and the role. But I paid attention to one little detail that told me that he works for a tyrant. And because I grew up in communism - I grew up in the 80’s in Poland and East Germany, both communist countries - so I experienced communism til I was about 11 y...

“The Jimmy Dale Trio is more, so like we tip the hat to my Dad. I'm starting to bleed in a couple of my own songs in the set, which are watered-down Kill Jill songs. I take the lyrics out, and I kinda write a guitar melody over them and make them really surfy, but I still keep it like power surf, like Dad tone, you know, not the thin guitar strings and over the top reverb. I keep it true to my Dad...

“So I think my favorite thing is just doing the really large extravagant grazing tables. I think creatively that’s where I have the most fun, and I think that’s where we shine as a company. You can just bring in so many different cheeses and dips and spreads and cured meats, and you just make this, like, spectacular presentation that really elevates any event or gathering that you go to.” —Alyssa...

“I mean, first of all, you have people that - the internet has obviously changed things incredibly, Facebook and all of that - and people write stuff that you just know is wrong, right? You say that’s not right. And people become experts on things that they were never a part of, and that tends to bother me. If I do write a book or record something, I’m gonna call it Setting the Record Straight, ri...

“[Did he deliver all of you guys when your Mom got pregnant and, you know, had you?] Yes, he did. He delivered most of us kids. He delivered me, I know that for sure. And then most of my brothers were born in Hawaii, so they have the distinction of being blessed by Duke Kahanamoku, which I’m sure was a great experience and, you know, obviously something I wish I would have gotten. But that’s cool,...