In the summer of 1985, I was sharing a house some friends. They had another renter that I formed a friendship with, Kent Eriksen, and we became pals hanging and going places together. While I spent most of my time in the East Bay, From Oakland, CA to Fremont, CA, Kent grew up in Redwood City, CA, which is called the Peninsula. Kent graduated from the Columbia School of Broadcasting and when you hear him speak, you can tell he is a radio DJ...he’s got that kind of voice. We had a lot of fun hanging together as he introduced me to his friends in the radio industry. They were all from the local stations I listened to, the FM arena rock and hard rock stations. And Kent would go to the local jam nights with me, and enjoy the local talent that played there, and watch me go crazy as well.
When we first met, he was putting together a book called The Baby Band Book. The names went from crazy to cool with all kinds of words and combinations. He got all of us to contribute a few names to finalize the book. On the front cover was local rocker, Eddie Money. The first picture on the inside was a truly great guitar player, Jimmy Lyons, from the Eddie Money Band. The next picture in the book was the lead guitarist from the band Stagecoach, taken a Keystone Berkeley, me. Other pictures of local talent were in the book as well, my good friend Leroy Silva, Dave and Dan Moreno, Penny Piper, and others. Recently Kent and I reconnected and he told me the book sold on ebay for $100.00.
His handle on the radio stations was The Kent. We had similar tastes in music and from what I remember Jeff Beck was probably his favorite at the time. Later on he turned me onto Jeff Beck’s Guitar Workshop album. Wow!! He has also shared a few of the stories that happened to him behind the scenes. So let’s have some fun. Here are the incidents in Kent’s own words:
“It was the summer of 1985......I think--strolled into KSJO.....small talk chat with the receptionist, a few people of the staff.....began setting up camp in my 'cubicle of music madness'. Hoisted my headphones on...began setting up the mixer board---and low and behold>>ShaZamm Zap...Electricity...Zap. I had gotten an electric shock from one of the control knobs, which sent me falling backwards and off my chair......thus, causing me to get a whiplash.
Sometime in 1984...........I did a favor for a dj friend of mine---he needed someone to take his place, so he could go to a party. I had just worked 8 hrs earlier......but, the money was good--so I said no problem. About 3 a.m........my friend-Larry......left his party, and was heading back to the station--he turned on the radio station--and heard me snoring in the background while the song "Nobody does it Better" by Carly Simon....play again, and again......and again. Larry arrived.....and woke me up!”
Interesting stuff...
When we were living together I found out it was easy to sneak up on Kent and scare him. So I took full advantage of it. I’d sneak up on him at his window on the first floor and yell or patiently sneak up on him in the gravel driveway (I could do it too) and yell and touch him at the same time. He was a great victim. My favorite time was late one night we went a jam night. He came home with the other room mates after I did. We had a laundry room at the back of the house that was an add on. This house was over 110 years old and this room was more of an afterthought attachment. I waited forever as Kent took his time smoking a cigarette and I guess looking at the stars. Well he finally came in and as he entered the room which was unlit, I grabbed him by the knee and roared at him. His reaction was priceless. I laughed so hard as he told me we needed to take his head out of the ceiling and pay for a new pair of underwear.
At the end of our stay, they were preparing to tear the house down. Power was cut, so they ran power from a neighbor’s apartment. The kids from the family we were living with had a band called Atomic Serenade. They later added new members and formed a band called Fungo Mungo and released one really good album...if you like Primus and good bands of that caliber. Well...they had a destroy the house party. Kent and I were outside working on my truck. Beer kegs were thrown through windows and through slam dancing the house became a victim with walls and plumbing being destroyed. First of all, we didn’t buy them the beer and they were all under age. We took a break and went to 7-11 for some coffee. As we were entering back onto the property, the police were converging on the party. They told us to stop and we didn’t. Kent and I made it to the old tank house behind the property and climbed up the ladder to the second floor, pulling the ladder up behind us. There were some cabinets that were big for us to hide in. So we climbed inside and covered up the openings with plywood to conceal us. The cops shined their flashlights up there a number of times. We hid up there for about 2 hours. Mike Johnson, Atomic Serenade and later Fungo Mungo’s guitar player, recently reminded me of this comic event. That was all we would have needed...to be busted at a party of drinking minors for contributing to something we didn’t do. We go a chance to see the damage the following day. Man those kids were a great wrecking crew.
It is too bad that the house was torn down. The history that those walls held was priceless. Recently Kent sent me one of the door knobs from that old house. Pretty cool.
