Around 11:30 PM the doors would finally open.
Then would come the legendary "Tiffany Push". It was the most dangerous part of the night.
The crowd would surge towards the entrance in a frantic 10-minute non-stop "push" towards the entrance.
To this day, I am amazed that no one got pushed through the glass doors.
Many people passed out before they even got in the door, but it was worth it if you got in.

In the Tiffany lobby, you passed by a "He's The Hero...That's Right!...The Hero!" one-sheet poster for the film.
It had been signed by Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick.
Then came the rush for seats. After everyone was seated, the show started.
We would de-flower any Virgins that were present, and do our pre-show down in front of the screen.
After that the lights went down.
The projectionist would crack jokes during the safety announcement, and ask "Are you ready?!!!"
A&M Records had sent over 2 promotional clips for Tim Curry's new album, "Fearless".
The girls would scream when these films would start, and they all got up and danced.

Then the film rolled. From here it got really nuts.
Audience participation was great at the Tiffany.
The Tiffany's screen was set at eye level, so during the film, the cast would perform on the sides of the screen.
Since the screen was so low, you could interact with the film with your hands and other objects.
One night, Hale rode his motorcycle inside the theater during "Hot Patootie".

There was one other very special thing about the Tiffany.
To the left of the Tiffany's screen, there was an alcove that led to an exit to the street.
The alcove had a curtain in front of it, and you had the area of small room.
It was a convenient place to "engage".
On December 21, 1980, I lost my virginity in that alcove during ROCKY HORROR.
She was beautiful. A Goddess in every sense of the word. I was a very lucky man.

I consider this period to be one of the happiest of my life.
I had a nice place, a gig, a job, and a beautiful girlfriend.
ROCKY HORROR was now becoming more and more "acceptable" and "mainstream".
The goons that wanted to kill us a year before were now showing us respect.
I think one reason was because we were drawing all the girls to our shows.
Another reason was because after they saw it, they realized it was a great show with great rock'n'roll music.
And I think another reason was that they knew that we didn't back down, and that we were not afraid of them.
They also realized that we were all looking for the same thing they were...sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll.
Either way, more and more people were no longer afraid to "give themselves over to absolute pleasure."
People were actually offering to pay us for advice on costumes.
We started seeing more families coming to the show. It was good for us and good for the theater.

We would ride the RTA 1 bus from Tyler Mall to the old Downtown Riverside Terminal, which back then was
One The Ghastliest Places On The Face Of The Earth. It was a great day when it was demolished years later.
From there we'd hop on the RTD 496 bus from Riverside to the Greyhound/Trailways/RTD Station in Downtown LA,
and then catch the RTD 91-S to the theater. We learned very quickly not to take the 91-X bus.
It dropped you off at Santa Monica and La Cienaga Boulevards, and you had to hike up the hill to Sunset.
If you've ever made that hike, then you know what I mean.
We eventually figured out a way to ride the bus all the way from Riverside to West Hollywood and back for free.
We never got caught. It was a pleasant and rather comical routine for a while.

But by the end of 1980, the original members of EROTIC NIGHTMARES were seeing less and less of each other.
We were not immune from the inevitable in-fighting, drama and natural growth.
Richard & I were very much enamored by the glamor, energy, and fast-living that Hollywood offered.
Vid and Julie were much happier doing ROCKY HORROR in RIverside.
Looking back, I can't say I blame them.
The Tiffany was very "Hollywood", and there was a lot less stress in Riverside.
Lisa Ciafu was spending less time with us, and the other members of the cast were moving on to other things.
We were also sick of living together and being cooped up together.
We started fighting and arguing over petty bullshit.
Vid & Julie moved out, and Selina, Joe and Kurt moved in.
Kurt is cool. Kurt is another one my life-long pals.

Richard & I had made a strong impression on the Hollywood crowd, and we joined the "Tiffany Troupe"
It wasn't long before the night 2 girls named Tori & Brandi showed up at the theater.
Before you knew it, Richard & Brandi got married and they became the Tiffany Riff Raff/Magenta team.
Tori played Janet for a while. Lori Rizzo was now playing Columbia.

We set up "The Secret Headquarters Of F.A.T.S.O." in the marquee room underneath the projection booth.
Sometimes, we would sleep in a storage bin in a carport across the street, or in the marquee room.
On Sunday mornings, we would take the bus back to Riverside.
Other times we would drive back and forth when we had a car.
The fog on the freeway was so thick sometimes that we could not see a few feet past the headlights.
One night, Richard & I went to The Starwood and we saw X and D.O.A. play.
Watching X play changed my life. We became good friends.
Billy Zoom inspired me to play guitar. And play guitar I did!

Life was good.
But then almost overnight, things began to change.

In November, Ronald Reagan was elected president.
The assassination of John Lennon on December 8, 1980 sent shock waves around the world.
I was at home with Kurt when we first got the news.
I was shocked. John had been a part of my life since I was 3. I saw him give a live performance in NYC in 1972.
I took part in the 10-minutes silence on December 14, 1980.
1980 had started off with so much fun, creativity and optimism, and it had ended in saddness and sorrow.

1981. Life got faster.
By this time, dozens of theaters across the country were playing "THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW".
Rocky Casts began turning up everywhere, and more and more people made their pilgrimage to the Tiffany.

On February 21, 1981, I met Sal Piro, President of "THE ROCKY HORROR OFFICIAL FAN CLUB".
He introduced himself to me in the Tiffany projection booth.
The next day, we attended another of Rick's events, the "Semi-Annual Transylavanian Convention".
The day of the convention, I met a beautiful Trixie from San Diego.
She was wearing a button that said "Lick It!" So I licked her button.
She stared at me in shock for a moment and then giggled.
She said her name was Gail. I thought that she was the perfect Trixie.

I got to co-host the convention, and in the middle of one of my bits of banter, Richard pantsed me.
It got quite a reaction from the crowd, and it re-affirmed our reputation fun-loving ROCKY HORROR fans.
We enjoyed Sal's lecture and hung out with THE DENTON AFFAIR.
But it was also the last time we appeared in public together as EROTIC NIGHTMARES.

Soon after the Con, EROTIC NIGHTMARES was over for good.
I will never forget the impact that EROTIC NIGHTMARES had on people.
We were, at that time, one of the pioneering and most visible of all the ROCKY HORROR groups.
We did not start ROCKY HORROR, nor were we the only ones doing ROCKY HORROR at that time.
But we certainly inspired and motivated people that love ROCKY HORROR.
I'm so grateful for the experiences I had with EROTIC NIGHTMARES, and I will always love everyone involved.
If any of you are reading this, I just want to say:
"I am, and always will be, very proud to have been a member of EROTIC NIGHTMARES."

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW
AQUARIUS THEATER
Hollywood - 1981

On February 24, 1981, an "Original Production" of "THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW" opened at the Aquarius Theatre. "Original Production" meant that it used Sue Blane's costumes, Brian Thomson's set design, along with other elements and aspects of the original London, Roxy and Broadway productions.
We were so excited...we had never seen the play before!
We all went on opening night. There was a lot of press! I met Lou Adler! We wound up on TV!

Frank Gregory played Frank, and he electrified the audience. The rest of the cast was Steve Lincoln (Narrator), Frank Piergo (Brad), Marcia Mitzman (Janet), C. J. Critt (Columbia), Pendelton Brown (Riff Raff), Lorelle Brina (Magenta/Trixie), Tom McLeister (Eddie/Dr. Scott), and Kim Milford (Rocky).
The cast came out to greet us afterward.
We hung out with Steve Lincoln and drove him back to his room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
It was great to finally see the play! We went back several times, and managed to get front-row seats.
It was a wonderful, energetic time. I believed in ROCKY HORROR.

But then things started happening outside of my ROCKY HORROR world.
A new manager was hired at the Gold Mine, and he was an evil, intolerant, thieving, psychotic freak.
He was a genuine self-righteous, hypocrite scumbag.
He made it clear to me that he did not like "you weirdos that go to that punk-rocker funny picture show".
Company funds started disappearing about a month after he started working there.
Everyone eventually got fired because of him, including me.
I wish I had known more about workers rights back then.
I heard about a year later that he got caught red-handed and he was on his way to some lawsuits and jail time.

And then, my girlfriend broke up with me. I never saw it coming.
That shattered me, and brought me back into the "real" world.
And to top it all off, the Tiffany had dropped the 2 AM shows.

In April 1981, our "Official Rocky HQ" in La Sierra closed up shop for good.
It had a good run.
Richard had moved to Hollywood with Brandi.
They soon had a huge falling out with Tori, and I never saw Tori again.
I soon myself "out of the loop" with them, too. I didn't care.
I had more important things on my mind.

I had to get out of La Sierra. I felt stifled. I had a sense of disconnect with The Inland Empire in general.
Riverside had nothing more to offer me, and I knew I didn't belong there anymore.
Without EROTIC NIGHTMARES, there was nothing to do. There was no more need for a base of operations.
I was unemployed and stuck with an apartment that I didn't want, couldn't use, and could no longer enjoy.
My friends moved away, and I was losing patience with the local hangers-on.
People who had been hanging around had "moved-in" and now thought that it was "their" place.
They did nothing but consume, and they contributed absolutely nothing other than drugs, drama, and sloth.
Moving out was the only way I could get rid of them.

And I realized that I had never gotten laid in my own apartment during the entire time I was there.
Despite that, I still had some the best times of my life in that apartment.
It was certainly one of the most intense and creative periods of my life.

I moved to a smaller place for a month, and Kurt joined me, but it wasn't long before I wound up back in
Mira Loma, about a mile from where my ROCKY HORROR adventure had started.
Only this time I was living in an abandoned chicken coop.
I was determined not to let it end there.

I had nothing to lose.
In June 1981, I moved to Hollywood.