‘HELL ON WHEELS’ – TOUR STORIES: REMEMBERED, REMIXED, REMASTERED
In 1994, Gary Hustwit’s Rockpress in San Diego published Hell on Wheels.
Now, in 2024, author Greg Jacobs has curated 20 of the original collection’s best stories and added 54 new ones to create Hell on Wheels—Tour Stories: Remembered, Remixed, Remastered.
This new 373-page book includes recollections from members of bands like Bad Religion, All, Dead Kennedys, X, The Specials, Rocket From The Crypt, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Ramones, The Get Up Kids, and many more. It will be released by University of Hell Press on October 25 and will be available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and other bookstores.
Pre-order at www.universityofhellpress.com. Shipping begins by September 25, with all pre-orders signed by the author.
Upcoming Book Events:
- August 29 – Newport Beach, CA – ‘Poorman’s End of Summer Rockshow’ at Original Pizza at the Newport Beach Golf Course (Doors at 5:00 pm)
- September 20 – San Diego, CA at Live Wire Bar – 5-9 pm (Book Release Party)
This compilation of tour stories, told by the band members who lived them, is so much more than sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll, but, of course, that’s in here too. There are stories of scrapes with biker gangs, dog attacks (on stage!), the Berlin Wall coming down, broken bones, floods, dangling a promoter out of a window by his ankles, Saturday Night Live, and so much more.
Ian MacKaye recalls, “I remember walking off after we had danced, we were walking off and Eddie Murphy was standing there and he said, ‘FUCK YOU!’ Life is rich.”
Derwood Andrews (Generation X) shares, “And at one show, a Hells Angel walked up on stage, swung a right hook into Billy’s face, then wandered off again. Billy didn’t miss a beat and was singing again before the guy got back in place.”
Joey Shithead (DOA) remembers, “We flew back to Canada. We made it out alive, and we didn’t spend any time in a Yugoslavian jail!”
Billy Ledges Ciraulo (Mad Parade) recounts, “Mike jumped over the counter at a McDonald’s and stole some Big Macs just like the Hamburglar.”
Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) adds, “… this venerable gossipy columnist who’d been writing for decades in the San Francisco Chronicle, Herb Caen, comes out with this little thing about bad taste and how, along comes this band called Dead Kennedys who are playing on November 22nd, the anniversary of JFK’s death.”
Mark Arnold describes, “Every so often you get yourself into a situation on tour where it could have never happened except you are in Berlin. In a train station. Looking for the biggest creep in the building. A drug dealer.”
Ryan Ritchie (The Heathens) details, “My diary for the night in Roppongi reads: • Two shots of Jack. • Two shots of Scotch. • One shot of sake. • Two eight-percent Chu-His. • Two vodka cranberries. • One shot of Jäger. • One glass of champagne. That’s what I remember drinking.”
Brent Stickels (Inch) shares a particularly vivid memory: “An instantaneous fire hose of shit blasted out the side of the RV as he jumped into the passenger seat. We hit the gas, roaring with a mix of laughter and horror as a torrent of chunky brown sludge spread across the entire station tarmac.”
Matt Pryor (Get Up Kids) recounts, “And later on that night, we could hear him saying he wanted to get a hooker. So, he started looking in the phone book under ‘H’ for hookers.”
Eric VonArab (Red Hot Chili Peppers) reflects, “I see Madonna with legendary gossip columnist Liz Smith come strolling down the corridor. When Madonna makes an entrance, it’s like the Queen of England has entered the building, security was scrambling about, and her bodyguard was only a couple feet away.”
Joe Sib (Wax) shares, “Finally, I said to Scott, ‘Man, how do you think it’ll go for you?’ He took a sip of his beer and looked me straight in the eye, ‘We’re gonna be fucking huge.’ Then, he wandered off and caught his flight. I stared after him. It was like he’d just revealed his manifest destiny. I thought, Holy shit. I don’t have that ‘we’re gonna be fucking huge’ swagger.”
Rat Scabies (The Damned) remembers, “I always remember playing the Santa Monica Civic, and we were staying at the Sunset Marquis. It’s that really swish place down in Hollywood, with all the fairy lights outside, nice big suites, and a hundred channels on the TV. I was there looking out at Hollywood below the lights and washing my socks [laughs] and thinking, Well, I really wish I had something better to do than this.”
