Stevie Stiletto, Jacksonville Punk Icon. New Film
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/671486320_qxJXN-O.jpg)
'Stevie stiletto story' The documentary on Jacksonville's punk band is finally complete. "My Life is Great: The Stevie Stiletto Story" will premier Friday, Oct. 9, at the Five Points Theatre. Kevin Dunn, a Jacksonville native and professor at Hobart and William Smith colleges in New York, finished it up. It covers the band's full history, from 1983 till now, with plenty of vintage footage.
For over 25 years, the legendary band Stevie Stiletto were punk rock stalwarts, yet never got the national recognition they deserved. After dozens of releases, thousands of shows, hundreds of brushes with the law, countless line-up changes and one terminally ill diagnosis, they finally get their due with this two hour documentary.
For those punks that were around for Stiletto and the Switchblades shows at the Blighted Area and Post and King, this is about freakin' time.
Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2009-oct-stevie-stiletto-jacksonville-punk-icon-new-film
Memories Stephen. I thought Ray had died to be honest. Had some serious liver issues if I recall. Hung out with those guys in the early 80's. Remember when they had band space in a shit hole warehouse space near Edison ave. I think. Blaine Crews-wow a blast from the past. Think he and I had homeroom together in 10th or 11th grade at Ed White around 83.
Good stuff. Thanks again for the posts. They were very good and under-appreciated. It was just a cult following of punks back in the day. Imagine that, Jax had a punk rock scene in the 80's. How player is that? :)
Wow; Steve Stiletto. I remember that name "back in the day" in the 80's around Jax. Never attended any of their shows and if I remember correctly they were purely local back then. Is his last name his real name? Another good name for a band would be "5 INCH HEELS."
Heights Unknown
Quote from: heights unknown on October 05, 2009, 11:35:04 PM
Wow; Steve Stiletto. Another good name for a band would be "5 INCH HEELS."
Heights Unknown
...as in Stevie Ray Stiletto and the Switchblades. I guess the rest of the band name got dropped.
Just a few weeks ago I met Stevie at a local restaurant and found out that we are living in the former "730 Club". Stevie gave us great rundown of the past events in our home. Wowie, it must have been exciting. We can't wait to see the movie. Thanks, Stephen, for a great post.
Just curious Stephen, what ever happened with Blaine and his various bands? Haven't heard his name in many years.
Wow. Never heard of him, really digging it though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEGqrIQfdBk&feature=related
I wonder what the odds are of a local music or vinyl store carrying anything by him?
I remember them back in the day playing at the beach. I believe it was Pier 7 Lounge and that other s@*thole next door, which I can not remember the name. Great times.
I seem to remember seeing shows at the building north of Pier 7. It now has a glass atrium, used to be the Boardwalk Group. But it was a real dump back then, looked like an abandon building covered in spray paint. Early eighties I believe.
Thanks for the plug Stephen!
We're pre-selling tickets - you can come by the theatre after 6:30 pm until closing, or call the business office at 358-0605.
Thanks for the updates Stephen. As I mentioned before, hadn't heard the name Blaine Crews in about 20 years. I did find some old footage from a couple of shows they played around 1985. We had quite a scene going on in the day. And I think we still do according to my son.
In the early and middle '80's I had a business across the street from what is now the new Animal Care and Control Center. There was a rundown warehouse there at the time. Some nights when we had to work late, we would hear a band playing there. It was loud enough to make paint flake off the exterior walls and seemed to be three chords repeated over explosive bass. We used to joke that they were trying to learn a forth chord.
Could that have been Stevie Ray and the band?
The theater was full and the excitement level high for both showings. It's fantastic to have a place where this sort of event (it wasn't just a film) can take place. Thanks people!
Thanks, Ray! Rock on!
Last night was like a reunion!!Saw many old faces and the show was awesome.Ray seems to be in good health and Blaine Crews was actually SOBER!!!!Back in the 730 club days me and my bud Mick Ripper used to hang out with Mike Butler (Bass).We hit all the shows.But the ones at the Post and King were our favorites!!I remember Ray used to do this thing about Skynyrd before they used to play the song "Bonehead Bop".I thought it was funny (it was art) but when I told some Skynyrd fans about it they weren't too amused.Matter of fact they (about 10 of them) showed up and were ready to jump onstage and kick the bands ass if it happened.Also there were the usual long haired hating skinheads!!Well,with the booze flowin and the moshpit rockin the rednecks were getting restless.Next thing I know a barroom brawl breaks out between us long hairs and the skinheads!!We were outnumbered and things didn't look good (or feel good)!!I guess the rednecks figured since they had hair they should be on our side :D !Thank God they did!!I remember being out in the middle of King street facing 2 skinheads when one of the smaller rednecks said "let me have the big one" damn could that boy throw some punches!!!!Once things calmed down we hooked with them drank some beers and laughed about the whole thing!!
Glad to hear it went well. Hopefully Ray can continue on a path of sobriety and health.
I have video-taped about 100 bands over the years, but the overall best video I ever did, in my opinion, is Stevie Stiletto at the Post & King sometime in the 1980s. I've done some that have a clearer picture but don't sound as good, some that sound better, but the picture isn't so hot, and some that sound good AND look good, but the performance isn't as interesting. But that Post & King show balances out perfectly because (a) the band played so hard and fierce it was almost impossible not to sound good, and (b) Ray McKelvey knew what he was doing. Ray's voice and instincts are top-notch punk. He knows how to use limited budget stage effects to maximum result. He's has both a sense of humor and a sense of fatality that morphs into a glowing, grinning neon skull/neon Jesus - and, oh f**k, what a vivid trip that night was, I mean all night long. I'm happy some of my footage appears in the film. Thank you, Kevin Dunn.
QuoteYou know how far back kona and the Rats of the Westside go back?
Rats
on the Westside. A lyric borrowed from the Stones;
Shattered.
Post and King, during the
Our Cocks are Huge tour. Even a few Jax Beach boys were there.
If I remember correctly, a few bottles were broken.
This is the last time I saw the band. IIRC Amy German was there. Hangin with Denise.
Hey, am I late to this party? Neil Smith here. I played guitar for the band for 5 years or so. It was fun. A couple of years in Jacksonville and a few in San Francisco. I was asked to submit some video for this doc but didn't have a good setup for it, had a baby on the way and quite honestly didn't believe it was going to actually be in anything. I've seen some clips, but not the whole thing. Good to see some familiar names on here and if anyone wants to say hi you can write me at neil@neil-smith.com . I live in Los Angeles these days.
Take care everyone,
Neil Smith
Pat Lolly is a punk rock god.
No band survives his departure.
Quote from: stephendare on March 24, 2013, 11:58:14 AM
"Stevie" Ray McKelvey has passed. RIP
We were remarking the other day that we had not seen him around in quite some time and worried about his health.
I texted a friend who knew him and his daughter and she called his daughter who confirmed it was indeed cancer.