Way back when I knew Billy Idol pretty well (I'd interviewed him for Creem and kept in touch) and then, around 2000 and something I ran into him on the streets and Billy had no idea who I was. So before I claim to knowing former Glen Matlock bassist let me add the caveat, but I doubt very much he knows me. Rick Johnson once claimed I looked like somebody you might meet at your least exciting Luau and so I doubt I will be discussing old times with Glen when I see him at perform an acoustic set with former New York Dolls Sylvain Sylvain.at City Winery.
On April 1st but it ain't an April Fools joke, though the concept of an acoustic punk party is a little, er, anachronistic? Oxymoronic. Sylvain Squared is the former New York Dolls guitarist and besides the Sex Pistols and the Dolls, why bother? OK, Glen also played with the excellent Rich Kids back in 1978 with Midge Ure and Rusty Egan.
But otherwise, these guys are essentially punk rock journeymen and more power to em, though I always though Glen had the potential to be a big time songwriter and he kinda blew it. Maybe Rich Kids was the lost opportunity in that career. Sylvain played guitar on two of the greatest rock and roll albums of all times (the first two Dolls of course), has as much right as anybody to claim he invented punk rock, and, lest we forget, is still alive we counts for a helluva lot really. So Matlock played (even wrote) during the Sex Pistols greatest year and a half and Sylvain was an original Doll. At twenty bucks for the best seats, fifteen bucks for the cheap ones, no joke: go see em.