To get the series rolling, (pun intended! ;) Tommy talks about getting
busted. Some of the younger members may have difficulties with some of
the terminology in this interview so be sure and email some of the elder
members like Steve Adams and Gina Dorman with your questions. They're
both pretty OLD and should be familiar with the slang of the seventies.
Ha Ha Ha!!! (Sorry you guys...)
"Disciple" was playing in the background during this interview so be
sure to play it as you read. It really helps set the tone of the
interview. Remember, this is from 1974. Enjoy!
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TOM JOHNSTON:
"Well I got busted with a half a joint in my cigarette pack is what
happened. And uh, initially for trespassing. It was really a whole dumb
thing to begin with. I didn't want to go in the place in the first
place. I didn't even want to have anything to do with it, but this cat
was hot to do it. And I didn't know the dude at all, but I gave him a
ride. And he had on him some you know, dope and he had..."
JIM LADD:
"Wait a minute, what kind of dope?"
TOM JOHNSTON:
"He had some junk on him."
JIM LADD:
"O.K."
TOM JOHNSTON:
"I really wasn't aware of it at the time and he said he wanted to go
to this little abandoned church on the north side of Visalia which is
where I'm from. And this was the day before Christmas, Christmas Eve.
And he wanted to get down. And I said, well that's fine... but I really
don't think this will be a very good place to stop."
"Anyway, to make a long story short, I let him talk me into going
back in there and wait cause he said if anyone is waiting in the car we
might get in trouble. And I just bought this Lotus Europa which I was
driving at the time. And it was over in this really dumpy part of town,
and here's this Lotus sitting out in front of this abandoned church,
right? So finally like an idiot, I let myself get talked into it. And
went in and I waited until he got finished, and I opened the door and
got a gun in my face."
JIM LADD:
"How was the man?"
TOM JOHNSTON:
"He was all right, it was a little jive at first. And then some hot
rod reporter got a hold of the story and blew it completely out of
proportion, just to put a feather in his hat. He used me to get him
where he wanted to go."
JIM LADD:
"That really disturbs me."
TOM JOHNSTON:
"Which is very common in the press. You know, they do that all the
time. Exaggeration of the facts and complete falsehood of the facts for
that matter. But it makes good press and good reading. Another star goes
down the drain or another pop star gets busted or whatever you want to
call it. You know and it gives them a chance to do their thing. He might
have got a promotion out of it for all I know."
"I think sensationalism has always been hand-in-hand with the media
as far as I can remember. I mean, the biggest downfall of it all was
sensationalism. The fact that they would let themselves slip into
non-objective stories about things that happened, or make something that
was really no big deal at all look like really some "hot rod" thing. And
it's all just to sell papers, it's just like show biz, you know the idea
is to sell your product. And your product is a newspaper or your product
is a television or radio show and I think there's very few TV stations
or magazines that actually come out and give the true facts about things
and how they happened and what goes on, right down to the "hip"
newspapers, you know they sensationalize even."
JIM LADD:
"I think that makes me madder than when a straight, so called
"straight" newspaper does it because you come to expect it from them. Or
they are what we can hold up and say well that's, that's what's wrong.
But when you find you're own people doin' it, it comes back to the same
exact riff."
Tomorrow: Pat Simmons talks about how he wrote "Daughters of the Sea".
Have a "hot rod" day everybody! ;)
Rick
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