The Spoiler
Brooklyn's Greatest Punk Band
A Division of Spoiler Inc.
PO Box 7053
Lee's Summit MO 64064
https://www.angelfire.com/ny2/Lansky2000/spoiler2000.html
spoiler2010@aol.com
Song Titles: "Time Of Our Lives", "Play Until You're Dead", "Overnight Celebrities", "You're In Trouble", "Independence", "Crucify Me", "Home Invasion", "Did He Die", "Copperfield Mothers", "You And I", "Homeland Insecurity", and the ORIGINAL version of "Hooked on Junk"!!!
By 1978, Johnny B. Zyklon had brought the band to yet another peak, but he was yet another 'military casualty' in joining the US Navy. The final collapse of the Spoiler set the stage for negotiations leading to the formation of the Ducky Boys (see links below).
Originally it was both performers' love of rock theatrics as pioneered by Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Iggy and the Stooges, and KISS, that provided the binding tie. Eventually, Cazucci's development as a guitar prodigy compelled him towards more technically-oriented performance, while Superstar dove deeper into the realms of shock-rock that soon evolved into punk rock.
Another regretful aspect of this particular stage of the Spoiler saga is the breakdown of support of the fledgling group throughout their infrastructure and local network. Inadequate support from local teens who had made the transition from heavy metal to disco resulted in their dismissal of the punk movement as a parochial phenomenon. There was also the chronic disparagement of naysayers who felt the teens should apply their genius to more rewarding ventures.
Superstar's Views: "It's really sad to look back at what was happening there. Louie and I were churning out songs at a fantastic rate, and Al was also kicking up some good music. Louie was about 13, and Al was around 16. If anyone with half a brain realized what we were doing, they would've dragged a producer down there to check us out. I'd just turned 21, I didn't have a clue. I just figured we had the firepower, it was gonna happen, and all I had to do was get up there, tear up that stage and make it work. We were like the New York Dolls, we were a supernova that went down in flames while everybody just sat around and watched."
Superstar's Views: "Bob Barbosa literally saved the band at that point. He was a Latin percussionist and had to teach himself how to play rock drums. He had a big blond Afro and it gave him lots of stage presence. When he hooked up with Sonia of the Leatherettes (the Spoiler backup dancers) they were like our Romeo and Juliet. He and Al Catraz hit it off great, and they had that chemistry that kept us going."
Superstar's Views: "By this time Lou and Al had developed a rivalry. Lou was patronizing Al's musicianship, and I was the gadfly pouring fuel on the fire. If I had been the kind of leader I became during the Ducky Boy era, who knows what might have developed. Unfortunately, Lou couldn't take my bull**** and kept looking for an exit."
Robert 'the Monster' Varria becomes the second Spoiler bassist since Stu Shapiro. Varria is described as 'a Johnny Rotten lookalike who played bass like Sid Vicious'. Varria's visual handicap makes it exceedingly difficult for Cazucci to maintain visual communication onstage, resulting in Cazucci bailing out on the project once again. Superstar brings the group out of seclusion to play a house party at the Barbosa apartment in Bay Ridge on June 7, 1975. The Spoiler 'return' finds BT at his worst, the 'heroin' act (derived from Lou Reed's stage act but far more explicit) both repelling and mesmerizing audiences, ironically inspiring a new generation of followers that replenish their depleted ranks in years to come. News of a death in the immediate family closes the show, a harbinger for things to come. The first Bolero gig 8/15/75 is played at a neighborhood lounge after a recent multiple murder on the premises, police having discovering the corpses buried in the basement. Superstar guarantees and delivers SRO crowd with their new shock-rock show. The Leatherettes make their debut as the Spoiler's chorus girls, singing and dancing on stage right. Alma Merced recruits childhood friends Sonia Martinez and Mary Vasquez, the black-clad trio adding exotic dimension to the death-rock onslaught. Bob and Sonia are married months later and remain an integral part of the Spoiler clan though retreating from the spotlight to start their own family.
Superstar's Views: "That was a really dynamic time that we were unable to fully capitalize on. If we would've spent more time developing Robert's talent we might've had the permanent bassist we were constantly lacking. The Barbosa party was a great springboard into the Bolero gigs. Those shows had enormous potential with the psychological and visual effect. Once again, though, you had a kid behind the wheel who couldn't drive, yours truly. With the right management, we could've taken the crazy train to the Bowery and ran right over CBGB's."
Smith, Zing recruited...Sherry Smith takes group past Cazucci level with advanced classical skills...Zing's charisma becomes integral part of Spoiler image as Spoiler trashes Los Panchos in Cobble Hill 8/75...Taroc Era begins as Benjamin "Chico" Taroc becomes friend and admirer of group...they become weekend guests at his home, his eleven children eventually becoming integral parts of the group's infrastructure...
Superstar's Views: "This was another enormous time when two lifelong friends came into my life. Zing was another Sid Vicious, couldn't play a lick but had enough attitude to destroy New Jersey. Chico was a decorated Special Forces vet who stuck by us through thick and thin. His kids (drummer Benny Rock, photographer Luna Rock, singer Suli Rock, dancer Luvi Rock, roadie Poindexter Rock and guitarist Comic Rock) were all part of the DNA of the band over the years. Both Zing and Chico were with me up to the very night I left NYC."
Superstar's Views: "Here was a major example of failure to deliver. 'Mondo Acido' was replete with original music that demonstrated our raw ability as musicians and songwriters. If we had pooled all that party money and taken it into a studio, we would have had a crowbar of a negotiating tool. Benny was out there selling the product, he should have had a lot more to be working with. When he left, it closed a door we wouldn't reopen for years."
Superstar's Views: "This was like a page out of 'The Doors' movie. Zinna wanted Louie and didn't give a damn about us. We ditched him and picked up the Bruiser. George was a real GQ type, a black guy who liked jazz, women, the finer things in life. He was in and out with us but was there when we needed him in three clutch situations. Petito was a real cartoon character who didn't have a clue. It was typical Spoiler: we drew all the flies and blew all the home run hitters."
Superstar's Views: "This was the beginning of a new chapter for us. Louie moved in with Buck Buchanan, the PR man for the Laughing Dogs (who I called the Laughing Stock), sharing a downtown Wall Street loft with Tumble and Steve. They formed a rickety bridge to the CBGB scene. The Helen Wheels Band were mid-carders, and Tumble was famous for a string of twenty-something Monday night auditions in a row where he beat hell out of himself and his accordion. None of us were up to sucking Hilly off, though, so we all kinda fell through the cracks."
"Losing Louie, Petito and Zyklon was a crushing blow. We had no idea how much we lost, as Zyklon eventually went on to be the man we would bill as "The Greatest Guitarist Of All Time". Still, I wasn't worried, we had our infrastructure intact with Al and the Rock Family. I had no idea how much worse...or different...things were going to get."
Superstar's Views: "It was the best and worst of times. Basically everyone got tired of my s***. Benny came back from the Marines and decided to start his own band. He was an Elvis impersonator and got hip by doing some Springsteen, who was huge at the time. Al and I had a falling-out one night; I gave him a piledriver and he drove an axe through my TV. Zing and Alma and I decided we'd keep it going, so I picked up the guitar. When I look back it, I get sick. I was getting as good as I am right now. If I would have kept it going, I'd be Johnny B. Zyklon."
"We became the ultimate Spoiler band, we were living and breathing punk. We were the nastiest bastards in Brooklyn, we were ten feet tall and bulletproof. We played the Hotel St. George (after Revolution opened the doors for all the other bands) and Sharma's, two major spots, despite the fact we couldn't play for s***. Benny kept coming in and bailing us out at the last minute. Still, we were so bad that even we couldn't stand ourselves. If only we had the foresight. If I would've stayed on guitar, we might've made the world a more terrible place."
Again, in retrospect, we can anticipate Superstar's progression into performance art, with his forays into barbed-wire mutilation, molten metal performances, and playing card metaphysics showing where he was destined to go. Almost a decade ahead of its time, the Spoiler continued to smash ahead to where no band had gone before...
'New York Pimps' becomes last Cazucci/Superstar joint project, with Barbosa on timbales, Jimmy Cazucci on drums, one of most potent groups in history of Empire; band disintegrates after debacle at Village Mafia bar, nearly leading to Superstar arrest...Rock War II results from Superstar-Rock dispute after heavy Brooklyn campaign that spreads the legend of undisputed punk kings in borough...Rock starts another splinter group while Superstar and new sweetheart Luna Rock take celebrated hiatus...
Superstar's Views: "This was where the family feuds and petty jealousies ripped the crew apart. Benny and Alma had a love/hate relationship, and when they were fighting it turned into a political vendetta. I started going with Luna, who was a teenage queen, and no one was happy about that. The Spoiler Knights were the prototype of the Ducky Boys. We had finally matured as musicians and could play as well as perform. Again, the guys were tired of my s*** and revolted. I threw in with Louie and we created a superband with Jimmy and Bob. Unfortunately, it was an orphan that no one wanted. I wanted to be a Spoiler, Louie wanted to be Steve Arnold, and we ended up throwing out the baby with the bathwater."
Superstar's Views: "Zyklon had come into his own as the ultimate heavy metal guitarist. We went into Rockbottom and turned the place inside out. Unfortunately, Crispin left and we ended up with Stiv F******g Nobody. He was a degenerate hypochondriac who worshipped Zyklon and wanted nothing worse than for the earth to swallow us up so he and Jon could go start a band in Bay Ridge. It was the same old s***, Cobble Hill punk vs. Bay Ridge metal, and the Dark Side of the Force lost out. Jon and Stiv no-showed for the rematch at Rockbottom, and next thing I knew Jon was in the Navy and I was without a band."
Spoiler 2000
Broadway Turk Superstar leads a ragtag trio onstage at La Tuna in downtown San Antonio TX in 2003, a quarter-century after the last Spoiler show. Bill Boston and Moe Jado on guitar provide backup as Superstar, surprisingly, pulls off his greatest stage performance with non-stop dancing and prancing, augmented by daredevil rolls and tumbles acquired from his 90's martial arts training. They are well-received by the weekend crowd but, fittingly enough, ejected by management due to Superstar's death metal stage banter.
Superstar's Views: "It had been twenty-one years since the Ducky Boy Massacre at the A7 Club in NYC, and I wasn't sure if I still had it. The practices had been a fiasco, my guitar playing was so bad. Finally we decided that I'd go up front and the guys'd back me on guitar. Well, it was an eye-opener. Even though I'd gained twenty-five pounds since the old days, I was in better shape. We went for nearly an hour before the guys started unraveling. It was a two-hour show and we barely had enough material for one set. I started doing this Preacher From Hell routine I ripped off from some black televangelists, and the place freaked out. They gave us our money and told us not to come back."
The Spoiler legacy continues at:
Missouri Rock and Roll Champions!
Got any Spoiler memories to contribute? Just drop them in the guestbook below, or write to: Lansky2005@aol.com !
Check out these other pages...
Broadway Turk's Punk Rock Hall of Fame
Ladies and Gentlemen...the Ducky Boys!
Hear what IWA Wrestling Champion Broadway Turk Superstar has to say about the state of pro wrestlng in Missouri in The Superstar Interviews!
