© 2000-2003 THE SHIH TZU FORUMCollections materialization date: November 24, 2000 Updated: May 31, 2004
(Note: Text on this Page is slightly revised by the Site Publisher for suitability and clarity. Some contents are to be forewarned, such as the language and graphic opinions of others.)
 "We Are Family" charity song
Posing on the set of Dream Maker!
Excerpt of a "Meeting
Leif" surprise on exercise guru Richard Simmons' Dream Maker Show, which aired on NBC TV
October, 1999by Stephanie Rose
as told to the Godspeed Fan Club website: About 2 weeks prior to the taping, my sister called me to tell me we were chosen to be on the RS Dream Maker show - a segment called, Sisters That Are Close, saying she had e-mailed the show from her work. Finally, the day came and I was a little nervous, but nothing like the nervousness that rushed through my body, sitting on stage as I suddenly realized I'd been fooled by my own sister! [Editor's note: Stephanie's twin sister was mentioning how Stephanie beat and survived cancer] RS asked me, "Do you trust your sister?" Of course, I said, "Yes." Then he said to the audience, "Well, she shouldn't should she, because this isn't a show for sisters at all, is it audience???" And the audience yelled, "NO!!" [Richard Simmons next asked what she thought of the trick, and she lamented, "Oh, I don't know." I believe Richard Simmons, among others, should've reassured something like, "Oh, it's a lot better!" as Stephanie appeared distrusting (like a victim of a Jerry Springer panelists trick)] Then RS was waving an album around in the air, yelling, "I need an autograph!!" OMG- all of a sudden, here comes Leif Garrett walking up to me [before Leif walked towards Stephanie, he pretended to signal to Richard Simmons by saying, "shhhh", just before Stephanie realized that she was 'set up' to meet her idol] on the couch, whispering "...come here, come here....." He handed me a rose, then kissed me and gave me a hug. I remember telling myself, this can't be real, LG is hugging me and my nose is actually buried in his hair, which smelled sooooooo good...maybe it was his cologne. He looked so very handsome in his brown suit and tie, with a hat, of course. I touched his hair and said something like, "God, you're beautiful." (duh) He was so polite and just said to me, "No, you are, thank you for being here." [Leif then kissed Stephanie's sister on the back of her hand. A moment later, he said, "This [being on this TV show] blows me away." Stephanie next inquired, "How can it blow you away?" Leif replied, "Well, I'm a shy guy."] Leif signed an album from his own personal collection and gave it to me, then cameras and flashbulbs started flashing everywhere. My only thoughts at that point were to propose marriage, jump in his lap and cover him with kisses; however, a 'statue mode' from within kept my body and mouth in check. Thank God. Once off stage, we went back, and I met his band manager, Barbara, and his son (as Leif introduced him), an adorable little puppy named Cochise. He was half shepherd, half lab and the luckiest dog in the world, I thought, as Leif held him to his chest and smiled. We talked about Godspeed's Viper Room [8852 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, California] show, and Leif promised front-row seats, saying it would be a birthday show as well- not one to miss. No doubt!! We talked a little about the bashers on- and off-line, and Leif said that he's not bothered with them like he used to be; he's letting karma take care of those situations, so he can keep focused on the more important things now. Leif was polite, clearheaded, well-spoken, and easily had my heart in the palm of his hand, LOL. I, on the other hand, remained in 'statue mode'. I'm guessing he's probably used to having that effect on some people. As he got into his limo and rode away, I knew that would be a day I'd remember for the rest of my life. Thank you, Leif, for being so special, and for making a part of my dream come true.
[Note: This is an edited ccp'd article found on the web, written by an unknown fan in February, 2000. Enjoy!]  ON TOUR '79: A FAN TELLS HER STORY OF HER DREAM COME TRUE...August 29, 1979...I had known for two weeks that Leif Garrett was going to be at the Minnesota State Fair. I had already begged my mother to take me. She would only reply, "We'll see." Or "If I feel like I want to drive that far." It was the longest wait in my life, I couldn't miss Leif Garrett in concert! My once-in-a lifetime chance to actually see him in person. I talked of nothing else. Tammi (who also was a fan) and my best friend at the time, asked her parents. They forbade her to go (she wasn't 16 yet). She had been grounded most of the summer. My mother finally said yes! I know my heart went up to my throat in one split second. And I screamed "Oh, my God. Oh, my God, thank you." I didn't sleep much that night. We left the next day, it was Tuesday, and the day before Leif was to be at the Fair. When we got near the [Twin] Cities, we, of course, ended up getting very lost when we tried to find my mother's friend's house; we had to stop and call and get directions again. It was very late by the time I fell asleep, as I was so nervous. I was going to see Leif Garrett, I didn't really care how far away I'd be, it meant more to me to just be at the concert. I had missed out two years earlier, when I was 16, to see The Bay City Rollers in concert. My sister had to go by herself, but I made her tell me everything that I missed. So, right away the next morning, I was ready to go. My mother had some bad news to tell me. She had been so upset about getting lost the day before that she didn't want to try to continue our trip to the Fair. My heart was crushed, I really didn't want to hear that I couldn't go. Then, her friend had an idea. She told me she might know of someone who could take me to the Fair. It turns out she asked a friend next door, who said she would. Her name was Sue, and she was about 23 and a young mother of two kids. My mother and her lady friend would babysit for Sue. She and I rode on the public bus; we changed three times before finally getting to the Fair early in the afternoon. AT THE CONCERT...We found the concert hall (up until then, I had no tickets for the concert). I was just praying that it wasn't sold out. I asked the lady at the ticket booth, "Can I get tickets for the Leif Garrett concert? "I made it sound like I ask that question all the time. "Yes, which one of the shows did you want to see?" she says, handing me a seating chart. "The blue shaded ones are the ones left." "Both shows, I want tickets for both." I smiled. "I'm paying for my friend, too. Can we get seats together?" We got what we could, which was pretty much left-over seats, not the best, but at least I was going to the concert. The first show was at 5:30 which was a few hours. Sue hadn't heard much about Leif, so I filled her in on all the details. We stayed around the outside of the concert hall and joined a huge group of girls looking through a fence. They were screaming and waving towards the stage. I made my way through and got pushed up to the fence, and I got a real great view of (guess who) Leif Garrett. He was near the stage by some tour buses, and he was playing catch with a football. All the girls were screaming everytime he looked over at us; he smiled and waved. Now, things were better than I'd ever dreamed- I'd seen him before the concert, and oh, my God, I got to scream at him. It felt so, great! Soon, he disappeared into one of the tour buses. Sue and I wandered off to find something to eat before the concert. We made it back about a half hour before the concert was to start. We were able to get seats together for the first show. They were 5th row but D section, which is off to the side. We got a great view of him walking around by the tour buses just before he got on stage. Then, in living breathing flesh, he came on stage, and the whole place was in an uproar of about 3,000 screaming young girls. This was the first concert I had seen, and Leif sounded so good. He sang all the songs I had grown to know so well: "California Girls", "Give In", "When I Think of You", "Groovin'"... (these were some of the songs my understanding mom had to hear repeatingly on a daily basis. Bless her.) The girls went crazy when he sang, "If I Were a Carpenter" - would you still love me? would you have my baby? After the first show, Sue and I stayed around the entrance of the concert hall. We talked to a lot of other fans, who were waitting around for the second show. I met some girls who had seats right by me for the second show (Sue and I couldn't get seats together for the second show, so I let her have the ticket for the second row seat. She was nice enough to bring me and wanted to stay for both shows). Besides, she was now a Leif fan and screamed right along with the other girls, too. The second show was more colored lights flashing on stage. It had just started to get dark. Leif seemed to glow on stage. I'd been standing with the girls I met earlier, and we were screaming, "LEIF, LEIF." I had this idea that if we all yelled at the same time, right at the moment when it got quiet at the end of each song he did, we would be heard. Well, it took a few times to find that moment. It was calm, with no girls screaming but we did it. We yelled, "Leif, we love you." Just before he was about to sing his next song, we yelled, again. "Leif, we love you." Then, Leif pointed towards us, "What did you girls say?" All the girls at the concert screamed. "Ssshh, quiet, quiet, what did you say?" he asked. We screamed at each other, and with big smiles we shouted, "WE LOVE YOU, LEIF." "I love you, too," he replied. We got noticed, he talked to us. (It's hard to ever explain what I was feeling that day.) Well, oddly enough, just a few weeks later, I was in Houston, Texas at the Astroworld. I got to see LEIF GARRETT again on Sept. 16 at another concert. Oh, one thing I wanted to add...I hadn't written down what happened at the concert at the Astroworld, but just to let you know really what kind of a person I believe Leif still is, during the concert in '79, in Texas...there was a girl who was up on the second level at the concert hall, while Leif was singing and hundreds of other girls pushed towards him on stage...he stopped the concert when he'd seen this girl fall over the railing to the floor...we both had seen her fall at the same time. He yelled for someone to help her. What I'd seen was, she had landed on some chairs after falling 20 feet. To this day I do think about that girl and what happened to her...and how sad for Leif, how he must of felt. I enjoyed sharing a part of the '70s with you and my favorite Teen Idol. I was such a huge fan and loved the name "Leif", and I knew if I were to have any boys, that he would have blond hair and blue eyes. So, when my son was born, I gave him the name: Leif Perry. Now, he is 14 years old and has the blond hair and blue eyes to go with his namesake. I saved 3 halves of the concert tickets; two put together made a whole ticket, which I have kept for the past 20 years to always remember that special day. I'm glad I now get to share this you, too. Thanks.[This fan definitely had a wonderful mother...makes me wish she were mine!]
(From E! Online's Celebrity Sightings...)Justine Bateman • Darlene McGuffey (Sep 14, 2000, 12:31 PM)  I just read something about Justine Bateman that made me want to write in to you. This happened a long time ago, when she was dating Leif Garrett. She came into the Forum Club, in the Great Western Forum [3900 Manchester Blvd., Inglewood, California], w/ him when I used to cocktail there. They ordered drinks and I brought them. Leif left some money down on my tray for me as a tip, and Justine took all the bills and left me 50 cents. She told him that was too much to give me. I was so pissed that I gave the coins to her and said that I didn't need 50 cents that badly. I am so glad her career is over.
Chat Log Entry: AOL Entertainment I [Members - 8] 8/28/2002 09:03 PM
The Only Melissa: Folks please give a big welcome to Leif, Ryan and Chuck! Darrell will be with us in just a moment!
The Only Melissa: Welcome F8!
The Only Melissa: Folks, we apologize for the late start!
HOST ECH Dude: Ok first question for the night....
HOST ECH Dude: Will you have another cd ready for this tour?
Darrell F8: Yes
HOST ECH Dude: Leif I met you at the Miss USA pagaent in Biloxi In "78-do you remember the girl with the 300 page scrapbook of you?
Leif F8: That was an awfully long time ago, I'm sure if I saw your face I would remember you but I don't remember that meeting.
HOST ECH Dude: Leif....are you tired of people clinging onto the 70s
teen idol thing?
Leif F8: I'm not tired of people remembering it, I want people to know that I have moved on to doing new and better stuff. Everything in past has made me who I am today.
HOST ECH Dude: How many songs are in the set?
ChuckB F8: 15 songs
HOST ECH Dude: What was the best place you have ever done a concert at?
Darrell F8: Canton, Ohio
HOST ECH Dude: For Leif...I loved you in Old Timer...would you do theatre again in the future?
HOST ECH Dude: will you guys be coming to west virginia?
Leif F8: I love doing theatre and yes I would definitely do more in the future.
HOST ECH Dude: Over all what is the bands song you like to perform the most?
Darrell F8: not currently on this tour however, we will try and get there as soon as possible... by the way I am Darrel...Host Kate is typing for me
Leif F8: I like the whole set personally.
Darrell F8: I would have to go with all of the songs we wrote
RyanW F8: Still I wish
HOST ECH Dude: Ryan...how do you like F8 so far?
RyanW F8: The brothers that I have been looking for!!!
HOST ECH Dude: LOL
HOST ECH Dude: Leif, your Mom looked great on BTM-how's Dawn?
Leif F8: My sister is doing well, I haven't spoken to her in a few months but she is doing well. She is no longer in the business but she is doing well, she is running a hotel on Catalina Island.
HOST ECH Dude: was the song Alive written with someone in mind?
Leif F8: It's pretty autobiographical really.
HOST ECH Dude: Is F8 gonna have a new CD & t-shirts avialable & do after show greetings?
ChuckB F8: Yes!
Leif F8: We will have a whole new Cd and we will have some other items as well.
RyanW F8: Absolutely the fans come first
Darrell F8: and we will definitely do after show greetings as often as we can
HOST ECH Dude: So are you ready to meet your public again? We love you guys!
RyanW F8: Can't wait, fans make us!
Leif F8: Yes we are always ready and willing to meet the fans they make us legitimate
Darrell F8: Hello Randy from the whole band!!!!
HOST ECH Dude: Do you guys prefer smaller venues to the bigger ones?
Leif F8: Right now I enjoy the small clubs over stadiums, I like the intimacy but it will be fun to play arenas again.
RyanW F8: A big show is way less personal than a small show...I look forward to seeing as many fans at one time as I can
HOST ECH Dude: What type of guitars do you guys play?
ChuckB F8: I agree.. I like the smaller clubs too
RyanW F8: Paul Reed Smith and Gibson guitars
Darrell F8: Fender, Ibanez and Gibson
HOST ECH Dude: Do you think that you will have any in-store meet and greets on this tour so people under 18 could have the chance to meet you guys?
Leif F8: I don't have any of those set up right now but I think that is a good idea and we will get right on that.
Darrell F8: some of the venues we are playing on this tour are all ages, obviously not all of them but some of them are all ages.
HOST ECH Dude: Chuck, did you used to play large arenas?
ChuckB F8: yes
HOST ECH Dude: Do you guys like acoustic or electric guitars better?
Leif F8: I like all guitars, I like the blend of electric and acoustic togethe, there are times when it is best to have just acoustic guitars and there are times when it is best to have just electric.
ChuckB F8: I have to agree with Leif on that one!
RyanW F8: Yes I would have to agree with Leif but my thought on the guitar thing is that different guitars are built on different moments...that is what music is about...moments
Darrell F8: I agree with Leif
HOST ECH Dude: Will you be doing radio promos for the venues?
Darrell F8: For sure!!
Leif F8: We've been already doing a lot of radio to promote the shows ahead of times. When we are in each city, we normally do a promo with one of the local stations.
HOST ECH Dude: Does anyone play keyboard? Do you think that will be a possibility?
RyanW F8: hopefully not
Leif F8: We won't have any keyboards on this tour, we like to have keyboards when it is right, we are not a keyboard band.
RyanW F8: We have a classical pianist in the band, if we need it ...it will be there
Darrell F8: we would only use keyboards for some background stuff or maybe some piano stuff
ChuckB F8: We all do play a little keyboard though
HOST ECH Dude: When will the new cd be released?
Darrell F8: it will be available at our first show starting Sept 12 and then it will be available at JAVA music.com
HOST ECH Dude: Ryan, Chuck and Darrell, How were your birthdays?
ChuckB F8: Great! Thank you!
Darrell F8: thanks a lot virthday was great. thanks for all the nice gifts, cards etc.
RyanW F8: My birthday was great, thank you to everyone for sending cards and presents. Its nice to know people care about me out there!!! And they care about the band
HOST ECH Dude: Just Like Me is pretty emotional - was writing it therapeutic for you?
Leif F8: Yes, writing the song was definitely therapeutic, most of the lyrics in my songs are about personal things and issues in my life. I like to address environmental as well as political issues in my songs.
HOST ECH Dude: What types of bands do you guys listen to on the road? What are yalls favorite bands?
Leif F8: I think across the board that we all like LEd Zepplin. As far as current music we have been focused on our own music. I like the White Stripes and the Strokes and Filter.
RyanW F8: Queensryche, Def Leppard
Darrell F8: it is all across the board I think everyone listens to Rock and Roll definitely and we listen to talk radio too ...reminder this is Darrel that Kate is typing for
HOST ECH Dude: I recently heard a new band out there called Home Town Hero, do you guys like or have yall heard them?
Darrell F8: actually I have not heard of them
ChuckB F8: No, I have't heard of them either
Leif F8: I haven't heard of Home Town Hero.
HOST ECH Dude: Leif, will you be doing anything special for your birthday?
Leif F8: Birthdays are not a big deal to me.
HOST ECH Dude: When ayll were mentioning bands I was curious if yall liked the Beatles?
RyanW F8: I would like to say thank you to all my fans for appreciating the band, see you out on the road, I am very moved !!! Good night :)
RyanW F8: <---has a dinner date ;)
ChuckB F8: Yes! I love The Beatles!
Darrell F8: love the Beatles also
Leif F8: Alright, I like the Beatles too.
HOST ECH Dude: Do you guys like night or day concerts or does it matter?
Leif F8: I much prefer night time concerts, with day time concerts you lose some of the ambience of the show.
Darrell F8: you know vampires only come out at night so I prefer to play at night!! Plus it is too damned hot!!
ChuckB F8: I have to agree with that, i like nighttime concerts better too
HOST ECH Dude: what about elton john? his lyrics are also theraputic and autobiographical....was he an influence, Leif?
Darrell F8: bye Randy from the band
Leif F8: Bernie Taupin wrote most of Elton's lyrics and he and Matt Johnson are my two all time favorite lyricists.
HOST ECH Dude: do you know what time you are playing in Fort Lauderdale?
ChuckB F8: we're checking the schedule... hang on
ChuckB F8: 9pm
Darrell F8: 9:00 PM
HOST ECH Dude: Growing up who did you look up to the most?
Leif F8: Growing up I looked up to my favorite bands, writers and musicians, actors, artists in general.
HOST ECH Dude: What is your favorite episode of Behind the Music?
Darrell F8: my favorite BTM episode was the Leif Garret one and that was before I even knew him
ChuckB F8: The Leif Garrett and also the Nikki Sixx episode
HOST ECH Dude: Whose career do you most admire in the music/entertainment industry?
Darrell F8: the career i admire most in the music industry is the Rolling Stones. They still rock hard!
Leif F8: I admire anyboady who sticks to their guns and makes music because they like the music they are making; not the bands that are out there using other writers, the ones that are out there playing and writing from their heart and soul.
HOST ECH Dude: For all....where is your favorite place to visit....for any reason?
Leif F8: I personally like tropical destinations alot, I like islands, I like being in the water, I like swimming. I love travelling in general ~ Europe and Asia, anywhere.
Darrell F8: I justs enjoy travelling, meeting new friends
ChuckB F8: I love the east coast! Oh! and Cozumel Mexico!
HOST ECH Dude: Ok everybody we have time for just a couple more questions.
HOST ECH Dude: do you think you will ever play in NH?
Darrell F8: hopefully
ChuckB F8: Hopefully!
Leif F8: We will play everywhere eventually.
HOST ECH Dude: Whats TV-Show do you like to watch?
Leif F8: We've got a couple of shows that we watch religiously, the Today Show, The Price is Right, Law and Order, and the Practice.
Darrell F8: and Will and Grace
ChuckB F8: I like the sitcoms Will and Grace, Friends, Frasier and Just Shoot Me
HOST ECH Dude: Any final comments from the band they would like to add?
Leif F8: The only comment that I have is that if you come to the show you won't be let down, we will rock your world and put a smile on your face.
ChuckB F8: Looking forward to seeing everybody out there!
Darrell F8: Looking forward to seeing all of our close friends and fans and ready to rock your town!!!! See you soon!!!!
HOST ECH Dude: Thanks everyone for coming, if you would like a copy of tonights transcript please goto Keyword: ECR Chat
Darrell F8: goodnight!! 
Fans sent their collectibles, including a Leif jigsaw puzzle, to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Museum , in Cleveland Ohio, for the May exhibit (to remain on display for the next 2 years). I offered Jackie, the curator, my Leif iron-on T-shirt (right below) from '70s, but I never heard back from her...I guess they don't need any more Leif items...their loss!
Leif & F8's debut CD!1. Symptoms
lyrics by L. Garrett music by J. Gaines , D Arnold2. Still I Wish
lyrics by L. Garrett music by D. Arnold 3. Clear
lyrics by L. Garrett music by D. Arnold , J. Gaines 4. Alive (Today)
lyrics by L. Garrett music by J. Gaines 5. Just Like Me (live at Whisky A Go Go)
lyrics by L. Garrett music by K. D'amico 
Notice Leif's new "F8" tattoo!
Photos by Dawn Greer / promotions
==> New F8 ("fate") official website: f8officialsite.com 
"Look at your nail polish"...Leif on Sonoran Living Channel 3 ABC TV in Phoenix, Arizona
December 7, 2001From the New Jersey Star-Ledger [my home state] online (Leif & Chuck):Ex-teen idol turning over a new leaf with F8 Friday, February 22, 2002 BY LISA ROSE Star-Ledger Staff Musical collaboration was the last thing on Chuck Billings' mind when he met Leif Garrett 24 years ago at the premiere of the shock rock movie, "Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park."
At the time, Garrett was a teen dream poster boy, known for featherweight covers of '50s hits like "Run-around Sue" and "Surfin' USA." Billings himself was on the "Tiger Beat" track, playing drums with Virgin, a boy-pop glam band on the rise.
Information from Our Advertisers
"I was looking over and I said, 'Look, there's that punk,'" Billings said. "We were making fun of him. 'Little bubblegummer,' you know. Here I'm putting him down, but I was doing the same thing. I put him down because I knew that that's not what I was really about."
Eventually, Billings, 46, and Garrett, 40, learned they had a lot more in common than either suspected. "We talked about the music we liked, the music we don't like, and how we were both p- - - - - off with what the record companies (and) producers were making us do," Billings said. "I went to my band mates and said, 'Guys, he's one of us. He's not one of them. He's going through what we're going through.'"
Two decades later Garrett was recovering from heroin addiction and a career crash 'n' burn. Cleaned up and at peace with his teen idol past, he was looking to give music another try. He recorded a rendition of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" with sludge-rock stalwarts the Melvins and formed a group called Godspeed. But after a year, Garrett's band mates remained committed to other projects and Godspeed fell apart.
Meanwhile, Billings was in a band that was seeking a lead singer. F8, a hard rock quartet, is named for the chance meeting that brought Garrett and Billings back together.
The band, featuring Garrett, Billings, Joe Gaines (guitar) and Darrell D'Arnold (bass), has yet to release its debut album. You can, however, catch F8 on stage at three area shows. On Thursday, they play Maxwell's in Hoboken and on March 5, F8 visits B.B. King's Blues Club in New York. They wrap up their first East Coast tour on March 8, with a date at the Court Tavern in New Brunswick. At the shows they'll be selling a sampler EP that is also available on line at www.javamusic.com.
The group has played in its hometown, Los Angeles, and toured the West to audiences of former teenyboppers and the curious who know Garrett from his emotional "Behind the Music" profile on VH1.
Garrett is experiencing the trials and triumphs he missed the first time around when he was catapulted to celebrity on the strength of his looks, he said.
"I toured arenas first and now I'm doing clubs. I've always done things backwards in my life.I feel like I've got all this knowledge and experience under my belt from the past but at the same time, it's like starting up and I'm brand new to it. It's not like 'Oh man, I've got to go back and play club tours.' I'm really digging it."
F8's sound is a little bit grunge, a little bit rock 'n' roll, like "Zeppelin meets Stone Temple Pilots," according to Billings. Garrett's autobiographical lyrics explore family, fame and unrealized dreams.
"'Just Like Me' is something I think everyone can relate to," Garrett said of one of his songs. "I don't get into specifics but it deals with a very specific issue: I never had a dad in my life."
"We've got that inner peace, finally," Billings said. "Finally we're doing what we want to do and the people accept it and like it. Today, Leif and I look at the past and we don't like what we went through, but we're thankful for it because it helps for what we're doing now." From the Ventura County Star online (Leif & Chuck):Leaving it up to F8 Old pals forge ahead with a new band By Mark Wyckoff, Time Out editor Even by the the twisted standards of rock 'n' roll, the circumstances that brought Leif Garrett and Chuck Billings together were remarkably ... twisted. The year was 1978. Garrett was the spandex-wearing teen heartthrob of the 16 Magazine set, who could set hearts aflutter with a shake of his hips, a toss of his long blond hair or a chorus of "Runaround Sue." Billings, who lives in Simi Valley now, didn't have the same huge fan base as Garrett, but as a member of the spandex-wearing rock group Virgin, he still knew a thing or two about the power hair and hips had on young girls.
He also thought he knew a thing or two about Garrett -- namely that the 17-year-old pop star was a no-talent pop punk.
So when the two finally met that year at Magic Mountain -- during a wrap party for the oh-so-twisted TV-movie "KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park" -- Billings looked over at Garrett with built-up disdain.
"I'm a few years older than Leif, so I thought, 'There's that kid, there's that little brat.'"
Then a funny thing happened. They talked shop. You know ... groupies, Led Zeppelin, their shared hatred for the lame music the record companies were forcing them to record. By the end of the night, they were best buddies.
Twenty-four years later, they're still best buds -- a remarkable achievement in a business like rock 'n' roll, where nothing is real, especially friendships. Of course, it might have helped that the friendship broke off for about 20 years -- when both musicians saw the teen idol baggage they carried around almost crush their careers.
Was it fate that brought them together back in '78? Very possible, they agree. Was it fate that finally reunited them last year? Definitely, they agree -- which is why they've named their new band F8.
The new band rose from the ashes of Garrett's last band, the psychedelic rock outfit Godspeed. This new band -- with Garrett on vocals, Billings on drums, Camarillo's Joe Gaines on guitar and Darrell "D" Arnold of Los Angeles on bass -- will bring its more melodic rock sound to Santa Barbara on Wednesday for a gig at Velvet Jones. The show is part of F8's first-ever club tour, which began last year and has included sold-out gigs at the Viper Room and the Whiskey in Los Angeles.
"Testosterone-overload was what killed Godspeed," Garrett said this week from his L.A. home, alluding to the ego problems that finally brought the band to a standstill. "But with F8, everything has been running so well. It's like we're one."
The band is courting a record deal but is in no hurry to sign with a label until members believe companies are interested in the group's songs and not just making a quick buck off Garrett's name.
Back in the '70s, Garrett's record company, Scotti Brothers, certainly did that. He had started as an actor when he was 5, with roles on TV (he played Felix's son Leonard on "The Odd Couple") and in movies ("Walking Tall," "Macon County Line" and "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice"). When the teen magazines picked up on his pretty-boy good looks in 1975, it didn't take long for record companies to start calling. Scotti Brothers nabbed him and by 1977 Garrett had landed a cover of "Surfin' USA" in Billboard's Top 20. A year later, he scored his biggest hit -- the massively popular disco tune "I Was Made For Dancing."
At the same time, Billings had joined Virgin, a rock group managed by KISS impresario Bill Aucoin. The band's one and only single -- which never registered on Billboard's Top 40 -- was a cover of the Tremeloes' big hit, "Here Comes My Baby," which was written by Cat Stevens. Still, when the band toured with Shaun Cassidy in 1978 and 1979, the young girls cried.
But pop idols never last and Virgin flamed out quickly. Billings simply quit the business, found other work, got married, had two kids and moved to a half-acre horse ranch in Simi Valley. It's only been in the past decade that he's started to play in bands again.
Garrett wasn't so lucky. He imploded, descending into a decade-long battle with heroin addiction that almost killed him. One of his lowest points came early -- a drug-induced, November 1979 car crash that left his best friend at the time, Roland Winkler, paralyzed from the waist down. The crash, Garrett's addiction and his tearful, cathartic reunion with Winkler was the subject of a top-rated episode of "Behind the Music" in 1999.
The gripping show thrust Garrett back into the spotlight for the first time in years. He's been under a microscope ever since -- especially when he was arrested for possession just months after declaring he was clean on "Behind the Music."
Today, at 40, Garrett claims he's been off drugs for more than two years. He's slowly started to jump-start his acting career, starring in the holiday musical "The Christmas That Almost Wasn't" for the National Theatre of the Deaf in 2001 and as a heavy in the new rock musical "Old Timer" last summer at the Barn Theatre in Michigan.
But F8 is where his heart's at now. He writes all the lyrics and vocal melodies for the group. Compared to Godspeed's trippy excess, he says F8 is "melodic and user-friendly."
"I'm still writing with the same intensity," says Garrett, whose new songs draw heavily from his troubled life. "I guess I'm still trying to sort through lots of issues. God knows I've got plenty of them."
A song called "Just Like Me" dissects his rocky, almost non-existent relationship with his father, who dropped out of Garrett's life when he was 5.
"I don't know if 'Dad' or 'Father' really fits the person who sired me," he said. "For me, he wasn't really around. So I wrote these lyrics: 'I want you to know what I'm feeling/I want you to deal with what I'm dealing with/Because I don't know you and you don't know me/I wish you could be, just like me.' "
Another tune -- the set-closing "Goodbye" -- was about his girlfriend, who died two years ago because of heart problems. In a soft voice, Garrett recited the lyrics: "You used to look through innocent eyes/Long before we wore the disguise/Like some people on the street/The ones we never wanted to meet/Just remember to say goodbye."
After he finished, there was a long pause. "Like I said, I've got these issues."
"Goodbye" never fails to touch Billings' heart.
"That was the girl he would've married," Billings said. "Lyrics don't choke me up much. But that one does. His songs are all like that. They hit you right in the heart. What he sings about is what he's gone through."
Billings is also knocked out by Garrett's ability to craft "phenomenal hooks."
"I played 'Walk Away' for my 22-year-old nephew and told him, 'You will not be able to get this song out of your head.' Six days later, he calls me up and says, 'Uncle Chuck, why isn't that song on the radio? I've gotta get a copy of it.' I like hearing that from kids his age, because they're the ones who are buying records."
For now, the group hopes to have a four-song live EP available for purchase at its Santa Barbara gig. The band is also finalizing a deal to offer the disc online through javamusic.com.
After Santa Barbara, the band will head out on a month-long East Coast tour in a 30-foot motorhome it's renting from Cruise America in Camarillo. After that, it'll be time to concentrate on picking a label and making a record.
"Maybe this band will hit it big, maybe it won't," Billings said. "But even if it goes nowhere, I'd be happy just being in the band with Leif. We're like brothers. I can't wait for the world to see the talent this guy's got."
F8
The rock band in concert, 8 p.m. Wednesday at Velvet Jones, 423 State St., Santa Barbara. Call 965-8676 for tickets.
For more information on F8, visit the band's Web site at www.f8officialsite.com or www.leifgarrettfans.com.
E-mail Mark Wyckoff at mwyckoff@insidevc.com
February 1, 2002 Interview with teenmusic.com / Shari Waters:Fateful Fortune of F8: Leif Garrett Talks About F8
During the late seventies, Leif Garrett made a big impact on the lives of millions of teenage girls. A combination of the right look, the right sound and record execs that knew how to package a teen idol, led him to become one of the hottest Pop pinup boys of the era.
What fans didn't realize was that while the handsome young man was singing bubble-gum tunes such as "I Was Made for Dancin'" and covering "Surfin' U.S.A.", Garrett was actually into the likes of Led Zeppelin and the Beatles.
Taking control over his own destiny, Garrett has joined Karl D'Amico, Chuck Billings, and Darrell 'D' Arnold to form F8. A band dedicated to draw the listener into the emotions of each song and hold their audience captive. No longer dictated by media moguls, Garrett and this group are devoted to the music, not the image.
The Interview:
TeenMusic: Leif, I admire your ambition. It seems like through all of the hardships and difficulties you've gone through, nothing has stopped you. Where does that drive come from?
Leif Garrett: I do what I like what I do and I want to keep doing it, so it might be ignorance or stubbornness more than anything. I've gone through the addictions and had the managers who ripped me off, and I think in a lot of ways my career has been a cliché. But on the same token, it's been totally off the beaten path from anybody else's. I think I've lived a much different lifestyle than most teen idols. Even from the day I started doing music, I was never doing the music I wanted to do…and now I'm finally doing the music I always wanted to do.
TeenMusic: Critics may say doing VH1's Behind the Music is the death rattle of one's career…
Leif Garrett: Really?
TeenMusic: …yeah...you've done a segment on BTM, but did you think about the possibility of it hurting future projects?
Leif Garrett: I think it's just the opposite. There's no such thing as bad publicity, not that that's my goal, but people become celebrity or stars even from bad media. For one thing, I was able to get a lot of things off my chest that I was harboring for a long time. It really was somewhat of a rebirth because I was able to get out there and tell the truth. They didn't keep the Scotti Brothers stuff in like I wished they had, but they know you sell more by talking about crashing your car and Quaaludes…than helping the March of Dimes or whatever.
TeenMusic: It was therapeutic for you?
Leif Garrett: Yeah, it was. It was almost like a couch session for me, you know--to get it off my chest and put it out there. Whether they even used all of it or not, which they didn't, I was able to verbalize it myself…it was almost like a healing mantra.
TeenMusic: I read recently where you blasted some of today's hottest Pop stars...
Leif Garrett: Ya know, I've got it sitting right here on my desk in front of me, it's from "Spin" magazine**, and I'm looking at the quote. It says, "Christina sux…" First of all, I never said that. I never once said Christina Aguilera sucks. I did say, the next time Christina wants to think about out scatting Aretha Franklin on stage, she might want to think twice about it. She can sing, and she's a very attractive young lady, and she can sing her ass off…but I'm sorry, but she can't hold a candle to Aretha Franklin.
The rest of them, I don't know. I like Mandy Moore. I think she was the best out of the stuff as far as production goes on the record and whatnot. As far as O-Town and those guys...they just do absolutely nothing for me.
TeenMusic: Well, you've been in their shoes…
Leif Garrett: Well, yeah. And, more than anything, I also know it's not from them. I'd have so much more respect from them…and I understand…I wouldn't have had respect for me! Because that's not what I was into and not the kind of music that I liked and not the artists I liked. They weren't really artists--and I'm including myself in that--as much as we were pinups. Sure, I did perform live on stage and I think I was pretty decent, but on the whole, I didn't like the music I did, so how could anyone else like it?
TeenMusic: So now with F8, you're doing the music you want to do?
Leif Garrett: Yep, exactly.
TeenMusic: Not long ago, you were part of another band, Godspeed. What happened with that project?
Leif Garrett: Godspeed was so much work and the other members basically wanted to rely on my name to get gigs, and not work as a band. To them, it was just a paycheck. The band eventually imploded. When they said they didn't want to go on the road with the Melvins, that was the last straw. But, I'm really happy with the new band.
TeenMusic: Great. Good dynamics among the members?
Leif Garrett: Really good. The bass player [Darrell 'D' Arnold] used to be in a band called Trash Wednesday, and I went to see them at The Roxy. We became friends and I really liked his bass playing, he's a really f-ing cool guy. Our drummer is Chuck Billings who is from the band Virgin, back in the day, and I've known him for twenty-three years. When Godspeed was breaking up at our last gig at the Viking Room, he came up to me and said if I wasn't happy here, he was putting something together and wanted me to come sing with them. Then, we found Karl [Karl D'Amico], and became F8.
I was in Connecticut, sitting in a theater getting notes from a director and I looked down and the seat number was 'F8'. That's how the name came about. I thought that was kind of fateful to have it happen that way…I was like, "F8...fate, cool!"
Then, there have been a lot of weird similarities. Like I was born on November 8 and then there are all these other eights. Our studio number is 422, which add up to 8. The way we look at it is that this band is meant to be.
TeenMusic: Tell me about the music. What kind of sound does F8 have?
Leif Garrett: Um…I don't know how to categorize music…I can tell you our influences, though.
TeenMusic: Please do.
Leif Garrett: Zeppelin, for sure. Any of the greats like that are the influences. Zeppelin, The Stones, The Who, and bands like that. I think U2 are in influence, as well. Early Elton John. Those are definitely some of my influences.
We are doing two cover songs in the set. We've been practicing for a couple of months and one of the songs we're doing is the old Buffalo Springfield songs, and it's called "For What It's Worth". It's so poignant right now with the war going on and the way we need to step back to take a look at ourselves.
The other night I specifically stayed home to watch the special episode of West Wing, it's like one of my favorite shows, and during the end credits, they started playing that song.
Again, it's like, "Oh, my God." It's all sort of coming together in that fateful way. I mean it's really meshed together so nicely and I'm so happy with it.
TeenMusic: That's when you know it's right.
Leif Garrett: Yeah, I really think so. I won't tell you what the other cover is. We want to keep that one a surprise.
TeenMusic: Awww!
Leif Garrett: Yeah, but everything else is all original. There are definitely some Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains influence as well. We're trying to incorporate that true rock and roll, as well as the melodiousness of classical music, if you will, and just sort of ballady songs, without being ballady songs, if you know what I mean. We've got the peaks and valleys. Each song is a lifetime, it begins and ends, and there's a journey taken within the songs.
TeenMusic: Did you write all the lyrics?
Leif Garrett: Yeah, I wrote all the songs, except for the cover tunes, with my guitarist, bass player and drummer. Basically, it's the guitarist, and me, but our bass player alone wrote the opening song and I wrote the lyrics and the vocal melody. The rest of the stuff is all ours.
TeenMusic: You're a very busy person, but what do you like to do when you're not working?
Leif Garrett: I really like to swim, go to the beach, I do a lot of bodysurfing. I love taking my dogs for a walk, I love hiking, and I love writing songs and playing with the band.
TeenMusic: Leif, for those people that may have a preconceived notion about F8, what do you want to tell them? What would you like for them to know?
Leif Garrett: Whatever your preconceived idea may be, you're wrong. [laughs] We're not doing anything I think anyone would expect from me. There's those who may think, okay, I toured with the Melvins and I'm kind of heading towards Agro, but it's not all Agro. Like I said earlier, the whole set is such a journey of highs and lows.
TeenMusic: Cool. F8 will be hitting the road soon, right?
Leif Garrett: Yeah, I'm psyched. I'm totally excited about. I love being on the road. It really inspires me, and I actually write more when I'm on the road.
TeenMusic: Great, I can't wait to see you guys later this month. And on behalf of About Music for Teens, we wish you the best of luck.
Leif Garrett: Thank you so much.
If you'd like to check out F8, here are some of the stops on the upcoming tour...
F8 2001 Tour Dates
10/19 - THE CANYON CLUB - Dallas, TX
10/22 - THE BLUE MONKEY - Monroe, LA
10/23 - POP'S - Sauget, IL
10/24 - JUANITA'S - Little Rock, AR
10/25 - THE DOCK - Ridgeland, MS
10/26 - THE BOILER ROOM - Birmingham, AL
10/27 - THE MASQUERADE - Atlanta, GA
10/30 - THE VIBE - Austin, TX
[Nov.-Dec. -- California & Arizona]
12/20 - THE COACH HOUSE - San Juan Capistrano, CA **(Note from Site Publisher of "Leif Galleries" here: Spin magazine in reference is the September 2001 issue where a photo of Leif & my Shih Tzu dog, Beau, appears in!) 
A Leif tattoo on what looks like a fan's left shoulder blade! Leif autographed next to the tattoo for her.
Oct. 23 Sauget show.
A little boy singing, "I Was Made for Dancin'", with Leif!
Oct. 23 Sauget show.
Leif & fan Renee at the Oct. 24 Little Rock show.
Leif & fans at the Oct. 25 Ridgeland show.
© 2001 dockrocker.com
Leif at the Oct. 27 Atlanta show.
© 2001 Shari Waters of teenmusic.com
Leif (2nd from left) making a pit stop in Monroe, Louisiana for an interview w/ radio Z98-KZRZ DJ Brandon Vogt (3rd from left), and the rest of F8...
Leif (2nd from right) w/ radio X103-KXRR DJ Kevin Roberts and F8 also in Monroe.
Leif (right) with DJ Kevin of Kevin & Bean at KROQ 106.7 radio station in Los Angeles, in November 2001.
 Leif w/ DJs at the 107.7 Morning Show radio station in Kalamazoo, Michigan in July 2001. Leif was in Michigan to rehearse for a summer stock at the Barn Theatre, located in Augusta, Michigan...
July 24, 2001 - (Press Release)
The Barn Theatre
13351 M96 Augusta, MI
Barn Theatre Presents
Opening Tuesday, July 31, 2001 at 8:00 PM
A Rock Musical
Book and Lyrics by Brendan Ragotzy
Music by Troy Benton
Leif Garrett headlines this terrific new musical
Two Weeks Only July 31 – August 12
(Augusta, MI) OLD TIMER - Brendan Ragotzy, the author of Old Timer, is delighted to finally be producing his and Troy Benton's own original rock musical. "I have always had a passion for rock music and musicals and now we get the chance to make one of our own," says Brendan Ragotzy. The Music is Creative and Eventful! Clay Miller, played by Scott Burkell, is finally released from jail after serving a 30-year prison term. The imprisonment is punishment for a crime in which he is wrongfully accused. Now his mission is to find his only living relative, his daughter Juanita. Clay travels to Hollywood and along the way, is befriended by a young cowboy who introduces him to the movie business. There he finds his daughter involved with an abusive gangster, Molano, played by Leif Garrett. Molano meets his demise and the Old Timer, Clay, finally fulfills his dream. He stays to give Juanita the father she never had and help raise his grandchild. Old Timer Rocks!
Our Barn Theatre ladies will have their hearts on their sleeves with 70's teenage idol Leif Garrett on the stage. You may have remembered his chart-topping hit, I Was Made For Dancin'. He was also recently featured on VH1's highly acclaimed "Behind the Music". Audiences will be moved and thrilled by such tunes as Ridin' the Rails, Hollywood, and Waitin' For You.
The Barn Theatre is located on M-96 west of Augusta, MI. Performances are Tuesday through Friday at 8:00pm, Saturday at 6:00pm and 9:00pm, and Sunday at 5:00pm. Tickets are $24.00 (Tuesday-Thursday) and $26.50 (Friday-Sunday). The Box Office is open daily from 10:00am-10:00pm. The phone number is 616-731-4121. Tickets on Sale NOW!
Enjoy refreshments in The Rehearsal Shed Lounge with friends before, during intermission, and after the show. Free cabaret entertainment after the main stage performance. 
Leif (left) as 'gangster' troublemaker Johnny Molano!
Photo courtesy of Barn Theatre
Barn's 'Old Timer' shines with Garrett
Christopher Tower For the Enquirer
Battle Creek Enquirer - Friday, August 03, 2001
If there was any doubt that the Barn Theatre enjoys its best company ever this summer, all doubts were laid to rest Tuesday night with the world premiere of "Old Timer," a rock musical.
Even more special than possibly the best talent ever assembled at the Barn to recommend this high-energy show, Barn producer Brendan Ragotzy wrote both script and lyrics for the show in collaboration with composer Troy Benton. Ragotzy also directed the show, making it an all-Barnie production through and through.
Both the music and lyrics of "Old Timer" reflect the spirit of rock'n'roll, a musical form which is often cliche and hackneyed, but ultimately redeems itself with emotional intensity and resolution of conflict.
"Old Timer" opens in a prison where Clay Miller (Scott Burkell) has been incarcerated for 30 years after a shooting in a New Mexico saloon.
The show's first number, "Society's Latest Son," portrays the grim realities of turn-of-the -century prison life with driving guitar chords and an all-unison male chorus, It's one of the show's best numbers and a testament to the talent of the Barn's cast of dozens.
But instead of continuing with this tone of bleak existentialism seen in many of the melodramatic rock musicals of the last 30 years, "Old Timer" takes a left turn into Hollywood of the silent movie era as Miller earns his release from prison and enters a new world unlike the one he knew three decades before.
The next phase of the show features some of the show's best tunes, such as "Ridin' the Rails," which is a hopeful song promising a new life brought to life by a "cowboy" Miller meets on the train named Joe Stephenson (Andrew Call).
As Miller and Stephenson find work in Hollywood on the set of a movie about the Old West, they meet film director Hines (Robin Haynes), who is looking for realism in his pictures, provided by a retired lawman (John Newton).
Of course, the old sheriff is the one who brought down the supposedly dangerous Clay Miller 30 years before. But Miller remembers the rest and the night of his arrest much differently and his reminiscence results in one of the show's best numbers, the Act Two opener, "Old Timer."
As it turns out, it's not the movies that bring Miller to Hollywood; he comes to see a daughter he has not seen since infancy, Juanita (Penelope Alex). Unfortunately, Juanita lives with abusive gangster Johnny Molano, played by 1970s teen idol, actor and rock singer Leif Garrett.
Though Miller's trying to walk the straight and narrow and start a new life, he can not stand by and allow Molano to abuse his daughter. The culmination of the conflict, though not surprising, is rendered deftly and all turns out all right with some deft work by the "detective" played by Eric Parker.
The cream atop "The Old Timer" is its cast. From big production numbers such as "Hollywood" and the "Finale," the Barnies show off their amazing vocal talents.
Burkell turns in his best performance of the season with strong vocals and intensely emotional acting. His renderings of the solos "Reflections of My tears," among others are awe-inspiring. As always, Alex shines in her role with strong singing and solid acting. Barn fans will relish her duets with Burkell as their real-life close friendship resonates in their performances.
Leif Garrett is one of the show's best commodities. He seems more comfortable onstage than anyone else, radiating a stage presence that's attractive and magnetic. His songs, such as "All For One," reverberate with the sounds of real rock'n'roll from this star whose 1978 "I Feel The Need for Dancin'" topped the charts.
The Barn's been hiding away some of its best talent in the company, and they showcase their abilities here, almost overshadowing the work of the veterans.
Andrew Call is amazing, as is the sultry Leslie Diamond as Betsy, a lounge singer involved with Molano. Other Barnies, such as Eric Parker and John C. Brown, are wasted in minor roles, but they do their parts well.
All in all, "The Old Timer" serves up an explosive, captivating night of theater followed by one of the best bar shows of the season featuring a classic commercial medley and an impromptu solo by Garrett. Make plans to attend "The Old Timer" and see what should be the first of many successful rock musicals by the Ragotzy-Benton team.
Photo courtesy of Barn Theatre
Talented cast brings life to Barn's 'Old Timer'
By C.J. Gianakaris, Special to the Gazette
Kalamazoo Gazette - Wednesday, August 01, 2001
Want to catch a lively, original musical sporting a large, talented cast and with music echoing early rock? If so, head for the Barn Theatre, where "Old Timer," by Brendan Ragotzy and Troy Benton, had its premiere Tuesday night.
Sixteen musical numbers provided the musical impetus for the story, with 10 coming in the first act. The instrumental "Overture" opened out into a militant all-male chorus of jailed prisoners singing "Society's Latest Son" in unison, accompanied by high-volume rock music. With that, Clay Miller – jailed for 30 years – is given his freedom, and the plot begins.
Barn favorite Scott Burkell portrays Miller, the old-timer of the show's title. Once released after paying his debt to society, Miller is flushed out into an entirely new world from the one he had left, a world of the 1920s with modern travel and a fast pace of life. His sole goal is to locate his daughter Juanita, who was a baby when he entered prison.
Burkell had most of the show's ballads and so was heard and understood to best advantage. "A New Frontier" in the first act and "Kiss Juanita" in the second act were given powerful expression in his fine baritone voice. His duet "A Better Tomorrow," sung with Penelope Alex as Juanita, was one of the most persuasive numbers. It was given a terrific rendition by the two gifted singers.
When Miller's search for his daughter takes him to Hollywood, the story opens up wider. A stage-struck young cowboy named Joe, played and sung energetically by Andrew Call, meets Miller on the train west and helps him get work making a movie in Hollywood. The director of the film is Hines, wonderfully – and comically – played by Robin Haynes.
Providing the conflict is a '20s-style gangster, Johnny Molano, ably depicted by well-known rocker Leif Garrett. When Johnny and Miller clash in the second act, it is Eric Parker as a Los Angeles detective who makes matters come out right. Parker, incidentally, sings fabulously, even though his role provided for little genuine acting. Leslie Diamond's singing and dancing as the vamp Betsy were exceptionally fine as well.
Musically speaking, much of the rock-style music works all right with the plot, though it sounds overly derivative of the rock heard in the '60s and '70s, particularly in "Hair." The choreography by Charlie Misovye seemed spry enough in the opening act but less kinetic and imaginative in the second. The costumes by Elaine Kauffman were colorful, appropriate and plain stunning. Dusty Reeds' sets were simple but effective, particularly those of the jail cells and saloon scenes.
One drawback of the show was the flatness of the characters. Although the story line moved well in clear sequence, there was little occasion for characterization, so the strong acting abilities of Burkell, Alex and Parker were wasted.
Yet the clarity of the action was laudable, reflecting a genuinely viable premise of an old man finding redemption in a world where evil persists, whatever the era. And this all set to music, too.
Photo courtesy of Barn TheatreFor more from my contributors, go to: Old Timer / others
|
Stuff...Enjoy!
