(Miss Kristi Maddocks plays the Ghost of Christmas Past with photos and memories.)
Here are some snapshots from my very bo-ho holiday season in 1985.
At the time, I was living with Michelle Krone, Jeff Rierden and Keith Lockhart (RIP) in our tiny one-bedroom in-law apartment in the neighborhood around University and Park Avenues. I think Leighton Koizumi was in town for a visit from San Francisco, where he and the rest of the Morlocks moved six months before.
This arrangement left me sleeping alone on the couch in the living room — where I am captured waking up in a haze on Christmas Day.
One of the most memorable features of the apartment were the full-scale murals of cartoon Go Go Girls that our dear friend Scott Ewalt drew on our walls — they were way ahead of their time and adored by many visitors to out pad. (Needless to say, I never got back my apartment deposit!)
I was always one for seasonal decor, and even though we were dirt-poor, I made sure we had a Christmas tree and stockings for Santa to fill with fun treats. 
I love the photo of Jeff, Leighton, Michelle and Keith — they are wearing some cheap party-favor sunglasses that I bought from the Payless dollar store that used to be near the Sports Arena. I bought many cool tchotckes from that store, especially during the holidays.
December is always an extra-busy time for me, as I celebrate my birthday on Dec. 21. The first series of photographs, with me in a pink lacy dress, were snapshots of my 20th birthday celebration at the house. At that time I was dating the adorable Bobby Lane, who conveniently lived three blocks from me. I can’t remember the names of the other two girls in the photos … but I remembered that they gave me some nice earrings.
I still have a beautiful wooden keepsake box that Keith Lockhart gave me that year — it is one of my most personal and prized possessions. I miss poor Keith.
The third set of pictures are of my first official office Christmas party, at the La Jolla Pannikin. I worked for Bob and Gay Sinclair at The Pannikin for more than five years, and they were very good to me. We used to call Pannikin La Jolla “The Center of the Universe,” and I met many long-time friends there. It was also an organization that was open to and supportive of many people in the Che Underground. Kristina Harrell, Michelle Krone, Cathy Bozzo, Carla Mathews, Joe Bender and Marko Barron are just to name a few. More on the Pannikin later. …
Happy holidays, to the Naughty and the Nice!
— Kristi Maddocks
I am just a lurker but … jeff rierden = jeff mongo?, last week i talked to sombody about “keith & jeff” leave it to this blog. what ever happened to keiths little brother paul?
kristi, why poor keith? whatever happened to him? i was tight with him back in stratus days. he was a good egg.
and hey john. your name came up when i yapped with cricket yesterday. good to see you here.
whoa on those pix. michelle krone! leighton! and you look so happy and beautiful.
Ava: Both Keith and Jeff passed away, of unrelated causes and years apart … Here is some info.
Kristi -- Happy Birthday! I didn’t even know it was your birthday on Sunday when I saw you at Forbidden Island. My Dad was born on December 21st also.
So … If you’re passing this way Dec. 25, tell us what holidays you’re doing, if any, and how!
k, i agree. it’s good… all this reconnection. talking to cricket was awesome. i haven’t laughed like that in years. and sean, checking in and kevin, too. kristen and shawna…
my son, henry, and i had a great morning. everything has been chill. he got me a claddagh. and, naturally, i had to explain the meaning of the ring itself which was explained to me, one drunk night, by the irish boys, sean, kevin, vince and my lovely monica (who i also found on fb).
i am really looking forward to may. and i am grateful to you, matthew, for starting this blog.
wow kristi- i forgot all about the audrey moorehead/ edie sedgewick inspired go go girls. loved seeing the pics- the one of me as a young guy at the pannikin took me back. i recently met a walter keane collector and thought of the pannikin and patrons like keane and doctor seuss. waiters like yourself and keith and young tony ward. what a great time. there is a great/sad article on rikki on the web right now here http://www.rikki-madrigal-story.blogspot.com/
i also recently talked to leighton and im back in touch with the amazing audrey.love the blog thanks for letting me remember! ps-jeffs last name was wrieden.
>>patrons like keane and doctor seuss
Damn! I never thought of it, but La Jolla Pannikin must’ve rocked the tip jar. At the Encinitas branch, I had patrons taking money out for the pay phone. LOL
pannikin… gah! i miss that. all of it. both shops AND the downtown store.
Ava (Mara) Owens…thanks for your comments. Forgive me…you sound so familiar, but I can’t place you-can you help me Sister?
We must link up beforeor during the reunion, along with some other gal pals…
Hey Scott Ewalt! I’m so glad you found us here! BAM! It is great to hear from you!…What’s your story, morning glory? It’s nice to hear you’ve been in touch with other people…please give me a wink on myspace, so we can connect more closely! i am so ncurious as to where life has taken you. aloso, You’ll have to tell me how you were able to speak with Leighton…so far he and I have only spoken in the ethers of the internet!
BTW-I never knew Audrey Moorehead inspired the GO GO murals on the Madison Ave. apartment walls-though it makes total sense (me and my big head thought it was all about Ms. Sedgewick, Mary Quant, and I!). And Tony Ward…another blast from the past. I remember dancing with him at a party in La Jolla in early 1984, and he didn’t even know who Madonna was! I remember how shocked I was by his ignorance!That aside, we intenseley chatted about fashion and our dreams ofbecoming a big time models. HA. HA..and who would’ve guessed that his star would rise so high that he became one of Madonna’s more serious Boy Toys just a few years later?! He was so smart to leave San Diego for LA (sometimes I wish I had). Go Tony! Tony Ward and Madonna-that always blew my mind-and it still makes me giggle and shake my head!
Scott-you have a great memory of La Jolla Pannikin (You look so hansome in that photo from the Christmas party!) It is true that we had a lot of heavy hitting coffee servers and drinkers at La Jolla Pannikin. Another irony (along with that Tony Ward tid bit) is that when I was a youngster between the age of 6-10 years old my Mom always said I looked like a Keane-Eyed Girl. Many years later, after I had worked at Pannikin for six months or so, I became well acquainted with Walter Keane….so much so that he asked me to work for him as his Girl Friday!! It’s true! In early to mid 1985 I spent two mornings a week with him at his cute little La Jolla bungalow, typing up invoices for his greeting card operation. This was the era of me being super skinny, and wearing all sorts of mod and psychedelic attire-I think I reminded him of his heydey! Anyway, he was so sweet to me. He used to serve me pastries and coffee every time I arrived. I think he figured I was poor and I needed the calories. I figured he was pretty lonely and enjoyed the company…as did I! suprisingly, Walter even came to see me perform with my band Everybody Violet at PJ’s in Point Loma! That was so cool of him. He came up to me at the end of the show, in his signature grey beatnick mop-top and black turtleneck sweater, and said “Gee Canary Legs, You sure can sing!”. He always called me Canary Legs after that!
Walter was quirky, in a loveable way. A recovering alcoholic, Walter came to La Jolla Pannikin daily and always politely ordered his coffee by asking for “One Fine Quality Cup”. He rightly demanded that we served his black coffee in a new, uncracked and unchipped white porcelain mug! Damn you, Scott!…I was going to save that story for a later blog date-but you forced it out of me! I have some photos that Walter took of me during one of my visits, somewhere….
Scott..I am so happy that you were able to make a go of it in New York as a sucessful illustrator…you were always so talented! I’ll have to look you up next time in the Big Apple! Do you ever see Todd (Bergman) Tomorrow or Steve Kirkham there? Is so, please give them my love!
As far as walter Keane goes, he is lucky to have you as a advocate in the art and history world. Walter and I didn’t talk too much about the accusations his ex-wife made, it was just too painful for him. I guess I was always torn by the accusations. I loved Walter and wanted to support him, but as a woman in the creative worlds I know far to well that men sometimes get credit for a woman’s work (and that must have been even more likely in the 1950’as & 60’s). I always wanted a Walter Keane painting-I used to beg and plead with him, but he would just wink at me. In years since, I’ve collected numerous Keane
knock-offs to fill the void.
I’ll be happy to share the pics he took of me-probably sometime down the road, closer to the Che Underground reunion events in May, 2009.
There will be a lot of goodies to share leading up to that event-including band stuff and an excellent account of GO GO IMPOSSIBLE.
Right now all my attention needs to go towards rehearsing for The Bluesn Gangsters recording next week! Chop Chop.
Thanks for sharing your links-I will research your goodies intensely once the BG deadline has come and gone! It is great to be in touch again!
i still talk to steve kirkham every week, and todd lives in san francisco. im still in touch with many of the kids from club zu- but i think you were in SF at that point living your grace sick dream. im looking forward to seeing the go go impossible pics and will send todd the link to this blog. i agree with you as far as female artists being slighted, but as we both know- margaret had a style of her own and was widely published and had her own coffee table book. she is just jealous that his work had a greater resonance and her mind is clouded by greed and the jehovahs witness cult she joined. walter liked my sisters dark eyes, as he liked yours, and gave both of us prints that he signed. mine says “good luck in new york” and i treasure it. good luck with your latest projects and if you come through new york please let me know. happy new year and thanks for documenting the happy years that we spent together.
woops i meant grace slick. sorry. what a difference an L makes.
Ooooh, Scott! Please ask Steve Kirkham to stop by … Encinitas Pannikin in the HOUSE!
Happy birthday Kristi “Love”! Hey my wife is a late December baby too(Dec. 28th). I guess I missed this shindig. A much belated xmas to you circa ’85. Scott I mentioned you elsewhere in this blog. Dave E. and I were trying to remember people from ‘POOWAY’. Great to see you on here!
Ava=-are you the Mara with big blonde hair and a cooky laugh? If so, the last time we bumped into each other was when I was working in San Francisco for SF Weekly-about 10 years ago…If that isn’t you?%@&6$ UGHHH I can not place your face, but we must be old friends cause you were tight with all my close buddies! Help Me!…
Scott Ewalt-for sure, get Kirkam online with the blog…he is missed!
Thanks for the tip on Todd Bergman Tomorrow-I’ll look him up shortly…but what I really need to do now is practice my songs fo recording-Scott, perhaps you may consider doing an illistratiob for promos or the CD? Pleeeeeeeeeeaaasse~!!!! I’ll love you long time, big boy!
an Illistration, please! I’ll love you longer if you’ll help me type better!
nope, not me… but we did know each other kind of. i have black curly hair and look really greek/italian.
i wish i could find my pix from back in the day. i can find the ones of everyone else… ugh. soon, i swear. and if you talk to kirkham or todd, bring. them. on.
Ava: I have that yearbook pic (1983), with your permission I’ll post it.
I really have to get that Che Underground yearbook project started!
By the way, Mara, how did your guitar shopping go?
you have to show me first, miss k. i can’t remember what the hell it looks like. lol
and ray, guitar shopping?
Sorry, Mara! I meant to ask Lori Stalnaker-Bevilacqua . . .
np, mister! btw, i think it’s really cool you are a teacher. your way has a mellow encouragement that i bet translates well to your students.
The Ava (Mara) from Upstart Crow? 1987-ish?
yep!
we worked together for a short time, and I think you then moved to SF. No?
That’s weird,I worked at Upstart Crow right around then,too.I learned how to use one of those machines there.Later I was at Java,up the block from Carlo Rossi-ville.
Upstart Crow! I liked the Upstart Crow! (It’s a fabulous Elizabethan literary reference, too — check it out if you don’t know what it’s about. The way I see it, we were ALL upstart crows.)
kevin? no. way.
i loved that job. i did. if i had to rate my jobs of younger life, that one was the best. books and coffee. how can you lose? and being on the harbor all day? hell yes. i miss that.
i moved to sf in 90. but left that job to go to europe with karl.
I moved to SF 13 years ago today. NEVER going back.
…and Bobby Lane was the best of the flyer artists. And we had some damn good ones.
“Personal Headache”…still funny.
kevin, it would figure that i would be thinking about the shop now for the past few days. what i would give for an afternoon drinking one of your lattes and reading on the balcony.
some of the flyers from back in the day are still in my box of archives… but i can’t find that damn box. once i do i’ll upload them. i hope they didn’t get lost in the last move.
ava(Mara)…I’m sure I will recognize you when I see you in May.
I think I might have some photos of you hanging out with “keith & Jeff” outside of GO GO IMPOSSIBLE, sitting on the curb of 5th and Maret Streets. I’ll be posting my account of the GGI soon, so look for your picture there-or contribute your own photos in tandem….
I agree with Kevin that Bobby Lane was one of the top flyer artists, but we had many good ones….
Kevin, if you’ve bin in SF 13 years, our paths must have crossed. But I’ve been tucked away in sleepy Alameda for the last 7-8 years…
LASTLY, if Steve Kirkham or especially Todd Tomorrow read this, “Call Me”!
k, we need to track those two down. i’d give my eye teeth to catch up with them.
i will be in berkeley soon… perhaps a meetup for just us? the local to the bay area people hang?
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate!
My family has been torturing each other with this song:
Bizarre as always Matt!! Happy Holidays!!
And Chingedy-Ching to all…
A year later, a year older, a wee bit the wiser…
and I have been so preoccupied with the live music ventures that have happily been occupying my time, that I have yet to get THE MOTHERLODE STORY in words and pictures on GO GO IMPOSSIBLE up on The Che Underground Blog! Good golly Miss Molly; I guess Santa Claus thinks I was a good girl this year, because gave me a swanky new laptop with webcam and my own 3 in 1 scannner (Flem, Mathew & The Blues Gangsters will be so proud with my newfound technical independence..not to mention Heff & Clay!)…So, that long overdue editorial on GO GO IMP should be forthcoming soon (I know Matt, promises promises-make that New Years’ resolution #2, after ?)…Happily, in this past year I did make a brief connections to ghosts of Christmases past; such as Bobby Lane, Leighton Koizumi and Scott Ewalt, as well as many of The Pannikin People who used to hang at my Madison Avenue flat…but I’d till love to see Todd Tomorrow & Stevie Kirkham show their pretty faces--even just in words on the blog or on MySpace or Facebook! Life is short and they are missed!
Life is short and fragile--and I must give thanks for my many blessings! I would sing it in a song if I only could! My heart is filled with love and joy and gratitude; for all of you wonderful, creative, cooky aquaintainces, friends, and collaborators who have helped revitalize my life over the last couple of years. 2009 in particular has been nothing short of overwhelming; in the scope of personal healing and transformative challenges through music (and this blog). I may have stumbled along the way, but I am so grateful that I have friends like you all to help pick me up and scoot me down the path when I need a little encouragement (& even some tough love). I might feel a little bruised, but I realize I’m all the better for it!
So (uhuummmm…fa la la la laaaaa)… Joy to the World!.Feliz Navidad…Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas…and All That Jazz!
Hey Kristi,
Happen to come across this as I was looking for some old art stuff. Good read. Hope all is well. Good times!!!
Chip