NICKY BEAT
Nicky Beat (born Nickey Alexander) is an American hard rock drummer and original member of American sleaze metal band L.A. Guns. Nickey also played drums in The Weirdos, The Cramps and The Mau-Mau’s. He also briefly played in the Germs (he played on the Lexicon Devil EP) and The Dickies. Nickey once said in an interview that his favorite drummer is Karen Carpenter and learned much of what he knows from watching her. (More from Wikipedia)
After Kim Fowley lost control of the Runaways. the early all-female rock band that he helped found and also managed, he sought to form another band that was counter to the conventions of the day: a male lead singer that was backed by female musicians. Called Venus and the Razorblades, bandmembers were Steven T. (vocals and guitar), Roni Lee (rhythm guitar), Danielle Faye (bass guitar), Nicky Beat and later Kyle Raven (drums), and two more vocalists, Dyan Diamond and Vicki Arnold, aka Vicki Razor Blade. As with the Runaways. the musicians were teenagers; Arnold was 17, and Diamond was only 14.
(December 2013)
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Along with John Denney (lead vocals) and his brother Dix Denney (guitar), the Weirdos began working on some early songs like “Teenage”, “I’m Not Like You”, “Bad Bad”, “Go Kid Hugo”, “Scream Baby Scream”, and “I Want What I Want”. Even though they had no drummer initially, encouraged them to do a concert anyway, so they played at the Punk Palace without one. Local DJ and fanzine writer Phast Phreddie – not to be confused with early rapper Fab 5 Freddy – began talking up the Weirdos and also introduced them to drummer Nicky Beat, who had recently left the Kim Fowley assemblage Venus and the Razorblades.
Allmusic reports that the Weirdos reformed in 1988 with original members the Denney brothers (John Denney and Dix Denney), Nicky Beat, and Cliff Roman, plus Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers; they released a new album in 1990 called Condor. I haven’t heard that record, but I couldn’t resist sharing the above cartoon that was on the back cover of Destroy All Music. Greg Shaw used to put this kind of thing in his Bomp! Records releases and publications like Bomp! Magazine all the time.
(March 2017)
