#blue ash

4/3/26.

Bullseye's S/T debut LP on ever/never has been popping up on my follower's purchase feed a lot lately and for good reason. This is rock n' roll that asks us to, according to the Bandcamp notes, "imagine if Gene Clark never made it to L.A.  Instead, he held it together in the Midwest and made beer-sipping music for a bunch of ham-and-eggers who don’t know they’re about to hit the skids as the belt begins to rust. Bullseye conjures such a reality."

Bullseye is a New York band whose two prior Bandcamp offerings trend closer to Guided By Voices than Gene Clark/The Byrds. In fact, we get a clear idea of the band's evolution through listening to an early, under-a-minute version of "Dangers Of The Heart".

Interview with Stiv solo/latterday Dead Boys bassist, Frank Secich, about how this new clip appeared - featuring exclusive pix!!

"Me and Stiv Bators at record release party for the Orchids in Hollywood in 1979." - Frank Secich (photo by Lisa Secich)

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Frank Secich is an endlessly inspiring rock'n'roll lifer who began his career as bass player for the great early 1970s Northeast, Ohio, proto-power pop legends, Blue Ash.

Later in the decade he hooked up with fellow rust-belter, Stiv Bators, as part of Stiv's ongoing post-Dead Boys projects. That sometimes led to Dead Boys reunions too, of which Frank was the faithful bottom end. -- You can read this full interview I did with Frank a few years ago when he released his wild biography, Circumstantial Evidence.

"Me with Stiv Bators at my old apartment on the West Hill in Sharon, PA, December 17, 1978. I think we (me, Stiv, Lisa and Cynthia Ross) went to see the Talking Heads and hang out that night in Youngstown!" - Frank Secich (photo by Lisa Secich)

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But first check out this INCREDIBLE new video for "Circumstantial Evidence"!

Circumstantial Evidence - Stiv Bators Band

Frank got the video from his pal who made it last week, and when he posted it on Facebook, it led to a goodly portion of classic punk fandom freaking out.

I asked Frank if he could answer a couple of quick questions about the new video, and as it turns out his friend made a new Dead Boys video from found 1979 footage too, which can be seen on Frank's FB page.

For now, check out the interview with Secich below.

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So, who made this video, and this is the first time you've seen it, right?

Frank Secich: The first time I ever saw the "Circumstantial Evidence" video was a few days ago. Filmmaker Rob Luttrell just recently made it with his old film he had found and restored. He sent it to me, and I was stunned and shocked how good it was. It was the first time I had ever seen these old clips in "Circumstantial Evidence" from footage that he shot at the Whisky a Go Go in L.A. and the Heat Club and Town Hall in New York City in 1980. Stiv's solo band at this point was Stiv Bators, Jimmy Zero, guitar, George Cabaniss, guitar, David Quinton Steinberg on drums and me on bass. Also, guest starring in the video is Dee Dee Ramone!

Stiv Bators and Frank Secich recording "It's Cold Outside" at Bijou Studios in Hollywood, CA in April, 1979. - Frank Secich (photo by Theresa Kereakes)

"Frank Secich, Stiv Bators and Greg Shaw (Bomp Records head) recording "It's Cold Outside" at Bijou Studios in Hollywood in April of 1979." - Frank Secich (photo by Theresa Kereakes)

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So Robert had all that original film? Will we maybe see more such footage?

F.S.: Yes, there is one more of "Sonic Reducer" from 1979. Rob and Marty Abrahams made this one in early 1980. We used to use it as a promo film back then, and we would play it right before we took the stage. Rob has digitalized it and improved it, and it is very cool. It features the Dead Boys at that moment -- Stiv Bators, Johnny Blitz, Jimmy Zero, George Cabaniss, and myself. Cheetah had just broken his wrist right before this gig at Irving Plaza, so George was filling in for him. This film was done at Irving Plaza in New York City in January, 1980.

While watching the videos, what are some memories that popped to mind?

F.S.: I was just flooded with memories. Rob really captured the spirit of our chaos back then. We used to have so much fun. It really was a wild ride like that almost every night; and of course you could never predict what Stiv might do. It was an exciting time and we toured North America constantly from 1979 until January of 1981, with slight variations of that band. I am really glad the line-up of the band has been preserved on film for posterity.

Do you have specific memories about any of the shows that are seen in this clip?

F.S.: The fans ripping Stiv's shirt off are indelibly imprinted in my mind. He would also hang himself on stage with a microphone cord which would scare the hell out of me. One time during those gigs we were all flying around on stage, and I turned around quickly and he jumped up and I accidentally knocked him out cold with my bass. He came to pretty quick and said to me, "Did it look cool?" I said "yeah!" The Stiv beer fountain at the end of the film is really cool as well.

"Donna Santisi's cool photo of me and Stiv at the Tropicana Motel in W. Hollywood in early 1979!"

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Anything you want to say at all about these new videos…?

F.S.: It really brought back such great memories of a time and place that was very special and now forever gone. In one day, there have been over 5,000 plus views of "Circumstantial Eveidence" just on my Facebook site, and people's reactions have been amazing. I hope that Rob has more films because these are very special and quite a tribute Stiv and his legacy.

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Hope you will remember those days at the Whisky after seeing the video. I used what I could salvage after 44 years of deterioration (mold and color loss and scratches). These two films were shot on no budget before MTV existed. - Rob Luttrell

"Mick Rock's picture sleeve photo of Stiv and Frank for Bomp's single "Not That Way Anymore" in 1980." - Frank Secich

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Episode 25 Dylanisms | Podcast Mixes Celebrating Bob Dylan Cover Versions |‘Dylanisms’ is my 10-song mix podcast project, building an extensive archive of (mostly) 1960s recordings of Bob Dylan songs as recorded by various solo performers and groups many years ago. I will zoom in on the well known and the very obscure outfits who covered Dylan’s numbers, in particular those unknown teenage…

Signed to Mercury the same time as the New York Dolls, Ohio-based Blue Ash was part of a pre-punk wave pushing against the pretentions and bloat of 1970s rock & roll, along with Big Star, the Raspberries, the Records, and Flamin’ Groovies. They released two fine albums that have had an outsized influence. Frank Secich , the band’s bass player, went on to play in the Dead Boys, in Stiv Bators’ post-Dead Boys bands, and has continued to play with his longtime band, the Deadbeat Poets. PKM’s Eric Davidson talked with the genial Secich about their shared Midwest roots and the events mentioned in Frank’s new book Circumstantial Evidence, including memorable encounters with Keith and Mick, Yoko, Anita, Marianne, Iggy, Chuck Berry and, of course, Stiv himself.