Melrose Ave. circa 1987
I had this folder on my desktop titled Melrose Ave 1987 and never put it in a magazine, so I figured I would collect the randomness here and keep it going. Melrose Ave, circa the mid to late 1980s, became a sub-cultural center of commerce for new wave/80s mohawk-style punk rock, perhaps in reaction as an alternative to the hair metal unfolding all around it. Post-hippie, pre-hipster, with stores featuring offbeat names from “Poseur” to “Cowboys and Poodles,” it gave rise to independent record stores, the birth of the retro movement and The Groundlings comedy community.
It also popped up on occasion in Freestylin’ Magazine.
- Wacko sold novelty items, toys and t-shirts. Mike Loveridge was featured in front of it in a Kuwahara ad circa 1987. (And while on the topic, why is he or Kuwahara rarely brought up in discussion? Both seemed fairly influential in style and execution.)
2. Flash Feet of London sold creepers, a style of shoe with a thick sole that experienced a resurgence in the ’70s via Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren. Gary Pollak probably never wore a pair of them, but he did introduce the “windshield wiper” to the world in front of the store in 1987. Today, the store is called Flasher and sells bogus L.A. fashion items you might find Susie Green from Curb Your Enthusiasm or Turtle from Entourage wearing.
3. I don’t even know what 7269 Melrose was back in the day when Pete Kearney first unleashed the backyard on the sidewalk out front, but located nearby was the original location of The Groundlings Theater, which gave rise to comedians such as Pee Wee Herman, Jon Lovitz and Phil Hartman in the 1980s. So it’s highly possible that while Windy Osborn was shooting photos of Gary Pollak and Pete Kearney on Melrose sometime in early 1987, that Phil Hartman was nearby trying out voices for Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. This is just conjecture though.
As a teenager, I knew where the “alternative/new wave/punk/skate shop” parts of the towns surrounding me were located (Red Bank and New Brunswick) and I wonder if that’s now a forgotten part of life that briefly visited between the early ’80s to mid ’90s. Ladies and Gentleman of the jury, I’m just a Caveman. Your world frightens and confuses me.
