“Is Axl here? How about Nikki? Taime? OK, I guess you’ll do!” — Riki Rachtman

LOS ANGELES – Like a rock and roll butterfly, Riki Rachtman continues to evolve even if his preferred brand of sleaze rock remains tucked away neatly in a time capsule.

The former Cathouse founder and MTV DJ is testing the waters with a spoken-word tour that’s selling out and getting rave reviews.

Rachtman, 60, never rose above the club level as a fledgling singer back in the day, but here he is in 2023, on stage, on point and on fire.

Rachtman has not been this inspired since he was partying all night with Motley Crue and Guns N’ Roses, and boinking porn stars.

So here it is,  a massive 7,000-word exclusive on Rock’s coolest dude never to sell an album. 

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METAL SLUDGE: Let’s start at the beginning. Your roots go back to Le Hot Club in the San Fernando Valley. You were a DJ for John Dunn, who was a party promoter who turned out to be a big influence, correct?

RIKI RACHTMAN: Yes I was a club DJ at several clubs and worked for John. It was cool for me because this is where a lot of the beautiful,cool people went. In other words it was one of the clubs that probably wouldn’t have let me through the door. It was also where I not only became a good club D.J, but I was really good at doing a lot of cocaine and drinking heavily. 

It was a world that not only accepted my addiction – it was encouraged. I played dance music but still was a rocker. I remember one day, this girl Angela came in with her boyfriend . He really didn’t dig that scene, but she knew I was into rock n roll like he was. He hung out with me in the DJ booth, and we talked about our love for bands like Aerosmith and The Rolling Stones. We had a blast making fun of the regulars while we drank and shared our appreciation for the bands we couldn’t play at the club. When he left he told me to come check out his new band “Hollywood Rose” – it was Izzy Stradlin. 

Those clubs were very different from the Cathouse years later, and John was good to me because he gave me a chance as his regular DJ – but man we did a lot of drugs back then.

METAL SLUDGE: A lot of people still do not remember that you tried to make it as a musician. A few times. What lessons have you learned from actually trying to do music instead of analyzing it or talking about it or promoting it?

RR: It started at a young age. I always wanted to sing in a band. I’ve played in a few bands. On the Sunset Strip it was Virgin and we had a little following. We headlined two nights at the Whisky. I was the weakest link in the band. 

Then I played with a punk band called Battery Club. We played a bit and went on a small tour opening for Offspring back in 1994. My singing was fair. I think my songwriting was good, but my stage persona was horrible. I watch videos and it’s cringeworthy. 

I think what I learned the most about playing music and dealing with bands as a fan and a club owner is that bands lose touch of that first word PLAY. It’s supposed to be fun. Everyone is so damn serious all the time. I wish I could have done all the band stuff over again.  I can tell you I am learning a lot about touring now. Damn it’s so expensive, and merchandise sales  mean so much to pay expenses. These days it takes much more than talent. You need to be a businessman as well. Most important thing is to treat your fans right. Remember they are the ones paying you. You work for them

METAL SLUDGE: Who was your first girlfriend? Can you describe the circumstances of losing your virginity?

RR: Her name was Linda. It was just before I turned 18. She was a virgin, too. You didn’t have easy access to porn then, and I really wasn’t sure how everything worked. I was very naive. 

I tried for months, and when we finally did it I wasn’t entirely sure we did it right. I remember us both laying there. I’m sure I didn’t last more than three seconds.  By the third or fourth time I think I could last six seconds. That’s including foreplay

METAL SLUDGE: What was your first thought when you met Axl Rose and Guns N’ Roses?

RR: I had seen him play several times before we met, and I probably found him intimidating. He would come on stage with ass-less chaps, hair teased-up, but he still had a swagger that if you looked at him wrong, he would rip your head off. 

I’m a little vague when we first met. I think it was before Cathouse but I’m not sure. I know we became good friends in the very early stages of Cathouse around 1986. 

Back in the day he really was a badass. Very intense but also could be funny as hell. We had a lot of fun . Back then nobody fucked with Axl, he didn’t just act a certain way when he had security guards with him .He had swagger. 

The girls all wanted him.  

It wasn’t this fake tough-guy, stage thing. There were a few people back then that had a reputation on the street as brawlers. Frank Starr was another one. Damn lucky both were good friends.

METAL SLUDGE: Did you have to try out to be on MTV? How did the audition process work?

RR: Well, yes and no. I did have an audition but it was Axl that really first suggested it to me. I never was in broadcasting. I wasn’t on the radio. I didn’t have these aspirations of being a journalist. I was just Riki, that punk that ran the Cathouse. MTV wanted me to come to New York to audition. but it was Axl and his manager Doug Goldstein that really helped set it up. He even flew to New York with me and paid for the hotel. 

I know I did a horrible job because this was all new to me. My first time ever on camera, ever on a microphone was MTV. The first few months on TV, I asked whatever questions were written on cards. I was nervous which came off as apathetic and cocky. I’m sure having big name friends helped a lot. 

I was Riki from the Cathouse, so while I didn’t have the interview skills, MTV knew I was from the scene, and ya I’m sure it helped that I had famous friends. It’s hard for me sometimes to go back and watch the old shows. I guess they saw something, and I am damn grateful they did

“HI, I”m Riki. I’m the host of Headliners Ball on MTV.” Good pickup line in a bar back then? 

I never used a pick up line. Usually a woman would approach me and ask “Is Axl here? How about Nikki? Taime? No ? Ok I guess you will do!”

METAL SLUDGE: If you never got sober, would you throw a TV out the hotel window on this tour?

RR: If I never got sober I would have probably already thrown myself out of a window. I always dealt with depression, still do. I know this is supposed to be fun and light-hearted but I dealt with a lot of dark stuff. I’ve done some sick things in hotel rooms when I was on drugs. Punch mirrors, write things in blood. I am not proud of any of this, but it was me in a disease 

In my old age I don’t get the same pleasure out of vandalism that I used to. I feel guilty. This tour, the craziest thing I may do in a hotel room is put chocolate chips in the free waffle machine….ya look out… Besides I probably couldn’t pick up a TV to throw it out the window

METAL SLUDGE: Do you have backstage passes and laminates?

Hell yes I do. It is a real tour, ya know. I have a tour manager. OK. It’s my wife. We have a tour bus. OK not exactly I bought a minivan but yes of course we have backstage passes and laminates That’s part of the fun stuff with this tour. I design all the laminates myself, backstage passes ,after show. 

I am enjoying all of that aspect. You have no idea how much I love saying I’m on tour. My friends are getting sick of hearing it. I talk about it all the time. It’s really surreal too to see my name on tickets and posters. I am so grateful. 

We see so many bands that have been doing this for decades constantly touring. Sure I know many do it for the money but I’m sure there are others like me that are really meeting new people in each city and being on stage.

METAL SLUDGE: Talk about your relationship with Taime Downe. Is he the brother you never had?

RR: That is exactly the relationship I have with Taime. I would do anything for him. He is in such a better place than he was 10 years ago. 

We had many years that we didn’t talk. 

We both were going through some shit but now, even though I live thousands of miles away, we talk about once a week. 

The one thing I really miss about Los Angeles is riding with Taime whenever I wanted to. I remember we once wanted Mexican food so we rode to Mexico just for lunch and rode back. 

We were friends and roommates back in the day. We opened the Cathouse together, but without doubt we are much better friends now then we were in the 80’s.

METAL SLUDGE: You once punched out a DJ. Any other fights in your brawl history?

RR: Most people outside of Los Angeles don’t even know that story but I address it and show news footage in my “One Foot In The Gutter” show. Beating that DJ up sent me to jail for the day  and when I was bailed out, I lost all sorts of employment. Nobody would hire me, and quickly I found myself flat broke. 

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Editor’s Note: Riki Rachtman was indeed arrested on suspicion of Battery after punching fellow Radio Disc-Jockey Douglas Steckler of the then popular “Conway & Steckler” radio show back on September 9th 1997 according to the L.A. Times.
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There was another time I got in a fight at the Hollywood Palace and ended up getting sued, costing me a few grand. If I left the story at that I might seem like half a badass,  but the truth is I am not. I have had my ass kicked so many times. I had a shorter fuse back in the day and had a hard time dealing with anger. I am the furthest thing from a tough guy and I think that’s pretty obvious from just looking at me. 

Yes I used to get in a few fights but nothing good ever ever came from violence. These days  I’m old, fragile and just avoid silly situations.

METAL SLUDGE: In your Cathouse prime, describe a typical Tuesday from wakeup till pass out – with every key detail especially the embarrassing ones.

RR: The beauty is there never was a typical Cathouse night, and it changed throughout the years. In the old days, I would roll out of bed in the late afternoon . We would all go to Dukes coffee shop which was right by the Whisky.

As it got later instead of coffee I found Crystal Meth would work much better. At the club I drank. I drank so much. I physically couldn’t pay the security because I was too fucked up to count out the bills. Yes there was a lot of sex, a lot of sex. Sex Drugs Rock n Roll seems like such a cliche but it truly was the lifestyle. You can’t really say it’s typical. 

One night Robert Plant is at the bar  and an hour later I’m telling a guy from Milli Vanilli he can’t get in free. Remember I was a kid in the best candy store with all of these big time rock stars letting loose. It was a magical time. It was the best time. We were all a tight community. We all would go to the same coffee shops. We all went to the same grocery store, once in a while there were even community softball games with a bunch of hung over rockers.

In 1988 the drugs and alcohol came to an end. My addiction then turned to Cathouse and building the brand. Riki & Taime’s Cathouse had become Riki Rachtman’s Cathouse. To be honest most of the Tuesday nights, I would hang out at the front door. Hanging out inside the bar there was just too much temptation.

METAL SLUDGE: Lita Ford barfed in your restroom at Cathouse, and you were like “I’ve arrived.” Tell us a few more juicy stories.

RR: The Lita Ford story is classic. The Cathouse only had 59 people that night. It was the second night of the club  and I was a big fan of Lita. I was so happy she was there that I made sure she had unlimited booze and well, I mean there are so many Cathouse stories. I can’t tell you how many stories I have read in books mentioning events that happened at the Cathouse. I’ve read stories like the one that started the Vince-Axl feud. This all began from an incident right next to … 

METAL SLUDGE: Of course  there’s the Axl Bowie tale.

RR: I share these stories and so much more in my show  so I don’t want to give them all away. The crazy thing is, doing research for the show I was reminded of stories that fell through the cracks. I didn’t think of these moments as being rock n roll history or folklore because it was just another Tuesday night for us. Was it really as decadent as people say it was? Yes it was. 

We got away with so much back then. It was our playground, and that was the way Alice Cooper described it. We could do what we wanted. That was the whole reason I had a strict no camera rule. I wanted everyone feel they could get away with anything without repercussion 

METAL SLUDGE: What bands have you helped the most, and what bands have you turned your back on for good reason?

RR: I get very undeserved credit for bands like Pantera. Sometimes even Guns N’ Roses. That’s just silly. I have read where I was credited for helping to launch that whole scene – which is credit I do not deserve. I had a place where all the talent could hang out and yet to become known as the Cathouse scene, but that’s because the talent was there and I was at the epicenter 

I believe it would have happened without me.

I didn’t pick any videos that were played on MTV, so when people thank me for turning them on to Pantera I don’t think I had anything to do with their popularity. I honestly never gave it any thought. 

I would get excited on Headbangers Ball when there was a band that I liked, and obviously showed them a little more love. Perhaps it did bring new ears to a certain band. I can’t say that because I gave Shannon Hoon a job when he had nothing that I helped Blind Melon. They would have made it regardless. 

Of course there were bands that I would wear their shirts and have them play the Cathouse, but bands helped me so I tried to return the favor. As far as bands I’ve turned my back on, I sure won’t be doing any favors for L.A. Guns. The guitarist Ace Von Johnson is honestly one of my very closest friends. He helped me meet my wife. I talk to him regularly and see him whenever I can. If I had personal issues I would probably turn to him, but Tracii got some crazy attitude with me last year that totally threw me for a loop. I always liked Tracii. I always liked L.A. Guns. Tracii is a great guitarist. I always thought of him as a friend. I attempted to do a Cathouse-themed one-night show. Of course, two bands on the top of my list were L.A. Guns and Faster Pussycat. Tracii and his manager gave me such grief. I had plans for dancing girls and video walls and fire breathers and this crazy Mad Max decadent vibe. It would be totally different from your typical live show. I was told it would be “LA GUNS presented by Cathouse,” and it went back and forth. They couldn’t understand that this was a one-time event. The one event that people would get on a plane if they had to. It was not about the bands – just like the original Cathouse  

I reached out to Tracii several times. Obviously I could have easily done it without him, but I thought it would be really fun to have them as part of the bill. It went back and forth a while and then I decided “fuck it. Too much drama.” 

I took the venue I had planned to do the Cathouse at and did my first storytelling show and ended up selling out without any band. 

That should have been the end of the story, but I show up at a show they are playing, and Tracii gets in my face. I thought he was joking. I mean, we have decades of history. I totally had dropped the whole idea of the show, but he starts telling me, “This is a business man you can’t be so unprofessional.” 

I had told him I dropped it a while ago, but he just kept on going. I was a little shocked. I  guess everything is business I get it, but my entire career, I’ve always made deals casually. I just thought it was stupid because in all truth, I was excited to see an old friend – yet that’s how he greeted me. 

So in my world it’s just block delete. 

Someone on social media talks shit, I block and delete. I don’t engage. Same thing. 

So if anything ever does come up, I wouldn’t include L.A. Guns. I was so  surprised that after so many years, this is how he approached me. So I’m like, fuck it, fuck him, he doesn’t exist in my world – and no, it isn’t always business.

METAL SLUDGE: How much did you get paid at MTV? What was your biggest year? And have you had a few lean times, too?

RR: I don’t really remember at first. I know it went up quite a bit each year. It was never crazy money. I was never a millionaire. I might have started at  60k a year from MTV, and I’m really just estimating, but I also had Cathouse going, a merchandise company I was doing Loveline on the radio, all at the same time. I’m guessing it was around 100k a year from MTV final year, but I really don’t remember. In 1995  I may have made 300K with everything combined. 

Didn’t save it of course. 

My best financial years actually happened after MTV. I was doing Loveline, a Nationally syndicated show then started my own talk radio show called The Triple R. I think one year I was making about 400K, then I got divorced, and then I lost my job all together, and nobody would hire me after I beat up that DJ. 

In 2001, my yearly income was $6,479 This figure I know is exact. In 2002 I may have made 16k. I was broke but just kept trying new stuff and found a new career in motorsports, and then I was back on top again. 

I had several years after 2007 that I was making a good six figures a year. I just kept on working. In October of this year everything came to a screeching halt. My 19-year radio gig ended. My Fox Sports gig ended.  

My Cathouse Hollywood apparel company does very well and it keeps getting bigger. I have a small coffee company called Cathouse coffee that makes small batch handcrafted specialty coffee, but it’s more for the love than money. In 2023 I decided at this late stage in my career to take a big risk and do these LIVE shows. 

I sold my Porsche to buy a minivan, so I could tour.I’m going all in. I’m not getting rich on these shows..I’m hoping to break even. Touring is very expensive but every time I am on that stage I feel like this is my calling. I love doing this. I have no idea where I’ll be at the end of this summer, but it’s exciting. I’m a hustler, always have been. I also learned to be grateful.

METAL SLUDGE: The late Raquel Welch used to hang at the Rainbow occasionally. Do you wish you had banged her?

RR: I never saw her there. Do I wish I had banged Raquel Welch back in the day? Has anyone ever said no? I would say 100 percent of heterosexual men would say yes, and even 60 percent of gay men would probably even say yes!

METAL SLUDGE: The old pig roast BBQ parties were some of the best times ever. What are your memories?

RR: They really were pretty hard-core. I didn’t hang with reporters or journalists. I was a dirtbag rocker/biker, and so were my friends. We had a small group of brothers called The Alumni. We were very tight. We would all do anything for one another. We all wore these black leather Cathouse vests and it was our colors. Axl wore one in the “It’s So Easy” video. Most people in the LA scene were aware of us. Michael Francis was OG Alumni and he lived in this house sort of in the barrio. He would raise Black Widows there. He was such a character. I love Michael . HE would throw these BBQs in his backyard and go to Pierce College, which had an agriculture department. 

Michael grabbed a truck, went there and purchased a live pig. He brought the pig home to the garage. At this point I left because I knew what was about to go down . I am not a vegan but honestly I love pigs. 

While I was gone Axl went into the garage and shot the pig. From what I was told it took several shots and the cops didn’t even come. 

By the time I got back, the pig was roasting on the spit. For some reason,  I just didn’t want any part of it.

METAL SLUDGE: Do you have some Rock and Roll secrets that you’ll hold forever?

RR: I probably should have kept that last one to myself. 

Of course I do have tons of secrets, and  I am telling many of them in my show, some I’ve kept to myself for decades. If there are rock n roll secrets that are personal between me and that person, I keep that with me. I’m a very loyal friend  I would never, ever intentionally hurt someone – well unless they did me wrong, then fuck ’em. I’m not worried about being sued because every story I tell is the truth because I was there.

METAL SLUDGE: How much of your shows are rehearsed, and how much is improvised?

RR: The first show I did was very loose and ended up being 3 ½ hours long. The show ended up getting great reviews – but holy F, that is way too long. 

I improvise but there is a basic format. It’s not all just me standing up there telling stories. There is a set and actual reenactments like a play. I have part of the stage set up like my bedroom when I was 12, and I try to take the audience back to that time with me. There are also videos and  slides. I am writing bullet points. I try to tell these stories in order. Now I go on stage for an hour, take a 15 minute intermission then go on for maybe another hour. There are some changes for every city

METAL SLUDGE: Are there any rock stars out there that still owe for their Cathouse tabs? 

RR: There really wasn’t a tab. I just started the night with a roll of drink tickets. With Lemmy I would just get him a whole bottle. It was like a house party to me. I wanted everyone in my house to have a good time. If I’m giving Slash all these drinks it was probably because the week before, they had money. Ya most of my friends drank for free.

METAL SLUDGE: A generation ago, you would crack fun at Orange County bands, but now you have a 714 number. What gives?

RR: Guilty as charged. I was a Hollywood elitist. I would say stupid comments like “Go back to Orange County” but as fate would have it, I ended up living in Huntington Beach. Wait, it gets worse – then I would switch it to “Go back to Riverside,” and as luck would have it, I ended up moving to Corona – which is in Riverside.

I eventually moved back to the Hollywood Hills. 

I probably at one point said to “go back to the South” because now I not only live in North Carolina, I own a house in North Carolina, and I love living in North Carolina

METAL SLUDGE: Has a famous musician ever conferred with you about quitting his band or quitting his marriage? Did you ever feel like a therapist? 

RR: There are a few people that I have deep discussions with but not many. Those are the stories I don’t share. I can count on one hand people that I am that close with. Some of them are in bands. The ones that share the personal stuff are the same ones that I share with myself. Therapist ? Nah just a good friend that listens

METAL SLUDGE: Your clubs like Cathouse and Bordello had more girls than boys. Was that the real key to your success?

RR: I think it was. It was about the atmosphere. What did it feel like once you walked in? The bands that played the Cathouse were only a small part of its success. The club had been open a while before we ever had a band play at all. Cathouse was a rock n roll dance club, and we never did advertising, talking about how hot the Cathouse girls are. We didn’t promote it and we sure in hell didn’t recruit. 

Yes, in the early days Taime and I would invite strippers and porn-stars only because that’s who we knew. Soon that fun, sleazy attire was the Cathouse way. Women,of all types of took great pleasure in dressing sleazy. It didn’t mean they were sleazy, it was play time. If you went to a Cowboy bar you put on a hat and denim skirt. When women went to the Cathouse, they many times dressed like whores, but in no way does that mean they were. 

It was not degrading because they had all the power. They owned businesses, they were teachers, lawyers but on Tuesday night for a few hours it was play time either for real or pretend.

METAL SLUDGE: Give us your thoughts on some industry figures:

Eddie Trunk

I believe Eddie and I could not be more opposite with the exception we both love metal. That being said, even though we are different I like Eddie. He is the guy with all the fans, he is the guy with all the listeners, and he is still very honest with his opinion. To most people he is the voice of hard rock.

He gains nothing by letting me promote my show on his shows, and he still welcomes me on. I really appreciate it. Anytime I do something on Eddie’s show, people tell me they heard it. I used to get jealous of him a few years ago because I was never asked to host any festivals. That was foolish on my part.  Without a doubt that guy knows way more about music than I do. I don’t know who produced what, and I’m not even sure what an engineer does. Eddie knows all that stuff. I’m just the guy that was in that scene

Dee Snider

I love and respect Dee. It’s only been the past few years that we have become close. I find him very intelligent and I would turn to him for advice.

He came out here to North Carolina a few months ago and we all had dinner. You have no idea how many fans just adore that guy. Dee is the real deal and I am very grateful for our friendship

Bret Michaels

Back in the day I remember going to his house for a party, and I know I had a Halloween party in 1986 that Poison played at but the truth is I wouldn’t say we were good friends. I like the guy I really do, and every time I see him we spend some time chatting. 

I know he played a part in hiring me to host those “Rock of Love” reunions, and I appreciate that. When I say someone is a “friend” to me, that means we talk once in a while away from work situations, have meals together etc. Do I like Bret? Very much. He is very good at what he does and is genuinely a nice person. Really good front man too

Bill Gazzarri

For those of us old enough to remember Bill Gazarri had these horrible commercials on the radio where he would say “I’m Bill Gazzari the godfather of rock n roll and I’ve got the foxiest chicks in my club and the foxiest guys on my stage and if they ain’t foxy, they aren’t on my stage.” 

I went to Gazzarri’s only once; it wasn’t really my thing. 

I know a lot of the club owners back in the day didn’t like seeing this young kid open this club in Hollywood that went against everything everyone was doing. I don’t play by the regular promoter rules  and still Cathouse and Bordello became two of Hollywood’s most notorious nightspots. I don’t think I ever spoke with Bill.

David Lee Roth

David Lee Roth is a rock star. If I hear the word rock star I think DLR. He would frequent Cathouse, and it was at my other club Bordello where he met John 5. David Lee Roth was once on Joe Rogan and told this story about my parents being these bikers and owning this bike club. The story couldn’t be further from the truth, but I think I’ll just keep it out there. 

Van Halen in the old days was the perfect rock band. I am a big Sammy fan, but it was a totally different band with Dave. Every member of that band played a part, and they were all different and I hear  Fair Warning” and I think Junior HIgh, root beer, Chevy vans, girls in tube tops. David Lee Roth is the quintessential rock star

Kurt Cobain

Disappointment. Big Nirvana fan and when I met him, well everyone knows that story

Steve Jones

I love Jonesy. He used to sit on his Harley outside of the Cathouse. We had a lot of bikers there, and the streets were lined with bikes. 

He was this handsome man with this long flowing hair, and he would wear a vest or jacket without a shirt underneath. He would simply sit on his bike, grab a girl, disappear, come back and grab another girl. 

He never even bothered to mention he was the guitarist for the Sex Pistols.

In between, he would come into the club and hang out with Joseph the DJ. He was just a good guy, always. 

Most of the regulars had no idea he was the guitarist of one of the most influential bands

Joan Jett

I was in high school and a punk rocker. I was at the apartment of Germs singer Darby Crash. Joan produced the Germs first album. I had dragged my younger sister with me. She was probably 15 and she felt very uncomfortable because she said Joan Jett was trying to pick up on her

Savannah (porn star)

Just a sad story.  At one point Pauly Shore dated this ex-girlfriend of mine. Then Pauly started dating Savannah, so I figured I think I’ll fuck Pauly’s girlfriend. Truth was, Savannah was a very sweet girl. She had this little girl lost vibe. Hollywood and porn ate her up. 

Of course she did the rounds with several of my friends. It’s all a tragic Hollywood story

Nikki Sixx

I kind of hoped you wouldn’t ask about him. 

OK, I will try to keep this brief. 

Nikki and I were very close. We both got sober together. We spent a lot of time together in the mid to late 80’s, and I think we had some very heavy conversations, just him and me. 

I really liked Nikki. I got my jeep from him and we would hang out all the time. I got to go on tour with Motley on the private jet, went to Vancouver when they were recording and I personally feel we both helped each other get sober in 1988. 

This was a few years after I had been the DJ at Tommy and Heather’s wedding. I never let any of the guys in the Crue know this, and they still probably don’t know but my gawd I was such a fan of them during the Shout/Theatre of Pain days. 

Now I was friends with all of them, but without doubt Nikki the most. We shared a lot of personal stuff. I introduced him to his wife at the time, and went to Hawaii for the wedding. 

One night I’m at Bordello, and (Vince Neil’s wife) Sharise’s brother, Landon, walks in and tells me he just saw the girl that I was engaged to walk out of Nikki’s hotel room! 

My stomach dropped. 

So I saw him about 10 years ago, and it was so damn awkward. Look, we all do crazy shit but in my mind, you don’t fuck your friend’s old lady. 

Well the good thing is, I dropped her as well. Let’s just say I don’t hate him, I don’t like him, and it’s just block and delete.

Doesn’t exist in my world. Can’t believe I just told that story

Janine Lindemulder

Oh the hits just keep coming, don’t they? It was the most drama I ever had in any relationship. We were together for several years. I was with her when I was making money, and I was with her when I lost my job and went broke. 

I knew she did porn when the relationship began, so I sort of set myself up, but then I was broke and she was pretty much supporting me, which was causing any self-esteem I had to vanish. We fought a lot and in no way am I putting blame on her. 

Very intense. 

There were some very dark times. It was bizarre when she got on the cover of the Blink 182 album. She had been getting recognized a lot for her porn career, but now she was getting recognized by children because of Blink 182. It’s one of those things where nobody was the bad guy, nobody was the good guy. It was very toxic for both of us. 

METAL SLUDGE: Give us a vivid memory of the following:

New York City 

Walking through the streets of NYC with Axl. It was winter and he had a full-blown fur coat. I went into a thrift store and bought this long coat. It started raining and my coat started to smell. 

It turns out I had purchased a goat coat. 

I love NYC. there is an energy you don’t find anywhere else

Tijuana

I’ve done some  things at bars in TJ that I don’t really want to read in print!  

One story that I will tell is when they had the grand opening of the Hard Rock Cafe. We were running through the hotels with Alice In Chains’ Mike Starr  

I know fireworks were involved, crashing a party was involved. I vaguely remember getting very close to going to a Mexican jail which would not have been good

The Rainbow Bar & Grill

It’s simply not the same. No Mario, No Tony, No Michael. 

It’s just not the Rainbow that we all loved. On the rare occasion in the late 80’s that we would go out on a weekend, if things weren’t happening, you always had the Rainbow. The food was good. You always had friends there, and of course Lemmy was at the corner of the bar. It was crowded and crazy, and you always knew someone there. I remember having a crush on one of the girls that sold roses. 

I of course drank way too much every night I was there, and one morning woke up and she was next to me. I honestly had no idea how I got there or what happened, but she was furious and demanded I take her home. 

She never said a word about what happened and would not ever speak to me when I saw her. I still have no idea what happened!

Palm Springs

That was the place that really showed me the difference in the economic classes of my high school. Palm Springs was where everyone went for Spring Break, and they usually stayed in nice hotels and would party by the pool. I didn’t have much money, and I remember climbing on the roof of a hotel alone and downing a massive bottle of Jack Daniels until I passed out. 

Oh, there was one time this local girl seemed interested in me. She invited me into her house. We walked in and she had a Great Dane that bit me on the ass, and I had to go to the hospital

Las Vegas

I thought I had this system. I would go to Las Vegas with Fred Coury (Cinderella). This is a long time ago. Every time you would get $100 in quarters, they would make a note of it. I would start with $100 in quarters. I would play video poker, and gamble whatever came out. I would get bills from another window and then go back to the original window and buy quarters again. It would look like I kept on going getting more and more money. 

Eventually I would get comped. I gambled a lot and even won a few times. I haven’t been to Vegas for a while and I miss it. Especially lobster grilled cheese at the South Point.

Miami

For some reason, I always remember the first show of the Megadeth tour in 1992 in Miami. 

Dave Mustaine was notorious on MTV with me. I had just cut my hair which for some reason was a big deal back then, and I knew Dave was going to bust my balls like he always did. I had been preparing for the verbal attack and when the cameras went on, Dave said, “I like your hair Riki, it looks good.”

I was baffled. It’s funny to this day people think Dave Mustaine really hated me when in fact we were friends. He played the Cathouse, played my birthday. 

I heard him in an interview recently where he said he grilled me because he wanted to toughen me up. He wanted me to succeed. Was he a little brutal sometimes? Well yeah, but the truth is, nobody asks me about all the great interviews with Metallica,  but they all remember Dave torturing me.

In my mind, that’s OK. You remember the show. You enjoyed him making fun of me, and if decades later you remember those shows, ’m a happy man. 

Miami though? Lots of expensive cars, traffic sucks and the place feels greasy to me, and I always think about Scarface

Hollywood in 1988

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. We all believed we owned the streets – and we did. There was rock n roll everywhere. 

People would go see bands play several nights a week. Bands were getting record deals. Our friends were getting advances and soon went from Top Ramen on the couch to buying nice cars. Everything was rock n roll. We bought our groceries at rock n roll Ralphs. We would get Mozzarella sticks at Rock n roll Denny’s. The Cathouse was wild, sexy and dangerous. We didn’t have a helmet law and would ride our Harleys down the street in packs. 

I could easily just say sex, drugs and Rock n Roll,  and it was that. Was it as crazy as you think? No, it was more wild. It was heartbreaking, it was invigorating. It was every emotion. It was victory, it was defeat. Everyone was a rock star or at least believed that they were. It was magical, and it never, ever ever will be duplicated.




Riki Rachtman @ Facebook – Instagram – Twitter – YouTube – U.S. Tour / Tix – Aussie Tour / Tix –

Cathouse @ WebSite – Store –

Gerry Gittelson can be reached at gerryg123@hotmail.com