Photo by James BunoanMirk Richardson, the long-haired bassist for Slingshot, knows a thing or two about crotchless panties, which is both unsettling and yet exactly what you'd expect from a man who works at a sex shop. He also knows about portable vaginas, camouflage lingerie and some sort of five-fingered massage mitten with a vibrator in the tip of each finger. Frankly, he frightens us.
Mirk Richardson: AC/DC is my favorite band. I've seen every tour that's come to Southern California since 1980. I'm known as the Bon Scott of OC. OC Weekly: Do you look at all like him?
Nah.
Favorite album and song? Back in Black. And “Shook Me All Night Long.”
So what's your band Slingshot like?
Three-piece power trio. Bass, drums, guitar. All covers. We're just out to make money. We play classic rock—I call it “meat-and-potatoes rock.” Nobody rocks like we do.
Is there anyone who even rocks close?
Not that I've seen in this area.
Has there ever been a night where you haven't rocked? Like where you were supposed to rock, but you didn't really rock?
We always rock.
Do you do anything special that allows you to rock to your fullest?
We're a three-piece, but we download MIDI files and put them on a CD. We play to the CD. We can sound like a 10-piece. We can have horns, piano, another guitar—with the files, we can sound like anybody.
What other bands are you into?
ZZ Top, Bad Company, Lenny Kravitz.
So this store you work at, the Pleasure Company—what is it?
Lingerie boutique store, adult toy store. Also, we sell videos, lotions, potions, adult games, DVDs, and lingerie for men and women.
What's hot in sexy lingerie right now?
It's getting close to Halloween, so we have a lot of sexy Halloween costumes right now. Since Sept. 11, a lot of companies have come up with camouflage lingerie and American flags.
Is it popular?
American flag? Yeah. Not so much camouflage, which is more of a war thing.
Do you have any personal favorites of the merchandise?
The Five-Finger Fantasy Massage Glove. I put it on in here and walk up to people from behind and touch them. And it works—they buy it.
Does anything shock you?
Not anymore—that's too bad. What used to shock me is the portable vaginas. They're now molding them off real women, but when they first started coming out, they were pretty crude. They've come a long way now.
What's the point of crotchless panties?
For the woman to still wear her panties, which are sexy, and engage in intercourse at the same time because you don't have to take them off.
I guess that makes sense. Anything else?
I love sushi, too.
Hey, how old are you?
52 and still rocking
Will you ever stop rocking?
No.
—Alison M. Rosen
VISIT MIRK AT WWW.SLINGSHOTROCKS.COM.
