Photo by James BunoanLong before those twits from Jackass ever dreamed of putting stapler to nut sack, pro skateboarder John Lucero and his equally loony cohorts were fucking shit up old-school style. What exactly does that mean? We're not sure either because Lucero has a seven-year-old daughter who can read well, so he'd rather keep this about the music. Damn him! These days, the onetime hellion and Black Label Skateboards head honcho designs skateboards, makes skateboard videos, and listens to music he's already familiar with.
OC Weekly:What do you listen to? John Lucero: I really like punk music. As far as bands, I like Duane Peters and the Hunns, the Stitches, the Crowd, the Briefs. I listen to lot of old punk rock like the Sex Pistols and the Clash and the Weirdos and '80s new wave like the Plimsouls. I'm stuck in the '80s really bad. Agent Orange, Channel 3. I like a lot of rockabilly, Jimmy and the Mustangs, old Stray Cats, Robert Gordon, Social D, Stiff Little Fingers, a lot of '70s rock N roll, Kiss and Aerosmith, the Ramones, the Rezillos, Elvis Costello, X. My favorite band of all time is the Cramps. They combine everything I like into one. I saw the Cramps one time, and it seemed like Poison Ivy was wearing a strange, ruffley diaper thing.
I think she gets much more beautiful every time she plays. I've seen her in some ruffley diapers. I've seen her in next to nothing.
Do you listen to music nonstop?
Not really. I have so many things I'm doing I often forget to put music on. I'm not too up on modern music, either. I don't like to hear anything new where I don't understand the words and stuff. I'm not a big fan of change or new music.
Do you go out and see live music?
I'll go to the Tiki Bar or the Galaxy Concert Theatre. I try to keep it local because of the kids and everything. I'm not out every weekend. I used to be out every single night. My wife and I are out about once every couple of months. That's what kids do to you.
Have you gotten your figure back after the kids?
I'm working on my figure all the time. It's always big and always beautiful.
Any particular places you like?
Vinyl Solution record store. Habana restaurant—they have a nice bar in there. Little Knight's a good dive bar. My wife is a hairdresser, and she owns her own '50s-themed hair salon called Salon Lucy in Costa Mesa. The whole outside of the building is pink—it has a glitter ceiling.
Are you missing any teeth or elbows or parts of your face from skateboarding?
I have a really messed-up back and two messed-up knees. I tore all the ligaments in my knees. Ten years ago, I never would have thought I would have a problem skateboarding.
What was your most rock-star moment, if you can put it in print?
Oh, sheesh—being called to skateboard in the Poison video for “Your Mama Don't Dance.” They had a hotel room with Jacuzzis for us, and at the live concert, the band manager gave us all these backstage passes and told us to give them only to the hottest girls.
Does your daughter skateboard?
Oh, yeah, I take her to the skateboard parks in the morning so she can learn. Watching her get into music is really cool, too. It has humbled me in many ways. When she was really young, she started liking Britney Spears, and now she has discovered Avril Lavigne, and she feels inspired by this girl, and she just formed her own band called the Needles. She plays guitar and sings.
Are they punk?
Oh, yeah, she's a total punk.
Do you snowboard also?
No. I tried it once and got ice burn on my back. I can't stand it. I stick to concrete. I don't surf, either. Just punk rock and skateboarding.
