Miami Music Blog

Miami New Times archives week of November 2 - 8, 1988

​Ron Wood is one of the world's most famous bass guitar players thanks to his tenure with the Rolling Stones. But did you know that back in the '80s he was part owner of a live music venue on Miami Beach called Woody's?

Well, it's true. Woody's Miami Beach was a live music venue, bar, and club located at 455 Ocean Drive on Miami Beach, and according to the ad we pulled for this week's Archive Diver, Ray Charles was booked for a show there way back on November 3, 1988.

Ray Charles is the famous blind musician who took a gospel singing background, applied it to making pop music, and changed the world.
By 1988 he was already a legend. It would have been cool to see him perform.

Here's the full ad for the show as it appeared in the November 2 - 8, 1988 issue of the Miami New Times.

via Miami New Times archives week of October 12 - 18, 1988

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NewTimes week of Oct 5 - 11. 1988

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image via Miami New Times archives week of September 7 - 13, 1988

​Yesterday And Today Records is a legendary Dade County mom-and-pop record store. The above ad is from their original location, long since closed, but guess what, they're still open  at 9275 SW 40 St. At 28 years strong and counting, they say they're "South Florida's oldest record shop (vinyl)."

Crossfade dialed up Evan Chern, the dude who has owned the place for the last ten or so years. He's a former WDNA DJ who spent "about 13 years" doing his show Notes From The Underground. Evan bought the store from the original owner Richard and had the foresight to buy the domain for VintageRecords.com. Here's some of what Evan had to say, the rest you'll have to ask him about in person:

via Miami New Times Archives week of August 31 - September 6, 1988.

Click for Fullsize.

​According to Wikipedia, Overkill is "an American thrash metal band, formed in 1980 in New Jersey." Their studio discography encompasses 14 albums from 1985 through 2007.

Their wikiography also says Overkill formed out of the ashes of a punk band called the Lubricunts -- awesome name.

The ad on the right promotes Overkill's Under The Influence album and the single "Hello From The Guitar," though artwork on the same ad references the song title as "Hello From The Gutter." The song was made into a video which appeared on Headbanger's Ball. Are we looking back at an era when the word gutter was too controversial for MTV? I don't know.

The album was released on Megaforce Records, an early independent metal label, with a push from Atlantic Records.

The ad also promotes an all ages Overkill show at the Cameo Theatre on September 6, 1988.

Were any of you there? Got a favorite Overkill song? Leave a comment. Check out this link to a 1993 New Times article that talks about Overkill. After the jump, the Overkill video for "Hello From The Gutter," featuring their logo mascot "Chaly," a skull with bat wings.

image via Miami New Times archives week of August 24 - 30, 1988

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via Miami New Times Archives week of August 17 - 23, 1988

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image via New Times archives

​ Back in August 1988 South Florida had a pretty good line-up of shows at venues from the Hollywood Sportatorium to the James L. Knight Center to the Kendall Town and Country Mall to the Fontainebleau back up to the Button South.

The Dope Jam brought together Eric B and Rakim, Doug E. Fresh, Kool Moe D., Biz Markie and Ice T.

Teen pop sensation Tiffany had a show.

Steven Wright, aka The Guy On The Couch in Half Baked and the KBilly radio announcer in Reservoir Dogs, was booked at the Carefree Theatre in West Palm Beach.

Punk rockers The Vandals, The Mentors, No Fraud and Shudder To Think were lined up at The Cameo on South Beach.

After the jump, check out the full archival concert listing from a Miami New Times issue from the week of August 10 to 16, 1988.

image via Miami New Times Archives week of August 3 - 9, 1988

​According to Hart Baur from SKUM, Grove Cinema "was the only (movie) theatre in Miami that had a liquor license," which means that if you were old enough to have a drink in 1988 you could have done so while watching The Decline of Western Civilization Part II - The Metal Years.

The movie is a Penelope Spheeris production (she later directed Wayne's World, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Little Rascals) and features interviews and performances from bands and personalities like Alice Cooper, Poison, Lemmy Killmeister from Motorhead, Megadeth, and Ozzy Osbourne.

The promo for the show appeared in an August 1988 issue of New Times and advertises a post-film, live music performance by Psycho Beach. I couldn't find out anything about them, but here goes the full flyer for the show and a YouTube clip of the first 10 minutes of The Decline Part II. Enjoy...

image via Miami New Times archives week of July 27 - August 2, 1988

​The Fourth Annual Florida State Rag Popping Championship took place July 28, 1988 at Tobacco Road. The competition was presided over by the International Rag Popping Association. According to the 1988 issue of New Times promoting the event, "rag popping is an eclectic mix of dance, rhythm, and juggling, all involving a shoeshine rag." The champion of the sport is a dude named Dr. Cool, a South Beach via Georgia legend, who threw the annual event to raise money for charity.

In 1997, Dr. Cool was found dead in a canal in Hialeah, an apparent suicide. Click here for the Greg Baker article about it. New Times online archives only go back as far as 1990, so the following is appearing for probably the first time ever in a digital format.

image via Miami New Times archives for week of July 20 - 26, 1988

image via Miami New Times archives issue week July 13 - 19, 1988

image via Miami New Times archives issue week July 6 - 12, 1988

image via Miami New Times archives week of June 29 - July 5, 1988

In the heat of the summer, better call out a plumber

image via Miami New Times archives week of June 22-28, 1988

When's The Last Time You Been To A Rock Show At A Movie Theater

image via Miami New Times archives week of June 15-21, 1988

We're not in this alone.

From New Times Archives Issue Week June 1 - 7, 1988

New Times Archives: Week of May 25-31, 1988

From the May 18-24, 1988 issue of the Miami New Times.

Twenty one years ago on South Beach Club Nu threw a Rambo III Premier Party. They flew down 3 skaters from LA. That same week they had a ladies' night, a model search, advertised the world's most expensive vodka, got sponsored by Robert's Western Wear, and featured performances by The Neighborhoods and Fetchin Bones.

Stay tuned to Crossfade as we continue to dig in the crates for more throwback content straight from the archives.