9 Questions: Bill Sassenberger, Toxic Ranch Records 20th Anniversary Celebration @ Vaudeville Sunday 8/3 and Dry Diver Monday 8/4

[Weekly 9 Questions]

In 1988, Bill Sassenberger and his wife, Julianna Towns, left the imploding California punk scene to lay roots in Tucson. They brought with them the Toxic Shock Records record store and label, and renamed them Toxic Ranch and Westworld, respectively. Join Sassenberger and co. (including Raw Power, from Italy) in celebrating 20 years, at Vaudeville Cabaret (Sunday, Aug. 3) and Dry River Collective (Monday, Aug. 4, all ages). Kristine Peashock, [e-mail]

What was the first concert you ever saw?

This will date me: Doobie Brothers, Spokane Coliseum, 1973. I remember the haze, sorta. A clearer memory was my baptism into punk: D.O.A., The Bags and Catholic Discipline, six years later at the Hong Kong Café in Los Angeles’ Chinatown.

What CDs are in your changer right now?

Roky Erickson, Gremlins Have Pictures; Mighty Sphincter, The Mighty Sphincter; Rudimentary Peni, No More Pain; Meat Puppets, Meat Puppets; a live Hawkwind CD; No Age, Nouns.

How many total albums do you own (CDs, vinyl, cassettes, 8-tracks)?

A couple hundred CDs, maybe a 1,000 LPs, 600 or so 7-inch (records) and about 200 cassettes. I lost my Three Day Stubble 8-track.

Do you download music, and if so, legally or illegally?

I’m too old-school for that; besides, I spend too much time on the damn computer anyway. I’d rather put on a record.

What was the first album you owned?

CCR, Cosmo’s Factory.

What song would you like to have played at your funeral?

I resent the question. I plan on outliving all you bastards.

Musically speaking, what do you love that your friends don’t know about? What’s your favorite guilty pleasure?

I’d rather hear Neil Young than the Misfits any day.

What band or artist changed your life, and how?

Raw Power. My proudest achievement as a record “mogul” was releasing their Screams From the Gutter LP in 1984 and involving myself in their many tours; the album and their live shows still win over new fans.

Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?

Flipper, Generic. Something about that cacophony that merged a snail-like, yet hypnotic beat with a worldview seething with cynicism really struck a chord with me. It destroyed any preconceived notions of what punk was all about and made me more of a skeptic.

[Ruben T Mesa]

What a trip! Bill! I remember you well! I used to go to the Freak Bros. head shop on w.Holt in Pomona, and I think later you changed it to toxic shock. Then freak bros moved to park and holt, then changed to gravities foe! "the assasin of mediocrity", I followed toxic shock to i think locust st at the old pomona mall, kind of by Arts building where i watched many shows! after that i lost touch, although I seem to recall toxic shock moving to mills ave, by the old sears. great to see your still around doing your thing. if you should read this please contact me!!!!