the wild one.

01 | sympathy for the devil

March 1981

Growing up along the poorer side of the Beverly Hills, Harley Jones only witnessed the legends of rock and roll through her tv screen or the gated fence of the city. The black-haired girl longed to be a part of them, wishing for an escape from the clutches of the rosary that had wrapped itself in an almost chokehold-like state.

The rosary only loosened when she turned 18, able to leave the household and live legally on her own. And of course, Harley went where it was closest to Hell - The Sunset Boulevard.

The Sunset Boulevard - aka The Sunset Strip - ranged from 16 to 22 miles long. It stretched across West Hollywood, one end pouring out at Los Angeles and the other to Beverly Hills. The Strip contained the most tainted and dirty of places, such as the Seventh Veil, The Rainbow, Whiskey A-Go-Go, Starwood, and The Roxy Theatre.

And of course, it wasn't Hollywood without the flashy neon lights announcing where the nearest strip club was on every corner. Even simple places such as Burger Kings contained such a flashy sign.

Harley loved the scene, it was much more calming compared to the place she had grown up. Her mother, Joyce Jones, was a strong believer in Jesus. Joyce did nothing that wasn't dedicated to the man, including keeping her children sane. She had even banned rock music, claiming that it was Satan trying to take the children from the Lord and to curse them.

Harley and her brother, Jack, thought that was pure bullshit. While to some extent Jack still believed in God, Harley had fully thrown that idea out the window. She'd rather have her rock music than a higher power.

While both of the Jones siblings shared a love for music, they had a different route. Jack still enjoyed rock music, but more on the side of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Simon & Garfunkel, and The Beatles. Harley didn't mind them, and she'd listen to them if her brother put them on. But what she liked was the heavy stuff.

Harley was always listening to bands along the lines of AC / DC, The Who, Black Sabbath, and such. When they had come out in the mid-1970s, Harley was ecstatic over the all-female rock band, The Runaways. She practically broke her cassette of their debut album listening to Cherry Bomb and You Drive Me Wild over and over.

So, of course, Harley had snatched the opportunity to move out there as soon as it hit August 14, 1981. It was a fresh decade, the 1980's, and Harley was damned if it ended the same way the 1970s had.

She started decently, for now, living in a small quality apartment right across from the world-famous Whiskey A-Go-Go. Harley of course needed money to keep her rent paid, so she found a job at the local record shop - Warped Vinyls. The name was misleading, as Harley hated having to tell every customer that the vinyl was not warped, and it was just for the name sake.

Outside of the job and a place to live, Harley barely had enough of the other departments for a good life. She was one of the many living paychecks to paycheck, having to make sure everything was 100% turned off and unplugged when she left the house. Harley typically ate out, since most of the time it was cheaper than going to the grocery store depending on where she ate at.

The other thing she lacked were friends. Yes, she knew that was kind of sad when she thought about it. Harley didn't know if she could count her coworkers as friends, she despised Mark - the feelings were mutual - but she liked Jeanie and Avery. Avery was a bit much for Harley, but Jeanie was cool, she had Dolly Parton-like blonde hair and always wore big hooped earrings and bright eyeshadow.

For the afternoon with the lights shut off, Harley's studio-sized apartment was brightly lit. She sat cross-legged in front of her mirror, brushing her bangs out of her eyes to apply a thick line of black eyeliner around her eyes. Harley then scoops up the forest green vest for her job and throws it on. Getting up, she makes her way to the kitchen to grab her keys off the counter.