AC/DC, “Sin City” (1978)

I first started playing the guitar when I was in sixth grade. Actually, I really wanted to play the bass. I was inspired by the bass parts of Wailers songs and “New Year’s Day” by U2. But when I got to the music store in Garwood, NJ with my dad, who was willing to get me an instrument, the salesman convinced us that the guitar was the way to go, and that I could always learn bass later. I was kind of bummed, but the argument made sense. My dad bought me an Aria Pro II guitar and a Stadium 30 amp, with a red DOD distortion pedal. I kept that guitar until college, when I left it in a rehearsal room and it got swiped. Some fucker has that guitar now, unless they went and smashed it somewhere, which is likely. Before they got it, I carved my initials “M.H” and “’86” with a cool lighting bolt on the back of the guitar with a Swiss Army knife.

Anyway, I took some lessons with a guy named Mark Liberto. My friend Terry Quinn was taking lessons with Mark. Mark played a red Gibson Melody Maker, I think. I used to bring him cassettes of songs I wanted to learn and he used to teach them to me. He’d write down the name of each song at the top of a piece of staff paper. Underneath he’d spell the chords I needed to practice for each song. When I went home, I had to remember which chords went with which part of the song in question. Eventually he taught me the pentatonic scale and some basic lead patterns. I can’t remember why, but eventually I stopped going, but I think it was because I started being able to figure out the songs on my own. But Mark was a cool guy. I remember him gamely singing along with Motley Crue’s “Shout At The Devil,” even though it was clearly not his thing. I Googled “Mark Liberto” recently and came up with nothing. I wonder what happened to him.

Early on I was playing stuff by the Rolling Stones, including “Brown Sugar,” “Honky Tonk Woman,” and “She Was Hot” (anyone remember that gem?). Then, a few months later, my sister started dating this guy named Kurt Petchow, whose Dad owned a pretty successful service station. I remembered Kurt from a few years earlier, when he was in sixth grade and I was in third at Washington Elementary School. I think Kurt was over at our house one day and he noticed some of the cassettes I had, stuff like Motley Crue, Quiet Riot, and Van Halen’s 1984. He said something like, “Yeah, that metal’s cool, but you should check out AC/DC.” At that point he leant me Back in Black, For Those About To Rock, We Salute You, and Highway to Hell.

I learned all about the distinction between Brian Johnson and Bon Scott, the roles of Angus and Malcom Young, and the succession of drummers after Phil Rudd. I studied all the album covers, which still are pretty damn cool to look at. Mostly, though, I spent hours and hours learning all the riffs, how to move power chords all over the place, how to syncopate my playing against the steady drums, how to make a guitar sound distorted without sucking.

Then there were the leads. I practiced and practiced every lead on Back on Black, Highway to Hell, For Those About to Rock, Let There Be Rock, High Voltage, and so on. Basically, I think this taught me everything I know about how to play the guitar. For all the bullshit surrounding AC/DC – and there isn’t that much – Angus Young can really play rock. And not only rock solos that you make up on the spot – those solos that he recorded are the ones he played live as well. They are actually well-constructed. No, he wasn’t Eddie Van Halen, but who cares. You don’t always need to eat crème brulee. Sometimes you need to eat a steak.

I picked this song because I always liked it and it never got much airplay. Plus now I still enjoy pre-Highway to Hell AC/DC more than any other era. It’s probably my fondness before the band’s sound before Mutt Lange got his paws on it.

I remember in seventh grade there was a videotape for sale of the AC/DC Let There Be Rock movie for, like, a hundred bucks, which is unbelievably steep. Again, I convinced my parents to buy it for me. It had all kinds of inappropriate language and behavior in it, but the movie was awesome, full of great Bon Scott-era performances. I still have that tape, even though I nearly wore it out. I also remember my friend Keith and I always battled over who was better, his crappy KISS-style glam-metal bands or old school blues-metal like AC/DC. I think time has told that I won. Sorry, man.

So there you haven’t. It isn’t lowbrow and it’s not even cool anymore, but I still dig it.

Album Info: Powerage (1978).

Diamonds and dust
Poor man last, rich man first
Lamborginis, caviar
Dry martini’s, Shangrila
I got a burnin’ feeling, deep inside of me
It’s yearnin’, but I’m gonna set it free

I’m goin’ in to sin city
I’m gonna win in sin city
Where the lights are bright
Do the town tonight
I’m gonna win in sin city, let me roll ya baby

Ladders and snakes
Ladders give, snakes take
Rich man, poor man, beggar man thief
You ain’t got a hope in hell, that’s my belief
Fingers Freddy, Diamond Jim
They’re getting ready, look out I’m coming in
So spin that wheel, cut that pack
And roll them loaded dice
Bring on the dancin’ girls, and put the champaign on ice

I’m goin’ in to sin city
I’m gonna win in sin city
Where the lights are bright
Do the town tonight