GEt your copy via bittorrent!

Damn, we need more seeders!

I was (attempting to) downloading the 3.7 gig VOB version..
It was taking wayyyy too long. :(

Damn, we need more seeders!

I was (attempting to) downloading the 3.7 gig VOB version..
It was taking wayyyy too long. :(

Hi there:

I know how to use BitTorrents, not quite sure about all aspects and the intricacies of the BT system, but at least enough to download and convert the files into watchable discs of films and television shows.

But my question to you is--

Are there still any 3.7GB bittorrent versions of the film around? Because my version is only a little over 1GB, and "size DOES matter."

By the way, I met (and on one occasion hung out with) Johnny T., the first time on the night his legendary Gibson guitar was stolen at a Gang War gig in Boston.

The second time, at a Thunders gig in Cambridge, MA, Johnny wanted to buy a pinback button off of me, because the message on it was something he told me he thought bandmate Walter Lure would have liked. He grabbned me by the lapels and pleaded, "You gotta give me that for Wal-tah. I'll give you fifty bucks".

But I figured, if Johnny was willing to give me or anybody fifty bucks for something non-chemical, it must really be worth keeping.

Johnny also wanted this black & gold, glitter headband/scarf I was wearing, which I subsequently lost on the way to my first detox. I don't know what I was thinking--that there would be some party requiring trashy chic dress in a detox?

I was the first among my circle of rock & roll friends to try to kick booze & drugs, and that was before most people had even heard of The Betty Ford Center. I guess I just wanted to be sure I had proper rock & roll attire, just in case something at the detox required such. Truthfully, on the night I went to that detox, I just threw things into a bag, it all happened so quickly. There was no real "intervention"--I was my own interventionist.

Anyway, as it turned out, I wish I had given that scarf to Johnny, who would have at least gotten some more pleasure out of it than I did. I think that scarf actually fell out of my sister's car and blew away into some woods, or down some lonesome highway.

But the interactions with Johnny over those two items of mine taught me how keenly in tune he was to style. Johnny was never so *beep* up he couldn't spot a cool garment or accessory that would look great on stage, or even just for "making the scene," which is part of why we who liked him liked him. He was, truly, "the poor man's Keith."

I think if I ever had occasion to see Walter Lure, I might just give him that button Johnny wanted so badly for him, as my way of honoring the kindness in Johnny. I would at least try to track down one exactly like it.

Anyway, I eventually got my own band going, wrote a tribute song for Johnny that won a local music award. In fact, I had been in contact with Mr. Kowalski (the director of "Born To Lose") about using the song in his film, which is still a work-in-progress, last I knew. If the film ever does see an official release or re-release, could always be used as bonus feature, I suppose.

I saw the film when it made its Boston area premiere at the Coolidge Corner Theater, I think sometime in 2000. I thought it was good, and parts of it made me cry. But the film needed more of the subject himself talking, if there even is any more good, unused footage of J.T.

Someone once wrote that, with the deaths of Johnny Thunders and Andy Warhol, that was the end of "fun" in the New York nightlife; that while each was still alive, there was always the prospect of and speculation that both or either might grace a club with his appearance, which always lent an "air of festivity," as it were.

I eventually did kick the booze and drugs, sort of. It took another detox to do it. But then, ironically, due to various injuries, I found my way to Johnny's drug of choice, by way of prescribed pain medication. All those years as a music journalist, and then fronting my own band, in clubs and dressing rooms nearly every night of the week (or at least weekend), I managed to steer clear of riding the horse. That was "THE ONE" of the major drugs I used to be able to say I managed to avoid. Then when I had already "retired" from rock & roll, I become an addict. My only saving grace was I didn't boot it. I've been on methadone about a decade now. That and other illnesses have rendered me less than my former self. But at least I'm still awake part of every day.

I miss Johnny. I miss my youth. Sometimes I miss those rock & roll nights. And every little once in awhile, these days, I even miss "going out of the house."

Let me know if you still have, or if you see one of those 3.7GB versions of "Born To Lose."

Take care (or take cover),
J.M.