Still, the overall place remained dilapidated, Herrera confers.

"The ceiling tiles would be falling on your head during the gigs," she says

Hicks, who held muffin parties for the Mydolls and helped them gain a solid footing in the local scene, steered the club into punk history, though not without causing friction.

As Jerry Anomie of Legionaire's Disease recalls, "After our first song, Phil Hicks walked slowly to my mike, and with his back to audience, told me, "We can't have this kind of thing here."

"I replied, 'We'll do one more song.' He looked relieved and said, 'okay.' That's when I climbed on top of the PA speakers, climbed up in the rafters, and 'carefully' walked on the 2x4s, not an easy feat on LSD, until I was right over the middle of dance floor and kicking the ceiling tile out and hung over the floor' singing all the time."

Despite such prickly moments in the thick squall of makeshift nights, some musicians feel the venue did stoke their creativity.

Come back for Part 2 tomorrow. Vinyl Edge Records will be hosting an exhibit of Island-related flyers and photography by Ben DeSoto throughout November. The opening night, November 9, will feature free live music, a record release party by Doomsday Massacre, and door prizes.

The Island reunion show featuring Mydolls, Anarchitex, the Hates, Doomsday Massacre, AK-47, the Degenerates the Introverts, Bevatron, and Gary Yokie and Vex is Saturday, November 10 at Walter's, 1120 Naylor.