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It's come to this - a Sex Pistol drives a Prius.
On a recent crisp afternoon, Steve Jones, the guitar
architect of London punk in its primacy, zipped down
Hollywood Boulevard in his shiny white hybrid Toyota, which
is customised with a rooftop image of her majesty Queen
Elizabeth, a safety pin jutting from her lip.
And you thought punk rock was dead.
Even with the distraction of nubile young tourists strolling
up the Walk of Fame, Jones was in a melancholy mood.
You see, like so many people in America these days, the
53-year-old rock star turned radio DJ is looking for a job.
"It's weird not to have somewhere to go," Jones said.
"And wherever I do go next won't be the same, I know that."
Jones joined the ranks of the unemployed in January when
Indie 103.1, a scruffy but revered LA rock station, became a
victim of a vicious downturn in advertising revenue.
For five years, the Sex Pistol had been the gloriously
unpolished voice of "Jonesy's Jukebox", an eccentric and
unpredictable two-hour lunchtime show on which he played any
obscure record he wanted, chatted up famous guests or just,
well, whistled. The show was rebroadcast in the late
afternoon, and its pirate soul became the signature of a
station that Rolling Stone, Esquire, Spin and other national
magazines celebrated as the best commercial radio outlet in
the nation.
"Indie, that was my radio station, so to speak," Jones said.
"I think people are starting to really miss it and realise
how special it was.
"And for me, taking the job, it got me out of a rut that I
was always in.
"I'm pretty much an isolated person. I'd rather stay home and
play video games.
"For me to go somewhere every day, it was the best thing for
me as a human.
"It got me away from the madness in my head."
