guest post by Simone Davalos
I have started and stopped this article two or three times over this last year, but the sad moment, like most other sad moments, has finally and irrevocably presented itself.
Ace Auto aka Ace Junkyard, one of San Francisco’s most interesting venues for shows, music, art, work, shenanigans, and a nice place to find the ‘67 Plymouth Valiant window winder of your dreams, is closing down for good at the end of the year. After one full year almost to the day of Bill the Junkman valiantly battling with lawyers, contracts, and intractable landlords and ladies, the war has been lost.
Artists, builders, dreamers, power tool racers, military surplus crane enthusiasts, Geiger counter owners, gearheads, rodeo klowns, welders, cheerleaders, noise band musicians, dumpster divers, drag racing drag queens, shiftless ne’er do wells, and wayward youth, lend me your ears.
St. Stupiders, Lost Vegans, Horrible Dangerous Junkyard Party-goers, Cycleciders, imbibers of rusty tin cans full of Tecate with scrap metal Jim Beam chasers, the hour has come. For real this time.
One year ago yesterday, the rumblings sounded. We thought it was for sure, we thought it was final. Bill The Junkman held and defended our venerable junkyard from further destruction. He fought the good fight, for one whole year. Here he tells the tale in his own words:
She won on the building permit clause of the lease.
Yes, I would have won the eviction and the lease extension. However even if I won on these issues, I would have needed to pay her the 8+ months of back rent, (about 40K) and I still would have only had 4 more years left. That and the lease has a clause that states if she get a building permit (if only for a dog house) then I need to be out in 60 days. So even if I won she would take my rent money and use it to get the building permit and I am still out in sixty days.
I have been here for 25 years, well over half my life was spent here, While on one hand, I walk out of here in less than 90 days, 53 years old, 10 of thousand of dollars in debt and no job.
The other side of it is…. well it was and is worth ever penny of it. The people, events, art, and most importantly to me the parts of my self that I found, and the person that I have become. A large part of who am now is because of the love and support on my family of friends I have made from this place.
Has for what is next for me? for now a B I G push to get this place closed up and cleaned out. After that i have no clue, there just not a lot of demand for transgendered junkyard mangers nowadays. I may go out to Honolulu to my folks’ and surf for a week, but as nice has Hawaii is, it not home, as I write this at the yard, i feel like I am going to be a bit “homeless”. Not to worry, I have a place to sleep at night, but truly Ace was my home, and I know for a lot of you, it was as well.
Friends, neighbors, family. Anyone who has ever been to the Junkyard to listen to Mongoloid, Attaboy and Burke, Neighborhood Bass Coalition, and many more; if you have ever borrowed a tool, come around for gossip and advice, stored a thing, learned a thing, or moved that pile of heavy stuff over next to that other pile of heavy stuff; if you ever wondered what the hell this place was that your friends had taken you on your night out, or just enjoyed knowing that the junkyard was there when you needed it, raise a glass.
Ace Junkyard will forever be a singular font of arts, culture, wisdom and indelible grease stains. We will never see her like again.
photos by Scott Beale
Here Are A Few Related Posts You Might Enjoy:
- Cyclecide Bike Rodeo New Year’s Eve Show at Ace Auto Junkyard
- A Horrible Dangerous Junkyard Party
- Monsters of Accordion III & Junkyard Photos
- 7th Annual Frozen Dead Guy Days, A Celebration of Cryogenics
- Night of the Living Dead: The Play
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
damn. damn. damn.
A lot of my misspent adulthood was misspent best there. Soooooo many great memories.
There’s gonna be a party, right? Say yes.
There will be, but not there. . .
does bill the junkman need support? if so, i am sure people would paypal some dough his way… dribs and drabs make a difference. my heart fundraiser was amazing and helped my healing and transition like i never thought possible… the coming together of people was incredibly moving. glenn campbell
Next time I see a pile of industrial detritus (it won’t be long,) I’ll raise a Tecate to the good (if often fuzzily memorable) times at Ace. My heart goes out to Bill the Junkman, a hero to dumpster divers everywhere.
I’ve started and backspaced over this comment five times already. Ace Junkyard was the site of some of my most treasured memories. Ace and Bill the Junkman have done *so* much for the SF freak artist underground, and it’s hard to imagine this place without them.
A particular favorite: somewhere around 1999, I was at an Attaboy and Burke show at Ace. It was dark, and there was a full moon shining down on the party. I was standing on a stack of cars watching the performers when I had a near samadhi experience. It was a direct experience of the Divine. I wasn’t drunk or high. It was just that I suddenly realized that here was the chance I had been waiting for: I really could live over the rainbow. These crazy junkyard poets and musicians and artists and everyone who had come to be a part of the event… these were my people. Growing up didn’t have to mean growing out of it. I’d known that stuff before, but that night was one of my first really intense experiences completely outside the pale. Thank you for helping to make that happen.
THANK YOU JUNKMAN BILL for all the years you’ve put into San Francisco. Ace will be sorely missed, and I dearly hope that we can find a new home base for Bill the Junkman here in the community he has uplifted for so long.
Bill, you can identify an engine by hearing it. You know how to ship metal to China. You know how things work better than many engineers.
Wounded in a foxhole, I’d trust you to operate on me with an exact o knife, upholstery needle & fishing line…& get better results than my local ER.
Bill, you are a smart fucker. You brought the art to the Yard. It was all junk, until you got your perfectly manicured hands on it. When you look in the mirror, see the concerts….see the art…see the magnet that made it happen. A plot of land is just a plot of land unless there is a visionary that can see it put to best use. & a junk car is just a junk car without someone who can give it new life.
So, take care of that beautiful self of yours..whatever it takes,
Love, Tracy
Belinda,
Thank you for the ass bad coffee, the home in heartbreak hotel, the amusement.
Ace is dead, but the queen is not. Long live the Queen!
Love,
Heckle and the animal farm
Also, Billy, you once fixed the alternator on my 67 Plymouth Valiant with vise grips and a hammer. Sometimes all you needed to do was laying on of hands. You are amazing and we will do whatever it takes to make sure you are well done by.
Sad sad sad. May the gods and goddesses of all creation bestow upon you every blessing under the sun, Bill. I only ever performed at Ace once, for Jarico’s bachelor and then Sean and Annika’s bachelor/ette party last week, and I feel blessed for that one ooprtunity and for every piece of junk that became the building blocks for the art and community I love today. You will always have a friend in Phat Man Dee. I am sorry to hear of its passing, but I pray you see a brighter day and love will shine upon you for the sacred work you gave voice too these many years. Thank you from the bottom of my chubby heart.
This is VERY sad indeed! This was one of the all time best places in San Francisco and will 20 years from now it will be remembered like places such as the Avalon Ball Room and Mabuhay Gardens.
…and billy with the likes of Chet Helms! One of the nicest people you will ever meet; a true hero!
Bill this is even sadder than the closing of the Filmore. You are without a doubt a real hero of life, love and happines. What comes next I know that this will not keep you down and you will never be a surfer bum you may be crazie but not supid and I am sure that there will be another ACE in the future. If you want to make some cash e-bay parts of the junk yard for example the shed should be worth 20-30K to SFMOMA and the sign worth $$ to some of the followers like the boxshop or the new place in Oakland. Really think about it and if nothing else make some t shirts I still have my xlarge but could use more
love peace and happines
artfag
well, it’s a good thing i’m making a film about ace then, innit? i would love any and all input towards this endeavor. i have made significant progress on the story of ace, but any personal hooha’s or photos/videos would make the movie o so great-er. you can contact me here: yasi.mak@gmail.com
long live ace!
Have fond memories of the Power Tool Drag Races at Ace.
Another end of an era.
::
help Doc – busted stud
thank you, Bill and sacred Ace
old part – new life – hope
Sad news… Good think there are awesome picture that captured the funky vibes. Thanks for mentioning the cheerleaders, it wouldn’t be a race without cheerleaders (I was one of them, had loads of fun!)
Ace was one of THE PLACES. Unique. Mysterious, compelling and more than a little confusing to those visiting for the first time. Home for those who made a second visit. What I gained through my association with ACE and the patronage and friendship of Bill Kennedy, I cannot begin to explain. Most “patron’s,” “benefactors,” and “philanthropists” give without ever straining their pocketbooks or making any real dent in their net wealth or lifestyle because they are financially rich. Most of them give to enhance their status, or to gain influence or to appease their god as a way into heaven after a lifetime of greed and theft. Billy gave stuff away with no expectations. No catch. Billy gave stuff away to those to whom it belonged. Good stuff. Stuff they made art out of. He gave cars that worked well to those who REALLY needed a car that worked & couldn’t afford one. He gave away working computers, valuable metal and other building materials, furniture, appliances…… He gave away stuff that, as a small businessman he could have hoarded and sold for real $$$. Billy Kennedy is not only not rich, he is, like all those he patronized, struggling and working hard to pay the bills. THAT is a true philanthropist. A real benefactor. Like all the best spirits Billy gave it away. Ace will be no more than a memory in a few months. Billy will move on into the next phase, whatever that may be. He goes with the love and gratitude of so many he helped, so many who had a grand, singular, maybe life changing experience at ACE. Thanks a million, William Kennedy – see you down the road.
Where will I find random server parts, poles for wi-fi antennas, and shelves for 19″ racks? I’ve gotten many a piece of junk from this place and used it in Monkey Land. Oh, and the junk Bill has let me leave there for FREE! Thanks for it all, Bill!
PS: many thanks for letting Cyclecide run amok for so many years in your yard.
Sorry bout ACE, Bill. I have appreciated and loved what you hath wrought for several decades (can you believe it’s been that long?) My child learned how to build his own computer because ACE was there for him to experiment on discarded ones. And priceless are the memories of movies, car crashes, parts hunting, tool races, yard kitties, and your never ending wit. I know the latter shall be intact. We shall mourn the loss of your yard and love you forever for giving us everything.
There is a hole in my heart, now. It’s sad to think I’ll never see another show at Ace. Go to Last Call, San Francisco to read my farewell.
lastcallsf.wordpress.com
oh no! this is a REAL tragedy! Ace Auto. This is soooooo SAD. Oh my…. Home to a million memories and some of the goodest of good times i ever had in San Francisco. Truly. Always you and Ace will be cherished SF Icons…. Flaming Lotus girls and a hundred other artists could never have succeeded without you!!! Seriously. This a sure sign of the Decline of Western Civilization
Well, Bill, if you come to Hawaii for some well-deserved R&R we’ll host you on the west side…. Seriously. we’ll shoot off some fireworks and cheer on the apocalypse while sucking back tecate, fernet, or pass-o-guavas, you decide…..
Sending you love and blessings and best wishes on new beginnings… and mass amounts of gratitude for all the goodness you have bestowed on Bay Area humanity for the past, wow, 25 years…
and for the record, i never told you, but you look fucking HAWT in a miniskirt.
Bill, I just had to add to the growing caco^h^h^h^h euphony of voices celebrating your work and lamenting the passing of Ace. I myself disconnected from the underground art scene here in SF some time ago, but continued to go to events at Ace, because it was *just that cool*. You made a real contribution, man. Best of luck, and remember to see every change as a beginning, not an ending.