Leave Your Skin at the Door

Ike Turner has filed a $5000 lawsuit against the LAPD. He was arrested last month based on a 1989 narcotics warrant that later proved invalid. The 75-year-old spent around 15 hours in jail.

"I think that what happened to Ike was due to a vindictive and spiteful type who conveniently neglected to follow administrative procedure and remove the warrant hold that was on his record from YEARS ago," says local drummer Bill Ray, who has played with Turner since November 2001. "Ike did his time, paid for his sins in the legal arena, and yet he continues to pay."

On a blog, Ray writes of Turner, "When I encounter people that speak ill of the man without knowing him as a person, I ask one question. 'What would you do if someone took your darkest moment in life and made a damning portrayal of your misdeeds in the form of a movie, and that movie [What's Love Got to Do with It] will be played on major network media for all of eternity?' "

Ray says, "If anything, Ike and Tina Turner brought the stigma of domestic violence to the forefront of our societal woes, and what thanks does he get? [A] $5000 [lawsuit] doesn't even begin to cover it."

Locals Ryan Montana, Seth Blumberg, Leo Dombecki, and Kevin Cooper Sr. have also played with Turner. On his blog, Ray describes the Turner band's thrice-weekly rehearsals as "akin to leaving your skin at the door and walking in a seething mass of nerve endings, with Ike sitting in his chair throwing salt at us when we would make a mistake. ...Sure, he's been no angel at times, but deep down, he is the most wonderful person that I've ever met. ...I like Ike. Very much."