Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

To Zak, by John Lennon

John Lennon glossy signed for local musician Zak Goode, just before the rock star’s murder.
John Lennon glossy signed for local musician Zak Goode, just before the rock star’s murder.

Secret Seven mainman Zach Goode was only ten years old when, 33 years ago this week, he asked his dad (a Greenwich Village autograph- and movie-memorabilia dealer) for advice on how to get John Lennon’s autograph. “He told me it was simple: take the eight by ten [Lennon photo] from the White Album, write a short fan letter, and send them along with a self-addressed stamped envelope to John at the Dakota. The address was common knowledge to any New Yorker. And every other psychopath, as we would soon find out.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

That mailer (“I wonder if any of these tweeting Facebookers have ever heard of SASE?”) was all but forgotten on December 8. “On the local news, they had announced that someone being described as Lennon had been shot.... I remember my dad walking into my room with tears in his eyes, and I just knew what had happened before he could open his mouth.

“A few days later, a manila envelope arrived at the door of our loft. When you’re ten years old, you don’t get much mail, so it’s a big deal if something has your name on it. This envelope looked so familiar to me, the way my last name was drawn with two eyeballs for the Os. Wait a minute, is that my handwriting? It can’t be...

“I opened the envelope and, sure enough, John had signed the picture, writing, ‘To Zak, by John Lennon 1980,’ with a smiley face. He signed it ‘John Lennon 1980’ for a second time on the back of the picture. Wow.” After relocating to San Diego, Goode cofounded Ghoulspoon and Divided by Zero. “I went as far away from my Beatles roots as possible, making funk, metal, rap, and reggae music.... I really thought my major innovation and contribution to music would be our blending of rock and rap.” After forming the Secret Seven, however, “I really felt I found my voice as a songwriter, coming full circle back to Beatles-esque songwriting.

“I now have the autograph displayed proudly in my home...just a few steps away is the Yellow Submarine–themed nursery my wife and I hand-painted for our newborn baby boy, Zane. How long before he outgrows the Beatles? Full circle, indeed.”

Past Event

Secret Seven

  • Friday, December 13, 2013, 8:30 p.m.
  • Merrow, 1271 University Avenue, San Diego
  • 21+

The Secret Seven will play in Hillcrest at the Merrow on December 13, while his other band Geezer (Weezer/Beastie Boys tribute) appears December 14 at 710 Beach Club in Pacific Beach.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Elevated ice crystals lead to solar halos, Cottonwoods still showing their tawny foliage

New moon brings high tides this weekend
Next Article

Live Five: Greyboy Allstars, Acoustic Revolt, Scary Pierre, Thee Sacred Souls, Glass Spells

Anniversaries, record releases, and fundraisers in Solana Beach, Ocean Beach, Little Italy, and Midway District
John Lennon glossy signed for local musician Zak Goode, just before the rock star’s murder.
John Lennon glossy signed for local musician Zak Goode, just before the rock star’s murder.

Secret Seven mainman Zach Goode was only ten years old when, 33 years ago this week, he asked his dad (a Greenwich Village autograph- and movie-memorabilia dealer) for advice on how to get John Lennon’s autograph. “He told me it was simple: take the eight by ten [Lennon photo] from the White Album, write a short fan letter, and send them along with a self-addressed stamped envelope to John at the Dakota. The address was common knowledge to any New Yorker. And every other psychopath, as we would soon find out.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

That mailer (“I wonder if any of these tweeting Facebookers have ever heard of SASE?”) was all but forgotten on December 8. “On the local news, they had announced that someone being described as Lennon had been shot.... I remember my dad walking into my room with tears in his eyes, and I just knew what had happened before he could open his mouth.

“A few days later, a manila envelope arrived at the door of our loft. When you’re ten years old, you don’t get much mail, so it’s a big deal if something has your name on it. This envelope looked so familiar to me, the way my last name was drawn with two eyeballs for the Os. Wait a minute, is that my handwriting? It can’t be...

“I opened the envelope and, sure enough, John had signed the picture, writing, ‘To Zak, by John Lennon 1980,’ with a smiley face. He signed it ‘John Lennon 1980’ for a second time on the back of the picture. Wow.” After relocating to San Diego, Goode cofounded Ghoulspoon and Divided by Zero. “I went as far away from my Beatles roots as possible, making funk, metal, rap, and reggae music.... I really thought my major innovation and contribution to music would be our blending of rock and rap.” After forming the Secret Seven, however, “I really felt I found my voice as a songwriter, coming full circle back to Beatles-esque songwriting.

“I now have the autograph displayed proudly in my home...just a few steps away is the Yellow Submarine–themed nursery my wife and I hand-painted for our newborn baby boy, Zane. How long before he outgrows the Beatles? Full circle, indeed.”

Past Event

Secret Seven

  • Friday, December 13, 2013, 8:30 p.m.
  • Merrow, 1271 University Avenue, San Diego
  • 21+

The Secret Seven will play in Hillcrest at the Merrow on December 13, while his other band Geezer (Weezer/Beastie Boys tribute) appears December 14 at 710 Beach Club in Pacific Beach.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

La Clochette brings croissants—and cassoulet—to Mission Valley

Whatever's going on with this bakery business, Civita Park residents get a decent meal
Next Article

Live Five: Greyboy Allstars, Acoustic Revolt, Scary Pierre, Thee Sacred Souls, Glass Spells

Anniversaries, record releases, and fundraisers in Solana Beach, Ocean Beach, Little Italy, and Midway District
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader