Screaming in Hollywood

July 1985. Chris McLernon arrives in Los Angeles in the thick of the last great rockstar gold rush, chasing his fame, his future, and his fate. Screaming in Hollywood: The Last Gold Rush follows his first four years there, from rockstar rookie to a major label deal. Flaky musicians, friends with massive drug hobbies, panic attacks, and auditions that went nowhere. Dogged, broke, and occasionally delusional, he kept moving until the city blinked first. It is a gritty, glam, affectionate look back, and a valentine to the people who made it unforgettable.

July. 1985. Arriving in Los Angeles during the thick of the last great rockstar gold rush, Chris McLernon moved west to seek his fortune. His fame. His future. His fate.

Hollywood had beckoned him from the Midwest, but McLernon had no idea what LA held behind its back while batting its eyes at him. Everything from constant disappointment, career derailment and Richard Ramirez wandered these streets in tandem. This was a big city with big rewards if you could handle the heat. Nevermind the temptations, chemical and human.

Screaming in Hollywood is a unique glimpse into those first years as McLernon went from rockstar rookie to signed artist. Flaky musicians? Check. Friends with massive drug hobbies? Gotcha. Whispers of self doubt? Deafening.

Yet something pushed him forward. Dogged, broke and occasionally delusional, McLernon kept moving until the city finally blinked first.

McLernon tours the LA of his twenties with affection, amazement, some cringing and a bit of counsel to his younger self. Screaming in Hollywood revives a place and time that was as gritty and glam as you’ve heard and sends a valentine to the people who made getting through it so unforgettable.

Chris McLernon spent the '80s and '90s writing, recording and touring the world with the gold and platinum selling Saigon Kick (Atlantic) and Cold Sweat (MCA). After leaving the road to raise a family, he looked to the world of TV, Film and Advertising to continue playing music and satisfy his creative and eclectic musical tastes, placing his music with cable and broadcast networks along with indie films and national ad campaigns.

Recently, Chris has reunited with Saigon Kick, Cold Sweat and cult favorite Cold Gin along with recording new solo albums despite a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in 2019 and conquering throat cancer in 2025. He plans to produce more new music by RFK Artists The Fifth, Kinell and Cold Sweat and play more gigs in the not too distant future.

He hosts the Plus One Rock ’N’ Roll Podcast. His first book, Screaming in Hollywood: The Last Gold Rush (2026), tells the story of his first four years in Los Angeles, from arriving in July 1985 to landing a major label deal.

1. Rick Nielsen walked up to the band’s table at the Cat and Fiddle the week they got signed and told them they looked like lambs being led to the slaughter. Then he sat down and schooled them for half an hour. p. 181
2. On contract day there were balloons, champagne, and a special pen. Then the singer announced he was quitting for George Lynch. p. 202
3. A teenage kid pulled a gun on the band in a Valley Carl’s Jr. while two LAPD officers ate burgers a few feet away. p. 186
4. He was a guitarist for twelve years. A drummer told him “you should play bass,” and he got the first bass gig he ever auditioned for. p. 118
5. His audition for Ferrari was a sold-out show at the Palace. MCA signed the band that night. p. 165

1. You moved to Los Angeles in July 1985 to get signed. What was the lowest point in that stretch?
2. The subtitle is “The Last Gold Rush.” What do you mean by that, and what did that era have that is gone now?
3. You were a guitarist for twelve years before a drummer told you to play bass. Why did you say yes?
4. What did the dream cost you in money and relationships that nobody warns you about?
5. Your singer quit for George Lynch on the morning you were supposed to sign with MCA. Walk us through that room.
6. What was the hardest chapter to write, and did you leave anything out?
7. You wrote this through a Parkinson’s diagnosis and a cancer fight. How did that change what the book became?
8. You have reunited with both bands. What was that like after all these years, and how did the book come out of it?
9. You host the Plus One Rock ’N’ Roll Podcast. What did being the interviewer teach you about telling your own story?
10. You wrote a bit of counsel to your younger self. What is the one thing you would tell him first?