Update: The great Suicidal Tendencies album cover mystery...solved!

R.I.P. Bob Heathcote

I have an update on the great Suicidal Tendencies album cover¹ mystery that I wrote about previously. Unfortunately, none of my readers were able to identify the location. I did, however, get a ton of cool insight from people on the era and the industry.

If you’re clueless about what I’m talking about, you can read my first post about it here:

It seemed like this mystery would never be solved and I was seriously bummed but I’m as stubborn as they come and had to dig deep into my sleuthing skills to try and figure it out.

My two biggest hunches were the strongest possibilities for the location so I dove into those.

• Possibility 1: The photo was taken at Saint Sophia at a structure that is no longer there.

• Possibility 2: The photo was taken at the nearby cemetery.

Photographer Steve Birnbaum, who runs thebandwashere and recreates band cover photos, mentioned to me that he thought possibility 1 was the most likely but neither he nor I had any way to verify. He did verify the back cover, which was awesome and super helpful.

Someone on Discogs mentioned the possibility of the photo being taken at Angelus Rosedale Cemetery and seeing as how the building looks like a mausoleum, that seemed like a strong possibility.

I researched a ton of photos from that cemetery but none of the structures matched. I looked up the cemetery on-line and unfortunately, they do not have an email. Also, their website is a total mess.

Just some good ol’ boys…

So, I decided to try and call them and ask if there was anyone who I could talk to about the photograph. But first, I had another idea.

I knew already that the church was just a couple of blocks from the cemetery and that they would more than likely be familiar with it, if not using it for burial purposes. I just need to contact someone there without sounding like a total kook.

The church does not have a publicly available email either but they do have a contact form their website. Huzzah. So, I used that and sent a very general and polite inquiry asking if I could talk to someone about a photograph possibly taken there for research I am doing.

You have to understand that despite my…quirks…as a writer, I do have a freakin’ degree and I did work as a professional journalist for some time (with a byline and everything!), before deciding I wanted to drive an ambulance and try and be Chicano Hunter Thompson.

So, reaching out to folks in a professional code switch is not new to me.

Days passed by and I figured that the church likely wrote me off as a kook but then, to my surprise, I received an email from a priest.

He was super nice about the whole thing and willing to help me out. He requested that I show him the photos in question…

Hmmm.

Again, not my first rodeo. That said, I did not want to offend him or the church and tried to be as respectful as possible in hopes that he would recognize the structure.

The redacted photo I sent to Father Gary.

I explained the situation in as general terms as possible and without using the band’s name.

I also sent him the photos but I redacted the band’s name and hoped that a photo of a bunch of thrasher Venice cholos in front of his church was not going to offend the poor guy.

Thankfully it did not and he responded.

According to Father Gary at Saint Sophia, the building in the photo on the cover of Suicidal Tendencies 1988 album, ‘How Will I Laugh Tomorrow…’ was indeed a mausoleum and it was at Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral.

He said that the building was re-purposed and was, in fact, reconstructed in 2012 and is now called ‘The Chapel’.

Boom.

Sure enough, if you look on the map of the cathedral on Google Maps you will see it listed as the Saint Constantine Chapel.

Saint Constantine Chapel: infamous location of How Will I Laugh Tomorrow…

I went back and looked at Google maps again and zoomed in on the chapel from different angles and sure enough, you can still see the remnants of the original structure and even the green door on the album cover.

This all makes sense of course because that photo was taken 37 years ago! Again, I had a hunch but needed proof.

It’s no wonder that so many people could not figure out where the location was…because it was the same location, with a building that has been completely altered and re-purposed to boot.

It’s not that photographer Mark Weiss didn’t remember. I doubt he knows that structure was reconstructed either.

I thanked Father Gary profusely for his help as this puts to rest something that has been bugging me forever.

However, his parting words to me were the kicker:

“When do I get to meet the band?”

I will leave it at that and if I happen to meet Mike Muir this summer, I will tell him Father Gary would like to meet him.

In instances like this, I truly love the power of the Internet. I also pat myself on the back for being a seriously stubborn bastard and for having a PhD in the school of knowing how to look shit up.

Thanks to all who chimed in and gave pointers! I can finally put this one to rest. As all the OG Suicidal fans know, if you’re not now, you never were…

• S/C

1. All photos from the album cover are copyright Mark Weiss.