A skid row, also called skid road, is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people "on the skids". This specifically refers to people who are poor or homeless, considered disreputable, downtrodden or forgotten by society. A skid row may be anything from an impoverished urban district to a red-light district to a gathering area for people experiencing homelessness or drug addiction. In general, skid row areas are inhabited or frequented by impoverished individuals and also people who are addicted to drugs. Urban areas considered skid rows are marked by high vagrancy, dilapidated buildings, and drug dens, as well as other features of urban blight. Used figuratively, the phrase may indicate the state of a poor person's life.
The Man with the Golden Arm is a 1955 American drama film with elements of film noir directed by Otto Preminger, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson Algren. Starring Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold Stang and Darren McGavin, it recounts the story of a drug addict who gets clean while in prison, but struggles to stay that way in the outside world. Although the addictive drug is never identified in the film, according to the American Film Institute "most contemporary and modern sources assume that it is heroin", although in Algren's book it is morphine. The film's initial release was controversial for its treatment of the then-taboo subject of drug addiction.
Eric Victor Burdon is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously lead vocalist of the R&B and rock band The Animals and the funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, powerful blues-rock voice. Burdon is also known for his intense stage performances.
Jeffrey Charles William Michael Conaway was an American actor. He portrayed Kenickie in the film Grease and had roles in two television series: struggling actor Bobby Wheeler in Taxi and security officer Zack Allan on Babylon 5. Conaway was featured in the first and second seasons of the reality television series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.
Intervention is an American documentary series that premiered on March 6, 2005, on A&E. It follows one or two participants, who are dependent on or addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. They are documented in anticipation of an intervention meeting by family or friends. During the intervention meeting, loved ones give the addict an ultimatum: go to an inpatient drug rehabilitation program immediately, or else risk losing contact, income, or other privileges. The show follows up on the recovery progress for future episodes or for web shorts.
Fifteen was a punk rock band formed by Jeff Ott and Jack Curran. According to Ott, the band's only consistent member in its 11-year history, Fifteen had a revolving door total of fifteen members by the time the group disbanded in 2000: Jack Curran, Mikey Mischief, Mark Moreno, Jean Repetto, Lucky Dog, Chris Flanagan, John Ogle, Jesse Wickman, Joe Cable, John Quintos, Scott Pierce, Jim Prior, Lisa D., Vanessa Bain and Ott himself.
Jeff Ott is an activist, musician, author, and longtime member of the Berkeley punk community, best known for playing guitar and singing in the bands Crimpshrine and Fifteen.
The Keys to the Street is a crime novel by British writer Ruth Rendell from 1996.
The Ten is a 2007 anthology comedy film directed by David Wain, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Ken Marino. It was released through ThinkFilm. The film was released on August 3, 2007. The DVD was released on January 15, 2008. It is an international co-production between the United States and Mexico. It received mixed reviews.
"Mr. Bojangles" is a song written and originally recorded by American country music artist Jerry Jeff Walker for his 1968 album of the same title. It has since been recorded by other artists, most notably the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1969.
"Fallen Leaves" is a song by Canadian rock group Billy Talent. It was released in November 2006 as the third single from their second studio album, Billy Talent II.
Street-level characters comprise a large part of the cast on the fictional HBO drama series The Wire. Characters in this section range from homeless drug addicts up to drug king-pins in charge of entire criminal empires.
The Imposter is a 2008 Christian film that was shot in January and February 2008 in and around Burleson, Texas. The movie stars Kevin Max, Kerry Livgren, and Jeff Deyo, and is produced by Jeff Rodgers and Daniel Millican, who also wrote and directed it.
Walter Lure was an American rock guitarist and singer. He was a member of the rock group The Heartbreakers.
"Use the Man" is a song by American thrash metal band Megadeth. It was released as the third single from their seventh studio album, Cryptic Writings (1997). The song was one of the band's biggest hits, at #15 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Survivor is the final album from punk band Fifteen released in 2000. The album is themed around tragedy and picking up the pieces, as can be seen in the title song, "Survivor", which starts out talking about how "America is a place where kids have broken hearts" and describing how member Jeff Ott became a homeless drug addict at the age of 14, but turns around to become a hopeful message about how Ott turned his life around and you can too.
Defeater is an American melodic hardcore band from Massachusetts, formed in 2008. To date they have released five full-length albums, two EPs and three singles. The band lineup consists of Derek Archambault (vocals), Jake Woodruff (guitar), Joe Longobardi (drums) and Mike Poulin (bass). The band's earlier works have been released via Bridge 9 Records, aside from the album Travels, which was initially released via Topshelf Records, but was later reissued on Bridge 9 Records. Their studio album, Letters Home, was released on July 16, 2013, and debuted at number 72 on Billboard Top 200 chart, number 1 on the vinyl chart and number 13 on the Current Alternative Album chart. They released an album in 2015 titled, Abandoned and in 2019 they released their self-titled album, both on Epitaph Records.
Sleep, What's That? is the debut EP by the Berkeley, California-based punk rock band Crimpshrine. It was released on January 30, 1988 through Lookout Records on 7-inch vinyl with the catalog number LK 004. After the EP went out of print in 1992, all of the tracks were added to the compilation album The Sound of a New World Being Born in 1998, which is also currently not in print. It is often considered a classic Lookout Records release and as Crimpshrine's strongest recording.
Jason Allen Fowler is an American Christian musician, who plays a Christian pop, Christian rock and Christian country style of contemporary worship and gospel music. He has released two studio albums, Letters from the Inside (2014) and I Fall In (2016).
The Responder is a British police drama series set in Liverpool, written by former Merseyside Police officer Tony Schumacher, with Tim Mielants as leading director and starring Martin Freeman, Adelayo Adedayo, Ian Hart, and MyAnna Buring. It aired on BBC One on 24 January 2022. Schumacher has said that the character has "a lot to do" with him and the struggles he faced as a police officer, but that the storyline is fictional.
