Prologue

There's been a lot of attention on my brother and the rest of the Pinheads lately. Three decades ago they called it quits, but time has been kind to the band's legacy. During my outings, I've noticed more kids wearing the iconic Lizzie and the Pinheads t-shirt that was such a part of our lives thirty years ago. It makes me wonder - Why do they? Has it become a fashion statement to wear vintage punk t-shirts, or do they wear it because they have somehow been touched by my brother's music? I'm hoping the latter.

I do know that there has been a recent fascination with the Pinheads and their influence on today's music. I have read interview articles in the Rolling Stone about artists today, and noticed some of them mentioning the impression the Pinheads' music had on them when they were younger. With this new interest, there has been a large interest into the lives of the men (and woman) behind it. Some of the legends behind them are more fiction than truth, especially regarding my brother (no matter what he tells you). Yes, he was notorious for his antics, even back then, but many of the stories are rather grandiose.

I wrote this biography to strip back the public persona of my brother and reveal what was underneath - the actual Gilbert Beilschmidt; even some of the others, especially Elizabeta Héderváry and Alfred F. Jones.

Not surprisingly, I've gotten a plethora of questions regarding my brother Gilbert through the years. Most questions I get are regarding him and his wife, Elizabeta (or Liz, as we know her). What were they like when they were younger? What music did they listen to as kids? And - of course - were they always so in love?

The answer to the last question is yes and no. When they were kids, they were very close - thick as thieves, even - though also like brother and sister. Most of our childhood, Gilbert couldn't believe that Elizabeta was a girl. As they got older and went into high school, they drifted apart and started hanging out with different crowds. They still belonged to the same world, though, which is why they both ended up in different bands but played the same shows every weekend. It wasn't until Elizabeta left the Atomic Punks and joined the Pinheads that their relationship started to grow into what it is today. It's my personal opinion that they've always cared for each other, but they were just too hard-headed to realize it. Through it all, though, their love did define the future of the band and the future of punk as we know it...

[Excerpt from Ludwig Beilschmidt's biography Pinheads: the Sound of an Era]

Thank you to Ellarose C. for beta reading and dealing with me brainstorming this brainchild~

I just want to state now that in the future, that there is going to be a lot of drug use. I can't avoid it being that sex and drugs have been synonymous for rock and roll for ages. The fanfiction even takes place in the 1970s when drug use was the norm for most artists. Also, plans for minor USUK, maybe a interlude or oneshot of them here of there.