Jack Rabid enters into the Beastiemania.com Who’s Who for a couple of reasons. First off, he along with John Berry comprised part of the original line-up for the band Even Worse. Second, he booked the Beastie Boys their first paying gig. Prior to this the Beastie Boys had performed live at the A7 club in New York City, but that was an unadvertised plug in and play setting.

First concert performance that the Beastie Boys actually got paid for was held at club called the Playroom. It was formerly called Trude Heller’s and was located at 9th Street and 6th Avenue. The other acts on the bill were Use of Force, Regan Youth, and Even Worse as the headliner. Each of the four bands was given their share of the money which had been taken in at the door. Rabid recalls that the Beastie Boys, although they hadn’t really brought in any fans to the show, were not exactly full of thanks for their twenty-five percent of the gate. “I kinda thought they were funny. I thought they had a funny attitude and I liked John a lot. But, they really couldn’t play their instruments very well. And their songs weren’t anything special in my opinion. But then again I was used to a much higher standard of punk than what hardcore came to allow. My favorite bands were the Buzzcocks, the Damned, the Sex Pistols and the Clash…the Avengers and the Weirdoes. These bands were fantastic. And then my favorite bands while we were playing were the Undertones, the Ruts, and the early Stiff Little Fingers. That was the standard that I held most of the New York bands up against. I thought that the Beastie Boys were one of the lesser bands in the scene and certainly at that time in terms of draw and their position on the bills…they were.”

"But I thought they got a lot better as they went along, and I started to like them by the time they put out their first EP on the Ratcage label a year or two later. And of course, I always loved John as a free-spirit personality, and got along with the Beasties pretty well. I know my Even Worse band mates were really good friends of theirs in fact. Kate (Schellenbach) even later took my place in a post-Even Worse lineup with all three of them. In fact, Adam (Yauch) was there when we did our first ever Even Worse reunion shows at CBGB last month (June 2002). Hadn't seen him out and around at a club probably in 20 years..."

Even Worse and the Beastie Boys both appeared together on the New York Thrash compilation which ROIR released in 1982. Initially it was put out on cassette and since has continued to sell on compact disc. However, that was not the pinnacle of Rabid’s music career. From 1988 to 1994, Jack Rabid played drums in the group Springhouse. In addition to putting out two albums on the Caroline label, Springhouse toured the country four times and jumped into MTV’s rotation with the music video for their song “Layers.” When asked about this period Jack Rabid said, “We got our picture in Rolling Stone magazine and were reviewed favorably in Melody Maker and Select...for a short time we were a buzz band, and then the buzz faded.”

Throughout the years though has Rabid has maintained success as the driving force behind the music magazine The Big Takeover. The Big Takeover, both in print as well as online, provides readers with coverage that just can not be found in other magazines.

The following except was taken from bigtakeover.com:

"It's a bitch to proofread," laughs Rabid, who still writes the bulk of Takeover's text, "but at least it pays for itself after all this time. We lost money for the first ten years, broke even for the next three, and have made a profit in the last nine years. We've stayed honest by avoiding the music 'business' as much as possible. The musicians have been the most supportive, and I'll still spend my own money on records I think are worthwhile.” Beastie Boys fans, who miss Grand Royal magazine, may find comfort in reading the Big Take Over which is released biannually. Unlike Grand Royal which never offered subscriptions, Jack’s magazine can be ordered for only $20 a year…which is a steal.