Punk Performers & Theories Of Ideology ('Punk Mass' 1970 - )

Obnoxious self-promoter and self-styled impresario Kim Fowley was as despised in sections of American music as Malcolm McLaren was here in the U K, though I'd contend Fowley was more talented than McLaren. In fact, he co-wrote some great songs during his lengthy career in music, working with a wide variety of musical artists from the 1960s onwards.

In the mid-1970s, Fowley witnessed the emergence of punk rock. He recognised this as an opportunity to fashion something dangerous on the west coast and started recruiting teenage girls with musical skills for a range of creative projects. Before long, accusations of horrific abuses were being laid at Fowley's door and it's hard to separate the artist from the scumbag he appears to have been (though I don't think he was ever tried, convicted or prosecuted over these alleged sex crimes and infractions). I was never a Fowley fan and haven't given him or his career much thought, but I enjoy the Runaways' music immensely. I need to pick up a copy of the 2010 edition of 'Neon Angel' and give it a read.

I'm not sure I'd recommend 'The Runaways' as I didn't particularly enjoy the movie. I'm more keen to get a copy of the book, but the movie's done a good job bringing the band's music to a new generation of fans. The Runaways' guiding light, Suzi Quatro, is among the musical artists that appear on the film's soundtrack.

"The Runaways is a curious mix, an exhilarating story of female self-expression that's also a cautionary tale of female exploitation. So as the '70s girl group The Runaways comes together and then slowly disintegrates, there's a simultaneous rising and falling arc — which would be thrilling if writer-director Floria Sigismondi had a structure that could hold it all together.
What she does have is punkish audacity: Her first shot is a splotch of menstrual blood on the pavement, as 15-year-old future Runaways vocalist Cherie Currie gets her first period. What makes this even more outrageous is that Cherie is played by Dakota Fanning, now stretched out and filled out. It's as if the director is saying, "Here's your adorable little child star. What do you make of her now? What will she make of herself?"
After she's teased by her more worldly sister, Cherie dolls herself up and heads for Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco, a well-known L.A. club that's also where Kristen Stewart's Joan Jett heads, after buying herself a motorcycle jacket. She wants to play guitar in a rock band, but in the mid-'70s, the sexist conventional wisdom said girls didn't play electric guitar. Still, when Jett accosts the ghoulish impresario Kim Fowley, played by Michael Shannon, the idea for The Runaways is born."

- David Edelsetein, National Public Radio

I would, however, happily recommend Victory Tischler-Blue's in-house documentary 'Edgeplay : A Film About The Runaways' (2004). The soundtrack for this film showcases songs by Lita Ford and Suzi Quatro. Blue directed the music video for Quatro's cover of Goldfrapp's single 'Strict Machine'.

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Cheryl Smith is my favourite American actress from my favourite decade for American film, the 1970s. I have all her feature-length movies on dvd and the only one I've not yet watched is her final film 'Independence Day' (1983). Of her films I've seen, the only movie she made that I really don't care for is 'Boogievision' (1977), in which she appears briefly on a motorcycle (but I do have it on dvd to complete my collection).





Back in the 1970s, Pam Grier was the reigning queen of low budget crime cinema, and she quickly established herself as a dominant force in the W.I.P. (women in prison) crime subgenre alongside Roberta Collins. Like Grier and Collins, Cheryl Smith appeared in some of the best low budget crime films of the decade. Smith also made an indelible mark in fantasy, science-fiction and horror.

Smith was almost inarguably the greatest movie cheerleader of the decade, starring in three of the best pictures to emerge from the original cheerleader cycle. Her 'Caged Heat' (1974) co-star Erica Gavin described Smith as "cosmic". Smith herself often mentioned the fact that she was a gemini and retained a general passion for astrology throughout her life.

Even though she had already wrapped up her film career by the time I discovered her, when I was 13, I always looked out for news on how Rainbeaux was doing, and was lucky to find occasional interviews she would give. It's no secret that she had a troubled life, but many of the people that knew her said she was one of the sweetest, most sensitive people they'd ever met. 







Smith admired many singers and musicians, such as the great Polish singer-songwriter Urszula Sipinska, and she herself sang well too; one of several movies she made with producer Charles Band was the musical 'Cinderella' (1977) in which she plays the title role.

Cheryl Smith was friends with filmmaker Jonathan Demme who directed her in 'Caged Heat' and 'Melvin And Howard' (1980). She acts with Demme in William Sachs' gruesome creature feature 'The Incredible Melting Man' (1977). Demme knew experimental filmmaker Leland Auslander who'd directed Smith in his short subject film 'Birth Of Aphrodite' (1971) which was entered into official competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

It's sometimes said that Cheryl Smith was briefly a member of The Runaways, but I think there's a bit of mystery and confusion surrounding this claim. Smith was such a talented drummer and percussionist, she was asked to sit in with a lot of musicians working the L.A. music scene. She was a member of the punk band L.A. Girls and enjoyed a stint playing drums for Joan Jett. She appears as Jett's drummer in the semi-documentary Runaways feature 'Du-Beat-E-O' (1984 - filmed on the road in 1979), but by this point the band had fragmented beyond the point of recognition. Smith worked with Cherie Currie on the ambient science-fiction horror 'Parasite' (1982).

Smith's fellow actress / musician / model / gemini / designer and friend Linnea Quigley would cameo in a movie with Joan Jett herself in the 1990s. Quigley portrayed Sleeping Beauty in 'Fairy Tales' (1978) which is the sequel to 'Cinderella'. Quigley appears alongside Smith and Skirts bassist Haydee Pomar in the fictional band the Hot Rollers, the rock group that encounters Cheech & Chong with Pee Wee Herman while dining at a busy restaurant in 'Nice Dreams' (1981). Smith and Quigley were jokingly referred to as "the gemini twins" by the Los Angeles local music press (in film, they both worked for low-rent movie producers Roger Corman and Charles Band in the 1970s).

On a sidenote, Smith was a collector of antique clothing which is mentioned in one of the quotes I posted by Chris Barbour - that Jonathan Demme utilised some of her outfits during the filming of 'Caged Heat'. In 1982, filmmaker Carl Reiner hired her to wear one of Veronica Lake's original dresses for the comedy 'Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid' (1982), in which she doubles for Lake from behind (the film interpolates archive footage into its narrative). I feel sure this would have meant a lot to her.

I really hope Cheryl Smith is at peace now. I'm extremely grateful for all the creative work that she left behind, and I'll always remember just how much she said she appreciated her fans. There's an informative site on the internet that preserves her memory, with pieces written by some of her friends and those that knew her. It's nice to know she made such a big impact on so many peoples' lives.