Cherie Currie Playing NYC in November; Tickets on Sale Friday

It's been a long time coming but Cherie Currie, who gained fame as the lead singer of The Runaways, is touring again, and will play New York's Gramercy Theatre on November 6th. Tickets are $33.50 with fees and go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

 Cherie Currie (holding microphone) at a promotional appearance for the movie "The Runaways" with (left to right) Floria Sigismondi (the film's director), Dakota Fanning (who plays Curie in the movie), and Kristen Stewart (who plays Joan Jett). Photo: Jon Lebkowsky (weblogsky) on Flickr. CC-BY-SA-2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Runaways were a trailblazer for having an all-female lineup, and after Currie left the group she released a few albums on her own, including one with her twin sister Marie. And she gained attention for her acting in the movie "Foxes," opposite Jodie Foster.

But Currie spent limited time in the public eye after that, save for occasional roles in TV in film (including the "Twilight Zone" movie and episodes of "Murder, She Wrote" and "Matlock"). She re-emerged in people's consciousness a few years back when doing appearances and interviews in connection with the movie "The Runaways." Other than that, she's been content to lead a relatively quiet life, creating wooden works of art with a chainsaw... until now.
Fortunately for music fans, Currie is hitting the road again. She played a few dates in May and will be touring throughout the U.S. during August. She may well have other dates in November in addition to the New York gig.

It's not known if has been recording any new music to play on this tour, but in any case it's great to see one of the pioneers in female rock playing out again. Welcome back, Cherie Currie!

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Other notable New York concerts going on sale soon:

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Restavrant at Warsaw, Fri., Oct. 4th. On sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Brian Wilson and Jeff Beck at the Beacon Theatre, with Al Jardine and David Marks, Tues., Oct. 15th. On sale Friday at 12 Noon.

On sale now:
The Both (Aimee Mann and Ted Leo) at Warsaw, Wed., Sept. 11th.

Happy Birthday, Suzi Quatro!

July 3rd is the 62nd birthday of a true American rock & roll original, Suzi Quatro. Although many younger music fans may not know her name, the leather-clad, bass-playing singer was a vital influence on Joan Jett and the rest of The Runaways, so most female rock & rollers indirectly owe her a debt of gratitude. [NOTE: I have since found out Quatro's birthday is actually June 3rd. Apologies for the error, and thanks to Steel Town Project for pointing it out.]


Suzi Quatro, "48 Crash" (1973)

She became known in the early '70s with rockers like "Can the Can" and "48 Crash," which became hits in the U.K. (where she moved in 1971), Europe, and Asia, but not so much in the U.S. Ironically, one of her few big hits in America was "Stumblin' In," a duet with Chris Norman that showed a more mellow side of Quatro.


Suzi Quatro and Chris Norman, "Stumblin' In" (1978)

Even more ironically, Quatro is perhaps best known to many Americans as an actress: she played the recurring character "Leather Tuscadero," a singing bass player, on the sitcom "Happy Days" in the 1970s. She later did TV and movie acting in the U.K., and has performed on the stage as well.

Quatro had more success in 1980 when her song "Rock Hard" appeared on the soundtrack of "Times Square," a cult film about two teen girls (Robin Johnson and Trini Alvarado) forming a punk band in New York. (Tim Curry plays a DJ in the film.) Quatro's song was in good company; the soundtrack also included great tunes by Ramones, The Cure, XTC, Patti Smith, Talking Heads, and many other punk and new wave stars. "Times Square" was directed by Allan Moyle, who later did "Pump Up the Volume."


Suzi Quatro, "Rock Hard" (1980)

Note: "Times Square" will be shown Saturday, July 7th as part of the film program of this week's CBGB Festival (at 2 p.m., Anthology Film Archives). It's definitely worth checking out for the great music, and for seeing what Times Square looked like before it became a Disney-fied tourist attraction. (See the "Times Square" trailer below.)


Trailer for "Times Square"

Suzi Quatro continues to record and tour, and for years hosted rock radio shows on the BBC (though I'm not sure if she still is).

So happy birthday, Suzi Quatro. And here's to many more years of rocking.

Music Notes, Ladies' Edition: Willie Mae Benefit Show & More

Help support girls who rock at the Willie Mae benefit in Brooklyn Saturday.

Any regular reader of this blog knows that I'm a big fan of female artists, but this edition of Music Notes is devotedly solely to women (and girls) who rock.

* 7th Sound Wave: Benefit for Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls: the Brooklyn training ground for female rockers will be the beneficiary of a show this Saturday night at Manifesta Loft in Brooklyn (315 Seigel St., Apt 217). The performers will be female or female-fronted bands, including teen punk-pop trio Care Bears on Fire and Big Nils (featuring Coco Moore, daughter of Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon).

Also on the bill: Bad Credit No Credit, Shady Hawkins, and Titus Andronicus member Amy Klein (her feminist group Permanent Wave is organizing the benefit). Klein will also be taking part in a panel discussion on women in music, with participants spanning the generations.

I've missed several Willie Mae benefits in the past, but really want to catch this one—though it overlaps somewhat with a good country/bluegrass show in the Roots of American Music series at Lincoln Center Out of Doors. (The good news is that the 7th Sound Wave show begins with the panel at 8 p.m., and since the LCOOD show is at 6, it's possible to catch part of the first and then see all the music at the second.)

The Willie Mae benefit is only $7, and for that you get to see a number of up-and-coming female rockers (plus the panel, if you get there early). You can't beat that, in my book.

Permanent Wave's 7th SOUND WAVE: Benefit for the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls
Manifesta Loft, 315 Seigel St., Apt 217
Brooklyn, NY
All ages; admission: $7
(link to brief article with map)

Celebrate the release of the Runaways tribute record tonight at the Jersey Shore.

* Speaking of spanning the generations of female rockers (and of Care Bears on Fire), CBOF will be playing tonight, Aug. 12th, at the release party for Take It or Leave it, a tribute album to The Runaways. The show is at Brighton Bar in Long Branch, NJ. Also playing will be Richard Barone (formerly of the Bongos), Frankenstein 3000, The Easy Outs, Clinical Trials, and more.

The album, Take It Or Leave It - A Tribute To the Queens of Noise: The Runaways, is a two-disc set that was released on June 28th and features contributions from Shonen Knife, The Donnas, the Dandy Warhols, and David Johansen of The New York Dolls, and many others. (Buy Take It Or Leave It at Amazon.com)

The Runaways Tribute Album Release Party
Brighton Bar, 121 Brighton Ave., Long Branch, NJ
Admission: $10
(directions and info on the venue)

The Go-Go's (seen here playing in NYC) received their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

* Coincidentally, these concerts are happening the same week that perhaps the most successful all-female rock band, the Go-Go's, got a big honor. Yesterday the band received its star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and as far as I know all of the current band members were on hand. You can see photos from the Go-Go's Walk of Fame festivities here.

Congratulations to the Go-Go's!

"Cherry Bomb" - Performed Live by Cherie Currie, Kathy Valentine, and Others

Here's a great video of female rockers past and present: Cherie Currie, lead singer for The Runaways, singing the band's hit "Cherry Bomb" live in concert with a band including Kathy Valentine and Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Go's (Valentine to Currie's left; Caffey to Currie's right).

This performance was part of a concert in L.A. last week to benefit MusiCares.

Cherie Currie hasn't been doing much in terms of music these days, as far as I know. She's made appearances to promote "The Runaways" movie and her recently reissued memoir, "Neon Angel," but other than that has been pursuing her current work as a chainsaw wood-carving artist.

Kathy Valentine is now gearing up for what is billed as the Go-Go's farewell tour. She also plays with the all-female Texas band the BlueBonnets, and works as a producer with other female musicians, most notable the trio Adrian and the Sickness.

Music News: Lilith Fair Returns, The Runaways Movie, Joan Jett Greatest Hits

Dakota Fanning singing "Cherry Bomb" from the movie, "The Runaways."

This look at music news has a definite female cast. First off, Lilith Fair returns in 2010, after an absence of about a decade. As with the original Lilith Fair, Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan will headline every show, with a rotating cast of 11 other performers at each concert.

The lineup includes from veterans of the first Lilith Fair tours (Suzanne Vega) and some newer acts (Sara Bareilles, Zee Avi, and Kelly Clarkson). I'll definitely try to catch Lilith Fair's New York City show, and maybe one or two others, depending on dates and lineups.

The long-awaited movie about The Runaways, the pioneering all-female rock band, has been out for more than a week, and seems to be doing OK at the box office. It's made about $1.5 million - not bad considering it's only playing on about 300 screens - and since it only cost $10 million to make, it's got a better return on its money than a lot of much bigger films.

"The Runaways" has a 64% score on RottenTomatoes.com, with the consensus calling the film "as electric as the band's music, largely thanks to strong performances from Michael Shannon, Dakota Fanning, and Kristen Stewart." You can learn more about the Runaways movie at its Web site, Twitter page, MySpace page, and Web site. I'll have more to say about The Runaways and the movie in a later post.

The movie has as executive producer one Joan Jett, the most successful Runaways alumna. Not coincidentally, there's a new remastered Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Greatest Hits package just out. It's a two-disc set, but only seems to have 21 songs on it.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Greatest Hits includes an unreleased track, and there are a couple of tunes by The Runaways on it (though I'm not sure whether these are by that group or remakes by JJ & the Blackhearts).

From the reviews I've read online, the CD set doesn't include much in the way of liner notes, although a lot of this kind of material can be found online at www.greatesthits.joanjett.com, along with background on each song and videos for many of them.

Music News: Smashing Pumpkins Auditions, Allman Bros. Cancel NYC Shows, Joan Jett on the Runaways Movie

Some news briefs this week in the world of rock, from various music news outlets:

Have you ever dreamed of playing in the Smashing Pumpkins? Leader Billy Corgan is looking for band members. (NME)

The Allman Brothers Band has cancelled its second week of shows in New York City (March 22nd - 27th) due to an "unforeseen family matter," according to an e-mail from the band. The first set of shows, March 11th - 20th, will go on as planned.

Joan Jett met Kristen Stewart, the "Twilight" star who will be playing her in the upcoming movie "The Runaways." The former Runaway found Stewart to be "through and through totally professional and just great to be around." (Interview Magazine)

The Go-Go's are performing at least a couple of shows this summer, but Kathy Valentine has been making music with her latest all-girl (and all-Texas) group, the BlueBonnets. You can hear "Don't Pass Me By," a new song from the BlueBonnets, here.

Ian Dury, my favorite wacky singer from the 1970s, is the subject of a "loose biopic" that will be shown at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. The Ian Dury film is, of course, titled after his best-known song, "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll." Andy Serkis plays Dury.