Favorites | The Inspiration | This Day In... | A Different Kind of Success | Sandy West
...memories...
from the fans
"The first time me and my brother saw The Runaways, we were hooked. It was his seventeenth birthday. We never got along but after we went to see The Runaways together we got into a bunch of music we could share and we've been thick as thieves ever since." - Mandy J.
"In Sept. 1976 I was a 16 year-old high school junior living in a dormitory. The first day of school I was moving my things into my dorm room and the entire building was filled with alternating songs I'd never heard before. Sweeney Todd's 'Juicy Loose' and the Runaways' 'Cherry Bomb'. It was a REALLY good year..." - RZ
"Seeing them at the Golden West Ballroom in Norwalk, CA in '77 and I was right in the front of the stage until eventually getting pushed pretty far back. It was also Jackie Fox's b-day and I had a major crush on her and I remember her looking at me (when i was still in front!) and smiling...it was great!! I love them all!!" - Larry H.
"The Runaways had such an influence on me, I went out a bought the highest platform boots a teenage male can get away with!" - Patrick S.
"Saw them open for the Ramones in '78, but me and my friends left right after the Runaways set ended 'cause we thought anything after that would have been a letdown. I was so elated to have seen them." - Ed C.
"Saw Cherrie & Sandy do a "Runaways" show at the Stone Pony a few years ago. Basically they did the "Live in Japan" LP with some solo songs & covers. NEVER thought I hear experience those songs live, IT WAS AMAZING. Both were very nice, got my pic taken & autographs from both while they were just wandering around the bar." - Tom G.
"I was able to meet all the Runaways after the break up in '79. Joan, Sandy, Lita and Vicki, They were the nicest people to sit down with. No star trips with them." - Larry B.
"1977 I waited in line in the cold & got front row to their concert at Royal Oak Music Theater, Royal Oak Michigan. My 1st front row ticket. Warm up groups had never been heard of before they were Tom Petty & The Heartbreaker & Cheap Trick." - Bubba W.
"The Runaways are one of the top three things that helped me survive junior high." - T.J.
from the band
"What prepares you for going on the road at 16? Nothing prepares you. When I did my first tour I was gone for three months, and when I got home and off the plane, the first thing I did was hug my dad, and I cried and cried. From then on it was like, 'Ok dad see ya later.' My dad had to get my high school diploma, I was on the road, so he had to go get it." - Lita Ford, VH1, 1990
"Those first gigs were a lot of fun and very exciting. The band was really raw, but we were loving just getting up there and doing it. The kids were packed into these little spaces and pushed right up against the band. There was almost no separation. It was (does Kim Fowley impression) 'real rock 'n' roll, man'." - Michael Steele, Mojo, 2000
"It's not your average existence, for sure: being on the road since the age of 15 and being verbally abused because you were being true to what you did--for playing rock 'n' roll? They couldn't handle teenage girls playing rock 'n' roll. The just couldn't handle it. I still see a lot of girls not claiming their power--just sort of letting other people tell them what to do--and that's a learning process, like it was for me." - Joan Jett, Women Who Rock, 2001
"One night in the Summer of '75, I saw this guy in this weird orange suit in the Rainbow parking lot at closing time, and my girlfriend said, "That's Kim Fowley. He's made records with Alice Cooper." So I walked up to him and said, "My name's Sandy West, and I'm a drummer." And His eyes lit up. He called me the next day to give me Joan's number. She took about three buses to get to my house. She had a little Sears guitar, but she had perfect rhythm. Who ever heard of a 15-year-old girl with perfect timing? We'd go to Kim's apartment in Hollywood every weekend, writing songs and auditioning people." - Sandy West, SPIN, 2001
"We were rebels, and a lot of people looked up to us. It helped lots of kids who had mediocre, unhappy lives. It gave them something to hold on to." - Cherie Currie, SPIN, 201
"I was 15 when I joined the band, and 16 when we toured Europe, Japan and the United States. We were the first girls to do what all the boy rock bands had been doing. It was the '70s, and it was fantastic." - Jackie Fox, Blender, 2003
Favorite Songs
As voted by the fans at therunaways.com
1. Cherry Bomb
2. I Love Playin' With Fire
3. Queens of Noise
4. American Nights
5. Neon Angels On The Road To Ruin
6. Wasted
7. California Paradise
8. Dead End Justice
9. Waitin' For The Night
10. Black Leather
11. C'Mon
12. Hollywood
13. I Wanna Be Where The Boys Are
14. Rock and Roll
15. School Days
16. You Drive Me Wild
17. Heartbeat
18. Blackmail
19. Born To Be Bad
20. Is It Day Or Night
21. Little Lost Girls
22. Little Sister
23. Wild Thing
24. You're Too Possessive
25. Don't Go Away
26. Getting' Hot
27. Take It Or Leave It
28. Thunder
29. Alright You Guys
30. Eight Days A Week
Favorite Album Covers
as voted by the fans
1. Queens of Noise
2. Live In Japan
3. Waiting For The Night
4. The Runaways
5. And Now...The Runaways
6. Flaming Schoolgirls
Favorite Albums
as voted by the fans
1. Queens of Noise
2. Live In Japan
3. The Runaways
4. Waitin' For The Night
5. Little Lost Girls
6. Best Of The Runaways
The Inspiration
A lot of fans took it one step further and picked up instruments of their own after being introduced to The Runaways. You can see celebrity comments on our True Legacy page.
"To see and hear girls belt out kick ass rock and roll just inspired me." - Karen
"They gave me confidence that it was possible for a girl to just rock and play music and it be okay and the fact that they had done it and had been successful with it just made me have more confidence." - Whitney
"I can't say I'm a musician, but after the first album came out, me and my friends all bought instruments and formed a band. Some of them can still play, but I never got beyond a few barre chords." - Ed C.
"I love Jackie Fox and I wanted a bass guitar just like the one on the cover of 'Live in Japan'." - Van M.
"Runaways songs were among the first songs I learned to play, along with Led Zeppelin, Peter Frampton and the Rolling Stones. I always looked forward to Lita and Joan's new riffs, and I looked to them as guideposts as to where I should be with my playing. Furthermore, I think the Runaways should be credited with inventing 'the chug.' Guitarists will know what I mean. I am now quite a skillful guitarist and I am quite sure at my root, you will find The Runaways, individually and collectively." - Gheevin
"It was empowering to see that these women could play and sing and make music. I wanted to be like them, so at 12 yrs old I got my first guitar and have been playing and in bands ever since." - Lisa A.
"Sandy West made me drop my bags when I walked by and saw her on my friend's tv. I started banging on the back of the couch and have been bangin' the drums ever since!" - Andy P.
This Day In...
Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of these events through the end of 2005:
August 5th: The Runaways Formed
September 12th: The First Concert, Phast Phreddies Living Room
September 28th & 29th: Live @ The Whisky
October 13th: Back at the Whisky
October 31st: Live @ The Theater in Laguna Beach
November: Live on a rooftop in Huntington Beach
December 5th: Press Conference @ Wildman Sam's
December 29th: The Runaways Sign With Mercury Records
December 31st: Live @ Wildman Sam's
A Different Kind of Success
As someone who clearly acknowledges an intense love for music of all types, I'm used to being pulled into conversations. Some of them can be very interesting (or obnoxious, depending on my mood). But when I was thinking about the 30th Anniversary of The Runaways, one moment in particular stood out in my mind.
I was playing my usual role of "the one who likes everything" with a few college acquaintances in the first half of 2005 when another cadre of students drifted into the conversation. You know there's one person in every group who has to make a comment about Stacy's intense passion for Constantine Maroulis. Well, one comment led to another and pretty soon, we had five girls arguing over who was so totally hot - Constantine or Bo (while I wished for screws to be drilled into my head). In between the snide remarks about mic-stand dragging and goo-goo eyes, each girl had to express her determination to get the last Britney/Wynonna/Faith/Evanescence release. It made me want to avoid the mall. But all of a sudden, in the middle of the great American "Amy Lee can kick Britney's behind" discussion, my closest acquaintance piped up with "Yeah, well Sandy West could kick all of their asses."
In one moment, three of the five girls who had just been weighing the advantages of "In The Zone" over "Going Under" stopped dead, and with reverence in their eyes said, "I f**king love The Runaways."
That's a difference I've noticed in a lot of people over the last six-plus years. Certainly there are members of my generation who have no clue who The Runaways were. But the ones who do always make me smile. They sure do like The Donnas but damn it they love The Runaways. I've seen them jam and I've seen them dance to songs I'd never dream of adding to my collection, but there's a whole different vibe when they hear The Runaways. Some bands inspire toe tapping, and some inspire ticket sales, but The Runaways inspire that and something else entirely.
Over and above any historical arguments, drugs, bad voodoo and whatever else might be tossed in, there remains a legacy that a lot of young musicians only dream of. There are songs that have become a part of the soundtrack of the lives of countless fans. There are young girls who have picked up an instrument just because The Runaways made it look (and helped make it) possible. For some, The Runaways made life easier to understand.
There are dozens of reasons that this band has such a loyal following, and after 30 years the positive influences that its members have had should be remembered and celebrated. It's about life, growing up, passion and music and for some it's pure inspiration. And despite everything else, that's something The Runaways can be damned proud of.
- Chrys
Sandy West Interview
This interview was originally conducted in 2001, but we dug out the second half for the anniversary.
INT: Have you ever punched out a journalist?
SW: No, he wasn't a journalist he was the fan club president of Sweden,
he
was irritating us! Hmm, punched out a journalist...you know, some of
those
people can get really stupid and weird and sexist, so I probably did show
some aggression at some point. Some of them can be really obnoxious. The
things they ask you have nothing to do with music.
INT: Why did you pick the drums as an instrument?
SW: Well, I started on Violin when I was 8 to follow in my sister's
footsteps. I played for maybe 2 months and I HATED it! My grandfather
gave me
my first drum kit. I don't know what it was that sparked me, it wasn't
like I
was always listening to drummers, I just remember that I liked the idea
of
playing drums, and I thought I could be really good at it because I was
aggressive and I was physical...great at sports.
IN: What was your favorite outfit to wear when you were playing "back in
the
day"?
SW: I think the white outfit, I liked the leather pants but every time I
took
them off, they turned my whole body green because of the dye! Back in
those
days it was all polyester, bell-bottoms, it was kind of weird.
IN: What is your favorite Runaways song to play or listen to, or both?
SW: That's hard to choose, it has to be more than one!
IN: If you could only play one...
SW: ONE!? As a drummer, for a workout I love playing "Getting Hot" cuz it
has
a lot of drum parts to it and it's better than playing a straight beat,
that's boring for a drummer..."Getting Hot" and "Fantasies". Fantasies
is
one of the hardest songs I ever did, it's really hard to pick one.
INT: What's your favorite Runaway's song to listen to?
SW: "Drive Me Wild". "I Love Playing With Fire" is second, "Little Lost
Girls" too, but that one makes me sad because I know what it's about,
it's
about the band breakup, but the first 2 are probably my favorites.
INT: As one of the First official Runaways, did you feel like you had
some
control over things at the time?
SW: Totally.
INT: Did you really have control?
SW: Yeah, because without me and Joan, he (Kim Fowley) knew he was pretty
much fucked.
INT: Did you have any kind of veto power over any of the songs, clothing,
business?
SW: I think in the beginning Kim really listened to Joan and me because
he
had to, he needed to listen to our "teenage Ideas" as he would call them.
He
didn't start his um, smutty type of talk until Jackie and Cherie were
there,
all that stuff I remember. Joan and I hung out every weekend and were
very
dedicated to running down Ideas; I think there was a lot more respect
then. I
think Joan and I had a lot more say-so than then the rest of us as a
whole
band.
INT: What was actually said to bring the Runaways to an end?
SW: Depends on what period, there was when Cherie wanted to quit because
she
didn't want to do that kind of music anymore and there was a fight, it
looked
like things were not going to go forward then, there was a bad, sad fight
between Joan and Cherie. In the end I believe Lita and I were heavily
manipulated by John Alcott's associates, Lita and I put our foot down and
that pulled the band apart, which is really sad, and it was Toby Mamis
and
Peter Leeds trying to put pressure on me and Lita. They were like, 'Why
are
you arguing with us? You're really not supposed to argue, you've always
been
treated like puppets, and NOW you're putting your foot down?'. He didn't
like
that too well...me and Lita with John Alcott's power and money said,
'Fuck
you! We're outta here, were gonna start our own band!'
INT: Everyone who knows the Runaways knows that you and Lita were not the
type to be manipulated, Lita and you were not the ones that people liked
to
mess with.
SW: NOBODY told us what to do, we took Toby Mamis, lifted him off the
ground,
bare handed, his feet were off the ground.
INT: Just for verification, Toby Mamis was?
SW: The Runaways west coast manager and partner with Peter Leeds of
American
Entertainment who handled Blondie on the east coast. Deborah Harry told
me I
should get away from those people anyway, they were taking the money and
ripping us off, we weren't getting accountings, we were getting bad
deals,
everybody making money except us, we needed to get the fuck away from
those
people.
INT: Getting back to Cherie wanting to do different music, what kind of
music
did she want to do?
SW: I think she wanted to do softer music, explore herself, kind of like
a
Kim Carnes thing, and what was going on in music at that time, she didn't
wanna sing about getting wasted, she wanted to do prettier songs.
INT: How much artistic imput did all of you have?
SW: Joan, Lita and I had a lot music-wise...lyrics, dynamics, vocal
parts, I
wrote all my drum parts, Lita wrote all her guitar parts, Joan was the
mastermind at creating chunk, rawness and attitude, Cherie was the
perfect
front person - a female David Bowie, and it worked. That's artistic too,
as
far as musically, Cherie was very quiet, she didn't know back at that age
how
to figure out the harmonies and the melodies, I had a strong part being
the
conductor!
INT: Did Cherie write lyrics too?
SW: I believe so, not on the albums though, Cherie was good.
INT: When everybody was signed to the band you were all underage, so to
whom
was the money paid or supposed to be paid to? And did your parents sign
over
custodial rights in order for you to participate?
SW: As far as I know, we were never legally on our own, we had to be
provided
with a guardian because we were underage, to be on the road with us so
there
was no hanky panky. Accountings and trust funds to be set up for each
girl,
so when the record company paid out the royalties they went to Kim - he
got
the bulk check then mechanical royalties were divided equally. I wasn't a
big
songwriter back then, Joan was, so she got a lot of the publishing in the
beginning, like advances. Kim would take care of that then cut the checks
to
the girls.
INT: To the trust fund or to you?
SW: There was never a trust fund set up, so it was like I had the money
and
was living on my own at 16, I would get a check, and into the bank it
would
go.
INT: Did your parents sign over rights for someone to take care of your
interests as minors?
SW: Probably Scott Anderson, but it was probably separate people each
tour,
first it was Jackie Fox's mom, 2nd tour Scott Anderson, 3rd tour is a
blur, I
remember Eileen Bradley the A&R lady at Mercury hopping along to Japan.
INT: Were these the assigned "guardians" for the tours?
SW: I think so, but you know that would be interesting. I wonder if it's
in
the original contract, you know Kim Fowley was very tricky, he had a
hot-shot
lawyer, a good rip off artist.
INT: Whatfs the best 'so stupid its funny' moment?
SW: there's so many! Drawing on Scott Andersons naked body, blowing up
people's rooms, me and Lita swimming naked in a Tokyo hotel, the drum
riser
collapsing, throwing Sid Vicious off a boat!.
There was this one time, we were in Helsinki, the record company picked
us up
and took us out, we were at this restaurant, drank a ton of Stoli, they
had
this fireplace and these big shot glasses, and told us to drink it and
throw
them in the fire, so Joan and I were just throwing shot glasses all over
the
place! Joan and I were rowdy!
INT: Who came up with the seltzer victim attacks?
SW: Me. I said, 'lets go spray hookers.'
INT: When you got in the Runaways, how did your neighborhood friends start treating you?
SW: The really close ones, like Michael, he was in my first band when I was 13, most of them were stoked, they were way into it. Lots of people were jealous, oh well.
INT: Did that come out much?
SW: I moved out of that town, everybody wanted free passes. When my parents and my sisters started getting in CREEM magazine, they thought that was great! It was great then, I had a bitchin condo overlooking the bay.
INT: How old were you then?
SW: 17. People were jealous, but I had a really good friend of mine that stayed with me in the beginning, in my first apartment. It was a two-bedroom, $200 a month, that was a big deal back then. And I had my El Camino, it was my first car. Everybody loved it.
INT: Didn't you have a Corvette?
SW Close, never did. I turned 18, I just got back from Japan, I had money, and before I left, I picked out a car, right in the showroom. They said when you get back from Japan, we'll have it ready for you. I got off my plane, it was a Sunday afternoon, all I wanted to do was pick up my car, I asked my parents to meet me at Long Beach and I threw my water skis in and my vest, and took off and... well, that was how I ruined that. No more Corvette!
INT: You and Cherie still occasionally work together now, and are dear friends. Did that end for a while after she left the band, or did you keep the friendship up while you were still in the Runaways?
SW: As soon as she left, I didn't see her for a while, she was doing her own thing, she was doing movies. I was hanging out with Frankie and Lita a lot, then Lita and Frankie got really tight. I would hang out with Pam and a few others, we had a little club in Malibu, I had my own set of friends and Joan was all into the Dead Kennedy's, and those type of bands were hanging out at her house, so I wasn't hanging out with Joan much either. We would go Saturday nights to go see roller derbies.
INT: What was it like when you and Cherie started working together again, was it different or was it like everything came right back?
SW: Everything came right back.
INT: In NYC with you and Cherie (SPA 2001), the place was at capacity, everyone was screaming, Joan was there, having a great time, I was there, it was a sight!
SW: Couldn't believe it, it had never been done before.
INT: Everything had come full circle?
SW: Something was different.
INT: Was it kinda the same, the feeling and the bonding?
SW: Yes, it was reminiscent of they way we used to stick together, go to bat for each other, support each other. A lot of people think all we did was fight with each other, but that's not true, we had a lot of great times, and we were really bonded for a while. When Joan first got signed to Boardwalk, she would come off the road and she would come stay with me. We talked about me drumming with her again, but the label was against it, too much like the Runaways they said.
INT: What would have happened, in your opinion, if the Runaways would have never existed, do you think you would have found stardom anyway?
SW: Definitely, I wasn't planning on knocking on doors at 16, 15 and a half, I was gonna go at 18 and go find the right manager and producer, that was my plan, I knew I had talent.
INT: If you wouldn't have done that, or it wouldn't have worked out, what would you have done instead?
SW: I wanted to go to veterinary school but it was too expensive. I also wanted to be a race car driver.
INT: If you could do just one gig over again, what gig?
SW: Playing at midnight for 15,000 people in like Tokyo or Germany.
INT: Why, when a band with any notoriety breaks up everyone feels the need to go solo, or front with a backup band even though that wasn't what they were used to doing? Why not just join another established band and continue on doing what you were doing and enjoying success but in a new element, playing the same instrument, instead of going, "Look at me, I used to be in this band but I'm solo now, and watch me prove myself."
SW: I don't know, but that's the biggest mistake I ever made as a drummer, because I thought, Hey the rest of 'em did it, so I guess that's what I'm supposed to do. Fuck I was a drummer ya know, it would be nice to be a female Phil Collins, but I tell you what, that's a little hard, so, I made a mistake, although, I did try. This girl who worked for Phonogram in England, she said let me make some calls, its 1980, some drummers have died and other people need drummers. She put the calls out while I was living in England, I lived there as a normal person, not as a working musician, it was cool. Nothing ever came of it though, I guess I was typecast.
INT: Do you think had you not been involved with the Runaways, would it have ever have happened? Would it have ever gotten off the ground, and if it did, would it have been the same as far as impact? What if Lita had not been there, or Joan, or Cherie?
SW: It would not of been what it was, guaranteed, it would have been a small time little hokey pokey, fabricated, generic, stupid little band. If Joan and I had not been there Fowley would have had his songwriter, and tried to put together a "Spice Girls".. not to bash the Spice Girls... type thing, girls that couldn't play, just fit the parts. It would have been a joke, it wouldn't have happened, the success we did achieve, and the solo talents, success, and being so influential for others, male and female that came out of it; it wouldn't have happened.
Sandy's thoughts on The Drummers poll that we posted on our message boards
I think it's so cool! No one anywhere, ever put me in a list of the best drummers, I don't care if it's Rolling Stone, Metal Edge, Modern Drummer, or some high school paper, the fact that someone put it in print is a big compliment to me. I think it's even a bigger compliment that it's someone younger than 40 that did it. The next generation recognizes me as an influence, and as a hard technical hitter. Fuck yeah.
Message From Sandy
I wanna let the fans know something, they have been around for so many years. I wanna tell the fans how much I love them, and how much. ..what they did for me, and I'm grateful. I can't believe how much stronger it's become, and all the new fans, wow, they are great people.
Discuss the 30th on the Message Board
Thanks to A.C. for the band member quotes. Photos by Tom Gold.
- BACK TO THE RUNAWAYS .COM -
| ||
from the fans
"The first time me and my brother saw The Runaways, we were hooked. It was his seventeenth birthday. We never got along but after we went to see The Runaways together we got into a bunch of music we could share and we've been thick as thieves ever since." - Mandy J. | from the band
"What prepares you for going on the road at 16? Nothing prepares you. When I did my first tour I was gone for three months, and when I got home and off the plane, the first thing I did was hug my dad, and I cried and cried. From then on it was like, 'Ok dad see ya later.' My dad had to get my high school diploma, I was on the road, so he had to go get it." - Lita Ford, VH1, 1990 | |
Favorite SongsAs voted by the fans at therunaways.com | ||
1. Cherry Bomb |
16. You Drive Me Wild | |
Favorite Album Coversas voted by the fans | Favorite Albumsas voted by the fans | |
The Inspiration
A lot of fans took it one step further and picked up instruments of their own after being introduced to The Runaways. You can see celebrity comments on our True Legacy page. | ||
This Day In...
Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of these events through the end of 2005:I was playing my usual role of "the one who likes everything" with a few college acquaintances in the first half of 2005 when another cadre of students drifted into the conversation. You know there's one person in every group who has to make a comment about Stacy's intense passion for Constantine Maroulis. Well, one comment led to another and pretty soon, we had five girls arguing over who was so totally hot - Constantine or Bo (while I wished for screws to be drilled into my head). In between the snide remarks about mic-stand dragging and goo-goo eyes, each girl had to express her determination to get the last Britney/Wynonna/Faith/Evanescence release. It made me want to avoid the mall. But all of a sudden, in the middle of the great American "Amy Lee can kick Britney's behind" discussion, my closest acquaintance piped up with "Yeah, well Sandy West could kick all of their asses." In one moment, three of the five girls who had just been weighing the advantages of "In The Zone" over "Going Under" stopped dead, and with reverence in their eyes said, "I f**king love The Runaways." That's a difference I've noticed in a lot of people over the last six-plus years. Certainly there are members of my generation who have no clue who The Runaways were. But the ones who do always make me smile. They sure do like The Donnas but damn it they love The Runaways. I've seen them jam and I've seen them dance to songs I'd never dream of adding to my collection, but there's a whole different vibe when they hear The Runaways. Some bands inspire toe tapping, and some inspire ticket sales, but The Runaways inspire that and something else entirely. Over and above any historical arguments, drugs, bad voodoo and whatever else might be tossed in, there remains a legacy that a lot of young musicians only dream of. There are songs that have become a part of the soundtrack of the lives of countless fans. There are young girls who have picked up an instrument just because The Runaways made it look (and helped make it) possible. For some, The Runaways made life easier to understand. There are dozens of reasons that this band has such a loyal following, and after 30 years the positive influences that its members have had should be remembered and celebrated. It's about life, growing up, passion and music and for some it's pure inspiration. And despite everything else, that's something The Runaways can be damned proud of. - Chrys Sandy West Interview
This interview was originally conducted in 2001, but we dug out the second half for the anniversary. SW: No, he wasn't a journalist he was the fan club president of Sweden, he was irritating us! Hmm, punched out a journalist...you know, some of those people can get really stupid and weird and sexist, so I probably did show some aggression at some point. Some of them can be really obnoxious. The things they ask you have nothing to do with music. INT: Why did you pick the drums as an instrument? SW: Well, I started on Violin when I was 8 to follow in my sister's footsteps. I played for maybe 2 months and I HATED it! My grandfather gave me my first drum kit. I don't know what it was that sparked me, it wasn't like I was always listening to drummers, I just remember that I liked the idea of playing drums, and I thought I could be really good at it because I was aggressive and I was physical...great at sports. IN: What was your favorite outfit to wear when you were playing "back in the day"? SW: I think the white outfit, I liked the leather pants but every time I took them off, they turned my whole body green because of the dye! Back in those days it was all polyester, bell-bottoms, it was kind of weird. IN: What is your favorite Runaways song to play or listen to, or both? SW: That's hard to choose, it has to be more than one! IN: If you could only play one... SW: ONE!? As a drummer, for a workout I love playing "Getting Hot" cuz it has a lot of drum parts to it and it's better than playing a straight beat, that's boring for a drummer..."Getting Hot" and "Fantasies". Fantasies is one of the hardest songs I ever did, it's really hard to pick one. INT: What's your favorite Runaway's song to listen to? SW: "Drive Me Wild". "I Love Playing With Fire" is second, "Little Lost Girls" too, but that one makes me sad because I know what it's about, it's about the band breakup, but the first 2 are probably my favorites. INT: As one of the First official Runaways, did you feel like you had some control over things at the time? SW: Totally. INT: Did you really have control? SW: Yeah, because without me and Joan, he (Kim Fowley) knew he was pretty much fucked. INT: Did you have any kind of veto power over any of the songs, clothing, business? SW: I think in the beginning Kim really listened to Joan and me because he had to, he needed to listen to our "teenage Ideas" as he would call them. He didn't start his um, smutty type of talk until Jackie and Cherie were there, all that stuff I remember. Joan and I hung out every weekend and were very dedicated to running down Ideas; I think there was a lot more respect then. I think Joan and I had a lot more say-so than then the rest of us as a whole band. INT: What was actually said to bring the Runaways to an end? SW: Depends on what period, there was when Cherie wanted to quit because she didn't want to do that kind of music anymore and there was a fight, it looked like things were not going to go forward then, there was a bad, sad fight between Joan and Cherie. In the end I believe Lita and I were heavily manipulated by John Alcott's associates, Lita and I put our foot down and that pulled the band apart, which is really sad, and it was Toby Mamis and Peter Leeds trying to put pressure on me and Lita. They were like, 'Why are you arguing with us? You're really not supposed to argue, you've always been treated like puppets, and NOW you're putting your foot down?'. He didn't like that too well...me and Lita with John Alcott's power and money said, 'Fuck you! We're outta here, were gonna start our own band!' INT: Everyone who knows the Runaways knows that you and Lita were not the type to be manipulated, Lita and you were not the ones that people liked to mess with. SW: NOBODY told us what to do, we took Toby Mamis, lifted him off the ground, bare handed, his feet were off the ground. INT: Just for verification, Toby Mamis was? SW: The Runaways west coast manager and partner with Peter Leeds of American Entertainment who handled Blondie on the east coast. Deborah Harry told me I should get away from those people anyway, they were taking the money and ripping us off, we weren't getting accountings, we were getting bad deals, everybody making money except us, we needed to get the fuck away from those people. INT: Getting back to Cherie wanting to do different music, what kind of music did she want to do? SW: I think she wanted to do softer music, explore herself, kind of like a Kim Carnes thing, and what was going on in music at that time, she didn't wanna sing about getting wasted, she wanted to do prettier songs. INT: How much artistic imput did all of you have? SW: Joan, Lita and I had a lot music-wise...lyrics, dynamics, vocal parts, I wrote all my drum parts, Lita wrote all her guitar parts, Joan was the mastermind at creating chunk, rawness and attitude, Cherie was the perfect front person - a female David Bowie, and it worked. That's artistic too, as far as musically, Cherie was very quiet, she didn't know back at that age how to figure out the harmonies and the melodies, I had a strong part being the conductor! INT: Did Cherie write lyrics too? SW: I believe so, not on the albums though, Cherie was good. INT: When everybody was signed to the band you were all underage, so to whom was the money paid or supposed to be paid to? And did your parents sign over custodial rights in order for you to participate? SW: As far as I know, we were never legally on our own, we had to be provided with a guardian because we were underage, to be on the road with us so there was no hanky panky. Accountings and trust funds to be set up for each girl, so when the record company paid out the royalties they went to Kim - he got the bulk check then mechanical royalties were divided equally. I wasn't a big songwriter back then, Joan was, so she got a lot of the publishing in the beginning, like advances. Kim would take care of that then cut the checks to the girls. INT: To the trust fund or to you? SW: There was never a trust fund set up, so it was like I had the money and was living on my own at 16, I would get a check, and into the bank it would go. INT: Did your parents sign over rights for someone to take care of your interests as minors? SW: Probably Scott Anderson, but it was probably separate people each tour, first it was Jackie Fox's mom, 2nd tour Scott Anderson, 3rd tour is a blur, I remember Eileen Bradley the A&R lady at Mercury hopping along to Japan. INT: Were these the assigned "guardians" for the tours? SW: I think so, but you know that would be interesting. I wonder if it's in the original contract, you know Kim Fowley was very tricky, he had a hot-shot lawyer, a good rip off artist. INT: Whatfs the best 'so stupid its funny' moment? SW: there's so many! Drawing on Scott Andersons naked body, blowing up people's rooms, me and Lita swimming naked in a Tokyo hotel, the drum riser collapsing, throwing Sid Vicious off a boat!. There was this one time, we were in Helsinki, the record company picked us up and took us out, we were at this restaurant, drank a ton of Stoli, they had this fireplace and these big shot glasses, and told us to drink it and throw them in the fire, so Joan and I were just throwing shot glasses all over the place! Joan and I were rowdy! INT: Who came up with the seltzer victim attacks? SW: Me. I said, 'lets go spray hookers.' INT: When you got in the Runaways, how did your neighborhood friends start treating you? SW: The really close ones, like Michael, he was in my first band when I was 13, most of them were stoked, they were way into it. Lots of people were jealous, oh well. INT: Did that come out much? SW: I moved out of that town, everybody wanted free passes. When my parents and my sisters started getting in CREEM magazine, they thought that was great! It was great then, I had a bitchin condo overlooking the bay. INT: How old were you then? SW: 17. People were jealous, but I had a really good friend of mine that stayed with me in the beginning, in my first apartment. It was a two-bedroom, $200 a month, that was a big deal back then. And I had my El Camino, it was my first car. Everybody loved it. INT: Didn't you have a Corvette? SW Close, never did. I turned 18, I just got back from Japan, I had money, and before I left, I picked out a car, right in the showroom. They said when you get back from Japan, we'll have it ready for you. I got off my plane, it was a Sunday afternoon, all I wanted to do was pick up my car, I asked my parents to meet me at Long Beach and I threw my water skis in and my vest, and took off and... well, that was how I ruined that. No more Corvette! INT: You and Cherie still occasionally work together now, and are dear friends. Did that end for a while after she left the band, or did you keep the friendship up while you were still in the Runaways? SW: As soon as she left, I didn't see her for a while, she was doing her own thing, she was doing movies. I was hanging out with Frankie and Lita a lot, then Lita and Frankie got really tight. I would hang out with Pam and a few others, we had a little club in Malibu, I had my own set of friends and Joan was all into the Dead Kennedy's, and those type of bands were hanging out at her house, so I wasn't hanging out with Joan much either. We would go Saturday nights to go see roller derbies. INT: What was it like when you and Cherie started working together again, was it different or was it like everything came right back? SW: Everything came right back. INT: In NYC with you and Cherie (SPA 2001), the place was at capacity, everyone was screaming, Joan was there, having a great time, I was there, it was a sight! SW: Couldn't believe it, it had never been done before. INT: Everything had come full circle? SW: Something was different. INT: Was it kinda the same, the feeling and the bonding? SW: Yes, it was reminiscent of they way we used to stick together, go to bat for each other, support each other. A lot of people think all we did was fight with each other, but that's not true, we had a lot of great times, and we were really bonded for a while. When Joan first got signed to Boardwalk, she would come off the road and she would come stay with me. We talked about me drumming with her again, but the label was against it, too much like the Runaways they said. INT: What would have happened, in your opinion, if the Runaways would have never existed, do you think you would have found stardom anyway? SW: Definitely, I wasn't planning on knocking on doors at 16, 15 and a half, I was gonna go at 18 and go find the right manager and producer, that was my plan, I knew I had talent. INT: If you wouldn't have done that, or it wouldn't have worked out, what would you have done instead? SW: I wanted to go to veterinary school but it was too expensive. I also wanted to be a race car driver. INT: If you could do just one gig over again, what gig? SW: Playing at midnight for 15,000 people in like Tokyo or Germany. INT: Why, when a band with any notoriety breaks up everyone feels the need to go solo, or front with a backup band even though that wasn't what they were used to doing? Why not just join another established band and continue on doing what you were doing and enjoying success but in a new element, playing the same instrument, instead of going, "Look at me, I used to be in this band but I'm solo now, and watch me prove myself." SW: I don't know, but that's the biggest mistake I ever made as a drummer, because I thought, Hey the rest of 'em did it, so I guess that's what I'm supposed to do. Fuck I was a drummer ya know, it would be nice to be a female Phil Collins, but I tell you what, that's a little hard, so, I made a mistake, although, I did try. This girl who worked for Phonogram in England, she said let me make some calls, its 1980, some drummers have died and other people need drummers. She put the calls out while I was living in England, I lived there as a normal person, not as a working musician, it was cool. Nothing ever came of it though, I guess I was typecast. INT: Do you think had you not been involved with the Runaways, would it have ever have happened? Would it have ever gotten off the ground, and if it did, would it have been the same as far as impact? What if Lita had not been there, or Joan, or Cherie? SW: It would not of been what it was, guaranteed, it would have been a small time little hokey pokey, fabricated, generic, stupid little band. If Joan and I had not been there Fowley would have had his songwriter, and tried to put together a "Spice Girls".. not to bash the Spice Girls... type thing, girls that couldn't play, just fit the parts. It would have been a joke, it wouldn't have happened, the success we did achieve, and the solo talents, success, and being so influential for others, male and female that came out of it; it wouldn't have happened. Sandy's thoughts on The Drummers poll that we posted on our message boards I think it's so cool! No one anywhere, ever put me in a list of the best drummers, I don't care if it's Rolling Stone, Metal Edge, Modern Drummer, or some high school paper, the fact that someone put it in print is a big compliment to me. I think it's even a bigger compliment that it's someone younger than 40 that did it. The next generation recognizes me as an influence, and as a hard technical hitter. Fuck yeah. Message From Sandy I wanna let the fans know something, they have been around for so many years. I wanna tell the fans how much I love them, and how much. ..what they did for me, and I'm grateful. I can't believe how much stronger it's become, and all the new fans, wow, they are great people. Discuss the 30th on the Message Board | ||
Thanks to A.C. for the band member quotes. Photos by Tom Gold.
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