Did Rush really bully the girls?
In the DVD commentary Joan Jett claims it was Rush who bullied the band during a sound check.
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Issa, interesting info on that story. I had no idea if true or not, but being likely true, it's all the more intriguing.
shareUrinating on a Les Paul guitar isn't going to ruin it. I'm incredulous that you think that made any member of Rush respect Joan Jett.
shareif grown men actually did bully a bunch of 16 year old girls their respect is worth less than that urine. which by the way does ruin a guitar, rock stars have no clue how to clean anything
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Actually that would have been a Nitro finish guitar and while the pups and pots wouldn't be too happy the acid in urine could easily ruin the finish of an old Paul....It's been a while since I saw this movie but from the movie I thought I remembered it being a double neck Ric (which would be accurate for Alex at the time) not a Les Paul.... Either way, still playable, fixable, probable finish discoloration...Also cloth covered wiring might be an issue... I've never had to fix an axe that was pissed on but lots that just got wet... Interesting thought though..
Don't count on hell ever running out of room
i'm just being a smartass stereotyping rockstars, they're so rich that everything is disposable. What is the purpose of this alien apparatus you call a bath tub
sharePeeing on a guitar made them respect her?
How would that even make sense?
I love Jesus AND Jesus-hating atheists and am 100% proud!
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Exactly! They weren't bullied because they were girls, they were bullied because they were absolutely TERRIBLE.
sharewhether they were terrible or not The Runaways were the only band at the time that could literally identify with much of the teen crowd. Makes a lot of sense to me that'd it'd be worth a shot. If anything is worthy of shame it's grown ass men being snobby twats to kids, who probably looked up to them with a lot of respect before the alleged shenanigans.
shareAgree.... It had nothing to do with getting respect. They were just young, impulsive and pissed... Pretty simple motive really.... Wasn't some kind of grand statement...
Don't count on hell ever running out of room
They weren't disrespected because they were an all-girl band, they were disrespected because they sucked so badly.
shareI do love the Runaways, but also agree that the pioneering All-female bands were better; Fanny, Birtha and Isis.
As I posted on another thread here, a terrible review of hard-rockin' Birtha's first LP, from a rock critic (from the 1970's) was: "This could all be rationalized by some eager feminist theorist--women have never played macho rock before, but it would still be lousy music."
Ahh, the '70s and feminism (right?), but this would be unheard of today for someone to make such a comment about women playing "macho rock." Birtha, in my opinion, did a killer version of Ike Turner's "Too Much Woman (for a Henpecked Man)..and then their classic "Free Spirit." The ladies were Good, despite this music critic's comments.
Not all of the all-female bands back then were no-talents!
I do agree that The Runaways were probably not the best example.
"You Are a Testimony to Witlessness!"...Madalyn Murray O'Hair
I remember the Wilson sisters from Heart as the first really good female rockers. I refer to the pre-MTV Heart, which made some really good music, eventhough they weren't an all female band. The Wilson sisters really were the stars of the band. They were really popular when I was in High School, and I got to see them in concert circa 1978. They were really tight, talented musicians.
Of course, they totally sold out in the 80s and made a bunch of crappy, soft pop, MTV videos.
The Wilson sisters might have been great musicians but it doesn't mean they were saved from sexism by it.
A publicity campaign by a record company early in their career attempted to play up a lezbo angle between the sisters, much to their horror. One of the sisters recalled in an interview about being asked once in the 70s where her lover was? She was puzzled as to why she was being asked about her boyfriend until the asker slyly chuckled and indicated he was actually asking about her sister.
Just the same, they knew that if a little T&A sold vinyl, they weren't opposed to soft-focus album covers & capitalizing on their looks.
I agree. While female rock musicians have undeniably had to deal with sexism no matter how talented they are, it was clear that in this case, it had nothing to with sexism. They were made fun of because they were marketed in a certain way, made to appeal to a teenage/high school audience. Rush would have felt the same way about those 80s glam bands, guys like Poison and Ratt would have been disrespected/not taken seriously by them too, simply because of the completely different styles of music represented by these bands.
It's like that time in the 80s when Queensryche was billed with Ratt on a tour. I can imagine Queensryche weren't happy about it, as they thought of their music as completely different, not the superficial sex-drugs-party of the glam bands they had to tour with and be compared to. Also, it was clearly shown that their qualm with the Runaways was not because the Runaways happened to be girls, but rather because they were just kids.
Hence, the lines mocking them about child protective services and telling them they should be doing their homework. They were made fun of because they were kids, and because of what type of band Rush perceived them to be (teeny boppers), which was completely different from how Rush perceived themselves.
I actually have to disagree with a few things that were said above. First off I knew and know the guys in Queensryche, especially Eddie Jackson and they didn't mind touring with Ratt at all. They actually liked them, except maybe Tate, he didn't like anyone.
Second, Rush made derogatory comments aimed at the girls "opening their legs" and most all bands judged any female in rock badly at that time. Rock music was a man's world then, they considered them groupies, that's about it. I doubt they had even heard them play prior to that sound check and they didn't hear much.
Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man....