Rock goddess visits SE, plays LGBT benefit
A small but very fortunate group fulfilled a rock and roll dream on Friday, June 10 when Cherie Currie, lead singer of the legendary all-female rock band The Runaways, chatted warmly and candidly with fans while signing copies of her memoir, "Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway" and her 2015 CD, Reverie, at Spectacle Eyeware at 505 Tremont Street.
Currie came to Boston to headline a benefit for the Boston Area Gay and Lesbian Youth (BAGLY) clinic on Saturday, June 11 at Brighton Music Hall in Allston. The meet and greet was hosted by Spectacle owner, optician and showman Paul Fox, a South End native who leads a double life as lead singer/guitarist of the hard-rock band Spectacle.
A master of cross promotion and a gracious host, Fox had T shirts made for Currie and her entourage emblazoned with a specially designed Spectacle logo and provided sandwiches and soft drinks for his guests from Billy's Sub Shop at 57 Berkeley Street. Happily sporting her Spectacle shirt, Currie spent over two hours greeting fans, posing for pictures, and signing memorabilia, and the size of Fox's shop lent an intimate feel to the reception.
A former addiction counselor herself, Currie even took a moment to record a video greeting for a Cape Ann man to share with the "History of Rock and Roll" class that he teaches as part of a program for recovering substance abusers. Among the attendees were local musicians Liz Borden, a longtime South Ender and singer/songwriter with Lizzie Borden and the Axes and Flight of Fire, a young all-female band that Borden manages. Borden and the members of Flight of Fire "daylight" as South End dog walkers as well.
Currie looked impressively fit and composed after having flown in from Australia the night before but was concerned about conserving her voice amid the bouncing acoustics in the optical boutique and the talk, music and laughter that filled the room. Nevertheless, that did not stop her from sharing revealing stories of her life with the Runaways, which entailed long national and international tours without the domestic stability of attending school and having parents present, as well as a harrowing account of being kidnapped and beaten by an unstable young man at age 17, shortly after she left the Runaways.
After overcoming addiction to alcohol and drugs herself, Currie worked as a substance abuse counselor post-Runaways, which brought her into contact with many LGBT youth. "There were a lot of gay and lesbian [youth] but not transgender because we did not really know what that was yet, and they were fighting turmoil." Referring to the BAGLY clinic, Currie is glad that Boston-area LGBT youth have such an important resource. "BAGLY is supposed to be a safe, loving, supportive place, where they can be themselves and get whatever they need whether it be a doctor or psychological treatment, whatever will help them do better." She added, "My best friends all my life are gay and lesbian and I am so happy that Massachusetts was the first state to legalize gay marriage."
She was favorably impressed with Boston as well. "It's a beautiful city. I love it here. I would move here, but I don't know about the cold winters," she said, expressing concern that her other artistic passion, chainsaw sculpture, might be difficult in the Boston winters.
Fans ranging in age from the twentysomething rockers of Flight of Fire to longtime fan John Doherty, were excited to meet their hero and share some time with her, up-close and personally. "It's huge. She's an icon, she's a pioneer and she'll never make a Spectacle out of herself," Doherty quipped. Reflecting on her achievement with the Runaways, who from the 1970s to today have inspired millions of girls as well as boys in their musical dreams, Currie mused, "Twenty years later, when Joan, Lita, Sandy and I decided to sue for residuals and the band name, I started listening again. I was shocked when I looked at some of those videos at how good we were together. We were the "magical five". After Jackie left and I left, the Runaways just didn't have that magic. Joan was great, but there was something about the five of us (Currie, Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Jackie Fox and Sandy West)."
Saturday night's benefit for BAGLY, which also included performances by Gene Dante and the Future Starlets; singer-songwriter Sarah McGuinness; Los Angeles-based singer Gretchen Bonaduce and the comedy-rock band Marianne Toilet and the Runs was conceived by Dante, a Boston-based glam rocker and theatrical performer who approached the non-profit organization with the idea. Dante's friend Bonaduce was the link to Cherie Currie. Happy to join Saturday night's fundraiser, Currie said, "It's a pleasure. I'm proud to be a part of it."