Bags (Los Angeles Band)
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Bags (also known as the Bags or Alice Bag Band) were an American punk rock band formed in 1977, one of the first generation of punk rock bands to emerge from
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, California.


Biography

The Bags were formed by Alicia Armendariz and
Patricia Morrison Patricia Anne Rainone (born January 14, 1962), better known by her stage name Patricia Morrison, is an American bass guitarist, singer and songwriter. She has worked with Bags, The Gun Club, Fur Bible, The Sisters of Mercy, and the Damned. Bio ...
, who had met while waiting in line to see
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
guest on ''
Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...
''. The two became fast friends and eventually decided to form a band called Femme Fatale.
Kim Fowley Kim Vincent Fowley (July 21, 1939 – January 15, 2015) was the American record producer, songwriter and musician who was behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and managed The Runaways in the 1970s. He has been ...
heard about their band and asked the members to audition for
Venus and the Razorblades Venus and the Razorblades were a short-lived punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed and managed by Kim Fowley after he severed professional relations with The Runaways. They are believed to be one of the first mixed-gender American ...
, Fowley's next attempt at creating a band after
the Runaways The Runaways were an all-female American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. The band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are "Cherry Bomb", " Hollywood", "Queens of N ...
had left him. Femme Fatale eventually morphed into a new band, which became Bags. They took the band's name and their stage names "Alice Bag" and "Pat Bag" from a gimmick that the band used during early performances where they performed with grocery bags over their heads (the practice did not last, in part due to an incident where
Darby Crash Jan Paul Beahm (better known by his stage name Darby Crash, formerly Bobby Pyn; September 26, 1958 – December 7, 1980) was an American punk rock vocalist who, along with longtime friend Pat Smear (born Georg Ruthenberg), co-founded the punk ro ...
of the Germs got on stage and ripped the bag off Alice's head). Alice Bag was the vocalist and Pat Bag played bass, and the rest of the band comprised guitar players Craig Lee and Rob Ritter, and Terry Graham on drums. The Bags played their first concert at
The Masque The Masque was a small punk rock club in central Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, California which existed from 1977 to 1978. It is remembered as a key part of the early LA punk scene. History The Masque was founded by Scottish-American rock ...
on September 10, 1977. Their concerts were often accompanied by disorderly scenes, including altercations with celebrities, such as one between singer
Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...
and drummer Nicky Beat at The Troubadour. In 1978, they released their only record, a single called "Survive", backed with "Babylonian Gorgon", released by independent record label
Dangerhouse Records Dangerhouse Records was a Neff, Joseph (August 13, 2013)"(Re)Graded on a Curve: Dangerhouse Records' Compilation, ''Yes L.A.''" ''The Vinyl District''. Retrieved August 21, 2015. punk music record label based in Los Angeles, California Overvie ...
. "We Don't Need The English" was included on the ''Yes L.A.'' punk compilation album released by the same label. After this, Pat Bag left the band and Ritter switched to bass. In 1980 the group, was filmed by
Penelope Spheeris Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945 or 1946; sources differ) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. She has directed both documentary and scripted films. Her best-known works include the trilogy titled ''The Decline of ...
for the
documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
''
The Decline of Western Civilization ''The Decline of Western Civilization'' is a 1981 American documentary filmed through 1979 and 1980. The movie is about the Los Angeles punk rock scene and was directed by Penelope Spheeris. In 1981, the LAPD Chief of Police Daryl Gates wrote a ...
'', which also featured the Germs, Black Flag,
Catholic Discipline Catholic Discipline was an American punk rock (first-generation new wave) band, formed in 1979 in San Francisco, California, by '' Slash Fanzine'' editor Claude Bessy. The initial line-up of the band featured Bessy on vocals, Phranc on guitar, R ...
, X and other Los Angeles punk bands. At the release of the film in 1981 the producers billed the group as "Alice Bag Band" to avoid any conflict with Morrison, but the band had already broken up by then.


Post break-up

Craig Lee also played with
Catholic Discipline Catholic Discipline was an American punk rock (first-generation new wave) band, formed in 1979 in San Francisco, California, by '' Slash Fanzine'' editor Claude Bessy. The initial line-up of the band featured Bessy on vocals, Phranc on guitar, R ...
, and he and co-member
Phranc Phranc (born Susan Gottlieb; August 28, 1957), is an American singer-songwriter whose career began playing in several bands in the late 1970s Los Angeles punk rock scene. Her musical style later shifted during the 1980s as a solo artist, into ...
performed together occasionally when she embarked on her subsequent solo career. However, Lee is best known as a writer and critic for publications such as '' Flipside''
fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...
, among others, and as co-author of the book ''Hardcore California: A History Of Punk and New Wave''. He died as a result of
AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
in 1991. Terry Graham went on to play drums for
The Gun Club The Gun Club were an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which existed from 1979 to 1996. It was formed and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce. History Early days (1979–1980) The Gun Club w ...
. Pat, now known as
Patricia Morrison Patricia Anne Rainone (born January 14, 1962), better known by her stage name Patricia Morrison, is an American bass guitarist, singer and songwriter. She has worked with Bags, The Gun Club, Fur Bible, The Sisters of Mercy, and the Damned. Bio ...
, also joined The Gun Club soon after. Once she left The Gun Club she joined
The Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasin ...
and then The Damned, as bassist. She married
Dave Vanian David Vanian (born David Lett, 12 October 1956) is an English rock musician, and lead singer of the punk rock band the Damned. Formed in 1976 in London, the Damned were the first British punk band to release a single, release an album, have a ...
, the Damned's lead singer. Rob Ritter also joined The Gun Club, and appeared on their first LP ''Fire Of Love'', but then left, changing his name to Rob Graves and forming the
death rock Death rock (or deathrock) is a rock music subgenre incorporating horror elements and gothic theatrics. It emerged from punk rock on the West Coast of the United States in the early 1980s and overlaps with the gothic rock and horror punk genre ...
band
45 Grave 45 Grave is an American rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1979. The original group broke up in 1985, but vocalist Dinah Cancer subsequently revived the band. History The band was founded during the punk rock movement by Paul B. Cutler in ...
, with
Dinah Cancer Mary Ann Sims (born August 28, 1960), known professionally as Dinah Cancer, is an American singer. She is the lead vocalist of 45 Grave, which helped found the deathrock music genre. Biography Cancer's first band was Castration Squad, an ...
,
Don Bolles Donald Fifield Bolles (July 10, 1928 – June 13, 1976) was an American investigative reporter for ''The Arizona Republic'' who was known for his coverage of organized crime in the area, especially by the Chicago Outfit. His murder in a car bom ...
, previously of the Germs and
Nervous Gender Nervous Gender is an American punk rock electronic band formed in Los Angeles in 1978 by Gerardo Velazquez, Edward Stapleton, Phranc and Michael Ochoa. Their use of heavily distorted keyboards and synthesizers made them, along with The Scr ...
,
Paul Roessler Paul Roessler (born August 27, 1958) is an American musician and record producer. Roessler was a prominent member of the L.A. punk scene during the late 1970s and 1980s. He played keyboards in bands such as The Screamers, Twisted Roots, 45 Gra ...
of
The Screamers The Screamers were an American electropunk group founded in 1975. They were among the first wave of the L.A. punk rock scene. The Los Angeles Times applied the label "techno-punk" to the band in 1978. In the documentary '' Punk: Attitude'' ( ...
and Nervous Gender and Paul Cutler. 45 Grave was influential in the creation of
goth rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...
. Graves died in 1990 of a heroin overdose. Alice Bag joined the death rock band Castration Squad, which included Phranc and Dinah Cancer among its many members. In the 1990s, she formed Cholita! with punk rock
drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...
Vaginal Davis Vaginal Davis (born in Los Angeles, California) is an American performing artist, painter, independent curator, composer, filmmaker and writer. Born intersex and raised in South Central, Los Angeles, Davis gained notoriety in New York during the ...
and the band released several videos. After this, she performed with Las Tres and then formed Stay at Home Bomb, her most recent musical project. According to her official website, since the deaths of Lee and Ritter and her estrangement from Morrison, she considers the Bags to be permanently disbanded, and has refused to perform Bags songs in public. A collection of recordings from the group has been released on Artifix Records as well as a reissue of the original Dangerhouse single. At the 2008 exhibit "Vexing: Female Voices From East L.A. Punk" at the Claremont Museum of Art, Armandariz performed punk versions of
mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...
music (and some Bags songs too). In 2011 Alice Bag published her memoir, ''Violence Girl: East L.A. Rage to Hollywood Stage, A Chicana Punk Story'' and embarked on a reading and performance tour across the United States.


Discography

* "Survive"/"Babylonian Gorgon" 7" single (
Dangerhouse Records Dangerhouse Records was a Neff, Joseph (August 13, 2013)"(Re)Graded on a Curve: Dangerhouse Records' Compilation, ''Yes L.A.''" ''The Vinyl District''. Retrieved August 21, 2015. punk music record label based in Los Angeles, California Overvie ...
, 1978) *''All Bagged Up... The Collected Works 1977-1980'' (2007) **"Survive" 02:48 **"Babylonian Gorgon" 02:35 **"We Don't Need the English" 01:14 **"We Will Bury You" 01:52 **"TV Dinner" 01:49 **"Violent Girl" 02:17 **"Animal Call" 02:21 **"Chainsaw" 01:16 **"
7 and 7 Is "7 and 7 Is" is a song written by Arthur Lee and recorded by his band Love on June 17 and 20, 1966, at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood. It was produced by Jac Holzman and engineered by Bruce Botnick. The song was released as the A-side of ...
(written by Arthur Lee)" 01:52 **"1,2,3" 01:26 **"Gluttony" 02:23 **"In Love With Romance" 01:35 **"Survive" 02:48 **"Car Hell" 02:52 **"Real Emotions" 01:57 **"Bag Bondage" 01:20 **"Disco's Dead" 02:11 **"Prowlers in the Night" 02:57 **"Nothing's Going on in Here" 02:33 * "We Don't Need the English" - ''Yes L.A.'' compilation (Dangerhouse Records, 1979) * "Gluttony" - ''
The Decline of Western Civilization ''The Decline of Western Civilization'' is a 1981 American documentary filmed through 1979 and 1980. The movie is about the Los Angeles punk rock scene and was directed by Penelope Spheeris. In 1981, the LAPD Chief of Police Daryl Gates wrote a ...
'' soundtrack (
Slash Records Slash Records was an American record label originally specializing in local punk rock bands, active from 1978 to 2000. It was notable as one of the first and most successful independent record labels in alternative rock, alternative music, befor ...
, 1980) * "We Will Bury You" - ''Life is Beautiful, So Why Not Eat Health Foods'' compilation (
New Underground Records New Underground Records was an American independent record label founded by Danny Phillips (a.k.a. Danny Dean) and Gary Kail. Phillips and Kail were influenced by D. Boon and Mike Watt's New Alliance Records label and decided to create their own ...
, 1983) * "Survive" - ''We're Desperate: The L.A. Scene (1976-79)'' compilation (
Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
, 1993)


References


External links


Full original articleOfficial Alice Bag Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bags 1977 establishments in California 1981 disestablishments in California Punk rock groups from California Musical groups disestablished in 1981 Musical groups established in 1977 Musical groups from Los Angeles Dangerhouse Records artists