She produced, managed, wrote the music, played the guitar and frequently reached over to tune the guitars of her bandmates. After a brief stay in Lux's hometown of Akron, Ohioan American punk hotbed of sorts that also produced Chrissie Hynde and Devothe pair made it to New York City where they began the Cramps in 1976. . I interviewed her in 2003 for the guitar magazine I worked on at the time. I think some guitarists get into an ego thing where they want to perform in some technical way, which even if you can its not always the best thing to choose to do. She tookreverb, tremolo, sustain and fuzz those bad, bad boys and whipped em into shape, handcuffing them to licks sharper than stilettos. No one would say that to Bo Diddley: `Whens he gonna branch out? (Interestingly enough, Diddley often had female guitarists in his band. It changed my world view in a lot of ways. The Cramps - Mad Daddy. Its just so euphoric that I really get high playing it. The band, formed in 1976 by Interior (real name: Erick Lee Purkhiser) and his guitar-playing future wife Poison Ivy Rorschach (Kristy Marlana Wallace) after Interior, as urban legend has it . Her signature tiger-striped and fetishwear-inspired looks were typically set off by voluminous corkscrews of coppery-red hair. She channeled Dick Dale, Duane Eddy and Link Wray. "She's truly an incredible guitar player and musician, and that type of an outsider figure who's essentially saying, A lot of people aren't gonna get us, but that doesn't make us weird, you know? And at their heart was a couple. And, uh [stern voice], itd better. ), Then, Goo Goo Muck (written by Ronnie Cook and the Gaylads in 1962), where Interior warned, I roam the city and I walk the streets, looking for something nice to eat, following it up with a curdling, I want the most but Ill take the least. They got extra bad taste credit for the totally un-PC Blow Up Your Mind, where Interior aped/parodied suicide by miming a gunshot to the head. The Cramps were interested in the life that crawled underneath wet stones. The big rock awards / Crowned a brand-new king, go the lyrics. In Surfin Bird, during that go-crazy maximum reverb breakdown and vocal whoop, Interior would suck the mic into his mouth and climb atop the speakers, in a sexually suggestive frenzy, Ivy acting as non-plussed as ever. No one would ever say its [sexist]. Scott regularly appears on Classic Rocks podcast, The 20 Million Club, and was the writer/researcher on 2017s Mick Ronson documentary Beside Bowie. Where Did the 'Perfect Match' Couples End Up? Natasha Lyonne is grimacing. It was one of the rare occasions she was questioned about the technical details of her playing. A Cramps gig was one of barely controlled chaos. Then, there was Eyeball in My Martini, Alligator Man and The Crusher a total, tongue-in-cheek blowout on a grand order. During one show, they did Bend Over Ill Drive and Interior howled, Is this the way Jayne Mansfield died? (Half the gorgeous actress head was severed in a car accident. No one would say that to Bo Diddley: `Whens he gonna branch out? (Interestingly enough, Diddley often had female guitarists in his band, way before that became a thing. " HAPPY BIRTHDAY " Poison Ivy (Kristy Marlana Wallace) (Sacramento, 20 de febrero de 1953) es una guitarrista y cofundadora de la banda de psychobilly The Cramps. People say, If you join their band youll be a slave to their whims. But whats so bad about that? Weve been called a parody or a cartoon band that makes fun of this and that, but we dont make fun of anything.. We're at this tipping point where it feels like there's not a lot of time to wait, you know? I still like the idea of playing for the pure euphoria. Human Fly The Cramps, with short promo film by Alex de Laszlo, 1986, starring Poison Ivy and Lux Interior: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33eE1KUNJV8. HBO Max Comedies Thatll Put You in a Good Mood, Everything to Know Ahead of 'Mando' Season 3. Happy 70 to one of the most charismatic Amazons in rock history. Diddley performed with a female second guitarist called, the Duchess, and seeing a woman onstage playing rock n roll was a major moment for Ivy. She wears a velvet leotard and fishnets, stepping forward with her guitar slung fretboard-first toward the camera like an automatic weapon, her pale pointed face hovering ghoulishly above. Bryan was mainly more of a visual thing. There was too much, yknow?, Even the Sex Pistols had Chuck Berry licks. THE SHOCKING LIVE TELEVISION SUICIDE OF A NEWS ANCHOR! They were musical geniuses. The band was together for only four years (from 1987-1994) after the death of Kurt Cobain. The cramps left a hell of a mark on me. And this came out: The big rock awards / Crowned a brand-new king/It shoulda been me instead / Dont they know that Im Elvis Fucking Christ?. From that point on, the Cramps were kaput. I had to do a lot of his parts on the albums, simply because he wouldnt even show up. Born Kristy Marlana Wallace, Ivy developed a passion for music especially early rock 'n' roll, R&B, country and blues; a defiant, "bad girl" aesthetic; and a natural, total aversion to . They werent like other New York bands, not fast and furious like The Ramones or artsy and angsty like Talking Heads; they didnt stage epic twisted guitar duels like Television. See Kristy's contact info now . The Cramps, with Ivy, Lux, and various other guitarists, drummers, and bassists, continued to release records and perform live until the fall of 2006, enjoying some commercial success (mainly in Europe) and acquiring a strong cult following worldwide.[5]. He produced a lot, and he considered himself more of a piano player, but his guitar playing was totally unique. Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. Perhaps come across a singer that can go Lux What say chick? That is to say, Lyonne and Poison Ivy have a couple of things in common. Date of Birth: 20 February 1953 - 13:56h. It can take someone whos been dead for 30 years and then make them alive again. It means theyre being moved by a spirit. In an age when band names were getting more abstract Iron Butterfly, Aerosmith, Grand Funk Railroad they wanted an old-school name like the Kinks, and they came up with one that referenced menstrual cramps. Log in to see their photos and videos. More information Kristy Marlana Wallace More like this And then I got this email that ELLE wanted to do a shoot. Follow him on Twitter @jimsullivanink. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, You should really be certain that that's what you want to do. Ivy had a pair of gold lame pants made to mimic a pair the Duchess had worn onstage, as a sartorial tribute. Thats really pitiful, but that happens to be the way things are right now. What are you waiting for. Were they serious? It was a lightbulb moment. 8 Views Added 3 months ago. Poison is also known as Poison Ivy, Poison Ivy Rorschach, Wallace, Kristy Marlana; Ivy, and Poison. is so harrowing to consider. Publicity photo. Thats always healthy. According to the band's official press release, Interior passed away due to an existing heart condition in the early morning hours at Glendale (California) Memorial Hospital. Im the Queen of Rock n Roll and for this to not to be recognized is pure sexism.. Poison Ivy was born Kristy Marlana Wallace and took her nom-du-rock from the old Coasters song. I would just point out that there was a tiny error as to the brand of signature guitar she used. [ 1] Kristy Marlana Wallace (born February 20, 1953), known as Poison Ivy or Poison Ivy Rorschach, is a guitarist, songwriter, arranger, producer, and occasional vocalist who co-founded the American punk band The Cramps. The founding member and guitarist of The Cramps, Poison Ivy (born Kristy Marlana Wallace) was a genius and a vamp. But were in a position to demand our fetishes and get them. Its cool figuring out how to get all the dynamics reduced down to this mechanical thing. . I would never do that to you. And so much drama. They hung out with the Ramones and toured with the Police. So, its kind of exhilarating to be in front of these loud amps, with the monitors pounding, where you can feel the subwoofers under your feet while youre on the stage. It was always a story that I wanted to tell, and it was incredible to have collaborators like Amy [Poehler] and Leslye [Headland] help externalize what was in my mind's eye. When Do New Episodes of 'Mandalorian' Come Out? Later on in life at a show in Miami I waited all night just to see them come out the door to hear them through the walls I was too young to get in but I was going to fucking meet them. (Kristy Marlana Wallace) Gender: Female. - For The Love of Ivy | Facebook See more of For The Love of Ivy on Facebook Log In or Create new account Vintage Punk & Wild Rock 'n' Roll Psychedelic Sixties Punk Rock and Garage Rock The Scatter Shot on WXNA Greenseeker Band Panzram Band Entertainment website LA Punk Rocker Book Series The Cramps Poison Ivy was pissed off. Kristy was given the name Christina Ann McNichol on September 11th, 1962 in Los Angeles, California, U.S. I think that is very true of life, the experience of getting older: The shit that we think maybe we'll be able to avoid, at some point it does come for us. Her signature tiger-striped and fetishwear-inspired looks were typically set. Live is instant, and theres a visual impact. My chosen profession is wrong. And if we are searching for a meaningful life, we have to look at the darker stuff that we're avoiding in order to become truly participating members of our world. 1953 and is 69 years old now. Onstage, there was chaos, confrontation, destruction of equipment, bare flesh, and that dangerous, subversive-sounding psychobilly. The Cramps emerged in 1976. Poison Ivy of The Cramps (Image: Pinterest), Me and my friends talked about what wed seen at The Rat. For me, anything was fair game.). The character in the movie looks like me. rock n roll. . Lyonne's own red hair is a powerful motif in her new dark-comedy-slash-existential-drama Russian Doll, now streaming on Netflix; we see it again and again in the bathroom mirror as her character Nadia relives the night of her thirty-sixth birthday. For all the drugs, deviance and delirium, the story of the Cramps is a love story the story of Lux Interior (vocals, words) and Poison Ivy Rorschach (guitars, music). It was a Gretsch, not a Gibson. Sometimes the songs were so wild, and so perfectly welded to the Cramps aesthetic, that you couldnt believe they were covers; take the Novas The Crusher a twisted dance record that instructs you to eye-gouge and squeeze your partners head until shes blue in the face.. Everyone we knew did that. I would have loved that opportunity.. We're obviously living in a time that's appalling as far as injustice and racism and homophobia and misogyny, and it was like saying, "Hey, unless you're kind of connected to the world around you, you're a participating member in all of this. THIS IS WHATS COOL! Its a blues tradition to boast about yourself that youre the king, with the biggest dick, the biggest queen, whatever.. In fact, Lux and Ivy dined at the same late-night nearby pizza parlor as me and my friends after the gig. I didnt even think of that til you said it, but maybe that made it easier for me to consider playing guitar because I was such a misfit anyway. In a flip of the usual showbiz dynamic, the singer wore high heels and ended almost every gig naked while his partner the woman ran the show. We couldnt figure it out because it was pure rock n roll. The woman, Poison Ivy, looked like a high priestess or a '50s movie queen. We didn't want her to be going through sort of that internal indecision and chaos. A monumental chord and the drama of it. Poison Ivy Rorschach was born Kristy Marlana Wallace in San Bernadino, California, on February 20, 1953. VIKTOR TSOI: THE LEGEND OF RUSSIAS GREATEST ROCK STAR LIVES ON, WILLIAM GREFE: MASTER OF GRINDHOUSE CINEMA, BLOOD FEAST: THE STOMACH-TURNING CINEMA OF HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS, MY DAD IS DEAD: IMPECCABLE POST-PUNK ANGST STRAIGHT OUTTA CLEVELAND. I mean, I know Im the real Poison Ivy.