Interview: Tommy James

Tommy James had an incredible run in the 1960’s and early 1970’s, with hit songs including “Hanky Panky”, “Crimson and Clover”, “I Think We’re Alone Now”, “Mony Mony”, “Sweet Cherry Wine”, “Crystal Blue Persuasion”, and “Draggin’ the Line”. Several of these songs became hits again in the 1980’s when they were re-recorded by Joan Jett (“Crimson and Clover”), Billy Idol (“Mony Mony”), and Tiffany (“I Think We’re Alone Now”).

Amazingly, James did his recordings for a record label which was a front for a Mob family, a story detailed in his book “Me, the Mob, and the Music”, and which will be turned into a movie biopic in the next few years.

This interview was done for a preview article for noozhawk.com for James’ concert at the Ventura County Fair on 8/6/19. It was done by phone on 7/30/19. (Publicity photo)

Interview: Cherie Currie

When Cherie Currie joined the all-girl jailbait rock band The Runaways, whose classic line-up also included Joan Jett and Lita Ford and whose manager was the legendary Kim Fowley, it was 1975 and she was a teenage David Bowie fanatic.

Over the next few years, the white-corsetted Currie and the rest of the band made a mark in the burgeoning punk rock scene with infectious songs like “Cherry Bomb” and “Queens of Noise”, ultimately becoming an important influence on all-female bands like The Go-Gos, The Bangles, and The Donnas, and various male rockers as well.

A well-publicized 2010 biopic brought The Runaways back into the popular consciousness, and Currie now has a new album in the works. She answered the following questions by email, with answers received on 8/16/13; this was for a preview article for her concert at San Luis Obispo on 8/18/13. (Donna Santisi photo)

Concert Review: Joan Jett

Review of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts at the Ventura County Fair, 8/4/12.