Women In LA Punk - Christina Bones

I always thought of Arthur J and the Gold Cups as the Masque’s unofficial house band. The band was propelled by the riveting stage antics of Spazz Attack, famous for being able to do a flip through the air, completing a full 360 degree revolution
in the middle of any given song. It was also endowed with the guitar virtuosity of Geza X, the steady beat of Brendan Mullen on drums and Hal Negro sending out elephant mating calls on his trumpet. The insanity and cacophony of their stage show teetered on the edge of dissonance and that is precisely where the sweet voices of the Cupcakes worked their magic on the band’s sound. In a stage show full of wild free-form musicianship the three pretty, unassuming backing vocalists, true to their name served up confections as pleasing to the eye as they were to the ears, providing a thread of melody on which the other band members performed their high wire acts of sound.

Christina Cupcake shares her memories of the Masque, Arthur J and her life with fellow musician Billy Bones of The Skulls in this latest Interview with Women in LA Punk. Read Christina's Women in LA Punk Interview and see more of her photos by clicking on the thumbnail below. Enjoy!

Women In LA Punk - Heather Ferguson

I first met Valiant in the late '70s, when she still went by the name of Heather. She was a creature of the night who dressed like a punk rock Coco Chanel. She had a film noir air of glamour which she cultivated with fascinators and cigarette holders. Her sense of style was so strong that I instantly trusted her when she invited me to sit in her salon chair.

Heather was just as comfortable in the Beverly Hills salon where she sometimes cut my hair as she was in her little apartment in Hollywood. We'd sip wine or tea while she chopped, colored and transformed my DIY locks into a cutting edge 'do. Sometimes we'd dress up and go out after my makeover, other times we'd grab a cheap bottle of wine at La Brea Circus and talk the night away sitting on her couch. In those days, Heather loved Sylvia Plath, romance, and red wine with nice labels. In fact, it was Heather who gave me my first lessons on selecting wine. First rule: look for a bottle with a cork instead of a screw top. I was still buying wine like a kid cutting class in high school, what did I know?

Click on the Women In L.A. Punk thumbnail to read her interview.

Women In L.A. Punk Part XXVI - Hudley Flipside

Hudley Flipside's interview came about completely by chance. My husband happened to notice a message on the Masque MySpace page that seemed to be directed to me. I should clarify that I have nothing to do with the MySpace Masque page. I conduct these interviews with women who were involved in the early LA Punk scene for my own website, but I haven't been in contact with most of the interview subjects in over 25 years and I don't usually try to track people down for interviews. They typically happen by chance, just like this one.


Hudley Flipside

Hudley's interview also differs from the norm in that she chose to completely disregard the question and answer format I sent to her. That's great, because I encourage all of my interview subjects to go off topic and write at length and Hudley took me at my word. Her expressed desire for total freedom is as close to the essence of what punk meant for many of us in the early L.A. scene.

Click on the Women In Punk thumbnail to read the interview with Hudley Flipside.