Perfect Youth: The Birth of Canadian Punk by Sam Sutherland

Author:Sam Sutherland [Sutherland, Sam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781770410657
Publisher: ECW Press
Published: 2012-09-26T00:00:00+00:00

Goddard’s use of the somewhat titillating, Roger Corman–ish slumber party imagery speaks to the different approaches taken by the B-Girls and the Curse. Between the two bands, tension built, the result of two distinct methods of attacking the male-dominated dominion of the Horsehoe Tavern stage. Even decades removed from their initial time in the Toronto spotlight, both offhandedly dismiss the other for either being “like guys in girls’ bodies” (the Curse) or “groupies who decided to be a band” (the B-Girls).

The Curse was without a doubt a more typically masculine explosion of punk energy, with the B-Girls more conscious of using their femininity to draw in their audience, but both are equally valid methods of creative expression, and, most importantly, both bands were doing exactly what they wanted to be doing. No one told the Curse or the B-Girls to behave one way or another. Their act was all them, making it a true expression regardless of outside perception. Once again, it is the Star’s Goddard who provides a fitting juxtaposition of the two, this time in a mid-’78 feature about the best bands in Toronto “waiting to be discovered.” He writes,

The B-Girls are everyone’s ’50s-style dream date. The Curse just plays — not very well a year ago, but much better now. What’s more, these four women don’t mind letting their usually-mostly-male audiences know that they are women — real women, not male visions of what’s real.

Both bands travelled to New York extensively. The Curse, having started earlier, imploded first. Their final show occurred onstage at Max’s Kansas City, right before the legendary venue closed its doors for good. But tensions in the band were making everyone miserable.

“I was a diva,” says Skin. “And the rest of the girls wanted to get a woman who was my boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend to manage to band. On top of that, they were going to change the band name to True Confessions. I just said, ‘You can fuck right off, because I’m in the Curse. If it’s not the Curse, I’m not in it.’” The band changed its name. Skin was no longer in it.

The B-Girls fared better in New York; Cynthia Ross was soon dating — and eventually engaged to — Dead Boys frontman Stiv Bators, and the band decided to relocate to the city full time. In the process, they lost both Cynthia’s sister and Lucasta.

“I didn’t want to live with cockroaches,” says Lucasta, who had already spent time in the city while dating Arturo Vega, the legendary artist behind the Ramones’ iconic logo. “I knew it wasn’t for me. I didn’t want to make the move, and I didn’t like our chances. I didn’t want to be a New York band that didn’t make it. I didn’t want to live in poverty.”

“She had an amazing voice, so it was a real loss,” says Cynthia. “But we gelled better after and became a real rock band. The reality is that you’re not going to be making any money. It’s hard. My sister was given a choice by her boss, the job or the band.

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