Daisy Rock rocks the Roxy

Punk prevails for a good cause

By Melissa Bobbitt
Published: March 19th, 2009 | 11:30am

A stunning array of female musicians banded together Friday, March 13 at the Roxy in Hollywood for a couple of worthy causes: one-hundred percent of the event’s proceeds benefited a pediatric cancer organization, the Tianna Teegarden Memorial Fund; and the gathering celebrated the pioneers of feminine rock, the Runaways. These two elements made for a packed house at the legendary venue.

Venus Zine teamed with the guitar company for girls, Daisy Rock, to sponsor the show. Tish Ciravolo, president of Daisy Rock and bassist in the raucous punk band sASSafrASS, played emcee and spoke to VZ about her devotion to the cause and to the Runaways.

She said she had lost her best friend to cancer, so she began hosting Pretty in Punk charity events in said friend’s honor. On its fifth anniversary, she joined with the Tianna Teegarden Memorial Fund, to raise money to preserve the memory of a little girl who succumbed to the disease three and a half months after diagnosis. Tianna’s brother, Robert, was present Friday, videotaping the outpouring of support for the charity.

“It was such a rare, rare disease. She was one in six people who had it,” he said, referring to the malignancy of the brain and spinal cord that claimed his sibling’s life in 1999. But since forming the fund later that year, the Teegardens, in partnership with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the Make a Wish Foundation, have brought hope to a bevy of cancer patients and their relatives.

Likewise, the Runaways brought hope to a generation of women just beginning to find its voice during the civil rights movement and second wave of feminism. Though the band (which was the platform for the careers of Lita Ford and Joan Jett) were best known for their snarling songs, the artists on the Pretty in Punk bill turned out some diverse interpretations. Chanteuses Paris Carney and Amy Kuney, and folk-infused groups Karmina and Whispertown 2000 brought a mellow groove to their sets. 5 o’clock Shakedown relied on a sort of psychobilly vibe. The Bangles — grrrl legends in their own right — brought their affable brand of rock, and vocalist-guitarist Vicki Peterson joined Ciravalo’s group for a couple of tunes.

Peterson said she and her fellow Bangles have had a long rapport with The Runaways — their former bassist Michael Steele also performed with that band. And furthermore, “We had played a memorial for [Runaways drummer] Sandy West,” she recalled. “[Tonight] was sort of a replay. It’s fun and freeing, very different from the stuff we play.” Peterson also praised Daisy Rock, who produces a Bangles signature guitar.

Also joining the fold was Cherie Currie herself, singer for the Runaways. She tore through “Cherry Bomb” with her son, Jake, jamming on guitar alongside her. Coupled with intros from The Fabulous Miss Wendy and the bedeviling Runaways producer, Kim Fowley, (who made a shoutout to Dakota Fanning, who was there to study for her upcoming role as Currie in a biopic), the night was effervescent.