Wendy O. Williams remembered.
10 years ago this week, former Plasmatics front-woman Wendy O. Williams died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Chainsaws, shaving cream, destroyed guitars, exploding cars, nipple spikes, anarchopornoveganism, rock 'n' roll. I saw "the queen of shock rock" perform live once, and she was amazing.
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One woman who Could Not Be Contained.
r.i.p.
True story: 10 years ago I was in the midst of drafting up a book outline that might be pitch-able on her life story. I'd already done enough research on her prior and found some great angles - but they all were to lead up to the big question - "did she really take herself seriously - always - or did it happen later".
Last I checked (and this was a while ago) the sales of ALL of the Plasmatic's records COMBINED never broke 100,000. The "fame" was from the (manufactured or not) PR storms that broke out from time to time (was hoping to dig up what People magazine had going on since they were among her top attackers of the day).
The story as I'd had it was - New York porn merchant get's a whiff of the Sex Pistol's story and tries - note for note - an American knockoff. The theatrics were heavy on the camp (the bass-player in the TuTu was a nice touch - particularly his studio audience moshing on the Tomorrow show) but the whole thing reeked of a mix of 12-17 year old demographics skewed around trailer-park punk. None of the smartness of the Sex Pistols or Iggy Pop (or the New York Dolls) came through and I doubt that was ever the intent. WOW said as much on the Tomorrow show as well. It was all great circus.
Then - for some strange reason - she "seemed" to start taking the whole package as product and acted as if she had talent. From her film outing - to the format change to Heavy Metal (produced by Gene Simmons) it started to go from camp - to desperation.
If this sounds like I'm reaching it's the only reason I can think of why she would try to change to a RAP format at the end of her career.
I wasn't looking to hound her or cast a negative profile, but wanted to seriously ask whether the Circus came to town - and STAYED - or whether this was show-biz that even John Waters would find sublime.
About a week into the early draft of the outline when I thought I might actually have the makings of a great way to help out and connect, and bring some well deserved limelight to an early 80s sensation - she left the party early. Tragic as any suicide is - this one in particular - gave me the heavy-creeps.
@#3 Karsten
If you thought to find anyone receptive to your particular brand of drivel here I think you are harbouring some illusions. But then I'm stating the obvious.
I saw her twice in the late 80s at The Metroplex in Atlanta, during the Maggots and Ultrafly tours. She definitely lived "do what I wanna do".
I had the privilege of knowing Wendy in the latter part of her life. We worked together at a small health food store in Hartford CT. Her Genre jumping was from boredom - not from a wish for profit.
She was sweet, smart, and intense.
I still have doubts about her death being self inflicted. Fact is, she was leaving Swensen, and taking her rights to the catalog with her. She steadfastly refused to allow any of her previous works to be rereleased - in her words: that music's time was then. It's not relevant any longer. Within months of her death, everything was rereleased. She also (strange as it may seem) loathed guns.
I miss her still.
Did anyone notice that Wendy O. Williams is also featured at the link to the article entitled "Crazy Kids Fashion photo from 1928" in the gallery called "Psi Chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity" the last picture amongst a host of 40's and 50's stuff is "Punk rocker Wendy O. Williams, Dream Girl of Theta Chi 1984.
There are strange things at work here or?!
#3 - Huh? I don't see the difference. They both lived to stir shit up, and both died young because of it.
I saw her and the Plasmatics back in the '80s very soon after she was arrested in Milwaukee. I was never partial to her music but went because I was curious. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was the loudest concert I have ever been to. I can remember a long rant by her that consisted of two words: Milwaukee and a word beginning with f, ending in uck that is not firetruck.
To #3 Karsten, I don't read worship in any of the comments here. I think people enjoyed her art and her public persona. Whether she had 'answers' isn't really part of the equation. I wonder how much you need to know someone to be able to judge them as wasting their life. Answers? To me answers are very personal, not universal. I am happy for you that you found your answers, but I can tell you for certain they are not even close to right for me.
Peace.
+1 #9
-1 #3
It's always a shame to hear of someone choosing to end their life. There are always options. If you or someone you know may be considering taking such actions, please check out:
http://nostigma.org/
There is no shame in asking for help.
--It'd be cool if the mods wanted to add this link to the post.
she was amazing. don't forget she was a passionate vegetarian, too: celebrate her life by making a batch of her recipe for green dressing:
http://www.modernatomic.com/plasmatics/texts/dressing.txt
it's too bad she didn't hang around to see how much she is appreciated now.
Weird. I did a photo shoot on Sunday. We were listening to Suicide's rehersal tapes for the first part of the shoot. When it came time to pick a new CD, the photographer and I both decided on the record she did that was produced by Gene Simmons - and told our W.O.W stories before getting back to work. The photographer knew her personally and thought the whole thing odd - to him Wendy seemed well and on her game right before she died.
I didn't even realize that we were coming up on the anniversary of her death... somehow I guess we knew though.
Karsten: Didn't Jesus know ahead of time he was going to be betrayed and murdered? If he knew this and went along with it, that's pretty much suicide too.
I saw her at Club Foot in Austin back in 82? Biscuit (r.i.p.) of the Big Boys used to open the side door and let some of his punk skater pals in for free.
Ripped to the gills on cheap lone star beer, all I really remember was three things:
FREE
some kid in the audience gave her a dozen roses, and she beat him with them.
she had a GREAT rack
Back then? wearing a bikini, or topless on stage was totally outrageous. We were shocked, we were in awe, we were amazed.
Nowadays, the stars flash cooch getting out of cars, and no one cares, or wishes they'd cover it up.
I remember seeing the Plasmatics and thinking, "wow, Punk Rock RULES, I am glad I am a skater now"
Austin was a blast back then.
Wendy, RIP
I didn't get to see Wendy O'Williams LIVE but I loved her!!! She ROCKS!!!
Wendy O’Williams & Jesus LIVE
I guess I bought into the whole media-circus aspect of the Plasmatics back then, that it wasn't a REAL punk band, but some Monkees-style joke created in a marketing meeting. I later came to appreciate that she was probably performing what she really felt; knowing her pre-Plasmatics history I'm sure she had a close relationship with nihilism long before she ever picked up a chainsaw.
But for me the weirdest thing about reading her obituary was that she died in my old nowheres-ville hometown in CT.
HA!! -- say what you will, but I get a kick out of comment #3 "KARSTEN"
But then some of us like to play intellectual/spiritual tug-of-war when the Jehovah's Waitresses come to the door.
Commodification and infantile sexualization of punk ideals. The music is an uninteresting hybrid of eighties metal and seventies punk.
I was mildly hypnotized by the punk movement as a kid, but it is time to move on. It strikes me as an all-too-perfect metaphor of what makes the U.S. and other empirical states so scary-- aggression, anger, reaction, violence.
It doesn't change anything if you think you're on the side of the disenfranchised.
And it certainly doesn't matter if you choose the way of suicide. There are better role models out there. The greatest subversion is kindness, understanding, curiosity and honor.
My dad sold chainsaws for a living. Not very glamorous, or profitable, but he made enough money to support a family of five and helped give me a wonderful childhood.
One day, he came home and told me that the Plasmatics had contacted him, asking for a chainsaw donation for their upcoming local performance.
I don't remember if he gave them a chainsaw. But it was then I knew how totally cool my dad was.
I knew wow in florida before she went to ny and becme famous. have pixs of her when she was young and a hippie! rip