Kim Shattuck has died. She was only 56. A brilliant singer, songwriter and guitarist, Kim wrote 'Lucky Guy' one of the greatest songs of all times. If you don't like that you probably don't like music. (It's 3:50 into the excellently wild cbgbs show below...)
To see The Muffs was to witness as perfect a band as a band could be... It was eloquence personified. Kim alongside Ronnie on bass and Roy on drums... Just brilliantly, thunderously elemental. Kim, in that I don't know, pilgrim dress is it or the other one, the pale one? John Terry style over the knee socks, and the Gretsch Beast guitar, then the voice, that irresistible roar, plus judiciously applied screams, it alone implied a minor threat.
I remember maybe correctly, the Muffs playing south of Los Angeles with the infamous South Bay Surfers opening. That was the night SBS' David discussed being confounded by female fans... "Girls... They're screaming for you when you're playing and then afterwards when you talk to them, it's like, they're gonna to call the police..."
Recently I've been dabbling around on my guitars more, playing Muffs chord progressions. Lucky Guy in particular. Such fun with the amp cranked up in my retirement complex.
Below, there's a great 'Down The Highway' Kim Shattuck interview by Ian Harrower, from a series very cool punky icon interviews he did a while ago...
Billie Joe Armstrong said, "We will hear that rocknroll scream from heaven." He ain't wrong.
