Suzy Quatro was born on this day.
In July of 2020 , I reviewed the documentary Suzi Q, about Suzi Quatro. Because it was July 2020, the tour she had planned, alongside the doc, had to be canceled. Or, at least, postponed. July 2020 was some serious shit. I was bummed because I was so turned on by the documentary I would have definitely bought tickets.
Quatro’s journey is interesting: she knew what she wanted to do when she was very young. She was already touring as a teenage kid. Amazingly, she didn’t get caught up in drugs or men or exploitation: These things were all around her but she wasn’t even tempted. She married young. Had a baby young. Was a rock star (at least in Europe) young. Her fame in Australia almost rivaled the Beatles, and she is – to this day – more famous there than she ever was here in America. When she toured Australia in the 70s, she was greeted by screaming fans at the airport, and transported via motorcade to the venue, throngs of people lining the roadways. She was massive in Europe. #1 hits, all of which – I should mention – were songs she wrote. She is mainly known in America for one shmoopy duet-ballad (the only song of hers that charted in America) as well as her regular appearance on Happy Days as Leather Tuscadero. Also, the song was a departure from her normal aggressive sound. 10 years later, Joan Jett came along, and we embraced Joan Jett, not realizing someone else did it all FIRST.
Debbie Harry, Suzi Quatro, Joan Jett
Joan Jett modeled herself after Suzi Quatro, which she fully admits in the interview she gives in the documentary. She had a poster of Suzi Quatro on her wall as a teenager.
Joan Jett in her bedroom, 1977
Jett was so inspired by this tiny girl playing a huge bass. Suzi Quatro paved the way for Joan Jett and so many others. Understand the continuum, and respect your elders. Or at the very least KNOW ABOUT your elders, because they got there first, and they made possible the things that came after. Do not erase them. Resist recency bias. It’s important always but even more important now, when the powers that be want to erase memory itself.
Just tripped over this and I love it: Quatro discusses her favorite bass riffs.
That last video is a delight!
Isn’t it so great?
I love hearing competent people talk about their area of expertise – especially if it’s artistic!
Exactly. I also love hearing someone talk about something they’ve been doing since they were a kid, then did it professionally for DECADES, and still, so much passion!
I know! She was literally a teenage kid, 14, 15, when she basically started “playing out” with her sisters, and pretty quickly was scooped up and brought to England by a producer. A kid alone in London. 15 years old. So many times stories like this end badly! But she was tough and resilient – and nobody knew what to do with her. There were no real “models” for a lead-singer-bass-player woman!
Oh and … the movie I reviewed this week is …. hm, how shall I put this … something you will be interested in. I can say with 100% certainty.
Thank you! So many people have messaged me separately about this movie – one friend emailed me from a festival during my Instagram hiatus, just to tell I was not ready for Gallner’s hotness, hahaha
I AM READY!
But I’m not sure it’s distributed in Canada, I don’t see it playing anywhere.
And a critic friend (who I don’t think knew who he was before I went down my Gallner rabbit hole) told him about some crazy person watching his entire filmography when he met him at TIFF and I got a really nice picture of the two of them.
I don’t want to read anything, I want to know as little as possible, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it and I can’t wait!
As established in that old thread – I was quoted on the poster!! – mainly because I was the only person who reviewed the damn thing in any way that had any oomph. It was baffling to me how it was ignored – just totally ignored – and then John Waters came along and suddenly … here we are!
It was one of the coolest things to watch happen for a film I championed – it’s rarely happened! A similar thing happened with What Happened Was …. too – the piece I wrote about it played a role in having it be restored and re-released (for the first time). That one was even more special since it was a “forgotten” film from 25 years ago.
I obviously don’t do ANY of this for that reason but it’s so cool when it does happen!
I’ve been tracking this one, just on my own – and my editor assigned it to me, clearly remembering the dinner in america thing. He’s a good editor that way!
I know, and it’s really cool! It’s not power, but… some influence! All motivated by true love for the art, which is beautiful.
I want to write something about KG and his career but I’m sure we’re on the verge of seeing someone else do it much better than i could. Maybe not with as much love, though. He was BEAVER in Veronica Mars and I never recovered!
But even if I did, I wouldn’t have influence, like you do! Which is a bummer because Kyle Gallner deserves more movies, bigger movies! So much choice! More TV shows in which he has facial hair and chest tattoos! He deserves that, and so do I!
Honestly it’s the best part of writing about film – or even just being really INTO film or TV – doesnt matter! finding that gem nobody’s noticed yet, and trying to introduce it to people. Or even just the feeling, of being like “WHO is THAT.” I don’t get the “WHO is THAT” feeling often. I love it when it happens.
I remember feeling “WHO is THAT” about garrett Hedlund when he gave this almost wordless performance in Inside Llewyn Davis. I still – swear to God – think about the character he played maybe … once a week? It’s iconic – it’s this whole WORLD he’s suggesting – the My Own Private Idaho 1950s hustler sexual enigma – the character could be in a Tennessee Williams play or he could be Neal Cassady. and Hedlund played Dean Moriarty in On the Road – a character based on Neal Cassady. It all made sense!
I had seen Hedlund in things, but never felt the ‘WHO the HELL is THAT.” until Llewyn Davis.
Hedlund is another one who seems like he should be much much bigger than he is. In Mudbound – he gave what’s basically an old-school movie star performance. charisma, movie star, really masculine, but vulnerable. He’s been around for a while – he’s in his early 40s now! He’s doing fine – in a way the lower profile means he does interesting smaller things (like Mudbound).
So it’s so fun to zoom in on someone, or suddenly feel that “Oh, okay, I need to pay attention to what this person is doing”, like happened with KG. There’s a lot of freedom in not being an a-lister, or even well known. You’re kind of moving by stealth. Dean Stockwell was like that too. Occasionally he sucked up all the attention (blue velvet) but mostly he just stayed busy racking up almost 70 years of good and interesting performances. I treasure careers like that!
Hedlund – and Gallner actually – are interesting because they’re both handsome leading men but they’re obviously interested in other things, and not being superstars means they’re a little bit freer – AND haven’t been sucked into the marvel universe, thank God.
I don’t know Hedlund but he does look like he was born to play Dean Moriarty!
//Hedlund – and Gallner actually – are interesting because they’re both handsome leading men but they’re obviously interested in other things, and not being superstars means they’re a little bit freer – AND haven’t been sucked into the marvel universe, thank God.//
Thank god.
Gallner has some strange aspects to his career too – the types he has played, it’s interesting. Only now that he nears middle age is he starting to play men in their full power. He played boys for a really long time.
And I’m not sure he always had tons of choices – i mean, I can imagine that some years you just gotta take jobs. But still, he has obviously made some interesting choices. He seems really playful, ready to try shit and see what happens, which is a fantastic way to build a career where you don’t get bored, I imagine. I think that’s why he vibes so well with Rehmeier, who has gone to more traditional movies after his The Bunny Game, but has something punk about him, still.
I do need to write about Kyle Gallner, at some point. I love what he does so much. And I love his FACE.
I feel like Hedlund might be a little too close type-wise to Charlie hunnan – they might cancel each other out. they’re both so good and interested in things other than … their gorgeousness – Hunnan makes consistently anti-A-list-ambition choices and so does GH. they both have excellent careers, don’t get me wrong!!
I dig the gorgeous men who don’t make brass-ring choices (hi, Jensen Ackles).
I like too that KG has been in a bunch of horror movies recently and just when he might have been pigeon-holed … here comes Carolina Caroline. Samara Weaving’s a scream queen so she’s in a similar position! It’s cool!
An old college classmate of mine – who has made his living for 30 years I kid you not as a juggler/clown – is in the new Kyle Gallner joint premiering at Tribeca as we speak. Weird kismet moment when I saw the pics of him palling around with Gallner like *last night* at the premiere. You just have to go with it when the cosmic tumblers come clicking down!
I’ll have to recuse myself from reviewing that one, probably, lol